Emilie & the Hollow World - By Martha Wells Page 0,6
the gold wall. No, the water wasn't rushing up - the ship was sinking, sinking fast, as if something was dragging it below the surface.
As Emilie stared upward in baffled horror, the water covered the dome of light overhead as the ship sunk faster and faster, and the brownish water gave way to deep blue.
CHAPTER TWO
“I don't understand,” Emilie said, too shocked to do anything but stare upward. She thought it was a remarkable understatement considering the circumstances.
The ship was enclosed in a bubble of gold light, traveling underwater. The view was murky, the only illumination coming from the lamps along the deck. But she saw shapes fleeing the ship's lights, a small school of multi-colored umbrella-fish, their jelly-like bodies and drifting tentacles remarkably graceful. Feeling a cold shiver in her midsection, she realized she couldn't see the surface. The air smelled salty, and tinged with seaweed.
Emilie had seen magic before. Mr. Herinbogel, her friend Porcia's father, was a retired sorcerer and occasionally helped the local physician with healing spells. And there had been the occasional traveling conjurer shows at the local fairs. But those had all been very small magics, not like this. This was like something out of a grand gothic novel.
Beside her, the man said, “It's called an aether current. It's carrying us under your sea, to a crack that leads through the bottom of the world.” He looked down at her and added, somewhat unnecessarily, “It's magic.”
“My sea,” Emilie repeated, seizing on that detail. “It's not my sea.”
“It's not mine, either.” He cocked his head at her. “I'm Kenar.”
The Kenar whose word Barshion didn't trust. Kenar who was something-not-human. “I'm Emilie.” It seemed beyond rude to say what are you? even though it was one of the questions she badly wanted to ask. As if they were meeting in her uncle's parlor, she said instead: “Where are you from?”
He seemed to hear the original question anyway. He said, “I'm Cirathi, from the coast of Oragal.”
“I haven't heard of that place. But...” The water was growing even darker. Bubbles streamed by and she realized they were still moving forward, rapidly, away from the harbor. Emilie saw the silvery flicker of a large tail fleeing their lights. The fish was swimming up... No, it was the ship that was still sinking, falling down through the water. “This is all very odd, so maybe that isn't a surprise.”
A ship's officer turned to look down the deck, spotted Kenar, and shouted, “You, back to quarters!”
Kenar's hands knotted on the rail, and he ignored the command. Emilie stepped behind him, using his bulk to block her from view, hoping the officer would be too distracted to notice her. It was a little late at this point to be thrown off the boat. She hoped.
The officer strode down the deck and stopped a pace away. He said, “You heard me. Go inside.”
Kenar's head tilted to regard him, and with a frustrated edge in his voice, he said, “You could use force, Belden.”
The officer's expression tightened, but he didn't give way. He said, “We have to make certain none of the pirates stayed aboard. That will be easier without passengers on the decks and in the corridors.”
Kenar was still for a long moment, then stepped away from the railing. This left Emilie in full view of the officer, who stared at her oddly, startled, then motioned for her to follow Kenar.
Emilie had no idea why the man wasn't raising the alarm that a stowaway was aboard this strange ship, but decided to stay with Kenar, if possible. He seemed disposed to be kind to her; human or not, he might be her only ally in this strange situation.
Two sailors conducted them through the hatch and forward down a passage, where another sailor stood guard at a door. He opened it and they were ushered into a large lounge cabin, paneled with thin strips of fine dark wood. The door was closed firmly behind them.
The lounge was as luxurious as the rest of the ship, with upholstered couches built into the walls, lamps with milky ceramic sconces. Then Emilie saw the large crystal port looking out onto the deck.
She stepped up to it, caught again by the impossible wall of water just beyond the deck rail. It was very dark now, but the ship's lights reflected off a school of small copper-colored fish, vanishing into shadow as the ship sped past. Emilie had never been afraid of water, but she was beginning to fear