Lifer Read Online Free Page B

to smell so nice. My work detail has covered every inch of the Farm. There, the food we don’t produce chemically is grown, and I have never seen anything as frivolous as flowers for no purpose.
    What power must Lady have if she can order the growth of flowers for their appearance? Where did she get the seeds?
    Seeing my interest, she hooks a thumb over her shoulder toward a white low table. In the center stands a tall vase. Green stems holding yellow blobs of sunshine, or at least that’s what they remind me of, lean askew out the top. Their color almost matches the walls. No wonder I didn’t notice them before. I take a step toward the curious sight before I remember my role and the need to be on my best behavior.
    After all, Davyd hasn’t moved from his station at the door. Silent and intense as always. I’m on trial, and I don’t know what I need to do to pass.
    But Lady doesn’t seem to mind. She pushes me gently toward the table. “You may look.”
    It’s an order. Crossing to the flowers allows me to reassess. It’s taking time to get my mind around the work I thought would be involved in caring for a sick person and the reality. In my mind, I replay the scene in the hallway. Davyd hesitated before he used the term unwell. Maybe this over-the-top exuberance from his mother is the reason.
    “Thank you for escorting Asher. We’ll be fine from here,” says Lady.
    I glance up from pretending to examine the flowers in time to see Davyd shake his head. “I’ll stay.”
    Lady’s mouth flattens. “Shouldn’t you be following Maston around?” Her question has a biting edge.
    I freeze. Maston is the head Naut. He’s a figure of legend in the Lifer levels of the ship. The Control Room where the Nauts work is completely out of our scope. I have to stifle a shiver. My father died trying to reach it.
    Lifers can’t change their place in our society; at least not until we land and can serve out the sentences passed down through the generations. But we aren’t the only ones. Fishies will never be any more than the bureaucrats running our lives. The ultimate power lies with the Nauts. They are the thirteen people we all depend on. The Nauts rule all of us. That Davyd associates with Maston is exactly the kind of information I need for the rebellion.
    He’ll end up a Fishie. It is law. So why is he following the head Naut around?
    Davyd ignores her question. He leans back against the wall, all leashed power and brooding intensity. Clearly he’s not planning on going anywhere.
    I meet his gaze. It radiates suspicion. Lady might use my name and act like I’m here as a guest, but Davyd has no intention of leaving her alone with me. However, he’s not in charge here.
    “You may go.” Lady dismisses Davyd with a flick of her wrist.
    He doesn’t respond.
    She turns to face her son and I imagine he flinches, but that would be ridiculous. Nothing and nobody bothers Davyd. It’s why he rules the training room. Be it a mental or physical foe, he excels at beating them. The only one who came close was Samuai.
    My heart cramps at the thought of Samuai’s nonchalant grin after a bout. Samuai didn’t care about the fight like the other boys on the Pelican. And I loved it about him.
    “Go. Now.” Command strengthens Lady’s voice.
    He does. The doors close with a quiet swish but there’s a slam implied in the way Davyd strode through them.
    Lady stares after her son. It’s obvious she was once a beautiful woman, before time and the luxuries of Fishie life took hold. Beneath the soft cheeks, there’s a hint of Davyd’s cheekbones, and her smile has something of Samuai about the shape of it, warmth I can’t help being drawn to. Her hand lifts, as though she’s about to reach out after Davyd, but that doesn’t make any sense. She told him to go. Not thirty seconds ago she demanded he leave. Lady stands statue like, her side toward me.
    What now?
    It is not my place to do anything other than wait for my next order.