Emilie & the Hollow World (18 page)

Daniel shook his head mutely, and Emilie felt a flash of anger. If she could take this without breaking down, he could damn well take it too. “We don't have time to coddle you,” she said roughly. “We need you. Now get up, wipe your face, and do your duty.”

Daniel blinked, then glared at her in outrage. He pulled away from her and stood up. Emilie got to her feet.

Seth and Mikel were staring at her, startled, while Dr. Marlende's attention was studiously on the controls. Daniel turned away, folding his arms and gazing grimly out the port.

Rani stepped through into the cabin then. “We are heading for the
Sovereign
?” she asked. Her voice sounded a little raspy, as if she had been crying. She dropped a comforting arm around Emilie's shoulders, and Emilie leaned against her solid warmth.

“Yes, Emilie's given us the last position you noted for it,” Dr. Marlende told her. He frowned down at a dial. “We should be passing over the outer barrier now.”

Emilie heard the distant roar of falling water; they must be climbing out of the canyon. I'm flying, she thought suddenly. Another thing she had never expected to do. Maybe I'll have time to enjoy it later. “How will we contact them? If the Queen didn't take any more hostages, maybe they can just run away from her.”

Dr. Marlende nodded to Seth. “Try to raise them on the wireless.” Seth turned, but Daniel said quietly, “I'll do it, sir.” He moved to a cabinet on the far side of the cabin, opening it to reveal a small wireless set.

Seth didn't comment, but exchanged a look with Mikel, and Emilie thought they were both relieved. Daniel adjusted some dials, and the wireless began to hum. He started to tap on the telegraph bar.

To Rani and Emilie, Dr. Marlende explained, “The concentration of aether in the air makes it difficult to get through over long distances, but at this range we should be able to reach them.” He added, with a slight edge to his voice, “I assume Lord Ivers has returned to the surface by now, which is unfortunate. It would perhaps be more satisfying to deal with him here, out of reach of the Menaen authorities.”

“Lord Engal probably thinks so too,” Emilie said. “Lord Ivers kept sending men to shoot at him.”

“I had no idea the philosophical community had degenerated into internecine violence, but apparently it has,” Dr. Marlende muttered. He craned his neck, looking out the port. “Ah, there's the Queen's fleet.”

Emilie and Rani went to the side to look out. Below them in the darkness were hundreds of little flickering lights, illuminating the large oblong shapes of the big barges, and the smaller darting rafts and boats. In the faint light around the smaller craft, Emilie caught glimpses of waves and a sandy beach. “They're going ashore there.”

“Yes, Ise was right,” Rani said thoughtfully. “They are attacking the island.”

“That must be the
Sovereign
!” Mikel said. “Here, to starboard.”

Emilie went to his side and saw it immediately. The
Sovereign
's electric lights had a steady yellow glow, completely different from the fishoil lamps of the other ships, and they reflected off its metal hull. It was one of a group of ships lying just off the concave shore of a cove area, outlined by the lights of the smaller skiffs and rafts that had drawn up along its beach. Seth said, “That cove has a passage in through the canyon wall, to a small protected harbor where the nomads leave their boats. There's a stairway down to the valley floor.”

“Yes, it must be the site of the main attack,” Dr. Marlende said. “She must be using the
Sovereign
to block any attempt at escape. Hopefully Engal wasn't forced to give them any rifles.”

Then Daniel said, “I've got the
Sovereign
!” The wireless was now clicking back at him. Seth stepped to the cabinet and picked up a pencil and pad.

“They're very glad to hear from us,” Daniel muttered, his expression preoccupied as he hurriedly translated the code into words.

Dr. Marlende said, “Tell them we've recovered all our companions from the nomads, including the Cirathi and young Emilie here, and that my daughter is not being held hostage by the Queen. Ask if they are free to break away from the fleet.”

Seth scribbled down the message, converted it to code, and showed Daniel, who tapped it out on the wireless. The answer came quickly, and after a moment Daniel translated, “They're free to break away, if you're certain the Queen doesn't have Miss Marlende and Emilie. She was threatening to kill them unless the
Sovereign
cooperated.”

Dr. Marlende glanced at Rani and Emilie. Rani said, “Lord Ivers has her, we are certain.”

