Aelus stopped short and looked over to her. “The palace? Why would you say that?”
“Because I’ve seen her there,” Sam said.
He frowned and then hurried forward, following Beckah to Alec’s room.
When they reached the room, he hurried inside and looked around. There was something to the set of his chin and the way he looked at everything that reminded Sam of Alec. Much like Alec, Aelus seemed to take in everything with a single glance. Much like Alec, he had a certain wrinkle to his brow, and his jaw tilted just so to the side. The only difference was that Alec would tap his hand at his side as he thought whereas Aelus seemed to tap it on his cheek.
“What were you working on here?” he asked Beckah.
“We’ve been working on the easar paper,” she said.
“He said he wasn’t able to find the right combination.”
“That’s right. He’s been trying something else.”
“If he’s been trying something else, it’s not been here.” His gaze drifted around the room before it stopped at the table. “Where did he get this?” He leaned over the table, his gaze skimming across the book. Sam came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.
She didn’t recognize the writing. It wasn’t the script that made it difficult. It was that the words were not familiar to her.
“I don’t know. He had these too.”
“These?”
Beckah pulled a few other books out from beneath the stack and handed them over to Aelus.
He thumbed through them quickly. “Marcella. What have you done?”
“Who is Marcella?”
“Marcella Rubbles. That must be where Alec obtained these books.”
“And why is that a problem?” Sam asked.
“Because these—this one in particular,” he said, tapping the book that still rested open on Alec’s table, “will describe papermaking. This one is likely one of his mother’s.”
“His mother’s?”
Aelus nodded. “Maybe I made a mistake telling him about her. I hadn’t expected him to go looking for things she might have collected. I thought he might have known better than that.”
“What is it about his mother?”
Aelus glanced over to Sam. “It doesn’t matter.”
Sam thought that it might, but she didn’t press, not in this. There was no point, especially since there didn’t seem to be anything Aelus was saying that would change their situation now.
“Beckah, do you know where he might have been working with Master Helen?”
Beckah shook herself. “If it’s a classroom, then it would likely be one that wasn’t used very often. Otherwise, they would have been noticed, which would have only raised questions.”
“Why would there be questions raised?” Sam asked Beckah.
“Because Master Helen doesn’t work with people very often,” Aelus offered. “She is independent, almost fiercely so. It would attract attention.” “And Master Helen, of all people, would not want to attract unnecessary attention.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Beckah guided them out of Alec’s room, and they closed the door, locking it quickly behind them. She raced down the hall and to another level of the university where Sam hadn’t been before. Doors lined the hallway. Most were simple doors, though on each side of the door, there was a marking. It took a moment for her to realize that it was room numbers.
“These are the classrooms?”
“I haven’t been here in…” Aelus shook his head. “It has been a long time.”
“I don’t know which one they would have been using.”
“Which ones are typically used by the master physickers?” Aelus asked.
Beckah pointed. “Most of these front rooms are the ones used. They are little bit larger, and they have boards that can be easily written on. The ones toward the end of the hallway are rarely used.”
“That’s where they would have been,” Aelus said.
They made their way down the hallway and stopped at each door where Aelus popped his head in, scanning the room before withdrawing and looking back around. Each time he did, he shook his head, and Sam sensed a growing irritation within him.
Her heart was racing, and it wasn’t just because she had been hurrying with Aelus. Something was wrong with Alec, and she felt helpless, unable to help them, despite the fact that everything in her being told her that she needed to find a way to help him.
If she wasn’t able to do so, what would happen to him?
Maybe nothing. But maybe he would never come around. Maybe the poisoning he was exposed to was similar to what had happened to Aelus.
“You think it could be eel venom?” Sam asked.
“If it were eel venom, he wouldn’t have had the irregular heartbeat.” Aelus sighed and squeezed his hands into fists. “Were it only so simple. At least with that, you have already proven that you know the antidote.”
“I don’t know that we’ve proven anything. I think we were just lucky.”
“There was nothing lucky about it. Alec used his analytical skills to determine what was needed. I wish he were alert enough to assist us with that now.”
“He often wished for your help when he was trying to work on you,” Sam said.
“He always underestimated himself. He has earned every bit of his promotion within the university. He talks about years to be promoted to master physicker, but I suspect it will happen much sooner than that, at least if they can get over themselves and the fact that they weren’t the ones to train him. I suspect there is some pride in them that prevents them from promoting him to master physicker, they would like to believe he doesn’t have the necessary experience, but in many ways, Alec has much more experience than most of the physickers here.”
They reached another door, and Aelus pushed it open. When he stepped inside, he froze. “This is it.”
Sam followed him in with Beckah behind her. The room was surprisingly clean. There was a long table at one end of the room. Several other tables had been pushed off to the side, and now lined each of the walls. Chairs were pushed up underneath them. On the long table at the front of the room was an enormous pot that emanated a stench. How had they not smelled it from the hallway?
