"I am Rika. Where I am is not important. What is important is your ability to help these people. You are untrained, but your ability is strong. If you want to help them, I can tell you how to do so."
"I don't understand. What ability? Do you mean the fact that I can hear your thoughts, like I can hear Salma and Vin?"
"No. I refer to your true talent. You have been using it most of your life, but perhaps you don't consciously realize it. Even as a young girl, your skills were strong. They have continued to grow, but we can talk about that later. Right now, you need to decide if you want my help."
"Please give me a few minutes to clear my head. I can't think straight," Caeli hesitated to accept any offer until she could pull her thoughts together. As it stood, anyone watching would have thought she was talking to herself.
"Don't take too long, Caeli. You are already on borrowed time."
Caeli looked around to get her bearings, realizing that her seatbelt had snapped on impact and she had been thrown from her seat. She seemed to be leaning against the plane's dashboard. Somehow, the cockpit door had been opened during the final descent and remained open. Caeli glanced through it to the passenger section of the plane. She needed to get up. As she tried to move, Caeli became aware of a weight pressing against her abdomen and a sharp pain in her left side, near her stomach. She glanced down to see Max cradled protectively in her arms, slightly off to her right side. Before she could perform any further self-assessments, a nearby movement caught Caeli's attention. One passenger was already up and moving rapidly toward where she sat.
"Caeli, I can't thank you enough. Is Max ok?" Apela checked his son to see if the boy was hurt. Miraculously, he seemed to be out cold but uninjured.
"He doesn't appear to be hurt, but I don't know for certain," Caeli answered.
"I don't know how to thank you. I don't have the words. You didn't have to do that," Apela repeated.
"I couldn't send him back. There wasn't time. He was so scared," she replied gently with a hint of her pain edging her voice.
Apela lifted Max out of her arms and turned to set the boy in the front seat. Then he looked back at Caeli.
"Are you all right? Can I help you up?" Apela offered.
"Give me a minute, please."
Caeli glanced at her aunt. Salma slumped forward in her seat, unmoving. As Caeli looked around at the rest of the cabin, a dull pain greeted the back of her head. Caeli took a moment to locate the source of her pain before trying to stand. She also noticed a small hole in the front of her shirt, directly over the area where her side was hurting. Caeli casually slipped her hand under her shirt and slid it inquisitively across her stomach. She was startled to feel some sort of metal rod about the size and shape of a crayon protruding from her belly. When she tugged lightly on it, Caeli's pain increased.
"Oh, no! Please don't let this have done any serious damage," Caeli thought immediately of the fragility of her presumed condition.
Whatever this object was, Caeli urgently wanted to remove it. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed hold of it, steadied her nerves, and yanked it out in a burst of excruciating pain; but the worst of it only lasted a moment. Caeli quickly pressed her hand over the wound to stop the blood flowing from the small hole. She needed something to cover the wound. Luckily, she glimpsed a first aid kit beneath the pilot's seat a few feet away. Quickly, while Apela's back was turned and no one else was watching, Caeli grabbed several adhesive bandages out of the kit and crudely patched up her injury. Thankfully, the shirt she wore was a darker shade of green than true jade, so the blood that seeped into the material only made it look wet. At a glance, no one would be able to tell that she was injured. It would keep until she could get Salma's help, if Salma was not hurt herself.
Not finding any other major injuries, Caeli reached up to take Apela's offered hand when he returned his attention to her. After a few moments of stumbling and a woozy start, Caeli got to her feet. She experienced a brief, sharp cramp in her stomach, but managed to steady herself. Caeli thanked Apela for his much needed assistance and left him to look after his son.
She made her way carefully to Salma, who still had not moved. Caeli gently and slowly leaned her aunt backward in her seat, being careful to ensure that moving her would not cause any harm. As Caeli tried to determine if Salma had sustained any serious injuries, Salma woke a bit disoriented.
"Are you hurting anywhere?" Caeli asked.
Salma indicated a pain in her left leg. After taking a look at the wound, Caeli helped Salma clean the large gash using supplies from Salma's medical kit in her carryon bag. Salma never went anywhere without it. As in the hospital on Friday, Salma once again thought she sensed a flow of energy from Caeli's hand into her leg, but she didn't say anything to Caeli this time. She made a mental note to mention it later when their situation was a little less stressful. Other than the cut on her leg, which, amazingly, had already started healing, Salma was only a little sore. Caeli shared what she knew about their predicament, forgetting to mention her own injury.
"Obviously, we crashed, but the plane appears to be relatively intact and bouncing precariously on the waves. As long as we don't spring another leak, like the one that drenched me, or get pulled down by these enormous waves, I think we should be ok for a while."
