The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  “When they discover what you did…”

  “They will thank me,” Marin said. “Had I not been involved, they would have been lost long ago.”

  “You should have warned me about the Thelns. I had to make it seem as though I expected them.”

  “Warn you? I didn’t know they were planning to risk entry. They shouldn’t have been able to. Aren’t there protections in place to keep them from gaining access?”

  “Only other Kavers.”

  Marin took a step in Alec’s direction, and he moved back into the shadows. He didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he felt he needed to get to Sam, and let her know what he had overheard.

  There were other Kavers.

  Alec knew that there had to be, especially since Marin was one, but she spoke as if there would be others. If that were the case, they didn’t have to fear the Thelns, though the Thelns had already managed to gain access to the city, and had done considerable damage. If they managed to gain entry again, how much more damage could they do? Would Sam be able to survive it? Would he?

  “He will return. After what happened, he will return. And he blames you.”

  “He blames me now, but when he discovers the truth…”

  The man chuckled. “Do you believe that Ralun can be convinced of the truth?”

  Alec backed away. He recognized that name. It was the name of the Theln who had chased Sam throughout the city. Ralun had escaped, and could it be that Marin knew the reason he had been here? Could she have kept something from them?

  Not from him. From Sam.

  Staying here wasn’t safe. He wasn’t sure why Marin and this man were waiting for his father, though it likely had something to do with the fact that his father had once been at the university. He backed away, not wanting to get caught here.

  And yet, what of the reason that he’d come?

  His gaze drifted along the rows of shelves. Without his father, he wasn’t sure he could even find the proper combination of medicines to help the woman.

  Maybe that wasn’t the way that he could help her.

  His hand slipped into his pocket to the sheet of easar paper that he kept on him at all times. Maybe his way of helping her was what he had told Sam all along. His abilities as a Scribe granted him that capability.

  He sneaked toward the door and grabbed the bell, keeping it from ringing as he slipped out, backing into the street. He made his way into an alley near his father’s shop. His heart raced as he looked toward the doorway, waiting to see if Marin and the man would come out. He still hadn’t gotten a good look at the other person in the shop, but he didn’t dare risk being discovered, not knowing who the man was.

  And the longer he was away from the university, the more difficult it would be for him to return.

  After checking the surrounding area, he sat down in the alley and pulled the easar paper from his pocket. Reaching into his satchel, he removed a vial of the blood ink and a small pen that was designed to use as little space on the paper as possible.

  Still watching the alley for Marin to leave, he started writing out the woman’s symptoms. After that, he added how he would heal her.

  It was the same way that he had helped the princess, the same way he had helped Marin when the wasting had consumed both of them. A twinge of fatigue that he always felt when using the blood ink washed through him. Sam would likely feel that, as well. From what he could tell, both were aware when it was used.

  What must she think, knowing that he had borrowed from her without her knowing?

  When the blood ink was dry, he slid the page back into his folder, stoppered the vial, and stepped toward the mouth of the alley. There he waited, wanting to see Marin when she appeared. He still didn’t know if Sam had found her, though she had been looking for the last few weeks.

  He didn’t need to wait long.

  The distinctive tinkling of the bells drew his attention, and the door to the apothecary shop opened. Marin hurried out into the street, moving back toward the Caster section. The man with her peeled off, going in the opposite direction.

  Did that mean his father had returned? The shop had a back entrance, and maybe that was the way his father had returned, though it would be unusual. Typically, his father came through the front entrance. The fact that the door was unlocked made him think that his father still had been at the shop, only hidden. Maybe he was preparing some concoction for Marin. That might be the only reason she had come.

  As much as Alec wanted to know who this man was, he needed to find out where Marin was going. He trailed quietly through the streets, tracking her as best he could. Had Sam come, she would have managed much better than he.

  He finally caught her near the canal.

  She pulled out her canal staff and screwed the ends together. With a quick jump, she cleared the canal and disappeared into the night.

  Alec could follow but doing so meant that he would be chasing after Marin, and he had enough experience with her to know that she wouldn’t appreciate him doing so. Even if he could catch up to her—something that he wasn’t certain he could—she might attempt some way of throwing him off her tail, or even worse, attacking him.

  It was late, and it was time for him to return to the university. It might be that he was already gone too long, and questions would be asked of him. He had a story in mind, but that depended on his father knowing that he had come. Since Alec had not made his presence in the shop known, he had to hope his father would not be asked about his absence. It was bad enough that most of the university knew he was the son of an apothecary, and bad enough that most felt he had no right to be there, but if he began to mysteriously disappear and do other things that might draw attention to him, he would be viewed with even more derision.

  Alec reached the bridge leading away from Arrend and back toward the university, and suddenly had the feeling that he was followed. He glanced behind him but noticed nothing. The night was dark, and shadows stretched.

