wrath of the Sea Queen (43 page)

Vin
moved
her
to
sit
up
on the
edge of the bed
with both blankets wrapped around her
from her
shoulders
down
.  He pulled off her wet shoes and socks and tossed them aside. 
Vin w
rung the water out of her hair
and worked to dry it as well as he could
. 
Once
done with
that
, Vin wr
ung
some of the water out of her dripping clothes.  He spread the towel on the floor beneath C
a
eli's feet and
set to
work
s
queezing the excess water from her pants and then moved
up
to her shirt. 

As he twisted the lower portion of the front of C
a
eli's shirt, he was alarmed to see that the wat
er streaming to the floor below carried a
tint
of
red.

"C
a
eli, are you hurt?  Are you bleeding?"  Vin immediately lifted he
r shirt
and began to look for injuries.

"Not anymore," C
a
eli
startled him when she
whispered a barely audible answer. 
They were
the first words she had spoken since Vin pulled her aboard.

"What do you mean?  Where were you hurt?  How bad?  C
a
eli, what happened?" 

Vin's inquiries went unanswered.  C
a
eli star
ed
at the bottom of her shirt,
once again
returned to her trance-like state.  He continued his inspection, hoping to
locate
her injury.  Vin ran his hand across her midsection, feeling the same tingling sensation that he had
noted
for several weeks now, but he did not find any open wounds.  He did discover a small, white circle that had not been there earlier th
at
morning when C
a
eli modeled her
new
swimsuit.  Vin did not know
how or when the mark got there
, but it did not appear to be the source of the blood, so he kept looking.  After looking C
a
eli over twice, Vin could not find any open wounds or cuts.  He did see the knot on the side of her head where she must have bumped it.  Maybe the blood wasn't hers after all.  Perhaps she had helped someone else and that was how the blood got on her shirt.

"C
a
eli, I
'm pretty sure y
ou can hear me
, but
I don't know what's wrong or how to
help you.  Please talk to me."

Vin rewrapped C
a
eli in the blankets and then sat beside her on the bed.  This time, he pulled her close, leaning her head against his chest, typically one of her favorite places to rest.  She had responded once, and Vin took that as a good sign. 
Vin continued to talk to her, hoping the sound of his voice would somehow
pull her out again
. 
Vin even
continued to
tr
y
to reach her through their special link.

"
C
a
eli,
I'm worried about you
.
 
Can you talk to me, please?
"

To Vin's surprise,
his attempt was blocked
as
if
C
a
eli was
trying to
prevent him from reaching her in that manner. 
P
erhaps
she needed more time,
but
Vin
was uncertain
and
therefore
concerned
.  After
another
fifteen minutes, C
a
eli's breathing
finally
change
d
. 
He looked down to se
e that her eyes were closed
again
.
 
He could tell that s
he wasn't
exactly
sleeping, but at least she
seemed to be
resting.
  Vin held her close, letting her continue to lean against him
and relax
.  He should
ha
ve known
C
a
eli
would respond better like that.  Something about
laying
on him always helped C
a
eli rest
more soundly
.  She
had always
insisted that
resting on
his shoulder or chest was medicinal.  Vin secretly believed that she enjoyed being close to him
.  Of course
, he didn't mind
that
at all.  Over the years,
Vin
had been
pleased to learn that
there was truth in
both
explanations
.

As he sat there, Vin heard the captain announce the change
in the
weather to the passengers
and crew
waiting anxiously below.  He could almost feel the
tension break as
relief
washed over the passengers
when they found out that the sea
had
finally calmed down and the ride would not be as rough as
they
had
anticipated.  Thankfully, the captain ordered everyone except a few of his officers and deck crew to remain where they were because the waters were still
dangerous
, and he would not risk losing anyone after coming this far.
  Therefore, no one would be coming by to disturb him while he tried to help C
a
eli. 
H
e
decided to
wait a little longer before seeking Salma's aid.

C
a
eli
remained
still
for about
ten
minutes
longer
and then stirred in Vin's arms.  She suddenly stopped shivering. 

"
Where are we?"  She asked
quietly
.

"
Oh
C
a
eli
, thank goodness! 
We
're on
a
Coast Guard
ship. 
You're safe. 
Everything's ok. 
Are you
all right
?
"
  Vin was
relieved
, thinking she
had
improv
ed
. 
C
a
eli
sat up and
leaned
away from him. 
L
ooking down at her lap
and placing a hand on her stomach
,
she
answered him softly.

"
No,
Vin.  It'
s not ok, not yet.
"
 
When s
he slowly raised her eyes to look at him
,
V
in was finally able to see t
he
problem
.

He did not see
his wife's
soft,
loving
, brown eyes
that
he knew so well.  In their place,
for
only a moment
,
Vin
saw dark, blue orbs that gave the impression of vastness and power. 

"What do you mean
it's not ok
?"
  Vin asked.

"
I was exhausted and
did
not finish channeling off all of the energy before you pulled me up.  I
wasn't able to
let you know.  I'm sorry. 
I didn't know my limits
, and it
became
too much for me.  The force was tremendous.  I had no idea...  I
have been trying, but i
t has taken everything that I can muster to
steady myself
long
enough to
talk to you.
"

As
she explained, Vin could see in her eyes that C
a
eli was
struggling
against that energy rampant inside of her
, maintaining only
a modicum of control.

"
What can I do
, C
a
eli?  Do you need me to siphon off the
rest of the
energy? 
Take my hand, and
I
will
do that for you.  I'm fully recovered
thanks to
all the energy you supplied
through the
earlier
trans
fers," Vin offered.