“What is it?”
“He was attempting to make paper,” Aelus said.
“In a pot?” Sam wasn’t sure what it took to make paper, but she didn’t think that it could be mixed like some concoction. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Alec had discovered some magical way to make paper. Maybe easar paper required something very different. She had no idea what went into making paper.
“He was mixing the pulp. Pressed and dried, it would form sheets. This would be crude, but he’s already starting to gain some skill.” He fingered something in his pocket, and Sam suspected it was the book that he had claimed from Alec’s room. “What was he doing? What was he getting himself into that would make it so challenging to restore him?”
Aelus stepped up to the pot and stuffed his head inside. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Sam resisted the urge to grab him and jerk him back. What was he thinking exposing himself to the fumes? They’d already seen how whatever Alec had been exposed to was enough to poison. Was Aelus willing to poison himself simply to discover what Alec had done?
“I don’t detect anything obvious.” He turned to Sam. “Do you have access to the eel venom?”
She shook her head. “Alec kept it.” She blinked. “But it was in his room. I saw it there earlier. Both kinds. Why is it important?”
“I suspect what happened to him is related to the eel venom, but not in the same way as I was afflicted. I think Alec, in his attempt to create easar paper, managed to poison himself in a different way.”
“Can you reverse it?”
“Possibly. I need that eel venom. We don’t have much time.”
They raced back to Alec’s room, and when they stopped there, the door was crac
ked open. Had it been that way when they left?
Sam didn’t think so. She was certain that she had closed the door and sealed it tight.
Someone else had come.
She stepped in front of Aelus and Beckah and screwed the two ends of her canal staff together. Aelus watched her, eyes wide, and Beckah stared at her.
“That shouldn’t be necessary, not here.”
“It shouldn’t be, but look at his room. Someone has been here.”
And if someone had been here, there would be only one reason for them to have come.
When she stepped inside, she saw the room was empty. It was more of a mess than it had been before, and when she hurried over to the table, and looked down to the floor, she saw what she had feared.
The eel venom was gone.
13
Finding Help
The mess all around them left Sam uncomfortable. “What now?” Sam asked Aelus.
“You said Master Helen was working with Alec?” he asked Beckah.
“She was. But when I went looking for her, I couldn’t find her…”
He closed his eyes. “Alec must’ve figured something out. He must’ve determine some way of mixing paper, though I’m not sure how he would have, especially since he shouldn’t have been able to read what was written in that book.”
“What if he didn’t have to read everything in that book?” Sam asked.
Aelus frowned. “Why wouldn’t he need to?”
“Well, shouldn’t he only need to read the essential parts?” She glanced from Aelus to Beckah. “If this is all about making paper, and if that book,” she said, pointing to the book in his pocket, “has some sort of recipe in it, then wouldn’t he only need to find the recipe and repeat it?”
Aelus’s eyes widened. “Samara, you are much brighter than I have given you credit for.”
“Uh, I’m not sure I should be thankful for that. That seems almost like you’re insulting my intelligence.”
“Not an insult at all. I understand why Alec would be drawn to you. You have a quick intellect. Perhaps not the same studious knowledge he has, but there is something to be said about street smarts.”
Sam grunted and shook her head. “All I want is some way to help Alec.”
Aelus set the book down on Alec’s table, flipped it open, and began thumbing through the pages. He moved quickly until he reached a middle section of the book where he began to slow, he turned one page back and forth, before settling on it and running his finger along the text.
“We need eel flesh,” Aelus said.
“Eel flesh?” Beckah asked. “First the venom and now the flesh?”
“It has healing properties,” Sam said. “Of course.”
“I don’t know that it will completely counter it, but if what I am reading here is accurate, then it should be able to. Or at least bring him around enough that he should be able to speak to us.” Aelus looked up at Sam. “Do you happen to know if you have eel flesh?”
“I don’t, and if Alec didn’t have any in his room, then he doesn’t, but I think I might know someone who will.”
But could she reach Bastan in time?
“How long do you think I have? Wait… Why can’t we use easar paper if we know what might help him?”
“Because I suspect the paper is what is causing his difficulty.”
“Kyza!”
“I will try to keep him stable. I suspect Beckah will assist me,” he said, glancing at Beckah. She nodded quickly. “You go, see if your crime lord friend can help us.”
“I’d be careful who I’m calling a crime lord, poisoner.”
Aelus’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. Do what you can to help my son.”
Sam wanted to like Alec’s father, but he made it difficult. There was something almost arrogant about him. His thank-you for her saving his life had been half-hearted at best. She hadn’t bothered checking his wound since dragging him to the university, but it must not be life-threatening, not if he managed to continue moving around as easily as he did. Every so often, he had touched his hand to his shoulder, and she suspected that he would need the assistance of a physicker, but who would Aelus trust?
Only Alec.
