The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  “I don’t know. Why are you so insistent on following me?”

  “You’re interesting. That’s all I can say. I’m curious what you might’ve done and how that might’ve helped that woman. I suspect her survival is due to what you did.”

  “It’s not because of what I did.”

  “No? It seems to me that you had more influence over her recovery than you want to admit. Look at it from my perspective,” Jen said, hurrying to position herself beside him. “You were observed placing a tourniquet around her leg. The tourniquet would be important for preventing the spread of the toxins in her bloodstream. But it would only delay things. In order to fully prevent it and justify the fact that you had placed the tourniquet, you would need to provide healing of some sort. Now, what did you give her that brought her back?”

  Alec looked over at her and sighed. “It’s like you said. There’s nothing that would have healed her. The master physickers would have known had I tried to sneak back and give her something. I wasn’t willing to make that mistake.”

  She laughed. Her voice had a soft quality to it. “You did something, son of the apothecary, I just don’t know what it was yet.” She leaned forward and poked him in the chest with her finger. “But I will figure you out. You’re a puzzle. And I enjoy a puzzle.”

  Alec wanted to be free of her, and in order to do so, he ducked into a room.

  It was a library.

  He hadn’t spent much time in the university library since coming here. Students were all granted access, and he had been here long enough to expect that he would have the need, especially since Master Eckerd had suggested students could find any information they sought within the library.

  He paused. It was enormous and rose three stories high. Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling with ladders running along them, granting access to the upper reaches. Books were crammed into the shelves. Tables were scattered throughout the center of the library. Students occupied most of them, though there were none he recognized. A few looked up when he entered before returning to their work.

  Alec considered returning to his dorm room, but all he would do there would be sleep. He could organize his notes, but he’d done that each of the last few nights, documenting what he’d seen and categorizing them, so he could more easily retrieve information by topic. He had gone through them enough times that he had memorized what he had documented.

  There wasn’t anything more for him to do, but he didn’t want to encounter Jen again. So, he found a study table and sat down, ignoring the questioning glance of the student sitting at the far end. He pulled out his notes and set them on the table, shuffling the pages to at least provide the appearance that he was studying. Many of the other students in the library had books out, but there were some like him who kept their focus on notes.

  Before he knew it, hours had passed. It was now too late, and he was too tired to consider visiting Sam, even if he could find her. In Caster, he suspected he wouldn’t be able to—at least not easily. She likely would have disappeared long ago doing whatever she was doing on behalf of Bastan. Maybe she was still in search of Marin. Or maybe she’d come searching for him, though he doubted it. Or more likely, she had gone after her brother.

  The door opened behind him, and a trio of master physickers entered. One of them was Master Eckerd, though he didn’t look over and didn’t seem to notice Alec. They hurried through the room, reaching a door along the far wall. One of the masters withdrew a key and unlocked it.

  Without meaning to be, Alec was drawn forward. Curiosity got the best of him. He wanted to know what room within this library of knowledge would require a lock, and why master physickers would gather there at this late hour. What would be so important?

  He stopped himself. It wouldn’t do for him to be caught trailing after master physickers. Doing so would only raise questions, and he needed to avoid detection so that he could continue to learn here. He couldn’t do that if he was caught snooping on the masters.

  He turned his attention back to his notes. He skimmed the pages, his eyes catching on a lecture from earlier in the day. They were discussing various stimulants, ways to increase energy. When that talk had begun, he had perked up. Such knowledge would be useful when working with the blood ink, especially since each time he made any documentation on the easar paper, he felt a wave of weakness through him. If he could counter that in some natural way, he was hopeful that he might be able to increase his strength and stamina when creating augmentations.

  Many of the stimulants he already knew, but he was surprised that there were a few that he had never heard about. It was possible his father knew of them but hadn’t taught him—or he simply didn’t have access to those medicines. Learning of different treatments at least gave them options.

  As he flipped through the pages, he came across the scrap of easar paper with the woman’s symptoms documented on it. There wasn’t much room on the paper, not anymore. Soon, they would run out of it entirely, and then what would they do? How would they be able to practice augmentations? Unless Sam managed to get a supply of paper from someone—and likely Bastan, as he was the only one who still had any paper—they would be limited on what they could do.

  He wanted to return to the hospital ward and wanted to reevaluate the woman. If she had fully recovered, he wanted to see the extent of it. When he’d used easar paper to heal before, the effects had lasted, other than when he’d used it to counter illnesses from the Book of Maladies. He still wanted to have the opportunity to observe someone who had been subjected to the healing, hoping that he could better understand the way the easar paper worked. He needed to test it in more ways than they had, attempting to use it with different techniques.

  The door to the back room opened, and two of the master physickers appeared. Each wore the long gray jackets, markers of the master physicker, hanging beyond their knees. There were other physickers, those referred to as full physickers, who wore jackets that hung to the knee, and then junior physickers whose jackets came to mid-thigh. Students had the shortest jackets of all, barely coming to their waist. Alec tugged on the end of his jacket, wishing it was somewhat longer.

