Cris looked up at the mecharachnid, and Taya could see the calculations running through his head.
“The top of the machine is too close to the tunnel roof for someone to ride it,” he began, uncertainly, “but if we made some kind of sling….”
“Are the mecharachnids significantly faster than a walking human? I seem to recall reading that the imperial strategists always needed to take their lack of speed into account when planning military actions.”
“At least you’d be off your feet!” Cris snapped, the pain audible in his voice.
“I have a better idea.” Alister reached out and found his brother’s arm, resting his fingers on it. “Show me the gun controls and leave me here to shoot at Alzanans. Then you and Taya head to camp as quickly as you can and send back reinforcements— with a competent physician, if you don’t mind.”
“I could stay…” Taya ventured. She loathed the thought of sitting in a metal machine shooting helpless soldiers, but she couldn’t just stand there and let her husband and brother-in-law debate who was going to do the job without volunteering herself.
“No,” Cristof said firmly.
“It’s not an icarus’s job,” Alister demurred, simultaneously. “It’s a lictor’s job, actually, but since we don’t have one handy… give the job to the fallen exalted, Cris. Allow me this chance to redeem myself in the Council’s eyes. I don’t expect to be welcomed back to Ondinium, but at least they might add a footnote to my name saying that I wasn’t a complete embarrassment to my caste.”
“He’s counterweighting,” Taya said, swallowing a lump in her throat. “That’s why he saved me. He’s trying to do something good before he faces the Forge.”
“Al… you don’t believe any of that scrap, do you?”
“Weren’t you invoking the Lady just a few minutes ago?”
“Rhetorical convention.”
“Don’t tell me that you weren’t praying for your wife to be alive and well.” Alister cocked his head. “And she is, isn’t she? Maybe the Lady sent me to Terminal with Mazzoletti to give us both a chance.”
Cristof let out an impatient, frustrated breath.
“I’m not going to stand here and have a religious debate with you while you’re dying!”
“What better time? This is the second time I’ve come face-to-face with my own mortality. I’d say it’s an eye-opening experience, but….” he gestured wryly.
“Don’t do that.”
“Show me how to operate the guns and make sure they’re pointed in the right direction.”
“You won’t be able to see the soldiers coming!”
“In my experience, the Alzanan military seldom travels quietly. I assume there’s some sort of hatch or door I can leave open to listen.”
“Yes….”
“And the engine is off, and I certainly don’t need any lights. I’ll surprise them as you surprised us.”
“Assuming you don’t bleed to death, first.”
“I intend to do everything I can to stay alive until your lictors return for me.” Alister paused. “I promise, Cris. This is not a suicide stand; it’s a pragmatic solution to a strategic problem.”
“Don’t try to tell me you aren’t hoping to come out of this a hero.”
Alister smiled. “I wouldn’t mind that, of course.”
Cristof looked from his brother to Taya, clearly torn. Taya started to say something, then closed her mouth. She couldn’t force Cris to choose between his wife and his brother. That was something he had to do on his own.
“All right,” he said at last, his shoulders slumping. “Damn you, Al, if you get yourself killed after all I’ve done for you….”
“You’ve always known me to be a thankless bastard.”
“You are,” Cristof replied, but he stepped forward and gave his brother a hard hug at the same time. “But I’m not. Thank you for bringing Taya back.”
“You’re welcome,” Alister said, bending over and coughing as his brother released him. Cristof immediately looked alarmed.
“I’m sorry— I didn’t think—”
“It’s all right.” Alister’s smile lingered on his lips as he straightened. “I think our feisty little icarus has been a good influence on that clockwork heart of yours.”
Cristof scowled and grabbed his brother’s sleeve.
“Get in. I’ll show you the controls.”
They helped Alister up into the machine. Taya wrinkled her nose when she saw the tight quarters; it was little more than a hard chair with operating controls around it, everything covered with soot and smelling of smoke.
“It has a ventilation problem,” Cristof said, grimacing. “I had to travel with the door ajar.”
“I was wondering why you smelled so bad.” Alister wedged his cane next to him. “Fortunately, dirt doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. How do I operate this thing?”
Cristof moved his hands to the various controls, explaining the guns at some length.
“Everything here and here,” he put Alister’s hands on the levers to his left and right, “controls the legs, but don’t try it. This thing is almost impossible to maneuver; I’ve had two days of practice and I can still barely keep it moving in a straight line.”
“How many mecharachnids do we have?”
“I don’t know, but we’d better hope our victory doesn’t rely on them. The ornithopters work surprisingly well for a bunch of thousand-year-old machines, but these things are in desperate need of a design overhaul.”
“Which I assume you have already worked out in your head.”
“I’ve had a few ideas,” Cristof admitted.
“I look forward to hearing your plans.” Alister rested his hands lightly on the gun controls. “Now, you’d better get going. I’d like to get this bullet out of me soon.”