  A chill settled on him, and he shivered, rubbing his hands over his arms. He hurried forward, crossing over the bridge. As he reached the other side, he heard a soft splash and turned, but there was nothing. It had to be only his imagination.

  He needed to go and find Sam to tell her about Marin, but he hoped she would understand that he couldn’t, and he had to hope that she wouldn’t be angry that he’d been away for the last week. He would have to go find her soon. She needed to know what he had heard, and he needed her to continue looking for Marin, to see what she might know about Ralun and the Thelns.

  But first, he needed to return to the university and see if his attempt at healing the woman had even been effective.

  23

  Lessons

  Sam followed Marin across the rooftop. When they reached the nearest canal, Marin paused, screwing the ends of the staff together as she looked at Sam. “Are you ready?”

  “It depends,” Sam said.

  “On what?”

  “On what you show me. What does any of this have to do with keeping Tray safe?” Marin still hadn’t shared anything, other than the instruction that she remain in the outer sections of the city, avoiding crossing over the central canal and into the merchant sections. That effectively meant that she wouldn’t see Alec.

  Marin frowned. “It has everything to do with it. All of it is related, Samara. The Thelns. The Anders. The university. Even you and I.”

  With the mention of the university, Sam’s heart thudded for a moment.

  Marin took a step back, only three paces from the edge of the canal and cast herself out over the canal. As she jumped, Marin stabbed her staff into the basin of the canal, swinging up and over for landing on the other side.

  Sam could only stare. Marin was skilled. She had always known that, but it was something else to see her demonstrate that skill. Sam had talent jumping the canals, and suspected that were she augmented, it would be even less of an issue, but there was an almost acrobatic quality to the way that Mar
in managed.

  Sam quickly screwed the ends of her staff together and took a few steps back, matching the pace that Marin had. As she did, standing three steps away from the edge of the canal, she hated that she had to take another two steps back. She was too close, and she didn’t dare jump from the same distance Marin had. And Marin was only a few inches taller than she was. It wasn’t enough of a difference for Marin to be that much more successful at generating so much more strength.

  She would typically take even more than five steps, were Marin not here. She raced out, hitting the edge of the canal, and pushed off. As she did, she flipped out, spinning her staff, thrusting into the center of the canal where she could kick herself up and over, though she didn’t think she had any of the same gracefulness Marin managed.

  And it wasn’t even that Sam wasn’t skilled. It was that the way Marin managed to do it was almost supernatural.

  Could she be augmented?

  It would mean she had her Scribe hidden somewhere, and Sam had never seen Marin with anyone who might be considered a Scribe. Maybe Marin was simply that good.

  Sam landed on the other side, a step shallower than Marin, teetering for a moment before catching herself and straightening.

  “Are you ready?” Marin asked as if there were no issue with the fact that she had simply jumped the way that she had.

  “Did you have an augmentation?”

  Marin frowned. “Do you see me with a Scribe?”

  “Then how? How were you able to do that?”

  “Come, Samara.” Marin started off, twisting the ends of her staff as she did, casually sliding them onto a hook around her belt. Sam did the same, feeling less skilled with every passing moment. It was striking how much more competent Marin was than she.

  “Why don’t you want me to go into the central part of the city?” Sam asked.

  Marin shot her a hard look. “I warned you about it. As part of your training, you were to abide by what I asked.”

  “I’m only trying to understand.”

  “You will learn what you need in time.”

  They continued through the outer sections, staying along the periphery of the city.

  When they reached the next canal, heading over to the Charn section, Sam looked over. Marin had paused, and surveyed the canals, her gaze going distant. There was a troubled expression to her face, one that left Sam with a similar sense of unease.

  “Have you spoken to your Scribe since he went to the university?” Marin asked.

  Sam sighed. “We had argued a bit before he left. He’s wanted to be a physicker a long time.”

  Sam still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She should be pleased for Alec—and she was—but she felt nothing but a strange emptiness that she no longer had the same time with him.

  “And what of you?”

  “Apparently, I’m a Kaver without a Scribe.”

  “I have a hard time believing that you will be without your Scribe for long.”

  “You think I will find another Scribe?”

  Marin shook her head. “That’s not what I implied. Only that your Scribe is not quite so distant as you would believe.”

  “After what I said, I’m not certain.”

  “I’m sure nothing was said that cannot be…”

  “Taken back?” Sam asked.

  Marin shook her head. “No. You can’t take back what you said. You can apologize, and you can make amends. If the person you injured cares for you—and I suspect your Scribe does—then you can return to find forgiveness. And from forgiveness, you can move on.”

  “Is that why you’re here? Do you want me to forgive you?”

  “Have I done something that I need forgiveness for?”

  Marin watched her, as if waiting to see how Sam would answer. When she didn’t say anything, Marin stepped to the edge of the canal and leaped off. Much like the last time, she barely needed to jump and managed to spring high into the air, twisting, before landing on the other side.

