Sam grabbed a few slender metal rods she had in her pocket and stood with her side to the door, working them in the lock. She tried to look as nonchalant as she could, not wanting to draw any attention to herself, but knowing anyone on the street might be watching her. Marin once had her own network, and though it may have been disrupted, there was still the possibility someone remained under her employ.
The door popped open. Sam pushed it open wider and slipped inside and then hurried up the stairs. She was careful not to let the steps creak too much. She didn’t think anyone was here, but she didn’t want to alert anyone if they were. It was better to come upon them rather than be surprised.
When she reached Marin’s door, Sam jiggled the lock before using her lock pick to break into it. This took a little bit more work than the last one, and when the door popped open, she hesitated before stepping inside.
It wouldn’t surprise her to discover Marin had placed some sort of trap here. Sam would be prepared for that.
Nothing happened.
She stepped inside and looked around. A layer of dust covered everything, telling her it had been a long time since Marin had come here. She looked for evidence of footsteps in the dust, or traces of places where it might have been disturbed, but there were none. Marin had not been here. Nor had anyone else.
It was much like she remembered from her last visit. There were a few shelves, each filled with books, though fewer than the last time. Alec had taken some of them, and Marin had likely removed some herself. There was the bed with the lockbox at the end, and she popped open the top, but found nothing inside.
As she scanned the room, she noticed a cloak hanging behind the door.
Sam grabbed it. This cloak was much like the one she wore, possessing the ability to shed light, to somehow obfuscate someone’s eyesight, practically as if it carried its own enhancements.
She heard the sound of footsteps below her.
Sam tensed. She went to the door, checking to make sure she had locked it behind her. Anyone who would come here would likely have followed her.
Had she revealed the location of Marin’s home? She didn’t think Elaine knew of it before, especially as Sam hadn’t shared it with her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have discovered it in the meantime. More likely, Elaine had sent someone to follow her, and Sam had been too careless with making her way from Bastan’s prison over to Marin’s old home.
She should have known better. She knew she had been followed earlier in the city, and knew she needed to be more cautious. Normally, such a thing wouldn’t be an issue for her. Had she gotten so out of practice? Then again, it had been quite a while since she had worked in Caster—or the neighboring sections—in a way that required her to remain that vigilant.
Sam hurried over to the shelf. That was what she had come for. If she could discover what Marin kept here, and maybe grab her personal record, they would have some way of discerning what they might need to know as they traveled through the forest.
There were too many books for her to take all of them. Not only would they be heavy, but it would slow her down. She glanced over at the window, realizing she might need to go out that way once again.
She crouched in front of one of the nearest shelves and began to search the titles. There was nothing obvious about them. Many of them were books that would likely have been of more interest to Alec, books that described the workings of the body, and some that appeared to be a history of the city. Sam grabbed that one and stuffed it into her pocket. Others were personal journals, so she grabbed all of those and stuffed them into her pocket. She would have to look through them later when she had more time.
She went to the other shelf, and it was much the same.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs was unmistakable, but not loud.
It was a soft sound, and it was clear that whoever was coming attempted to conceal their presence.
As soft as they were, it was strange that Sam could hear them so clearly, or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Marin had chosen this building as her home because the old construction and creaking stairs ensured she could know whether someone was coming.
Sam scanned the titles, deciding to stuff all of them into her cloak.
When she was done, she looked over at the door. Was that someone trying to twist the handle?
She wasn’t sure she could go out the door. There was no way of really telling if someone was out there, not without unlocking and opening the door. That meant either she would have to risk it—or she would go out the window.
It wasn’t that she feared going out the window. She had gone that way enough times that she didn’t worry about climbing down, but when she had before she’d had rope. Now she was equipped only with her canal staff.
The doorknob turned.
Sam was certain of it this time.
She raced over to the window. When she reached it, she pushed it open and glanced down at the street, looking to see if there was anyone else out there. She saw no sign of anyone. That didn’t completely reassure her. Any good thief would be able to hide in the shadows, especially at a time like this with a moonless night overhead, but once she was down on the street, she would be able to disappear more easily.
She crawled out onto the ledge, focusing on an augmentation. She wanted strength, but she also wanted to lighten her body. If she did so, landing wouldn’t be quite as jarring, even if she used her canal staff.
Holding herself steady on the ledge, she focused on the intent of the augmentation and then on the feeling she would have if it took effect. Even if she was only partially successful, she would be able to jump down safely.
As the augmentation washed over her slowly, she heard the door open behind her.
Sam jumped.
She arced out and away from the building, moving much farther than she had anticipated, strength coming from the augmentation and the distance coming from the fact that she had made herself lighter than normal. Sam sailed across the street, landing quite a ways away from Marin’s building.
When she came down, she turned and looked up at the window.