  He tried not to pay too much attention as the two master physickers departed. Neither was Master Eckerd.

  Which meant that he was the last one in the room.

  Would he answer any questions?

  Alec needed to develop some relationships here, and so far, any attempt to develop them with other students had failed him. Maybe he could do better with physickers, and he did have questions for Master Eckerd, wondering whether his treatment of the woman had been discovered.

  Alec gathered up his papers, put them in his satchel, and went to the door. Not sure if the door would be locked, he tentatively reached for the knob. It turned. When he stepped inside, Master Eckerd stood in the center of the room, leaning over a thick book. The room was otherwise empty.

  “I thought you were going to investigate—” Master Eckerd cut off as he glanced over his shoulder and saw Alec standing there. “Students are not allowed in this part of the library.”

  “I’m sorry. I was just looking through the library to see if I could learn more about the stimulants discussed during our lecture today. “

  “Any of the librarians in the main library can help. This area is for master physickers only.”

  Alec’s gaze drifted to the book. There was something about it that seemed almost familiar. “What is in that book?” Alec asked. He tried stepping forward, but Master Eckerd closed it before he had a chance to see.

  “It is nothing.”

  Alec nodded and clutched his satchel to himself. “How is the poisoned woman?”

  Master Eckerd studied him for a moment. There was something in the way that he watched Alec that he couldn’t read. “The poisoned woman is better.”

  “Oh, good. I know that you said the poisoning was often fatal, and that there was nothing that could really be done. I feared that she was already gone.”r />
  “Have a seat, Mr.…”

  “Stross. Alec Stross.”

  “Yes. That is right. You are the apothecary’s son.”

  “My father is the apothecary.”

  “And he’s taught you?”

  “As much as he could. He thought that I had reached a point where I needed to come to the university to continue my studies.”

  “He seems to have done well with you. There aren’t many who come in here with the level of observation that you demonstrated. I think in time, you will make a skilled physicker. Stick to your studies and pay attention in the lectures, so that you can progress to senior student level more quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if you reach junior physicker in a few years.”

  Years.

  Hearing it said like that struck Alec in a way that nothing had before. Him being here meant that he had committed to studying at the university, and it meant that he had committed to dedicating a significant amount of time at the university. Apparently, it meant that he would be here for years.

  What did that mean for him and Sam? If his years here meant less time training together, would there ever come a time when they would master the skills needed for him to be her Scribe?

  “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, Mr. Stross, I must return to my studies.”

  Master Eckerd turned toward the book, sitting down in front of it. He flipped open the leather cover, and as he did, Alec swore it looked like the book was written on easar paper.

  He thought about questioning Master Eckerd, but that would only expose that he knew about easar paper.

  Master Eckerd looked up at him one more time, and Alec tore his gaze away, forcing a smile as he turned to leave.

  26

  A Friend in Need

  The inside of Mrs. Rubbles’ shop was dimly lit. All he needed was ink and more paper. He hadn’t anticipated he would be documenting quite as thoroughly as he had chosen to do, and hadn’t been as prepared as he should have been. Alec’s father had told him there would be extensive notetaking at the university, but he had underestimated the volume of information he would deem relevant.

  There wasn’t anyone else he could think of going to other than Mrs. Rubbles. No one else had the same quality of paper, and no one else would be quite as kind with giving him a supply of inks. And it felt right coming back to her for supplies.

  Alec waited for her to come out from the back, but she didn’t. That was unusual for her. She was always so attentive when someone entered her shop, almost as if anticipating when the bell might ring, and would come out to greet the visitor.

  “Mrs. Rubbles?”

  There was no answer.

  Could she be out? If she was, why would she have left her shop unlocked? That wasn’t like her. Then again, it wasn’t like her to not be here.

  Alec made his way to the back of the shop and looked around. There was no sign of Mrs. Rubbles. She had a few vials of ink out on the counter, and they were unlabeled, something else that was unusual for her. Typically, she kept her inks meticulously labeled so that she would easily identify which ones were which. That she hadn’t done so now troubled him.

  Had something happened?

  Alec made his way through the storage area, her kitchen, looking to see if she might have fallen somewhere. He tugged on the short gray jacket that he wore, feeling uncomfortable in the university jacket. It didn’t even have deep enough pockets for him to stuff anything into. What he needed was one of the longer jackets, though for him to get one, he had to be promoted, and that would take time.

  He made his way toward the very back where there was a narrow staircase that led up to the living quarters. “Mrs. Rubbles?” he called up the stairs. He waited, listening to see if she might come down, but there was no sound from above.

  Alec decided he needed to go up and check on her. If nothing was wrong, he might be embarrassed, but he suspected she would understand.

  He took the stairs two at a time and reached the door at the top. He knocked and waited, but there was no answer. He tested it and found it unlocked. That was probably normal when she was in the shop, but with her not here, it was surprising she would have left it unlocked.

