Tormina: The Book of Maladies

by D. K. Holmberg

  “You may call it what you wish. It doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to draw any attention to myself.”

  “And what do you know about Tray?”

  “I know that someone who fits his description is working near the southern shores. It’s not necessarily a safe place.” Sam arched a brow at him. “Well, perhaps it’s not any more unsafe than Caster, but that doesn’t change that it’s not the kind of place that someone wants to spend much time.”

  “Most of the highborns would say the same about Caster,” Sam said.

  “They might, but they’d be wrong,” Bastan said, a smile trailing on his face.

  “Which section?” Sam asked.

  Bastan studied her for a moment before standing and making his way over to the map of the city. It was reasonably detailed, but mostly because of its drawings of the canals. Sam’s only experience with the canals was jumping them, not traveling along them. She suspected that most of the barge workers would have a much better understanding of how to draw the canals and the way they circled the city.

  The city itself was spread out in something like a circle. To the far west, it was bounded by the steam fields leading to the mountains. To the north, there was the massive swamp that even the barge captains were said not to attempt to cross. To the south and east, they had nothing but the sea. In the confines of the city, there were dozens upon dozens of sections, each bound by canals that were both natural and artificially made.

  Sam stared at the map. Caster was off to the far west side of the map, and practically at the edge of the city. From here, Sam could see the mountains rising in the distance, though she had never attempted to leave the city to see them up close. What point would there be? Even if she knew what might be beyond the mountains—and the more she learned about the Thelns, the more she suspected that was all that would be found beyond the mountains—there was no reason for her to leave the city.

  Now that she knew of her ability as a Kaver, there was even less reason for her, at least until she better understood what that meant, and how she could use those abilities.

  “We’re here,” Bastan said, pointing to Caster.

  “I can see that,” Sam said.

  “Yes. I taught you well.”

  Sam ignored the self-praise. “I know where we are in the city, Bastan, and I can see where the edge of the city is, and where the mountains rise up, so—”

  “Fine, Sam. I’m just trying to orient you.”

  Sam took a deep breath and shook her head. She wasn’t angry with Bastan. In fact, it felt… nice to be back with him. Maybe she should take a job, if only to get back to some normalcy.

  “I’m sorry, Bastan. Please go on.”

  “You don’t have to be a smartass.”

  Sam grinned at him. “I didn’t think that I was.”

  “You didn’t think it all.” He motioned to the map. “And here’s the palace, with the university section nearby,” he said, pointing toward two other sections that were now incredibly familiar to Sam. There was a time when she would not have known them, at least not well. They had been essentially forbidden, places she’d never imagined herself spending any amount of time, but now, she spent the majority of her time there. His finger trailed down the map, reaching the southern border where he pointed. “And here is the Thaylor section.”

  Sam’s breath caught. She didn’t know all of the individual sections in the city as well as Bastan—his business interests required that he know the city better than most—but she had heard enough about Thaylor that she knew it by reputation. Saying it was as bad—or nearly as bad—as Caster was no understatement on Bastan’s part.

  “And this is where you heard a rumor of Tray?”

  “There aren’t too many who fit his description, unless you want me to think that more of these… What did you call them? Thelns? Are in the city.”

  Sam stared at the map. There shouldn’t be any reason for Thelns to be in the city, not now that the canal protections had been restored. Marin had attempted to poison them to allow Thelns access to the city, but Sam had thwarted her. “No. I don’t think there are others in the city.”

  Bastan watched her for a long moment. “Then the description is of Tray. Perhaps someday, you’ll tell me why he resembles these Thelns—or brutes, as I believe you once called them.”

  “Someday, I will.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  Sam glanced over to him. Bastan traded in information as much as in actual goods, so she suspected that he truly wanted to know more about the Thelns—as well as about Tray. But while she might have need of him, she also didn’t want to betray her brother to Bastan.

  “There will come a time when I will tell you what I know,” Sam said.

  Bastan nodded. He returned to his desk, sat down, and took a scrap of paper on which he proceeded to quickly scratch out a note. When he was done, he handed it to Sam. “This is where you will find the person who matches Tray’s description. I don’t know if it’s him, so don’t be too angry if you get there and find that it’s not, but…”

  Sam glanced at the scrap of paper. There was a name and a diagram, drawn in Bastan’s familiar style. Bastan had given her many of them over the years.

  “A job?”

  He clasped his hands together and grinned. “If you want to find your brother, you will do this for me.”

  She bit back the urge to swear at him, but that would only amuse him. Besides, she might enjoy taking a job. What would it matter, so long as she didn’t let her mother know what she was doing?

  2

  Search for a Contact

  The sea crashed against the shore near Thaylor. It was an unfamiliar sound, one that Sam never heard in the Caster section. The smell of this section was different, though maybe no worse than it was anywhere else. She didn’t feel as if she fit in, and moved cautiously along the street, subtly watching everyone she passed. She feared drawing unwanted attention, but with her cloak wrapped around her, that shouldn’t be a problem. The cloak deflected light, making it harder for people to even see her, thus allowing her to move about stealthily. But why was it that she didn’t feel it was as effective here?

