wrath of the Sea Queen (229 page)

As Lorrie dove into the water and began swimming, allowing
Rika
to
complete the transition
, she did not notice the man who
stood watching her from
the shelter of a small cave hidden
in
the stone
at the base of the lighthouse
.  When Lorrie disappeared from his sight, Maku turned and walked
deeper
into the cave.  He
knew exactly
where Lorrie
was
headed
.  Maku
intended to bring her back and
hold her accountable
for Pete's death.

CHAPTER
52

Salma woke on the floor of a large, pool-like cave.  Her head throbb
ed
.  She could still taste the excessive chloroform that
was
used to render her unconscious. 
As she slowly gathered her senses, she noticed that t
he
cave
floor was wet.  Salma looked around and discovered that she was laying in about six inches of water.  If she had been unconscious much longer,
her captors
would have had to move her to prevent her from drowning.  Salma
furtively glanced around, but did not see Ben anywhere.  S
he
hoped he
was
not hurt.  Her first thought was to call to him using her talent, but her head was too fuzzy.  Instead, Salma tried to raise herself into a sitting position.

"
Ah, finally awake, Dr. Erickson.  Good.  Hopefully, this won't take long
.
"

Scott stepped out of a shadow
y
corner to stand in front of her.  He even helped Salma sit up as she shifted awkwardly within her bonds.  Her hands were handcuffed behind her back and her ankles were tied together
with rope
.  Salma assumed the cuffs
were
from Ben's
personal
belongings. 
If that were true, they probably
stole
his gun as well. 
Th
e thought of getting shot would have been sufficient to keep Salma from running off, but Scott
took the precaution of
secur
ing
a
three foot
length of chain
from the hand
cuff on her right wrist to a
large
spike in the floor. 
He
wasn't taking any chances
that she might
escap
e
. 
He
also
covered her mouth with a
small piece of duct tape
.  S
alma
could not have
responded
to Scott
even
if she
had
the inclination
.

Scott stared at
Salma
for a moment, trying to gauge her mood, and then walked further back into the cave. 
She could not see into the
tunnel
he entered
. 
He was gone for several minutes.  When he returned, Scott carr
ied
a box, slightly larger
and deeper
than a
typical
shirt box.  Salma's eyes grew wide as she recognized it.  Too late, she tried to hide her reaction.

"
I see you are acquainted with this.  That will save us both a lot of time.
"
  Scott reached over and ripped the duct tape from Salma's mouth in one quick motion.

"
Where did you get that?  It does not belong to you,
"
Salma
demanded
sternly.

"
From your niece's house, of course, but you
already
kn
e
w that. 
D
ear ol
’
dad stop
ped
by and pick
ed
it up before his untimely demise.  I figured since C
a
eli didn't mind lending you her unique blood for your research, then she probably wouldn't mind lending me this book for a project of my own.  S
he's s
uch a generous person, your niece.
"
  Scott was again pleased to see
the
surprise
on Salma's face at his
discovery of her anonymous donor.

Rather than be goaded into a pointless conversation, Salma sat quietly.  She tried to call to Ben, but her head was still
swimming
.  When she closed her eyes, the room started to spin.  She would
have to wait and
try again
when her head cleared
.  In the meantime, she
continued
to stall.  Salma needed to delay whatever Scott was planning until Ben could reach her.  She had no doubt that Ben, if he was able, was already searching for her.

"
What sort of project requires you to steal an ancient history book and kidnap a doctor?
"
  Salma didn't really care what Scott's answer would be
.  T
he more she
g
o
t him to talk, the more she
could learn
and
the longer she
c
ould
delay him
; thereby increasing
her chances of
thwarting
his plans
. 

"
I could tell you it was about money
and fame
, but that was Uncle Neal's desire, not mine. 
He intended to use your work to obtain his
self-serving financial
goal
s
.  Not me. 
I prefer
the
sheer
power
to do whatever I want
, whenever I want to do it
. 
I want that freedom. 
This book can give me
that
.  But
,
I do not want to be reliant on anyone else
.  I want to access the book directly
.  Therefore, my good doctor,
you
will
be the
perfect
bait to grant
me access to your niece.  I can get from her the blood I need in order to
attune
myself
to the book
,
"
Scott explained.

Salma was
momentarily
confused.

"
That doesn't make any sense.  A
n injection of her blood will be diluted beyond recognition by
your blood.
  The only way to get that much untainted
blood into your system
cleanly would be to get
a transfusion where her blood completely replaces yours
.  And
you can't get all of the blood from
C
a
eli
at on
ce
without killing
…
,"
Salma stopped
,
abruptly
realiz
ing
what Scott's plan entailed.  He intended to do exactly what Salma
described
.  He
intended for
C
a
eli
to make
a one
-time donation.  Sa
lma was horrified
.

"
Ah, there's the look I was waiting
to see
.  My father would have been happy to know that your niece will die in such a way.  He was
furious
with her for helping send him to prison,
"
Scott said, enjoying the brief moment of bonding with his late father
that allowed him to
torment Salma.

"
What's your
father got to do with this?  Who
are you?  For that matter, who
is your father?
"

"
You would know him better as
your
former police chief Sam Matthews.  Oh, by the way, he wasn't too happy with your husband either.  I doubt if Mr. Erickson or your niece will be returning home with you. 
I promised my dad that they would both be made to suffer. 
Heck, I don't even know if I will
permit
you to go home.  I haven't decided yet. 
T
hings
could
turn out badly with your niece
.  Her husband has proven to be incredibly troublesome.  There is a chance that
I may need you as my Plan B
,
"
Sc
ott attempt
ed
to scare
Salma
.

S
he
was s
hocked
, but not by
Scott's
threats.  S
alma
was s
urprised
to learn of
his relationship to the former chief.  She could see the family resemblance now that Scott
revealed
it.  Ben mentioned that the chief
had
escaped custody the day of her car wreck.  He probably broke into Vin and C
a
eli's house to steal the
B
ook
of Elements
and then delivered
it
to his son. 
Obviously, something had happened to Sam after that delivery. 
If Scott was exacting revenge on his father's behalf, Salma would have to find a way to warn
both
Ben and C
a
eli.  S
he
c
ould
not
let Scott use her as bait
to
lure
either of them
into trouble.