Exsanguinated

by D. K. Holmberg

“No,” Marin said, tapping her canal staff on the stone. “If they weakened the wall, we would have detected that. It would’ve been easy enough to repair. What they did…” She shook her head. “I’m not entirely certain. I have plenty of experience with augmentations, Alec, but these are nothing like any I’ve ever experienced.”

  “Because they were placed by a Scribe of great skill.”

  Marin frowned.

  Alec heard the sound of another voice behind him, and he turned. Jalen appeared, his face flushed and sweat beading on his brow. He had run the entire way from the university.

  “You summoned me…” Jalen looked around, seeming to finally take in the emptiness. “Where is she?”

  “That is what we are trying to determine.”

  “And that’s why you called me here?”

  “I called you here because I have need of an augmentation.”

  Jalen frowned. “I don’t have much easar paper remaining. None of us do, not with Helen having stolen it from the city.”

  “There is enough for this.”

  “What would you like?”

  “I would like strength, large hands, and bones that will not shatter.”

  Jalen nodded. He held out his hand and picked it with a knife, and Marin did the same with hers. They pressed their hands together quickly, something that Alec suspected they had practiced, and Jalen took a seat on the ground and pulled a slip of paper out from one of his pockets. It was little more than a scrap of easar paper. Not much to write on, but for what Marin wanted, it would be enough. Jalen made a few quick notes, and when he was done, he looked up at Marin. “That should be it.”

  Marin took a step toward the wall. She closed her eyes, and as Alec watched, her hands began to enlarge. She punched, powering through the stone.

  “I thought she sent for an excavator,” Alec said to Jalen.

  “Apparently, she’s the excavator.”

  Alec watched as Marin destroyed the wall, ripping stone free from it. It was an impressive display of augmentations and the kind he had never even tested with Sam. What limits did their augmentations have? Those were questions he still didn’t know the answers to. Maybe there weren’t any limitations, but then again, the limitation seemed to come from the power of the Kaver and Scribe.

  As she tore away the stone, Alec saw space behind the wall, an opening that should not have been there.

  “Kyza!” Jalen said. He stepped up behind Marin and peered into the darkness. “How is that possible?”

  “Either they had planned this, or this has always been here,” Marin said.

  “We need to follow it,” Jalen said.

  “Not alone. And not in the darkness,” Marin said.

  “We don’t know how long she’s been gone.”

  “If Helen came for her, she has more Kavers than we do. We might need numbers and the ability to place augmentations.” Marin glanced from Alec to Jalen. “Find Samara. I will gather Bastan’s men, and we will pursue this, but we need to do so in a careful way.”

  Alec glanced over to the opening in the wall. How much time would they waste waiting? With Lyasanna gone, it might already be too late. The damage might already be done.

  “I’m going go in there to see what I can find,” Alec said. Sam would be angry, but she would understand. She would have to.

  “You don’t want to wait for Samara?”

  “If it’s only Lyasanna, she’s a Scribe—”

  “A Scribe who has been effective at having augmentations placed on her before,” Marin said. “It’s the reason we need to be careful with her.”

  Alec let out a frustrated sigh. Marin was right, but he didn’t like it. He didn’t like the idea that they would have to wait, especially not with whatever Lyasanna and Helen might be planning.

  “We must ensure no one else uses this passage to enter the palace. How do you intend to keep this protected?” Alec asked.

  “I intend to stand guard myself.”

  “And what happens if you’re attacked?”

  “If I’m attacked, then it might already be too late.” Marin waved a hand to Alec. “Go find Samara.”

  He glanced over at Jalen before making his way out. Other than knowing that she had gone to Caster, he wasn’t even sure where to begin looking for Sam, so he decided to see if any of Bastan’s people might be able to help.

  Alec ran.

  What choice did he have? He went as quickly as he could, racing through the streets, heading toward Caster. He was tired after going barely halfway. He paused long enough to pull out his jar of eel meat and took a bite, needing to replenish his strength. The bitterness seemed less today than it had been, though he suspected that was nothing more than his imagination. There was nothing about the meat that would have changed in the last few hours since he’d taken a bite.

  He looked around. He was in a merchant section. It was one he thought he’d been in before, rows of warehouses looking familiar. There was also a manor home that reminded him of the one Sam had described.

  As he looked at it, he realized people were entering the front door. Two of them carried long staffs. Canal staffs.

  His breath caught. Could they be Kavers? Could this be the same manor house where they’d found Camellia?

  He needed to find Sam, but he also needed to understand what it was that Helen was up to. If he could discover something here, it would be of value to them.

  Alec crept forward, trying to be as quiet as he had seen Sam doing. He didn’t have the same experience with sneaking through the streets as she did, but she had tried to teach him stealth, and though he had never quite mastered it, he was better than he once had been.

  A low fence surrounded the property. Alec jumped over it and crept forward, reaching a window. He pulled himself up, hanging carefully from the edge as he tried to peer inside. It reminded him of when they had gone to Helen’s house and had looked inside. But this house wasn’t empty. He counted four people, and the two with the canal staffs troubled him the most. Could the others be Scribes?

  Would Helen be inside?

