Amnesia: The Book of Maladies

by D. K. Holmberg

  “You could always speak with one of the junior physickers.”

  “I don’t think they would tell. They like to make jokes about what’s involved in the testing, so few have truly been open about it. All I know is that it’s intense.”

  “The questioning I was put through was intense, but it wasn’t anything that you wouldn’t have been able to handle.”

  “I don’t think that’s quite true,” Beckah said. “I don’t make any claims to have the same depth of knowledge as you.”

  “You’re one of the smartest senior students. I’m not surprised they have put you up for promotion.”

  “It’s not about what I know. There is a big difference between what I can learn studying in the library and what you have learned through your time with your father. There is only so much I can do when working in the ward. I haven’t had the same opportunity to test treatments on different patients the way you did.”

  “I can help with that,” he said.

  “But you said you didn’t think that was a good idea.”

  “Then we do it secretly. If you have questions about the patients you’re seeing, come to me and asked. I’m happy to offer whatever help I can.”

  She nodded, smiling. “I think I would like that.” She fidgeted for another moment before looking up at him. “Can you tell me a little bit more about your testing?”

  Alec chuckled. “My testing? I think Master Carl was trying to ensure I wouldn’t pass. I doubt you’re going to have quite the same experience. He tried to challenge me on every case they presented to me, questioning every diagnosis I offered, trying to ensure that I didn’t get promoted, and if I had failed…”

  “You would have been expelled.”

  “Yes. It’s a good thing I didn’t fail.”

  “I think Master Helen and Master Eckerd would’ve made sure you remained in the university.”

  “I’m not sure they have the authority to do something like that. It required all of the master physickers to come around.” And Master Carl had come around in the time since Alec had been promoted. That was the most surprising of all. He had been standoffish before, and that hadn’t changed—not really—but he at least gave Alec a grudging sort of respect. Then again, Alec continued to avoid him, which might have made that better.

  “What sorts of questions do they ask?”

  “Well, in your case, I suspect you won’t have the full contingent of master physickers testing you.”

  “Why is that important?”

  “It’s important because the master physickers are going to question you based on what interests they have. If you can figure out which ones will be testing you, you might be able to get a sense of what you need to know, and what kinds of things they will ask you.”

  “Do you think they will tell me who’s going to be there?”

  They might not, but would they tell Alec? Even if they did, was that something he wanted to do? Did he want to put himself in that position, risking the possibility Beckah wouldn’t succeed in promotion simply because he involved himself in her testing process?

  No. It was better if he appeared neutral. If he attempted to get involved, it was possible one of those testing her would take it out on her, asking her questions that would be too difficult for her to answer.

  “It might simply be better to prepare for all of the master physickers,” Alec said.

  She groaned. “I still think it would be better if you were involved.”

  “I can help you determine which master physicker has which interest, but I think you know as much as I do.”

  “You really can’t spend time on the wards without figuring that out,” she said. “And I’ve been here much longer than you, so it should be easier for me to do it, shouldn’t it?”

  “Yes. I can’t imagine I have more insights to offer.”

  “Gods. I thought about how hard that must’ve been for you. You hadn’t been here long enough to really know all of the master physickers and the different things they were interested in. It really is impressive you passed.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  “No. It’s not like that. It’s just that… It’s truly impressive when one considers what you must’ve gone through to be promoted.”

  They fell silent. Alec looked around his room, realizing that if he did go into the Theln lands with Sam and whoever else she took along that he would be leaving the university. He would be leaving his rooms. Would there be a penalty for him in disappearing? Would he somehow be less likely to be promoted to master physicker if he went?

  Maybe he needed to ask. Then again, if he asked, that would only draw attention to the fact that he intended to go.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I’m concerned about what will happen if I choose to go with Sam. I don’t know whether I will be able to return to the university afterward.”

  “Plenty of physickers leave,” she said.

  “They do?”

  “Well, not junior physickers. There is an expectation that once you reach junior-physicker level, you will staff the wards, as well as the intake rooms, but once you get promoted to full physicker, it is not uncommon for people to leave the university and see the rest of the city.” She smiled. “Then again, most of the people who do that come from one of the inner sections, and they take the opportunity to go out and visit the outer sections of the city. They think it will make them better physickers.”

  “It will.”

  Alec hadn’t realized the physickers even did that. That made him feel better about the fact that there was a certain breadth to the knowledge the physickers had. If they did leave the university section, then it was possible they would begin to see the needs of those in some of the lowborn sections.

  “I’m not sure that you can do the same,” Beckah said.

  “Why not?”

  “It’s just you are so new to your promotion. And… Well, most people see you as nearly lowborn. It’s your father, you know. An apothecary is viewed as a lowborn position, regardless of where in the city your section was located.”

  “There are plenty of children of merchants at the university.”

