“And what do you think will happen if you don’t?”
Alec swallowed. “It’s… It’s a man by the name of Kevin.”
Would Ryn make the connection between Kevin and Bastan? It was possible that he would, especially given that Kevin had served Bastan for a long time. He didn’t know anything other than the fact that Ryn was trying to gain territory on Bastan, though they were separated by a significant distance in the city, so it didn’t really make sense for them to be competing for territory.
“And what happened to Kevin?”
“He suffered from a severe infection. It started with a cough, and he had fevers and chills, and eventually wasn’t able to walk. I used a combination of—”
Ryn held his hand up, silencing Alec. “You sound like a physicker, but you don’t have the same attitude as many of the physickers. And I must admit that I am disturbed by the fact that you came to my section.”
“I was only trying to help Stacia.”
“Stacia is sick because of her own mistakes,” Ryn said.
“You don’t want to help her? All I need to know is what she was exposed to, and then I can work with her to see if I can counteract the effects.”
“No.”
“I didn’t come here to disrupt anything for you. I didn’t even know anything about you. She said she worked for a seamstress.”
Ryn smiled slowly. “A seamstress? Is that right?”
Alec nodded quickly. “That’s what she said.”
Ryn turned to the man at the door and nodded. “Bring the seamstress to me.”
The man looked at him for a long moment before nodding. He left them alone, but Alec didn’t think there was anything he could do to get free. He didn’t dare attack Ryn, especially as he had the sense there were others on the other side of the door that would be able to stop him if he did.
Ryn reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. “What is this?”
Alec looked down at the paper, trying to keep his expression neutral. Even without looking, he knew what it would be.
Easar paper. The scrap of paper had been in his pocket when the man had grabbed him and torn his cloak free. Alec had managed to get the venom out of his pocket and thought that he had it hidden, but everything else in the pocket would still have been there, including the easar paper… and their blood.
“I take notes on what I see. It’s part of my training at the university.”
“Notes? These are quite interesting. It seems as if someone was attacked based on the way you described this. And I must say that the ink used is most interesting.”
Alec struggled to keep his expression calm. “My pen was—”
“Why are you really here,” Ryn asked.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.”
Alec took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure that telling the truth would make a difference with this man, but there didn’t seem to be any way for him to get free, so lying wasn’t going to get him answers, either.
Maybe he could engage him in conversation and convince Ryn to get talking, which might get him to share more than what he intended.
“There are several people who have come to the university comatose.”
“Comatose?”
“Sleeping, or at least seeming to. They won’t wake up. Something happened to them that causes them to become unresponsive.”
Alec watched Ryn as he said it. Would he reveal his role in it?
“When we came here to learn of Stacia, one of the other physickers with me was poisoned,” Alec said. “I suspect it was in her ale, as it was the only thing she consumed.”
“Is that right?”
“From what I understand, she was poisoned because we started asking of you, and had we remained, you might have offered an antidote.”
“Is that right?”
“Isn’t it?”
Ryn stared at him and seemed to be amused more than anything else. He tapped one foot slowly, a rhythm that reminded Alec of the steady poling of the captain as they headed into the swamp. Had they come past this section as they took the barge out into the swamp?
Maybe Bastan wasn’t the only one who had been watching his father.
“What are you using?” Alec asked.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“I think you do. It has something to do with eel venom, doesn’t it?”
The corners of Ryn’s eyes twitched, and Alec knew he was right.
“No one is foolish enough to try and capture one of the canal eels,” Ryn said. “Anyone who has tried has been pulled into the water, and few come out safely.”
Alec hadn’t heard that. Maybe that was nothing more than a way of scaring him, or maybe it was true, at least in this section. Here, with their proximity to the swamp, they might have a different experience with the eels.
“And to be honest, the eels are clever. Those who have tried to fish for them and catch them have failed. It’s almost as if they know.”
“Unless you know where to go to find them.”
Ryn stared at him. “You’re more than a physicker, aren’t you?”
“What did you do to them?”
Ryn snorted, and the door opened before he had a chance to answer.
Alec looked over and saw an older woman enter. She had silver hair that she tied back behind her head with a strip of leather. The corners of her eyes were deeply wrinkled, and her brow had a deep crease. Her mouth was pinched in a frown, and she glared at Ryn as she came into the room.
The glare didn’t soften when she realized Alec was there.
“You called me here?”
“Only because someone came to my section looking for the seamstress.”
“I really wish you would stop calling me that.”
“I call you what you are to me.” Ryn turned to her, and for a moment, rage flashed on his face. “You didn’t tell me that she went to the university.”
“Because I didn’t know that she went.”
“No? And how would she get the necessary funds to head to the university? That would be beyond her means.”
“I don’t know,” the woman said. “Perhaps she stole them.”
