by Martha Wells
Dr Marlende crouched near the little structure he and the others had assembled earlier. It was made mostly from silver wire, along with the disassembled parts of an aether-compass and a jar that had originally held pickled vegetables. “It’s to contain and amplify the spell,” Lord Engal told Emilie.
The professor read off the translator, “It says, ‘Be ready, be ready.’”
“Everyone hold on,” Cobbier said. “It’s going to be rough.”
Emilie wrapped her arm more firmly around the rail and looked to make sure Efrain had done the same. Miss Deverrin grudgingly gripped a rail.
The professor said, “Now!”
Dr Marlende touched the jar and Emilie thought she saw a faint shower of sparks. The lifeboat shuddered and jerked, and Emilie bumped against the wall despite her efforts to hold steady. Then it was as if a giant grabbed the lifeboat and shook it.
Emilie’s feet slipped out from under her but she held on, even when she slammed against the wall again. Someone fell into her and she grabbed hold of an arm with her free hand.
The shaking stopped abruptly. Emilie blinked, dazed. It was dark outside the lifeboat, the interior lit only by the bronze lights in the curved ceiling. The person who had fallen onto her was Efrain, and Miss Marlende had grabbed his other arm to steady him. Hyacinth had turned some of its blossoms into suction cups and had gripped the front panel.
Lord Engal muttered, “I hope we’ve done it.”
“I would think the ship would have fallen apart by now if we hadn’t,” Dr Marlende said, pushing to his feet. The pickling jar lay broken on the deck.
Everyone climbed to their feet, turning to look out the windows. Emilie made it first. Her heart leapt as she saw the darkness was the familiar dark purple cloudscape of the aether. She pressed her face to the window and could just see the tip of the aether-sailer’s sail. “We did it! It’s down there, below us!”
The lifeboat swept around, turning back toward the aether-sailer and giving them a better view. The airship was still connected by the lines and ladder. Daniel and Seth must be very worried by now. She wondered if Seth might have tried to go aboard the aether-sailer when they had failed to return. He could have, with Daniel to cast the protective spell over him.
“I hope Daniel and Seth are all right,” Miss Marlende said, her voice low.
Emilie turned to stare at her. She hadn’t thought of something using the connection to climb down to the airship. “The aether-creature…”
“Yes.” Miss Marlende’s expression was troubled. “We don’t know how it – or they – choose victims to attack. And it may have wanted to secure the airship.”
Emilie turned to look again. The lifeboat circled to the stern of the aether-sailer, and only the topside of the airship’s balloon was visible. She turned away in time to catch an expression of doubt and fear cross Miss Deverrin’s face. She can’t believe all this is acting for her benefit, just to fool her, Emilie thought. No one was that self-centered. They must be getting through to her, no matter how much the aether-creature had clouded her thinking.
The aether-sailer loomed over them, huge and shadowy in the half-light of the current. Its rounded stern had a dozen or more small doorways in it, each big enough for the lifeboat to pass through. One had been left open, and Hyacinth guided them toward it. “Marvelous,” Lord Engal said under his breath.
Emilie agreed. It was almost exciting enough to make you forget the huge ship was infested with a body-stealing aether-creature.
The ship wobbled a bit as it approached the doorway. A slithering thud just above her head made Emilie jump, but she realized just in time that it was the lifeboat’s sail folding down. The lifeboat slipped through the doorway and bumped gently to a halt inside.
The professor looked down at the translator and reported, “Hyacinth says to wait for the something to take effect so it will be safe to leave the ship.” She glanced up, craning her neck to see out the window. “I assume it means some sort of protective spell.”
Emilie pressed her face to the window again. The interior seemed dark, but after a moment, her eyes adjusted and she could see the bronze lights glowing down from a high ceiling. The ship rested against a dock in a long rounded room, with a door at the end. A large section of one wall was covered with the metal-paper, moving gently and reshaping itself.
“The outer door just closed,” Mikel reported from the stern window.
Hyacinth moved away from the panel. The professor translated, “It says, ‘All is well; open the hatch.’”
