Tormina: The Book of Maladies

by D. K. Holmberg

  The island appeared empty, but there was a stink to it that wasn’t accounted for by the swamp. The swamp carried a distinctive odor, and what she detected here wasn’t quite that. It was what she attributed to the Thelns.

  She hurried forward, wanting to finish this before her augmentations failed. Alec was watching, but there were limits to what he might be able to see and how he might be able to help, and she didn’t want to put him in a position where he needed to try and do something. Besides, she had Bastan, and the djohn he’d hired. Maybe that would be enough to balance things out.

  The swamp consisted of mostly reeds surrounded by water, though there were strange trees that grew up in the midst of the swamp as well. More of those trees grew in dense clusters on the island, and she moved through them, realizing that the full length of her canal staff would be ineffective. There was not an easy way for her to navigate here, and if she did get into a fight, the staff would be more of a hindrance than anything, at least in its current form. Sam disassembled the staff, and held the two ends.

  She approached slowly. If this was the place that Lyasanna believed, then it would be here. They would be here.

  Movement caught her eye, and she dropped. It was just in time.

  A Theln darted forward. It wasn’t Ralun, and the person wasn’t nearly as massive as some of the Thelns she had faced, but he was quick. Almost too quick. She spun around, using the end of her staff to strike at him, going high and low at the same time. With her augmentations, she was better able to fight.

  He fell, and she clubbed him brutally on the head with the ends of her staff.

  Sam gathered herself and remained crouching as she looked around. At least now she knew this was the right place.

  She started forward, this time staying closer to the trees, darting from one tree to the next, looking for movement.

  Only the thin moon overhead provided light. It would’ve been helpful had Alec given her some way to see more easily. Maybe she should have suggested that to him, rather than letting him decide on the augmentation. He was better at writing them, but she knew what was effective for her.

  There was a shadow that shifted near the space between a pair of trees, and Sam slithered forward, wanting to determine whether it was a Theln or someone else.

  It was another Theln.

  Much like the one before, this Theln wasn’t nearly as sizable as Ralun.

  Was there some reason for that?

  She hurried forward, catching him with her staff.

  Not a him. As the Theln fell, she realized it was a woman.

  She struggled to find remorse. The Thelns would harm her without any question. She needed to be brutal with them, the same way they would be brutal with her.

  How many more were here?

  Sam continued to sneak forward.

  With each step, she expected to find more Thelns, someone else who might attack, but there wasn’t anyone. Where were they? What were they after?

  And where was Elaine?

  Better yet, where was bushy brow? He was here; he had to be.

  She needed to draw them out, which meant she would have to risk herself.

  Sam darted forward, keeping herself visible, readying for attack. She watched for movement, and it came suddenly—almost too suddenly.

  Another Theln, and this one was more typical of the Thelns she’d faced in the past. Worse, he wasn’t alone.

  They stepped off to either side of her came at her simultaneously. Her augmentations began to fade, and Sam wondered how much longer she had. She hurried forward on the offensive, needing to finish them off before anything happened to her.

  As she advanced, she screwed the ends of her canal staff together.

  With the staff in one piece, she pushed off, spinning into the air and swiping at the Thelns with her staff. She flipped, the same technique as when she flipped out over the swamp used now so that she could best defend herself. She brought the staff down, crashing it into one of the Thelns heads, and he crumpled. Sam spun, sweeping the staff along the ground, quicker than the other one could react, and he went down. She brought the staff around, connecting with his skull, and he went out.

  “You have gotten skilled,” she heard.

  Sam spun around. Ralun stood before her. He held Elaine, one hand around her throat.

  “But you Kavers are all the same,” he said.

  “How are we the same?” Sam asked.

  “You all believe that the key to your power is through augmentations. I have seen it so often over the years. This one especially,” he said, shaking Elaine. She tried to fight, but Ralun was simply too strong. He didn’t rely upon augmentations for his strength. It was a part of his Theln makeup. It was simply who he was.

  “How did you know she would be here?”

  “How did I know? I’ve been watching this one.”

  Sam glanced over at Elaine. She had worried that she was the reason the Thelns had attacked, but it had been Elaine. She would give her a hard time about it—if they survived.

  “Let her go.”

  “I don’t think so,” Ralun said.

  “Let her go, and you can take me.”

  Ralun snorted. “I’m not sure that is an equal trade. You see, I know exactly who she is and who she serves.”

  “And I know exactly what you want as well as why you want it. Let her go, and I will help you find Tray.”

  Sam hated the idea of going with Ralun, but what choice did she have? She wanted to free Elaine so they could work together to trap Ralun, but first, she needed to help Tray. If that meant agreeing to go with Ralun, then she would do it.

  “I think not. Why should I make such a bargain when you stand here before me without any augmentations? Especially given that I already have Tray.”

  Sam realized that her augmentations had indeed worn off. Would Alec have realized that? If he did, she would need him to place another so she could escape, but with the swamp and the trees and everything that could be blocking his view, it might be that Alec didn’t know.

  Two Thelns approached. One of them was smaller and reminded her of the female Theln that she had just faced.