Someone looked out, but it was not anyone she recognized.
Sam wrapped her cloak around herself, hoping it obscured her as it usually did. She waited for a few moments until the person standing in Marin’s window disappeared. Then she spun, turning away and heading back along the street.
Her pockets were heavy, practically the only weight she had, and she sailed over canal after canal as she crossed through the city. When she reached the university section, she snuck in the side entrance Alec had shown her and hurried through the hallways until she reached his room. At this hour, she was hopeful he would be there, and if he wasn’t, she would sit and wait for him. She needed his help to determine what Marin had written in her books and to quickly help her assess whether there was anything more she might have before she took them over to Marin.
There was no answer at his door, but she let herself in. The room was in disarray, much more chaotic than was typical for Alec. He usually was much neater, quite organized, so this chaos within his room surprised her. There was a stack of books on the table at the center of the room, one of them lying flipped open in the middle of the table. A bottle of ink rested on the corner of the table, with a piece of paper set in front of it, notes made by Alec in his tight script set right near the book.
Sam started pulling the books out of her pocket, setting them on the floor next to his table. She would wait, but how long would it be before Alec returned?
While waiting, she started to look around his room. It was strange to see it as messy as it was. Maybe he had just been preoccupied, but even that didn’t fully explain it. Alec was always so organized.
She found a jar of liquid underneath the desk, when she pulled it out and opened the top, she gasped.
The pale yellow liquid was unmistakable. She had seen it often enough and had seen the effects from it.
Eel venom.
What would Alec be doing with eel venom in his room?
It was dangerous—possibly fatal—and he knew that.
That’s still didn’t explain the state of his room.
She began to look more carefully at everything that was scattered about the room. She found another jar and pulled it open. She recognized the milky white liquid as the other venom he’d extracted from the eels. Mixed together, they were relatively benign, but individually, they had potentially dangerous effects.
She had known that Alec still had the venom but hadn’t really known he had so much. And why keep that in his room? That seemed the most surprising to her, especially as he was usually so careful. Anyone could come in here—at least, anyone willing like herself to break into his room. She knew Alec didn’t have many people who were fond of him at the university. Many were angry about the fact that he had been promoted as quickly as he had, moving on to the rank of full physicker. She doubted that it would be long before he became master physicker, though Alec believed it would take several years, or even longer.
She took a seat at his desk and began to skim over the notes.
As she did, understanding swept through her.
She looked down at the eel venom with a renewed understanding. But if he had figured out a way—or, at least tried to figure out a way—of making easar paper, where was it?
If he uncovered the secret of making easar paper, they would be much less restricted than they were now. Currently, the supply of the paper was a limiting factor when it came to augmentations. It was a limiting factor when it came to everything Alec could do for others at the university.
Could there be any paper here?
Sam began to search for paper. She could tell from Alec’s notes he had attempted to use standard paper and add various concoctions to it, all mixtures of eel venom, ways he thought he could prepare the paper so it would carry the same benefit as easar paper. From his notes, none of them had been successful. That didn’t change Sam’s curiosity, nor did it change her interest in seeing his trials. Maybe there was something she could offer, though she doubted it.
She wasn’t the brains behind their partnership—that was definitely Alec—but that didn’t mean she didn’t have helpful input. She had a more practical type of knowledge than Alec that came from her years on the street.
She saw no sign of the trials. There was nothing other than the mess in the room.
The door to Alec’s room opened, and she looked up expecting to see him.
Instead, Sam frowned.
“Beckah? What are you doing here?”
“Oh. I didn’t know Alec had asked you to come.”
“He didn’t ask me to come. I came to see him. I didn’t realize I needed an appointment to do so.”
Beckah shook her head. “You don’t. He’s a full physicker, and he is allowed to have visitors anytime he wants.” Beckah licked her lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed his help, but it appears he’s working on making easar paper.”
Beckah’s eyes widened. “You knew?”
“I can tell from his notes. Alec documents far too well for that to be difficult to determine.”
“That is what he’s trying to do. I’m not sure how far along he is. He doesn’t share that with me, mostly because he tells me I need to stay focused on my studies.”
Sam chuckled. The irritation in Beckah’s voice was obvious. Sam even understood the source of it. There had been a time when Beckah and Alec had been a similar level and had come up through the university together. Now, Alec was a full physicker while Beckah remained a student, senior-level student or not. That formed a division between them, one that was necessary, but that didn’t mean Beckah had to like it. And from the look on her face, Sam didn’t think Beckah cared for it at all.
“What are you doing here?”
“I…” Beckah glanced over her shoulder before stepping into the room and pulling the door closed. “I came to talk to Alec about a patient.”
“And that’s something you need to whisper about?”
