The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

A hint of a smile played across her lips. “Why are you contemplating here in the hallway?”

  Alec suppressed a laugh. Beckah had a way about her that amused him. She had a sharp tongue, but rarely did she direct it at him. Most of the time, she directed it at others within the university, masters who taught them, each getting targeted by the sharpness of her barbs.

  “I’m thinking through the last lecture,” Alec said. That wasn’t entirely true, but a part of his mind was thinking through that.

  She snorted. “You know that you’re the only one who spends time after the lecture trying to understand what you were just taught.”

  “I doubt I’m the only one.”

  “You’re the only one who questions what we’ve been taught. I think it amused many of the masters at first.”

  At first. That, like so much else, had slowly faded. The masters that had once been intrigued by the way his father had taught him had increasingly become frustrated when he challenged their assertions. Often times, their book-learning was quite different from his experience. There were many times when things they had studied in their books didn’t work when they tried them on living people.

  “I don’t mean to be disrespectful—”

  “It just happens?”

  Alec shook his head. It probably shouldn’t just happen. He probably should be more respectful and should try harder to not put off the masters. He needed them if he intended to stay in the university to study.

  “Did you come here just to give me a hard time?”

  “Not at all. I wanted to see if you had any interest in studying this afternoon.”

  Studying with Beckah would be helpful. She had a knack for finding things within the library, and often, there were topics that he wanted to research but didn’t always have the right way of looking at them. That was when Beckah was useful.

  “I’d love to, but—”

  “But you’re going to see your friend again, aren’t you?”

  Alec hadn’t been able to explain Sam to the others in the university. All he could say was that she was his friend. How could he describe that he was her Scribe and that together, they had magical abilities? None in the city—other than the few Kavers he’d met—believed in magic. Especially in the university, they felt that everything had an answer, if only one studied hard enough.

  “I’ll have you know that I haven’t seen my friend in several days.”

  “Most of us gave up those we care about to come to the university.”

  “I don’t think the university wants anyone to give up the people they’re close to.”

  “The masters want our attention. They want our focus. We can’t do that when we’re distracted by things in our past lives.”

  Alec considered telling her how hard he thought that was, but she wasn’t the only student within the university to feel that way. He knew that most had abandoned their former lives and considered their appointment to the university an honor.

  Then there were others who didn’t view it in quite the same way. They treated the university as a steppingstone, one that would give them greater political leverage in the future. Many of the city’s leaders came from the university, and some of the least connected highborns attended the university simply to gain greater connectivity throughout the city.

  “I’m sorry that I can’t shut her out the same way others have shut out those they care about,” Alec said. The brief flash of hurt that crossed Beckah’s face had him shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Beckah. That’s not what I intended.”

  “What did you intend? You know there are others who feel that you’re too conceited?”

  “Conceited?”

  “You’re aloof. You don’t let anyone get close, and that strikes some as either arrogant or—”

  Alec shook his head, trying to cut her off. “It’s not arrogance. I don’t feel like I fit in here the same as others. I’m not highborn.”

  “Highborn isn’t the only requirement to be a part of the university,” Beckah said. “And you’ve shown probably too often that you’re certainly smart enough to be here.” She cocked her head to the side and studied him a moment, the same playful smile on her face that he’d seen before. “Let me give you some advice. It would help everyone if you got to know people here. It would help if you were willing to be seen and weren’t so standoffish.”

  Alec looked back at her and knew that she was only trying to be helpful, but it still hurt to hear. He wasn’t trying to be aloof, but he didn’t feel that he shared many commonalities with the highborn students at the university. In his mind, he was giving them the space they wanted, space that they probably preferred he maintain. Except Beckah was telling him that by giving them that space he made it worse.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Beckah scrunched her nose and frowned. “Thank you? That’s all you’re going to say?”

  “I will see if I can do a better job of connecting,” Alec said. There were a few of the other students he thought he could reach, but there were others who he would be unlikely to connect with. Some actually believed that he had no right to be at the university, in spite of the fact that he thought he’d proven himself.

  “There you go again.”

  “What did I do this time?”

  “Nothing other than Alec being Alec. You probably meant that to be sincere, but it comes off as sarcastic.”

  “I think with you, everything comes off as sarcastic,” he told Beckah.

  She smiled, taking that as a compliment that he had not intended it to be.

  “If you don’t want to study with me today, how about tomorrow?” Beckah asked.

  Alec nodded. “Tomorrow would be better. I promise I will meet you tomorrow morning.”

  “Morning? You’re going to make me get up to study with you during a free morning?”

  “Isn’t that what you—”

  “I’m teasing you, Alec. You’re going to have to get over yourself.”

