Comatose: The Book of Maladies

by D. K. Holmberg

  He had chosen to come in the early evening. It was better to come into Caster with light, rather than to attempt walking through this section in the darkness when he would draw notice—and not the kind of notice that he wanted. He would be a target, and Alec knew enough about Caster to know that someone like himselfwho came through here would be the kind of target that drew dangerous people.

  Beckah looked around as they walked, her eyes looking at everything. “I still can’t get over this part of the city.”

  “You don’t have to get over it. These are people.”

  “Thieves.”

  “There are some.”

  “Including the man that we’re going to visit.”

  “He’s helped Sam on many occasions over the years.” But that wasn’t the reason Alec was coming to him. It was because he knew his father had helped Bastan in the past. They finally arrived at the tavern and went inside. It was mostly quiet, though there was a minstrel playing in one corner. A fire burned brightly in the hearth, casting a warm glow to the room. Food smelled fantastic, not surprising considering Bastan seemed to take pride in the quality of his kitchen.

  “This is it?” Beckah asked.

  “This is where we start.”

  Alec took a seat at a table, waiting for a familiar face to appear. Bastan used many of the kitchen staff to serve him, and they worked in both reputable as well as disreputable positions.

  One of the men came out, and Alec tried to catch his attention. “

  “Him?” Beckah asked. “He looks like…”

  “He looks like Kevin,” he said. Kevin had dark hair and a prominent forehead, and he was muscular, far more muscular than anyone working in a kitchen should be. Alec had seen that he was quick with knives, and—most importantly—Sam liked him.

  Kevin weaved toward him and crossed his arms as he stared at the table. “You bring another woman in here?”

  “She’s a friend. Sam knows her.”

  His posture relaxed only a little. “If you’re looking for Sam, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her in quite a while.”

  “I’m looking for Bastan.”

  “You? Without her?” He glanced at Beckah. “And with her?”

  “It’s not like that,” Alec said.

  “It better not be. We all have something of an opinion about Sam here, and it’s all good. If you hurt her, well, let’s just say that you coming to Caster isn’t going to be something you’re going to want to do.”

  “Why would I hurt Sam? You’ve see me with her.”

  “I haven’t seen you with her in quite a while. Could be that she’s decided she’s done with you. Not that I blame her. Man like you seems a little—soft—if you ask me.”

  Beckah grinned at Kevin. “Alec is a little soft.”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “I’m just trying to be helpful. You told me that I needed to keep quiet while we were out on the streets. You didn’t say anything about me having to keep my mouth shut once we got here.”

  “I told you to be quiet when we were talking to Bastan. But I’m amending that. You need to be quiet around Kevin too.”

  “What if I told him that Sam is angry with you because you broke her heart? Just think of the way she would feel knowing about our growing love, think about the way that she would feel knowing the way you look at me, the way you hold me, the way you…”

  Alec glared at her, but Kevin began laughing.

  “She’s a bit like Sam, isn’t she?”

  “If you mean that she’s nothing but trouble, then you’re probably right.”

  “I mean that she’s got spirit. I’m a little surprised to see it from a highborn, but you know, I respect it when I do. It’s not common that we get highborns here, though more than we used to. Bastan sure has taken a liking to their money.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You know I can’t tell you. You are welcome enough here, but you aren’t part of the crew. Gods, even Sam isn’t a part of the crew, not any longer. Not since she started spending time with you. You practically turned her into a highborn.”

  “I didn’t turn her into anything. Sam is the same person she was when she used to be here all the time.”

  He wondered what Sam would say if she learned that he was talking about her in that way. Maybe she wouldn’t be upset, but he had a feeling that she would. Sam took pride in being fierce and strong as well she should. She was fierce and strong, and she intimidated Alec with those traits.

  “If you’re looking for Bastan, I’ll give word.”

  “We can’t go back and speak with him?”

  Kevin smirked at him. “You? Nah, I don’t think he’d be too thrilled if I let you go back to his office. He’s a little particular about who he lets back there, and a man like you, with a girl like that, well, let’s just say you wouldn’t be welcome there.”

  Alec decided not to tell Kevin that he had already been back to Bastan’s office, and that he had a better understanding of Bastan than what Kevin might even know. Instead, he just nodded thanks. If Kevin was going to give word to Bastan that they were here, that was all that Alec could do.

  A waiter appeared and set two mugs of ale in front of them.

  Beckah looked at Alec, and it took a moment for him to realize that she was waiting for him to pay.

  He shook his head and fished a couple of coins out of his pocket, handing them over to the man.

  “You get into the university and get promoted to physicker, and you already start to forget how to treat a woman,” Beckah said. “I might have to hold that against you.”

  “Thanks for that, by the way.”

  She laughed. “I thought it would be entertaining. You seem so tense here, that I thought it would lighten the mood.”

  “I’m not certain this is the kind of place where you want to lighten the mood. You don’t know Bastan and what he’s capable of.”