Beckah shook her head. “It’s not that I need to whisper about it, it’s just… Not all of the physickers are thrilled with Alec. If they know I’ve come to him, that will cause some consternation.”
“For you?”
Beckah nodded. “I wouldn’t care, but I’ve been put up for promotion, and he and I agreed that it was best to eliminate any possible problems until then.” She flopped into a chair. “Once I’m a junior physicker, there won’t be quite as much of a distinction between our levels, and he can work more openly with me on my studies.”
As it often did when Sam heard Beckah discuss her relationship with Alec, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy. There was no reason for it, especially as Alec had made it somewhat clear that he had no interest in Beckah other than as a colleague, but it didn’t change the fact that she felt it.
“Congratulations, I suppose,” Sam said.
“Thanks. But if he’s not here, I really should be going. Besides, I don’t want to get in the way of the two of you.”
Sam almost told her too late but decided not to. “I can tell him you stopped—”
The door opened, and this time, Alec did come in. He glanced from Beckah over to Sam, a smile spreading across his face. As he stepped into the room, he staggered and fell forward unconscious.
11
Healing the Healer
Sam raced over to Alec and quickly rolled him onto his back. He had a faint sheen of sweat on his face, but there was none anywhere else. She noticed a small marking on his cheeks, but nothing else.
“Can you help?” she asked.
But Beckah was already crouching next to Alec and had her arms on either side of him, assessing him. Sam recognized a similar technique to the one Alec used when he was detecting injuries. It was methodical, and she noticed the way Beckah ran her hands along Alec’s arms and his legs, then listened to his heart before leaning back on her heels.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. We need to get them to the hospital ward.”
Sam looked around the room. “What we need is easar paper.”
“That’s just it. It doesn’t work unless you know what you’re targeting. Even if we had a supply of easar paper, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Sam frowned. Why did it have to be so difficult? She could use easar paper to augment herself and had used it on herself. But then, she remembered Alec saying he hadn’t been able to use it when attempting to heal his father because he didn’t know what to target, just as Beckah had said.
“I can carry him,” she said.
“You can carry him?”
Sam glared at her. “I’m stronger than I look.” Especially when she placed an augmentation. She focused, needing to do it right now for Alec, thinking about strength only and focusing on what it would feel like as the augmentation took hold. It washed over her, and as it did, she felt the flush of strength fill her.
Sam stood, holding Alec in her arms.
Beckah stared at her, as though she couldn’t believe that Sam was able to do it without augmentations, before she shook herself and headed out the door, waiting for Sam to follow. When she did, she hurried down the hallway. She knew her way to the university hospital, having gone that way enough times now that she recognized the path, but never before had she had such urgent need to reach the hospital.
Her mind raced. What could Alec have been exposed to? What could have happened to him?
“Do you know what he has been working on?” Sam asked as she caught up to Beckah.
Beckah glanced over at her. “I know that he has been trying to find out how to make paper.”
“Why would he want to make his own paper?”
“Because he’s convinced that’s the only way to make easar paper. I know he and Master Helen have tried using eel venom to add to already existing paper, but it wasn’t successful.”
Sam looked around the hall, thankful that it
was empty. They really needed to be more careful as they spoke about easar paper, especially out in the open like this. “Master Helen has been working with him?” She should have remained closer to Alec, but she’d been focused on trying to understand her own training, so that she could be ready for her trip out of the city. But maybe that had been a mistake.
“Master Helen thought she might have some key to helping him with the paper.”
“I’m not sure that was the best idea,” Sam said.
“Why is that?”
“Because Master Helen has been in the palace.”
Beckah frowned at her.
“It doesn’t matter,” Sam said. “All that matters now is that we get Alec the help he needs.”
“Without knowing what he’s been doing…”
“You can’t do an assessment without knowing?”
“You can, but that’s part of the challenge. If there is nothing we can find physically wrong with him, and without being able to question him about where he’s been and what he’s been doing, it becomes difficult to know what we need to counter.”
They made their way down a set of stairs and reached the hospital ward. It was a set of wide doors that led into a room with dozens of cots and dozens of people who needed help. Beckah pushed the doors open and when she stepped inside, one of the people wearing a long gray jacket hurried over to her.
“Senior students are not allowed to bring patients into the ward. You have to have permission of—”
Beckah shook her head. “This is Physicker Stross. I don’t know what happened to him, but he needs help.”
The man looked down at Alec, briefly glancing to Sam, his eyes widening as he seemed to realize that she was carrying him by herself, before nodding. “Bring him in. Place him on a cot over here.”
Sam followed the physicker and set Alec down. It was good timing as her augmentation was beginning to fade. She needed to practice maintaining her augmentations for longer. If she could, then she wouldn’t have to worry about her strength fading at an inopportune time. That was a consideration for later.
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