  He could only nod in response. He wasn’t really sure what she meant, but maybe he did need to get over himself. But he hadn’t been spending much time with Sam. He’d been here. Studying. But could he have both? He enjoyed their time together and enjoyed attempting various augmentations. But in the end, if he had to choose…

  He felt pulled between two different responsibilities. On one hand, he was expected to study and master the healing arts with the university instructors, and on the other hand, he was drawn to work with Sam, and felt the need—and desire—to serve as her Scribe.

  “Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll be there bright and early.”

  “I can’t promise the same.”

  Beckah studied him, almost as if she couldn’t decide whether he was joking with her or not. Finally, she barked out a quick laugh. “See? That’s better. You don’t have to be quite so stiff.” She laughed to herself, and then turned, disappearing down the hall, leaving Alec staring after her, uncertain what more to say.

  5

  A Library Session

  Alec managed to beat Beckah to the library. His night had not gone as hoped. The attempt to reach Sam had failed. She had even given him access to her at the palace, but crossing the bridges leading to the section of the city where the palace was had been difficult. The guards had refused him, turning him away as soon as he had appeared, telling him that no crossings were allowed. Even with his papers, he wasn’t granted access to Sam.

  Instead, he had spent the night reading through his notes that he’d made during the week. He kept a neat journal, recording what the masters taught in class, and comparing it to what he could find in the library. Most of the time, they were similar, though occasionally, he had discovered discrepancies. When he found them, he wondered which to believe. The masters were not infallible.

  Then again, the texts within the library weren’t always completely accurate either. Alec had found references in the library that he knew to be inaccurate. Likely it was not intentional, but it made him question what he was
taught. The masters based their talks and topics on information they had a particular understanding of, but there were things that even the masters had missed.

  The library was empty. It was early in the morning, and most of the other students remained asleep after a long night spent in the taverns blowing off steam from the week. Even the librarian was absent, having shown his face when Alec first appeared, but then disappearing back into the stacks of books.

  Alec leaned on his elbows as he stared at a page in one of the books he’d pulled out, reading about conditions of the heart. There were various treatments, many of which were consistent with what his father had taught him—and which Alec had seen firsthand to be effective—but some were odd. Alec didn’t know what to make of the recommendation to give dorsalberry to women who were suffering from loss. The book made it seem as if that was a condition of the heart.

  “You don’t need to be sad that she didn’t find you last night,” Beckah said over his shoulder.

  Alec looked up to see her smiling. She was dressed more casually today, wearing a practically shimmering blue dress that revealed a hint of her cleavage. A gold necklace hung low, a ring hanging from it that likely cost more than Alec’s father’s entire shop would have been worth.

  “I’m not sad.”

  “Well, you’re reading about heartache. It seems to me that would be more of a personal issue, don’t you think?”

  “Why would you think I suffered from heartache?”

  “You’re here already. You returned early last night. And you didn’t make it nearly as far as you intended into the city.”

  Alec studied her. “Were you following me?”

  She shrugged. “Call it curiosity. I wanted to see who you’ve been meeting up with.”

  “You could have asked.”

  Beckah shrugged again. “Would you have told me?”

  Alec doubted that he would have. That opened himself to more questions. Not only about why he was with Sam, but about her position in the city. Now that she spent time in the palace—training with her mother—she could no longer make the claim that she was lowborn. Not that Alec ever minded. She might view him as a highborn, but it wasn’t the way he viewed himself.

  “Who is she?”

  “Like I told you. She’s a friend.”

  Beckah snorted. “A friend? You’re the son of an apothecary, and you’re visiting someone on the palace grounds?”

  Alec considered her for a long moment before answering. “If you followed me, then you would know that I didn’t reach the palace grounds.”

  “Why do you think that’s the only time I followed you?” She stared at him serenely.

  If she’d followed him before, then she likely knew he had been on the palace grounds in the past. Most of the time, the guards allowed him to cross. That usually happened during the daytime. Last night was the first time since she’d gone to the palace that he had attempted to connect with Sam at night.

  How much did Beckah already know?

  Marin’s betrayal had raised suspicion within Alec that had never been there before. It was hard not to question when people all around him were deceitful. Marin’s deception had cost Sam dearly.

  “Are we going to study, or are you going to harass me about my friends?”

  Beckah grinned. “You’re getting better. Pretty soon, you’ll fling it back at me.”

  “Fling what back at you?”

  “All the crap I’ve been giving you. Listen, what do I care if someone in the palace is trying to make a connection to you already? You wouldn’t be the first person to use your time in the university to make political connections. You might be one of the first to make a connection quite so high so early, but then again, I doubt there’ve been too many students who come to the university with your particular set of skills.”

  It might be better if she believed that he had simply gone to the palace to meet someone for political gain. As she said, he wouldn’t be the first person to do so.

  “I’m only trying to make sure I have a future.”

  She snorted. “Your future could be here if you wanted. You’re clearly on track to be raised to master level. You might be the only other person in our class who can.”

