Sam ran her hand along the doorframe, frowning as she did. “Is this what you mean?”
“Whoever reinforced these doors used power, and that power had an intent behind it. When you knock, you can feel traces of that energy, and it grants you an ability to detect just what went into it. That is what I’m picking up on.”
“What does it mean?”
“What it means is that whoever was here knew enough to use a Kaver and Scribe together, and mixed it with intent. Doing so isn’t easy, even for someone with significant abilities.” She glanced over at Sam, eyeing her for a moment. “For you to have escaped is perhaps lucky, but perhaps it was something else.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I don’t know if the intent was sabotaged, or whether your Scribe simply managed to overpower what was placed here. If he had overpowered it, it would have taken more strength from you to overcome it than what it appears it did. You aren’t weakened, not nearly as much as I would’ve expected.”
Sabotaged. That could have been Tray, or maybe there was another answer. “Could it be that they simply made a mistake placing the augmentation on the door?” It didn’t seem like quite the right word, but Sam wasn’t sure what fit. An augmentation seemed more appropriate when using easar paper and placing it on a Kaver, but perhaps it was the same thing—or near enough—that calling it an augmentation was fitting.
“Someone who knew enough to place that intent on the door would have known enough to do so correctly,” Elaine answered.
She continued running her hand along the doorframe, and Sam frowned as she did, thinking that there had to have been something more to it. When Elaine was satisfied with what she found—or didn’t find—she entered the room.
Sam followed her in and made a circle, coming to stand in front of the chair where she had been bound. Elaine glanced at the remnants of the rope. At least the Scribe had not taken those, giving proof to Sam’s story.
“You tore free of those?”
Sam nodded.
“It seems as if you’re Scribe is cleverer than I expected.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Only because he thought enough to place a protection on your skin, which allowed you to break free. Without that…”
Sam smiled to herself. Without that, they had already discovered what would happen. If her muscles and bones were strong but her flesh was not, it was easy for her to get injured. She could bleed out, and without Alec there to provide healing, she wouldn’t survive injuries like that. Practice had taught them what was necessary to provide protection.
“Why would Ralun and the physicker have brought her here?” Sam asked. That had been troubling to her. They hadn’t taken her out of the city, though doing so would have allowed them to control her more easily, and she would have had a harder time escaping.
But then, the physicker hadn’t expected her to attack her, much less escape, had he?
No. Ralun probably assured him she was controlled, and without her Scribe, she couldn’t have been augmented. Even once she’d received Alec’s augmentation, the man still seemed to think he could control her.
She was missing something. It was about more than Tray and his apparent involvement with the Thelns, though she was convinced that mattered. Ralun was in the city again, and she knew that was important, if not why. If he had a piece of the Book—not even the entire Book but only a page—she knew how dangerous that would be. She had seen it firsthand with what he had done to the princess.
“Whatever the reason, it seems that Marin is important to the plan. The physicker wanted me to bring her to him. She’s involved in it somehow,” Sam said.
“This is more than simply being involved. This is bringing resources to the city. If Ralun is here, they have brought significant resources.”
“Ralun was already here.”
“As a way to bring down the Anders. That would be worthwhile to them. But now…”
Elaine turned and looked over at Sam, watching her with a deep frown on her face. She studied her for a long moment before shaking her head.
“Ah, blessed Talissa,” she said, invoking one of the lesser gods, “I fear that she’s now got you mixed up in this.”
Sam shook her head. “I’ve been mixed up in this from the beginning. Ever since I attempted to help the princess, I’ve been mixed up in it.”
“This is different.”
“How is this different?”
“This time, I worry that you might be the target.”
11
Practice
Sam gripped the length of the new staff Elaine had given her, spinning it in the air. It was slightly lighter than her old one, and had a little more flex, but it felt comfortable in her hand. She darted forward, trying to maintain her balance as she did, and nearly stumbled over her own feet. This would go so much better if she had an augmentation.
“You need to focus on your technique,” Elaine said, smacking her on the arm with her own canal staff.
“I could do this better with an augmentation.”
“And so could I. That’s my point. You’re skilled. I know that. But you also become dependent on your augmentations. Why else do you think I wanted you to practice your attacks without it?”
“Because you want to annoy me?” Sam asked.
Elaine darted forward and caught Sam on the arm. None of her blows were terribly hard, but they stung just the same. Each attack was sharp, leaving a painful welt wherever it landed. So far, Elaine hadn’t allowed her to go to Alec to be healed. Sam knew that with his help and the easar paper, she wouldn’t have to suffer the pain, but without his help and without the easar paper, the pain of a dozen different bruises was her constant reminder that her training was not going well.
Sam and Elaine had been working for the last three days, and her mother was pushing her. She wanted her to develop her skill, wanting to challenge her so that she could fight without augmentations, but Sam doubted it would matter. She had been surprised by Ralun the last time, but now that she knew he was here, she would remain vigilant. And she had no intention of going against him without augmentations.