Dr. Marlende nodded to Daniel, who tapped out a brief assent. The reply was longer in coming. Seth translated it, saying, “They say if we can distract the ships around them, they should be able to break free.”

“Tell them to expect a distraction in the next few minutes,” Dr. Marlende said, and turned the wheel.

The deck tilted under Emilie's feet as the airship turned, angling down. She managed to catch herself on a console without turning any of the knobs. She retreated to the doorway where Rani was holding on. Emilie asked, “Are you going to use magic to distract them?” She was thinking the illusory fire could be very effective dropping out of the sky.

Dr. Marlende took the airship into a long dive. “I hope we don't have to. I'd like to conserve my resources for the moment. But I think the flares should suffice. Seth, could you...?”

Phosphorus flares proved even more effective than bright illusions, as Seth, Rani, Mikel, and two other Cirathi tossed them off the catwalk. They ignited directly over the Sealands’ ships, lighting up the sky and causing confusion and terror. Emilie and the others watched from the windows as one long warship sideswiped another and broke off a whole bank of oars. She lost sight of the
Sovereign
, but then realized that in the midst of the chaos, it had doused its electric running lights and must be steaming for the open sea.

Emilie hurried back to the steering cabin in time to hear Daniel's report from the wireless: “The Queen's naval commander forced them to abandon the
Lathi
before the battle, and they anchored it off a small island a few miles from here. They're going to retrieve it now before the Queen's forces get re-organized enough to order a pursuit.”

“Oh, I don't think they'll pursue us,” Dr. Marlende said, bringing the airship around for a pass over the other section of the fleet. “The Nomads should take this opportunity to counter-attack. I know Prince Ise has forces hanging back to the south. I should think they'll all be quite occupied for a while. Tell the
Sovereign
to meet us-”

The wireless interrupted with a sudden series of clicks. Daniel frowned, startled. “That's not...” He scribbled hastily on his pad, then checked the code book. He looked up. “A ship called the
Philosopher's Quest
?”

Emilie shook her head, baffled, as Daniel hurriedly transcribed another message. Then his jaw set, and he said grimly, “It's a request for assistance. From Lord Ivers.”

They met up with the
Sovereign
hours later, as the eclipse was passing away across the sea. The spot they had chosen was a low-lying island some distance from the Nomads' fortress. As the airship reached it, Emilie could see the Aerinterre aether current in the sky, the solid band of heavy gray cloud with the translucent column stretching up from it, vanishing high in the air.

Not having to worry about navigating shoals, the airship had arrived first. Dr. Marlende lowered it far enough to drop the ladder, so Seth, Cobbier, Daniel, and a few Cirathi could climb down to the pebbly ground and secure the anchor cables to several squat but sturdy trees. The
Sovereign
was only a short time behind them, and it soon arrived, towing the
Lathi
. They waited impatiently on the beach as the steamer anchored and sent the launch ashore.

Kenar leapt out of it before the boat reached the beach and waded in the thigh-deep water. Rani met him halfway and they flew into each other’s arms, and Rani swung him around and nearly knocked him off his feet. It was the most romantic thing Emilie had ever seen in her life, and her eyes welled up with tears. All the other Cirathi gathered around, waiting excitedly for their chance to greet him. Emilie knew the happy moment would end when Rani had to tell him about poor Beinar.

Lord Engal waited more decorously until the launch had actually been drawn up on the beach, before he climbed out and strode up to shake hands. “Dr. Marlende, I presume.”

“You presume correctly, sir.” Dr. Marlende greeted him gravely. “Thank you for sending young Emilie to our assistance; her arrival was quite timely.”

Lord Engal eyed her with exasperation and, she was startled to see, some fondness. “At this point, it hardly surprises me.”

“Now if we can just extract my daughter from Lord Ivers,” Dr. Marlende continued.

“Yes.” Lord Engal frowned, shielding his eyes to look into the distance. “If what he said was true, which is rather a big 'if,' since the man is an inveterate liar and criminal-”

“Yes, of course.” Dr. Marlende neatly cut off the potential diatribe. “But if his aetheric engine has not been sabotaged, then he has no reason to linger here or contact us.”

During the eclipse, as they fled the battle between the Queen's forces and the Nomads, there had been a long three-cornered wireless conversation between their airship, the
Sovereign
, and Lord Ivers' craft. He had claimed that at some point before he had left the Sealands' capital, one of the Queen's courtiers who had been aboard his airship had sabotaged his aetheric engine, leaving him stranded in the Hollow World.

