wrath of the Sea Queen (224 page)

Rika pulled forth memories from C
a
eli's childhood; bad memories. 
C
a
eli had
not thought about that trip since the day they returned
home
.  For two weeks,
she, her mother, and her grandmother
vacationed in
a rental house on th
e main
island
. 
C
a
eli remembered the strange man with sharp fingernails and oily skin coming into her room. 
Every evening,
a half hour
after her mother went to bed, the man arrived and hauled
a younger
C
a
eli
kicking and screaming
from her bed. 
Somehow, neither h
er mother
nor her grandmother
ever heard her
cries
for help.

After the first two nights, C
a
eli tried to run
and
hide from
the odd man
, but he always caught her and always found her hiding places. 
E
ach night, he took C
a
eli to visit Rika
on
a
small island
. 
In fact, now that she looked close
r
, C
a
eli realized that h
e brought her to this very island. 
That shelter had been built for C
a
eli
when she was a young girl
.  Now C
a
eli understood why the man in black
had
seemed familiar when she first saw him.  He was the same man who
had
abducted her
all those years ago
. 

No matter how hard she tried, C
a
eli could never remember to tell her mother about
the incident
the next day.  Instead
, C
a
eli
was so exhausted that her mother
had to
come in and dig her out from beneath the covers to wake her up
.  Her mother
was
initially worried, but eventually brushed off
C
a
eli's
lack of rest
as
a bad case of
homesickness. 
It was the first time she had ever taken C
a
eli on a trip
away from home
. 
C
a
eli sle
pt fitfully every night since she returned from that vacation
.
  To this day, she still tossed and turned in her sleep.
  Now she
understood
why.

"
I knew then that you would
be the one to set me free
.  I knew you would return when you were grown and
had learned to
understand
the rare combination of
your
gift
and
our shared
heritage. 
W
hen you finally arrive
d
,
I was overjoyed to discover that y
ou
were
also
pregnant
, and
by
a man
as
rare as you
.  Who could have known that the two bloodlines would reunite after
millennia of
separation? 
I knew you were special, but I had no idea you would be a part of such profound events. 
You chose your mate very well.  Of course, that is
also
why he has been such a thorn in my side
. 
But, o
nce
you and I
are joined,
all
that will change.  He will no longer be a problem.
"

C
a
eli listened, but did not let her guard down. 
She
caught on to
Rika
's attempt to
distract
her
.  To a small extent, it was working
.  C
a
eli wanted to re
call these long buried details from
her youth.  However
,
she was not about to let the past dictate her future
.  Rika's voice still h
eld
that edge of condescension and arrogance that grated on C
a
eli's nerves.

"Did you really believe that your tactics
this week
would convince me to
submit to your whim
?
  You tried to force your will on me.  You threatened Vin.  You killed my son.  How could you expect any of that to make me welcome your friendship?
"

"
You are quick to forget.  I first offered you help and kindness.
 
I
hope
d you would be smart enough to see the
mutual
benefits of this arrang
ement
.
 
But you are as stubborn
today
as you were when you were a child. 
Ultimately,
it does
n
o
t matter. 
You will
do this,
either
by your wil
l or my own.  I have earned this reward
.  It is mine to claim.  You are mine
to claim
.
"

"
You
are
gravely
mistaken
.  You
cannot
take over my life
simply
because you
are
bored by the choice
s
you made. 
You have no right
to my life
, and I am no longer the feeble invalid you hoped to
deceive
.  Admittedly, I was down, deeply buried within myself as you intended; but I
have
found
my way to the surface.  I will fight you as long as I draw breath. 
F
or the death of my son alone
, you and I will never be reconciled.  For Max's mother and every other person you
ha
ve hurt
with your selfish desires
, I intend to
put a
stop
to
you
r malicious
deeds
.
  I intend to bring an end to the
S
ea
Q
ueen's reign
of terror
.
"

Now Rika laughed openly.  C
a
eli's thr
eat
seemed to
do nothing more than amuse her
. 
C
a
eli
wondered if she would be able to back up such bravado with her actions. 
She
hoped so.

"
Still trying to take on more than you can see.  It
simply isn't possible
for you to defeat me
.  You don't have the means to affect me unless you
join me; and then you cannot
hurt me
without
also
hurting yourself. 
Vin told you correctly. 
You cannot
win
.
"

"I do not accept that.
  There has to be a way, and I will find it.
"

"
It is foolish of you to
cling to such a
flawed
notion. 
That is why I took you when I did.  If you
had
continued to listen,
Vin
might have turned you aside from your foolish quest, and I would have to wait
even longer
. 
I am tired of waiting. 
A
ccept your fate, and I
will
spare this island some of the destruction it is about to receive.  My final storm
wa
s created to wipe out everything on this island. 
After all this time,
I will finally be free of
this
fluid
prison
.  I
might still
be persuaded to spare
your
friends and
family
if you are willing to yield now
.  The choice is yours,
C
a
eli
.  Will you accept
my last gracious offer
and save your family?
"