Comatose: The Book of Maladies

by D. K. Holmberg

  But as she neared, she knew that it wasn’t Bastan.

  A flop of curly hair fell into the person’s face.

  Sam’s breath caught.

  Alec?

  She jumped down, back onto the street, prepared to attack, when two men converged from either side.

  “You don’t want to do this,” she said.

  “I think we do. You shouldn’t be following.”

  “You shouldn’t be hurting my friend.”

  Sam swung with her staff, and one of the men grabbed at it, practically pulling it from her. Sam swore under her breath. What was she thinking fighting without any augmentations?

  But she was skilled. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have any way of defending herself and attacking. With the training that she’d received from Elaine and the other Kavers, she was able to fight back.

  Sam dropped low, swinging the staff along the surface of the ground, spinning it toward the man’s leg. He jumped over, but his colleague did not, and she swept his feet out from underneath him. Sam flipped up, bouncing on the end of her staff as she spun in the air, swinging the staff down.

  The man ducked, rolling out of the way.

  A pair of swords appeared in his hands.

  Where had he hidden those?

  “I’m not helpless,” she said.

  “And we’re not the only two that you face.”

  Sam spun, realizing almost too late that two more men had converged on their position.

  What was this about? This was more than a simple abduction of Alec. She had thought he had just been a victim of random street violence. And with Alec dressed in his typical well-made clothes, he was a likely target. Occasionally, street thugs would try to ransom the person they attacked, thinking they could get even more money by selling them back to loved ones. That only worked if they knew who they had abducted and knew some way of sending word to the people who would be interested in buying them back. With Alec in Caster, the attackers would’ve had no way of knowing that.

  And if they weren’t about his coins, then they were after Alec.

  Why?

  She pushed those thoughts out of her head and focused on the fight at hand. Sam had to either send them all off or somehow escape and catch up to Alec to see where they were taking him.

  She jumped up on the end of her staff, perching for a moment as she surveyed the street. As she feared, there were four of them. She had knocked down one, leaving him slightly injured, but not badly enough that he couldn’t fight her. She wished she could have gotten one good blow with her staff. One clean attack would have made things a little bit easier for her. Now, without that, she had to figure out some way of taking down four men—for large men—without any augmentations.

  Could she reach the rooftop?

  If she could, she could run along the buildings and maybe get away from here, perhaps quickly enough that she could catch up with Alec and his abductors.

  Someone kicked at her staff, and rather than falling, Sam pushed off, swinging in around as she did.

  She tried to put some space between her and her attackers, but the street wasn’t very wide here. It was wide enough for her to swing her staff in a circle, which forced them back, but they surrounded her in a way that put several of them behind her.

  Sam didn’t like that, and continued to dance around, fearing that she was leaving too much of her exposed.

  Someone moved behind her, and she spun, kicking the end of her staff back, hoping to catch that person.

  She flipped forward, swinging around again, and managed to catch one of the attackers on his side. Knocking him forward.

  Something struck her from the side, and Sam staggered.

  She had enough sense to swing her staff as she fell, and that at least fended off the attacker from catching her again.

  She continued to swing around, but the men were less fearful of her than they should have been.

  If only she had some way of augmenting herself.

  What was it Marin had said? She had told her that it was a matter of focusing on the way it felt, that the power came from within her?

  Sam wasn’t sure she believed that the easar paper was a cheat to power that occurred naturally within Sam, but then again, she had faced Marin, and she had seen the way the woman had fought without augmentations. If Sam could capture even a part of that, she might be able to, if not defeat, at least escape from these men.

  As she continued to spin around in a circle, trying to fend them off, she focused on what it felt like when Alec performed his augmentation, when the power swept through her. She tried to think of the words he would write, imagining them in her mind. That brief distraction gave her attackers a chance to converge.

  As they did, that familiar feeling washed over Sam.

  It came as a cold wave that worked through her, starting from her toes and working up to her neck. She breathed it in, hoping her visualization of an augmentation would give her the strength she needed.

  When she spun the staff around again this time, it came with more speed.

  Sam laughed to herself.

  She flipped into the air, and when she came down, she swung.

  The staff moved quickly, striking one of the men in the back of the head, and he staggered forward, falling in front of her.

  She flipped the staff around again, smacking him on the side of his head. He grunted and stopped moving.

  How many were left? Were there two or three?

  Sam tried to focus on the battle, but the augmentation made everything faster. It made her faster. It made her strength even more impressive.

  She swung around again and cracked one of the men in the skull. He staggered forward, and she danced out of the way, moving too quickly for him to keep up.

  She jumped. There was strength in her legs that wasn’t normally there, and it carried her up and into the air, where she was able to spin around. She swung the staff, bringing it down in an arc as it cracked into the nearest man’s skull.

  He fell.

  And then there was silence.

