The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2)

they in cages?”
“We clip all their wings,” came a new voice, light and feminine. I turned to find a girl about my age draped in some fabric that fluttered as she moved. “They can’t see the Dome,” she said. “They fly straight through, and—” She clutched at her throat, miming suffocation. “I’m Eliminah, your Decemite liaison. You’ll call me Elli, though. All my friends do.”
I frowned reflexively. I wasn’t sure I wanted Elli-whoever for a friend. I certainly didn’t want her just deciding we were friends, pushing into our lives out of nowhere.
Ona bowed, a little stiffly. “I’m Ona,” she said. “My sister’s Myla, and that’s Lock.”
“A pleasure,” said Lock, but he was staring straight past her, at the waterfall. He looked gray in the sunlight, charcoal hair and ashen eyes, skin pallid from his time in the pit. He blinked as a train rushed into the station, cutting off his line of sight.
“That’s us,” said Elli, and she ushered us on board, all but Prium, who’d retreated to the tunnel. Ona ran straight for the far window and pressed her hands to the glass.
“Look how high we are!” She beckoned me over, her shock apparently forgotten. “You can see the whole city. Oh!—what’s that?”
I peered where she was pointing and spotted a funny round building, striped red and gold, and peaked at the top. Strange creatures cavorted around it, tethered to poles. I’d seen something like it once on an old postcard.
“It’s a mill,” I said. “Those animals turn the wheel, and it grinds grain for bread.”
Elli laughed, and I hated her for it. “It’s a carousel,” she said. “They’re not real horses, see? They’re just wooden ones on sticks. It’s mostly for kids, but you can ride it if you want.”
“I’ll pass,” said Lock. He gripped the seat in front of him. “Is it far, where we’re headed?”
“Not at all.” Elli pointed past the waterfall, where a green hill nestled in a river bend. “Five minutes, tops. If you get dizzy, keep breathing. You’ll be fine.”
Lock didn’t look convinced, but his chest rose and fell as he followed her directions. I remembered he got motion sick and moved to distract him.
“Did you see all that water?” I pointed below, where the rapids stilled to blue. “I bet they do have huge tubs up here. Or you could swim in the river.”
Lock managed a chuckle. “And you got your birds and your greenery. I never thought it’d be so bright. So full of stuff. Looking in from outside, it’s all hazy. You can’t see—”
“I’ve come bearing gifts.” Elli plopped down in front of us and thrust a box into my hands. She passed Lock one as well, and one to Ona. “These are your phones,” she said. “You’re lucky; this model’s brand new. Most folks don’t have them yet, but look…” She fished hers from her purse—a sleek, translucent oblong, wafer-thin. She slapped it against her wrist, and it curled around her like a bracelet.
“So it’s jewelry?” Ona scrabbled at her box. It was wrapped in clear, crackly film, slippery to the touch. “I can’t get this open.”
“You’ll want to do that at home.” Elli glanced at her own phone, which had begun to chirp. “Go through the instructions, read up on all the features. And, no, it’s not just jewelry. It’s like a radio, but smaller, and you can play games on it, read books—”
“On this?” Lock turned his box over in his hands. “I can do all that on this?”
“All that and more.” Elli got to her feet as our train swung round a curve. I gasped in spite of myself. I didn’t want to enjoy this, but I felt my pulse racing, excitement coiling in my guts. The hillside was wild up close and scattered with flowers I couldn’t name, white ones and blue ones, tall pink and purple ones that bristled like spears. Elegant white houses marched up the slope, boasting huge windows that winked cerulean under the sky. Pebbled paths wound between them, converging on a wide central stroll.
“So many colors.” Ona’s voice had gone dreamy. “I want a dress just like that.”
“You can have one,” said Elli. “Just snap a pic on your phone and upload it to your tailor. Remind me later and I’ll show you.”
I pulled a face, not bothering to hide it. I understood maybe half of what Elli was saying, but it wasn’t the strangeness of her words that had my back up. It was her relentless good cheer, her endless generosity. Her red lips didn’t move without pushing out some fresh promise, each more unfathomable than the last. Of course you can wear the hillside. Ride the carousel. Name a dream, I’ll make it true.
“And here we are.” The doors slid open and Elli flitted outside. Ona hurried after her, clutching the box with her new phone to her chest. I stood where I was, gaping blankly. A strange smell had come in with the outside air, something rich and living. It wasn’t unpleasant or overly strong, but it stirred something in me, like a memory buried deep. I inhaled and exhaled, sniffed furiously.
“Myla? Over here.” Elli snapped her fingers. I saw Lock had squeezed past me, made his way off the train. I followed in a daze.
“What’s that smell?”
“What smell?” Elli wrinkled her nose. “I don’t smell anything.”
I stared, uncomprehending. “You don’t smell that? Like... dirt, only sweet, and something green?”
“Oh. That’d be lupins, I guess, and fresh-cut grass. Don’t worry. They can’t hurt you.” She turned and headed up the path, Ona in tow. Lock nudged me and rolled his eyes.
“It is a weird smell,” he said. “I don’t know whether to sneeze or drop down and roll in it.”
I barked laughter, so loud Elli jumped. Lock grinned back at me, and I felt a little better. We marched up a rustic stone staircase to a house that seemed all windows, glass stacked five floors high. I spotted a roof garden up top and a birdcage