The village held a dance that evening, though Emily had a feeling it wasn’t for her benefit so much as a regular affair. She didn’t dance much herself, mostly because she was unable to join in the aerial choreography. Dry-Eyes planned for them to leave at dawn, so she slipped out early and lay in bed listening to the revelry below filtering through the summer air through her open window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her mind kept churning, picking at the plan, the situation, and the role she played. Kicking off the blankets, Emily dug the writing desk out of her pack. Taking time to remember details, she wrote to her aunt, explaining the village and Dry-Eyes. She almost mentioned the uncertainty of the jumps and her creeping fear, but decided against it. Janice was probably worried enough as it was. Carefully sealing the letter, Emily looked at it thoughtfully before dropping it into the slot on the side of the desk. As before, it was pulled from her grasp, vanishing with a faint breeze. She repacked her bag and climbed back into bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes woke Emily with a shake, holding a cup of what turned out to be coffee, more or less. Emily drank it as she slipped on the loose clothing they’d given her, using the curtain-hung toilet nook as a changing room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, when I’m big again, this stuff will change too, right?\u201d She braided her hair back, grateful she didn’t need a hair tie for it to stay in place, since she couldn’t find any in her bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes leaned against the doorframe, a ghost of a smile flickering across her face. \u201cYes. You will not burst out of them like some shape-shifting beast, don’t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat should I do with my old stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPack it. You have room in your bag, don’t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily knew she would, but magical capacity of the backpack made her uneasy. She could have fit yet another full set of clothes in the pack. Frowning, she remembered Janice’s careful outfit planning, minimising the space bulky clothes would take up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBest not to think about it.\u201d Dry-Eyes echoed Emily’s thoughts aloud. She looked up sharply, then smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou’re right. We should get going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes led her to the gardens, preparing Emily for the first jump as they walked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou won’t like this one. I don’t like this one. The most important thing is to not panic and keep that mantra of yours in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They reached the edge of a decorative pond and Dry-Eyes grimaced, looking around for something. With a grunt she grabbed Emily’s hand and half-dragged her to the middle of a tiny stone bridge that spanned the pond at its narrowest point. \u201cYou’ll be back to normal on the other side and I won’t be able to keep ahold of you, so pay attention and don’t lose sight of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily nodded, looking down at the pond. She could see the carefully placed river stones of its bed through the clear water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They counted to three and jumped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily hung in tepid, wet nothingness. She’d closed her eyes when they jumped and didn’t want to open them, feeling the pressure of water against her lids. She hated opening her eyes underwater, associating it with the blur and chemical burn of chlorine in the school swimming pool. Thinking of Dry-Eye’s instructions, she finally bullied herself into it. She felt the cool fingers of water brushing against her eyes and saw clearly into an empty, dusk-lit world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes floated in front of her. She was back to being comparatively small, though the directionless light made it seem a trick of distance. She gestured, making sure Emily was watching. With a grimace, Dry-Eyes opened her mouth and breathed. Emily reached out for her, panicked, but stopped just short of touching her. The tiny figure doubled over, wings trailing lankly from her back. After a moment, she straightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour turn.\u201d Emily startled, her movement turning her slightly as she floated. Dry-Eyes’ voice was as clear as through air, if a bit distant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily’s lungs burned, the ache spreading through her chest, but she held out a little longer, desperately wanting another option. She locked eyes with the sprite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon’t think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily nodded and inhaled. The water, which had felt pleasant enough on her skin, poured bitingly cold into her lungs. It felt like vomiting in reverse and she curled up against the pain of it, the weight of her backpack sending her into a slow spin around a burning axis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As suddenly as the first shock, the pain stopped. Emily straightened, twisting around to sight on Dry-Eyes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDude. What the hell.\u201d Speaking and breathing took more effort, pushing the weight of water in and out of her lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMove around a little, get the feel of it. Once you’re ready, we can move on.