  Out of stubbornness, Sam screwed the ends of her staff together and took three steps back, not quite the single step that Marin had, and took a quick run before jumping, clearing the edge of the canal, thrusting with her staff into the ground and the water. She flipped as she did, mimicking Marin. This time, she managed much more effectively than the first time. She was able to soar above the canal before landing on the other side.

  Marin smiled. “Not hopeless. That’s good.”

  She started off, passing between buildings. They were old, the stone weathered and worn. Some spots had cracks, and streaks of rainwater had left the stone gray or black in places. Many of the buildings didn’t have any signs on them, and those that did were difficult to read, long since faded. The streets were narrow, and Marin navigated them as if she knew them. Sam suspected she did, suspecting that the woman knew the city as well as Bastan, maybe even better.

  “It might be good that your Scribe has gone to the university.”

  “Why is that good?”

  “There is information at the university we might need.”

  “We?”

  “We,” Marin said with a nod.

  “Is that what Tray is after?”

  Marin paused. “Tray is after something else. I would rather keep him away from the university if possible.”

  As they neared another canal, the buildings narrowed, not rising nearly as high as they had before. These appeared more like private dwellings, buildings that were structured similar to the one Marin occupied, though likely without the same abundance of rooms.

  “Why? What sort of information is at the university?”

  “The kind that will help us know what sort of danger Tray—and you—might be in.”

  Marin tapped her canal staff on the cobbles and took five steps back before racing forward, flipping out over the canal and landing on the other side.

  Sam cursed herself. Was this how it was going to be? Were they going to chase each other through the streets of the city, basically having Sam search for her, trying to find where Marin would either lead her or provide answers as to what she was after?

  Sam took the same five steps back and raced forward.

  As she reached the edge, as her toes touched the stone ledge of the canal, she knew that she hadn’t time it quite right.

  She jumped, flipping as she did, forcibly jabbing the staff into the ground, and pushing off. She flipped in the air again and came around nearly a complete revolution. She managed to bring the staff back into the water where she vaulted back up and reached the opposite shore.

  When she landed, she leaned forward, catching her breath.

  Marin eyed her for a moment. “Are you augmented?”

  “If I were augmented, do you think I would have needed to do something as stupid as a double flip over the canal?”

  “Good. Now we can see what else you can do.”

  Marin moved more slowly now, and though she broke down her canal staff, she didn’t put it away.

  Sam wondered about that. Marin was normally cautious, not wanting others to know that she was carrying a canal staff. If they were caught, it could be dangerous. The staff might be viewed as a weapon, and not only confiscated, but they could be imprisoned. For Marin to keep hers out, it meant that she was either concerned with what they might find or trying to demonstrate something for Sam.

  Rather than veering toward another canal, Marin turned toward the center of the section. This was a typical merchant section, much like where she first met Alec. Shops lined the street, though they were of slightly higher quality than even what Alec considered home. It wasn’t highborn—not yet.

  “Marin? What are we doing here?”

  “You want to know more about what your brother and your Scribe are getting into.”

  “I do.”

  “That’s why we’re here.”

  Marin pulled her into an alley and assembled her staff, flipping up to the roof. Sam had some difficulty following but managed to land on the
edge of the roof. They stood looking out over the street, and Marin said nothing.

  Sam crouched, watching the street for long moments. Every so often, she would glance over at Marin, but the woman would shake her head, warning her to silence. Sam remained quiet, content to observe. There was something Marin wanted her to see, and it had to do with both Alec and Tray.

  Sam lost track of time as she remained still. Eventually, one of the doors along the street opened and three men emerged. They wore dark cloaks and sauntered forward, confidence to their step. They didn’t appear to be merchants, and something about their swaggers made them seem more like soldiers.

  As they passed beneath them, Sam noted each had a mark on his upper chest. She stared, trying to make it out, but from where she stood she could not. That was probably important and might be the reason that Marin had brought her here.

  When they were gone, Sam opened her mouth, ready to say something when Marin shook her head. She nodded toward the building where the men had come from.

  Sam looked and saw movement behind the windows.

  Marin moved forward, clutching her staff tightly. “Now we go.”

  She flipped out over the street, stabbing downward with her staff, pushing off the stone and sliding back down.

  Sam wasn’t willing to do something quite so outrageous with her canal staff. She jumped, not flipping through the air as Marin had done, and when her staff struck the cobbles, she slid down.

  Marin hadn’t waited and reached the door to the building.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “You wanted to understand why I have sent your brother where I have. You wanted to understand why your Scribe was summoned to the university.” Marin nodded to the door. “This is why.”

  Marin kicked open the door to the building and raced inside, disappearing. Sam debated following but feared that doing so would draw her deeper into something she didn’t want to be a part of.