A New Fear (5 page)

She heard footsteps racing back and forth above her.

The ship pitched more violently. Nora braced herself against one wall, fighting to keep Nicholas’s trunk steady.

What is happening to us? Nora wondered. What is happening to us now?

“One minute the sea is calm—now this,” Nora heard a man yell. “It is not natural.”

“It is that woman!” another man yelled. “She has dark powers!”

The ship plunged. Nora was thrown against the door of her room. Nicholas’s trunk slammed into her.

Nicholas squealed in fright. Nora tried to comfort him. But her voice shook as she whispered to him, and her heart thudded against her ribs.

Nora heard footsteps racing down the corridor. “She brought this down on us!” a man shouted from outside the door.

“Yes!” another man shouted. “She controlled those rats. She had them kill Frank. She will kill us all if we let her.”

“I did not kill your friend,” Nora called through the door. “Please believe me!”

“Why should we believe her?” one of the men growled.

Nora pulled Nicholas’s trunk as far away from the door as she could. “I will keep you safe,” she promised him. “Do not worry. Mama will keep you safe.”

“Throw her overboard!” someone yelled.

Nora returned to the door and stood waiting for the men.

The key turned in the lock. The door flew open.

A man charged in and grabbed her by the waist. Nora fought wildly, scratching and kicking.

The man swore and hoisted her over one of his shoulders.

“Let me go!” Nora screamed. She twisted back and forth. Trying to break free. “I have to stay with my baby!”

The big man tightened his grip and hauled her out of the room and up some narrow stairs.

He shoved open the door leading to the deck. The wind caught it and tore it from its hinges. Nora screamed.

The rain pelted Nora as the man carried her outside. The wind stung her face. Waves rushed over the railing each time the ship lurched.

Nora could not stop shaking. How could she convince these men she was innocent?

The man stalked toward the railing. “Throw her over! Throw her over!” the other men chanted.

The man slid Nora off his shoulder. Her unsteady feet hit the deck. “Stop the storm!” the man yelled.

Nora staggered in the wind. He grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her tender skin.

“Stop the storm!” he yelled again.

Nora shook her head. “I cannot. You have to let me go back to my baby. Please!”

The sailors howled in fury. They rushed forward and hoisted her into the air.

She struggled as they carried her to the rail. “Stop! I have no magic!” Nora screamed. “I have no power over the storm!”

“Throw her overboard!” someone yelled into the wind.

The men lifted her higher.

They swung her over the railing.

The ocean churned beneath her.

Chapter 8

T
he ship lurched.

The men stumbled backward—away from the railing.

They released Nora. She felt herself falling.

Nora landed on the deck. Pain burst through her chest as the air was knocked out of her.

A powerful wave crashed over the railing. Nora heard men scream as the wave pulled them over. Gasping for breath, she struggled to her knees.

I must get to Nicholas. This ship cannot survive this storm. It will sink. It will sink to the bottom of the ocean. I cannot let it take Nicholas with it.

Nora felt the Fear amulet grow warm against her chest. She wrapped her fingers around it.

The bow of the ship lurched into the air. Straight up. Nora grabbed onto some rigging and wrapped it around her hands.

Men slid past her, clawing at the deck. They screamed in terror as they fell into the sea.

The bow plunged back into the water. Nora shook free of the rigging. She crawled to the stairs and tumbled halfway down.

Nora heard the wind scream. Water poured down the stairs. She hauled herself to her feet and braced a hand against the wall to keep her balance.

The amulet began to glow. Its strange blue light helped Nora find her way. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, icy water swirled above her ankles. “Nicholas!” she cried. “I’m coming!”

She struggled down the hallway and threw open the last door. The trunk had not been moved. And she could see Nicholas’s fists waving in the air.

“I am here!” she cried, lunging for the trunk.

A strong hand landed on her shoulder and stopped her.

Nora spun around. No one could keep her from Nicholas. No one.

“You must die!” the sailor yelled.

“No!” Nora shrieked.

She had to save Nicholas. She had to save her baby.

Chapter 9

S
he grabbed the man’s shirt.

She felt power rush through her body. She felt strong enough to fight every man on the ship—if that is what it took to save her son.

She lifted the man into the air. And hurled him against the wall with all her might.

Thunk!

A wooden clothes-peg burst through his chest.

Hot, sticky blood sprayed across Nora’s face.

The man howled in agony as he hung suspended from the peg.

“Look what she did to Samuel,” someone screamed.

Nora turned toward the voice.

Three men stared back at her.

“She
is
evil!” one of the men declared. “Pure evil.”

“That’s right! I am evil!” Nora screamed. “Stay back! Stay back or I will kill you as well.”

She stroked the amulet. Its heat flowed through her fingers.

