Seal of Fate

by Fleur Smith

  He’d played his hand, made a mistake, and now he had to fix it. Otherwise John would probably throw him off their inflatable boat for his failure.

  WHEN MARIELY ran from him, Paddy wanted to follow her.

  He wanted to make sure she was safe.

  Only, he couldn’t get past the look in her eyes and the fear in her voice before she’d rushed away.

  After everything they’d been through, he thought she would understand why he’d acted the way he had. He’d thought she would stop and listen. He certainly hadn’t expected her to blame him for the attack by the steward. Sure he had spent some time drinking with Wilfred, but how was he to know the man was deranged? There was no way he could have known the other man could possibly guess what she was?

  That thought drove him into action—Wilfred might have left, but there was still a risk that he’d return to find Mariely. If that happened, she would be defenceless. He had to do something.

  But she had left with her friend and could be anywhere on the ship.

  Or at least, anywhere in third class.

  Barely minutes after the two women disappeared below deck, Paddy raced after them. He was determined to keep Mariely safe, even if she didn’t want that.

  He would ensure she was safe, whatever the cost.

  MARIELY AND Maggie went down the stairs as fast as their skirts would allow.

  Mariely kept her seal skin wrapped tight against her chest as she ran—unwilling to risk it slipping out or getting damaged

  “I have to get to my boys,” Maggie said. “I need to make sure they’re okay.”

  Mariely nodded. “Show me the way.”

  Maggie dragged her off the stairs at E-Deck and headed toward the front of the ship.

  As they ran, Mariely kept glancing back over her shoulder to watch for Paddy.

  When they reached cabin E102, Maggie knocked on the door. “Albert, open up sweetheart, it’s your mammy.”

  Mariely pressed herself against the wall. Her heart thumped at the idea of being caught. She only hoped Paddy and his friend would go to F-Deck and miss them.

  The door cracked open and a little face glanced through the gap.

  Mariely was going to take refuge inside the room but Maggie put a stop to that. “Get your brothers up, we need to go.”

  “Go where, Mammy?”

  “Just listen to me please.”

  The little boy looked at her for a moment and then nodded. He disappeared into the cabin and Mariely could hear him gently coaxing his brothers awake. Maggie headed into the room and returned with her youngest against her chest. “We need to get off the Titanic,” she said to Mariely when she came back out.

  “How are we going to do that? We’re in the middle of the ocean.” Mariely had her seal skin back—still safely tucked under her arm—but that would only save her and only if she could get close enough to the water to change without anyone spotting her.

  She glanced around as she asked the question. The ship was listing to the right, but that wasn’t the cause of her concern.

  “They’re going to launch lifeboats soon. We need to go.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I was trying to tell you earlier, but sometimes I get these visions. I don’t know where they’re from, but I like to think its God guiding me through dangerous times. I saw my husband’s accident an hour before he passed. If I had been nearer to him, I might have been able to save him.”

  “And your visions are saying to go to the lifeboats?”

  “They’ll start filling them when the new day starts, but . . .” she trailed off with a frown.

  “But what?”

  “We need to get going,” Maggie said, changing the subject. “Are you boys ready?” She lined up the older four boys in front of her and kept her youngest in her arms. “Stay with me now.”

  “Maggie, I—” Mariely cut off when a familiar figure came out of the elevators. Wilfred, his uniform crumpled and his face set in determination. “We need to go!”

  The weapon Wilfred had earlier was still in his hand, but because he could lift it or aim it at the pair, Mariely ducked out of the way and shooed the older boys along with a warning to run.

  After sending the boys ahead of her, Mariely moved around to put herself between Wilfred and Maggie. The last thing Mariely wanted was for Maggie or any of her children to be hurt because of her. She’d dragged Maggie into her world. It might have been Paddy’s fault that Wilfred was after her, but she could at least save Maggie and her boys.

  As the desire to ensure their safety built within her, Mariely’s heart sped and her body shook with adrenaline.

  “Run!” she shouted at Maggie before throwing herself in the direction of Wilfred to try to fight him off and give Maggie’s family a chance to escape to the boat deck.

  She collided with him, hitting his stomach hard enough to knock him off balance and knock the wind out of him. It didn’t take Wilfred long to get the upper hand.

  He slammed his hand over Mariely’s mouth and pulled her backward. She dropped her seal skin as he dragged her away.

  The last thing Mariely saw as the door closed was Maggie’s frown before she followed her boys to freedom.

  Chapter Nine

  PADDY PACED along the deck as he tried to figure out where Mary and Maggie might have gone. He’d already checked the room he’d shared with his wife, but they weren’t there. Then he’d followed the procession of curious people exiting their rooms to check what might be happening. There was a calm among the people that was in stark contrast to his own churning stomach and pounding heart.

  Once he’d reached the boat deck, his panic spiked.