“She didn’t need nearly as much as you think,” Alec said quickly. He gambled, hoping he could convince the seamstress to share more with him if the chance arose. “I already told you that I haven’t been charging for my healing services,” Alec said to Ryn.
“And I have told you that the university would not allow such a thing.”
“Full physickers are allowed to set their own prices.”
Ryn frowned. “Not even a junior physicker?” He glanced over at the seamstress. “She’s going to be the reason this fails.”
“If he’s the only one who came here—”
“He wasn’t the only one. There was another, and now she’s lying in the university with the rest of them. We do not need them to turn their attention to us.”
“There’s no reason for them to.”
“Who? The university? All the physickers want is a way to heal them. If you tell me what you did to them, and if there’s some way I can restore them, we won’t bother you at all.”
Ryn turned back to Alec, and he chuckled darkly. “Why would I care about the university? There’s no one there who could cause difficulty for me. We’re too far removed from the center of the city for them to care. No. It’s your other connection that I care about. It’s the reason you were in Caster—the real reason you were there.”
“Bastan?” he whispered.
Ryn took a step toward him, his entire body tensed. “Do not say that name around me.”
“Why? Why are you trying to hurt Bastan?”
Ryn stared at him, studying him for a long moment. “You don’t know?”
“I don’t know anything. I’m simply trying to help those who have come to the university for my services.”
“Well, I think I’ll leave it to the seamstress to help m
e determine whether or not that is true.” Ryn turned to her. “Get answers from him.”
With that, Ryn strode from the room, leaving Alec staring at the thin older woman. For some reason, terror began to work through him.
23
Into Danger Without Augmentations
Sam and Master Helen finally reached Alec’s rooms, and Sam still hadn’t said anything. She wasn’t sure how to address the issue with Master Helen, not knowing whether there was anything she could say that would bring her better answers. Maybe the answer was simply that there was more to being a Kaver and a Scribe than Sam understood. There were limits to what Elaine was willing to share, though was that for Sam’s benefit or for the city’s?
Master Helen knocked and waited a few moments before knocking again. When there still was no answer, she pushed the door open and looked inside.
The room was empty. Sam poked her head in and looked around, searching for signs of Alec. This was his room. It held the scent of him. There was the musty odor of books, and she noted a stack of them in one corner. She saw papers on his desk, where she imagined he made notes about the various treatments he tried. A narrow bed was shoved against the wall, giving more room for the large desk. A single chair was angled toward a hearth.
It wasn’t much larger than the student rooms, but it did appear much cozier. It suited Alec.
Everything about the university suited Alec.
She couldn’t imagine him leaving here and heading to the Thelns lands, even if they might find answers by doing so. Why would anyone venture there willingly, unless in search of answers?
Then again, Tray had gone there. He had willingly left, thinking he couldn’t find the answers he sought by staying in the city. But Tray was not only part Theln; he was part Kaver, which meant some of his answers would be found within the city, but perhaps not the ones he wanted. He wanted to understand what it meant for him to be part Theln, and he probably didn’t worry about what it meant for him to be a Kaver, especially not if Marin had shared anything with him.
That was something Sam needed to find out too. What had Marin shared with Tray? Could she have told him what it meant for him to be part Kaver? Or maybe she hadn’t known, not before Beckah had used her connection to the easar paper to augment him.
“He’s not here,” Sam said.
“I am able to see that as well,” Master Helen said.
“It’s late. Where would he have gone?”
A troubled expression crossed Master Helen’s face. “If he wasn’t at the ward, and he’s not here, the only other place would be the library. He spends many hours there.”
Master Helen swept out of the room and down the hallway. Sam followed, trying to keep pace, but Master Helen walked quickly. Sam scurried along the hall, feeling her canal staff bang against her shins as she did. She suppressed the urge to swear. Though it might help her feel better, it would do no good.
They entered a wide hallway on a lower level of the university. Master Helen reached a pair of double doors and pushed one open, hurrying inside.
Why was she moving so quickly? Did everything she did happen quickly?
Sam stepped inside after her. The room was impressive. There were rows and rows of shelves all laden with books. The enormity of it was overwhelming. At the far end of the room, she noted a table, and a young man sat at it. He had a long face, and he was leaning over a several open books, staring at them. A lantern glowed on the table.
Sam turned her attention to the rest of the library. The room was enormous, and likely ran the entire length of the university. How many books were here? Why would the university need so many? How many possible ways could there be to heal someone?
“Stefan?” Master Helen said, stepping forward.
The young man at the table looked up. He stood, clasping his hands in front of him. “Grandmother.”
Sam glanced over to Master Helen. “Grandmother?”
Master Helen shot her an admonishing look. “What are you doing here at this hour?”
“I’m… I’m trying to help Alec. He was researching patients who were comatose. We weren’t able to find anything. There haven’t been many records, but I did come across—”
“Do you know where he has gone?” Master Helen asked.
