The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  “You have more than you let yourself believe.” Bastan stared at her and then took a deep breath, turning his attention back to the small box. “You did well.”

  “You still didn’t answer. What was in the warehouse?”

  “Most of those crates are empty. I imagine you saw the rows of tables with other items?” He didn’t look up as Sam nodded. “The items on those tables once were in those crates. They are shipping crates, going on to the barges, and used to move goods around the city. They are rented out of that warehouse.”

  “Rented? Why would people rent shipping crates?”

  “The cost of manufacturing shipping crates is not minimal, Samara. Many things cost money, even for merchants who have means.”

  “And that?” she asked, nodding toward the box on the table.

  Bastan traced his fingers around the markings. “That is something that I will work on.” He tore his gaze away and looked up at Sam. “If you are interested, I might have another job for you soon.”

  “What if I don’t want to take another job?”

  “That is your prerogative. You aren’t beholden to me, and you aren’t required to work on my behalf. But then, I seem to recall you telling me that you wanted nothing more than to buy your way into another section.”

  He watched her, and Sam said nothing. When Bastan didn’t say anything more, she got up and left the office. When she entered the tavern area, she waved to Kevin and took a seat at one of the available tables. He had recovered well from the assault. She was thankful for that. Kevin was friendly to her and always made sure that she had enough food.

  “What did he have you do this time, Sam?”

  “Who knows. Whatever he sent me for is hidden inside some strange box.”

  “Another one?”

  “What you mean, another one?”

  “Only that Bastan has been…” Kevin glanced back at the office. “Ah, you know I shouldn’t be saying anything, Sam. If he learns that I’ve been talking to you about things that he doesn’t want shared, he might send me out.”

  “I’m pretty sure that Bastan isn’t sending you anywhere, Kevin.”

  Kevin grinned widely. “Can I get you some food?”

  Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and Kevin chuckled.

  “Wait here. Don’t do anything silly and leave before I get a chance to feed you. I can’t have you running off into the night on an empty stomach.”

  Kevin disappeared, and Sam looked around the tavern. Most of the people here were Bastan’s servants, in one way or another. The longer she continued taking his jobs, the more she essentially became one of his servants. And it wasn’t even that Bastan was hard on them, or bad to them. How many had to pay for the food that Bastan provided? Probably very few. As long as they did the jobs that he asked, and as long as they remained loyal to him, Bastan would be loyal back. That was just the way he was.

  When Kevin return, he carried a tray with a bowl of stew and a lump of bread. He smiled at Sam and tapped the table in front of her before heading off and disappearing to speak to some of the other people at other tables. Sam dug into her food, eating quickly. It wasn’t long before she’d devoured it completely, and when she was done, she considered waiting for Kevin to return, maybe asking for a second helping, but decided against it. Instead, she got up and headed out into the night.

  With her stomach full, she felt better than she had in some time.

  Troubled thoughts followed her. They were thoughts that she had managed to avoid when she was working with Alec, but with him now off at the university, those thoughts returned, and they chased her as she wandered the streets of Caster. Bastan had called her out on it, and regardless of what she said, she couldn’t help but feel that she needed to be somewhere else, and do something else, but what? And how?

  It bothered her that she hadn’t seen her brother again. It bothered her more that her brother was doing something on behalf of Marin, and working with someone that Sam didn’t know, which meant that she couldn’t keep an eye on him. It meant that she couldn’t keep him safe.

  More than that, it meant that she was alone.

  Tray had always been there with her and had always been the one to keep her company. Without him, she felt isolated. She hadn’t felt that way quite as much since working with Alec. She still felt responsible for Tray’s capture, but Marin fixed that well enough. And when he got out, he went to working exclusively with Marin. Probably in thanks for helping him get released. Sam admitted she resented Marin for taking her brother from her. But she vowed to learn more about what he was doing for her.

  Without meaning to, she made her way toward Marin’s home. The streets were empty, though she expected nothing less at this time of night. But she chided herself for allowing her thoughts to keep her from being more vigilant, even though she never felt truly in danger here.

  There was movement, and Sam spun.

  Marin appeared out of the darkness behind her.

  “How long have you been following me?” Sam asked.

  “Why must I have been following you? My home has been broken into at least once, so it pays to keep an eye on it, and ensure that no one else is coming to attempt to break in.”

  “I didn’t know that Alec had broken in.”

  “Who said Alec had been the one to break in?”

  “I overheard Tray tell you.”

  “That’s right. You were following us.”

  “And you still haven’t told me who Davin is.”

  Marin shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t? I think it does. You’ve been keeping Tray away from me.”

  “Not quite keeping him away.”