  The other was Tray.

  “Sam. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “I was thinking the same thing about you. I don’t know how safe it is for you to be here with these people.”

  “These people are going to help me understand who I am and what I can be,” he said.

  “No. They want to use you.”

  “What about you?”

  Sam looked over to Ralun. He watched her, amusement burning in his dark eyes. Elaine struggled, and if nothing changed, he might choke her before Sam could do anything.

  But all Sam really needed to do was buy some time. If she could, she might be able to hold off until Bastan arrived. And he had to be arriving soon, didn’t he? He was out there, and with his djohn, they could confront the Thelns.

  Except… if they did, she ran the risk of Bastan harming Tray. She ran the risk of the djohn harming Tray.

  Kyza!

  It needed to be easier. Somehow, she needed to get through to him. Somehow, she needed to keep Tray from attacking, but she wasn’t sure that she could.

  “Tray, don’t do this,” she said.

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “Keep it that way. Help me get Elaine free, and—”

  “Why should I help you free Elaine?”

  “Because she’s my mother.”

  Tray looked at her, fixing her with a long expression. “And Ralun is my father.”

  Sam breathed out heavily. He knew.

  35

  Finding Marin

  A wave of cold washed over Sam as the augmentation took place. It happened almost at the same time as she saw Tray fall, kicking briefly.

  “No!” she screamed.

  She spun around and saw Bastan holding a crossbow. She wasn’t sure that a crossbow would make a difference—not to a Theln—but Tray twitched.
/>   “Alec! You need to help Tray.”

  He looked up from where he crouched behind Bastan.

  “And give me better sight.”

  She met his gaze and he nodded.

  She didn’t wait, jumping forward. Ralun tried to squeeze Elaine by the neck, attempting to shake her, but Sam reached him before he could snap her neck. At least, she hoped that she did. She slammed her staff into his side and spun around, already jumping, bringing her staff around.

  She clubbed him on the arm, and he released Elaine.

  Elaine staggered forward.

  “Bastan! Watch Elaine!”

  She wasn’t sure whether Bastan heard her, but hoped that he did. How badly was Elaine injured? And how had Ralun managed to capture her?

  There would have been other Kavers with her.

  Her next attack sent Ralun staggering forward. She didn’t let up, bringing her staff around again and again, striking him with as much force as she could. Each time she hit him, he grunted. She struck until he stopped moving.

  Sam hesitated, her breathing ragged.

  Was that it?

  No. It couldn’t be it. They still didn’t know where Marin and her Scribe had gone.

  Sam surveyed the area. The djohn seemed to have taken down the other Thelns. Alec crouched in front of Tray, and Sam went running over to him.

  “Will he—”

  Alec looked up at her. “I don’t know. Bastan was using eel venom on these bolts. He was able to kill at least one of the Thelns with them.” He looked back down at Tray. “I might have gotten to him in time, but I just don’t know.”

  Sam looked at her brother. “Tray. I need you to wake up.”

  Tray rolled his head toward her weakly. “Sam? Did you kill him?”

  “I didn’t.” She had thought about it, and considering that Ralun wanted to kill her, she probably should have, but Tray was right. He deserved the chance to know his father. He deserved to have questions answered. Wasn’t that the same thing that she wanted? “Where is Marin? Where is her Scribe?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ve taken care of Marin. She won’t cause any more trouble for you.”

  “It does matter. She has your Scribe.”

  Tray blinked. “Then she’s already dead.”

  “Don’t say that. I don’t believe that you would have allowed Marin to harm her.”

  “You think that I’m in control of the things that Marin does?” Tray sat up and grabbed his stomach where the crossbow had struck, peeling away the fabric. His skin looked uninjured despite the bloody mess of clothing overtop of it. He glanced at Alec and nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Tray?”

  He turned and looked at her. “Don’t try to stop me, Sam.”

  “I don’t want to stop you. I only want to help you.”

  Tray took a lumbering step forward, his strength slowly seeming to return. He went over to Ralun and scooped him up. Ralun was an enormous man, and Tray handled him easily.

  Bastan aimed the crossbow at him.

  “Don’t,” Sam said.

  “Samara, you know who this is, I presume.”

  “I know who it is, and I know what he’s done, and I know what he might continue to do.” She put herself in between Bastan and Tray. “You can’t hurt him.”

  “If you let Ralun leave, you set the city up for ongoing attacks,” Elaine said. She stood near Bastan, almost too comfortably.

  “Tray. Stay here with him. Let’s keep them confined—”

  “No. I’m done doing what others want of me. I’m going to understand who I am and what it means.” He looked at Sam and then Alec. “I wish it could be some other way, Sam, I really do, but I need to do this.”

  He bounded off into the darkness, but Sam watched him until he reached the edge of the island and jumped off onto the barge. He smacked the captain, sending him into the swamp. The man frantically swam toward the shore. Tray set Ralun down and picked up the barge pole and began pushing off. “Don’t follow me, Samara,” he called out.

  “Where is Marin? At least tell me that,” she shouted as the barge got further away.

