Cristof sighed. 'Yes, I'm afraid he was. But I didn't know. I thought he was an idealist, like me; someone willing to bend the rules for the greater good. I was as shocked as anyone else when his ties to Alzana came to light. But if I'd been the one to find out, I would have tried to reason with him, not arrest him.'
'How did you cheat Refinery?'
'I've never cheated it,' he said, surprised. 'I'm not a traitor. Don't you understand? Everything I've done, I've done for Ondinium.'
She felt sick. 'Refinery can't identify murderers?'
'It can only calculate someone's likelihood to kill. Certain types of bloodshed are desirable, you know. Lictors need to be able to kill as part of their job. And look at you! You threw a man to his death to protect my brother.' Alister's voice softened as Taya twitched with guilt. 'But I respect that, just as I respect Cris killing to protect you. It's perfectly rational to defend yourself and your friends. Believe me, if I could have done this without causing any deaths, I would have. If Pins hadn't been giving evidence to the lictors, if Caster had only seen reason, if Cristof hadn't been so close to identifying me….'
Taya ignored his excuses, still brooding over the man she'd thrown over the side of the crosswalk. 'Who was he? The man I killed?'
'I'm not sure. William, I think. He thought you were a terrorist, breaking in to stop me from doing my job.'
'You mean, he was innocent?' Fresh horror swept over her. 'I thought he was your accomplice!'
'He was one of the lictors who stayed behind to guard the Tower. He didn't have any reason to doubt me when I informed him I'd hiked up from Primus to check on the Engine. He and his partner escorted me down here and stood guard while I worked.'
Taya felt like she were about to vomit. The man had just been doing his job.
Lady
She began to shake.
Oh, Lady, grant him a swift rebirth and forgive me my sins.
She grasped at a straw. 'Why didn't he recognize you? The lictors would have known Exalted Forlore was supposed to have died in the explosion.'
'I didn't give them my real name, and they could hardly recognize me from my robes and mask.' Alister shrugged. 'I was carrying convincing security papers and I wrote down the correct passwords. Lictors are taught to be obedient, bless them.'
'They would have figured out the truth eventually.' Taya drew in a deep breath. 'What were you going to do with them when you were finished? Sooner or later they would have told someone about you, and inquiries would have been made.'
'Ah…. 'Alister frowned at his chipped nails, then looked up. His face was hard. 'Take off your armature, Taya.'
'So you can throw me over the side, too?'
'Are you going to make me? So far all of this can be explained away, if you'll agree to cooperate. But if it boils down to my word against yours, I don't need to tell you which one of us will be believed, do I?'
'Cristof will support me.'
'It won't be that hard to prove that you're both Torn Cards who came here to destroy the Great Engine after trying to kill me and Caster. You were close to the last wireferry accident. Maybe you were there to make sure it killed the right man and only rescued Viera when it became clear Caster wasn't on the car. And Cris, well, he's already a suspect in the attack. Those two lictors were heroes who rescued me in the middle of the night and then died in an effort to keep me safe from your attack. I can make you a hero or a villain, Taya Swan. Which will it be?'
Taya shifted, rising on her toes and planting her back more firmly against the railing. Pain made her head swim.
'You wouldn't do that to Cristof,' she argued. 'You might ruin me, but you wouldn't hurt your brother.'
'I would rather not hurt either of you.' His voice dropped. 'Work with me, Taya. We'll retrieve Cris and explain to him that the lictors were forcing me to reprogram the Engine at gunpoint and that all of this has been a misunderstanding. I'll make you both heroes, and then, if you'll let me, I'll prove to you that I'm not such a bad man.'
He stepped closer. Taya pushed herself up until she was sitting on the railing, her back to the open chasm. 'Don't,' she warned.
'Please.' Bright light glittered off his golden jewelry and highlighted the tattoos on his face and the smear of blood along his cut cheek. 'You know how much I admire you. You said you felt the same way about me. Do you remember our dance? You looked so beautiful in that dress. I wish you'd gone home with me that night. Pins might have stayed alive, if you'd kept me occupied.'
For a moment Taya was caught by his emerald gaze, remembering his strong arms holding her as they danced. Then she thought of Caster Octavus and of Pins, and she jerked her gaze away with disgust.
His expression darkened, and he lunged. Taya let herself fall backward, tumbling heels-over-head off the rail.
'Taya!'
She saw Cristof stare at her, wide-eyed, as he held on to the side of the Great Engine, just beneath the crosswalk. Then he looked up at his brother, lifted his arm, and fired his needlegun through the grillwork.
Taya closed her eyes, feeling the air rushing against her face. She reached up and slid her arms into the wings by touch. Without the spinning depths to disorient her, she stretched and unlocked them.
She opened her eyes, waited until her tumbling put her head-up again, and spread her arms.
Air pressure pushed against the feathers. She glanced down. The floor was nowhere in sight and no immediate danger threatened. Warm air whistled past her ears as she kicked the tailset down, hissing as her calf protested. The armature jolted as the tailset created more air resistance.
Groaning, Taya worked her ankles beneath the bar. A kick-tilt and she maneuvered herself belly-down in free fall and took another look beneath her.
So far, so good. None of the chasm-crossing cables or catwalks had caught her. That had been her only concern. Falling backward off a ledge was an icarus game she'd played often as a teenager, dangling from wireferry towers and sitting on cliff tops. The only danger was the unknown.
Now she held her wings at full spread, testing the air and steering herself.
There — the gentle push of a thermal. She swept her arms down and transformed her drop into an ascent.
The thrill of free fall had, at least momentarily, cleared her mind and pushed the pain away. She took advantage of the respite, forcing herself to gain altitude as fast as she could.
Above her, she saw Cristof clinging to the outside of the platform railing. Alister had grabbed the air pistol's barrel and they were struggling for possession of it. Taya swept her arms down again, flying up in the hope of breaking the stalemate.
Alister glanced down, over Cristof's shoulder, and saw her. He redoubled his efforts.
Cristof released the gun and rolled himself over the railing, awkwardly falling to the crosswalk floor. As Taya shot up to the platform, Alister thrust the barrel of the gun into Cristof's face and pulled the trigger.
Taya made a strangled protest, but nothing happened. With an oath, Alister fumbled for the safety.
'Alister!' Taya swooped around to give herself enough height, then twisted and began to backbeat. Alister glanced up at her, then back down at the gun.
Cristof was fumbling in his belt pockets as Alister's thumb snapped the safety back. Alister aimed the weapon just as his brother's hand reemerged.
The outcaste opened his fingers and a five-pound ondium counterweight shot into the air, clipping his brother under the chin. Alister's head rocked backward and a spray of needles stitched the air, one sending a shudder through Taya's wing as it hit an ondium feather.
Taya's heavy boots slammed into Alister's chest and drove him backward, into the Great Engine. The metal punch card tray on the Engine's face snapped off beneath him, and her wounded leg felt like it was on fire.
