wrath of the Sea Queen (30 page)

Nonetheless,
C
a
eli
was
mesmerized by the discovery of her new ability.  She
understood
that
it had always been a part of her
, even
as a
very y
oung
girl
.  C
a
eli turned to glance out at the water surrounding the plane, placing her hand against the window as if she cou
ld reach out and touch
its
very
soul
.  The thought intrigued her.
 
A hand on her should
er
jolted her out of the trance-like revelry.  Salma was awake and leaning toward her with concern on her face.

"
Is s
omething
wrong?  You look
ed
like you might be ready to go for a swim.
"
  Salma studied her
niece, waiting for an answer.

C
a
eli whispered the information
regarding
the leak and how she used her new gift to temporarily stop it. 

"
You know what this means don't you?
"
  Salma finally asked calmly
, taking the news in stride
.

C
a
eli shook her head negatively, puzzled at the question. 

"
I
f you can control water, then we are most definitely
taking a ship home.  I absolutely am not getting on another plane for the rest of my life,
"
Salma stated with a slow smile
growing
across her face.

It took another moment for C
a
eli to realize that Salma was offering her what little bit of support she could muster through her own fear.  C
a
eli reached over and hugged her aunt tightly, feeling guilty that she convinced
Salma
to get on this flight instead of
finding
alternate
transportation
. 
After relating the
latest
news
to Salma
, C
a
eli's curiosity got the better of her, and she tried to stand so that she could go inspect the area where the
pilot believed his patch alone had stopped the hull
leak. 
She wanted to get a look at the barrier she had created. 
Unfortunately, using her gift for s
o
long
had
exhauste
d
her.  She could barely move, much less stand. 
C
a
eli
fell back into her seat, lightheaded and nauseous.

"
You look
very
pale.  Are you still feeling sick?
"
  Salma asked
,
more
worried
about C
a
eli
now than she
had been
before. 
Her
condition seemed to be rapidly
deteriorating
.

Apela noticed
C
a
eli's
struggle
as well
and helped her to her feet.

"
Is e
verything ok?  Are you hurt?
"
  His concern for
C
a
eli
was genuine, and she appreciated his kindness.

"
Thanks, I'm
fine;
a little tired,
"
C
a
eli waved him off politely
, wishing Vin
could be
there instead
.
  Vin always made her feel better.

Once
Apela
left
,
C
a
eli
continued quietly to Salma.

"That reminds me, I want you to look at my stomach when we have some privacy.  I have a
pretty bad
cut that bled
quite
a lot earlier.  I
put some bandages on it, but I
want to make sure
there wasn't any
serious
damage because of the
particular
location
."
  C
a
eli placed her hand over her belly to give Salma an indication of her concern.

"Is it still bleeding?"  Salma asked.

"I don't think so.  I still have the bandages on it, but they don't feel
like they are getting newly soaked through
."

"Well, then it is probably fine. 
It is safer to keep it covered and clean for now; but
I will look at it
the
first chance we get. 
Where are you going?
"

The passenger area of the small aircraft wasn't more than twenty feet from front to back.  About the only place she could go, besides another seat, was to the small restroom at the back.  That's the destination she chose as her reason for wanting to
stand
up.  She didn't want to call attention to the cracked hull that was no longer leaking.

Before she could say anything else, a loud, metal, ripping could be heard on the side of the plane. 
T
he plane shift
ed
drastically to one side and then resettle
d
. 
A
n instant round of chatter
issued forth
from the pilot and co-pilot. 
T
he pilot figured out what happen
ed
and relayed it out loud.  He spotted enough of the damaged wing to see that the crack C
a
eli noticed earlier finally g
ave
way to the pressure
of the waves
thrashing against it.  The wing
was
partially torn off, leaving it bent
at an
awkward
angle
.  It would only be a short while before the remainder ripped away.  That would definitely disturb the plane's tenuous perch atop the waves. 
T
he impending disaster
hung thick in the silence of everyone on board
.  There was nothing
any of them
could do about it.

Finally managing to get her feet
moving
, C
a
eli tried to think of anything that might help. 
She
still
stood
barefoot
in the aisle.  T
he dampness of the floor against her feet
chilled her and a
strange sensation tugged at her. 

"
You can help, but only if you let me show you how
to do so properly
.  They need your help, and you need mine
.  You still have time
.
"
  Rika's voice sounded in C
a
eli's mind once more. 
             

"
Thank you for the kind offer
.  If I
a
m going to do this
, I prefer to
try
it
on my own
first
,
"
C
a
eli tried to be polite.

She knew nothing about this woman or what she was capable of doing.  She
certainly
did not want to insult
Rika
or make her angry
, but she
instinctively
did not trust her
.  C
a
eli returned her attention to
the task in front of her
.

If Rika was telling her the truth, then C
a
eli was wasting her time and energy in a futile attempt.  C
a
eli didn't think so.  She
had the impression that
the answers
were coming
to her from within the water itself.  C
a
eli sat down in the middle of the aisle and placed her hands on the wet surface.  Salma noticed her o
dd behavior.

"
W
hat are you doing?
"
  Salma whispered as she bent over
her
, making sure that C
a
eli's actions weren't the r
esult of an injury or illness.

C
a
eli didn't answer, but shook her head as if to say that she wanted to be left alone.  Salma could certainly understand that.  The emotional
stress
of this situation was
heavy
.  Even though C
a
eli was an adult, her life in a small town
had partially
sheltered her
from
t
he harsh realities in the world.  At least,
up
until recent
ly
. 
Salma leaned away from C
a
eli, giving her what little privacy
she could
and gaining a bit for herself.  Salma
came up with an
idea of her own about how they might get help.