Steel Lily ARC Read Online Free PDF Page B

like it might actually impale me. I wondered if they taught that death stare to every Polatzi, or if this woman was particularly nasty. “Avery Pike?”
    I jutted my chin in the air. “Who’s asking?”
    “You were off the grid last night.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    The woman smiled. “No? I don’t see your name on the sign-in sheet from last night. Plus your friend, what’s his name?” she stroked her chin in mock thought. “Legs, is it? Yes. That’s his name. He seemed to think you and a Traditional were running around near where we found him. Interesting, since you have a curfew you’re to uphold here, and squatters in condemned houses are being prosecuted.”
    I arched my eyebrows and hoped I looked innocent. Polatzi had never come to my room before. “I must have forgotten to check in last night. It won’t happen again.”
    She leaned toward me, her expression that of a wolf who smelled fear on its prey. Up close, her nose resembled the hooked beak of her military-issued oxygen mask that hung on her utility belt. “We wouldn’t want anyone else going missing, would we? You of all people should understand the need to keep everyone accounted for.”
    I tried to formulate a response after the allusion to my parents. I flushed, unable to come up with a retort.
    The woman smiled hatefully. “That’s what I thought. Don’t let your friend be right about you and another person being in that house. We’re watching. Maybe we can look into your parents’ disappearance again if you cooperate with us.”
    Her comment spurred me on. “If you know anything about my parents, I’m sure the rest of your Polatzi friends would be interested. It’s the only cold case you’ve had in the Dome.”
    It was her turn to be speechless. “That’s what I thought,” I spat, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to class. Learning to keep your oxygen levels tolerable, keeping your house lit. You know, those kinds of things.”
    I pushed past the woman before she could say more and felt the smooth fabric of her cape slap my legs as I passed. Fiery anger consumed me, but I kept my expression neutral. Damn Polatzi. They gave me nothing but unanswered questions and a lice-ridden bed at an over-capacity orphanage, yet expected me to revere them. Providing steam—being an asset they couldn’t get rid of—gave me immunity to the Polatzi as long as I didn’t do anything stupid.
    Like skipping class and going to see Alice during a night of sweeps.
    Yeah, that would fall under the category of life-threateningly stupid, which was a couple notches above incredibly stupid.
    “You skipped Histories of America yesterday,” called the woman.
    I kept walking. “I missed the airbus.”
    “No, you didn’t, and if you keep walking away from me, I will hunt down your little friend and make sure you never see her again. Do you understand me?”
    Her words paralyzed me, but I didn’t turn around. “What do you want?”
    “Steam shortage. Your Dome needs you,” she said, and I heard her boots clicking against the floor as she neared me. “You wouldn’t want to lose your home at the top of Wutherford, now would you?”
    I turned to face her. “It’s not my day to provide steam.”
    “Not officially, no,” she said, and cruel smile formed on her lips. “But I need a little extra steam, you know, for personal use.”
    She shoved a hand into her black cape and pulled out a small cistern. I could hear the bottom slosh with water, and I knew what would happen.
    “Fill this,” she ordered.
    I opened my mouth to protest, but then another Polatzi—this one male—came out of the stairwell and stood by the woman. “Is there a problem?”
    “No, not at all,” I said tersely as I took the cistern from the woman. I opened the top and focused on the water.
    I felt the canister warm under my touch, and felt the electricity surge through my veins. My ability to manipulate water—to create