  She could be anywhere on the ship and he wouldn’t be able to find her. Unless of course she was already dead. He paced along the boat deck again. Why had he let his old habits sneak back in? His frustration at seeing the constant distaste in Mary’s eyes had boiled over. When the two of them had been on the farm he inherited from his parents, he had been able to avoid the worst of his habits. He’d spent the daylight hours working the field and the night at Mary’s side. There had been things to keep him occupied and out of trouble and a desire to be the man Mary deserved.

  On the ship, there had been none of that. No barrier to buffer his heart against the heat of Mary’s hatred. No escape from the unrelenting guilt. And now she was in danger and his guilt grew exponentially. She was only on the ship because of him and his decisions. If he’d just walked away the first time he’d seen her, she would probably still be safe with her parents.

  As he paced back and forth, a few more people surfaced from below decks and stewards handed out life jackets. There was a strange quiet that settled over everyone and the more that stillness permeated the air, the more Paddy’s discomfort grew.

  Each new person that came onto the deck drew Paddy’s gaze as he searched for his wife. He feared that if he headed back to their cabin, he might miss her if she came above deck. More than that, he worried she might have left the ship entirely. Or worse. The fear paralysed him and pinned him in place—not even able to pace any longer.

  An announcement was made that they would be loading the lifeboats and even this announcement didn’t inspire panic in anyone else. He had no idea what the time was, but at least half an hour must have passed since his wife had rushed away.

  It was as he was trying to steel himself into action again that he spotted her. Not Mary, but her friend Maggie. She emerged from the stairs with a young boy clutched to her chest and four boys clinging to her skirt. Unlike their fellow passengers, their eyes were wide and faces white. Unlike everyone else around, they looked genuinely terrified.

  Paddy could only imagine what they might have seen to wear that expression and that thought—combined with Mary’s absence—was almost enough to drive him to his knees. Instead, he found a path through the milling crowd to try to get to Maggie’s side.

  As he moved, he worried that perhaps he would frighten her away if she ca
ught sight of him. He skirted around the crowd to hide amongst the people and avoid being seen.

  Once he had no other choice but to announce his presence, he stepped in front of Maggie.

  “Where’s my wife?”

  Maggie blinked at him before frowning and giving a small headshake that seemed to indicate the worst. “I’m sorry.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Where is she?”

  “Your friend took her. She attacked him, to save my boys, and I didn’t see more.”

  “He ain’t my friend. I never wanted her to get hurt because of me.” His heart raced faster. “I have to find her.”

  “I fear it might be too late.”

  “I won’t believe that until I see proof that she’s gone. Where did ya see her last?”

  “E-Deck. Near cabin E102. That man dragged her away, took her into crew quarters and I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Don’t ya have some sort of thing where ya can see what’s happening?” He might not have understood it, but he would take any help that might save Mary. He would say goodbye to her forever, so long as he knew she was safe first.

  “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t control what I’m told and what I’m not.”

  “Please, you have to help me,” he begged.

  “I can’t do more than I have,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I need to keep my boys safe.”

  The denial was like a punch to his stomach, but he needed to move if he wanted to have any hope of saving his wife. “I have to find Mary.”

  She nodded and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Good luck.”

  Certain it was already too late, but not willing to give up while there was any hope, he rushed to the stairs and headed down. As he hit the staircase, he noticed the ship was no longer stable. Instead it was resting on an angle—forward and listing to port.

  A sinking feeling filled his stomach. He worried he might not see Mary alive again.

  “DON’T MOVE,” Wilfred whispered in Mariely’s ear.

  Her body shook with fear as he dragged her through the crew quarters on E-Deck. A few crew members who had been asleep in the cabin roused at his whisper.

  Before Mariely could beg for help, Wilfred tightened his hold on her mouth and said, “I caught this one trying to break in to the crew quarters. She probably thought you’d be on deck because of the accident.”

  Mariely tried to fight her way free of him hold to scream for help, but stopped fighting as the crew members asked questions about the accident, and why the ship was stopped.

  “I think you need to get up onto deck to find out more,” Wilfred told them to quieten their questions. “Wake up everyone you can on your way. I’ll deal with our little cat burglar.”

  Mariely kicked her legs back to try to get him to let her go, but none of her strikes hit.

  After the other men had left, Wilfred pushed Mariely away from him and blocked her exit.

  “This would have been far easier on the deck.” He drew his gun out of his holster.

  Her breath left her body as it occurred to her what would have been easier, and why. “Wait,” she begged. “Wait, please.”

  Ignoring her pleas, he cocked the gun and lifted it.

  “How are you going to explain what happens here?” Each word was a rush as she tried to reason with him before he could fire his weapon. “Someone is going to investigate a gunshot and then what will you do?”

  The man faltered, ever so slightly, and that small shift in his behaviour was enough for Mariely to see the humanity in him. He was perhaps young enough to be fearful of the consequences of his actions.

  “Please, let me go, I promise I won’t do anything. I’ll disappear and you’ll never hear from me again.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about. Your kind infects the earth and will destroy everything if left unchecked.”