  “There are, but, well, you know how people view apothecaries, especially here.”

  It was something Alec had been dealing with since he first came. Apothecaries were viewed as less than physickers, and for the most part, they were. Then again, few apothecaries were like his father. Few were master physickers. Few were trained at the university.

  “I might need to try, anyway.”

  “What would you say?”

  “It might be more than what I say, but also who I say it to.” If he told Master Helen he was leaving, she might know where he was going. She might know, regardless, but if he told her too soon, she might attempt to do something to dissuade him. If that happened, there might not be anything Alec could do to avoid it. It was possible Master Helen would find some way of preventing it. With her connections at the palace, and the fact that she was a high-ranking Scribe, whatever that meant, she might have much more influence than he realized.

  Could he tell Master Eckerd?

  He would be the same as Master Helen, in certain respects. He was also a Scribe, and also had a certain level of rank, but Alec didn’t have the sense he had the same influence at the palace. Alec didn’t know whether Master Eckerd had a Kaver that he was paired with, but it was likely he did. It was just that Master Eckerd never spoke of it. Then again, Master Eckerd rarely spoke to Alec, not anymore. Ever since Alec was promoted to full physicker, Master Eckerd had essentially abandoned him.

  There was one master physicker he could tell. He could only imagine the excitement Master Carl would feel when he heard the news.

  What sorts of rumors would he spread about him? That was the bigger concern. Not only about his absence, but when he returned, he was concerned about what Master Carl might have said in the time that he was away.

  “It looks like both of us have something to prepa
re for,” Beckah said.

  “I can help you, if you help me.”

  “How can I help you?”

  “See if there is anything codified for the full physickers and their ability to venture out of the city. We need to see if there’s anything I can discover about what freedoms I have.”

  “How much time do you think you have?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that Sam is preparing, and I need to be ready for when we depart. I need to be there with her, and for her.”

  “I wish I could go,” she said in a whisper.

  “If you went, you would be abandoning your position at the university. I will see if we can bring Tray back here. That way, you will have the opportunity to have your connection to your Kaver.”

  She sighed. “I wish there was more than that.”

  “But there might be someone I can ask.” It hadn’t occurred to him, not before, but Marin might know. And now that she was captive, it was an answer he thought she could give and maybe she would give.

  He turned his attention back to the book flipped open on his desk. “Before I go, I want to have a better handle on this whole papermaking process.”

  “You want to help with it?”

  “I’d love your help, but I don’t know that you should be spending your time making paper when you need to be studying for your testing.”

  “You can help me prepare while we’re working on the paper.”

  Alec nodded. “That, I think, sounds like a good idea.”

  7

  Interrogating the Prisoner

  Sam jumped the canal between the palace and the university, hopping across the water. She cast a glance over at the university, debating whether she would stop and visit Alec, but she wasn’t even certain he was there. It was possible he was where she was heading.

  As she made her way through the city, Sam thought someone followed her.

  It was a vague sense, but she had long ago learned to trust her instincts, and if she felt someone was following her, it was likely that they were.

  The sun had risen above the buildings, and it was bright and warm. Despite that, she pulled her cloak around her. Sam always felt better having her cloak. She passed into the Uffen section and paused. This was a highborn section, and many of the homes here were incredibly ornate. Most had stretches of open space between them, something not common in the outer sections. There, the buildings were crammed close together, practically squeezed in so that everyone was falling over each other.

  Sam drifted along the streets, knowing that she stood out compared to the well-dressed people making their way here. There were some merchants, those who were wealthy enough they could afford to make stops at each of the highborn houses, rather than waiting for the highborns to come to them for purchases. What must that wealth be like?

  After jumping another canal, she bumped into one of the merchants. The man cast her a harsh glare. “Shouldn’t you be back in your place?” the man said.

  Sam spun. She tapped her canal staff on the ground, shaking water free. The man jerked back from the water that splattered, almost as though it might harm him. Sam resisted the urge to smirk at him. It would only anger him, and though she didn’t care whether she did, she didn’t want anything that might draw attention to her as she made her way to Caster.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She turned, but the man grabbed her sleeve.

  “That’s it?” He leaned closer and sniffed. His nose wrinkled, and he took a step back. “A lowborn. I can see it in your face. I can smell it on you.”

  Sam jerked her arm free and swung her staff, sweeping it beneath his legs and dropping him to the ground. She leaned over, tapping the staff on his chest. “Don’t. Call. Me. A. Lowborn.”

  With each word, she jabbed her staff into his chest, accentuating it.

  The man screamed.

  She heard the sound of footsteps racing toward her, and Sam started off, shaking her head. She needed to be more careful. She knew better than to attack a merchant, especially in this section, but his words struck home and reminded her of everything she had ever been angered by in the city. She was tired of being called a lowborn. She was tired of feeling like a lowborn. And even though she had spent the last few months within the palace, she had never stopped thinking of herself that way.