\u201d Dry-Eyes stretched in the water, wheeling in a graceful pirouette. \u201cThe only positive aspect of this place is freedom of movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a while, Emily agreed. There was all the joy of swimming, mixed with what she imagined the weightlessness of space felt like. She followed Dry-Eyes’ dim form further into the deeps. For a second, she worried about the contents of her bag, imagining everything in the writing desk turning to pulp. With a shake, she tossed the thought off. What would happen would happen and she’d worry about it when she was breathing air again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no way to mark time in the inky depths. Dry-Eyes stayed more or less the same distance ahead, visible though the light seemed to have no source. Emily enjoyed the sensation of moving through the water. She played around with approaches to locomotion, using only her legs, to imitate a kind of sidestroke, then pretending she was a frog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, towers appeared in the distance: dull, pearlescent spires emerging from the semi-dark. Dry-Eyes led her down into them. With something to judge their pace against, Emily first realised that they were moving with surprising speed, and then, how truly massive the towers were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Past the tips of the spires, they continued down, passing catwalks connecting buildings and floating shacks tethered by anchor lines that faded into the dark below. Though they hadn’t encountered anyone yet, Emily judged that the dwellers of this city were close to her own size in scale. She caught up with Dry-Eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs it night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes looked over, furrowing her brow. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean, where is everyone, are they all asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou could say that. They are also dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily swallowed nervously, bringing an unexpected amount of water into her stomach. She coughed. \u201cAt the same time. Okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They eventually pulled up at one of the catwalks, no different than any of the dozen or more they’d already passed. Dry-Eyes moved over it. Emily followed, landing lightly on the narrow structure, enjoying the sensation of something beneath her feet. The city continued down past them into nothingness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes looked around and then led Emily across the bridge to one of the towers. Walking felt strange; the water pushed back with each step forward. Up close, the tower had the organic striated ripples of a shell. Emily reached out a hand to touch the surface, but a glance from Dry-Eyes stopped her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don’t want to wake everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily shrugged and followed Dry-Eyes inside. They entered a chamber that was something between a hall and a room, the smooth floor sloping away with the curve of the wall to dim vanishing points. There was no furniture or ornament, just an impression of labyrinthine space and size that Emily thought looked like a parking garage would if it had been grown instead of built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet me see the compass.\u201d Dry-Eyes interrupted Emily’s gawking, holding out her hands. Grateful she’d kept it in a pocket and not in the backpack, which she didn’t want to open no matter how breathable the water was, Emily handed it over. Dry-Eyes took readings from the compass while drifting to different points in the chamber. Curious, Emily wandered around, toes drifting just above the floor. The walls had the same rippling shell texture as the outside, but lighter in colour. She wrinkled her nose, trying to remember what the pearlescent inside of a shell was called. Nacre? Whatever. She still wanted to touch the walls, but folded her arms, waiting for Dry-Eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d The sprite did not look happy as she handed the compass back to Emily. \u201cWe have to go down.\u201d She looked uncomfortable. \u201cI don’t like to ask, but may I ride on your shoulder? After a while I don’t like moving through this\u2014stuff.\u201d Dry-Eyes flipped a hand at the medium that surrounded them, causing her to drift off to the side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily looked at her limp wings, which fluttered slightly as they were brushed by an eddy. The slight but constant pressure of the water couldn’t be comfortable against them. She nodded. \u201cSure, hop on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Dry-Eyes stood on her shoulder, Emily could feel her shifting around a little before deciding to just sit, her feet kicking Emily’s collarbone. She started to turn her head, then thought better of it. \u201cSo, down this way?\u201d The slope of the floor made it obvious, but it felt polite to ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYES.\u201d Dry-Eye’s voice boomed in Emily’s ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh shit, too loud!\u201d Emily winced and grabbed at her ear, nearly slamming Dry-Eyes against her skull in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWatch out!\u201d Dry-Eyes floated back in front of Emily, scowling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry. I guess I’m not used to having someone ride on my shoulder. Which makes sense, if you think about it.\u201d Emily rubbed at her ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dry-Eyes looked away before replying. \u201cTo be honest, it is not something I’ve done before either. It’s not very dignified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two women looked at each other a moment before breaking into laughter. After some trial and error, Dry-Eyes decided to perch on Emily’s backpack and they started down into the tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post is part of The Audacity Gambit – Serialised. Learn more about when the book was first published here<\/a>, see the archive and overall content warnings here,<\/a> and find more of my writing here<\/a>. I’m over on both Comradery <\/a>and Patreon<\/a>, if you feel like supporting my creative endeavours. If you’d like to subscribe to this story, here’s a handy email box for you:<\/p>\n\n\n