The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  Sam paused. What had Alec said about the thistle root? They had made an offhand comment about the texture, and the barbs along it.

  But, if this was thistle root, why would the master not have used it on Alec when he’d accidentally taken too much?

  Sam grabbed the jar and stuffed it into the pocket of her cloak. If nothing else, Alec could replace what he’d taken from his father’s shop.

  Nothing else on the shelf was familiar. Alec—or Beckah, she had to admit—might have known what was here, but she did not.

  She started to turn when something about the nearby wall caught her attention. It was different—and just different enough that she stared at it a moment before realizing why it looked different.

  It was a door.

  Sam hurried over to it, running her hand along the edge. Her time with Bastan had taught her to notice things like this. Hidden doors were something he was quite fond of. But how was she to open it?

  She ran her hand along the edge, looking for a seam, something that might trigger a hinge. There had to be a room on the other side, but she had to find a way to reach it.

  But there was no handle, no hidden latch, nothing.

  She pressed on the wall.

  Something clicked deep within it, and Sam stepped back. The wall had popped out slightly.

  Was the entire section a trigger?

  She ran her fingers under the raised edge and pried the door open.

  On the other side was a room, as she had expected. In it, Sam noted a single cot, but it was empty. There was another row of small jars on a table, and these looked different from the ones in the other room. Sam took a view of the jars and stuffed them into her pockets. Alec could look at them later and maybe tell her what they were.

  A moan came from behind her, and she turned her attention back to the cot.

  Was it not as empty as she had thought?

  Sam hurried over and found a man lying on the ground, his wrists and ankles bound. He had dark hair and what appeared to be a scruffy beard but appeared unharmed. Was this the man that Bastan sought? Was this the man that Alec and Beckah had tried to help?

  If it was, why would he be in Master Carl’s hidden chamber? Why did Master Carl even have a hidden chamber?

  Sam lifted him, the augmentations given to her by Alec making her strong enough to carry a man of this size. He moaned again as she did. Sam debated what to do. If this was the man who’d been in a dead sleep for days, who knew when he might awaken. She didn’t know how long she had to wait. So, her only alternative was to carry him from the chamber—and hope that her strength augmentation lasted long enough to get them both to safety.

  But she also had speed.

  She cradled him in her arms and ran out of the hidden chamber. On the other side, she hurried to the door just as it started to open.

  Sam hesitated. What would happen if Master Carl appeared—and if he had been the one tormenting this man?

  It would be dangerous for her to be caught. She had been seen within the university before, and could be associated with Alec, which she wasn’t certain was safe for him, either.

  Hoping for the best, she ducked behind the door as someone stepped in. Sam kicked the door and heard a loud crack, followed by a thud as the person fell to the floor.

  She bounded around the door, jumping over the fallen form, and raced down the hall, hurrying back toward the entrance to the masters’ quarters. She didn’t stop as she passed through the door and didn’t stop as she raced through the halls of the university, already feeling the flagging of the augmentations. Much longer, and they would fade completely, and she would be left with nothing. She needed to get to the courtyard, to Alec, so that she could get to safety.

  When she reached the front door to the university, she barreled through it, ignoring a shout that came from behind her.

  Sam stumbled out into the courtyard, searching for Alec—or for Beckah—but neither was there.

  Sam stood there, heart racing even as her augmentations began to fade. Without Alec and his ability to augment her again, she would be caught, and this man would be taken back to endure whatever torture she’d rescued him from.

  29

  Kavers Fight

  Sam was ready to collapse. Carrying the man had been difficult, but now, with the augmentation gone, and she could no longer hold herself up. Her body ached, and her palm throbbed where Alec had nicked her skin to draw the blood for the augmentations.

  That was new. It was unusual for her to have pain in her hand when the augmentations wore off. Had Alec done something different? Maybe it had been the blunt way that he’d used the blood ink to write them.

  Or there could be any number of other possible answers. She still didn’t know much about her abilities because Elaine hadn’t trained her well enough.

  Where was Alec?

  If he didn’t come help her, she didn’t think she’d be able to cross the bridge to get out of this section. Even if he did come, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to move. The effort she used to carry this man had drained her, and she wondered if attempting other augmentations would be too much for her. They had rarely attempted repeated augmentations.

  If only she understood that better.

  She saw a figure exit the university, but it was too short to be Alec. Was it one of the other physickers? In her haste to escape, she’d shouldered past several physickers at the door. Could they have come after her?

  “You have been hard to find,” a voice said.

  Sam frowned. She recognized that voice, though it took a moment for her to understand why.

  “Marin?”

  Marin stepped closer, and in the moonlight, she managed to see the woman more clearly. “Samara. I understand that you sent word for me to find you.”

  Sam’s heart pounded as she realized she would have to face Marin alone. Without benefit of augmentation. “I sent word for you to find me at Bastan’s tavern.”

  Marin stepped closer, and she smiled. “Bastan thought you might be here.”

  Had Bastan told Marin how to find Sam?

