Cassi hopped down and gave her a quick hug, careful not to jab her with the armature's ondium keel.
'I got your note,' she said. 'Took me a while to find you, though. I ran into your exalted and he told me you were either up here or at some punch-jockey bar. He told me to make sure you were staying off your leg, so I rounded up your favorite coach.'
'Thanks.' Taya turned to Gregor. 'Can I put you on retainer for a day or two?'
'Of course.' The coachman smiled.
'I appreciate it. If I don't have enough money with me—'
'We'll settle up later, then.' Gregor slid from his seat and opened up the hack's doors, letting the folding steps clatter down to the cobblestones.
'I asked Pyke to get your armature,' Cassi said. 'His uncle works in the repair shop, so he's got a better chance of nicking it than I do. He said he'd leave it in the eyrie for you.'
'Thanks. I hate these crutches.'
'No flying, though,' Cassi warned her. 'If you rip out your stitches, you're going to have an awful scar.'
'I'm going to have an awful scar, anyway.' Taya sat on the hack's steps, making the coach rock, and set her crutches on the street. 'But I don't plan to fly. I just need to get lighter before these things put permanent bruises under my arms.'
'Good idea. But listen. I found Exalted Forlore down at one of the gates, and he bought me a cup of tea. I thought he was just going to thank me for yesterday, but as soon as we sat down, he started asking questions.' Cassi grinned, squatting in the road next to the steps. 'He looked like he was in a hurry, but I think he couldn't resist the chance to investigate you.'
'Me?'
'Uh-huh. He grilled me for ten minutes, fidgeting constantly, and then he shot out the door without even saying goodbye. Do you like him?'
'What do you mean, he grilled you? What did he want to know?'
'Oh, the usual. What kind of flowers do you like, how many boyfriends have you had, what's your favorite color, how many boyfriends have you had, what kind of jewelry do you like, how many boyfriends have you had….'
Taya groaned, covering her face with her hands.
'I think he's prude,' Cassi concluded, sounding cheerful. 'He looks like a prude.'
'He's not a prude! Well, maybe he is. What did you tell him?'
'That you like irises, you look good in blue, and you hardly wear any jewelry at all.'
Taya dropped her hands and swatted her friend across the head.
'The boyfriends! What did you tell him about the boyfriends?'
Cassi laughed.
'I told him every man in the eyrie adores you and it wasn't any of his business how many boyfriends you've had, because if he doesn't respect you for who you are now, he doesn't deserve to have you.'
Taya stared down at her friend, then let out a long breath.
'I love you.'
'I know.' Cassi sounded smug. 'And you better remember that answer if anyone ever asks you about me.'
'I will,' Taya promised, fervently.
'So, do you like him?'
'He used to be kind of a pain, but….'
'That's a ‘yes.’'
'That's a ‘there's hope.’ We haven't had much quiet time together, and I'm worried about how he's going to handle his brother being sentenced. He's the kind of man who'd rather pull away than open up.'
'Aren't they all.' Cassi reached up and patted her arm. 'Hey, no worries. Third time's the charm, right?'
Taya made a face.
'I hope so. You hated the last two guys I was serious about. What do you think about Cris?'
Cassi shrugged, her silver wings rippling.
'He's smart. Intense. Stressed.'
Taya nodded.
'Not ugly,' her friend continued, 'but not as cute as the other two. That's probably a good thing. He won't count on his looks to get him what he wants.'
'I don't think he expects to get anything the easy way.'
'Probably comes from living out of caste. I have to admit, seeing his marks out in the open like that is pretty creepy.'
'He said he's not going to put a mask back on again.'
'That'd be better for you. And, you know, it's a good sign that he was asking about your boyfriends. If all he wanted was a mistress, he wouldn't care, right?'
'You think so?' Taya looked hopefully at her friend.
'Your friend's right, she is,' Gregor said. Both women jumped, looking up at him with startled indignation. The coachman looked apologetic. 'I'd no intention of eavesdropping but, you know, there ain't a man in the world cares about a woman's past until he's thinking of her in his future. That's when a man starts to muse over reputation and reliability, now, ain't it?'
'So you've got nothing to worry about,' Cassi assured Taya. 'If I were him, I'd be more worried about my own reputation. The guy's an outcaste clockmaker with two murderers in the family. He's going to have to be one awfully sweet boyfriend to be worth your time.'
'He's working on it,' Taya said, with a half-smile.
'He'd better be.'
'Anyway, it's too early to be sure of anything.' Taya picked up her crutches. Gregor offered his hand, steadying her as she stood.
'As long as you're not settling for second best.'
'That would have been Alister.'
'Are you ready to go, then, icarus?' Gregor asked. Taya collected her thoughts.
'Yes. Do you know the lictor hospital on Secundus? A few blocks from headquarters?'
'I know of a hospital there — whether it belongs to the lictors, I've no idea, do I?'
'Let's go. Take off your armature, Cassi. I want to talk to you on the way over.'
'I'm supposed to be working.' Cassi glanced up toward the docking cliffs, then shrugged. 'I guess they won't miss me for a few more minutes.'
'I think you and Pyke might be able to help the lictors.'
'Really?' Cassi began unbuckling straps. 'Do they know you're asking?'
'Well, not yet. But I'll tell Cristof tonight.'
'Great. We'll all have reprimands in our files by the time this is over.'
They maneuvered Cassi's wings into the hack with some effort and contorted themselves around the unwieldy armature as the coach rattled down to Secundus. Taya filled Cassi in about the stolen analytical engine and the missing programmer.
'Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with Alister Forlore? I mean, it's a pretty big coincidence, if you ask me. Secret programs, analytical engines….'
'What I think is that this theft has been planned for a long time, and the thieves took advantage of the confusion around Alister's arrest to make their move.'
'I guess that's possible.' Cassi frowned. 'So, what can Pyke and I do?'
'Keep your eyes open for any wagon with lots of crates in it that might be moving around at an odd time of the day, or any activity around buildings that might usually be empty. The lictors can only see everything sector by sector, but icarii see the whole city. If we keep an eye out—'
'You mean, if Pyke and I keep an eye out. You're supposed to keep your feet on the ground.'
'You know what I mean.'
'Won't they already have military icarii looking around?'