  Sam followed the map Bastan had given her. It wasn’t difficult to follow now that she was here, and she hurried along the street, navigating by the diagram. She was tempted to place an augmentation. She and Alec had both agreed that she needed to have that capability, so he had helped her practice it a few times on her own, and she now traveled with a small vial of blood ink, ready for her to make a few notes on the scrap of easar paper that she carried. It was meant only for emergencies, and Sam didn’t have the same creativity that Alec did, nor did she have the same knowledge that he did, so her attempt would be less likely to be as effective as anything Alec might do to help her.

  A figure down the street was headed toward her, and Sam scooted across to the other side. The figure stopped and turned, coming toward her.

  Kyza!

  Sam reached into her cloak, where she kept the two segments of her canal staff. She curled her fingers around one of them and slowly pulled it from beneath her cloak. It would have been better for her to have the entire staff together, but in this part of the city—as in all sections except Caster—she feared it would draw attention.

  The man—and it was most certainly a man—grabbed for her.

  “What are you—”

  The man tried to pull on her arm, and she jerked away. She wasn’t quite as strong as he was, but she’d grown stronger during her training. She swung her staff as she pulled away, catching him on the arm.

  The man jerked his arm back, and in a quick flourish of movement, he withdrew a knife.

  Sam laughed darkly. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  “A pretty girl like you coming out at night?” the man said.

  “Aw, you think I’m pretty?”

  He frowned, and in that moment, she darted forward, withdrawing the other end of her staff and
swinging both of them at him. He ducked under the first one, but he missed the second swing, and she cracked it against his shoulder. She spun around, quickly twisting the ends of her staff together, giving her greater reach.

  The man grabbed for her again, and Sam swore under her breath. She swung her staff, and it cracked against the side of his head, and he crumpled.

  Was this what Thaylor was like? Why would Tray have come here? This wasn’t like her brother.

  Then again, she didn’t know anything about what Tray would be like, especially now as he began to wonder about his connection to Marin. Now that he knew, what would he do with that knowledge?

  Sam glanced down at the man, deciding to leave him where he lay. She didn’t feel bad, especially not since he had attacked her simply for walking through the streets. Maybe Bastan was right. Maybe this section was worse than Caster. That was hard to believe, especially considering what she knew of Caster, but she’d never been attacked simply for walking along the street there.

  But then, in Caster she had something of a reputation. Maybe that had something to do with it.

  She looked around, but there was no one else out. Either their scuffle had sent other people into hiding, or there simply wasn’t anyone else out at this time of night. Hurrying along the street, she made her way to the corner and quickly turned.

  Knowing this wasn’t her intended direction, she referenced the map again. She kept a more mindful eye as she wandered, not certain whether some other fool might attempt to come at her. Rather than keeping the staff separated, she decided to leave it together. It was easier to use in a fight, and the street was certainly wide enough for her to use it in that way, and it would make escape easier for her if needed. With the staff, she could launch to the rooftops, though many of the buildings in this section were so tall that it would make it challenging. She still hadn’t learned to balance on the staff the same way that some of the other Kavers had shown, but Sam suspected she would be able to in time.

  Noise in the distance drew her attention. It was coming from the way she had to go.

  She moved forward cautiously. The half-moon overhead cast a shimmering light, too weak to push back the darkness along the street, but enough to make out shadowy figures in the distance.

  Kyza!

  Would she be forced to fight her way through?

  There was only one way around it. Up. Sam planted her staff and shimmied up, pushing off to grab onto one of the windows on the second level of the nearest building. She pulled her staff up with her, and scrambled up to the roof. From here, she could follow the street and go roof to roof to get where she was going. She was careful not to get too close to the edge, not wanting to fall here. A fall could be deadly. She could place an augmentation, but if she did that, would it be wasteful? She still didn’t know what Bastan’s job would require, and until she did—until she knew what he needed her to do—she had to conserve the vials of blood ink and the easar paper.

  Sam scrambled across several roofs until she spotted the building Bastan had designated on his map. It was across the street.

  There was a crowd of people below. They were loud—likely drunk. A few of them appeared to carry weapons, so she was thankful that she was above the fray, rather than down on the street. Eventually they passed, turning a corner and leaving the street empty once more.

  Bastan had been right. This place was dangerous.

  Why would Tray be here?

  Maybe because it was dangerous. He could conceal Marin here and could hide her from Sam and others who might be searching for her. This close to the sea, it was possible that he could arrange transport away from the city, though she had a hard time believing Tray would do that.

