Emilie & the Hollow World - By Martha Wells Page 0,16
right.”
“Oh.” Emilie blinked, recalling herself. She stepped toward the table. “I hope I'm not interrupting.”
“No, we were wondering where you went- Where did you get that?” Miss Marlende said, as Emilie set her plate down and took a seat.
“The crew galley,” Emilie said, and started to eat.
“It's better than what they had in the passenger lounge.” Miss Marlende sat back with a sigh. Kenar made a disparaging noise, and she said, “Oh yes, oyster cocktail and salad are fine for you.” She explained to Emilie, “He doesn't eat meat, he thinks our vegetables are odd and our fruit tasteless.”
Chewing sausage and potatoes, Emilie glanced back at Kenar. He had shed the greatcoat and changed clothes. Over the trousers and worn leather boots, he wore a sleeveless red shirt studded with gold disks around the hem, and gold chains woven through his mane. It accented his alien appearance, making it easier to see the dark scales on his arms and where they gave way to short dark fur that spread up across his shoulders. He looked much more comfortable and much more at ease. She swallowed and said, “But you have pointed teeth.”
He took an apple out of a pocket and said, “You have flat teeth, and look what you're eating.”
“True.” Emilie polished off a piece of bread, and decided to try to get a few more answers. She asked, “Who is Lord Ivers, and why is everyone worried about him?”
Miss Marlende's brow furrowed, but she explained, “He's a very wealthy man, like Lord Engal, and he studies aetheric currents, like Lord Engal. We believe it's Lord Ivers who was responsible for the dock-raiders who attacked us last night. It wasn't just a coincidence; there were a few earlier attempts.”
“He wants the credit for the discovery?” Emilie guessed. She didn't know much about the prominent sorcerers and philosophers of Menea, preferring the more dramatic imaginary versions in popular novels. But in her aunt's society journal, she had seen mentions of awards and royal honors for philosophical achievement, inventions, discovering places and things, all of which seemed fairly minor compared to this. She thought finding a way to visit the Hollow World must be the biggest philosophical achievement of the age. “He's going to steal your father's glory?”
“Well, to put it bluntly, yes.” Looking out at the serene sea, Miss Marlende grimaced. “Lord Engal and Lord Ivers and my father were all working - separately, you understand - on mapping the aetheric currents that could be traveled in, the spells needed to protect a vehicle, and perfecting an aetheric engine. My father had an advantage. He's a sorcerer himself, unlike Lord Engal and Lord Ivers, who have to hire sorcerers who are experts in aetheric studies to work with. My father finished his engine first, and rushed to place it on an airship. He took a small crew, and entered the current inside the cauldron of Mount Tovera on Aerinterre. I camped on the island with the ground crew, and waited. He was gone for six weeks. Then Kenar arrived, to tell us the engine had failed and he needed help.”
“How did Kenar get back through the current by himself?” From what Emilie had observed, this was impossible, and she couldn't imagine climbing up through a volcano, even a dead one.
“There were several hot air balloons stored aboard the airship for emergencies, and my father fitted one out with the protective spell, so they were able to travel the current in it. Another man came with Kenar, my father's apprentice, Jerom Lindel.” Miss Marlende added, bleakly, “He died on the trip.”
From behind them, Kenar said, “The journey was...rougher than we expected. Jerom said the spell was meant to protect a large vehicle. It didn't work the way he thought it would, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.”
“I'm sorry,” Emilie said to both of them, meaning it. The man must have been a friend of Miss Marlende's. Kenar sounded as if the trip had affected him severely, and she didn't think he was someone easily overwhelmed.
Miss Marlende sighed. “Originally, the plan was for Jerom to get the materials needed to repair the airship's aetheric engine, and then he would set the spell on the balloon and he and Kenar would return through the volcano's current. But with Jerom dead, there was no one who could manage the spell.”
“I hope it doesn't hurt you to speak of him,” Kenar said, watching Miss Marlende.