  She could follow him, but at what cost? Doing so would drive a wedge between her and her brother, and it was a wedge that she didn’t want. Tray had been all she had for so long. She couldn’t fathom the idea of losing him.

  Tray said nothing until the barge was in the middle of the swamp. When it was, he called back. “She intends to head north. There will be a ship, and that’s where you’ll find her.”

  “Why did you let her go?”

  “She’s my mother,” Tray said.

  “She’s not. I don’t know why she deceived you and me, but she’s not. Your mother is—”

  Elaine grabbed Sam’s arm and turned her to her. “Now is not the time, Samara. If Ralun shares that information with him, then he can know.”

  “Why isn’t now the time?”

  “Because it will raise complications.”

  Sam glared at her. She bit back the first few responses that she wanted to say before shaking her head. “Now we need to go get Marin.”

  “That I think you should leave to me and the other Kavers.”

  “If you think to exclude me from this—”

  Elaine patted Sam on the arm. “There will be no excluding you, not any longer, Samara. You’ve proven that you need to be included. But, I think your Scribe needs to return, and you may need to help with the explanation.”

  “I’m going to go with you for Marin.”

  Elaine looked as if she might argue, but stopped herself and nodded.

  Sam looked over to Alec. He had folded up the sheet of paper and tucked it into his pocket. Bastan was watching them, and when he realized that she was looking his way, he turned and spoke quietly to the djohn.

  “Who is Bastan to me?” she asked Elaine.

  “He’s someone who has watched over you.”

  “I’m aware of that. But why do I get the sense that you and Bastan know each other?”

  “I’m not sure why you would get that sense.”

  Sam sighed. Alec approached, keeping her from asking any more questions. Instead, she turned her attention to him. “I think it’s time you get back to the university to see how the testing turned out.”

  “I don’t think it matters. Since I disappeared, I doubt there will be much support for my request for promotion. Maybe you better just take me back to my father.”

  “I think you need to return,” Sam said. “If nothing else, you need to confront them.”

  “How do you think we’re going to do that? Without the barge, we’re trapped here.”

  “Not entirely,” Bastan said, striding forward. He studied Sam, his face unreadable. “It seems the barge the Thelns used to get to this island is still here. I will take your physicker friend back to the city. Go find Marin.”

  “Thanks, Bastan, for… well, for all of this.”

  “You will come by the tavern later. I have questions that will need answering.”

  Sam couldn’t refuse, not with as much help as Bastan had been. She wouldn’t have been able to do this without his—and the djohn’s—help. “After I deal with Marin.”

  “Are you sure you want to come with me?” Elaine asked.

  Sam stared at her. “After all of this, after everything that has happened between Marin and me, do you really need to ask that?”

  “There are other Kavers who can help with this.”

  “Other Kavers don’t know Marin as well as I do.”

  Elaine glanced over at Bastan, and he continued to watch them, though he remained near the djohn he’d hired. Sam had more questions about them, including how exactly they had the ability to face the Thelns, but those would be questions she could get answered later.

  “Then it’s time to go.”

  Sam followed Elaine, flipping across the swamp, and Elaine took her a circuitous route, navigating through the dark waters with ease, clearly having been here many times before.


  “Lyasanna told me the truth about Tray,” Sam said as they made their way through the swamp.

  Elaine glanced over. “Did she, now?”

  “She told me that she is Tray’s mother.”

  Elaine paused, resting on her staff and looking over at Sam. “There are very few who know that information.”

  “Why keep it quiet?”

  “It’s dangerous. Knowing that Tray is descended from the Anders is dangerous.”

  “For who? It seems Tray is already in danger, especially considering who his father is.”

  “That’s exactly why it is dangerous. Lyasanna’s parents don’t even know that she had Tray.”

  “Why would that matter? Wouldn’t they want to know that Tray is theirs? He would be an heir to the Anders.”

  “Not only an heir to the Anders, but also for the Thelns. And we’ve managed to keep the relative peace—”

  “Peace? Is that what you call this? Ralun and the Thelns have attacked several times over the last year. It seems that we have no peace.”

  “And why is that?” Elaine started off again, and the outer edge of the city became visible, though not the same section they had departed from. Elaine must have some idea about where to find this ship Tray had mentioned. He had said that Marin would travel north, but none of the northern sections would have ships. Most of them would avoid the swamp.

  “Marin abducted him.”

  Sam frowned. If Marin had abducted Tray, and she believed that she had, she still didn’t know why. What did Marin hope to gain in abducting Tray? Not only abducting him, but essentially forcing Sam to have a relationship with him.

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Sam said.

  Elaine paused as they reached the outer section. “Nothing that Marin did make sense.”

  ““That’s why we’ve remained vigilant. Those of us who’ve known about Tray have searched for answers while the rest have watched for movement, knowing that Ralun would plan something else.”

  “So, you thought Ralun had Tray?”

  “We believed Ralun was responsible for what happened to him. That he’d somehow gotten to Marin. Lyasanna thought the child dead, killed by Marin, but there were rumors—enough that were believable—that made us question whether that was true or not.”