The Book of Maladies Boxset

by D. K. Holmberg

  “How would foxglove poison affect them?” Beckah asked.

  “The canals have particular qualities that make it work.”

  Alec nearly asked what qualities, when he realized what they had to be. It was the reason that even the strongest person he knew was afraid of them. “The eels? They’re real?”

  Master Eckerd studied Alec for a long moment. “You really do have an astute mind, Mr. Stross. Very few have ever come to that understanding.”

  “So, the foxglove is designed to poison the eels,” Alec said.

  “And, I suspect, it will work,” Master Eckerd said. “The eels share something in common with Scribes, and it makes them quite sensitive to the effects of foxglove.”

  “Is that why it affected me as strongly as it did?” Alec asked.

  Eckerd nodded. “Master Carl has never administered the foxglove test before. It is typically administered by those within the university who understand its purpose. It served as something of a screening process, and those who pass are typically those with the potential to become Scribes.”

  “But Beckah didn’t have the same reaction,” Alec said.

  “Ms. Reynolds had not had any training as a Scribe. I suspect that if she were to take foxglove now, the effect would be even more potent.”

  “We have to stop this, don’t we?” Beckah asked.

  “I think you need to help your Kavers,” Master Eckerd said, nodding down toward the only remaining bridge.

  In the distance, Alec saw Sam leap across to the other side, somehow managing to stick a second jump before landing safely. What would have prompted her to make such an attempt?

  Then he saw the reason. Tray was there, fighting several others, and… Marin approached.

  “What will you do?” Alec asked.

  “Others have already been notified,” Master Eckerd said. “Now that I know what she intends, I think I might be able to counter it, but… It will be painful.”

  “There’s not enough thistle root to counteract the foxglove.”

  Master Eckerd smiled tightly. “Thistle root is the antidote that we have allowed known. There is one other. Unfortunately, as I said, it will be painful.” He motioned toward the fight. “Go. Help your Kavers.”

  Alec nodded, and they started off. As they approached the fight, he slowed.

  “What is it?” Beckah asked.

  “We need a sample of blood for this to work,” he said. “That’s the unfortunate side of this magic. It requires blood ink in order for it to be effective.”

  He watched Sam, as she was tossed back, jumping toward him.

  But… Tray remained ignored. It was almost as if Marin had chosen to fight Sam first, thinking—probably rightly—that Tray wouldn’t attack her.

  “You’re going to have to draw Tray away, and get a sample of blood from him,” Alec said.

  “How do you suggest I draw him way?”

  “I don’t know. Harass him the same way that you harassed me?”

  “What about you? What are you going to do?”

  Alec looked over at Sam, watching her fight. She was getting thrown back, and Marin moved much more quickly than what Sam could do. It was not a fair fight, especially since Marin was augmented, and Sam was not.

  “I need to find a way to reach Sam.”

  “Alec—be safe.”

  He tore the easar paper in half and handed her a piece. “Go and help your Kaver.”

  She sighed. “Why do I feel that I might have been better off never learning about this magic?”

  There were times he felt the same way.

  37

  A Kaver Attacks

  Sam was thrown back again, the end of Marin’s half-staff striking her shoulder. She managed to block, but only deflected it slightly. Marin fought with each half separately, moving faster than what Sam could keep up with. She’d been struck a few times, and each one stung, but so far, Marin hadn’t poisoned her as she had before.

  It was almost as if Marin toyed with her.

  “Tray knows the truth,” Sam said.

  Marin glared at her. “Neither of you knows the truth.”

  “Why are you poisoning the canal? What do you think you can accomplish here?”

  “Accomplish? I think to right an injustice. Unfortunately, you are in the way.”

  Sam managed to block two blows. She continued to dance back, and when she glanced over her shoulder, wanting to ensure that she didn’t trip over anything, she saw Alec and Beckah.

  If she could get to him, she might be able to even the fight.

  “Where’s your Scribe?”

  Marin grinned widely. “What makes you believe that I need a Scribe?”

  “Because you’re a Kaver. Kavers need their Scribes.”

  “Ah, Samara, how much you have to learn.”

  She attacked with a renewed fury and sent Sam staggering backward.

  “It’s time for me to end this, so I can complete my task.”

  “Why are you doing this? Why won’t you help me understand? Why let Thelns into the city?”

  “Ask your mother.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that not everything is what you believe.”

  “Like my mother being dead? Like how Tray’s mother was dead?”

  Marin’s eyes narrowed, and she flicked her staff at Sam.

  It sent her dropping to the ground, rolling so that she could get away from the attack. She crashed into Alec, thrusting out her hand, hoping that she timed it well.

  She felt a sharp pain and rolled toward Marin, swinging her staff as she did.

  Sam hoped she’d given Alec enough time.

  Marin grinned and jumped into the air, flipping before coming back down, driving the ends of her two staff pieces toward Sam.

  If she rolled either way, she’d be hit. Sam flipped back, dangerously close to the edge of the water, and jabbed with her staff before flipping backward.

