Emilie & the Hollow World - By Martha Wells Page 0,78

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.