Elaine watched her, staying back a step, then quickly unscrewed her staff and darted toward Sam, flipping up while in the air and swinging around one end of the staff.
Sam blocked that one, but she missed the other.
It caught her on the side, and she grunted, falling to the ground. Experience had taught her that Elaine would not slow once she was on the ground. She would continue to attack, driving with the free end of her staff, unmindful of the pain that each smack would cause her daughter.
“Good. At least you avoided the first hit. It was a basic attack, but—”
Sam swung around with her staff, hoping to catch Elaine, but missed. Her staff caught nothing but empty air.
Elaine chuckled. “Another good try.” She struck at Sam again, catching her with the end of her staff. This one caught her leg. That bruise would be painful. Likely, Sam would end up limping from it. “You’re like most in your position who come to depend on their augmentations. I was the same way once. I quickly discovered that relying on my augmentations is a sure way of ending up dead.” Elaine stalked over to her and leaned forward. One foot pressed down on Sam’s staff, preventing her from moving it. Sam jerked on it, but Elaine held firm, despite the fact that she wasn’t very heavy and shouldn’t be able to hold her down. “It’s my job to ensure that you don’t end up dead.”
“Just because I’m a Kaver?”
Elaine glared at her. “Is that what you think? You think that I’m only here trying to help you because you’re a Kaver?”
“I think that’s the primary reason,” Sam said.
It was hurtful, and Sam knew that it was hurtful, but she hoped to disrupt her enough that she would be distracted, and that Sam could then take advantage.
Elaine eyed her for a moment, and then she laughed. “That’s a good attempt. Distract your opponent,
bring them outside of their comfort, and you have an advantage. Is that a skill you learned from Marin?”
“Why would Marin have to be the one to teach me that?”
“Because you worked with Marin. I thought that—”
“You thought that because you weren’t there.” Sam spun around, swinging her staff, forcing Elaine back a step. She jumped, bringing the staff around again, and Elaine took another step back. “You didn’t come looking for me. You knew that I was missing, and you didn’t know what had taken place, but you left me.”
With each word, Sam spun with more force. Now she was fighting with anger, and she knew better than to do that. She knew better than to allow herself to get trapped in the emotion, but facing Elaine made that difficult. Any time she spent with her, she was left with a sense of emptiness. Elaine could have found her all those years ago. Sam was certain of that. Yet she had chosen not to go in search of her own daughter. She had been so focused on remaining a Kaver, that she never tried.
“Do you really believe I intended for you to stay with Marin?” Elaine blocked her attack, spinning her staff around so that she could keep Sam from connecting. “Do you think I wanted her to train you? She took you from me. It’s her fault that you don’t remember me or any of the lessons that I taught you.”
“What lessons?” Sam asked. “What is there that you taught me? What should I remember?”
“I wish you remembered the way I would put you to bed. The way I smoothed your hair. The way I—”
Sam realized almost too late that Elaine was using the same technique on her, only she did it without anger.
She jumped back, swinging her staff around, blocking the blow that she almost missed.
Elaine smiled.
“Even in that you attempt to train me?” Sam slammed the end of her canal staff down. It was a nicer staff than any she’d had while growing up, and she appreciated that they had given her such a quality staff, but it didn’t do anything to cool the anger that burned within her, nor did it reduce her frustration of being unable to remember any time before Marin, any time with her mother. Still, Marin had taught her how to use the canal staff, and Marin had trained her, showing her some of the ways to be a Kaver. Marin had prepared her for this life.
And why?
Sam still didn’t know. And perhaps that was what bothered her the most.
“You need to be trained with everything. You’re unfocused. That’s what my purpose is. I need to help you find that focus, to hold it, to turn you into the Kaver that you need to be.”
“Then let me go see Alec.” She slammed the staff down onto the ground again and glared at Elaine.
“Will seeing this boy help you find focus?” Elaine asked.
“I don’t know if I’ll find focus. All I know is that together, we’re better. I know that with him, I am better able to do what I need to do.”
“And what happens when you don’t have him?”
There was a distance between them. Even if Sam jumped forward, without any augmentations, she wouldn’t reach Elaine before she managed to either move out of the way or block her attack.
“Why wouldn’t I have him?”
“I’m not implying that we would do anything to him. Scribes are rare enough, and good Scribes are even more rare. It seems as if you found yourself a good Scribe, the kind who will help protect you and who knows enough to act creatively. Too often, they are so rigid, though I suspect that comes from their university training.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“You won’t always have your Scribe with you,” Elaine said. “Without him, you need to be more than just a small girl with a staff. You need to be someone who others fear. You need to be someone who can take care of herself, who can defend herself if necessary. You need to be imposing and able to manage everything that comes your way.”
“Do you believe that everything you’ve taught me will help me do those things?”
“If you continue to study and focus, I think you will be able to do those things.”
“What about finding Marin?”