  As she did, her body began to tingle.

  Had she given Alec enough time? It seemed too much to believe, but she felt power flow through her.

  Sam jumped.

  She surged higher into the air than what Marin had managed and swept her staff around in a rapid arc.

  With the augmentation, she caught Marin off guard, the staff crashing into her shoulder, knocking her to the side.

  Sam landed in a roll and swung again, this time connecting with Marin’s leg.

  Marin had recovered, and reacted, twisting her staff as she did so that it forced Sam’s up, leaving her body exposed.

  Marin thrust forward, and Sam twisted, barely managing to evade the attack.

  “Clever. Now we can see what you’ve learned.” Marin lunged forward, and Sam jumped again, tapping her staff as she did so that she flipped higher into the air.

  She rotated, spinning her feet as she swung the staff around, and connected with Marin’s back.

  Sam kicked again, but this time she missed, and Marin grabbed her leg and swung her. It sent Sam sailing nearly to the water. She twisted, throwing her staff down to push off, and managed to flip back to shore.

  As she landed, Marin kicked, catching her in the chest. Something struck her arm, and then her leg. Each blow was harder than before.

  Marin had been holding back.

  Sam spun around, trying to get her staff into position, but she was too slow.

  Three more blows rained down on her, catching her legs and her arms. One of them left her arm hanging limp, her shoulder likely broken.

  It left her with only her right arm.

  She couldn’t fight with only one arm. She could barely manipulate the staff.

  Marin toyed with her, swinging one of her staff ends at her, and danced away as Sam flicked her own staff in her direction.

  She could barely stand, pain shooting down her legs, and she staggered with the movement, nearly falling over.

  “It’s a shame that you are so unprepared. You have potential. I thought you could
be useful, but it seems I will need to make other arrangements.”

  “Why?” Sam asked. She hoped to draw Marin in, wanting the opportunity to strike her one more time, hoping to use the last of her augmentation to maybe keep Marin from doing any more damage.

  “Why what?”

  “Why do what you did to Tray?” she asked, nodding to where he had been. Where had he gone during the fight?

  “All that I did was to keep him safe. Ask your mother about that.”

  “By poisoning the canals?”

  “That’s for a different purpose.”

  “What are you going to tell him?” Sam asked.

  “Nothing. He needs to know nothing. And soon, you will know nothing.”

  Marin approached, near enough that Sam had one shot.

  Tingling washed over her again.

  Another augmentation?

  Pain shot through her injured arm, and she felt it knitting back together.

  With a scream of pain, and frustration, and all of the emotions she’d held bottled in over the last few months, she swung her staff.

  Marin didn’t react in time.

  Sam connected with Marin’s head, sending it rocking backward, and she fell, striking her head on the cobbles.

  Sam fell backward, landing on her injured arm, breaking it once more. She screamed out and couldn’t move.

  A shadow appeared, and she recognized the bitter scent from when she’d been with Tray. He lifted Marin and carried her away.

  “Tray—” Sam called out.

  Tray paused.

  “Don’t. She needs to face punishment for what she did. She needs to give me answers.”

  Tray looked over his shoulder. There was a haunted expression in his eyes that Sam had never seen from him before. There was something else there, as well, something that looked to be a mixture of pain and frustration.

  “She’ll face punishment, but I need answers first.”

  “Why?” Sam asked.

  “If she’s my mother, I need to understand. You know what that means, don’t you?”

  Sam could only nod. Her body began tingling again as another augmentation coursed through it, and she felt healing, her arm repairing once more. Even healed, she wouldn’t go after Tray.

  She’d been so focused on having him help her find Marin for her own reasons that she’d overlooked reasons that Tray had to find her. And he deserved answers, the same as Sam did.

  “If you find out what she did to my memories…”

  Tray nodded. He looked as if he was going to say something but simply clenched his jaw and disappeared down the street.

  Sam watched, wondering if it might be the last time she would see Tray.

  Epilogue

  Alec waited in the decorative room inside the palace, an uncomfortable feeling making his heart race. Were it not for Sam, he wouldn’t be here. Everything around him was ornate, and he found his gaze jumping from statue to candleholder to painting, never resting. Everything here was incredibly valuable. Everything here would be more than enough to purchase his father’s shop once more.

  The door opened, and Sam entered. She moved slowly, still recovering from her injuries. The easar paper had helped, but he’d needed to use so much of their strength to keep her safe during the fight with Marin that not much was left to heal her fully.

  Despite his efforts, they hadn’t managed to catch Marin.

  Alec jumped from his chair and went to help her. She scanned the room before settling her gaze back on him. “Just you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve had Beckah with you lately. I thought maybe you’d bring her with you.”

  “Sam—”

  Sam shook her head. “It’s okay. I understand you have a connection with her.”

  “I do. But I have one with you, too.”

  Sam sank into one of the plush chairs and leaned back, closing her eyes. “I can’t challenge you the same way that she does.”

  Alec chuckled. “You always sell yourself short.”