  The inside of her home was tidy. Mrs. Rubbles was the kind of woman who appreciated nice things and had worked enough over the years to have accumulated many such items. The home smelled of bread baking, but it was almost as if it had burned.

  Alec made his way to the kitchen.

  There he found Mrs. Rubbles. She was lying on the ground, motionless. He hurried forward and quickly began his assessment. He started with listening for her heartbeat, checking her pulse. It was rapid—far too rapid. It reminded him of when she had been sick with the glandular problem. He listened to her breathing and found it steady, if a little raspy. Her stomach sounded normal. He scanned her arms and legs, looking for signs of any injury, but found none. Her hands were dry and cracked, the same as when he’d seen her the last time.

  Alec looked over to the stairway. He needed to get Mrs. Rubbles help, which meant getting her to his father.

  He scooped her up. She was lighter than he had expected, though she had never been a large woman. He hurried to the stairs and down and out of the shop, wishing he had some way of locking it behind him. She would hate leaving her shop unlocked, and would hate even more the possibility that someone could break in. He could come back later and lock up the way she normally would.

  Would his father even be at the apothecary?

  That was the fear. If his father wasn’t at the shop, there was a real problem. Alec could take Mrs. Rubbles to the university, but if he did that, would they allow him—as a student—to admit someone to the university hospital ward?

  Alec didn’t doubt that Mrs. Rubbles had the ability to pay, but that shouldn’t be what mattered, not at the university.

  He crossed the street and reached his father’s shop and was thankful when he saw the light on inside. When he pushed open the door, the bells tinkled, alerting his father of someone’s arrival. When he came out from the back and saw Alec, he frowned briefly, before realizing that Alec was carrying Mrs. Rubbles.

  “Marcella?”

  “I found her when I went to get more paper and ink.”

  “Bring her back here.”

  Alec carried her back to the cot and laid her down. “She has a rapid heartbeat and her breathing is slightly erratic, but I find nothing else wrong with her.”

  He stepped back, letting his father perform his assessment. When he was done, his father nodded. “I concur.” He looked toward the front of the shop, almost as if trying to see across the street and into Mrs. Rubbles’ shop from here. “What happened?” his father whispered.

  “I didn’t see anything.”

  “There has to be some explanation. Marcella has been healthy.”

  “Other than her glandular problem,” Alec said.

  “What glandular problem?” his father asked.

  “It was when you were gone. The same day I met Sam, Mrs. Rubbles came into the shop—at least, the old shop—and…”

  “You used your special paper with her.”

  “I didn’t know what I was doing at the time.”

  His father chuckled softly. “That would explain why she wasn’t complaining nearly so often as she had been about her joints. For the longest time, she would come in complaining about achiness and wanting something to help take the edge off of it. As you know, there isn’t a whole lot that can be done when you reach Marcella’s age.”

  “I don’t even know how old Mrs. Rubbles is.”

  “A little older than me,” his father said.

  Alec breathed out. He looked her over, wishing he could come up with the diagnosis. It was always hard when there was a difficult diagnosis, but especially so when it was someone he cared about. He couldn’t imagine how he might feel if something happened to Sam, and he couldn’t imagine how he might feel if something happened to his father. Seeing Mrs. Rubbles this way was difficult fo
r him.

  “Is there anything we can try?”

  “What would you try, student physicker?”

  “Father—”

  “Is that not what they do at the university anymore?”

  “That is what they do,” Alec said. “I was just hoping that you wouldn’t do it.”

  “And why not? Is there a reason that I would not be allowed to question you the same as the master physickers?”

  Alec shrugged. There wasn’t a reason, especially since his father was equally skilled as most of the physickers that he had met at the university. Some of the master physickers were probably more knowledgeable, but his father had a different type of knowledge, and it was more practical, honed from decades spent treating the people of the city, something that he wasn’t as certain the master physickers still did. Maybe they didn’t know what it was like to treat those within the city.

  “I would try a combination of things. Possibly buglen berries and junip leaves, Either might be helpful with countering the effects of an unknown ingestion.”

  “And what makes you think this is an unknown ingestion?”

  “It’s the fact that she’s not alert.”

  “There are many things that could make a person not alert like this,” his father said. “We have seen patients before in a similar state, and it doesn’t necessarily indicate that they have ingested something.”

  “Fine, but the most likely cause is an ingestion.”

  “I would agree that it is the most likely, but the most likely doesn’t necessarily mean it will be what you ultimately find. What if she presents an unusual case?”

  Alec decided to perform a secondary exam. He had already listened to her heart, lungs, and belly, and had come up with nothing that pointed to what might be wrong with her other than dry hands. He decided he needed to look in her mouth, and pried her chin down, twisting her head so that he could take a better look. There was staining on her teeth, and he frowned.

  He had seen similar staining when he had looked at her arms and legs.