Dust and Roses: Book Two of the Dust Trilogy (20 page)

The following day I found myself in the
lair having the most ridiculous conversation ever with Wes and Cadence. I told
them my plan for stopping the Gemini Curse. They seemed on board and they
wanted to help, yet when I told them about Rose and how I needed Cadence to
remove her heart, they refused because Rose was a Giver and Givers were never
allowed in the lair. Cadence had been on board the other day, but now that Wes
was around, she’d had a change of heart.

“Are you kidding me? You guys can make an
exception for something as important as this. You’re being stupid.”

Cadence poked me in the chest with her
bony finger. “Excuse me, but our sacred vows are not stupid. Givers are
forbidden here just like we’re forbidden to be in their sanctuary. She can’t
come and if you bring her we’ll throw her to the beasts in the sixth tunnel.”

I scowled at Cadence. That was an evil
thing to say. “What is wrong with you? She’s willing to make this sacrifice to
help all of us and you’re threatening her?”

Cadence rolled her eyes. “Don’t you dare
bring that girl here, Dust.”

I looked to Wes who said nothing. “Then
how are you supposed to get her heart?” I asked Cadence. “It’s not like you can
walk around in the open.”

She poked me in my chest again. She’d only
get away with that once more. “I know good and well that I’m incapable of being
out in the open. I don’t need you reminding me.”

I took a deep breath because they were
both being so ridiculous. “Listen, I know about the oath and how all these
rules are so important, but we’re talking about something so much bigger here.
This is one time when Givers and Takers are going to have to work together.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’m not
saying yes, but
if
she is to come here, Mr. Mason can never know and she
can’t disclose our location to anyone under any circumstances.”

I softened my tone. If Cadence was going
to be performing a bootleg surgery on me, I needed her on my side. “Of course.
I’ll make sure of it. So, do you know what bone we should take from me?”

Amusement flashed across her large eyes
like this was fun for her. “Yes, I’ve been researching. I know exactly what to
do.”

Somehow that didn’t make me feel secure.
Cadence could kill me during the process and say it was an accident.

 “When do you want to do this?”
Cadence swallowed hard. “The bone . . . and the heart removal.”

Relief washed over me. “Tomorrow.” I
wasn’t sure or ready, but it had to be done. I was getting stronger. My Wendigo
was going away, and that meant Fletcher was dying. I hadn’t spoken to him since
that horrible night, so I had no idea how he was doing. I was pretty sure the
Whitelocks had taken his phone away because Imani hadn’t been able to reach him
either. There was absolutely no way I would step foot in that house ever again.

Rose met me in front of the school just as
we had planned so I could take her into the lair. She’d worn a simple white
sundress and had her hair pulled back into a side ponytail. Standing in front
of the janitor’s closet, I took her hand. It was cool and clammy. “Don’t
worry,” I told her. “Everything will be fine.”

On the inside, I was just as afraid as she
looked. I kept reminding myself that this wasn’t a normal surgery like the type
Humans performed. It would be quick and painless and we’d heal right away.

“Remember, you can’t tell anyone where
this lair is,” I told her as we moved through the janitor’s closet. She bit her
bottom lip and nodded.

Two beds had been set up in the control
room. Beside each bed was a tray filled with a variety of medical tools—scalpels,
metal sticks with hooks on the ends, and a few bottles of colorful liquids.

Rose swayed slightly as if she were going
to pass out. My stomach cramped with nervousness and I desperately wished there
was another way. All night I had been up thinking about Cadence cutting into my
skin and removing my bone. It would be the worst procedure I had ever gone
through, I’d even watched videos on YouTube of bone removals—it was
gruesome—but if it meant Fletcher and the others wouldn’t have to die, I’d go through
it a hundred times.

Cadence had us both change into white
gowns that opened at the front.

“Lay on the bed,” Cadence ordered as she
slid a pair of latex gloves on her hands. The look in her eye told me that she
was going to enjoy this. I had to physically guide Rose to a bed and help her
lay down.

She looked up at me, lips trembling, and I
hoped she wouldn’t back out. “Everything’s going to be fine, Rose.”

She closed her eyes which were wet with
tears. “Yeah, everything will be fine.”

Cadence held a syringe filled with blue
stuff close to her face and flicked it with her thumb. “Now cutting into you is
going to hurt, but I promise, I’ll heal it right away.”

I believed her because when she implanted
my tracking device, she’d touched the cut in my thigh and it healed
immediately.

“Wait,” I said, staring at the syringe.
“Tell me exactly what you’re going to do.”

Cadence got into doctor mode. “I’m going
to remove your twelfth rib. It’s called a floating rib because it doesn’t
connect to a rib in the back. You don’t really need it. I’ll cut you open and
remove it. Not a big deal.”

Sure, that was easy for her to say.

“Once I’ve removed the rib, I’ll seal you
right up.”

She made it sound so simple, like she was
taking a doll apart and putting it back together. Cadence lowered the syringe.
“Are you okay with that? Having second thoughts?”

I shook my head, even though I was. I
needed to be brave for Rose, especially since I was the one who had talked her
into this. “No, It’s fine. I just wanted to know what to expect.”

Cadence rolled her eyes. “Really, you have
it easy. If anyone should be afraid, it should be Rose here. She’s having open
heart surgery.”

She was right, but that was the last thing
Rose needed to hear right then. I glanced at the other bed. Rose still had her
eyes closed, but I knew she was taking in every word.

Cadence moved over to her. “Rose, yours
will be more complicated since I’m removing a heart. There’s valves and
arteries involved. It’s cool though, I know what I’m doing. I’ll remove it and
then close you back up.”

