wrath of the Sea Queen (76 page)

"Yes, but I have no idea how bad.
 
Hopefully,
once
we get to Apela's hotel, C
a
eli can rest
. 
It will do her good. 
She hasn't slept well in several days. 
I
will
talk
to her
then
and find out the rest of the details
.  Maybe Salma was right about the prolonged exposure, but I don't think so. 
It feels different.  I get the strangest feeling when I touch her stomach…but you don't need to hear about that. 
I
'
m
worried
about her
.
  I
wi
ll feel better once Salma has a chance to find out what's wrong with her.
"

"
Well, Salma's the right
person to ask
. 
In fact, s
he
woul
d be insulted if you didn't,
"
Ben offered with a brief laugh in an attempt to ease Vin's
anxiety
.  Ben was watching Apela and Max as he spoke.  Max
had fallen
asleep again and was resting soundly.  Whatever
woke
him did not keep him up.

"
Ben, I was wondering…
"
  Vin started, but left the thought unfinished as he heard
C
a
eli
call him
.

"
Vin,
I need you
!
"

C
a
eli
's
pain-filled
voice in his mind
interrupted whatever Vin was going to ask
.  H
e rushed off without another word.  Ben did not hear
the
silent
c
all
, but he
surmised that
the abrupt departure
accompanied by a brief gust of wind
had to be
related to
C
a
eli.  She was the only thing that moved Vin in
such a
manner.

Vin
had no trouble locating her using their link and
was at
C
a
eli's
side within heartbeats of
the
call.  His eyes were full of concern the minute he saw
C
a
eli
on the floor.  H
is heart lurched
when he saw Salma kneeling beside her, knowing that Salma
had gone
to help someone in great pain.  Vin was s
hocked
that it turned out to be C
a
eli.  Why hadn't he heard her cry along with Salma and Max? 
Salma had even asked him as much.  She had known it was C
a
eli before she walked off to help.  Here
C
a
eli
was suffering unimaginable pain,
and he should have been able to pick up on it
.
  Why had he heard her this time and not the last?

"
Vin, stay with her.  Don't try to move her or do anything else until I get back.  I
wi
ll only be gone a few minutes,
"
Salma said.

She
ducked out
quickly to avoid questions she could not and did not want to answer.  Vin would do exactly what she asked.  When the matter was
this
serious, and particularly because it involved C
a
eli, Salma
trusted
that Vin would listen to her.

When they were alone, Vin tried to comfort C
a
eli and find out what was
happening
.

"
C
a
eli,
H
oney, I'm here.
"
  Vin
dropped to
his knees, sitting directly in front of her. 

"
Vin
…
"
  C
a
eli was immediately glad
that
Salma
had made her
call him
. 
Having
Vin
here
ma
d
e
C
a
eli feel
better
.  She tentatively reached out
a
trembling
hand toward him.

He noticed the gesture and carefully clasped her hand in his own.

"
I'm right here.  W
hat
can I do
?
"
 
Vin
placed his other hand lightly on C
a
eli's shoulder, careful not to jostle her in any way, not wanting to cause
her
any
additional pain. 

"
I
t hurts
,
"
she answered through tears of pain as another spasm racked her body
, nearly knocking her over
.

"
I know
,
Honey
.  Hold on to me. 
It will pass.  You'll be all right.  I've got you.
"

"Vin, I have to tell you…,"
C
a
eli
started, but was interrupted by another round of pain.  The small relief provided by the water was already wearing off, and the pain was increasing.

"Ssh.  Don't try to talk,
C
a
eli
. 
Whatever it is, i
t can wait.
  Just be still.  Wait for Salma.
"

"No, I need to
tell
…o
wwww
, it hurts!
  Make it stop!
  Please make it stop!
" 
C
a
eli
begged as she
fell forward onto Vin's lap, trembling so hard that it was all he could do to prevent her from sliding
down
to the floor.

"
I'm sorry.  I would give anything to be able to
fix this
for you.  I don't know how
;
but Salma will be right back. 
H
ang on.  Please,
C
a
eli
.  Just hang on a little longer.
  You're going to be better soon.
  I promise.
"
  Unmistakable f
ear
caused
Vin's voice
to crack.

He placed his hand on
C
a
eli's
forehead to find that she was burning up. 
As soon as
she stopped trembling and the current spasms passed,
Vin got up
and
grabbed a handful of paper towels, wetting them in the cold water of the faucet.  He brought the towels over and dabbed them softly across her brow. 
C
a
eli's
tears
were wiped away
as he ran the wet towels along
her
flushed cheeks.  Vin thought the water was helping, but C
a
eli suddenly
began
heaving the purely liquid contents of her stomach into a small trashcan he quickly retrieved from beneath the towel dispenser.  Vin helped her wash up when the bout finally ended.

C
a
eli could barely hold herself upright. 
She was exhaust
ed
. 
She could
n
o
t remember ever feeling so weak.  Vin got up a second time and returned with a cup of water.  C
a
eli sipped at the drink, but had to force her throat to work properly.  With Vin's help, she was finally able to get the water down.  Vin placed wet paper towels on the back of her neck to help calm her queasiness.  After a few
more
minutes,
the pain eased somewhat and
C
a
eli
finally began to pull herself together again.

"
Better?"

"
S
ome.
  Thanks.
"

"
C
a
eli, what happened?
 
I thought the medicine
Salma gave you
at the hotel
was supposed to
prevent this
from getting worse
,
"
Vin asked when a bit of clarity return
ed
to her eyes a
fter
the most recent spasm
subsided
.
  He couldn't believe
that
she had
taken such a turn for the
worse
.  A
nd not just a little
turn
.  She was
drastically
worse.