The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  She watched him, almost as if expecting him to say something more, but he didn’t. And maybe he should, but he couldn’t. Sam let her eyes drift closed and Alec stared at her, wondering if there was anything he could say, anyway to express how he felt, but what he needed to do was heal her.

  “How did you land?”

  “Why does that matter?” Sam asked.

  “Because the mechanism of your injury is important.” It was easier for him to focus on things like that, to think about injuries and treatment, rather than thinking about things he couldn’t necessarily change. “If I know how you were hurt, maybe I can heal it more efficiently.”

  “I don’t remember. I—”

  A tremor washed over her, silencing her. Alec touched her forehead and her cheeks, holding on to her and waiting for the tremor to pass. It took a long time, far too long. Her eyes were closed, and eventually, her breathing regulated and she fell into something resembling sleep.

  “What happened?”

  Alec turned back and saw Bastan. “Did you find Tray?”

  “No. I don’t know what happened with him. Why haven’t you helped Samara?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure out how.”

  “How exactly does this paper make a difference?”

  Alec looked over at Bastan. Doing this would reveal them to him, but after seeing the way Bastan looked at Sam, what choice did he have?

  “I need a bowl.”

  “Why a bowl?”

  “Just know that I do.”

  “What kind?” Bastan asked.

  “It doesn’t matter. Large enough to hold several vials of liquid.”

  Bastan disappeared before returning and handing him an ornate, ceramic bowl. “Will this work?”

  Alec nodded and set it on the floor in front of him. He made a small incision in his hand, just enough to draw blood to the surface, and allowed it to drip into the bowl. Bastan watched, saying nothing. When he reached for Sam’s hand, Bastan grabbed him.

  “What are you doing?”

  “This is the secret to the paper.”

  “Your blood?” When Alec nodded, Bastan shook his head. “Sam said that she used blood to write on it before, but it never worked when I tried it.”

  “Maybe it requires a specific person with a specific set of abilities for it to work.”

  “What kind of abilities?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Alec pricked her finger, drawing only a few drops. He would let the ratio be more predominantly his, drawing strength from himself rather than from her. When those drops dripped into the bowl, he mixed them slowly.

  Was her breathing slowing down?

  If so, he needed to work quickly.

  He dipped his pen into the blood ink, swirling it together. He squeezed his eyes closed and focused, taking a deep breath as he did. The next words would be the most important words he’d ever written, and the most important attempt he’d ever made to heal someone. He tried not to think about whether it would work or not.

  Alec pushed away fear. He pushed away the self-doubt that had plagued him ever since he’d been given the opportunity to go to the university. He pushed away any disbelief. Sam needed his full attention, and the best he had to offer. She needed his focus.

  Then he began writing.

  Fall from a great height. Suspect it was three stories. Landed on cobbles, now unable to move. No sensation in hands, arms, legs, or feet. No movement in her extremities. Suspect spinal injury.

  Alec lifted his pen from the page and debated what to write next. These words would be crucial. From what he had seen, the treatment part was almost as important as anything else.

  This was where he needed to focus.

  Healing will require extensive surgery, possibly more complicated than what is currently available. Spine will need to be fused. Fractured bones must be given time to heal. Lgahun leaves can expedite healing, but only in fresh form. Calcid will help with bone strength.

  Would that be enough?

  Alec decided to add something more. If he didn’t, he would wonder whether everything he’d tried so far would fail anyway.

  Recovery will require extensive practice walking and additional training to help her regain lost function. This could be expedited through a combination of…

  He racked his mind for what might work but couldn’t come up with anything. What was the key to helping her regain function more rapidly, if it were to happen at all?

  It would require their power.

  That was the answer, but did it matter? Would the easar paper work like that?

  He touched the pen back on the page.

  Scribe and Kaver magic.

  Bastan leaned over Alec’s shoulder. “Did it work?”

  Alec shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  As he said it, fatigue worked through him, along with a cold that started deep within his legs and worked up to his head. Usually, that was a good sign when working with easar paper, but he wasn’t sure whether that meant she was healed or he was simply tired from his attempt.

  “All we can do is wait.”

  33

  Awake and a Plan

  Sam awoke slowly.

  She drifted for a while before she came around. Her mind was a fog, mostly a mixture of pain and nothingness. She was broken. Her back was injured badly enough that she would not be able to recover. Bastan had said that she would not be able to walk again, and she had no reason to doubt that.

  If she couldn’t walk—and if she couldn’t use the canal staff and jump the canals, climb the roofs, and basically have the same freedom that she had prior to her injury—she wasn’t sure she wanted to live.

  What would the point of that be?

  She became aware of voices around her. There was a hand touching her cheek, and she remembered the way that Alec brushed hair from her face, and the soft caress of his hand on her cheek. It had been comforting having him there, pleasantness that she had forgotten. It was strange having someone care for her and want to take care of her. That had always been her job, especially with Tray.