  She looked around. There were three men, not four. One of them had gotten away.

  And so had the two men who were carrying Alec.

  Sam raced through the streets, moving away from Caster. She had a good idea where they were heading, especially given what Master Helen had said about what Alec had been up to.

  But if that was the case, why? What was so valuable about Alec that would make someone in Hosd come after him? Could they have learned that he was a Scribe? Would they think to try to use him for their own purposes? Or was there something else? Could it simply be because he had gone into that section seeking answers?

  Sam would find him. And she would free him.

  She raced along the streets, searching for movement, chasing after Alec in the darkness. Her heart hammered, and she prayed she wasn’t too late for her friend.

  24

  Torture and Rescue

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” the woman said.

  “I came to help Stacia. She came to the university looking for answers. Her vision had been blurring, and she wasn’t able to see, and she was afraid she couldn’t care for her family.”

  The seamstress took a step toward him. Alec realized that she had a pair of knives, one in each hand.

  What was this?

  Ryn’s words rang in his head.

  Get answers from him.

  Alec suddenly remembered that he wasn’t confined to the chair. He had stayed there because there was something about Ryn that had terrified him, but he wasn’t trapped, not in such a way that he had to remain seated while the seamstress approached. He could get away.

  “What does he think I will tell you?” Alec asked, backing to the far wall. If nothing else, he would attempt to break free.

  The seamstress didn’t say anything, and she continued to come toward him.

  “What happened to Stacia? What was she exposed to that started to impair her vision?”
>
  The woman hesitated. “She was not supposed to be looking into the jar,” the seamstress said.

  “What jar?”

  “When it splashed in her face, I tried to rinse it out, but there was only so much that could be done. I told her we would watch for any signs of impairment. At first, there was nothing. We thought she was unharmed.”

  “What jar?”

  “Eventually, the toxin began to take effect.”

  “What jar?”

  “And the only man who we thought might be able to provide answers was already impacted.”

  Alec blinked. “You’re the reason my father is comatose.”

  The seamstress looked up at him. “Your father?”

  “The apothecary. You’re the one who stole from him. How did you know?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Alec ignored her knives and took a step forward. “What happened to them? There are now four people who suffer from whatever it is that’s happening. And Stacia. If it’s all about the eel venom, I need to find a way to counter it.”

  “I’m afraid there is no counter to it.”

  “None?” That wasn’t necessarily true. Alec had discovered that when he used the easar paper to help save Tanis. There had to be some antivenom, and some way for him to help the others. If he could get access to the easar paper, he might be able to, but he had to get out of here first.

  “You see, Ryn followed Bastan several nights ago when he went out into the swamp. He thought he was after his territory. He saw the way he was able to take down that large man with a single arrow.”

  “So, he wanted to know how Bastan managed it,” Alec said, realization sweeping through him.

  “When Bastan went back out into the swamp, he followed. And then he followed him to the apothecary.”

  Alec swore under his breath. All of this was because of Bastan? All of this was because of eel venom used to stop the Thelns?

  And now, his father lay unmoving. Beckah was poisoned. Kevin and Kara.

  The seamstress raised the knives.

  Alec glared at her. “What answers do you think I have that you need knives to get from me? I’m more than happy to share everything I know if it will help those that I care about.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, coming toward him.

  Alec backed up against the wall. He tried kicking at it, but it didn’t budge. Despite its dilapidated appearance, it somehow held, stronger than he would have thought.

  He heard a shout out in the hallway, and the seamstress hesitated, looking over her shoulder.

  Alec used that brief moment to kick, using the technique Sam had taught him, and knocked one of the knives free from her hand. He grabbed it as it clattered to the ground and held it out from him.

  “Do you even know how to use a knife in violence?” the seamstress asked.

  “Do you?”

  “Why do you think he calls me the seamstress?” She made a slashing motion toward him, and it was almost too fast for him to see. He jumped back a step, barely missing the blade as it swept toward him. “It’s because I’m the one who gets answers.”

  She slid toward him, and Alec tried to spin, but the knife pierced his stomach. He looked down, his eyes wide as pain started to surge through his belly. His hand went to the injury instinctively, dropping the other knife where it clattered to the ground. The woman twisted, and Alec bit back a scream.

  “Now, tell me about Bastan.”

  “I don’t know anything about Bastan.”

  She twisted the knife again. “You know more than you let on. Why were you with him? And what does he want with Ryn?”

  His vision began to blur. How much blood had he lost?

  “Please,” he begged. “You don’t have to do this. I can help. I know that you care about Stacia. I could see it when we were talking.”

  “Stacia made a mistake. That sort of mistake is not permitted around Ryn.”

  The woman brought her knife back, and Alec couldn’t even put his hands up to defend himself.

  The door smacked open. He looked over, expecting to see either Ryn or the other large man, and was shocked when he saw Sam come spinning into the room, her staff a blur.

