The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2)

matter? Rebels take your tongue?” Prium snorted at his own joke. “Well, if you’ve nothing to say—”
“I want what we all want.” I spat the words in his face. “Health and happiness for my family. Long lives full of love.”
Prium looked disappointed. He leaned back on his desk with a huff. “Well, as it happens, my lady will grant your wishes. Today you’ll go home and celebrate with your families. Tomorrow, you’ll show them their new homes in the Stars. The day after that...” His smile contorted into something ugly, a nasty hyena snarl. “The day after that, you’ll Ascend. All three of you.”
Ona shrieked and clapped her hands. Lock didn’t say anything at all. I stood stunned, waiting for the punchline. Me, Ascend? Lock and Ona, sure—but some rulebreaking nobody? A peon from the refinery?
Lock’s fingers brushed mine, and I clenched my fists. This was the chance I’d been waiting for. Buried in the Dirt, I might never see Lazrad again. If I wanted to get close to her, to unravel the secret of her longevity, Sky was the place to do it. Still—
“Do make yourselves presentable before the ceremony,” said Prium. He pursed his lips at me. “That goes double for you, Myla. Haven’t you heard of a nail brush?”
I frowned. In truth, I hadn’t.
“Your Ascension is a special privilege.” His expression soured further, like he’d tasted something foul. “I wouldn’t have gone so far, but my lady respects... courage. Myself, I prefer obedience, so see you scrub those nails.”
I jammed my hands in my pockets. Prium shook out his gloves and pulled them on.
“Well, run along,” he said. “I’m not handing out sweets.”
Gears whirred behind me, the door sliding open. I backed away slowly, not wanting to let Prium out of my sight. He was staring me down like he wanted to eat me, smoothing his gloves over his wrists. I didn’t trust him not to touch me, not to run a gloved finger down my neck. It seemed the sort of thing he would do, not for the pleasure of it, but just to show he could.
The door shut on Prium. I thought I heard Lazrad with him, her sharp voice raised in question. Had she been listening all along?
“Ascension,” said Lock.
I felt a jab in my kidney, one of the guards urging me along. A chill ran down my spine, not at his touch, but something elusive, like a word on the tip of my tongue. Something felt wrong, or everything did—Ascension, Prium, Lady Lazrad. Holograms that shone and vanished. Prium pulling his gloves off, smoothing them back on. It didn’t add up, or it added up to something awful, and try as I might, I couldn’t pin down what.

Chapter Five
Ona made it nearly to the landing before she erupted in delight.
“Sky! I can’t believe it.” She darted past the guards, nearly skipping down the stairs. “What are you going to do first?”
Lock shook his head slowly. He looked shellshocked, at a loss. “What is there to do? I don’t even—I’ve only seen it from Outside.”
“I’m going up the tallest tower,” said Ona. “I want to dance above the clouds.” She did a little pirouette. “And then I’m going shopping. I want a dress to my ankles. Next time I curtsey, my skirts’ll touch the floor.”
Lock’s brows went up. “You’ll be wearing more than one?”
“Of course I will. There’s the skirt, then the petticoat, then the slip underneath. I’ve seen it in pictures. Like a cupcake you wear.”
“I’d rather have one I eat.” Lock’s expression turned wistful. “And a radio, a good one, and music to listen to.”
“What about you?” Ona tackled me from behind, throwing her arms around my neck. “Bet you never thought you’d Ascend.”
“No, I didn’t.” I shrugged her off roughly. “I thought I’d be there for Mom and Dad. I thought they’d have one of us, whatever happened.” We reached the end of the stairs and I kicked the door open hard enough to leave a dent. Ona trotted after me, eyes round with surprise.
“But this is what they’d want for us. It’s what all parents want. We should—”
“You’re talking like they’re dead. What they’d want for us? How about what they do want, for our family? No one has kids just to tell them goodbye.”
“We’ll still come and visit,” said Ona. “This isn’t goodbye. More like—”
“Whatever.” I hurried ahead as a camera dipped to track us. Ona scurried ahead of me, jogging backward to catch my eye.
“What are you saying? You’re not coming with us?”
“I’m not saying that.” I leaned over the railing and looked down. The factory floor lay below us, all heat and sparks. Two workers were loading the autoclave, the same one I’d subdued just a few weeks before. It had roared like a dragon then, breathed fire in my face. Today, it sat quiet, its chamber cold and gray. I closed my eyes and saw Lazrad, silvery and translucent, printed leaves blowing across her face. “Didn’t she creep you out? Lazrad, I mean?”
Ona laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know.” I got that feeling again, that sense of something off. “I can’t say, exactly, but...”
“It’s probably just the hologram,” said Lock. “I nearly passed out when she just up and vanished. One minute, she’s standing there. The next minute—”
“Two prime, one subprime.” I stopped in my tracks, skin prickling all over. Lock cocked a brow.
“What?”
“When we first walked in, before Lazrad turned around—I don’t think she saw us. I don’t think she knew we were there. I think she was talking to someone where she was, talking about us. She said, ‘two prime, one subprime, all bound for—’ Then that voice cut her off, and—”
“She could’ve been talking about anything,” said Ona. “Meat. Loans. Butts.”
“Butts?” I kicked at her, missed, and caught myself on the railing. “Seriously, think about it. There’s three of us, two Decemites and...” I tapped my own chest. “Subprime. And this whole Ascension thing—it’s not a reward. This is her