Orphans of the Tide

by Struan Murray

  ‘She’s alive,’ he told himself. ‘She must be.’

  Seth went to the second door, which led the other way out through the sewers. But it was locked. He scrabbled around in Ellie’s coat pockets for the right key, then lost his temper, slamming his fist against the rusted door.

  ‘ELLIE!’

  Seth strode back and forth across the workshop, wringing the coat in his hands. Where was she? He ran to the edge of the crumbling floor, staring down at the waves six feet below. He closed his eyes and tried to reach out into the water. His mind became a writhing, unsettled place, his thoughts swirling in all directions. He cast his mind further and further through the churning ocean, towards the Angelus Waterfront. He felt a ripple as a shoal of herrings swam past him, then the jagged spires of sunken buildings as his mind swept above the rooftops.

  At last, he found what he was looking for: a broken, whale-shaped gargoyle, half swallowed by silt at the bottom of the ocean. Dangling from it was a length of rope, neatly cut at one end. But there was no sign of Ellie. He pulled his mind back, gasping for breath.

  He tried to recall the moment she had jumped into the water. At the time, he had tried to search for her, casting his mind into the sea, feeling it course through him. But there was so much raging water, and he hadn’t been able to find Ellie anywhere. Instead, he had taken hold of the sea in his mind. He had woven a current from the shifting tides, directing it east as Ellie had instructed him. And all he could do was hope dearly it had carried her with it.

  Footsteps raced along the corridor beyond the workshop. Seth’s heart leapt, and he flew to the door.

  ‘Ellie?’

  The door swung open to reveal a breathless Anna. She looked up at him, eyes full of disappointment.

  ‘Where is she?’ they said to one another.

  ‘She didn’t really drown, did she?’ said Anna. ‘You saved her, didn’t you?’

  ‘I tried,’ Seth said in a quiet voice. ‘I mean, I moved the sea like she told me to – I made a current, going east. But then the Inquisitors started stomping round the roof and I had to jump into the water to hide.’

  ‘Coward,’ Anna grunted.

  ‘There were dozens of Inquisitors! Where were you?’

  ‘They dragged me off. For stealing Hargrath’s dart-gun. And also I sort of . . . bit an Inquisitor.’

  ‘How did you get away?’

  Anna shrugged. ‘Castion made them let me go. He was really upset – the Inquisitors all seemed too terrified to say no to him.’

  Anna looked down at the coat in Seth’s hands. Her voice dropped to a quiet tremble. ‘But she had a plan. I brought her Finn’s drawing like she told me.’ She swallowed. ‘She’s really not here?’

  They stared hopelessly at one another for many long seconds.

  ‘Maybe she got delayed?’ Anna said.

  She wandered between the workbenches, nudging scraps of metal with her foot, until she reached the part of the workshop where the floor fell away into the water. She stared expectantly at the sea, then sat down with her legs dangling over the edge. Seth sat next to her, running his finger along the seams of Ellie’s coat. He paused on a particular hole in one sleeve, and thought about how Ellie would sometimes slot her thumb through it when she was worried.

  Anna took the hem of the coat on her lap, and stroked it. ‘She was supposed to show me how to gut a cuttlefish,’ she said.

  They sat in silence for several minutes until, from somewhere far above, there was a low rumble. Seth leapt to his feet, but Anna shook her head.

  ‘Fireworks. They think the Vessel is dead.’

  Seth’s stomach twisted in a horrible knot.

  ‘She’s a good swimmer,’ Anna said, though she didn’t sound confident.

  There was a splash, and a gurgling sound. They turned to see the leather, lumpen form of the underwater boat bursting out from the water.

  ‘They found it!’ Anna exclaimed.

  ‘Who?’ said Seth.

  ‘Fry and Ibnet – while I looked for the drawing, they ran to get the boat from where it was tied up by the Greens, to get it to the observatory. That must have been Ellie’s plan – for you to take her to the observatory so she could bring the underwater boat here!’

  Seth jumped down to the wide stone step at the edge of the water. He climbed on top of the machine, trying to prise off its circular hatch.

  ‘You can’t open it from the outside,’ said Anna. ‘We’ll have to smash it!’

  She climbed up to the workshop and grabbed a section of pipe from a bench. There was a piercing screech as metal ground against metal: a wheel inside the boat was turning. Seth stepped back as Anna dropped down next to him.

  ‘Anna.’ Seth shivered, chilled by a horrible new thought. ‘All I did was point the current east. I couldn’t see Ellie. I couldn’t feel her. What if it’s . . . what if it’s . . . it?’

  They locked eyes. Seth saw his own fear reflected in Anna’s face.

  The screeching stopped. The hatch creaked open.

  ‘Stand back!’ Seth yelled to Anna, drawing a screwdriver from Ellie’s coat and gripping it tightly in his fist.

  ‘You stand back,’ said Anna, racing forward with the pipe above her head. They stood side by side, watching the opening. They held their breath.

  A small, skinny hand reached out. It scrabbled for something to hold on to, then fell over the lip of the opening. Ellie’s face emerged, freckled, pale, and gasping for breath. Seth and Anna cried out, and Ellie collapsed over the side of the hatch. She didn’t seem able to breathe.

  Seth threw down the screwdriver and launched himself on to the boat, taking her face in his hands. He clamped his lips over hers and tried to breathe air into them.

  ‘Get off!’ said Ellie, shoving him aside. She took several long, deep breaths. ‘I think the air tanks have a leak.’