Both ladies looked around at the other passengers who were slowly beginning to assess their own situations. Salma wanted to get up and see if she could offer medical aid to any of them.
"Now that you are done fussing over me, I would like to check on everyone else; See if anyone needs real medical attention."
Caeli refused to let Salma get out of her seat.
"You should not be walking around on that leg," Caeli insisted.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine." Salma tried to convince her niece. After all, she was the doctor in the family, not Caeli.
"No. That's a nasty cut. I will go talk to people, and if I find someone that you can help, I will let you know." Caeli refused to let Salma risk further injury by stumbling around in the dark cabin.
As she moved down the short aisle, Caeli noticed the redhead leaning forward in his seat, directly behind Salma. He appeared to be stretching, but the movement looked awkward. Caeli didn't know why, but she got an uneasy feeling around the man. Nonetheless, she still offered him assistance. Somehow, it did not surprise her that he gave a less than polite refusal when she offered to let Salma look at the cut on his forearm. Caeli was grateful, though amazed, that in such a forceful crash, the injuries were comparatively minor.
When she reached the back of the plane, Caeli could see that one of the businessmen did not fare so well. A sense of sadness nearly overwhelmed her. This man would never wake. Caeli's stomach began to churn at the sight, and it was all she could do to keep herself from being sick. Caeli quickly spoke with another businessman and then turned away.
Finding no serious injuries for Salma to tend, Caeli took a few minutes to look at the plane's damaged wing. She could barely see the charred engine as waves continually sloshed over it, tugging it repeatedly below the surface. She noticed a dark line about halfway up the wing. It ran diagonally from the front of the wing to its rear side. It looked like a large crack. If the force of the water kept pulling against it, the wing might break off and disturb the small plane's precarious balance on the water's surface. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, Caeli headed back to her original seat.
As she returned up the aisle, Caeli noticed the wetness on the floor and suddenly remembered Rika's words. They had a problem. The plane was leaking. Caeli sat down, thinking about Rika's assertion that she had the ability to stop the water. For some reason, Caeli believed this unknown counselor. She supposed it wasn't a huge leap to believe that she might have a gift, and that it had been unconsciously present throughout her life. Caeli had always been fond of water and water-related activities. She even swam competitively for several years. Her coaches always marveled that someone of her petite height could prevail ov
er swimmers of much taller statures.
Now that she intentionally recalled specific details from her childhood, Caeli remembered that whenever she was sick or hurt, she craved water. Unlike most people who preferred to be soothed by juice or warm soup, water always seemed to have a more positive effect on Caeli; and then there was the rain. Whenever Caeli experienced a strong feeling of sadness, fear, or anger, the rain always seemed to match her mood. It was a private comfort to her, and she now realized she had been aware of it for many years. Sure, it rained at other times having absolutely nothing to do with her; but, Caeli always maintained a secret belief that there were a few special times when it rained solely for her. Finally, Caeli revisited the incident with Kent. He had drugged her, and she might have died if Salma had not stumbled across the solution. She used water to help flush the drug from Caeli's system. In retrospect, it made perfect sense that Caeli's special bloodline granted her access to the elemental gift of water.
"Now you understand. So, will you let them all drown when you have the ability to save them? Should Salma die because of one man's greed for her work? What about Max? He is just a child. Does he not deserve a chance at life? Their fate is in your hands. You can choose to save them. All you have to do is let me help you. Will you accept my help?" As if Rika had been listening in on her thoughts, Caeli heard her voice in her mind once again.
"I think the pilot is making good progress stopping the leak. All we have to do is wait for help to arrive. I'm not sure that we need any help beyond that. I think it would be best to wait." Caeli realized she could answer Rika silently, as she did with Vin and Salma.
She did not approve of the way Rika attempted to place the burden on her shoulders by suggesting that she alone was responsible for everyone on the plane.
"Help will not arrive soon enough. The craft's wing is damaged and will soon break away. What will you do when the plane tilts and water rapidly begins to fill the cabin? Everyone will drown before anyone can be rescued. Trust me. It is a horrible way to die. Do you really want to take that chance?"
Perhaps Rika was right. If Caeli could, shouldn't she at least try to help? Rika's offer seemed genuine. What harm could come from letting Rika show her how to actively use her gift? Yet, Caeli sensed more to the offer than what she was hearing, and she was wary. First, because Rika was able to speak to her in this manner. Who was this woman? Caeli did not believe that Rika to be one of the few angels Vin knew. Rika seemed different from the way Vin had described Michael and Raphael. For the time being, Caeli did not think it would be wise to accept her help or to ask what that help would cost.