  “Myself and Darnell?” Alec asked.

  Beckah glared at him, and for a moment, he thought she might try to punch him. At that moment, she reminded him of Sam, in the way that she quickly was riled. He enjoyed tormenting her in much the same way. For some reason, being at the university had quieted him, especially after his rapid promotion. He was reluctant to say too much, not wanting to draw more attention to himself.

  “Well?” Beckah asked.

  “Well what?”

  “What have you discovered?” She pointed to the section on the page that he was reading where it spoke about heartache. “I’ve been around you long enough to know that you must’ve found something. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten that scrunched up look on your face that looks like you’re constipated.”

  Alec blinked before he laughed. “Constipated?”

  “Don’t worry, it’s not that I’ve been watching you there as well. I don’t need to watch to know what a constipated face would look like on you.”

  “I’m not sure that I want to continue to study with you if you’re going to insult me constantly.”

  Beckah ignored him. “It’s almost like these authors have never met a woman before.” She looked up at him, a playful expression on her face, and Alec could already begin to see where she was going to go. “Not like you. You seem to know all about women.”

  He cleared his throat. “That’s not why I chose this volume.”

  “No? You didn’t want to read all about heartache and the art of providing soothing elixirs to help ease a woman through such suffering?”

  “Well, far be it from me to not offer something to someone who might be suffering.”

  “Such as yourself?”

  Alec couldn’t help himself. He laughed, the noise disrupting the silence of the library. The librarian appeared from between the stacks of books and shot him a hard look, silencing him.

  “You’re going to get us kicked out of the library. You're quite loud. Maybe you should take your studies someplace else.”

  Alec stared at her, debating what he could say that wouldn’t be taken the wrong way. With Beckah, it was never easy for him to know. “If you’d rather I study elsewhere, I’d be happy to do so.” He gathered his books and prepared to stand up.

  “You need to stop being quite so literal. I know you can have fun. I see it in you. You just have to relax.”

  It was surprising that she would tell him he needed to relax, especially as Sam had suggested the same thing. He found it difficult to relax here. Even entering the university had been a matter of passing tests that seemed determined to prevent him from joining. His connection to his father—an apothecary—placed him in an equally precarious situation. The university masters didn’t care for the apothecaries attempting to push their way in to healing and had long questioned their abilities.

  “And you need to recognize when I’m only kidding.” He sat back, pulling the book back in front of him, and made a point of staring at the page. “Maybe you need some dorsalberry.”

  “And why would I need that?”

  He shrugged. “Clearly, you’re disappointed that I’m not spending as much time with you as you would like me to. Though I think that other treatments for your heartache might be more effective. In fact, if we were at my father’s shop, I might suggest talun leaf, perhaps crushed and placed in a mixture of chaparral and weasel root.”

  She watched him, shaking her head. “Is that what you read in that book? I’m not even familiar with weasel root or chaparral.”

  “You’re not? I thought you considered yourself the only other person on the pathway to becoming a master.”

  She grinned at him. “Not Darnell?”

  “Darnell would be lucky to pass this first year. He struggles r
emembering anything more than the basics of diagnosis.”

  This time, it was Beckah who barked out a laugh. As she did, she cupped her hands over her mouth, and the librarian poked his head out once more, sending his glare at both of them. Beckah made a playful expression, managing to somehow look both chagrined while pointing in Alec’s direction.

  When the librarian disappeared, Alec said, “Thanks for that.”

  “See? You have more fun in you than you realized.” She grabbed the book from in front of him and pulled it over, quickly scanning the page. “This doesn’t say anything about weasel root or chaparral. Where did you read about that?”

  “Nowhere.”

  “So, it’s something you learned from your father? Does it work?”

  Alec shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What you mean you don’t know? I thought you had answers to everything.”

  “I don’t know because I don’t know anything about weasel root or chaparral. I made them up.”

  She started to laugh again, but caught herself, cutting off before she made too much noise. “Good. I’m glad that you think to make up your treatments for me. That seems like a good way to test ourselves, doesn’t it?”

  “How is that a good way to test ourselves?”

  She grinned at him. “If you can tell that something was made up, then you must know the real treatment. Next time when we study, we’ll pick topics, and if I convince you of a made-up treatment, I win. If you do, then you win.”

  “What’s the prize?”

  Her grin widened. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Keep it up, and you’ll need dorsalberry again.”

  She shook her head, smiling widely, and pushed the book back over to him.

  6

  The Master Physicker

  Alec waited in the classroom, wondering why he was the only student there. The rows of desks were empty, his the only one stacked with books. There was no instructor here, and he frowned to himself, wondering if he had made a mistake.

  There were plenty of traditions at the university with which he was not completely familiar. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d made a mistake and ended up where he wasn’t supposed to be.