Elaine cocked her head to the side. “That’s not what this is about for you, is it?”
“What’s it about then?”
“It’s about you finding Ralun. You think that, through him, you can find the Book.”
“You don’t want me to find the Book? You don’t want me to learn what happened?”
“Do you believe that destroying that page will allow you to regain your memories?”
“It won’t?”
“I don’t know. It’s difficult enough to deal with one of the pages from the Book. You were lucky when you managed to destroy the page that influenced the princess. With this one…”
“What?” Sam asked, glaring at her mother. The palace loomed in the distance, too close for Sam’s comfort. All around them were others training, most of them soldiers, though there was another pair of Kavers—both of them older—working nearby. From what Sam had learned, there weren’t many Kavers remaining. Those that did remain were valued and stayed outside the city, keeping the Thelns from the gaining access. Or so they thought.
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time. That page has been used on you for over a decade. Long enough that the effects may be permanent. Besides, at this point, what would having your memories back change?”
Sam stared at her. She couldn’t believe that Elaine was asking her that. What would it change? How about everything! She would be able to fill in the gaping hole of who she was, what her childhood was like, how her mother apparently put her to bed and smoothed her hair… Yes, it would change everything.
“I guess it would change nothing.” Sam untwisted the ends of her canal staff. She was done sparring with Elaine, ready to return to her room—or anywhere— where she could sit in silence. Alone. Better yet, if she could go off with Alec, perhaps train with the augmentations, that might make her feel better.
“Exactly,” Elaine said. “It would change nothing. I think it’s important that you recognize that and recognize that you need to move forward. Understand what your role is now that you know who you are.”
Sam bit back the response that came to mind. She didn’t know who she was. That was the problem. How could she move forward until she did? She might know that she was a Kaver, but she knew nothing else about herself. Anything that Elaine could share she kept hidden from her. Why was that? Was it out of a lack of caring? That was the way it seemed to Sam. Or could it be because she did care, and it was too hard for her, much as Elaine had claimed?
“Am I allowed to go speak with Alec?” Sam asked.
“Do you feel as if you’re restricted?”
“I tried crossing the bridge, but the guards turned me back.”
“Is that your only way off the island here?”
Sam glared at her. “You intend for me to jump over the canal?”
“I seem to recall that you have done it before,” Elaine said.
Sam shifted the direction of her gaze, looking over at the canal. It was wide, practically a river here. The grassy lawn ran all the way up to the edge of the canal, ending abruptly in a rocky wall that created the canal. No barges were permitted to traverse the canals between the university and the palace. Those here were isolated, trapped on the island, the bridges being the only way off, short of jumping. But, without an augmentation, there was no way she could jump that far.
And she wasn’t about to swim.
Sam had too much experience with the damned canal eels, and regardless of what purpose they played for the city, she wasn’t about to get in the water with them, not voluntarily. It was better to remain trapped here until Elaine chose to allow her off.
“Without my augmentations—”
Elaine tipped her head forward in a nod. “Without your augmentations, you think that you’re trapped. I understand that. What I’m trying to tell you is that without your augmentations you are only limited. Don’t think of it as a restrictio
n, think of it as an opportunity to practice and develop your other talents.”
“What other talents?”
“You faced Marin and you question what other talents you might have as a Kaver?”
“Marin wasn’t exactly forthcoming about what abilities she has,” Sam said.
“I didn’t expect that Marin would be forthcoming. What I’m trying to tell you is that you didn’t need Marin to tell you anything about her abilities for you to recognize that she did not require her augmentations.”
“You keep saying that, but what if she’s getting them the way Alec does? Those augmentations could be done from a distance.” But they’d need some of Marin’s blood, and if Tray still kept her secluded, maybe the Scribe didn’t have any.
“As I’ve said, I don’t know how this could be her Scribe. She had a Scribe, but he was lost during an attack. Few Kavers ever claim another Scribe when theirs is lost.”
“How did you not find her?”
“We didn’t expect her to settle in Caster. How could we?”
“Because it’s a lowborn section?”
“Because it’s an ancient section,” Elaine said. “There’s something off about it.”
“Why would you think that?”
Sam didn’t think there was anything off about the Caster section. It was familiar to her. It was her home, as much as anywhere could be. Certainly not the palace. Though she might be allowed access to it, and though she was training here, the palace wasn’t her home. It was strange to think that she didn’t really have any place other than Caster, and what she knew about that home was different now. It had changed when she had discovered what she was and Marin’s role in it.
“The Caster section is one of the earliest sections. It came from a time before the Anders claimed the city as their own, leading the city out of a sort of darkness.”
Sam frowned. She didn’t realize that the Anders had taken over a city that already existed. It made sense, though. The Caster section was different from many of the others. It was full of lowborns—thieves and people like herself and Bastan—and more rundown than other places within the city. Still, there was the familiarity to it that she appreciated.
Tormina: The Book of Maladies Page 10