Mikel moved to unlatch the hatch and climbed out first. The dock was wide, and there was a window in the outer door looking out into the aether current. Emilie followed with the others, Cobbier and Lord Engal pausing to hand out the packs and their rifles. Professor Abindon passed the translator to Emilie, who asked Hyacinth, “Is there a portable version of this?”
Hyacinth emerged from the hatch, its part of the translator clutched in its blossoms. The aether-sailer will power this unit now. We must hurry to the work area.
Hyacinth went to the inner door and pressed a blossom against the wall next to it. The door popped open.
The corridor beyond was empty, leading a short distance into the ship before one side opened up to the giant metal levers they had seen before. It helped Emilie connect their current position to the parts of the ship they had briefly explored. They were on the other side of the left-hand wall of the large room they had chased Hyacinth through. Hyacinth extended its blossoms into the corridor for a moment, then cautiously moved out into it.
From behind her, Mikel said, “This thing can’t jump us if it’s not in a body. Can it?”
“Relay the question, please, Emilie,” Dr Marlende said.
Emilie did. Hyacinth replied, I thought it could not. But I fear it will have thought of some method. It has found ways to affect things inside the ship, the way it destroyed the device we used to drive it out of our companion.
“That’s not good,” Emilie said, and read its answer aloud. Miss Marlende muttered, “Lovely.”
They followed Hyacinth down the corridor, past the giant levers, and then through a junction and up one of the walking wall shafts to the upper levels. Hyacinth swarmed up the shaft effortlessly, and watching it do so made the design seem quite sensible.
Emilie glanced back at one point to see Miss Deverrin’s expression of wonder and consternation. She realized it had been some time since Miss Deverrin had accused them of lying and plotting against her father. Hopefully, all this was helping to knock her back to her senses. If they had her help, it would be easier to do something about the creature inside Dr Deverrin.
Hyacinth led them to the starboard side of the aether-sailer, to a set of rooms they hadn’t been to yet. It was a windowless interior space where the walls were lined with twisted spills of the metal-paper. There were bronze metal canisters stacked around and weird little instruments that must be tools. Hyacinth said through the translator, This is our workroom, where the device was originally constructed.
Everyone set their packs down on the floor and began to unload tools and books and other things. Emilie emptied out her pack, where she had stowed everything from Professor Abindon’s pack that had looked useful.
“Oh good, you found it,” the professor said, coming over to sort through the contents. She looked around thoughtfully. “We’ll need more materials and tools if we’re to recreate this device.”
“Yes.” Dr Marlende pulled his pack off his shoulder and began to unload it. “Cobbier and Mikel, I want you to take Emilie and Efrain back to the airship… No arguments,” he said, as Emilie drew breath to argue. “I’ll be sending you with a list of supplies that we need, as soon as I draw one up.”
Emilie folded her arms. It was annoying to be sent away, but she wasn’t going to follow Miss Deverrin’s example and cause trouble by resisting simple precautions. Efrain said, somewhat reluctantly, “We could stay and help guard you.”
“A kind o
ffer, but not necessary.” Dr Marlende smiled and unfurled a leather roll of tools. “We don’t know how this creature chooses its victims, and if there is one still aboard this ship, we want to give it as few options as possible.”
“And Daniel and Seth need to be warned,” Cobbier pointed out. “They must be going out of their heads with worry by now.”
“What is the principle of this device?” Miss Marlende asked. “I missed that discussion.”
Through the translator, Hyacinth said, It is similar to your aether-navigator that was described to me, except that it identifies aether within living beings.
“I didn’t know people had aether inside them,” Emilie said.
“We don’t, as such,” Lord Engal told her, emptying his own pack of tools and some instruments she recognized as being for aether manipulation. “Though there are substances that seem to be similar that have yet to be truly understood. The presence of aether in a human – or apparently, in any living being – would be an indication that something odd was going on.”
Once the aether is identified, it can be forced out, Hyacinth explained. I will read off the plan to you. Hopefully, the translation device will be able to keep up.
