Read Online Emilie & the Hollow World by Martha Wells - Free Book Online Page A

see what they were doing.
    “I don't know what it is,” Miss Marlende replied with some annoyance. “That's why I think you should go back to the cabin.” She gave Emilie a stern look. “Now go.”
    Fine, Emilie thought, annoyed herself. “I'm going,” she said, with dignity. Moving as slowly as possible away from the rail, she heard voices raised in agitation and caught a glimpse of Kenar standing on the deck below with a lamp. He was talking to someone; she thought it might be the first officer Oswin.
    “Kenar!” Miss Marlende called softly. “Do we know what it is?”
    Kenar and Oswin turned, looking up, and Oswin said, “It looks like-”
    Something flipped up out of the water, a long narrow shape, as if one of the vines had suddenly stood straight up. Emilie pointed and gasped an incoherent warning. Old wood-cut pictures of sea monsters flashed through her head; she thought she was looking at a giant tentacle. It swung toward the ship, slamming into the rail a bare three steps away from Emilie and Miss Marlende. Then something leapt off it, landing on the deck.
    Miss Marlende yelled in alarm and Emilie jerked backward. The thing had two arms, two legs, and a slender body - for an instant Emilie thought it was a person, albeit a naked person with green skin. Then she got a better look at its head. It was eyeless, noseless, earless, its face a blank except for a wide slit for the mouth.
    Miss Marlende lifted her hands, palm out, saying quickly, “We mean you no harm. If we came near your...your territory, it was an accident, we're only passing by-”
    It hissed, opening its mouth to show a shockingly large rictus of fanged teeth. Then it lunged forward and grabbed for Miss Marlende.
    Miss Marlende swung at it, hit it in the face with her fist, but it caught her arm and dragged her toward the railing. Emilie shrieked for help at the top of her lungs, then grabbed for Miss Marlende and wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist.
    It dragged them inexorably to the rail, far stronger than a human of that size would be. But as they hit the rail Miss Marlende dropped to the deck, throwing the creature off-balance, then used the moment of distraction to wrap her legs around the lower strut of the rail. Yes! Emilie thought, letting go of Miss Marlende with one arm and wrapping it around the post below the strut. The creature pried at them, hissing, and the metal ground painfully into Emilie's arm. She wrapped a leg around the post and held on with grim determination.
    Then a crewman ran up the deck, yelling. He struck at the creature but it let go of Miss Marlende long enough to backhand him. The blow was hard enough to send him flying back across the deck and slam him into the wall. Miss Marlende fell away from the rail, and Emilie sat down hard. The creature reached down and slapped at Emilie, sending her rolling away.
    Emilie landed hard on the deck, reeling from the blow, and looked up in time to see the creature drag a fighting Miss Marlende to her feet. Emilie looked desperately around, saw something lying near the fallen crewman - it was a fire ax. She shoved to her feet, snatched it up, and darted forward.
    She swung it at the creature and the blade bounced off its head, painfully jolting Emilie's arm. Apparently unhurt, it dropped Miss Marlende and turned to Emilie. She lifted the ax again, for all the good it had done her, but she wasn't going to let it hit her again without a fight.
    Then she saw Kenar behind it, climbing up over the railing from the deck blow. Emilie waved her ax, yelling, “Yah! Yah! Yah!” trying to keep the creature's attention on her. It jerked back uncertainly. Then Kenar swung over the railing, grabbed the creature by the throat, and tossed it off the deck.
    Emilie lunged to the rail, looking down in time to see creature bounce off the lower deck and fall back into the weed-choked water. But more slim green forms climbed the hull to the lower deck, tendrils of vine waving