The White Assassin (27 page)

“You do?” asked Texi.

“Why, of course,” cooed another sister.

“Such a prized baby sister,” added another.

“Yes, our precious Texi, it’s so good to have you home,” said Bitsy, grinning ghoulishly. “And when, sister dear, will he be arriving?”

Clearing her throat, Texi shifted uneasily in her chair. “There is something you all need to know. You must understand, there was nothing I could do.” Sitting on her lap, Julius could feel Texi’s heart beat faster.

All ten sisters leaned toward the head of the table like a pack of
shrouded wolves, their eyes glinting in the candlelight. “What is it, sister dear?” asked Bitsy.

“Yes, yes,” clucked Persephone, just months older than Texi, though she looked ancient and haggard. “Do share, dearest sister. When will he arrive?”

“Tell us,” croaked another as she choked down a scrap of dried fish.

Julius shrank back against Texi as the aunties gazed at him hungrily. Texi grabbed him firmly around his waist. “He will not be joining us—ever,” she said flatly.

The aunties began to whisper and growl. “What?” Bitsy barked. “What do you mean, he
won’t
be joining us?” She jumped up from the table, knocking her chair to the ground. “How are we to reclaim our power without him? What has happened? He was supposed to invade Nightshade, killing anyone who mattered. What has gone wrong? Tell us!”

“He was captured in the swamp!” cried Texi. “There was nothing I could do—nothing!”

Persephone banged a skeletal fist on the table. “What did you do, Texi?” she demanded. “This is your fault, brainless girl—always the blundering fool! Did you give him up to your precious Nightshade rats? Did you betray us yet again? You wicked, wicked girl!”

The aunties began to bicker among themselves, cursing and spitting. One sprang up and smashed her goblet against the wall, coating it with blackish wine. Terrified, Julius hid his face against Texi, who shrank back in her chair, clutching the little boy tight.

A sister shrieked balefully. Frothing at the mouth, she lunged forward from her seat, clawing at Julius as Texi tried to cover him with her arms. “Leave him alone!” she cried.

“Boneheaded, stupid girl!” roared Bitsy, aiming her bowl at Texi’s head.

“Dumb little troll!”

“Treacherous imp!”

“Silence!” roared a voice from the shadows. “Silence right now or I swear on everything you hold dear I will kill each and every one of you, slashing your throats without a moment’s hesitation!” Everyone gasped, then fell deathly silent. “Now take your seats and keep your mouths shut.”

Clutching Julius, Texi jumped up and was backing away from the table, heading toward the door.

Picking up a candle from a pedestal, Billycan held it up to his face, creating black shadows under his eyes. “Not so fast, little one.” Texi froze in her tracks, squeezing Julius tighter with every step Billycan made. “You wouldn’t deprive me of my only offspring, now, would you?”

Julius held Texi’s shoulder and leaned forward, captivated. He tried to catch a glimpse; the rat’s fur was stark white,
exactly
like his. Even in the darkness he could see the vivid red eyes. He was startled, petrified, and—joyful. Was this rat
really
his father, this rat who looked exactly like him?

“My word,” said Billycan in a stunned whisper. “Let me have a look at you.”

Before Texi could stop him, Julius jumped to the ground, his curiosity greater than his fear. He took a bold step toward the large rat, mesmerized.

Dropping to one knee, Billycan held the candle up to his son. Goose bumps traveled up his back and arms as he inspected his boy. They stared at each other in silence. Finally Billycan said, “I never imagined I’d see you again.” He swallowed stiffly. It felt as though there were stones in his throat. “You are a handsome chap now, aren’t you? How old are you, then?”

“I’m nearly four,” said Julius in a small but proud voice.

Billycan smiled. “Nearly four. Amazing.” He gave Julius a stern look. “Good with your studies, I trust?”

Julius was not afraid. The aunties no longer worried him. Something about this rat made him feel protected. “My teacher says I’m the smartest in my class.”

“I’m quite sure she’s right,” said Billycan softly. “When I was little, I was smart like that, too.”

Julius looked at Billycan’s chest. The right side ran thick with dried blood. “What happened to you?” he asked, concerned. “How did you get hurt?”

Looking up at the table of sisters, Billycan rose to his feet. “I’m all right, little one.” He held out a spidery paw to Julius, who instinctively took hold of it. They walked over to the table. “In fact, I’m better than all right,” he said. “My mind has never been sharper. Things have never been clearer. Everything I need to do, the reason I’m here, has finally come to me.” He patted his bloodied coat. “I only needed to be reminded how lucky I am to be alive.”

“Are you really my father?”

Without warning, Billycan swept Julius off his feet, hoisting him up on his arm just as Juniper always had. Julius gasped, now nose to nose with the great white rat. Billycan whispered in his ear. “Julius, listen closely. I
am
your father, and everything you feel at this moment, looking at me as though I’m a looking glass, is true. We are very much alike, with good reason. You see, child,
you
have saved me, giving me back my certainty—I now know who I am. I know
what
I am. I owe all of that to you.”

Leaning his head back, Julius studied his father’s face. “To me?” he asked.

Smiling, Billycan tousled the fur on Julius’s head. “Why yes, my boy. You see, I never had a father. No one ever looked after me. I never
knew what it meant to have a family, but now that’s all changed. Never forget, from now on, everything I do, good
or
bad, I do for you.”

“All the years of planning, the child, the swamp,” said Bitsy, “digging you that secret tunnel to Nightshade. I thought everything was a waste when Texi told us of your capture. I thought we had lost our great commander forever. I
knew
you would not let us down. I knew you were only waiting to emerge victorious once more!”