Hyacinth went to one of the metal-paper spills in the wall and removed it, unfurling it out into a large ball. Emilie noticed it could do that while still holding the translator device in another set of blossoms. Miss Deverrin walked around the room, staring at all the strange devices. Emilie noticed Miss Marlende was keeping an eye on her, and was glad. They still had no real idea how cooperative Miss Deverrin meant to be. Or if she was still under the control of the aether-creature.
Professor Abindon turned suddenly, one hand lifted to her temple. “Did you feel that?”
Miss Marlende frowned. “What?”
“A pressure, as if the air was drawn out of the room for a moment.” The professor stared around in consternation. “None of you felt that?”
“No.” Lord Engal pushed to his feet, his brow furrowed. “Anyone else?”
Emilie shook her head. “Nothing. You think it’s a problem with the ship? Its protective spell?”
Mikel stepped to the doorway to look into the corridor. “It can’t be. We’d have felt it. And, you know, we’d be having trouble breathing.”
The others looked around warily. Hyacinth had gone still, blossoms lifted as if testing the air. Then Emilie saw that Miss Deverrin had pressed both her hands over her mouth, as if in shock. Emilie pointed at her. “She knows something!”
Miss Marlende stepped toward Miss Deverrin, caught her by the shoulders and held her firmly. She said, “Tell us. You must tell us.”
Miss Deverrin lowered her hands, and her expression was horrified. She said, “Just before our airship was torn out of the current, my father said he felt the same thing, that the pressure had dropped, but none of us felt anything…”
Miss Marlende stepped away from her and looked at Professor Abindon. “Are you all right? You don’t… feel anything else?”
Everyone stared at the professor, and Hyacinth pointed all its blossoms at her. She planted her hands on her hips and frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’ve been possessed by an aether-creature. Surely there would be some indication.”
That was when Emilie realized that Dr Marlende hadn’t said anything. He was still in the same position, kneeling on the floor over his roll of tools. Oh. Oh, no. Emilie said, “Miss Marlende…” and pointed.
Miss Marlende turned to look. Her face went still. “Father? Father, look at me.”
Dr Marlende didn’t respond. Then he suddenly jumped up and bolted for the door. Emilie yelped and jumped away, then realized she should be trying to trip or tackle him. That wasn’t Dr Marlende; it was a monster who was stealing Dr Marlende’s body. Lord Engal was the first to lunge forward. But before Dr Marlende could reach the doorway, Hyacinth pushed its blossoms against the wall and the door slammed shut. Dr Marlende turned, at bay, and the professor yelled, “Grab him now!”
Dr Marlende flung himself toward the pile of packs where one of the rifles lay. Emilie was closest and hurled herself on top of the weapon. She knew she couldn’t stop Dr Marlende herself and had no intention of trying to shoot him; she just meant to keep him from getting the gun until the others could tackle him.
He grabbed her shoulders to move her away and Emilie hung onto the rifle, jamming her hand in behind the trigger so it couldn’t go off accidentally. Lord Engal went flying past over her head, and an instant later, Dr Marlende lost his grip on her. She rolled away, still holding onto the gun. Lord Engal had landed on Dr Marlende and flattened him to the floor. Cobbier hurried to help and Mikel grabbed the other rifle.
Miss Marlende pulled Emilie to her feet and carefully pried the rifle out of her hands. She said, breathlessly, “Thank you, Emilie.”
Emilie looked up into her face and swallowed hard. Miss Marlende looked sick, as if she was about to faint or be very ill. Emilie knew she wouldn’t do either, but it was terrible to see her in this state and know what she must be feeling. “It’s going to be all right,” Emilie blurted.
Miss Marlende said, “Yes, of course,” and then unloaded the rifle, putting the bullets away in her pocket.
Miss Deverrin had put her back against the wall, a hand pressed against her chest. Her expression made Emilie think the woman was reliving some nightmare moment. Maybe it was a nightmare moment she had just remembered. Maybe whatever influence the creature had confused her mind with was finally broken.