  She rolled off the machine and clambered on to the stone ledge. She was still wearing the same tattered shirt and trousers, her feet bare. Her hair was so thin that in places Seth could see her scalp. Yet, when her breathing calmed, her eyes found Seth and Anna, and she smiled.

  ‘Thank you both for saving me,’ she said.

  ‘It . . . it worked,’ Seth said. ‘Your plan worked.’

  Ellie shrugged. ‘They sometimes do.’

  Anna stood frozen, her hands trembling round the pipe. Ellie hobbled over and hugged her tightly. Anna’s face blanched, and tears fell down her cheeks. She slowly lowered the pipe and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Ellie let go of her and looked up at Seth, smiling at him too. Seth realized there was something different about her.

  ‘It’s gone,’ he said, astonished.

  Ellie put a hand to her heart, pressing with her fingers. ‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s still there. But it’s weaker than I’ve ever known. And it can’t take Finn’s form any more,’ she smiled. ‘It’s like my brother’s keeping me safe.’

  Ellie brushed herself down then climbed gingerly into the workshop. Anna and Seth shared a look, then climbed after her.

  ‘So what does this mean?’ Seth asked, as Ellie searched among the workbenches. ‘If you asked for its help now, would it still give it to you?’

  ‘I’m not going to put that to the test,’ she said. ‘But I think . . .’ She put her hand to her chest again. ‘I think it’s too weak.’

  Seth offered Ellie her coat. She put it on and rummaged about in the pockets. She pulled out a spanner and turned it in her hand.

  ‘I need to fix the air tanks before it can go out again,’ she said, looking back at the underwater boat.

  ‘But Fry and Ibnet got it to the observatory in time?’ said Anna, sounding proud.

  ‘Yes,’ Ellie said, putting the spanner down and looking fondly at Anna. ‘Though that’s not really what saved me.’

  Anna smiled, and the tops of her ears turned red. ‘Well, I guess Seth helped a little bit.’

  ‘What was on that piece of paper?’ Seth asked.

  ‘A reminder,’ E
llie said. Her coat looked even bigger on her than normal, yet her cheeks had a flush of pink, and her eyes shone in a way Seth had never seen before.

  ‘So . . . you can stay now, can’t you?’ Anna said hopefully. ‘Now that the Inquisitors think you’re dead?’

  Ellie looked at Anna sadly, then shook her head.

  Anna took a deep breath. ‘So when will you leave?’ She seemed to be trying her best to sound brisk, but her voice trembled.

  ‘Oh,’ Ellie said. ‘Soon, I suppose. You’re sure you won’t –’

  ‘I’m sure,’ said Anna, then winced. ‘How soon?’

  ‘A few hours?’ said Ellie.

  Anna nodded miserably and rubbed her nose. ‘You’ll need clothes,’ she said. ‘And all that dried food we bought. I’ll go fetch them from the workshop. Maybe I could bring a fishing rod too?’ She looked down at the sea. ‘We could try catching a cuttlefish before you go?’

  ‘I’d love to,’ said Ellie.

  Anna hurried for the door, then turned and ran back to Ellie, hugging her fiercely.

  ‘I’m not going yet,’ said Ellie, but Anna kept hugging her anyway.

  ‘See you,’ she said, slouching towards the door. She gave Seth a lazy salute, and then was gone.

  Seth turned to Ellie, and found she was already looking at him.

  ‘So, do you still want my help out there?’ he said.

  She smiled. ‘Well, I thought that, if I’m to go off exploring the whole wide ocean, it might be useful to have a sea god with me.’

  Seth scratched his head. ‘I’m not very good at being a sea god – I’ve never even been in a boat.’

  ‘Not that you remember,’ Ellie said.

  ‘What do you think we’ll find out there?’ he said.

  Ellie stared out to the horizon, thinking.

  ‘You must have some idea?’ said Seth, but Ellie shook her head.

  ‘Something new, I hope. But to be honest . . . I don’t know.’ She smiled. ‘Exciting, isn’t it?’

  Acknowledgements

  This novel was nearly abandoned. I am indebted to the following people for saving it.

  To Caroline Ambrose, whose tireless support for writers is awe-inspiring. To your army of junior judges, whose feedback I’ve laminated.

  To my agent, Stephanie Thwaites. You saw straight to the heart of the story, and your vision for its redrafting was ingenious – I couldn’t have hoped for a better champion. To Isobel Gahan and everyone at Curtis Brown.

  To my editor, Ben Horslen, for forgoing sleep in favour of reading my book, and for squeezing every drop of creativity out of me even when I kicked and grumbled. To Tom Rawlinson, Shreeta Shah, Emily Smyth, Lizz Skelly, Lucie Sharpe, Jane Tait, and the whole team at Puffin. And to Manuel Šumberac, for an incredible cover and for illustrating Ellie’s world so vividly.

  To Anna Davis, whose scheming set this whole thing in motion.

  To Katie, Jonas and Robert for reading the earliest drafts, and giving such thoughtful feedback.

  To my brothers and sister, to my mum and dad. And to Lise, who made the rest of them tolerable.

  Finally, to Anbara, this novel has been ours together, and would be nothing without you. I am so grateful for your patience, love, and unfaltering belief. You have given so much of your time to this story and I will never be able to thank you enough.

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  First published 2020

  Text copyright © Struan Murray, 2020

  Illustrations copyright © Manuel Šumberac, 2020

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  ISBN: 978-0-241-38444-2

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