  He lowered himself to the ground. Now that he knew this was here, he would come back, but not until he had Sam with him. He wasn’t going to come by himself and wasn’t willing to try to attack, not without someone who could fight more effectively than he could. He was nothing more than a physicker—a Scribe. He had no abilities to fight.

  Alec turned back toward Caster and ran. As he went, the sound of boots thudding across the stones chased him.

  He darted into an alley, not wanting to be overrun by someone here.

  As he stayed in the darkness, he saw the people making their way along the street. Bastan’s men. Alec stepped out, recognizing Kevin.

  “Stross. Come with me.”

  “What?”

  “You’re needed.”

  “I’m needed? What happened?”

  He said two words that caused Alec’s heart to lurch. “It’s Sam.”

  16

  Saving a Friend

  His father’s apothecary shop was dark, and there was a coppery scent that Alec recognized—blood. A lot of blood—far more than what anyone could survive.

  When Kevin led them to the back, Alec staggered forward.

  “Sam?”

  She was lying on a cot, her arms at her sides, and her face pale.

  “She was found like this, Alec.”

  Alec spun and saw Bastan. “Bastan? What happened? How are you free?”

  “Help her.”

  Aelus was already working on Sam, and Alec quickly began to tamp down the emotion, focusing on engaging his mind, knowing that for Sam to survive, he would need to use everything ounce of his knowledge, every skill he’d ever learned from his father.

  “What do we know?” Alec asked.

  His father glanced up. “She was found bound to the ceiling with rope. There were these slits in her wrists. I have sutured them, but there has been a significant amount of blood loss.”

  Alec qui
ckly checked for a pulse. It was there but thready. Her breathing was regular but weak. The sutures his father had placed were stable, and the lacerations over her wrists were significant.

  “How much blood loss?”

  “It is difficult to know,” his father said. “With as pale as she is—”

  Alec turned to Bastan. “You were the one to find her?”

  Bastan nodded.

  “How much blood loss did she have?”

  “I don’t know. There were two buckets beneath her. I brought them with me, but…”

  Bastan motioned to two buckets on the floor underneath the cot. He glanced at them, and his heart skipped a beat. With that much blood loss, there might not be anything that could be done for her.

  “It’s contaminated, Alec. I would have suggested using it, but…” Bastan pulled one of the buckets out, and there were traces of dirt and something else in it.

  She couldn’t have her own blood replaced. Even if it were successful, the likelihood of infection would be too high. That left only one option.

  It was risky, but for Sam, Alec was willing to do it.

  “She needs a donor,” Alec said.

  His father looked up, shaking his head. “Alec, that’s not possible.”

  “It is. I’ve seen records of it at the university. She needs someone who can donate blood to her.”

  He made his way to a closet and grabbed a few supplies. There was a syringe, and he took it, grasping a needle made of a fine reed. He would need that to find a vein to administer the blood. Even if he were successful, there would be a risk of infection.

  “Easar paper,” he said to Bastan. “I need any you can find.”

  “Where?”

  Alec squeezed his eyes shut. The only easar paper they had was what he had made recently. Did he dare trust it?

  Did he dare not?

  “My room at the university. In the back. You’ll find it on a tray there.”

  “I will get it myself.” Bastan ran out, and Alec turned his attention back to Sam.

  “Alec—” His father tried to caution him.

  Alec prepared the syringe. He didn’t know how much blood would be needed to help Sam, but he was willing to do whatever was necessary to help her.

  He took a seat and pumped his arm a few times, and then felt for a vein beneath the skin. As his father watched in horror, Alec jammed the needle into his arm, found a vein, and drew out blood.

  He wasn’t certain how much would be necessary, but now that Sam’s bleeding had been stopped, she needed the lost blood replaced. He wasn’t sure whether this would work, or if their blood would even be compatible, but the fact that they were Kaver and Scribe made it more likely it would be.

  As he pulled the needle from his arm, his father reached for his wrist. “This isn’t going to save her.”

  Alec didn’t look up. “There’s nothing else that will. I’m going to try this.”

  “Alec…”

  He glanced up. “I’m the master physicker.”

  His father fixed him with a strange expression and then nodded, removing his had from Alec’s wrist.

  Alec reached for Sam’s arm and checked for a strong vein, but with as weak as her pulse was, it was difficult for him to find one. He moved up to her neck. The vein there was larger, and if he pierced it the wrong way, it was possible that it would lead to more bleeding, but if he didn’t do anything, she wouldn’t survive this, anyway, so it was worth the risk.

  Alec placed his fingers on either side of the vein, stabilizing it beneath the skin. He brought the needle out, and slowly pierced her skin and began to administer the blood.

  He went slowly. With as sick and injured as she was, he wasn’t confident how much she could tolerate. It might be she couldn’t tolerate much at all, but he had to try.

  When he was done, he looked over at Sam, noticing that her pulse was only slightly better. Her color was unchanged.

  He needed more blood.

  He pumped his fist when his father grabbed his wrist again. “Use mine.”

  Alec looked up at his father. “We don’t know whether you would be compatible.”

  “You are, so we can presume I am.”