  Tray.

  He was missing. She remembered that much. He had found her, but then he had been sent after Alec. Why had he not returned with Alec?

  He remembered Alec saying that Bastan’s men had brought him here. Tray would still be missing. Could he be at the university?

  Were it not for what she’d witnessed, and the fact that she had a growing fear that there were other Kavers in the city, she wouldn’t be worried about Tray. But there was something going on that she was still not certain of.

  Voices became more distinct. She recognized both Alec and Bastan.

  There was no Tray.

  Pain returned, but it was a general, throbbing type of pain. It felt natural and expected.

  It wasn’t so much that she felt pain, but where she felt pain. She felt it all over, surging through her arms and legs—and through her back. A steady ache, and it was one that she welcomed.

  “Easar?” she croaked.

  Someone grabbed her hand. She could feel it. It was almost enough to make her want to let out a yell of excitement.

  “We have some easar paper, thanks to Bastan,” Alec said.

  “Did he… Did he keep it from us?”

  “He didn’t keep it from you. He made a mistake and sold it. But he helped me acquire a small supply and has now seen what it takes to use the paper.”

  “Alec—”

  “No, Sam. This needed happen.”

  “Will I be…” She couldn’t finish. She needed to know if she would ever walk again, or if Alec had been unable to heal her, even with the paper. Worse, she didn’t know how to feel about it. She wanted to regain movement and be able to stand and walk and jump, but more than that, she wanted to feel augmentations again.

  Was that terrible of her?

  “I don’t know if you will fully recover. We’ve never tested it like this. What do you feel?” Alec asked.

  “Pa
in.”

  “That’s a start. Pain is better than numbness.”

  “Only if it’s you who doesn’t feel the pain,” she said.

  Her vision began to clear, and she could now see Alec leaning over her. His eyes were drawn, and a worry creased his brow. But there was relief on his face. He worried about her, but then she knew that he did. She knew that he cared about her. She could hear it in the inflection in his voice and the way he touched her face. And the fact that he had risked his position at the university to come here.

  “We need to find Tray.”

  “He went to the university for your apothecary friend,” Bastan said.

  Sam looked over to see Bastan standing with his hands clasped behind his back. Surprisingly, the painting of the canals rested along the far wall. “Why did you bring that?”

  “A map,” Bastan said. “Now. Help me understand what this is all about. If it’s all about this paper…”

  “I don’t know why it should be. I don’t think the university has access to the paper. And now with the princess—”

  Alec ground. “Don’t tell me you’ve been following the princess again.”

  “She’s involved,” Sam said. “There are Kavers with her.”

  “Kavers?” Bastan asked.

  “Others like me.”

  “If they’re like you, why would they have come after my tavern?”

  “It’s my fault,” Sam said. It all had to be her fault. She had gone searching for easar paper, wanting to continue to work with Alec, hoping to bring him back, and it had taken injury to her to bring them back together. “I thought to…”

  Alec grabbed her hand and squeezed. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

  Sam fell silent, trying to decide what she needed to do. It troubled her that Tray was missing. It troubled her that Marin seemed to be involved but was also missing.

  “Where is Marin?” Alec asked, putting voice to the thoughts that were in her head.

  Bastan shook his head. “Marin often disappears. That is one of her many traits. I suspect it is tied to her smuggling operation.”

  “And Tray?” Alec asked.

  “As I said, he went for you at my request,” Bastan said.

  But Marin had said he was supposed to stay away from the university. Why?

  She thought of the interactions she’d had with Marin each time they had encountered the men like the ones she had followed. If they were Kavers, why had Marin warned Sam away, telling her that she wasn’t ready?

  Could Marin have been following the other Kavers?

  There would only be one reason, and it had to do with Tray.

  “I need to go to the palace,” Sam said.

  She tried to move and managed to shift in place, more than she would have been able to do before. At least her muscles were responding to her now. Before there had been nothing. Numbness.

  “Sam—” Alec started.

  She shook her head. “I need to get up. I need to get to Tray, before they get to him first.” And the princess had Kavers who worked for her. Even if Marin didn’t want her to involve the princess, how else could she help her brother? She looked over to Bastan. “It’s my fault. They will think Tray is a Theln. It’s my fault. I have to be the one to go after him. And I need answers.” If it involved Kavers, she had to go. And the princess owed her answers.

  “You were paralyzed,” Alec said, trying to put a hand on her. “You might still have some deficit. You shouldn’t be attempting to get up like this.”

  Sam shot Alec a hard look, but he continued to push her back down. Bastan remained standing off to the side, his hands clasped behind his back.

  “Why does it have to be you?” Alec asked, his face pained. “If Marin knew that this was a risk, why can it not be her?”

  “Because we don’t know where she is,” Sam said. And it’s possible that she’s already been caught. That might explain why they hadn’t seen her since that night. “Who else is going to help Tray? If I had not gone after him, he would still be in prison.”