  “If he’s the kind of man who spends significant time in Caster, I think I have a reasonable idea about who he is and what he’s capable of.” She tipped back her drink, and her face screwed up as she took a sip. “It’s a little more bitter than I was expecting.”

  “Don’t tell Bastan that. Like I said, he takes pride in his kitchen, which includes the ale that he serves.”

  “I wasn’t saying that it was bad. Bitter doesn’t mean bad. Bitter means bitter. What if I said you were bitter? I don’t think you’re bad.”

  “Sometimes, you don’t make a lot of sense. I think that maybe I will need to have you do some sort of penance.”

  “If you try that, Alec Stross, I will make sure that is the last thing you do as physicker.” She took another sip, and her nose wrinkled again. “It really is bitter.”

  Alec decided to take a sip, and as he did, he noticed the door to the back office open and Bastan appeared. He was an imposing man, despite the fact that he was probably twenty years Alec’s senior. It was something about the confident way that he scanned the tavern, or maybe it had to do with the fact that he had taken on the Thelns on his own, armed only with a crossbow. That was something Alec didn’t think he would’ve even tried.

  When Bastan saw him, he shook his head and headed his direction. He stopped at their table and glanced at Beckah for a long moment, an appraising look on his face. “Is she one of you?”

  “A physicker?”

  Bastan gave him a hard-eyed stare. “You know what I mean, Physicker Stross.”

  Alec blinked. Bastan knew about his promotion. He shouldn’t be surprised, but he still was. Bastan shouldn’t have any ties to the university, no way for him to know… Unless Sam had told him. But why would Sam still be out here working with Bastan?

  Unless Bastan had his own sources. If he did, that meant that he was keeping tabs on Alec, and Alec didn’t like the idea that Bastan was keeping tabs on him.

  “She is,” he said.

  Beckah made a face at Alec. Bastan only chuckled. “Physicker Stross knows that I
mean him no ill will. Besides, it isn’t that difficult to discover that there’s a new physicker. All it takes is for someone to keep their resources directed at the university. The university doesn’t attempt nearly so much privacy as places like, say the palace would.”

  “I don’t know where Sam is. I tried to get her to come with me, but I couldn’t find her.”

  “I haven’t been able to find her, either. I was hopeful that you coming here meant that Sam was returning to me, thinking that she might want another job.”

  “I think the only thing Sam wants right now is to find Tray.”

  “Finding Tray means that she would have to travel someplace I don’t think she should,” Bastan said.

  He took a seat across from Alec, pushing Beckah to the side on the bench. She flashed a smile at him, but Alec could see the nervousness in her eyes. If he could see it, he suspected Bastan could as well.

  “Why are you here, Physicker Stross?”

  Alec took a deep breath. “Something happened to my father.”

  Bastan smiled and leaned forward. “I will tell you this only one time. I’m not responsible for what happened to your father.”

  “I didn’t think that you were.”

  “Then why have you come here if you aren’t here to accuse me of something happening to your father?”

  “Because I know what he acquired for you.”

  “We agreed not to discuss that, Physicker Stross.”

  “Fine, but did he provide you with the entirety of his collection?”

  Bastan frowned. “Why are you asking?”

  “Only because whatever happened to my father, now his more… delicate… collection is missing.”

  “Delicate?”

  “The same type of delicate collection he had acquired for you.”

  Bastan stared at him for a moment before leaning back. “I will put out the word that I would be interested in information about what happened to the apothecary.”

  “Which means that you don’t know anything at this time.”

  “I don’t know anything at this time,” Bastan said.

  “If there’s anything that you learn, would you send word?”

  Bastan watched him for a moment, and Alec resisted the urge to shift in his seat. There was something about the way Bastan looked at him that made him feel a little uncomfortable. The man had a dark intensity to his stare, and Alec didn’t care for the way he looked at him.

  “I will send word if you commit to having Samara visit.”

  “You know that I can’t make Sam do anything.”

  “I didn’t ask you to make her do anything?”

  “You asked me to have Sam commit to visit. That suggests that I have some way of forcing her to come.”

  “I would never ask you to force Samara to do anything, Physicker Stross. What I would suggest is that you see if there’s anything you might be able to do to remind Samara that we have a shared interest.”

  “And if she’s already gone?”

  “If she’s already gone, then I fear that I may not have any information for you.”

  Bastan tapped the table and then stood, glancing back at them for a moment before he retreated to his office.

  “He is quite intimidating, isn’t he?” Beckah asked.

  “He is that indeed.”

  “Do you think he knows something?”

  “It’s possible, but I think if he did, he would’ve shared it.”

  “Why do you think that?” Beckah glanced back toward where Bastan had disappeared. “What would he gain by sharing anything with you?”

  “He cares about Sam. I don’t know the details about it, only that he harbors real affection for her. If anyone were to do something to help her, it would be Bastan.”

  “It makes me uncomfortable.”

  “What? Being in Caster?”

  “No, relying on someone like that. That’s what makes me uncomfortable.” She tipped her mug of ale back and took a long drink. When she was done, she set the empty glass back on the table and motioned to Alec. “If we’re done here, we should get going.”