  Alec wasn’t sure it worked that way, but maybe it didn’t matter. At this point, Sam needed anything, and he was determined to see that she had the necessary support to come back from this.

  He plunged the needle into his father’s arm and withdrew a syringe full of blood. He returned to Sam and administered it to her.

  By the time he was finished, it seemed as if her pulse was somewhat better. It was still fast, and it was still thready, but he had hope.

  The door to the apothecary jingled open. Alec looked over as Bastan raced inside. He held out the sheet of easar paper.

  Alec took it and stared at it. It would weaken Sam for him to use it, but then, he could use a ratio that was mostly his blood, and less of hers. If he did that, it was possible she wouldn’t need to use quite as much of her own strength for recovery.

  A drop or two. Nothing more than that. And he wouldn’t even need to draw it from her. He could take it from the bucket. It didn’t matter that it was contaminated.

  He grabbed a bowl and added two drops of Sam’s blood. Then he pressed on the skin on his arm where he’d pushed the needle in and squeezed out a dozen drops that he added to the bowl. Between the two of them, he had enough for ink. Would it be enough to help her?

  Alec reached for the sheet of easar paper and stared at it.

  He dipped his pen into the ink and began to write.

  The words flowed across the page. They were a desperate plea, not the same impartial description he typically used. This was desperation. This was a desire for help—any kind of help—and he prayed it would work.

  When he was finished, he sat back.

  He knew the augmentation had taken hold as a cold washed over him. It was a powerful surge that burned through him, stronger than that of any augmentation he’d ever placed. Distantly, his mind worked through the reasons why that might be, coming to a decision that it must be from the ratio of blood used.

  There was nothing for him to do but wait.

  At least Sam still breathed. Every so often, he would check her pulse, and his father nodded, looking at him with a worried expression. “I can keep an eye on her. You have done everything that you can. I will let you know if anything changes.”

  “I’m not going to leave.”

  His father shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask you to. But you need to rest. What you’ve done will take strength out of you, and with what Helen has done to you, you don’t have much strength to spare.”

  It reminded him of the eel meat. He took the jar out of his pocket and took a piece, chewing it slowly. Would it help Sam? He had to believe that it would. He took another few pieces out of the jar and found a knife and used it to chop it up into tiny pieces. He took the chopped meat and gently pried open Sam’s mouth, and stuffed it toward her throat.

  He massaged her throat, trying to help her swallow it.

  Then he got up.

  Bastan took his place, looking down at Sam.

  “What happened?” Alec asked. It was the first moment he’d had since arriving with Kevin to even think about asking.

  “I was captured. I escaped.”

  “It’s not as simple as that.”

  “It is as simple as that. They thought to trap me, but they underestimated me.”

  “Who were they?”

  Bastan glanced over at him. Tears welled in his eyes. “The damned fools who thought to do this to Sam.”

  “We need to know what they intended,” Alec said.

  “Whatever it is, they think her blood is the key.”

  “And Lyasanna escaped,” Alec said.

  His father gasped. “How?”

  “It was like you thought. There was an opening on the other side of the wall they were placing their augmentations on. They used that and somehow gained access to the cel
l.”

  “Could Lyasanna be responsible for what happened to Sam?” Aelus asked.

  “She is the one responsible, but she wasn’t there when we found Sam. There was a Kaver I didn’t recognize. He’s dead now.” Bastan turned his attention back to Sam. There was a quiet intensity to him, almost a rage that boiled beneath the surface. Alec had not seen Bastan angry before, not like this. He was frightened by it, but he thought that Helen should be even more frightened. Bastan was not the kind of man anyone wanted as an enemy.

  Could Helen have finally made a mistake?

  If so, maybe they would be able to figure out what she was after.

  “I don’t want to lose her, not like this,” Bastan said.

  “I don’t want to lose her, either.” Alec stood near Sam’s head, and he trembled. “I don’t want to lose her at all. We haven’t even had a chance to have any sort of normalcy. We haven’t had a chance to have a life where we weren’t trying to figure out what it meant to be Kaver and Scribe and trying to fight off the Thelns and…”

  Bastan breathed out. “She’s strong. The strongest I know. She’ll pull through this.”

  Alec looked down at Sam. He couldn’t tell if her color was any better, and out of habit, he checked her pulse and found it still thready. It wasn’t getting any better, despite the blood they had administered and the augmentation he had placed. Maybe it was too late. Maybe she wouldn’t survive this. Maybe Sam was already lost.

  And that means Helen will have won.

  “One of us needs to go tell Marin,” Alec said.

  “I can go,” Kevin said behind him. Alec hadn’t realized that the other man had remained with them the entire time. He had been quiet, standing off to the side, watching as they worked. “At the palace?”

  Alec nodded. “She will be in the cell.”

  Kevin departed, and Alec couldn’t help but pace, every so often coming over to check on Sam, his mind racing and prayers forming that he never had formed before. Sam swore to Kyza, but Alec thought he should pray to her god. If any looked over her, it would be the one who viewed lowborns like her in a favorable light.

  He took a seat on her other side and gently lifted her hand. It felt helpless. There was nothing that he could do for her. Waiting.