“Al….” Cristof reached in and squeezed his brother’s shoulder before dropping down to the ground. “Someone will be here for you in two hours. Stay alive for me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Wait.” Taya pulled herself up to the driver’s cabin and lightly kissed Alister’s cheek. “Thank you, Alister. Take care of yourself.” She jumped back down and turned away. Lady, keep him, she prayed, squeezing her eyes shut a moment. He’s a bad man, but he’s trying, and that has to count for something.
Cristof unhooked the lantern from the front of the machine, pulling it out of its mirrored niche. He looked at Alister.
“We’re leaving now.”
Alister lifted a hand to wave, and then carefully set it back down on the firing controls.
* * *
They talked quietly as they walked through the dark tunnels. Taya told Cristof everything that had happened since he’d seen her floating in midair, clutching Liliana’s rescue harness. He wasn’t happy to hear that she’d been held captive, but she assured him that the Alzanans had treated her respectfully. She chose, upon seeing Cristof’s dark expression, not to tell him about the soldier who’d tripped her in the hallway or about Alister’s rationale to Patrice Corundel for breaking into her cell.
“I’m sorry the Mareaux girl died,” Cristof said, when she’d finished. “Do you think she was really Al’s minder?”
“Maybe. She seemed too self-possessed for a civilian, but I think she genuinely liked him, too.” Taya braced herself. “So, tell me about the Firebrand.”
“Janos is alive, but he lost most of his crew, including Lieutenant Imbrex.”
“Oh, no!” Taya was stricken. “What happened?”
“She was shot manning a volley gun.” Cristof sighed. “The Formidable tore us apart. If there hadn’t been an Ondinium weapons platoon guarding the border with mortars and ondium-tipped missiles, we might have all died, but when they started firing, the Alzanans turned back. Janos brought the ship down to a sliding stop in
a narrow U-shaped valley not far from the platoon and anchored it. We were retrieved by a patrol that patched us up, covered the ship, and took us into the tunnels.”
“Is Liliana all right?”
“Yes….”
“What?” Taya felt a spike of panic. “What happened?”
“The commander in charge is Decatur Constante, who arrested her. I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s holding Liliana until she hears from Ondinium.” Cristof made an impatient sound. “She sent a lictor to the nearest signal station two days ago; she refused to send her only icarus, so it could be another two or three days before we get the Council’s reply.”
“They’re treating her well, though, aren’t they?”
“Oh, yes, don’t worry. Constante’s a System Analyst— she understands how important Liliana’s testimony will be for our nation.”
“And Jinian’s out there fighting with our lictors?”
“She insisted on it.” He frowned. “I hope she’s all right.”
“Me, too. Where’s Captain Amcathra?”
“Back in the valley with Professor Dautry and some of Decatur Constante’s military engineers, trying to get the Firebrand back into the air. Apparently I’m to be sent back to Ondinium as soon as possible.” He snorted. “Which is why I was going to escape with Jinian as soon as the assault team returned. I couldn’t leave without finding you, first.”
“But you didn’t even know I was alive.”
“Of course you were alive.” He pulled her into a tight, one-armed hug. “You’re the toughest woman I know. And I wasn’t going to let anyone drag me out of these mountains until I’d found you again.”
She squeezed him back, certain that everything would be all right as long as they were together.
They had walked a long time before they were finally confronted by two armed lictors calling out a challenge. Taya raised her hands at once, but Cristof took a moment to tug his scarf up over the bottom half of his face before he lifted his. It was the scarf she’d bought for him in Os Cansai, she saw, its blue silk and silver embroidery smudged with soot. The fact that he’d retrieved it from the crash brought a lump to her throat.
“Taya Icarus and Exalted Forlore,” she said, meeting the lictors’ eyes. “The Alzanans are gathering a force to enter and explore the tunnels. You need to send a force back there to stop them.”
“With a physician,” Cristof added. Taya shot him a scandalized look. He wasn’t supposed to speak when he was covered.
“With a physician for Alister Forlore, who’s holding off the Alzanans in a mecharachnid,” she elaborated. “He was shot in the chest. He still seemed strong when we left him, but he needs medical attention.”
“I’m sorry, but first… Exalted….?” the older lictor sounded apologetic. Cristof pulled down the scarf enough to reveal the wave-shaped castemark tattooed over his right cheekbone. The lictor sketched a bow, looking relieved when Cristof pulled his scarf back up again. “Thank you, sir. I apologize for the necessity.” She turned to Taya. “Do you have any identification?”
“Of course not! I was— no, wait, I do.” She bent over, then froze as the rifle shifted to cover her. “I’m just going to roll up my pants cuff, all right?”
“Slowly, please.”
She carefully unpinned her golden feather and held it out. The lictor’s stern expression lightened at last.
“Welcome back, Icarus,” she said, kindly. “Your friends have been worried about you.”
“I’ve been worried about them, too,” she said, pinning the feather to the front of her jacket. “May we pass?”
“Go ahead. Lasse, run ahead with the report.”
The younger of the two lictors nodded and raced off.
“We’ll send another platoon out as soon as we can, Exalted,” the older lictor said. Cristof started to answer and Taya put a hand on his arm. He stopped, looking at her.