“You were right, Rani,” Emilie had said quietly. “The Queen didn't intend to let him go. She knew he wouldn't be able to get back, and he'd have to come to her for help, and she'd make him use the airship against the Nomads.”

“Yes, but her plan would not have worked,” Rani said, lifting her brows. “The airships need fuel for the engine in the back that works the propellers. Dr. Marlende explained this, and all the limitations of this craft, when we first began to explore together.”

Emilie snorted. “I bet Lord Ivers didn't explain his limitations to the Queen.”

“But he must have explained the aetheric engine, or the merpeople wouldn't have known how to sabotage it,” Daniel said. He was taking a break from transcribing the wireless, and Seth and Mikel were manning it and the code book. Leaning against the wall near Emilie, he hadn't referred to their little altercation earlier, but he did seem to be making an effort not to act awkwardly around her. It was taking an effort on her part not to act awkwardly around him; she felt she had overstepped herself quite a bit.

Rani said, dryly, “That was stupid of Ivers.”

“Yes, and naive, on his part,” Dr. Marlende had agreed, standing at the airship's wheel. “He thought them too primitive to do anything with the information.” He added, with grim satisfaction, “He's paying for his poor judgment now.”

Lord Ivers had promised to release Miss Marlende in exchange for their help with his engine, though Emilie wasn't counting any chickens until that actually happened. She thought Lord Ivers would try until the last moment to double-cross them. But they had eventually arranged to meet here on this island, and now all they had to do was wait.

As they stood on the beach, Dr. Barshion came up to Dr. Marlende. He shook hands, saying, “It's an honor to see you again, sir. And we can certainly use your help with the
Sovereign
's aetheric engine.” He admitted, “The ship's engineers and I weren't quite up to the mark, I'm afraid.”

Emilie was glad to hear him say it aloud. She didn't think it would help if Dr. Barshion got stubborn about accepting Dr. Marlende's aid the way he had when Mr. Abendle had wanted to ask Miss Marlende's opinion. But maybe it was easier for him, since Dr. Marlende was both a man and an acknowledged expert. Dr. Marlende only said, kindly, “As long as you've brought the supplies I had to send Kenar and my poor friend Jerom for. I was completely wrong about the resonance needed for the quickaether sustainers, and it contaminated the replacements I had brought along before we realized what the problem was.”

Emilie missed the rest, as Kenar arrived and caught her in a hug that lifted her off her feet. His voice rough with emotion, he said, “Thank you for rescuing Rani, Emilie.”

“I wish we'd been able to rescue Miss Marlende, but we were too late,” Emilie said, breathless as he set her back down. “And they shot at us, a lot.” She looked up at him and asked hesitantly, “Did they tell you about Beinar?”

“Yes, they told me.” He squeezed her shoulders and she could see the sadness in his eyes. “He was a very good friend.”

They waited through the morning. Dr. Marlende and Daniel went aboard the
Sovereign
to get the materials needed to fix the airship's aetheric engine, and to consult with Dr. Barshion and Mr. Abendle. The Cirathi spent the time checking over their ship, making minor repairs, and getting it ready for their long voyage home. “I think we have worn out our welcome in these waters,” Rani said. They were in the galley cabin, and Emilie was helping her sort out which foodstuffs had gone bad and which could be saved. “We'll go back and report to our guild, and tell everyone else to think twice before they come here.”

“I'm never going to see you or Kenar again,” Emilie said, only realizing after the words were out how forlorn she sounded. She poked dispiritedly at a bag of meal that had something growing in it. “I mean, even if there are other expeditions, they probably won't let me come. I'm only here accidentally, after all.”

“Ah, Emilie,” Rani said, putting down a jar and turning to regard her. “We will never forget you. Will you forget us?”

“No, never,” Emilie said, her voice thick.

“Then that will have to be enough,” Rani said, and hugged her again.

Someone called out from the deck, and they ran out to see the distant shape of an airship approaching from antidarkward. “He did come,” Emilie said, feeling a certain tightness in her chest ease. They would get Miss Marlende back. “He didn't lie about that, at least.”

Rani nodded thoughtfully. “Now we just need to figure out what he is lying about.”