Efrain stepped forward, trying to get a better look at Dr Marlende. “Is he all right?”
His voice tight from effort, Lord Engal said, “I believe so… He certainly isn’t making any effort to pretend to be Marlende.”
Professor Abindon said, “The creature must realize we were suspicious. And it must have known we were about to build the device.” She pulled a white canvas medical kit out of a pack and opened it. “Just hold on to him for a moment.”
“I’ll certainly try,” Lord Engal said grimly.
Miss Marlende shook her head helplessly. “Why him? Did it try to pick the leader of our party?”
The professor checked the vials of different drugs in the kit. “Where’s the translator?”
“I’ve got it!” Efrain hurried to pick it up where it had fallen on the deck. The metal-paper had unraveled when it hit the floor, but as Efrain gathered it up, it coiled back into shape.
“Ask Hyacinth if the member of its crew who was taken over was a sorcerer,” Professor Abindon said, her voice harsh with worry. To Miss Marlende she added, “Dr Deverrin was the only sorcerer aboard the Deverrin airship, so I suspect that’s an important factor as well.”
Efrain reported, “It says yes, the crew member who was taken over was an aether-manipulator.” He looked up. “I think that means the same thing as sorcerer.”
The professor nodded, her expression grim. “That would explain it. It tried both of us, and it must have gotten Marlende first. He was distracted, thinking about the device we were about to construct; that may have helped it. Ah, here it is.” She pulled a vial out of the padded pocket in the kit, then a hypodermic needle. “This creature must be attracted to those who have the most magical ability, or perhaps those who are the most experienced. Perhaps it’s incapable of taking over a person with little or no magical ability.”
As Professor Abindon began to prepare the hypodermic, Emilie felt her eyes get wide. She asked, “Are you going to drug him?”
“Yes, I am.”
Miss Marlende said, “Mother, is that wise? If he can resist the creature–”
“Deverrin wasn’t able to resist it, and neither was the sorcerer aboard this ship. I doubt your father will be able to.” The needle ready, she walked over to the struggling men. “I just don’t want this thing interfering with him while we build the device. And with your father incapacitated, I need Engal’s help. Someone’s going to have to do the scut work.”
“That’s very go
od of you to say, Professor,” Lord Engal managed, struggling to pin Dr Marlende down. “It’s always nice to be needed.”
“Wait.” Miss Marlende stopped Professor Abindon with a hand on her arm. She took the vial and the hypodermic out of the professor’s hands and checked both, then handed them back.
The professor lifted her eyebrows. “Really, Vale. This is too much. Your father and I had our difficulties, but I never wanted to murder him. And if I had, I certainly wouldn’t do it in front of my only child.”
Miss Marlende gave her a level look. “I wanted to make certain that the creature hadn’t possessed you and was somehow forcing him to behave this way.”
Professor Abindon’s expression cleared. “Oh, of course. Good thinking.”
Cobbier helped Lord Engal hold Dr Marlende’s arm down and pushed up his sleeve so the professor could give him the injection. Emilie found she really didn’t want to watch and went over to where Efrain sat beside Hyacinth.
Efrain held the translator and Hyacinth was crouched nearby, working with several different constructions of the metal-paper. Efrain was frowning, clearly frightened and upset. He kept glancing toward Dr Marlende and the others and then looking away. Emilie took the translator away from him. She needed something to do besides sit around and be worried.
Hyacinth said, This is disturbing. I am readying our materials so we can begin work as quickly as possible.
Dr Marlende’s struggles were starting to get weaker, and the professor said, “We’d better tie him up.”
Emilie winced. She asked Hyacinth, “Do you think the thing you’re building will work on us? The others didn’t seem to think so.”
I do not think it will work on beings so different, but it will be easier for me to explain how it works once it is assembled, so your matriarch will be able to construct her own device.
“Matriarch” was a good way to describe the professor, Emilie considered.
It seemed to take an inordinately long time, but finally Dr Marlende lay still.
