again.
«No, by the Lady's grace, neither of us has been injured. Give me something to cover myself,» Viera demanded. «And bring me my son.»
«They're carrying him down now, exalted.» The lictor obediently unbuttoned his greatcoat and shrugged it off. He handed it to the woman as she pulled herself to her feet.
«Taya! Taya, are you all right?» A familiar voice. Taya looked up.
The icarus who'd slowed their descent pulled off his goggles and cap, revealing a shock of curly black hair. His wings were locked high and his straps neatly bundled.
The crowd let him through, and even the lictors reluctantly stepped aside.
«Hi, Pyke.» Taya let him grab her hand and haul her to her feet. For a moment she leaned her forehead on his broad chest, gathering her strength. «Thanks.»
«Anytime.» He patted her shoulder. «Wings up, babe.»
Her metal wings were drifting horizontally, knocking into bystanders who tried to crowd too close. With a groan, Taya slid her arms back into them long enough to lock them in a vertical line up her back and over her head.
She winced as she pulled her arms back down. Her shoulders were going to be killing her tomorrow. She pulled off her flight cap and ran her hands through her short, sweat-dampened hair. The cool breeze felt good against her scalp.
«Taya Icarus.» Exalted Viera Octavus turned. Barefoot, wearing a borrowed greatcoat and a makeshift mask, she looked more like a child playing exalted than a full-blooded member of the ruling caste. However, the steady, dark eyes over the veil revealed that she was already recovering her dignity. «Will you please introduce me to your friend?»
«This is Pyke, ma'am. He's the one who threw us the safety line.»
«At your service.» Pyke tapped his palm against his forehead and gave a perfunctory bow. Taya glared at him, and he lamely added, «exalted.»
«I am grateful for your assistance, as well, Pyke Icarus.» Viera looked up. Taya followed her gaze.
The girder had collapsed, and twisted metal struts were trapped in the wireferry lines that held them suspended overhead as if in a metal net. The ferry car had slammed into the side of one of the station towers and was nothing more than a tangle of wreckage. Several of its dislodged ondium keel plates had floated up and tangled in the cables.
«Scrap,» Pyke breathed, shaking his head. «You owe the Lady a couple of candles next holyday, Taya.»
«I sure do,» Taya murmured, staring.
«Exalted, if you'll please follow me, I'll escort you inside,» a lictor was saying, beside them. «We'll bring your son to you and semaphore up to the tower to notify your husband.»
«Very well. We shall speak again, Taya Icarus. House Octavus shall not forget what you have done for it today.» Viera touched one of Taya's wings before allowing herself to be led away. Taya looked after her a moment, admiring the exalted woman's elan. After a few thousand rebirths, maybe she'd be that self-possessed after a near-death experience.
«Excuse me,» another lictor said, politely but less deferentially, to Taya and Pyke. «I must now hear your account of this occurrence.» He was tall, pale, and fair-haired — Taya didn't even need to analyze his accent to guess he was of Demican descent. However, the black lictor's stripe tattooed down one side of his face proved that he was a full citizen of Ondinium.
«I don't have much to say.» Taya stripped off her gloves and loosened the top buttons of her flight suit. «I didn't see anything until I heard the girder giving way.»
«Interviewing witnesses is a mandatory procedure,» the lictor insisted. «You must follow me, icarii.»
«All right,» Taya acquiesced. Arguing with a lictor, especially a Demican lictor, was worse than useless. One of the selection criteria for the caste was stubbornness.
«You don't have to interrogate us,» Pyke protested, balking. «We didn't do anything wrong.»
«Pyke, come on,» Taya urged him. «The sooner we give our statements, the sooner we can get out of here.»
«This is harrassment! We're innocent — why do we have to be questioned?»
She rolled her eyes.
«He's just doing his job. And I'm almost certain that people are never beaten and brainwashed for rescuing exalteds.»
«You never know,» Pyke said darkly. «Octavus is a decatur.»
«I know.» Octavus was among the many names she'd memorized while cramming for the diplomatic corps examination. «So?»
«So, you know what that means.» Pyke gave her a meaningful look. «Council . Do you think it's coincidence that a wireferry broke while his wife was riding it?»
«Oh, Lady, not a new conspiracy theory.» Taya grabbed his arm and started walking, pulling him along after her. «Come on. Let's go.»
«But what if the stripes are in on it?» Pyke objected, digging in his heels. «It could be a military plot. They might decide to get rid of the witnesses.»
«Pyke. I'm tired, and I have to attend a wedding tonight. Let's just answer the man's questions and go, all right?»
«You're too trusting,» Pyke growled.
«Uh-huh.» Several months ago she'd gone out a few times with Pyke. At first his gloomy mistrust of authority had been amusing, but after a few weeks, his conspiracy theories and complaints about the government had gotten on her nerves. «The thing is, I don't feel particularly threatened by the lictors, all right?»
«Well, they're probably not as much of a threat as collapsing wireferries,» Pyke admitted, looking up again. Taya laughed, despite herself, and his eyes warmed.
She looked away.
It was too easy to like him. Pyke was a skilled flier and a thoughtful friend, and he had all the good intentions a girl could want. Not to mention broad shoulders, a strong chest, and hard muscles in his arms and legs from years of flying. Add to that his Ondinium-copper skin and dark hair and eyes, and he was a difficult man to resist.
Her best friend, Cassilta, said she was crazy to cut Pyke loose, but Taya hadn't been able to take any more lectures about corruption and cover-ups. She'd ended the relationship with the reliable «just friends» excuse. To his credit, Pyke had taken the rejection well. In some ways, Taya would have preferred a more contentious breakup; at least then their relationship would be clearer.
Fortunately, Cassi now considered Pyke fair game, which gave Taya some breathing room whenever the three of them were together.
«If you will please follow,» the Demican lictor insisted.
«You were great up there, Taya,» Pyke said as they trailed after the official. «Just wait until the eyrie hears about it.»
«Not great enough. I think the car clipped one of my feathers.» She craned her neck, but she couldn't see the tips of her wings without stumbling over her own feet.
«It's just a little bent. The smiths will fix it in no time.»
The lictor led them up a short flight of steps into the nearest guard station, and Pyke waved a dramatic good-bye as they were parted.
«If you wish to remove your wings, you may,» the Demican lictor said, leading her into a small office. Taya hesitated, but her body ached, and she wanted to sit down. Deciding she deserved a break, she unbuckled the harness straps and swung open the metal keel. Her back prickled as the leather flight suit pulled away from her sweat-covered skin. She turned and looked at the armature.
It swayed in the air, its metal wingtips touching the ceiling. Taya frowned as she inspected the feathers.
