The Experimental Murders (Elysium #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

 Daphne insisted on changing back into her old clothes for the surgery so as not to ruin Trinket's dress. When she was ready, they proceeded down to the laboratory where Booker was waiting by his tray of tools and the finished devices.

"Please, have a seat," he said to Daphne, motioning to the operating table.

She climbed on without a questioning glance.

Trinket steeled herself and took her place at Booker's side. "Will you be needing my assistance?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, his tone cold and distant.

Ignoring the disappointment sinking to the bottom of her stomach, she retrieved the ether and doused a cloth with it. "This is ether. It will put you to sleep while Mr. Larkin performs the surgery," she explained to Daphne.

Smiling, Daphne nodded. Trinket couldn't help but admire the lack of fear in the woman's eyes as she covered her mouth and nose with the cloth and waited for the drug to take effect. She expected Booker to make some snide comment about her being willing to use the substance, but he was busy rearranging his tools in silence.

Daphne's eyes finally fluttered closed, and Trinket removed the cloth. "She's ready," she said, turning to Booker.

He gave a curt nod and moved to examine the unconscious woman. Trinket assumed he was making sure there was no more infection or any trace of fever. When his inspection was complete, he picked up a curved piece of metal and fitted it against Daphne's neck. It was hollow in the center so that the gills were still exposed to the air. After adjusting it slightly, he eyed it and nodded.

"The welder," he said.

Trinket handed him the hose of the uncanny machine of his own making and waited for him to tell her to flip the switch. The welder roared to life, and a lick of flame emerged from the end of the hose. Booker wielded it like a paintbrush, using careful, precise strokes on the metal and Daphne's skin. Trinket watched in fascination as the two utterly different materials melded together to become one.

He did the same to the other side of her neck and then turned the welder off to inspect his work carefully before retrieving the rest of his invention. The anxiety and frustration inside of Trinket faded momentarily when she saw the completed pieces. They looked like balls of glass cut in half and attached to rings of metal similar to the ones he had just welded to Daphne's neck. Booker matched them up to the pieces already on her person, twisting one of the metal rings and eliciting a click from the device. He let go, and the glass container remained attached to the base. He did the same with the other one, and when he was certain they would stay together, he removed them both and handed them to Trinket.

"Fill them with water. Up to the line," he said.

She did as he told her and returned to the operating table where he had positioned Daphne onto her side, her head hanging over the edge of the table. He took one of the glass pieces and knelt down. From that angle, he attached the glass to the metal piece and snapped it securely in place. He moved Daphne into the same position on the other side of the table and repeated the process. When that piece was attached as well, he eased her back onto the table and studied his finished work. Trinket dared to take a step closer to admire what he had done. The water inside of the glass containers spilled into the hollow metal rings, submerging the gills and keeping them constantly hydrated.

It was genius.

"They shouldn't be too fragile," he said, his voice laced with exhaustion. "She probably shouldn't get into any fights, but an accidental fall likely won't shatter them. I used thick aquarium glass and reinforced it with some specialized glaze."