wrath of the Sea Queen (236 page)

Ben heard
he
r
confidence,
and
he also heard the
ominous finality in C
a
eli's voice
.  Unfortunately
,
he
could not stop to
question
her about it just then.

"
Ok, I'm ready,
"
Ben said finally.

"
You need to l
ower Salma into the water.  Let Vin help you hold her up
if he is able
.  Make sure her shoulder is submerged.  It will make this
much
easier.  Good.  Remove the binding
s
.  Press your hands on the front and back of her shoulder,
directly
against her skin. 
Don't worry that it
'
s bleeding.  We will fix it. 
Close your eyes
and concentrate on the movement
of the water. 
Can you feel my hand on yours? 
Follow me, Ben. 
That's it. 
Now, focus
your thoughts
on the blood flow.  There, can you feel it?  Not that way
.  M
ove with it.  Don't try to force it
…that's it. 
You're doing great.
"  C
a
eli's voice started out strong, but grew fainter as they continued.

"
Now, draw it together. 
Perfect. 
Salma couldn't
repair
it any better herself. 
K
eep repeating that
pattern
.  When you're done, you
wi
ll know it.
  Don't let anything disrupt your concentration.
 
Once it's mended,
replace the bandage
s,
and
then
get her something to eat and drink.
  Replenish her strength
, and get her out of this storm
.
  Make her rest
.  Tell her…well, just take care of her
.
"

With that, C
a
eli was gone. 
She
no longer guid
ed Ben
as he worked, but he was still able to perform the task.  It was amazing.  He was doing
the impossible
.  C
a
eli
g
ranted
him the ability to save
Salma.  Ben did
n
o
t know how
C
a
eli
managed it
, but he was glad that she did
.  S
he
found a way
. 
Ben
only hoped
it did
n
o
t cost her too much
to c
hange the rules. 
He
certainly did
n
o
t like the desperation edging her voice
or the finality implied in her last words
.

As soon as Ben was done mending the wound, the sensation le
ft
him. 
He
was certain that he could not call it back on his own.  It was simply beyond his reach, but he was
content
with that. 
Ben
understood how difficult it was and how tiring. 
It
was
definitely
worth
the effort
. 
Ben
wrapped the bandages around Salma's shoulder once more and lifted her from the water.

Salma opened her eyes a few minutes later.

"
Ben, where are we?
"
  She asked,
disoriented
.

He
couldn't answer right away.  He pulled her close and hugged her with
great
relief
reflected
in his
watery
eyes.

"
Oh
,
Salma
;
I thought I was going to lose you
, Love
,
"
was the only thing
Ben finally
managed to say
. 

Vin could tell when C
a
eli stopped assisting Ben
because h
e
sensed
her
move
ment
from Salma
toward
him. 
A caressing sensation ro
se up from the water at his feet to sooth
e
the pain in his
back
, his
shoulders
,
and then in his
head.  It only took a few minutes for his
mind
to clear. 
As soon as it did
, Vin
immediately
reached out and
reinforced
the
weak
link
which
C
a
eli
had been
maintain
ing on her own
. 

He felt C
a
eli's condition through that link. 
She was in a great deal of pain, but
endur
ed
it
with determination
. 
Vin also
confirmed her location
out
on
the
island.
 
Maku had been there
with her
not too long
ago
. 
C
a
eli
told Vin that she intended
to follow the route he
took
to get back
.

"
Let me come and help you,
" Vin offered.
 

"
No.  Stay with Ben and Salma, and make sure everyone gets safely inside.
"

"
Be careful, C
a
eli.  I will wait for you on the beach.  Call me if you need me to come to you.  If Maku found a way
,
then so can I.
"

She could not bring herself to tell him that
t
he tunnel was
already
flooded. 
It would only cause
Vin
further distress.  She still hoped that
she might have enough strength
left
to use
her gift
to
get
t
hrough.
 
C
a
eli
ended their connection so that she would not drain
Vin's
strength or her own any further.

Vin noticed that C
a
eli
did no more
than was necessary to heal him this time, unlike the last.  She did not have the energy to s
p
are.  This, at least, Vin could do for himself now that he could think clearly.  He
had
learned
the process
when
C
a
eli
drew
energy from herself and
passed
it to him at the lighthouse. 
Because of their
personal
connection, Vin
had
discerned
C
a
eli's
actions intimately
and
knew he could replicate the process.

"
Jeremy, can you lend me a hand, please?
"
  Vin called out to his younger friend.

"
Sure, what can I do for you?
"
  Jeremy sloshed over to stand in front of Vin.  Vin noticed distantly that the
small island that they could see off shore
was
taking the worst of the
storm's
beating so far, but it was only a matter of time before those same forces hit the main island.

"
Jeremy, this is going to seem
like an
odd
request
, but I need to borrow a bit of your strength.  Would you mind?  You may feel a little tired afterward,
"
Vin explained his request as simply as he could.