  “I want to take a little longer,” he said.

  “Alec—”

  Alec only shrugged. “When we return to the university, I become Physicker Stross again.”

  “Didn’t you want to be Physicker Stross?”

  “I did, but only because I wanted to help Sam identify Marin’s Scribe. Otherwise, I don’t know that I would have challenged for testing. It’s almost easier to go unnoticed.”

  “Trust me, Alec, you have never gone unnoticed.”

  “I know that, but I had sort of hoped that I wouldn’t be quite as well noticed. It’s not as if I want to draw attention to myself. And now that I’m a physicker, that’s all I have done.”

  Beckah laughed softly. “You know how many people wish they had the ability to do what you managed to? Do you know how many people who study at the university wish they had the knowledge that you have? I think of all of the students there, most would love to be in your position. You’ve studied for a year or less at the university and look at you now.”

  “Look at me now. I have junior physickers angry that I jumped past them in rank. I have students who look at me and wonder why I was able to challenge and be raised to physicker. And even those who are supposed to be my friends wonder.”

  “Stefan will get over it,” she said. “Besides, it’s not that they’re jealous of you, not in the way that you think. Do you even know how long it takes to be raised to junior physicker?”

  Alec hadn’t given it much thought. There had never been a reason to. When he had come to the university, he had been placed based on knowledge that he already had, and he assumed that meant that he had quite a while to go. There were others at the university who didn’t have the same knowledge as he, and some who he suspected would never get there. Just because they were allowed to enroll in the university didn’t mean that they were guaranteed to be promoted to physicker.

  “How long?”

  “I studied for three years before you came.”

  “Three years?”

  She nodded. “Three years. Before that, just to be allowed the option to be tested, I studied for two years. That’s simply to be granted an opportunity to gain entry. It was the same for Stefan. He was at the university when I came, and we both were promoted quickly, but neither of us was promoted anywhere nearly as quickly as you.”

  Alec hadn’t considered that. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to recognize that what you have done is impressive. I’m still probably a year or more away from reaching the level of junior physicker, and then from there, it’ll take me another few years to be promoted to full physicker. By the time I reach that level, you’ll likely have already been promoted to master physicker.” She leaned toward him. “All of that is basically to tell you that you need to be thankful for what you’ve accomplished. You should be proud of it. Don’t be ashamed of your intelligence and the fact that your father taught you before you came to the university. There’s no reason to feel that way. The only thing you should feel is an obligation to continue to work at it. Well, that and a desire to help your friends out.”

  “You mean my friends who are still students? I’m not sure I can do that. I think I might have to get new friends.”

  She glared at him. “If you even think like that, I will…”

  “You’ll what?”

  Beckah looked around, and then with a devious smile, she shrugged. “I’ll return to Bastan, and maybe I will share how you mistreated me—and Samara.”

  “That wouldn’t be very kind of you.”

  “Whoever said I was kind?”

  5

  The Swamp

  There was pressure against the canal staff, the kind of pressure that left Sam’s heart racing. She hopped, pushing off with the staff to vault slightly out of the water, enough that she could clear whatever might be attempting to bite at t
he staff. She knew better than to believe that the swamp was devoid of ominous creatures. She had already seen eels swirling beneath her, and she feared that they were following her, trailing after her as she made her way across the swamp.

  This was a mistake.

  How long had she been out here?

  Half a day, maybe less. But long enough that she wasn’t sure whether she would be able to get back. She could take pressure off of her arms by wrapping her legs around the staff, and she had balanced on the staff, having learned the technique well enough to manage, though she wasn’t nearly as skilled as some of the other Kavers.

  Again, she felt pressure against the staff, and a soft splash sent water spraying up toward her.

  Sam swore under her breath. She wasn’t about to fall and risk encountering the eels. For that matter, she knew better than to risk coming here without letting anyone know. Alec will be furious if he learns that she came without telling him, but she needed to try this without his help.

  Elaine had told her that she had made the swamp crossing many times without augmentations. If Sam was going after her brother, she would have to do it without augmentations—at least she would have to be prepared to do so.

  She jumped, switching directions and heading back toward the city. It wasn’t even visible from here. There was nothing more than a vague sense of the city in the distance, and she breathed out a heavy sigh, pausing again to station herself higher up on her staff—high enough that an eel would have a difficult time of trying to take a bite out of her leg, were it to jump free of the water.

  Despite the disgusting fetid odor of the swamp, there was something calming about it. Maybe it was the fact that there was no one around her. Sam enjoyed the solitude. She always had, which was why she made such a skilled thief before she had learned about her Kaver abilities. She didn’t mind being out in the dark or being alone, though were she honest with herself, she did prefer to have someone else with her. And she missed Tray watching over her, providing a look out and offering his massive protection.

  Though she had always been the provider for them while growing up, he had always been the protector. His massive size and strength coming in handy over the years. Now, it was her turn to look out for him, though she would need to get to him in order to do so.