  “Then help me understand what he’s up to. What have you been up to?” She hesitated, but she needed Marin to know that she had been following her. It might be the only way she would convince Marin to help her understand what it meant for her to be a Kaver. “I’ve followed you. I’ve seen where you’ve been going. What’s this about? Why won’t you help me learn what it means to be a Kaver? And what happens when the Thelns return? The highborns took paper from them once—how do you know they won’t try it again?”

  “They were lucky the last time,” Marin said softly. “I doubt they will be so lucky again. And as to the second part, you don’t need to worry about the Thelns returning.”

  “I don’t?”

  “They played their hand too openly. Now they put themselves in danger if they appear again.” Marin studied her for a long moment, and it seemed as if she might run off, but she motioned for Sam to follow.

  Sam thought she might lead her into her home, but instead, she guided her into an alley where Marin threw herself up onto a rooftop, jumping much more quickly than Sam could manage. Sam followed, but did so more cautiously. When she reached Marin, the other woman glanced over.

  “You shouldn’t have been following,” Marin said.

  “I want to know what it means to be a Kaver, and you’re the only one who can help with that.” There had to be others, but how would she find them?

  “When you discovered what you are, you became involved in something much more dangerous than you ever realized.”

  “I’m not involved in anything, Marin.”

  “You are a Kaver, Samara. That places you in a greater danger than you had been in before. It’s a greater danger even than you working as a thief. And now that the Thelns have returned to the city, you understand the depths of that danger.”

  Sam sighed. “I’m not able to be a Kaver, not without a Scribe, and not without easar paper.”

  “What happened with your Scribe?”

  “He went to the university.”

  Marin stared at her silently for a moment. “I thought that he trained with his father.”

  “He did. I think he thought he would always continue training with his father, but he was summoned to the university for testing, and he passed.”

  “Of course, he passed.” Marin spoke s
oftly, and she stared out in the night.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that your Scribe is intelligent. I’m not surprised the university would see that.”

  “Yeah, well it means that he and I can’t continue to practice.”

  “I thought you said you had no easar paper.”

  Sam shrugged. “We don’t, not anymore.”

  “That’s for the best. Using that paper only places you in danger. It places your brother in danger.”

  “If the Thelns aren’t here, does it have anything to do with the men I’ve seen throughout the city?”

  Marin frowned. “What men?”

  “Men like you attacked when you baited me.”

  “Have you seen others like that?” Marin asked. She was tense, a posture that Sam had not seen from her before.

  “Maybe once or twice.”

  “You should be careful, Samara. Not everything is what it seems.”

  “Such as you?”

  “I have never hidden myself from you.”

  “You kept your connection to my mother from me. You’ve hidden the truth about Tray from me.”

  “That was because his father cannot know about him.”

  “His father? Not our father?” Sam wasn’t even surprised. How could she be, when Tray was so different from her.

  “You must have known that the two of you were different.”

  “Other than he’s big and I’m small?”

  “It’s more than that, and you know it. Tray is part Theln, and that makes him dangerous.”

  Sam glared at Marin. “Tray is not dangerous. I will defend him against anyone who claims that.”

  Marin watched her for a long moment. “I think that you would, wouldn’t you?”

  “He’s my brother. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Even after what you’ve seen of the Thelns?”

  “Tray isn’t like them.”

  Marin rested her canal staff on her lap and looked out into the night. “There are some who view the Thelns in one way, and one way only. They view all of them as violent and dangerous. Who can blame them, considering what we have seen?”

  “Ralun attacked me,” Sam said. “I know what the Thelns can do.”

  “And because of that, those who know of the Thelns would claim that they are nothing but violent. They would see Trayson as one of them, and they would see him as equally prone to violence. When he was captured and thrown into prison, he ran the risk of a certain kind of attention. It was not easy to pry him free.” Marin turned her attention back to Sam. “I would protect your brother from those people.”

  “Is that what you’ve been doing?”

  “I’ve been trying to make a few preparations, especially now that the Thelns have decided to move on the city. I thought we were safe.”

  “We were safe. The highborns changed that.”

  “You can blame them, or you can prepare.”

  “I defeated the Thelns once.”

  “Once, and even you have to admit there was more than a bit of luck involved.”

  “Then help me learn. Show me what I need to know.”

  Marin sighed. “I never wanted to train you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Training you only draws the wrong kind of attention.” Marin squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she shook her head. “And yet, I can see that if I don’t train you, you will continue to push on your own, won’t you? And if I don’t train you, who will be there for Tray?”

  “No one will be there for Tray if you continue to push him out and away from me and those that I can reach.”

  “I’m doing everything I can to protect him,” Marin said softly. “Even if that means sending him away.”

  “You would send him away?” That hurt, but what hurt even more was the possibility that Tray would leave without letting Sam know. Didn’t she mean something to him? She had nearly ended up in prison just so she could break him free.

  No. She had to believe that Tray wouldn’t do anything without letting Sam know. She had to believe that he might still work with Marin, but he wouldn’t suddenly abandon her. He was her brother, and he cared for her, the same way that she cared for him.

