wrath of the Sea Queen (226 page)

"
C
a
eli's interest in Max is pure kindness.  She wants to
protect
him
from the man
Rika
sent to retrieve him;
the same man
ag
ainst whom
C
a
eli
needed protection
.
"

Vin stopped his pacing
again
as a figure materialized before him
in the rain
. 
Time seemed to stand still around
them
; even the rain
no longer touched the two men.  The
tall man with sandy
blonde
hair and
bright,
green eyes stood directly in front of
Vin, and he
recognized
the newcomer
immediately.

"
I would have protected her if I
could
, Michael
. 
I
should not have left her alone."

"
It would not have made any difference. 
He would have taken her from you
regardles
s
.
The outcome would have been the same
.
"

"
That's what C
a
eli said. 
I
didn't
even
know she was in trouble. 
Michael, why are you here
?
  Can you help
her
?
"

"
I cannot; not yet.
 
I
c
a
m
e
here to apologize.
"

"
Apologize
f
or what
?
"
  Vin
doubted
he w
ould
like the answer
any more than he liked the situation
.

"
For what has already been done
to her
.  For what is about to happen
to her
. 
And f
or
her
struggle
with
Rika.
"

"
Yo
u know
Rika
?
"

"
Yes
, very well
.
"

"
Is she one of you
, a
n angel?
"
  Vin found the idea of that difficult to swallow, yet
was unable to come up with another w
ay
to describe
Rika
.

"
No
,
Eyvindr
. 
Rika
is not an angel.  She
was
once a
human
soul
.  She was beautiful, smart, and passionate about many things.  Rika
developed
a
strong
connection with water when she was very young.  It elevated her a
s a leader among her people
.  She was content in th
at
role
until
a chance encounter introduced her to someone more than human.  She won his heart, and
Rika disc
overed an unearthly happiness
.
"

"
I've heard stories about such relationships.  Of course, you never know what to believe
;
but none of the tales
of such couplings
ever ended well,
"
Vin replied. 

"
Nor will this one.
 
Such relationships are inherently complicated
and seldom indulged
. 
I
n this case, an accident at sea threatened the lives o
f Rika and her unborn child.  The angel who loved her
was not willing to lose her, but was unable to prevent her drowning. 
H
e offered her a chance at a different life. 
Using Rika's c
onnection to water
,
her soul could live within the sea until such time as she was ready to cross the barrier.  Unfortunately, it
c
a
me at a high cost.  Her unborn child would die
.  For
no matter what
Rika
chose,
her body
would
perish
.  If she accepted
the
offer, Rika's spirit, the part of her
t
he
angel
most loved, would live on, but she would never have the family she desired.
"

Vin
easily
extrapolat
e
d the motivation behind
Rika's interest in C
a
eli
from Michael's words
.

"
Rika obviously accepted
the offer
but
appears to
be
hav
ing second thoughts
. 
It seems sh
e
now
wants
my
family.  She is trying to use C
a
eli because she's
already
pregnant and because she has a connection to water.  I can understand that much.  But C
a
eli can't be the first woman to meet those
requirements.  In fact, I know Max's mother was pregnant and could manipulate water
,
"
Vin's impatience got the better of him as he tried to cut to the heart of Michael's story.

"
C
a
eli is the first of her bloodline to meet those requirements
and
to
visit
Rika
at the proper time
.
 
Rika's
soul cannot perma
nently reside in a body not of her
line
age
.
  Through the years,
she
has temporarily borrowed many unrelated, young women in order to taste life vicariously
.  These arrangements are
restricted to a specific timeline, and the
union
is always brief
. 
Yet
,
each time Rika
indulges in
this, her desire for a physical life becomes stronger. 
Rika
wants C
a
eli to make the change
permanent.
"

"
Then
Rika and C
a
eli are related?"

"
Yes, though q
uite distantly.
"

"
W
hat w
ill
happen to C
a
eli if Rika succeeds? 
Will her soul cross over or will she take Rika's place? 
Is that the darkness Raphael warned me about? 
And how is Max involved in all this?"

"
C
a
eli must not
permit
this
. 
She needs to find
a
solution within herself.  As for
Max, well, he
i
s
…
special; precocious
and
yet
still impressionable. 
He is a fascinating combination of innocence and perception. 
Rika believes that Max is her son
,
"
Michael explained.