  “I don’t sell myself at all. I know my limitations.”

  “You don’t have the limitations that you believe.”

  Sam sat silently for a moment. “What of the canals?” she asked.

  Alec had shared with her what Master Eckerd had told him about the eels. At least others believed they were real. She was tired of trying to convince everyone about what she’d experienced with them. It was still hard to believe the eels were helpful. The stupid creatures had tried to bite her!

  “The canals are cleansed.”

  “How?”

  Alec shook his head. “I’m not entirely certain. The masters who were involved in cleansing them are all still lying in the hospital.” That had been a surprise. Master Eckerd and Master Helen, along with three others, masters that Alec had very little experience with, had all been involved. If nothing else, they had revealed to him which of the masters were Scribes. “They are all still quite weak, but they’ll all pull through.”

  Sam rested her head, letting her eyes drift closed again. “Good. I still can’t believe they used the canals to protect the city and prevent Thelns from gaining access.” She sighed, and it seemed that she was simply exhausted. “Marin claimed that disrupting the canals was part of her task.”

  “When the masters recover, I’ll make sure they know.”

  “We have to find out what it was.”

  “The man you pulled from the university was the one responsible for helping Marin gain access to the university supplies of foxglove. The masters had kept him sedated until they figured out what he intended.” He fell silent, watching Sam’s reaction for a moment. “How is Bastan?”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s angry the tavern was attacked again, but he’ll get over it.”

  Alec nodded. He leaned forward, twisting his hands together. What he needed to tell Sam would be difficult, but she deserved—and needed—to know.

  “My father thinks he knows what happened to your memories.” Sam’s eyes opened, and she bit her lip. A hopeful expression came to her face. “He doesn’t think it’s the result of any augmentation.”

  “Your father isn’t a Scribe so how would he know?”

  Alec had begun to realize that his father had more connections than he had ever known. He had questions for him, and he would find out the answers, but that would have to come in time. “He tells me that the only way to disrupt memories the way that yours were is by using the Book of Maladies.”

  Sam stared at him, saying nothing. Both of them knew what that meant. If the Book of Maladies were involved, there would be no easy way—or possibly no way at all—of reversing the effect.

  “How certain is he that’s what happened?”

  “It was the first thing that came to mind for him. He said the power required to disrupt memories that way called for more magic than an augmentation could provide.”

  Sam stared at her hands and breathed out a long sigh. “Then I’m going to have to find it.”

  “Find it? Sam, there’s no way to reverse it short of—”

  Sam leaned forward. “Short of destroying the page. I know. Marin said that not everything is what it seems. I can’t trust her, but there is more going on than what we have learned. Which is why I need to find the Book of Maladies. And you’re going to help me.”

  Pick up the next book in The Book of Maladies: Tormina

  Finding the truth means risking everything.

  While trying to track down her brother, Sam discovers she isn’t through with Marin quite yet. An attack proves that a traitor sympathetic to Marin remains active in the city, but training prevents Sam from finding answers. With the Thelns once more in the city, Elaine doesn’t believe Sam should be involved in the search, which means she has to go off on her own. Doing so risks her position at the palace, but any other choice puts her brother in danger.

  Alec continues his studies and realizes how much he still has to learn at the university. Now that he knows
some of the master physickers are also Scribes, he wants answers, but his search places him at odds with someone far more powerful than him. When Sam asks for his help with her quest to find the traitor, Alec has to make a dangerous decision and the fallout will change their lives in the city.

  Failure means more than another Theln attack upon the city—it means they might lose everything they have discovered about themselves.

  Names and Terms

  People:

  Aelus Stross: An apothecary and skilled healer. Alec’s father

  Alec Stross: an apprentice apothecary

  Bastan: a thief who essentially runs Caster

  Hyp: a moneylender in the Arrend section who frequents Aelus’s shop

  Marcella Rubbles: owner of a stationary store in Arrend

  Marin: a thief who knew Sam’s mother

  Samara (Sam) Elseth: a thief

  Trayson (Tray) Elseth: Sam’s brother

  Places and Terms:

  Arrend section: a merchant section

  canal eels: possibly mythical creatures living in the canals

  Callesh section: a merchant section

  Caster section: a lowborn outer section of the city

  Central Canal: the canal that separates the lowborn sections from the merchants and highborns

  easar paper: magical paper

  highborn: a term for the wealthier living in the center of the city

  Kyza: one of the many gods worshipped in Verdholm

  lowborn: a term for people living in the outer sections of the city

  Lycithan: a southern nation. Known for their skilled artisans.

  Narvin Plains: east of the city, thin stretch of land

  physicker: healers with specialized training at the university

  Piare River: connects to Ralan Bay and the canals

  Ralan Bay: a trading hub along the coast of Verdholm

  Sornum: Bastan’s tavern

  Thelns: dangerous brutes

  Valun: a country known for various artifacts, including the stout rope Sam uses

  Verdholm: an isolated city situated near the coast with canals running through it separating it into different sections