  She threw it, and it collided with the woman’s head, sending her flopping forward.

  The seamstress managed to get up more quickly than he would have expected, and she flourished her knives, spinning them in such a way that Alec feared for Sam. Without augmentations, what could she do? She could fight with her staff, but if the seamstress tossed a knife at her, would she be quick enough to avoid it? He didn’t want Sam attacked—and hurt—just because she came to try to help him.

  “No, Sam—” he started, barely able to get the words out. His voice was weak. Even if he survived this, and even if Sam somehow managed to rescue him, he didn’t have enough strength to withstand healing.

  Sam jumped forward, moving more quickly than he remembered her being able to, and swept her staff down and then back up in a sharp movement, knocking the seamstress to the ground. She brought the staff back around, and it collided with the woman’s head, knocking her out.

  And then Sam was in front of him. She looked down, concern filling her lovely face. “Alec, stay with me.”

  “Sam? How did you find me?”

  “You’re not exactly difficult to find,” she said.

  “Then why didn’t you find me sooner?” Alec clasped a hand over his belly, wincing as he did. “I’ve… I’ve lost quite a bit of blood.”

  “We’re both here,” Sam said.

  “We might be, but I don’t have any paper.”

  “I thought you always kept some with you?”

  “I did, but it was taken from me when I went to find Bastan.”

  “Why have you been spending so much time with Bastan?”

  “With you gone, I figured I might as well get to know him a little better. I thought he might be lonely,” Alec started, his attempt at levity falling flat. His pain was almost unbearable. He tried to ignore it, but it throbbed inside his belly. Every breath he took seemed to make it worse. He tried not to think about what internal injuries he’d sustained, but it was difficult. His mind continued to race through the diagnoses, and he knew just how badly he was hurt.

  “Stay here, I’m going to see if I can get some easar paper and—”

  “You don’t need to worry, Samara.”

  Alec’s head rolled over, and he saw someone he wasn’t expecting.

  “Master Helen?”

  She strode into the room and pulled a slip of paper from her pocket. Sam quickly grabbed the fallen knife and made a sharp slash across her palm. She then dipped her finger into Alec’s belly and mixed the blood.

  Master Helen leaned forward and began to write. Alec didn’t have the energy to look at what she was writing, but the pain began to ease, starting with a slow sort of cold sense that washed through him, and building to a hot intensity. With each moment, he felt the agony recede.

  And then it was gone.

  He looked down at his belly, and the wound was completely healed.

  Alec took a sharp breath and sat up. “What are you doing here?” He looked at both of the women as he said it. How were they able to find him? And now that they had, what were they about to do?

  “We’re here because of you,” Sam said. “I went looking for you at the university and ran into Master Helen. When we discovered you were gone, she told me that you had come to this section before, searching for answers about some person you are healing.”

  “How did you know to come to this place?”

  “Because I saw you getting dragged through the city,” Sam said. “I would’ve gotten to you sooner, but I needed to make sure I knew everything I might come into contact with.”

  Alec breathed out. “We need to find Ryn. I don’t know what he’s up to, but he’s doing something with the eel venom.”

  “Venom?” Master Helen asked.

  “My father
had acquired eel venom for Bastan. That was what he used when the Thelns attacked the last time.”

  “Eel venom would be incredibly dangerous. Why would Aelus have risked it?”

  “Because there are other uses for eel venom,” a voice said.

  Alec looked over and saw Ryn standing near the door. There were two men standing next to him, and they reminded him of the men who had been a part of his abduction. Both of them carried something that looked like darts, and they flicked them faster than either Sam or Master Helen could react, and they fell.

  “Interesting. You should not still be here,” Ryn said to Alec. “And they should not have managed to get past my defenses. I am quite curious about all of this. It seems you have many more questions to answer for the seamstress when she awakens.”

  Alec glanced down to Sam. He needed her to recover, but in this state, he wasn’t sure that was even safe to attempt. At least he thought he understood what had happened. He was convinced that Ryn was using eel venom.

  And Master Helen had the only solution he knew of to help Sam—easar paper.

  Alec scrambled forward, rolling off to the side to put Master Helen’s body between his and Ryn’s men. He reached for the easar paper that lay on the ground and quickly dabbed his finger in the pool of blood ink and scrawled a few quick lines.

  Venom toxicity. Antivenom applied. Slow reflexes, attempting to try—

  He didn’t have a chance to finish.

  One of Ryn’s men charged at him, and Alec rolled over, trying to grab for Sam’s staff. When the man reached him, he spun the staff around, connecting with the man’s leg.

  “Come on, Sam,” he said. “I need you to get up.”

  A cold washed over him. As it did, strength seemed to seep away from him.

  Had he made a mistake? He had already used the connection between him and Sam, and that might have drained more strength than he realized.