  “I thought that I might be able to minimize his exposure,” Marin said. “I thought I was going to be able to minimize the risk that you posed, especially now that you have revealed yourself. Perhaps it is too late for that.” She looked over to Sam. “If I work with you and train you, even a little, you will listen to what I ask?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On what you intend to ask. I want you to work with me, but I’m not going to follow blindly. I wasn’t willing to follow Bastan blindly, so why would I follow you?”

  “If I work with you, you must agree to remain in the sections of the city that I tell you are safe.”

  Sam stared at her. What sections would Marin believe were safe? Would it somehow keep her from Tray? Would it somehow keep her from Alec?

  “What kind of training are we talking about? Is it similar to the kind that Bastan has given me over the years, trying to teach me to be a better thief? If that’s the kind of training that you’re talking about, I’m not sure it matters enough to me to spend time with you like that.”

  “The kind of training I would share with you would be how to best utilize your Kaver abilities.”

  “How can I best utilize my Kaver abilities if Alec is off at the university?”

  “The things that you have been doing with your Scribe aren’t what it means to be a Kaver. There is much more to it, and there is much more training that you would need in order to understand. You and he have discovered the secret of the connection shared between Kaver and Scribe, something that often takes much longer for the two to recognize, but there is more to you being a Kaver, much like there is much more to your friend being a Scribe.” Marin stood and tapped her staff on the rooftop. “Now. If you intend to train with me, and if you intend to learn from me, you will listen to me, and you will go where I tell you, and you will do as I have asked.”

  Sam swallowed. What else would she do? She could continue thieving for Bastan, but there were limits to how much she wanted to do that. “What does any of this have to do with the men you attacked? What does this have to do with the men who broke into Bastan’s tavern?”

  “You will learn that in time, but for now, know that I fear they have discovered Tray, and until I find a way to ensure his safety, you need to listen. The only reason I’m training you is so that you can protect your brother. Are you willing to do that?”

  Sam looked at Marin. For Tray, what choice did she have?

  20

  First Days

  The university felt different. Alec remembered how he had felt when he had been here the first time, and the way the walls around him seemed oppressive, but that had been when he had come with Sam as someone in need of care and had been required to pay for entrance. He had felt nothing but disdain for the way the university required payment from everyone who entered seeking help.

  When he had come following his acceptance, flashing his letter to allow him to cross the bridges to this section of the city, there had been no line of people waiting for healing, though the time of day he was expected to appear likely had much to do with that.

  Was that intentional or not?

  Now he sat in a classroom. It was a simple room that consisted of a dozen chairs in rows, with a table at the front of the room. A slate board hung along the wall, and chalk rested on a table in front of it. Most of the students in the room all appeared wealthy, what Sam would refer to as highborns. From the heavy embroidery on their clothing to the obvious cost of their pens that rested on the tables in front of them, to even the quality of paper, he could tell they came from money.

  There were a few others that appeared more merchant class, more like him. They wore simpler robes, and for the most part, the paper they had was of lower quality.
Alec had the advantage in that Mrs. Rubbles had provided him with paper, wanting him to be well stocked and supplied, not wanting him to spend his first day at the university unable to take notes. His father had suggested that would be a significant part of his training.

  After years of a practical approach, where he had been able to work with his father’s customers, coming here and learning this more theoretical approach felt like a step back. But for him to learn what he could from the university, he needed to sit and listen.

  Alec couldn’t miss the fact that all of the other students, wealthy or merchant, were young.

  It was as he had suspected. He was old for admission to the university. He was actually surprised that they had granted him admission considering that he was well beyond the typical age range. Everyone else sat staring straight ahead, with their backs stiff, especially those he thought were from money.

  Would he be able to befriend anyone here? That was part of the process, and his father had said that some of his closest friends while at the university had come from those early days. He had advised Alec to take advantage of his time here, and to build on any relationship that he could, but he wasn’t certain that he could.

  The door swung open and an older woman entered. She was of medium height and dressed in a thick, deep blue robe that appeared made of velvet. Black hair was pulled back into a bun, and she surveyed the class with an appraising eye before leaning on the table.

  “How many of you have experience with making assessments?” Her voice was hard, edged with authority. Her gaze took in the room, darting from one person to the next, practically daring them to answer.

  Alec raised his hand.

  The master physicker turned her attention to him. She arched her brow. “You? And how did you come to have this experience?”

  Alec swallowed before answering. “My father owns an apothecary shop.”

  Someone near him snorted. Alec kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, making a point of ignoring him. What could he say? It was a common response for people in the center sections to feel that way about apothecaries, especially since those people were typically the ones best able to afford university healing. Many of them believed that apothecaries were charlatans, healers who passed out medicines that would do nothing.