Sam raced from the building, once more drawing on her own augmentation, seeking strength, speed, and adding a lightness to herself, trying to find a way for her to move even faster. When she jumped across the canal, she soared, clearing it and going racing along the street. She moved faster than she ever had before, reaching Caster more quickly than she ever had.
When she found Bastan’s building, she hammered on the door and was quickly let in, pushing past Michael and then past Ricken, before finally getting to the lower level where Bastan waited.
“Eel flesh.”
Bastan looked up. He sat in a chair, a book flipped open on his lap. From where Sam stood, she could tell it was something relating to artwork.
“Can you put your damn book away? I need eel flesh. Do you have any?”
“Now tell me, Samara, why would I have eel flesh?”
“Because I am sure you’ve been harvesting them.”
Bastan frowned. “And why do you need them?”
“Because Alec has been poisoned, and it’s the only thing that might be able to help him.”
Bastan sighed and went to the door, pulling it open and whispering something softly. He nodded to Sam when he was done, motioning for her to sit. She didn’t want to sit. She wanted to pace. She wanted to think. She wanted to find some way—anyway—to help save Alec.
“It won’t get here any faster by you pacing,” Bastan said.
“I can’t help it, Bastan. All I can think about is trying to find some way to get help for Alec.”
“I know you care about him. All I’m trying to say is that you need to take a deep breath and wait. While we’re waiting, you can tell me what happened. Tell me how he was injured.”
“I don’t really know. All I know is that he was working on making the paper and something happened during the process that left him sick. It… It’s almost as if he was subjected to something with the easar paper, but…”
“What do you mean subjected to the easar paper?”
Sam looked around Bastan’s small room. It was an outer area before it led into the cell where he held Marin. She wasn’t surprised that she had found him here but was surprised that he seemed to stay here more often than not, especially lately. Was he finding out anything from Marin? Or was this mostly his way of keeping an eye on her and making sure that she didn’t hurt anyone else he cared about?
“There is something the Thelns have, something that uses the easar paper. They call it the Book of Maladies.”
Bastan started laughing, watching Sam. “That’s quite the formal name.”
“Maybe, but that’s what they call it. They use the easar paper, and they have people who have placed a particular pattern on the easar paper which leads to power, and this power can be used to poison others.”
Bastan frowned. “Poison?”
Sam took a deep breath, nodding slowly.
“This is what the business with the princess was all about?”
She nodded again. “She was caught up in it. Bastan, it’s bigger than just the princess. It’s bigger than Marin. It’s—”
Sam didn’t have a chance to finish. The door opened and Ricken entered, carrying a bundle wrapped in wax paper. He crinkled his nose as he held it out from him, lile he didn’t want to have it in his hands.
Bastan quickly grabbed it from him and shook his head. “It’s not going to hurt you.”
“I heard what these damn things did to other people.”
“These things? The creature is not living, and you aren’t anywhere near the poison it carries. I think you’re perfectly safe.”
Ricken shivered. “That doesn’t change the fact that I’m happy to have you hold it.”
Bastan grunted. “Watch the door,” he said.
He opened the wrapping and a stench wafted
toward Sam. The eel flesh was gray and spongy and looked nothing like the deadly creature that she had seen in the canals.
“What does this have to do with helping your friend?”
“Because the eel flesh has healing properties,” Sam said.
Bastan arched a brow. “Interesting. And the university knows this?”
“Some at the university do. Most of them don’t. Those who do have chosen to keep it secret.”
“Of course they have. Why share something that might be of benefit to countless others?”
“Because alive, the eels are of benefit of countless others,” Sam said. “The eels protect the city, keeping the Thelns out. I’m not sure I understand how, but they have a purpose. If people knew the eel meat was curative, think of how they would hunt them.”
Bastan grunted. “Fine. What’s your plan with this?”
“I intend to see if it works with Alec.”
He cast a glance over to the cell. “I will go with you.”
“You don’t have to do that, Bastan.”
“I don’t have to, but I want to. Your friend Alec is now my family too.”
Sam would have argued, but she understood what family meant to Bastan. It was surprising the way he felt, especially considering what he was, but he felt very strongly about the people that worked with him, and firmly believed he needed to care for them, to provide for them, which was why he had done as much as he had for Sam.
They headed out, and with Bastan coming with her, she had expected the journey to take longer, but Bastan had contacts at each of the bridges, not slowing them at all. He also knew the city incredibly well and guided her quickly from the Caster section to the university, taking the most direct path. Sam might have been able to go faster by jumping over the canals, but it wouldn’t have been much faster.
When they reached the university, she took him around to one of the side entrances, not wanting to come in through the main door. Going that way would have delayed her unnecessarily, and she wanted speed.
“You know your way around here quite well,” Bastan said.
“I’ve been here often enough,” Sam said.
“At least you haven’t been here as a patient,” Bastan said.
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