They marched her to a stationhouse on Primus, unlocked her manacles long enough to remove her armature, and then fastened them back around her wrists and locked her into a cell. Chains ran from her left manacle to a ring in the wall. Taya slumped on the floor, her hands suspended in front of her face, and closed her eyes.
Octavus. Forlore.
The signal flags snapped and waved in her memory, superimposed over the dark wreckage that was all that had been left of the wireferry car.
Her eyes burned and she wiped her face on her sleeve. She was not going to cry. She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of making her cry.
Hours passed. She heard voices through the cell door but couldn't make out any words. She stood and stretched a few times, rubbing her aching wrists, then sat against the wall again. The manacles chafed her flesh. For a while she lined up the evidence against Cristof, then thought about Pyke's suspicions about exalteds, then wondered if she'd be given a chance to defend herself at all, then thought about what she should have said to Alister before they'd parted. That just depressed her, so she fumed about Cristof again. Cristof, with all his angry speeches about exalteds and rights, who hadn't paused for a moment to use his caste privilege to force her into silence.
The light in the cell was fading when the door finally opened again. Cristof stood silhouetted in the light from the hall. He gazed at her for a moment, then stepped inside. He looked haggard, his ragged hair raked on end and his mouth bracketed with deep lines of stress.
'Don't even think about hitting or kicking me,' he snapped, pulling a ring of keys from his coat pocket.
'Why are you here?' Taya asked, glaring at him. 'Who let you in? Where are the guards? Guards!'
A passing lictor glanced in the doorway, then walked on.
'You don't need to shout for the guards.' Cristof sounded impatient. 'I'm one of them.'
Taya jutted out her chin, staring at him with distrust.
'What would the lictors want with an outcaste like you?'
He scowled.
'I'm going to unlock you. But I swear, if you try to attack me, I'll have you thrown in the mines for the rest of your life.'
'Is that the way the system works? Is that the equality between icarus and exalted you were telling me about the other night?'
He twitched.
'Murderers have no rights. Did you kill my brother?'
'No.' She looked directly into his eyes. 'Did you?'
'No.'
For a moment they glared at each other with mutual suspicion. Then Cristof stepped forward and unlocked the chain around her left hand. She pulled it in close to her chest and stood.
He never took his eyes off her, watching as if he expected her to kick him without warning. His wariness made her feel more confident.
I'll bet his jaw still hurts
, she thought with satisfaction.
'Are you going to take these off?' she asked at last, holding out her wrists. He grabbed the manacles and unlocked them. Taya winced as she rubbed the chafed flesh on her wrists. Cristof let the metal bonds clatter to the stone floor.
'My men searched your rooms and questioned your acquaintances and family.' His voice was cold. 'We don't have enough evidence to hold you.'
'Your men?'
'My men.' He slid the keys back into his coat pocket. 'I've been working with the lictors for fifteen years.'
'Did your men search your rooms, too? Or doesn't an icarus's accusation mean anything?'
His eyes narrowed behind his wire-rimmed glasses.
'As a matter of fact, your accusation triggered a routine check that became rather more than routine once my superiors talked to the clerks in the Tower. I've spent all day in an interrogation room, thanks to you.'
'Well, I've spent all day in a cell.' Taya was unrepentant. They stood in silence again a moment. Then she took a breath, bracing herself. 'Did they… have they… found him yet?'
'Probably.' Cristof jammed his hands into his pockets, shoulders high. The muscles around his mouth were tense. 'It's going to take some time for the coroners to confirm who was in that car.'
She rubbed her face, feeling the threat of tears again. She knew what that meant. The bodies were too mangled to be identified.
I'm not going to cry in front of Cristof
, she told herself furiously. 'What—'
'They know it was a bomb.' Cristof's voice was under tight control. 'And Alister left the Tower today holding the clock I'd repaired.'
Taya's head jerked up.
'Then why aren't you under arrest?'
'I was.'
She waited. He was silent.
'Well? What happened?'
'Putting a bomb into one of my repair jobs in order to kill my brother makes about as much sense as you rescuing Viera and Ariq after sabotaging the wireferry they were riding on.' He gave her a cool look. 'It's not impossible, but it's improbable. And until more evidence is found, neither us can be held on an improbability.'
She stared at him.
'Alister didn't know you worked for the lictors, did he? Or he would have realized you hadn't killed Pins.'
'No. He didn't know. And thanks to you, he probably died thinking I was a terrorist.'
'Why didn't you tell him?'
'Who cares? It doesn't matter now, does it?' Cristof's tone was bitter. 'It wouldn't have made any difference if he had known. He'd still be dead.' He turned his back on her, shoulders still hunched around his ears. 'Get out of here, icarus. I don't want to see you again.'
Taya drew in a hurt breath, then slowly let it out. She rubbed her wrist again and started out the door, then stopped. Her eyes burned.
Alister was dead. Caster Octavus was dead. Last night's party could have been a dream, for all it mattered today. And what was she supposed to do? Just walk away from it all?
She rested her head against the door frame a moment, getting a grip on herself, and turned toward him.
'I didn't kill your brother,' she said, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. 'I liked him. A lot. And I liked Caster Octavus, too. So I'm going to find out who did this. For both of them.'
'No, you're not.' He looked up, his expression bleak. 'You're going to stay out of the way and mind your caste.'
'Like you?'
'The lictors aren't going to let me investigate this case, either, thanks to your accusations.'
'Fine. You can do what you want with your spare time. I owe it to Alister and Exalted Octavus to find out who killed them.'