  No. Bastan wouldn’t have betrayed Sam. He wanted to protect her. He wouldn’t have done anything that would have caused her any harm.

  “What did Bastan tell you?”

  Marin continued to approach, inching closer and closer to her. Sam reached for her canal staff and prepared to assemble it, but Marin smiled as she did.

  “Samara. You have no need to do anything quite so foolish.”

  “Don’t I?”

  “I’ve only ever tried to protect you.”

  Renewed anger at Marin’s deception surged through her. “You can’t make that claim, Marin. I’ve learned what you did to me.”

  Marin arched a brow. “What I did? I think whoever told you might have been mistaken.”

  “No. My mother didn’t die fighting alongside you. You told me that so you could attempt to control me. I don’t know how you did it, but somehow, whatever you’ve done has been with the intent to prevent me from reaching my Kaver abilities.”

  “I’m not sure how you could believe that, especially since I was the one who shared with you what your abilities meant.”

  “You didn’t share that with me. You tried to hide them from me. And then you disappeared when I had questions.”

  “Samara.” Marin took a step closer and nodded toward the unconscious man at Sam’s feet. “I’m going to need to have words with that man.”

  “Why? What is he to you?”

  Marin shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. But I need you to release him.”

  Sam wished she still had her augmentations so that she could lift the man and carry him away, and prevent Marin from getting too close, but they had faded, leaving her weak, with barely any strength of her own remaining.

  “Tell me who he is to you?”

  “I think I’m done sharing with you.”

  “Have you shared the truth with Tray?”

  Marin tensed but
didn’t take another step toward her.

  “Because I know the truth.”

  “And what truth is that?”

  “The same truth that you didn’t want me to find out, I suspect. It’s the same truth that you’ve hidden from Tray. It’s the truth of our connection, the truth of whatever bond there might actually be between us.”

  “There are reasons for what I’ve done.”

  Marin took another step toward her, and Sam prepared for the confrontation. She didn’t like the odds of succeeding if forced to face off with Marin. Marin had already proven herself to be more skilled than Sam.

  Where was Alec? If he would show up, she could at least try to get an augmentation, but that would require that he get more of her blood. And that just wasn’t possible if she had to fend off Marin.

  Sam glanced at the man lying on the ground, still unmoving. No matter why Marin wanted him, Sam had to prevent her from taking him. She’d rescued him from whatever the university masters were trying to do to him and was prepared to continue to keep him safe. Somehow. She wasn’t entirely certain how she would do that.

  “Samara, don’t do anything foolish.”

  “I should say the same to you,” Sam said.

  “Just hand him over, and you and I can have a conversation.”

  “Who is he to you?”

  “Just a part of a plan. A key part, since you interfered with my other plan.”

  “I didn’t interfere.”

  “You have always interfered.”

  “The merchants?” Sam asked, watching Marin warily. “What did you want with them?”

  “Not them. What they bought.”

  “Which was?”

  Marin took another step, and Sam would have backed up, but doing so would have left the man unprotected. She watched Marin, prepared for any sudden movement, but Marin was approaching slowly, carefully.

  Did she think that Sam was augmented? If she did, was there some way that Sam could take advantage of that?

  Marin’s gaze dipped down to the man. “I will be taking him from you, Samara.”

  Sam took that opportunity to reach for her canal staff and jerked it free of her belt.

  Marin smiled tightly. “That’s how you want it to be?”

  “What’s your plan? I know you intend to bring Thelns into the city.” Marin didn’t respond. “Were you responsible the last time?”

  “That was not on me,” Marin said dangerously.

  “Why now?”

  “You can’t understand,” she whispered.

  “Try me. You’re the one forcing this. All I want is you to answer my questions.”

  “We’re beyond answering questions now. And you’ve made a mistake. One lesson I’ve made clear to you is that you must learn to live with your mistakes, Samara.”

  Marin pulled out the two pieces of her canal staff and bolted forward, moving quickly. It was fast—but not augmented fast.

  Sam swung her staff’s two pieces around, blocking Marin’s initial attack. Then quickly jammed the ends of her canal staff together, forming a whole. Marin didn’t, leaving hers disconnected, and slung them separately, a flurry of attacks at Sam.

  Had she not had her staff lessons with Thoren, she wouldn’t have had any way of fending her off, but she had improved in her skills in the time since she had last faced Marin. Sam managed to block most of the attacks and had learned to prepare herself for those that slipped past.

  As Marin neared her, a dark grin spread across her face. “You’ve gotten some instruction.”

  “Are you disappointed?”

  “On the contrary, I’m thrilled.”

  Marin danced around her and caught her in the back. Sam staggered forward, but jammed her staff into the ground, managing to right herself. She flipped the end of her staff up and caught Marin on the leg. It was a glancing blow, barely enough to slow the woman, but it disrupted the flow of her movements.

  Sam flipped up onto the tip of her staff, holding herself upright as she’d once been taught, and quickly considered her options.

