Emilie & the Hollow World (17 page)

Emilie hurried to the doorway, taking down the lamp hanging near it. Even if it was an illusion, some of the merpeople might not be willing to test it too quickly. The young Cirathi didn't all seem to understand Menaen, but they saw what Emilie was doing and ran to collect the other lamps in the room. As they returned to the window, Dr. Marlende hefted the lamp he was holding, eyeing the nomads running across the compound. As they neared the base of the tower, he flung the lamp out the window.

As it plunged toward the ground, white fire burst out of it. Emilie winced away, seeing stars before her eyes. She blinked hard, trying to see what had happened. The lamp had hit the ground, still blazing, if not quite as brightly. The nomads scattered and retreated in confusion. But Emilie couldn't feel any heat from the fire, and knew in a moment or so the nomads would realize it too. Dr. Marlende said, “Now we'll try this on our antagonists in the stairwell, though I fear they'll realize it's illusory.”

He started toward the doorway, but Emilie stopped, caught by the view out the opposite window.

The airship was above the tower now, the balloon huge above the smaller suspended cabin, trying to angle down to reach the window. Emilie saw Seth hanging out the open cabin door, holding a bundle of rope under his arm. Behind her, a deep voice said, “Tell them to drop a harness, this one can't climb.”

Emilie glanced back. Without the lamps, the room was very dark, lit only by the dim light coming through the windows. After a moment, she realized the speaker was the Cirathi man who was helping Charter. “I can make it, Beinar,” Charter said through gritted teeth.

“Of course you'll make it,” Beinar said, as he helped Charter toward the window. He sounded annoyed that there was any doubt at all.

Emilie was glad Beinar was confident; it made it a little easier to ignore the tight panic in her chest. She leaned out, shouting up at the airship, “We need a harness; Charter's got a wounded arm!”

Seth waved at her and ducked back inside. A moment later, a chain ladder with wooden rungs dropped out of the airship, dangling just out of reach. It was followed by a sturdy rope with a bundle of leather straps on the end, presumably the harness. The airship angled closer, and Emilie saw the propellers at the back of the cabin starting and stopping as it maneuvered toward the tower. She stretched, reaching for the ladder. It swung toward her; she made a wild grab and caught hold of a rung.

Charter rasped, “Careful, if the ship moves up, it'll jerk you right out!”

“Right,” Emilie muttered, bracing herself against the side of the window as she hauled at the heavy ladder. The airship seemed lighter than air, but it was far too heavy for her to anchor by herself.

A Cirathi girl hurried to help her, their combined strength dragging the heavy ladder up to the sill. Then Beinar propped Charter against the wall, and took the ladder, pulling it into the room. Holding on to it, he stretched out a long arm and snagged the harness.

Emilie realized Beinar couldn't help Charter into the harness and hold the ladder at the same time. She motioned frantically to the Cirathi girl that she was about to let go. The girl nodded and called out to the others in her own language. Two ran back from the doorway to grab onto the ladder, and Emilie went to help Charter.

Between the two of them, with Beinar giving quick instructions, they got Charter's arms through the loops and Emilie quickly buckled the straps. In the dim light, Charter's face was pinched with pain, and he was sweating and shaking with the effort of standing.

Beinar took one hand off the ladder to tug on the straps, said, “Good,” then hauled Charter around and shoved him out the window.

Emilie couldn't help a strangled noise of protest, though she knew this was what they had to do. Charter hung in midair for only a moment, before the ropes were hauled rapidly upward. They must have a winch, Emilie thought irrelevantly, sticking her head out the window to watch.

Mikel and Seth caught Charter as he reached the walkway and hauled him inside, then Seth reappeared, signaling wildly. He shouted, “Send the rest up!”

Emilie pulled back in, got a scrape on the cheek from the swaying ladder, and reported, “He says to come on up!”

Beinar spoke in Cirathi, and one of the girls started up the ladder, climbing quickly and agilely. As the next one started to climb, Emilie ran to the doorway. From the landing she could see bright white light glowing up the stairwell. She couldn't hear fighting anymore, though she could hear worried voices speaking in Cirathi. She called down, “Dr. Marlende, Rani, we have to go!”

She heard Rani's voice give an order, and several Cirathi charged up the stairs. Emilie pointed urgently toward the ladder, and Beinar called to them. As one of the newcomers took over helping to brace the ladder, the last young Cirathi started up.

