wrath of the Sea Queen (225 page)

"
It is for my family that I
refuse
,
"
C
a
eli
steadfastly
replied.

CHAPTER
50

Vin dove into the tide several times, but he could not find her.  He finally returned to the shore and
watched carefully for several minutes, but
C
a
eli
did not resurface.  He was forced to
wait for some sign of
what was happening to her.  V
in began to pace along the shore, the wind stirring restlessly with him.
  The clouds overhead
continued
to darken. 
He
could tell by the intensifying rain
,
which
soaked him to his core
,
that
C
a
eli was
upset; though he did
n
o
t know, at first, if it was anger or fear
. 

Th
is
storm
moved
different
ly
than the rain showers earlier in the week. 
It traveled with
a specific
purpose. 
Vin
allowed his senses to mingle momentarily with the storm winds
and
clearly
sense
d
both Rika and C
a
eli within
.  He distinguish
ed
hints of
C
a
eli's
barely
restrained anger flickering along its edges.
 
He
held
flashes of
that same
anger
within himself.

Vin
considered reaching out to C
a
eli
through their link
, but decided
against
it
.  It
was too risky.  He
could not determine
what
another
distraction
might cost he
r.  It was tearing him up to stand there helpless while she faced
Rika
alone
.  Under normal circumstances, Vin would have been confident that C
a
eli could handle herself
. 
She was smart and competent to
deal with
most normal situations. 
Unfortunately, t
his situation was anything but normal, and C
a
eli was not
physically or emotionally up to par
.  Vin did not believe that C
a
eli was r
eady for this confrontation yet, and he was terrified that he could lose her.

It was Vin's overprotective nature
,
justifiably f
ounded,
that caused him to worry excessively about
C
a
eli
.  He
always
tried to
predict when something
she was doing posed a
potential
risk
. 
Whether it was a late night client meeting, a
volunteer event at an
unfamiliar location, or even delivering materials to
job
venues, Vin made a point of knowing if
it
might
place
C
a
eli in a vulnerable s
cenario
. 
In those instances,
Vin
en
sure
d
that
he
was
on hand to
intervene
should
anything happen. 
Not only did it put his mind at ease, it also allowed him to spend more time with her
;
something he
enjoyed immensely. 
E
ver
since his brush with death, Vin
never felt as if there were enough hours in the day to spend with
C
a
eli
, so he savored each additional minute
.

C
a
eli was
always
glad when
Vin
accompanied her
.  She
enjoyed
having
him
along
for the compan
ionship
, but particularly
when she went
to
unfamiliar locations
where she was likely to get lost
.  She
also
appreciated his
help with
the
deliveries.  She
took great pleasure in
the relaxing drives
and romantic outings
th
at
often
developed
when
Vin
picked her up from a late meeting.  This was
his
way of
en
sur
ing
that
C
a
eli
would never
again
have to face anything dangerous
without him
. 
She had already endured many bad
trials
in her life, and Vin was doing everything that he could to prevent C
a
eli from ever having to go through such ordeals again. 
Thankfully, they
rarely
r
a
n into any trouble.

N
ow,
however,
when
V
in
was certain
that
C
a
eli
needed
his help
, he could not
reach
her. 
Vin wa
s
infuriated
by the forced separation.
 
H
is efforts to help
C
a
eli
were being thwarted at every turn. 
It seemed that the more he tried to help, the more C
a
eli was made to suffer. 
Rika
was
determined that
C
a
eli
w
ould face her alone
.  Aside from her desire to take over C
a
eli's body, Vin still knew virtually nothing about
the mysterious lady who was
the source of
so much of
C
a
eli's
trouble
.

Who was she? 
How had she become so
fixated on
C
a
eli?  If
Rika
truly wanted a family,
as she suggested
to Vin
during their brief encounter, then
why
did
she
continue to
hurt C
a
eli and
why
cause her to miscarry?  Wh
at did
Rika
want with Max
?  What was it about th
e
boy
that dr
ew
both C
a
eli's and
Rika's
interest
?

Vin
stopped briefly to watch the storm
clouds
as
they gather
ed
densely
over an island not too far from shore
.  He assumed this must be
the destination
Rika
mentioned to
C
a
eli
. 
The
waves
surrounding the island
were
much
too strong
and erratic
to attempt to reach
it
by swimming or
even
by boat. 
Even if Vin could somehow use his gift to lift himself over the turbulent water, he did not believe that he would be able to reach the island.  His instincts told him that the island was unattainable. 
Unable to think of a way to
aid
C
a
eli, Vin
resum
ed
his pacing.
  He would not give up.
  He would not abandon her.