Stefan blinked. “He’s not with me. He has been spending quite a bit of time in the wards, so he might be there.”
“He’s not there.”
“Then his room?”
Master Helen shook her head again.
Stefan shrugged. “I don’t know, then. Now that he’s been promoted to full physicker, it’s hard to keep up with him.”
Sam recognized the irritation in his voice. This was someone who had known Alec before his promotion. Why had Alec not spoken of him? The only person she knew from the university was Beckah, and her mere presence and the time she spent with Alec frustrated her, even though Sam knew that it shouldn’t. Now that Beckah was injured, she felt some sympathy, though it was hard to muster much. She couldn’t get past the idea that Beckah had some other interest in Alec, even though he claimed that she did not.
“Come with me,” Master Helen said, turning away and sweeping back out of the room.
“Grandmother?”
Helen stopped. “What is it?”
“When you see him, let them know that I have a few records that might be beneficial. I can’t say with certainty whether these are what he’s been looking for, but I think…”
“You think what?”
“I think they might help. They are old, probably from before some parts of the city existed, but they reference a specific type of poisoning that is very similar to what we’re seeing.”
Master Helen’s jaw clenched, as if she was debating something. Finally, she nodded. “I will share with your friend what you have discovered.”
She started away from the library, grabbing Sam’s arm and leading her out.
“Where are we going?”
“Your friend has been foolish to continue to leave the university, as I have said. I fear he has ventured away again, and more likely than not, he’s gotten himself into some sort of trouble.”
“If I know Alec, he hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble. He’s probably just off somewhere studying.”
“If that were the case, he would not have disappeared and gone to the Hosd section. That place is dangerous, even for you.”
“I’m a Kaver. There aren’t many places that are dangerous to me anymore.”
“You might be surprised. I think arrogance with your abilities can be a downfall. I would’ve thought Elaine would have cautioned you about that.”
They left the university, and Helen guided her toward the bridge in the distance. If she was going to have Sam walk through the city, it would take much longer than if Sam were to jump the canals. Winding through streets and looking for crossings would be a much more time-consuming way than what Sam was accustomed to.
“Where do you think he’s gone?”
“There are two possibilities. Either he has ventured back to your section and tried to reach Bastan or…”
“Or what?”
“Or he has made the mistake of trying to travel back to Hosd. I wouldn’t put it past him to think that he needed to find answers about what happened to his friend and his father.”
Sam knew that Master Helen was right. If there was anything Alec could do that would help them understand what had happened to them, she knew he would pursue it. Alec wasn’t scared, even though there were times when he should be. He often let his dedication and purpose take him places he shouldn’t go. It was much like when he had gone with her chasing after the Thelns. He had been fearless, unmindful of the fact that he was powerless against them. Without him, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to escape the Thelns. She had needed his augmentations.
“Where should we go first?”
“I think the safest answer is to go to the section you’re most familiar with,” Master Helen sai
d.
“I can move more quickly on my own,” she said.
“Fine. Go see if you can find your friend, but I will be coming behind you.”
Sam smiled to herself, thinking what Bastan would say if he met someone like Master Helen. There had been a time when Sam thought her nothing but a kindly old woman, but she had since learned that the master was quite a bit more. Alec respected her and feared her a little bit.
Sam nodded and grabbed her staff from beneath her cloak, and began screwing the ends together even as she approached the edge of the canal. She launched herself across, bouncing a few times before landing on the other side. She took off in a sprint, hurrying as she went.
Why would Alec have been spending time with Bastan?
And why hadn’t Bastan shared that with her?
Sam didn’t even spend time with Bastan, not anymore. She probably should, especially now with the revelation about Marin, and Sam’s uncertainty about her role as a Kaver. What would Alec have been doing with Bastan?
Maybe it had to do with whatever had been happening to the people he cared about in the city. Could Bastan have been helping him find out what had taken place?
As she neared the Caster section, Sam slowed.
Three men made their way across a distant bridge.
It was late enough that Sam took note of them. Almost as notable was the fact that those men were enormous, almost as large as Thelns, though not quite as big. Experience from living on the streets of Caster for as long as she had—and her gut instinct—told her to follow them.
Bastan had been attacked. Were they part of that?
Maybe all of this was part of that.
She used her staff and jumped to the rooftop, streaking across the slate tiles, careful with her footing so that she didn’t slip. When she reached the edge of one roof, she jumped to the next, moving quickly from one to another, flashing across the top of the streets.
The men turned a corner and Sam hesitated.
It was more than just the three men.
Two of the men carried someone.
Sam scurried ahead, trying to get to a point where she could look down and see who they carried. Could it be Bastan? If it was, she had to help him, and practically bubbled with excitement at the idea. She could only imagine how much he would owe her if she had to rescue him from some attacker. And here he had claimed that he was safe in his section.
Comatose: The Book of Maladies Page 19