  “My kind? Selkies?”

  “All of you creatures posing as humans when you’re not.”

  “I’ve never hurt anyone. If anything, I’ve been hurt by humans.”

  The young man shook his head, as though it was a barrier to her words. “Then you won’t complain about ending your suffering.” He lifted the gun again.

  “Think about the noise.” Once again, she rushed the words to try to appeal to his own sense of self-preservation. “Someone will come and investigate. How will you explain it if you’ve shot me?”

  His gun-wielding arm faltered. “I will say you attacked me.”

  Mariely kept trying to think on her feet. She just needed to get him to move her so she would have a chance of escape. “Look at the difference in our sizes, do you really expect anyone will believe you felt afraid of me?”

  “People will believe what I tell them. You won’t be around to dispute any facts.”

  Before she could argue further, water crept under the door and spilled around their feet.

  “What on earth?” Wilfred exclaimed as the water surrounding him.

  While he was distracted, Mariely pushed him over and rushed past him, heading for the exit. She scrambled around the small cabin and reached for the door.

  A wave of water, as high as her knees washed into the room, carrying debris from the kitchen. Her footing slipped in the wake of the water and she fell onto her knees. Wilfred reached for her ankle through the water, slamming her onto the floor before dragging her backward into the room. She kicked at his arm with her free leg as she gripped the door and tried to pull herself to freedom.

  Her foot slipped past his arm and connected with his head.

  The moment his fingers released her ankle, she heaved herself forward and out of the room.

  She fought her way against the water to get back to her feet.

  Once she was upright, she took a step without lifting her head and slammed into a hard chest.

  Chapter Ten

  PADDY STRUGGLED HIS way down to E-Deck. He fought against a flow of people on the stairs. It seemed more people had roused and were trying to get to the top deck. The elevator was still running, for now, but it seemed people, wanting to discover more information, were unwilling to wait.

  When he reached the deck, the water filled the space and the list to port was more pronounced than ever. He crept along the hallways, pushing his way through the water as he tried to find the cabin number Maggie had given him. In the corridor in front of her cabin, he caught sight of something that caused him to panic.

  The water all around him was icy cold and his feet were already protesting. Pinpricks ran up his calves as he struggled through the water. As much as he wanted to scream Mary’s name, he didn’t want to alert Wilfred to his presence in case that made him retaliate against Mary. If she was still alive.

  A slight shimmer just beneath the surface of the water near the door caught his attention.

  Mariely’s seal skin.

  There was no way she would have left that behind unless she was under attack.

  After grabbing the wrap, he clenched his jaw and fought his way through the flowing water to in the direction of a door marked for crew only. Just as he was about to open it, the door flew open and someone collided with him.

  A small gasp left the lips of the woman who’d run into him. He dropped his gaze to meet hers and when he locked eyes with her, his heart practically leapt from his chest as he met the onyx irises he’d been hoping to see.

  “Mariely,” he whispered her real name in relief.

  Her eyes went wide and a tiny exclamation left her. She half-turned away from him before he grabbed her shoulder to stop her. “Come with me, I’ll help ya get out of here.”

  “Leave me alone,” she begged.

  “Please, let me help ya.” He held out her skin for her.

  She glanced back at him. “Where did you find that?”

  “Near where ya dropped it I guess. Now, where’s Wilfred?”

  At the mention of the other man, Mary flinched away.

  “It don’t matter. We need to g
et out of here before he finds ya again.”

  “You really weren’t part of his attack?”

  He ran his hand down her arm until he clutched her hand. “I really wasn’t. He used me to get to ya.”

  “Let’s go.” She clutched his hand in return, and used it to drag him toward the stairwell.

  Before they reached it, he twisted her around to go down instead of up.

  “What are you doing? We need to get to the boat deck,” she said.

  “They’re already releasing the boats, and there won’t be enough for everyone. There’s another way for you to escape.” He pulled her down to the next level despite the rising water level. “We’ll find somewhere for ya to change and then ya can get away.”

  She stopped halfway down the stairs. “But that will be a death sentence for you.”

  He cupped her face. “I owe ya this much for the years ya’ve been with me.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then pulled her down the stairs again.

  “There must be another way,” she said even as she followed him along.

  “I’ve seen the number of people trying to get onto a boat, and the number of boats. There ain’t no other way.”

  He led her down a deck and headed aft to get away from the bulk of the water. They arrived back at the cabin they’d been assigned on F-Deck.

  Mary hesitated when he opened the door, and he wondered whether she thought it was a trap.

  “Please, Mariely,” he said, using her real name again, this time in a deliberate attempt to demonstrate his respect for her past and desire to help her back to that other world. “This is the only way I know to give ya a chance to survive.”

  After a long glance at him, she nodded and entered the cabin with her seal skin. Paddy shut the door behind her. He rested his hand on the door as he wondered about the process that was going on behind the door. He didn’t want to invade her privacy though—he was already letting her go in his mind and wanted to give her whatever peace he could.