  “I seem to recall that I was attempting to help him,” Bastan said.

  “Really?” Sam managed to sit up. She suppressed a small cry of victory, not wanting them to know how hard that had been. “I don’t recall you being all that eager to help. Had you done more, I wouldn’t have had to attempt to break into the palace.”

  “You often believe that others aren’t doing anything when there are times when tasks take longer than you realize,” Bastan said.

  “And this? Do you think this should take longer?”

  “I don’t exactly know what this is. All I know is that you have been skulking around various sections of the city, risking yourself when you should not. If this was all about the paper…”

  “It wouldn’t have to have been had Marin helped.”

  “Then maybe she was trying to protect you,” Bastan said.

  “I don’t need to be protected,” she said. She glared at Bastan. He tried to protect her. Marin tried to protect her. Even Tray tried to protect her.

  It was her role to be the one to watch over her brother.

  She stood. Her legs were weak and wobbly, but she managed to stay upright.

  It was progress.

  She would take whatever progress she could and attempted to take a few steps.

  Her legs supported her weight, but her steps were tentative.

  Would she be strong enough—and agile enough—to reach the palace?

  She had to try. If the princess had Kavers there, and if they had somehow discovered Tray, she had to try. It would mean revealing herself, but maybe some good could come of it. Maybe Sam could learn more about what it meant to be a Kaver.

  She glanced over to Alec, considering her options. “Do you think you can augment me?”

  Alec watched her for a long moment. “After the healing—”

  “Alec, I’m going to do this. Do you think you can augment me?”

  He sighed, glancing down at the easar paper. Finally, he shrugged. “Possibly? I don’t know. It’s possible that I can add enough strength for you to reach the palace.”

  “And then what?” Bastan asked. “What do you intend once you reach the palace? What do you think you can do? If there are others like you, do you intend to oppose them?”

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe all I will do is reveal myself, but if I can convince them not to hurt Tray…”

  She took a few steps, her strength slowly returning. Her legs no longer felt quite as weak. She made her way to the corner of the room where her canal staff leaned against the wall. Sam took it, using it for support, and turned back to both Bastan and Alec.

  “I’m going after him.”

  She looked over to Alec and could tell from the expression on his face that he wanted to object, but he didn’t. “Fine,” he started. “But don’t blame me if I turn you into a giant to keep you alive.”

  Sam swung her canal staff toward Alec, but she didn’t have enough force. He easily avoided her attempt. It was probably for the best. She didn’t have enough control over her strength yet to avoid cracking his skull, and if she did, she wasn’t sure she would be able to help him.

  “When do you want to go?” Alec asked.

  “Now.”

  Bastan glanced from her to Alec, shaking his head. “If you’re going to be stubborn enough to do this, I will at least help get you there.”

  “I think I can get there,” Sam said.

  “Really? It seems like you are relying on the support of your staff. I can get you across most of the bridges. There are a few places that I don’t have enough influence, including the palace, so you will have to depend on your friend for access, but we can get close.”

  Sam took a deep breath, testing her legs again. Finding them strong enough to carry her, she nodded.

  34

  To the Palace

  Making their way through the city was a slow process. Sam depended on her canal staff far more than she had thought she’d have
to. Her strength had not fully returned, though it did seem to be improving. She was using the staff less and less with each step, though she worried what it would take when they finally did reach the palace. Crossing the canal would require a significant jump, something she had to admit she wasn’t prepared for. All she could hope for was that Alec might augmentation her to give her the strength she’d need.

  Alec glanced at her, never saying anything, but the tension on his face told her that he worried for her. There wasn’t anything she could say that would reassure him.

  Bastan did as promised and managed to get them across each of the intervening bridges without her needing to jump. He escorted her and Alec and flashed some documentation at the men guarding the bridges, though Sam never managed to make out what it was. She suspected Alec could have gotten them across, especially with his university credentials, but Bastan didn’t let him even try.

  By the time they neared the university, Sam was starting to feel a little bit stronger. She looked around, realizing this was near where she had fallen. Was it intentional that they had come the same way, or was it simply chance that had brought her so close to where she had nearly died? She started to slow and Bastan nudged her gently.

  “Where did he find me?”

  “Samara—”

  “Where?”

  “Does it matter? You survived. You walk. You should have done neither.”

  Bastan glanced to Alec, almost seeking his support. Finally, he shrugged. “This way.”

  He led them down a narrow street with massive buildings on either side. Sam didn’t recognize them, though she had been traveling along the rooftops. She looked up, searching to see if she could find anything that might be familiar, but there was nothing.

  Bastan stopped in front of a building with a faded street sign. The cobbles were stained, and it took a moment for her to realize that it was blood. Her blood.

  “You were here.”

  “This is where I found the paper. Why here? What’s special about this section?” she asked.

  Bastan shook his head. “There is nothing special about the section. It’s a highborn section, no different from any others in this part of the city, if closer to the university than some.”