Daniel bounded up the stairs next, breathing hard. His clothes smelled of male sweat, musky, something that wasn't nearly as unpleasant as Emilie thought it should be. He said, “Dr. Marlende's made a fire barrier across the stairs, making them think we've set the place alight. But he has to be there to maintain it.”

“Can you do a charm-” Emilie began.

He shook his head, interrupting, “There's no way they would believe this room is empty, and they'll be able to hear us-”

“To make them think there's a door here?” Emilie finished, determined to be heard. “It's dark, and the way this doorway is angled-”

“Yes!” He grabbed her shoulders, startling her so badly she almost slapped him. “Not a door, we can't do that, but another fire barrier! It might work, just long enough.”

Daniel plunged down the stairs again, calling to Dr. Marlende, and Emilie waited tensely. After a moment, he reappeared again, with Rani and Dr. Marlende behind him.

Emilie stepped back into the room. The only Cirathi left were Beinar and one other man, anchoring the ladder. She hadn't heard any screaming or other commotion, so she hoped that meant no one had fallen.

Rani stopped, looking around the darkened room. She was breathing hard, and Emilie couldn't tell if she was wounded. She said something to Beinar in Cirathi, and nodded at his answer, then she squeezed Emilie's shoulder and started for the ladder. “We are almost there, Emilie.”

“Almost,” Emilie agreed, following her. She thought there was still plenty of time for everything to go hideously wrong.

At the window, Emilie leaned around Beinar to look down. Merpeople had gathered below, agitated, obviously trying to figure out what to do about the airship. Others had climbed to the top of the nearest tower, and one tossed a fishing spear at the cabin, though it fell short. “It's too high,” Beinar muttered to Emilie. “So far they haven't brought out any spear guns.”

“They are probably shooting at the Queen's people with them,” Rani said grimly. She spoke to the other Cirathi man, taking his place at the ladder. He started to climb.

Emilie watched anxiously. The merpeople on the other tower cast a few spears, calling out angrily, but the man climbed rapidly, all the weapons falling short. Emilie let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and looked back at Daniel and Dr. Marlende.

Daniel stood at the doorway, his head down in concentration, Dr. Marlende standing silently behind him. “Dr. Marlende can help him do the charm?” Emilie asked.

“He hopes he can. Daniel's magic is different, apparently,” Rani said, watching them worriedly. “Emilie, you climb now.”

“Oh.” Emilie had somehow managed to ignore the fact that she was going to have to climb the ladder too. Telling herself it wasn't as bad as climbing down the narrow tube into pitch darkness, she came around to grab the rungs and start the climb.

She found immediately that the big difference between this ladder and the one down through the island was that this one was horrifically mobile. It swayed, the chain links clicking, the wooden rungs creaking and turning under her hands. Keep going, keep going, Emilie chanted mentally. She looked down, saw the ground and the angry merpeople, and almost vomited. She looked up at the dark airship looming hugely above her and that was somehow worse. She forced herself to go on, ignoring the shouts from the merpeople on the other tower, refusing to look at them in case that somehow improved their aim or spurred them to throw hard enough to reach her.

When someone grabbed her arm she choked back a yelp, but it was Seth. He dragged her up and onto the airship's catwalk.

Emilie found herself clinging to the railing, the wind tearing at her hair, her legs trembling violently. She couldn't believe she had made it. And why weren't the others following her?

“Where are they?” Seth demanded. “What are they doing?”

Emilie shook her head. “They can't- They're blocking the room off with an illusion, but if the merpeople realize what it is-” She couldn't see the front of the tower from here, but the merpeople on the ground suddenly turned and ran around the curve of the walls. “Oh hell! Someone must have figured out the tower wasn't on fire-”

Then the ladder suddenly jerked as a figure climbed out the window. It was Dr. Marlende, followed closely by Beinar.

Emilie watched, gripping the slender railing. They were almost up to the airship when Daniel started to climb. He had his head turned, shouting back down to the window, as he climbed. Then suddenly the ladder came loose, swinging free.

Emilie gasped in horror, but an instant later she saw Rani was hanging onto the end. She pointed wordlessly, and Seth swore. He turned, leaned into the doorway to shout, “Up, lift her up!”

