wrath of the Sea Queen (42 page)

Vin
disbursed
the energy
in
controlled bursts
amongst
the storm winds, using it to lessen their effect on the seas below. 
Vin's
efforts
with the wind
perfectly
compl
i
mented C
a
eli's work
on the water itself
,
combining their efforts into something stronger than either could have achieved alone
.  T
ogether, t
hey were a
n unimaginably
powerful
team.

Vin was amazed at what C
a
eli accomplish
ed
with her gift
.  The larger waves
nearby
slowly
diminished.  Although the
waves
still swayed the ship, the
surrounding sea
no longer the thrash
ed
like the
monste
r that previously threatened
to engulf the ship
.  The water
s
within a mile radius of the ship w
ere
much calmer and the waves less
menacing
. 
N
ow less than half
of
their original size
, the waves were
still
not small by any means.  Another five minutes elapsed
.  T
he waves were only perhaps fifteen feet high
now
. 
It seemed as if the ocean were falling asleep
around them
. 
Th
e smaller waves were
no challenge
for a ship
this
size
.
 
The combination of Vin
's
reduction of
the winds and C
a
eli
's
manipulation of
the waves brought the ship from storm
-
tossed waters into merely choppy seas. 
R
ain
continued to fall
lightly, but the storm's fury was temporarily spent. 

Vin
spared a moment to assess his
fully revitalized
status
.  The energy C
a
eli
had
siphoned into him completely restored hi
s strength
and dissolved his weariness
. 
He couldn't have been more alert or physically whole than if he had slept undisturbed for three days.
Thinking about the energy being sent through her touch
,
Vin
suddenly
realize
d
that C
a
eli was no longer squeezing his hand.  She no longer appeared to be affecting the water or moving at all.  He heaved on the cargo net and pulled her up to the safety of the deck.

"C
a
eli
, c
an you hear me?
C
a
eli?  Answer me, H
oney.
"

Vin brushed her long, wet hair out of her fa
ce to get a better look at her. 
She was breathing, but did not
give any indication that she heard
his
verbal or mental plea
s
. 
C
a
eli
lay
unmoving
on he
r back with her
eyes closed
.  After untangling her hand from the netting, Vin scooped her shivering form into his arms and carried her into the steering room.  The captain motioned him
on
into the helmsman's room.
 
He
thanked
the captain
as he rushed C
a
eli inside
, laid her on the small utility cot, and then closed the door
to
gain a little privacy. 
A quick search
of the room
produced a gray, wool blanket from a locker
, which he
draped over
C
a
eli
to help warm her
.  Vin checked the locker again to see if there were any dry clothes, but came up empty.  So he went back to
C
a
eli
with a second blanket and
covered her with
it
as
well
.

"
C
a
eli
, open your eyes please.  Look at me. 
Are you hurt? 
Let me know
if
you're all right."

Vin pulled a chair up beside
the bunk so that he could
stay close and try to
discover
what was wrong with her. 
He didn't see any obvious injuries and she didn't appear to be in distress, other than being unresponsive.

"
C
a
eli, it's ok. 
You did it.  Everyone is on board and the
sea
has calmed down.  It's over. 
I
ha
ve been so worried
ever since you called to me;
but y
ou're
safe
now
. 
I'm here
. 
Please wake up
.
"
 
Vin
spoke softly to her in
the privacy of the little r
oom.

C
a
eli
open
ed
her eyes
only to
star
e
at the ceiling above her
. 
Vin
notice
d
that she was shaking her head
subtly
as if
she might be disagreeing with hi
s words
, but she
did not otherwise respond.  Her
breathing
remained
normal.

"C
a
eli,
honey,
can you hear me? 
Are you ok?  What can I do?
"  Vin tried again, caressing the side of her face and turning her head so that she was looking toward him.  She still didn't answer.

"
Salma,
" Vin tried
a different approach.

"
Vin; thank God
.  Are you two all right?
"

"
I'm
fine
.  I may need your help
with C
a
eli
.  Can you
come
up here?
"

"
Not directly.  They won't let us leave
this area yet.  They are waiting to get an all clear from the captain
.
"

"
Then I
wi
ll
get his permission and
come down
to
get you.  C
a
eli is not responding
to me
.  I'm going to try again, but if I can't reach her, I
woul
d like you to come up and
have a look at her
,
please.
"

"
I'll be waiting, Vin.
"

Vin ended his conversation with Salma and returned his attention to C
a
eli.  He
kept talking
to her,
offering her the comfort of his
voice
.

"
Your
gift
is incredible
, C
a
eli
. 
What you did was amazing.  I can't wait to hear more about it
.
  I understand if you need to take your time, but please, say something…anything.
  Talk to me, Honey.
"
 

After several minutes, C
a
eli
's lack of
respons
e
and
continued
shivering
had not changed
, so Vin got up and found a
hand towel
that he could use to dry her hair, hoping it would help.  She
allowed Vin to
move
her on the bed
without resistance
, but she
did
not
talk or mov
e
o
f
her own
volition
.  C
a
eli reacted as if she were on a hypnotist's couch.