who do not fly so high are not as fortunate.' Lt. Amcathra saw that the rest of the group had gathered. He turned and began pacing down the hall, his blue eyes moving over the walls and floor like one of his hunter kin.
The programmers murmured as Lars pointed out the marks on the walls outside the prototype engine room. Isobel handed over her key when Amcathra stopped to inspect the door, and after a moment scrutinizing the door and frame, the lieutenant unlocked it.
Taya's first impression was of a large, empty room. But then she noticed the marks on the walls and snips of wire and small screws on the floor. Thick cables ran into the room through a hole in the wall and ended in a cascade of bare wires.
'We need light,' Amcathra said.
'Just a minute.' Lars hurried down the hall, then returned with an oil lamp from the other room. In a moment it was lit and handed over.
'Stay here,' Amcathra ordered. He took his time circling the room, crouching often to inspect the floor before taking another step. Cristof squatted in the doorway, and Taya leaned on her crutches behind him. The rest of the programmers crammed close, trying to look over their shoulders.
'How much of the room did you search?' Cristof asked Lars.
'I didn't search it. All I had to do was glance inside to see that the engine was gone. Why?'
'If you left anything in the room or took anything with you, the lieutenant will want to know.'
'Nah. I don't think I even stepped inside. Maybe one or two steps, because I was surprised. But that's it.'
'They packed the engine in straw-filled crates,' Amcathra said. 'I see nails, splinters of wood, and wisps of straw. Is that safe for an engine, straw?'
Lars nodded. 'Safe enough. Are there any signs of oil?'
'A few drops, yes.'
'They probably wrapped the parts in oiled rags before packing them. That's what I would have done.'
'The crates will be a fire risk,' Amcathra observed.
The programmers all looked at each other.
'Could a good hound track the scent of the oil?' Cristof asked.
'They would have put the crates into a wagon outside,' Victor said. 'A dog would lose the scent, eventually.'
'We will still try,' Amcathra said. Suddenly he stopped and crouched, holding his lantern close to the floor.
Taya watched, fascinated, as he set the lantern a foot or two away and lay on his stomach, studying the ground. She'd never seen a grown man so careless of his dignity. On the other hand, she thought, if you took Janos Amcathra out of his lictor's uniform, wiped away his black stripe, and dressed him in a Demican hunter's furs and leathers, his behavior would seem absolutely in character. She wondered what kind of family he'd came from. He'd preserved much of his Demican heritage.
'What color is the hair of Mr. Deuse?'
'Brown,' Lars said, after a moment. 'Brown hair, blue eyes. About average height and weight.'
Taya realized they were talking about Kyle.
'He had a key to this room?'
'Yeah.'
'Lots of people have brown hair,' Isobel protested, even though she, like Amcathra, was Demican blond. 'Just because you find some brown hair doesn't mean Kyle stole the engine.'
'Where was Mr. Deuse last night?'
'He left the station with the rest of us.'
'Did any of you go home with him?'
A chorus of ‘no's.
Amcathra stood and began to search the room again, skirting the area he'd just inspected so intently.
'What did you find?' Taya asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. He shook his head and kept looking.
At last he walked back, waving everyone away from the door. He closed it and locked it.
'I will take your keys to this room, please,' he said, holding out his hand. One by one, the programmers slid their keys from rings and cords and laid them on his palm. He dropped them all into his pocket with a metallic jingle.
'Exalted, icarus, please stay. The rest of you may leave. You will of course remain in Ondinium where we can find you if we must.'
'What did you see in there?' Lars asked, repeating Taya's question.
'Clues.' The lictor would say nothing more.
'Look, Taya, we'll be at the PT,' the big man said, turning to her. 'You'll tell us if you learn anything, won't you?'
'If I can.' Taya leaned on her crutch and patted his arm, feeling like a doll next to him. 'I'll try, I really will.'
After the team members had left, throwing worried looks over their shoulders as they headed up the stairs, Cristof turned to Amcathra.
'Kyle helped us figure out what Alister's program was doing. He seemed like an honest man.'
'I think Mr. Deuse may have been coerced into assisting the thieves,' Amcathra said. 'I saw blood and brown hair on the floor, as might come from a head wound.'
Taya drew in a worried breath. 'Do you think he's alive?'
'If they had killed him, I think they would have left his corpse locked in the room.'
'Well, if he's been kidnapped, that would explain why nobody can find him.' She wanted to run out and tell the rest of the team, but she knew Amcathra must have refrained from mentioning it in front of them for a reason.
'Lars said Kyle was one of the team members who'd know how to reconstruct the engine,' Cristof added, his eyes narrowed behind their lenses. 'Plus, he's the head of the programming team, now that Alister's in jail. He'd be a nice catch for the Alzanans.'
'It does not need to be Alzanans.'
'Who else who do something like this?' Cristof pulled off his glasses and began polishing them fiercely. 'I'm going to call the thieves Alzanan until we learn otherwise. They waylaid Kyle and forced him to unlock the door; maybe even made him dismantle the engine.'
'The amount of blood was significant. It is possible he protested at some point and was knocked unconscious.'
Taya felt sick, imagining the pleasant young programmer sprawled in a pool of his own blood.
'Then they packed up the crates and carried them up the stairs and out. What was Victor saying about wagons?' Cristof looked at Taya.
'He said either the thieves would have to hand-carry the crates across campus to the gate or pull a wagon around on some kind of road… something-course….'
'Froshcourse. Right. It runs along the perimeter of campus for deliveries.' Cristof turned to the lieutenant. 'It's a long route, and it passes in front of the dormitories. One of the students may have heard a wagon go by late at night.'
'I will have lictors speak to the students.' Amcathra stood. 'Let us examine the foot path to the gates.'
Outside, Taya sat on an iron bench and watched the two men work. Her leg was starting to throb again, warning her that the painkillers were wearing off, and her shoulders ached from working the crutches. Sitting down was a relief.
This time Amcathra permitted Cristof to search with him. Both men bent over the path, Cristof constantly pushing his glasses back up as they slipped down his sharp nose. Taya grinned, trying to imagine him in a Demican hunter's furs. He wouldn't be very convincing. He still looked like a crow, bobbing along the path looking for something to eat.
Her grin faded as she considered Amcathra's speculations. Kyle had seemed like a nice man, intelligent and responsible. He'd been the one Clockwork Heart had chosen as Lars's best match. Well, Lars might have been