Seacliff

Chapter eighty-five: Soldier scholar

1940

"I see you've made yourself at home," Amaruq noted as he joined Aidan and Pauline for breakfast in the selkie kitchen. "I'm glad."

"Thank you," Aidan muttered and wiped breadcrumbs from his mouth.

Pauline poured the Chief a cup of orange juice.

He took a sip. "How was Boston?"

"Beautiful," Aidan mumbled. "Great city."

"I bet." Amaruq raised the cup to his lips, staring intently at Aidan over the rim of it. "Pauline, do you mind if I steal him for a minute?"

Aidan struggled not to choke on his sandwich.

"No, not at all," Pauline answered.

Amaruq walked up to the boy and, with an arm around his shoulders, steered him towards a shaded path. Aidan glanced behind him at his friend. She sported a reassuring smile which only made him more nervous.

"You are a very welcome new addition to our ranks," the Chief told him.

"Am I? How come?"

"We welcome all who join us, but someone like you, a scholar with combat experience... That's rare. And we could use that."

"...Use?" A knot clogged Aidan's throat.

"You mustn't worry. No one here is made to do anything against their will."

"No," Aidan began, then couldn't seem to stop, "but there must be rules, which must be enforced, which means there must be punishments for not respecting the rules, which – "

"Aidan." Amaruq blocked the boy's path. "Yes, there are rules and yes, we occasionally punish those who blatantly disregard them. But we do much more than that. We safeguard the existence of selkies as a species. We ensure that Mankind does not learn of our secret and their weapons aren't turned on us. This century has proved how vicious human cruelty can be. How insatiable their thirst for blood. A world war on selkies would exterminate us."

Lovely. The last thing Aidan had expected was selkie espionage in exchange for bed and board.

"So, what on earth would you have me do? I'm not a soldier. I'm a coward, I deserted. I ran away when it got too hard."

"You did the right thing. You couldn't have risked capture." Amaruq started walking again. "You can live the rest of your very long life here, in peace. Descending among humans on occasion, if you wish. There are no... dues to pay here. No taxes. All we ask is that you contribute your skills and knowledge to the colony."

A beat, so pronounced, that Aidan thought the Chief might be done talking. He wasn't.

"Or," Amaruq resumed, "you could go to, say... Harvard? Yale? Columbia? Whichever you prefer."

"In exchange for what?"

"In exchange for your service, so that others like you may go to Harvard, Yale or Columbia, if they so please."

"What sort of service?"

"Well, a recent example would be helping North Sea selkies avoid Nazi capture. Rescuing selkie prisoners of war, so they don't get experimented upon. Aiding the French resistance and helping Jews flee persecution."

Aidan frowned. "I thought you wanted to avoid discovery. Getting involved like this only increases the risk."

"Yes, well..." Amaruq crossed his hands behind his back. "We've been persecuted once before. We can't stand idly by and watch it happen. We do what we can. Did you know your grandfather was heavily involved in the Underground Railroad? Your father was only a child back then... Such a sweet little boy."

Aidan lowered his eyes when images from that accidental discovery of Amaruq and his da flashed through his brain.

"At any rate," Amaruq said, "I only wanted to let you know. It's entirely up to you. I'm told you like adventure."

"Yes, I do, I just... I can't say that I like danger."

"Ah, but what is adventure, without danger?"

Aidan hated to admit that the Chief had a point. "When do I need to tell you? If I want to... join your scheme or not."

Amaruq smiled. "As soon as you're ready. But, well... It won't be long before the Fall semester starts."

Aidan took the hint – don't dawdle. "Very well. I'll think about it and let you know. Thank you for the opportunity."

The men shook hands and Amaruq walked them back to Pauline's kitchen before moving along. Pauline's expression told Aidan that she knew exactly what they'd been talking about.

"So, what did the Chief want?" she asked, wiping her hands on a rag.

Aidan arched an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine – I know what he wanted," she admitted. "What did you tell him?"

He shrugged, picking up a tomato. He tossed it in the air and caught it with his other hand.

"Well?" Pauline prodded him.

"I told him I'd think about it."

She nodded. "Good, yeah. Not an easy decision."

"Pauline..."

"Yes?"

"Are you a spy?"

Aidan sat up straighter on the tree stump he'd claimed as his chair. Suddenly the smuggling, the resourcefulness, the stranglehold from the parade – it all made a different kind of sense now. And he remembered his little selkie friend.

"You are," he answered his own question. "I'll be damned, you're a selkie foot soldier."

Pauline chucked her rag at him. "You'll feel sorry you said that when you wind up under my command."

Aidan caught it with one hand. "Was it you who rescued me? Was it someone from this colony?"

Pauline's sole reply was a cryptic grin that would haunt Aidan's dreams for decades.