Standing at the rolling cart in between
our two beds, she poured some green liquid into two small paper cups. “It
tastes horrible. It’ll be easier for you if you just toss it back.” I did as
she said and quickly learned that terrible had been an understatement. The
liquid burned my throat going down. Rose gagged and coughed from the other bed.

“Don’t throw it up,” Cadence ordered.

Whatever it was, it worked fast. My body
numbed and tingled while my eyes drooped. Before I knew it, there was only
blackness and the murmur of voices.

I awoke to the worst pain I had ever felt
coming from my midsection. A piece of white material was propped over my chest
like a tent, blocking my view.

“Uh-oh. She’s up.” Wes stood at the foot
of the bed, holding bloody instruments for Cadence. My head spun at the sight
of my own blood.

Cadence glanced at me, her eyes wide with
concern. I never knew she cared. “Arden, I’m so sorry. It’s taking longer than
I thought. I’m almost done, then I’ll heal you right back up.”

I wanted to say something, but my mouth
wouldn’t work. I threw my head back, moaning as I clenched the bed sheets. Wes
stood over me, shaking his head sympathetically. “Talk about taking one for the
team. We owe you big.”

I turned my head toward Rose where she lay
very still on the bed.

“Don’t worry,” Wes said quickly. “She’s
still out, but she’s done. Cadence removed the heart and closed her up.”

Before Wes could say anything else, Hollis
burst into the room. “Guys, have you seen—”

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight
of us. “What the hell is going on in here?” He gestured toward Rose. “What is
that doing in here? Cadence, what are you doing? Are you guys crazy?”

Cadence looked at him for a brief moment
and then went right back to work. “Hollis, you shouldn’t be in here.”

I winced again as pain raced through my
abdomen. Hollis’ massive frame hulked over me as he watched but I was in too
much pain to be afraid of his anger. I just wanted it all to be over.

He glared at Cadence. “This is for that
stupid offering. I told you we weren’t doing that. Arden is lying here cut open
like a piece of meat—and she’s awake. Don’t you see how insane that is?”

“Hollis,” Cadence said testily. “I know
what I’m doing. We’ll talk about this later. I’m kind of busy right now and I
need to concentrate.”

I wished he would leave too so she could
focus on me.

 “Fine,” he said through gritted
teeth. “You fix her up but I promise you that offering isn’t happening. You’ve
done all this for nothing.” He stormed from the room.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Cadence
announced that she was done. She’d made an incision on my left side about ten
inches long. She pressed the skin together gently with the tips of her fingers.
Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked down at my side. A red, throbbing
line ran from my navel almost reaching my back, but the pain was slowly going
away. I looked at her gratefully. I didn’t die and that was the most important
thing.

Wes held up the tray with my blood-covered
rib on it. It was strange to see my own bone outside of my body. “After I wash
it off, I’ll get the chisel,” Wes said. “Then we can grind it and go ahead and
place it in the box.”

Cadence and I watched as he worked
delicately. She picked up the platinum box which I assumed already contained
Rose’s heart. Wes used a funnel to pour my bone dust into the box over the
heart. He closed the box with the clasp and handed it to me. I held the box in
my hands, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. This was finally going to be
over.

Just then the door flew open. Mr. Mason
stomped in with Hollis on his heels. Cadence and Wes stood side by side as I
pushed the box behind me, hoping Mr. Mason wouldn’t see it.

“Are you kidding me?” His booming voice
echoed off the walls. “I thought I told you specifically that this was out of
the question. Then on top of that, you bring a Giver into this lair?” He
focused on Wes and Cadence. “I expect this from her but you two should know
better.”

Wes and Cadence looked down at the floor.
I knew the last thing they wanted to do was disappoint Mr. Mason, who they
considered a father.

He moved forward swiftly and yanked the
box away from me. I tried to resist, but it was no use. It only took him
seconds to wrestle the box from my hands. “We don’t make deals with Givers,
especially not those Archs, and we sure as hell don’t make them any offerings.”

Once he had the box secured in his hands,
he gave us all disapproving looks before heading toward the door.

“Wait!” Cadence shouted after him. “Please,
think about this, Mr. Mason. We’re dying too. How many Takers have to die
before you put a stop to this? How many families have to bury their children?”

Mr. Mason snarled at her and that said it
all. He didn’t care. He didn’t care what happened to any of us. The sadness in
Cadence’s eyes told me she was finally getting it.

“Mr. Mason—” Wes began.

Mr. Mason cut him off. “Those bastards
killed my wife. They will never get away with what they’ve done.”

So that was where his anger stemmed from.
His wife’s death. I understood, but it wasn’t right for him to risk everyone’s
life for his personal vengeance. Mr. Mason was going to get us all killed and
he needed to be stopped.

***

“Have you spoken to Fletcher?” Imani asked
me on the walk home.

I shook my head. I was worried. For all I
knew, Fletcher could be dead. If he was, I didn’t know how I could possibly
live with that. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

“What are you going to do about the
offering?” Imani asked.

 “There’s nothing we can do. Rose
doesn’t have another heart to spare.”

Imani kicked a pebble on the side walk
with her wedge sneaker. “It sounds like all these problems lead back to Mr.
Mason.”

I hadn’t known Imani long, but I knew how she
thought. She was thinking the same thing I was, but she didn’t want to say the
words out loud. I was glad for that because I didn’t want to hear them.

I left Imani and took the bus downtown.
There was one person I could count on to look at all sides of the story and
tell me the truth—Dr. Scarlett.

She’d been my therapist for over a year
until my parents decided I didn’t need to see her anymore. They thought I was
depressed, but my odd behavior was just a side effect of being a Banshee. I
couldn’t help it.