wrath of the Sea Queen (235 page)

As soon as she
located
them, C
a
eli could tell that both
Vin and Salma were
badly
hurt. 
She
overheard Ben detailing Salma's dire condition to Vin, who was barely holding himself upright.
 
They
both
needed her help. 
C
a
eli
glanced after Maku.  She could already see the water rising
in the tunnel
.  If she didn't leave now, she would be trapped on the island.  She would have now
here to go when the
full force of the
storm hit
.

C
a
eli's
decision was immediately upon her.  She could not avoid it any longer. 
If she left the island, she would not reach Vin and Salma in time to save them both.  If she stopped to aid them, she would be trapped, and there was a very good chance that she would not survive
prolonged
exposure to the storm
in her worsening condition, which she did
n
o
t
yet
understand.

Nonetheless,
C
a
eli had to make a
choice
.  It was an easy decision.  She wo
uld not allow Vin or Salma
to
die. 
However, s
he could not help
them
both from her
current location
. 
The distance, combined with h
er pain and weariness
,
decreased her ability.  She had to choose
yet again
.  If C
a
eli did
n
o
t help Salma, she would surely die
from loss of blood
and continued internal bleeding
.  There was no way for Ben to get Salma to a hospital in time.  C
a
eli did
not know if she could heal
a wound as sever
e as Salma's without touching Salma
directly.  On the other hand, without Vin's aid, C
a
eli could not
even
reach
an unconscious
Salma
in order to
attempt
to heal her
.  She needed a
direct
connection to her aunt. 
Vin could not assist
with the connection
unless she first healed him
, at least
enough to
clear his
mind
. 
I
f she did that
,
C
a
eli's
strength would be
all but
spent.  She would have nothing left
with which
to save Salma.

C
a
eli was torn. 
She
desperately
search
ed
for
another option.  C
a
eli tried to call to Vin,
but his head injury prevented him from hearing her
clearly
.  That left Ben.

"
Of course!
"

She should have thought of
him
sooner.  Ben was
the answer
. 
C
a
eli
realized that she
had known
this
all along. 
Ben was connected to Salma
, though he could not open the connection himself
.  She
could show Ben how to save Salma
without expending all
of
her strength
, and then she
would be free to
focus on
help
ing
Vin.
 
C
a
eli
leaned against the rock, closed her e
yes, and set to work
.

Vin lean
ed
heavily
against the
wall of the cave.  He noticed the
changing
behavior of the
storm
. 
It
seemed to
burst forth from
whatever
had been
holding it in check
over the island
.  Perhaps
it
meant that
C
a
eli
defeated Rika.  P
erhaps she was all right. 
Then again, it could mean something much worse. 
Rika might have won.  She could now be using C
a
eli's gift to fully unleash the storm against the island. 
Vin
tried not to think about
that possibility
. 

He
turned his thoughts inward as his
pain demanded attention. 
Vin's
head was throbbing and his back
hurt
, but
he
did
not
consider
his injur
ies
all that bad
when
compared to Salma
.  He glanced around and
noticed
Ben standing in knee-deep water, holding Salma up against him.  She looked like she was sleeping, though Vin assumed she was still unconscious.

"
Ben, how is she?
"

"
Not good.  Colonel Franks was able to get the
external
bleeding under control
,
but she
i
s still bleeding inside
;
and she
ha
s been out this whole time.  I can't wake her.  There's nothing more we can do for her.  We
ha
ve to get her to a hospital.
"

"
Not yet, Ben,
"
C
a
eli's voice interrupted Ben's thoughts.

"
Do you remember what we talked about after my dream
, a
bout you
helping Salma
?  That time is now, Ben.  Are you ready?
"

"
Yes C
a
eli. 
How can I help her? 
Tell me what to do,
"
Ben responded out loud, not realizing that Vin
could not
hear his wife's voice.

"
Ben, are you talking to C
a
eli?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
He can't hear me.  His injury
prevents the proper
concentration
at the moment
.  I don't have time for lengthy explanations
, and neither does Salma
.  I
ha
ve made my choice. 
I can't come to you in time, so we have to do this from a distance. 
I
a
m
going to
help
you
, and y
ou are going to heal
Salma
.
"

"
C
a
eli, I can't do that
.  I wouldn't even know where to begin
,
"
Ben answered out loud, perplexed.

Vin slowly made his way over and placed his hand on Ben's shoulder, but his head was still throbbing, and he could not hear C
a
eli's voice. 
Disappointed, Vin
slowly removed his hand and leaned
carefully a
gainst the cool, stone wall. 
S
he
had
probably
tried to call to him, but could not reach him because of his injury. 
Wit
h Salma unconscious and him unreachable,
Ben was
C
a
eli's
only connection.  Ben
did
Vin
the courtesy of sharing his half of the conversation.

"
Yes, Ben, you can do this.  You have to trust me.  You have to trust yourself.  Remember, everyone
has the ability to
connect with the elements
; e
veryone. 
Vin and I may have stronger
inherent
c
apabilities because of our bloodlines,
but y
ou can do this. 
I
a
m going to guide you,
but
you are going to do the
actual
work.  You are going to use the water like I d
id f
o
r you
. 
I will on
ly have strength for one attempt
,
so let's make
it
count
. 
Trust me
, Ben. 
I won't let you fail
,
"
C
a
eli said.