Emilie and the Sky World Read Free Page A

fanciful fish and sea serpents above the windows and pediments suggested they had originally been ship captains’ or cargo merchants’ homes. It was too quiet for Emilie to tell who lived there now, though some of the houses had signs indicating there were rooms to let. Professor Abindon’s didn’t have a sign, and while it was as old as the others and a little crumbly on the edges, its stoop was recently washed and the windows on the upper floors were open to catch the sea breeze.
    “I normally send a wire or letter when I visit,” Daniel was saying as they climbed the steps to the door. “But of course this time I didn’t have an opportunity. I hope she’s home.”
    Daniel knocked on the door. A housekeeper in a somewhat floury apron opened it, and the first indication that Professor Abindon didn’t keep a terribly formal household was when the housekeeper exclaimed, “Why, it’s Daniel!” She turned to shout down the hallway, “Professor, Daniel is here!”
    “Well, tell him to come in!” a voice shouted back, but the housekeeper was already ushering them into the front hall.
    It was small and a bit dark but smelled of beeswax polish and bread-baking. Before they had a chance to move, a tall figure burst out of a door down the hallway. It exclaimed, “Daniel, why hasn’t Marlende or Vale answered my wires? What the hell is wrong with them?”
    “Uh,” Daniel began, and the housekeeper gave him a gentle prod down the hall. Emilie followed, now certain this visit was going to be even more interesting than she had thought. Daniel said, “They’ve been away. Very far away. They just arrived back in Silk Harbor yesterday, but they meant to leave last night before dark.”
    “They were here?” Daylight fell through the open doorway, illuminating a tall woman with silver-gray hair that was as wild as Emilie’s on a bad day. Some of it was confined in a band, but the rest had escaped to hang in frizzy locks around her face. She was strikingly beautiful, with a mix of Southern and Northern Menaen descent in her features and her light brown coloring. “Why didn’t they… What were they doing here?”
    “Didn’t you see the newspapers this morning?”
    “I don’t read the newspapers; it’s a lot of gossip and idiocy. Why was Marlende in the newspapers?” She frowned at Emilie, though more in confusion than disapproval. “Who are you?”
    “I’m Emilie Esperton, Miss Marlende’s assistant,” Emilie said, but Professor Abindon was already dragging Daniel into the parlor.
    It was a more of a study, Emilie saw immediately, with tall windows facing the house’s tiny overgrown back garden letting in morning light. The walls were lined with shelves crammed with books and papers. More books and papers and writing materials covered the desk and the library table, but a small sofa and two armchairs were free of clutter. Flustered, Daniel said, “We went to the Hollow World, Professor; we used the aetheric currents.” He dropped down into a chair and Emilie took the other. “It worked just like you and Dr Marlende thought, but we had mechanical trouble and couldn’t return. Miss Marlende had to go to Lord Engal to get help–”
    “Engal! Vale went to Engal? Was she out of her mind?” Professor Abindon waved her hands. “Why didn’t she come to me?”
    Daniel opened his mouth but no words came out. Professor Abindon shook her head sharply. “I’m sorry, I don’t intend to drag you into the middle of this. Just go on.”
    Emilie wondered what “this” was, but she thought Daniel needed help and she dove in. “Yes, we should tell it from the beginning. Daniel, start from when you and the others took the airship to the Hollow World.”
    Daniel took a deep breath and launched into the story, telling it as briefly as he could, given Professor Abindon’s impatient expression. As he spoke, Emilie watched the professor’s face. She was older than she had looked at first, though the lines around her