Emilie & the Hollow World - By Martha Wells Page 0,58
climb in, and began to untie it.
Emilie managed to clamber in and sit down on the narrow seat running down the center without flipping the boat over, though it was a near thing. The hull was made of something as light as straw; it must be dried reeds. Rani cast off, and stepped in to push away from the pier. She took a seat in the back, dumping her net bag in the bottom of the boat. Something poked Emilie in the back, and she twisted around to take the paddle Rani was handing her.
They paddled as quietly as possible, Rani guiding them out of the harbor, away from the city. The dark was so complete they had to navigate by brushing against the stands of reeds that bordered the outlying islands. After a time Emilie made out isolated lights that must be burning in the windows of the occasional outlying settlements; she hoped that Rani knew where they were going, because Emilie was completely lost.
Finally, when the lights of the city were a good distance behind them, Rani said, “We must stop for a moment.”
Relieved, Emilie pulled her paddle in, and stretched her neck and back. She turned around, listening to Rani rummage in the net bag. Then Rani handed her a heavy soft object. It felt like a big peach. Emilie said hopefully, “Fruit?”
“Yes. You can eat the peel.” She crunched into one herself, and Emilie hastily followed suit. It was sweet, with the texture of an apple, but the inside was thicker and more filling. She hoped the sack was full to bursting.
Rani rummaged in the bag again, and Emilie heard a faint clank of metal. Then a small flame sparked and she saw Rani was lighting a lamp with a big matchstick. Or it looked like a matchstick, except that it sparked blue and didn't smell of sulfur. “There, that will make our journey a little easier.” She handed Emilie the lamp.
Emilie took it and stretched forward to hang it on the hook above the bow. Swallowing the last bite of fruit, she asked, “How do we know where the nomads are?” She remembered that Rani had escaped before the nomads had reached their final destination.
“This.” Rani pulled off one of her necklaces, and handed it to Emilie. She couldn't see detail in the dark, but it felt like a piece of soft round stone. Rani said, “Spit on it and rub your thumb over it.”
Emilie followed instructions. After a moment, light gleamed inside the stone, forming an arrow. It swung around like a compass, pointing toward Emilie's right. She looked up, smiling, and handed it back. “A magic compass?”
Rani looped it around her neck again. “Dr. Marlende made it, and gave it to me in case our ships became separated. It shows the way to find him, wherever he is.” She leaned over to feel along the side of the boat, where a long reed wrapped in cloth was clipped to the hull. She lifted it up, and Emilie realized it was a sail. “The Queen's ships will have to search around for the nomads, even if her spies know roughly where they have taken our friends. With the compass, we can beat them there.” She added more quietly, “I hope.”
Emilie shifted around on the seat to help her hold the pole steady while Rani got it fixed into the base mounted to the bottom of the boat. She had almost forgotten that Dr. Marlende was a sorcerer, like Dr. Barshion. Except better, apparently. “I wish he'd given one to Kenar. At least then we could have dealt with the nomads and skipped the Queen.”
Rani tossed Emilie another piece of fruit. “He didn't have to. Jerom had the magic of his own, to find us.” She hesitated. “Jerom is not with your ship?”
Emilie hesitated. She hadn't told Rani that part yet. “No, he died, I'm sorry. It was more dangerous than they thought it would be. But Kenar got through it all right.”
“I see.” Rani sounded pensive. She was silent for a time, finishing her second piece of fruit and tossing the rind into the water. She said finally, “I think your people are a little more delicate than us. And perhaps the ease of their journey down here made Marlende and Jerom incautious.”
Emilie thought that was very likely. “Our journey was easy up to the point where the engine stopped working and we would have been crushed to death if we hadn't been so