The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2)

to the wall. I stayed there, just breathing, till my nausea was gone. My fear remained, lodged uncomfortably in my throat. I was alone in every way that mattered—alone in my mission. Alone with my secrets. If Ben were here—if I were there—
I banished the thought as quickly as it had come. I couldn’t dwell on the past. I was on a mission, and nothing else mattered. Ben wouldn’t get distracted, and neither could I.
“Myla. There you are.” Lock jogged up, smiling. “I’ve been looking all over. What are you doing back here?”
“Waiting for you,” I lied. I hooked my arm through his and marched him down the hall, where the rattling fans grew deafening. “Prium said you guys talked. Did you say anything?”
“What?” Lock crowded in closer, stooping to listen.
“I said, did you talk?”
“No.” He walked me past the fans, lowering his voice to a murmur. “I couldn’t have, even if I wanted to. He asked what I was doing out so late. I said ‘hunting mutants,’ and that was it. He just did his gropey thing and let me go.”
“His gropey thing?”
“Yeah, you know. The whole hands on your shoulders, who’s-a-good-boy—like he thinks you’re a dog, or something.” He shook himself out, much like a wet puppy, and made a brr sound. “Everyone hates it, but what can you do?”
My stomach lurched and gurgled. I caught myself on the railing, retching dryly. Lock held me steady with an arm around my waist.
“Myla? You okay?” His grip tightened. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” I leaned over the railing and waited for my head to stop spinning. “He scared me, is all. I asked about Ona, and he... For a while there, I thought she was dead.”
Lock made a hissing sound. He pulled me back from the railing and wrapped his arms around me. I stood and let him hold me, grateful for his warmth. I had to admit, he gave good hugs, warm and solid, not too tight. I laid my head on his chest and let his breathing soothe my jitters.
“I think Ona talked,” I said. “That’s why he went easy on us.”
“Doesn’t sound like he went so easy on you.” Lock stepped back, frowning. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Don’t be mad at your sister.” Lock looked back the way we’d come. “Whatever she said, I doubt she had much choice. And we might just owe her our lives. So tell her thanks. Don’t make her feel bad.”
“I won’t,” I said, but I wasn’t sure I meant it.
Just what had she told Prium?

Chapter Three
“You’re home!” Ona came flying down the steps, nightshirt flapping behind her. She vaulted over the rock pile and barreled into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet. “Prium said you were coming, but I couldn’t believe it till I saw you.”
I choked back a laugh. “What are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night.”
“I know. I don’t care.” She pushed me away, eyes bright with tears. “Why are you so dirty?”
“I ran twelve hours through the mud. Why are you so clean?”
“I took a bath before bed.” Ona smirked through her tears. “And I used all the hot water, so sucks to be you.”
“Same old Ona, I see.” I pulled her in for another hug. “Now you’re dirty, too.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re home.” She crushed me against her, so tight I couldn’t breathe. “I heard about D-team. I heard they shot someone. I thought it might’ve been—I thought you were gone.” Her chest hitched, and she sniffed. “It’d be just like you, getting caught up like that. Getting yourself killed, all for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.” I stroked her hair absently. It was still damp from her bath, fragrant with shampoo. “Let’s get you inside.”
Ona clung to my hand as we made our way in. A fresh wave of dizziness threatened to sweep me off my feet, not the sick kind from before, but an odd sense of disconnect, the familiar made strange. The walls were the same, cracked plaster and mildew. The top stair still creaked under our weight. The door opened the same, on the same narrow hall, but everything looked faded, like I’d been gone years. It looked smaller, as well, our cramped kitchen table, the sink and the fridge. A jug of water stood on the counter, and I poured myself a glass.
“Where’s Mom? Is she home?”
“She wanted to be, but they moved her to swing shift. She left an hour ago.” Ona bounced on the balls of her feet. “How was it with Prium? Did he—?”
I set down my water, untouched. “Did he what?”
“He said he’d be nice to you. We had a deal.”
“A deal, huh?” I braced myself on the counter, holding my temper in check. For all I knew, she’d lied through her teeth, spun Prium some yarn and spared everyone. “What was your end of that deal?”
“Nothing bad.” Ona drew herself up, and I knew it was bad. She planted her hands on her hips, same way she’d done since she was two. It meant she’d done wrong, but she wouldn’t admit it. “I know what you’re thinking, but I said what I had to say. Nothing more.”
“And what’d you have to say?”
“What they wanted to hear. How rigur’s mined. How they get it out of the rock. Where the next mine’ll be, when that new shaft runs dry.” She narrowed her eyes, as though bracing herself for a blow. “That was my mission. If I didn’t tell them, they’d—”
“So you threw Ben’s life away.” My knees buckled without warning, and I crumpled where I stood. I flopped back against the cabinets, breathing hard. “You threw his life away, and the whole camp along with him. Jetha, Starkey, all those kids. We talked about this. I told you—”
“You told me a lot of things, but in the end, you don’t know.” Ona plopped down beside me and went for my hands. I jerked back, but she was faster. She grabbed me and held tight.