She looked out at the huge waves. Thankfully, they did not threaten to drown the plane, not yet. The clouds above were dark and threatening. The pilot told them that he sent out a mayday call as the plane was going down. With any luck, the Coast Guard would arrive before the storm got any worse. The waiting game had begun.
Caeli peeked over at Salma across the aisle. Amazingly, Salma had dozed off. Max, sitting on his father's lap, was pointing at Caeli and whispering something into his dad's ear. Caeli smiled at Max as the man gently nudged the boy's hand down and mumbled something about fairy tales and how impolite it was to point.
"But papa, don't you see the light? It's Uncle and the Sea Queen!" The boy said excitedly this time as he pointed again.
Caeli turned, out of curiosity, to follow his gesture. Sure enough, she could see a pale, white light outside the window on her side of the plane. It seemed to float near her window a moment before it disappeared beneath the water. Caeli had a vague idea of what she saw and was more than curious about the arrival.
"See Papa! She is a Sea Goddess, like Mama. I was right. She talked to the Sea Queen earlier, and the Sea Queen talked to her. I heard them, Papa."
"Nonsense! That is just an old tale. Please stop pointing at her." Apela quietly chastised the boy and then turned to Caeli.
"I am sorry again, Caeli. He is young and doesn't mean any harm. It's an old bedtime story his mother used to tell him. It's actually quite sad, but Max is fascinated by the characters."
"It's ok. A gal could be called a lot worse."
Caeli smiled at the man and his boy and let the matter drop. She did not want to draw any more attention to that light than necessary. She was already concerned that Max had seen it, hoping it did not foretell things yet to come for the innocent, young boy. Caeli leaned back in her seat to relax and wait. She could feel the water about an inch deep around her feet. Rather than pulling her feet up as most of the other passengers were doing, she kicked off her shoes and let the coolness of the water seep into her. Caeli felt the water as if it were rushing through her, becoming a part of her. As she concentrated, she began to feel connected to it. An odd sensation came first, and then it became comforting, like a long-time friend. She didn't know how long she sat that way, but when she opened her eyes, Caeli knew that Rika told her the truth. Caeli could help, and she would not need Rika's assistance to do so.
She reached over and pulled a blanket out of a small compartment above Salma's head and placed it over her legs and feet as if she were cold. Caeli leaned back again, pretending to be asleep and immersing herself in the connection with the surrounding water. It called to her. From what Vin told her about his control of the wind, Caeli attempted to perform a similar feat with the water inside the plane.
Somehow, now, when she needed it most, Caeli found the active link to her elemental gift, and it responded to her need. The flow of water leaking down from the ceiling and slowly filling the plane suddenly stopped, held at bay by a barrier that Caeli managed to create using the water itself. After about thirty minutes, Caeli began to feel a drain on her strength as she continued to use her new skill to maintain that barrier. The continuous effort was greatly tiring her.
Nonetheless, Caeli was mesmerized by the discovery of her new ability. She understood that it had always been a part of her, even as a very young girl. Caeli turned to glance out at the water surrounding the plane, placing her hand against the window as if she could reach out and touch its very soul. The thought intrigued her. A hand on her shoulder jolted her out of the trance-like revelry. Salma was awake and leaning toward her with concern on her face.
"Is something wrong? You looked like you might be ready to go for a swim." Salma studied her niece, waiting for an answer.
Caeli 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.
Caeli shook her head negatively, puzzled at the question.
"If 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 Caeli to realize that Salma was offering her what little bit of support she could muster through her own fear. Caeli 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, Caeli'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 so long had exhausted her. She could barely move, much less stand. Caeli fell back into her seat, lightheaded and nauseous.
"You look very pale. Are you still feeling sick?" Salma asked, more worried about Caeli now than she had been before. Her condition seemed to be rapidly deteriorating.
Apela noticed Caeli's struggle as well and helped her to her feet.
"Is everything ok? Are you hurt?" His concern for Caeli was genuine, and she appreciated his kindness.
"Thanks, I'm fine; a little tired," Caeli waved him off politely, wishing Vin could be there instead. Vin always made her feel better.
Once
Apela left, Caeli 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." Caeli 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. The plane shifted drastically to one side and then resettled. An instant round of chatter issued forth from the pilot and co-pilot. The pilot figured out what happened and relayed it out loud. He spotted enough of the damaged wing to see that the crack Caeli noticed earlier finally gave 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. The 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, Caeli tried to think of anything that might help. She still stood barefoot in the aisle. The dampness of the floor against her feet chilled her and a strange sensation tugged at her.
Wrath of the Sea Queen Page 9