The men hesitated. Nora could tell they were frightened. Frightened and angry.

“I have the power. I will use it. Run from me while you can!” She meant every word of her threat. She would kill them. She would kill them all to protect Nicholas.

Nora rushed at the men. “Run while you can!”

The men scrambled over one another as they bolted from the room.

Crack!

Nora heard the sharp sound above the storm.

Water began seeping through the walls of the cabin. The sides of the ship are splintering, Nora realized.

She rushed to Nicholas. The trunk was made of solid wood, but would it float? Or sink to the bottom of the sea?

She spotted a coiled rope on the floor. She snatched it up and tied one end securely around her small waist. She kissed the tips of her fingers, then pressed her fingers to her son’s cheek. “Keep safe.”

She closed the lid on the trunk and ran her hand over the finely polished wood grain. “Keep safe, my baby.”

The ship lurched and rolled. Water poured into the room faster and faster.

Nora wrapped the rope securely around the trunk.
Over and under. Knot. Knot. Around. Another knot. Beneath and over. Another knot.

The cold seawater circled her calves. The chest rose slowly with the rising level of water in the cabin. Nora tied another knot.

“We will be all right, Nicholas,” Nora murmured as the water crept higher and higher.

The wooden planks of the ship creaked and moaned.

Nora watched in horror as the planks buckled. They are not going to hold, she realized.

The planks caved in. A huge wave crashed down on Nora. It filled the cabin with water.

The icy saltwater surrounded her. It burned her mouth and nose. It stung her eyes.

Nora struggled to the hole in the cabin wall. She had to get out. She needed air. Her lungs burned.

She pulled herself through the hole, tugging Nicholas’s trunk behind her.

Then she swam as hard as she could. Up, up, up. She had to reach the surface.

The trunk bumped into her side, into her shoulder, against her head. Pain shot through her. Dots of light burst before her eyes.

Nora shot up to the surface. She sucked in a huge gulp of air.

The gale lashed at her unmercifully. It flung the trunk away from her—but the rope held.

Nora coughed and gagged. Her water-soaked clothes weighed her down.

She pulled the trunk back to her and clung to it. It
helped her stay afloat as the waves crashed around her.

Nora heard the men scream as they were thrown into the sea. They struggled to keep their heads above the churning water.

As Nora watched, the ship slowly sank beneath the water. Down, down, down.

Then the wind stopped.

The sea calmed.

The screams stopped.

What happened to the men? Nora thought. She searched the ocean around her for survivors.

But the dark waters had become as still as a glass mirror.

Nicholas’s trunk bobbed up and down. Nothing else stirred.

Not one of the men lived.

A deadly peace spread its cloak over them.

Nora felt exhausted. Every muscle and bone in her body ached.

I just want to sleep, she thought to herself. But I must not. I have to save Nicholas. I have to find the shore. I have to find safety.

She slipped off the trunk and into the cold water. With great effort, she began swimming, pulling the trunk behind her.

She tasted blood on her lips. Blood and salt. She did not know if the salt came from the water surrounding her … or from her own tears.

Nora’s arms grew heavy. She forced them over her head again and again.

Her legs began to cramp, but she continued to kick. How much farther? Where is the land?

Nora heard a mighty roar. She stopped swimming and clung to the trunk. She scanned the water.

Her eyes widened. Dark clouds circled over the sea. Lightning lit the sky.

The waves stirred, rising up from the depths of the ocean.

The storm had returned.

She scrambled onto the trunk. And waited.

Waited for death to claim her.

Roaring, the storm advanced. Huge waves tossed the trunk up and down. The ropes dug into Nora’s fingers as she hung on.

She was at the mercy of the storm.

And it had no mercy.

Chapter 10

N
ora felt the fine spray mist her face. She was tired, so terribly tired. She only wanted to sleep

Painfully, slowly, Nora opened her eyes.

She was no longer clinging to the trunk. She lay sprawled upon the ground. Sand stuck to her face and her bare legs.

She bolted upright.

Nicholas! Where was Nicholas?

Nora’s eyes darted around the beach. She spotted the trunk—and gasped.

The trunk had smashed into a huge rock. The lid was open.

Was Nicholas still inside? Was he hurt?

Nora scrambled to her feet and ran toward the trunk. She slipped on the wet sand and fell to her knees.

She forced herself to her feet and staggered forward.
With dread filling her heart, she gazed into the trunk.

Nicholas rested there.

Still.

So very still.

“Nicholas?” she whispered in a raspy voice.

He did not move.

Seagulls flew overhead, but even their screeching did not wake him.

He is dead, Nora thought dully. Nicholas is dead.

Tears welled in her eyes. She reached out and touched her baby’s cheek. “Nicholas?”

He scrunched his face and released a long wail. He was alive!