Dr. Marlende reached the catwalk, pulled himself up, then turned to reach for Beinar. Below, Daniel had stopped climbing to cling to the ladder as it swung wildly. Merpeople hung out the window of the tower now, casting spears. They came within a hairsbreadth of Rani and Daniel, but the ladder's motion confused their aim.

Beinar reached the top, but hung on to the strut of the railing, waiting for Daniel. The airship was lifting up, slowly and ponderously, and Daniel had started to climb again.

Seth and Dr. Marlende were looking down at Daniel and Rani, exhorting them to hurry; Emilie kept watching the merpeople, looking from the window to the roof of the nearby tower. It took us too long, she thought, holding them off, getting the airship over here. They've had time to- She saw the figures in the window make way, saw someone holding the long shape of one of the projectile weapons. She yelled, “Look out! Gun! There's a-”

Daniel was nearly to the catwalk, Rani just below him. Rani ducked down against the ladder, but Daniel looked wildly around. A bolt glanced off the ladder near his hand and he jerked away, lost his grip and hung by one hand. Beinar, holding on to the strut, stretched down to make a grab for him. And the next bolt struck Beinar in the neck.

Emilie froze, a sob of dismay caught in her throat, as he slumped forward. Dr. Marlende flung himself flat on the catwalk, reaching for him, but Beinar tumbled off and fell. Emilie looked down, unable to help herself, and saw his body strike the ground, far below now.

Rani scrambled up the ladder, reached Daniel and pulled him back up. Seth crouched down, and he and Dr. Marlende hauled Daniel up. Rani swung up after him. The airship was well above the towers now, turning away into the dark. Seth and the others dragged up the ladder, Dr. Marlende helped Daniel through the door. Then Rani caught Emilie's arm and pulled her inside.

The cabin was dark, lit only by the soft glow of small electric lights set under the windows. The floor under Emilie's feet was soft and oddly textured, like a cork mat. The Cirathi were silent with shock, standing numbly at the windows. They must have seen everything.

Rani drew the two nearest into a hug, and someone sobbed quietly. Emilie knew if she stood here another moment, she would burst into tears. She turned and started toward the bow of the cabin.

It was too dark to see much, but she made her way past a few boxes and bags of supplies, stumbled into a padded bench, then down a short corridor lined with wooden cabinets. It was very quiet, as though they weren't in motion at all. The only indication that this was a vehicle was the faint vibration traveling through the floor from the propellers at the rear of the cabin. It was very strange.

She came out into a small round room that was mostly window, the glass curving around to form a wide port looking out into the darkness. Two small side windows were propped open, allowing in a cool breath of air. There were more lights here, set low just above the consoles of knobs and dials. They were small and tilted down, to illuminate the controls but not dazzle the eyes of the operators.

Dr. Marlende stood at the small wheel, with Seth and Mikel. Daniel was crouched on the floor, his face buried in his hands.

Emilie rubbed her forehead, trying to collect her thoughts. She asked, “Do you know where the
Sovereign
is?”

Dr. Marlende said, kindly, “No, my dear, I was going to give Rani a moment to steady herself before I asked. Do you know?”

“Yes.” Emilie closed her eyes, recalling their position when they had arrived at the island yesterday. Yesterday? She thought in surprise. It feels like a week. “When we came up to the island, the Dark Wanderer was behind us. The Queen's fleet was toward the end of the island, off the starboard side, and Rani thought she saw the
Sovereign
there, so that should be...” Eyes still closed, she pointed.

“Ah, thank you, Emilie, that is exactly what I need to know.” Dr. Marlende turned the wheel, and made an adjustment to one of the knobs, and the floor tilted slightly under her feet.

Emilie nodded, pushing her hair back. It was saturated with sea salt and sweat, and felt like a dry tumbleweed perched on her head. “Is Charter going to be all right?”

“He should be,” Seth told her. “Cobbier took him back to the bunk room to tend his shoulder.”

That was good. Daniel was still on the floor. Emilie felt she had to do something about that. She crouched down in front of him, pulled at his wrists until he lowered his hands and looked at her. She could see his face in the instrument lights, and it was tear-streaked. She said, “It wasn't your fault.” It was everyone's fault; it was no one's fault. Blaming Daniel was as bad as blaming Beinar, for being brave, for being the one who tried to help all the others, for being the one Rani sent upstairs with the younger Cirathi, knowing that he would take care of them.