  Marin didn’t give her long. She kicked at the bottom of Sam’s staff, forcing her to flip up once more, and spin around. She landed with her staff swinging out in a sweeping arc. Marin jumped over the end of her staff, dancing backward with a hint of a laugh.

  “He hasn’t lost his touch, has he?”

  Sam spun, bringing her staff around, and barely missing Marin. “Who?”

  “Thoren. I can tell that you’ve spent time working with him. You reveal yourself with the technique you use,” Marin said.

  “What does that say about you?”

  “I use many techniques,” Marin said. “It reveals nothing.”

  She spun the staff again, dancing toward Sam. The free ends of her staff moved too quickly for Sam to follow, and she could only block half of the attacks. It wasn’t enough.

  Sam stumbled. As she fell, she realized that she’d tripped over the body of the man she’d been trying to save. If she didn’t do something—anything—she would lose him, and the opportunity to learn whatever the reason was that the masters at the university thought to keep him hidden in that room as they had.

  Sam started to get up, but her body ached from the attacks.

  “Consider this another lesson, Samara. Be prepared when facing a superior opponent.”

  “Prepared for what?” Sam asked, swinging her staff around, trying to catch Marin with at least a lucky blow. So far, she’d managed nothing.

  “Prepared for defeat.”

  Two things happened at once. Marin leaped toward Sam, and Sam felt a strange tingling throughout her.

  An augmentation.

  Alec.

  She pushed off with her staff, moving quickly, and it took a moment for her to realize that it wasn’t strength or speed that he augmented this time, but that he made her lighter.

  They had practiced this before. She knew what it was like to be lighter, to move more quickly with her own strength. It was an augmentation that did not require as much energy from either the Kaver or the Scribe.

  That was good, Sam wasn’t sure how much she had to lend to any augmentation.

  As Sam swung around, Marin eyed her. “Where is your Scribe? I’ve tried getting to him, but they’ve kept him protected here, haven’t they?”

  “You’re not going to get to Alec.”

  “Get to him? I only want to borrow his skills. He would be useful to me.”

  Sam could only think of one way that Alec might be useful to Marin. Did she intend to use him for his ability to scribe? Was it even possible for her to do so?

  Hearing that made her angrier than she had been. Anger wasn’t always valuable in a fight. Thoren had made that clear to her when they’d practiced, but there was some benefit to it. It helped lift her waning strength and allowed her to refocus her energy.

  There had to be some way of using her lightness to her advantage. When they had practiced with it before, what had she discovered? There was more to it than simply her being able to react more quickly, using her own strength to carry her farther. There was also the fact that she could jump higher and seemed to hang in the air when she did.

  Sam gathered herself and pushed off. As she did, she swung her staff around, bringing it toward the ground, and hopefully toward Marin.

  Marin seemed to recognize what Sam had done, and flipped upward, kicking at Sam with her pointed boots.

  Sam was barely able to react in time, and swung the staff around, knocking her back.

  Even augmented, she wasn’t going to be able to easily beat Marin. Whatever it was that was special about Kavers, whatever innate ability they possessed, Sam did not have it. Maybe it was locked within her mind, much like her memories.

  Marin smiled again, the two halves of her canal staff spinning. “I don’t think that I’ll end you. Let’s consider this a lesson. Besides, you still have value to me.”

  Sam landed just as Marin struck her on the shoulder with one half of her s
taff. The other she jammed into Sam’s shoulder, and she realized it had been sharpened.

  She screamed in pain. Where the staff pierced her shoulder, it burned. Her arm went numb and limp.

  “Useful? I haven’t been useful to you.”

  “Oh, but you have. You’ve always been useful to me in protecting Tray.”

  “Because you haven’t wanted to tell him the truth?”

  “He wouldn’t understand the truth. It was better for him to think that I wasn’t his mother than for him to know the truth. Much like it’s better for you to believe what you think, rather than know the truth.” Marin swung her staff again, and this time, it smacked into the side of Sam’s head.

  As her vision began to fade, she saw Marin grab the man Sam had rescued from the university, lifting him more easily than she should have been able to.

  With her fading thoughts, she wondered—had Marin been augmented?

  30

  How to Save a Friend

  When Alec reached the entrance to the masters’ quarters, he found Beckah waiting there.

  “What is this? What are you trying to keep from me?” Beckah asked.

  “I’m trying to keep Sam safe,” Alec answered.

  “Who is she to you? I know that she’s not highborn—her skin is far too dark for that—but you two are close.”

  Alec nodded.

  “Is she the one who’s been visiting?” Beckah asked.

  “Sam hasn’t visited me at all. I know she wanted to, but she said that she couldn’t reach me.”

  “Then it was somebody who must have looked like her. Which would surprise me because your friend is too small to be easily confused with someone else,” Beckah said. “Is she the one you’ve gone over to see?”

  “Too small?” Alec frowned. In the time since he’d known Sam, he’d encountered a few women who were about her size.

  “Do you know who prevented her from getting access to the university?” Alec asked.