“Thank you,” she said for him. “The man in the mecharachnid is the exalted’s brother. He was injured rescuing me from the Alzanans and he’s down there now guarding our backs. Please take good care of him.”
“We will,” the lictor promised. Taya thanked her one last time and drew her husband away.
He was silent until they lost sight of the guard, and then he sighed, pulling down the scarf.
“Decatur Constante asked me to cover my face to avoid offending the troops, but I haven’t bothered observing the rest of the rules.”
“What happened to your mask?”
“Janos needed the ondium, so I gave it back.” He smiled. “He didn’t have to twist my arm.”
“No, I don’t suppose he did.” She stopped and touched his cheek, running her thumb over the scar that broke his castemark. “I know you don’t like being covered, and you didn’t have much choice about speaking for yourself before this, but now that I’m back, please let me do my job.”
“I wasn’t going to go looking for you because I wanted my icarus,” he objected, forcefully.
“I know.” She held his face and his gaze. “But I’m proud to represent my husband properly before the rest of the world.”
“You know it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Then don’t wear a mask at all.”
“Apparently that makes the lictors uncomfortable.”
“You’ve never worried about making them uncomfortable in the past.”
“That’s true, but… this time they’re risking their lives to defend our border. I don’t want to add to their stress.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
He grimaced. “I thought we were past ‘sweet.’”
“But I so seldom get a chance to say it.” She smiled at his expression and they started walking again, their hands slipping comfortably together.
They passed another guard who didn’t demand to see Cristof’s castemark and entered the Ondinium encampment, which had been set up inside a vast, cavernous chamber lit by a multitude of lanterns. The room’s rock walls were ornately carved with ancient images and its floor was crowded with soldiers, camp gear, weapons, two more mecharachnids, barrels, crates, and bags. A small group of lictors was assembling by the doorway, checking their weapons. Taya looked around, but this chamber had never been converted for the pneumatic rail.
“Exalted!” A famulate wearing the uniform of a Constante house servant stepped up and bowed, his palm against his forehead. “Decatur Constante is waiting for you.” They followed him to a large tent set up against one of the walls. He stopped outside and waved them through the tent’s double-flap entrance.
Decatur Constante sat at a small wooden desk, her ivory mask close to hand as she studied a map. She was a solidly built woman in her seventies with strong features and a piercing gaze. Her robes, including the heavily embroidered outer robe draped over the back of her chair, were conservative in their design and color, and her long white hair had been pulled back into a series of old-fashioned braids and knots.
Taya gave a deep, respectful bow as the decatur looked up. Cristof tugged down his scarf.
“Icarus.” Constante’s eyebrows rose. “Welcome. I’m glad to see that you are alive.”
“Thank you, Exalted.”
“I understand the Alzanans plan to investigate the tunnel?” the decatur asked, turning her attention to Cristof.
“Yes. You’re sending a group to meet them, aren’t you?”
“You passed them coming in.” Constante gestured to the folding camp chair in front of her portable desk. “Report.”
“Go ahead,” Cristof said, nudging Taya toward the chair, instead. She eyed it wistfully but shook her head.
“Decatur….” He frowned at Constante.
“Please be seated, Icarus,” Constante said politely, as if that’s what she’d intended from the start. Taya wavered a moment before sinking into the cha
ir with relief. The decatur wrote out a note and handed it to Cristof. “Give this to Romaeus; he’ll bring us some tea. You both look chilled.”
“Thank you,” Taya said again. “I would like that.”
Cristof nodded and pulled up his scarf, ducking outside.
“Just the highlights,” the decatur said, turning back to her. “I’ll want a detailed report later, but for now tell me only what’s important.”
Resisting an urge to stand again, Taya related what little she knew about the camp at A-O Terminal, the Formidable, and the train’s shipment of weapons. She described the armaments of the soldiers who’d blown up the first mecharachnid. Cristof returned as she mentioned that they’d left the man who’d rescued her in Cristof’s machine, guarding the tunnel. She didn’t mention his name to Constante, who didn’t ask. Cristof didn’t seem inclined to volunteer the information, either.
The tea came, along with a large plate of sausage and cheese that made Taya’s stomach growl. Constante encouraged her to eat as she asked several follow-up questions, paying particular attention to the train and dirigible.
“I have already been briefed about most of those items,” she said as Taya repeated Florianne’s list of weaponry, “but what is a holocaust bomb?”
“I don’t know, but apparently Mazzoletti and Corundel were talking about planting it by the Great Engine.”
Constante’s expression darkened.
“How would they get to it?”
“Well, Corundel probably knows all of the secret entrances and exits,” Taya said, repeating Alister’s speculation.
“They’d have to get the bomb into the capital in the first place….” Cristof mused.
“They have the Formidable,” she reminded him.
“One ship against all our defenses?” He looked at Constante. “I assume we have more operative ornithopters by now.”
“Yes, and most of them are guarding the capital. Moreover, we have assigned guards to every city gate and established patrols throughout the capital security zone. Nobody is permitted on or off a train at O-Base-0 without an identification check.”
Clockwork Secrets Page 27