  Sam studied the building for a long time before jumping down. When she was back on the street, she looked around, making sure that no one else was there, and then headed toward the building. It was a simple matter to break the lock and get inside. Once inside, she paused, surveying what else was there. She saw an unlit lantern, and there was a single table, but nothing else. Sam started in, moving quietly—carefully—worried that perhaps she should have asked Bastan more about the job.

  She found stairs leading to the second floor and started up. At the top of the stairs, she hesitated, wrinkling her nose.

  There was a foul odor here.

  Was that just specific to this section, or was there something else?

  Sam didn’t like the fact that something didn’t feel right.

  In here, her staff would be too long to fight easily. She broke it down and took one half in each hand, ready to use them if needed.

  At a door along the hallway, she paused. The foul odor she’d detected seemed stronger here. She pushed the door open with her staff and the odor poured out from inside.

  Sam covered her face with her cloak. Even that wasn’t enough to completely eliminate the stench. It reminded her of the odor she’d smelled when she had first found the princess, but this was worse.

  Death. It was the smell of death.

  A body lay in the corner. Sam looked around, making certain that there was no one else in the room, and crouched in front of the body. A woman. Blood pooled around a hole in her chest, but it was the crossbow bolt jutting out of her stomach that really drew her attention.

  She’d seen crossbow bolts used before. She’d even survived an attack when she’d been shot with one.

  The blood was still wet.

  Why was the smell already so awful?

  Sam slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the vial of blood and the scrap of easar paper. It was better to be prepared. If this attack had just happened—and this was where she was supposed to meet Bastan’s contact, it worried her that she was already too late.

  Sam scrawled a few words on the easar paper using her little finger. It wasn’t nearly as neat as what Alec would do, and it didn’t have the same level of creativity that he used to ensure that the augmentations were effective, but all she cared about was ensuring that it worked. They had practiced countless times, going over and over the different augmentations so that she could have strength and speed, enough to counteract most attacks that she might face.

  A wash of warmth flowed through her as the augmentation took hold.

  Using augmentations required drawing on the blood of both a Kaver and a Scribe. The combined effect was what was important. That, combined with what she documented on the easar paper, helped ensure that the augmentations held.

  She heard movement, and she spun.

  Augmented as she was, she spun around too quickly and nearly toppled over.

  Sam jumped, bring her staff around, but there was nothing. The room was empty.

  She hadn’t imagined the sound. Someone else was with her.

  She should have augmented her sight. Was there anything she could do that would help with that?

  She tried to think of what Alec might do, but decided against adding an augmentation without having practiced it. Alec would have made it effective, but Sam didn’t think she had the same skill, and feared that she might mess something up if she tried it. With her luck, she would end up blind, tormented because she had been too foolish with her augmentation. No, it was better to act cautiously. She had strength and speed, and she had her canal staff, which should be enough.

  There was a sound below her.

  Sam raced out of the room and back toward the stairs, reaching the main level just as the door into the building opened. A flash of moonlight revealed a shadowed figure leaving.

  Sam raced out, chasing after the person. She nearly stumbled again. Maybe she hadn’t performed the augmentation quite right. Could she have made a mistake with it? She didn’t think so, especially since Alec had been the one to teach her the right words to write, and he’d made sure that she knew exactly how to put them on the paper. But maybe she’d forgotten something. Maybe in her eagerness to place the augmentation and face whatever danger she sensed, she had forgotten something. It would be somet
hing she would have to ask later.

  She looked around the street, but it was empty.

  With her enhanced strength, she jumped and reached the nearby rooftop. From there, she raced along searching for signs of movement. She saw the enormous group that she had seen before, and they continued to make their way southerly, where they would eventually reach the sea.

  That didn’t seem like the right direction.

  She hesitated. If only she had thought to augment her hearing, too. She would have to ask Alec the next time they were together how to enhance her eyesight and her hearing, especially if she was to be active at night.

  A figure moved in the darkness below.

  There was something about it that caught her eye.

  Whoever was down there cast an imposing shadow. Could it be Tray?

  She hadn’t come here thinking to see Tray. Bastan’s contact was supposed to be the one to know where to find Tray, not the other way around.

  She raced along the roof, trying to get a better look at the person below. There was another possibility as to who it might be, but it was one that she didn’t want to believe. The protections on the canal were supposed to be enough to prevent the Thelns from reaching the city, but if they weren’t, then maybe there was more to worry about than she realized.

  Sam jumped and landed softly on a rooftop near where the figure had been on the street below.

  Where had the person gone?

  She felt movement behind her.

  Sam swung her staff around, but there was no one there.

  She hadn’t imagined it.

  She swung around again, and this time, she cracked her staff into the roof itself. Her arms jarred, and she nearly dropped her staff, but she managed to spin around.

  Maybe she had given herself too much speed.

  There was still that sense of movement near her.

  Sam jumped and soared above the rooftop. Below, she saw a figure streaking along the street, now racing toward the canal.

  She spun off the roof and used her staff to cushion her landing on the street. When she reached the edge of the canal, she hesitated.