  When she reached the next canal, she jumped across.

  On the other side, there were the sounds of pursuit. Kyza! Had she drawn the attention of the guards? Her presence in the palace and her connection to Elaine wouldn’t protect her, not if she assaulted someone, and certainly not if she assaulted a wealthy merchant.

  Sam hurried along the streets. Experience had taught her the way from section to section, and she made it quickly to the outer sections of the city, reaching Caster as the sun peaked in the sky.

  When she reached Caster, she felt a sense of relief. Caster wasn’t one of the nicer sections, but it was the one she knew best, and it was home. Many of the buildings had fallen to disrepair long ago. Without the wealth found in some of the inner sections, they were left that way. Sam hurried along the streets, weaving toward the center of the section where Bastan would be keeping Marin. She took a roundabout way, curious whether she had been followed.

  As she went, it became increasingly clear that someone did follow her.

  Maybe more than one person.

  Sam jumped, flipping to the rooftop of a butcher. The smells that came from the shop were a mixture of smoke and rot, telling her all she needed to know about the quality of meats the butcher prepared, but it might prevent others from coming after her here.

  Looking toward the ground, she scanned the street, waiting to see if there was anyone who followed.

  It didn’t take long.

  A petite figure came down the street. It wasn’t Elaine, but the person had a similar appearance to her.

  A Kaver.

  Why would a Kaver follow her?

  She knew why. And she knew who would have sent them.

  Had Elaine known that Sam knew more about Marin than she let on?

  It was good Bastan kept her somewhere besides his tavern, and that he had enough control of the section that he could conceal his presence easily.

  Sam waited for the Kaver to disappear down the street before hurrying onward. Now, she stuck to the rooftops. It was more dangerous for her up here, and a single wrong step could lead to her falling and crashing to the ground, but with her training, her footing was much more assured. She couldn’t push off with her staff quite as easily as there wasn’t a good place to plant it securely, but with the buildings as close together as they were, she could easily make the jump without it.

  Sam ran quickly across the rooftops, jumping from building to building. When she reached an intersection, she would hesitate and search below to see if the Kaver still followed before anchoring her staff and flipping across the street, coming to land in a roll on the other side.

  Even though she didn’t think she was still being followed, she took a zigzagging approach as she continued deeper into the section. If someone did follow, she wouldn’t be easy for them to track. That was something Bastan had taught her. If there was any concern that she was tracked, she knew enough to ensure that she stayed unpredictable. Predictability only meant that she would be caught, and that someone could head her off, or even meet her where she headed.

  When she reached Bastan’s area, she saw no sign of the Kaver, or of anyone who might be following her. Still, Sam paused, taking time as she looked around, not wanting to be caught unaware. If someone was here and watching, she needed to be careful. She didn’t need to have Bastan’s location discovered, not by the Kavers and not by Elaine, until she knew what information Marin might be able to share.

  When she was content that no one was there, she jumped.

  Sam landed and hurried forward, moving along the street before slipping down a darkened alleyway. There were four doors on this alley, and each of them led into Bastan’s buildin
g, but only one of them was the one that would take her down, deep below this section, and into a hidden corridor. She couldn’t imagine how long Bastan had toiled to construct this and couldn’t imagine how much money had gone into the building of the network of tunnels. More than she could have imagined. The existence of these tunnels told her everything she needed to know about Bastan’s priorities. He had always claimed he was most concerned about protecting Caster, and that he wanted to use his influence to protect those who were with him, but this proved it more than anything else.

  Bastan could easily have used his money and influence to buy his way into a highborn section, and from there, he could have used his connections to gain greater control over even more of the city, yet he didn’t. He had created a place where he could protect Caster.

  Before heading down the alley, Sam paused and glanced into the shadows, but saw no movement. She looked up, knowing that the alley should be concealed, but wanting to ensure no one came this direction either, and finally knocked. There was a particular pattern Bastan expected when she knocked, and she made certain to do it in the correct rhythm.

  The door opened, and a bald-headed man poked his face out. “Samara. You come alone?” He looked up and down the alley before turning his attention back to Sam.

  Michael was a large man, muscular, but most of it was concealed under several layers of flab. He had a bushy beard that occasionally caught fragments of food, much as it did now. Yet, friendliness sparkled in his eyes. “Yes, I came alone, Michael. Would you move aside and let me in?”

  He glanced up and down the alley one more time before backing up. When she was inside, he closed the door, sliding a thick bar across it. Michael took his place on the stool and picked up a book and began scanning the page again.

  “I never would’ve figured you for a reader.”

  “I never would have before, but sitting here… Well, it gets boring.”

  “And Bastan doesn’t care?”

  “Bastan doesn’t care so long as I pay attention. There’s not a whole lot that can get through this door, not without drawing attention.”