Smiling broadly, Billycan nodded at all the sisters. “Yes, I will take power once more.”

Persephone rubbed her paws together eagerly. “Do tell us, High Commander,
how
did you escape Nightshade? Did you bite through anyone’s neck?”

The sisters grew agitated.

“Did you rip off any limbs, pull off any skin?”

“Did you cut any throats with a rusty knife, a shard of glass?”

“Did you carve out any eyes?” The sisters laughed with diabolical glee at that.

All of a sudden Julius reached out and took Billycan by the chin, turning his face toward him. Julius looked hard at Billycan. He inspected the thick, black scar running down his muzzle. “You have a scar,” he said. “My papa has scars, too. He wears a patch. He’s missing an eye.”

“I know,” said Billycan. “This scar—your papa gave it to me.”

“But why …, ” asked Julius, wrinkling his forehead. “Why would Papa do that?”

“For the same reason I took his eye. We both thought we were right—for very different reasons.”

“Do you hate him?”

“Don’t fuss about that right now,” said Billycan. “All that can
wait.” He looked at Texi. “Texi, come. Explain to Julius why you brought him here tonight.”

“Julius,” said Texi, “you’re here to claim what is rightly yours. My sisters told me I needed to do what was right for you. They made me realize it was wrong to keep you from your father.”

“But what about Mama and Papa, won’t they miss me? Won’t they be sad I’m gone?” Julius was puzzled. Texi had always been good to him, and she would never hurt him. He was sure of that. He looked up at Billycan and focused on his eyes. There was something there, something more than just a mirror image of his own. This rat
was
his father. “What is going to happen now?”

“Well,” said Billycan, “it’s high time we got to know each other as father and son, don’t you agree?”

“I suppose,” said Julius, “but if
you’re
my father, what will happen to Papa?”

“You needn’t worry your head about him,” replied Billycan. “Sometimes our greatest enemies are the ones we hold most dear.” He glanced over at the sisters with a calculating grin. “Juniper used your love to keep you close to him—a son that was not his to have. He kept you from me, your father. What kind of rat would do that to someone he loved? Don’t you think that was a horrid thing to do?”

“Yes, absolutely ghastly!” screeched Bitsy from the table.

All the sisters called out in agreement.

“Utterly appalling!”

“Hopelessly disgusting!”

“Cowardly and desperate!”

Silently Julius nodded at his father, his eyes beginning to tear.

“Oh, you mustn’t feel that way,” said Billycan in a compassionate tone. “You’ve nothing to be sad for, son. A whole new
life—your real life—awaits you.” He wrapped both arms around Julius and patted his back. He whispered in his ear, “There, there, Julius. Father’s here, and I’m sure your papa will be here soon—any moment now.”

They made their way to Killdeer’s den in silence, weaving around mounds of parched earth and the many fallen timbers that once held up the endless maze of the Catacombs.

Cole suddenly jolted backward, nearly knocking Ragan over, as a rather sizable spider skittered along the wall past his head.

“It’s only a funnel weaver, old man, perfectly harmless,” whispered Ragan, steadying Cole by the shoulders. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Speak for yourself,” muttered Cole. “It’s bad enough being back in this place. Why does it have to be crawling with spiders and beetles?”

“Quit being so squeamish,” whispered Ulrich. “You faced down the High Ministry majors and Billycan himself, yet you’re afraid of a lone spider.”

“Quiet down,” said Juniper. “Empty corridors carry sound a long way.”

The others knew better than to talk, but the Catacombs, once their home, had become a bleak warren of crumbling tunnels and mixed memories. Talking kept their minds off the past.

As they rounded a corner, Juniper patted his niece on the shoulder. Nearing the halfway point of the corridor, the two stopped in front of a rickety door to what was once the bustling home of Clover and the Belancort clan, now just a gloomy hollow.

Clover stared at the door’s number, 73, still there, glowing a vaporous white. Softly she pushed the door open with her spear. Her
parents’ bed, their belongings, were all still there, everything a cindery black from the fire Billycan had set the night of her escape.

She’d tried never to think about that night again, but why not, she wondered now as she gazed at the decades-old carving of Duchess Nomi still deep within the wall, carved by her mother. That was the night Clover met Vincent, the rat who only days later would rid the world of the High Minister. It seemed to be the night that launched everything that had become Nightshade—a victory woven of desperation and determination.

Juniper rested a paw on her shoulder. “I’m all right,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”

Except for Bitsy, all the aunties had finally shuffled off to bed. They insisted Texi go with them to rub their scaly feet, just as she’d done in the old days, but Billycan ordered her to stay and watch after Julius. They relented, convinced that they would once again be royalty, princesses in the new monarchy led by Billycan.

The thought made him laugh—
princesses!
They were as revolting as a clutch of quibbling old crows. Princesses, indeed.

He and Bitsy sat at the long table, talking about the future, while Texi cleaned up some of the mess the sisters had made. Julius, who had clung to his father throughout the entire meal, had fallen asleep on his chest.

“So, Bitsy,” said Billycan, “as Killdeer’s eldest sister, you shall be granted a title of great importance under my rule. High Mistress, Countess, what shall it be?”

“I prefer High Duchess,” croaked Bitsy, batting her eyes at Billycan. “I like the sound of that.”

“Yes …,” said Billycan, trying not to show his disgust, “whatever you like.”

She looked over at Texi, busy cleaning. She sneered. “Moronic little dunce, she’ll be my chambermaid.”

“Hush!” he suddenly hissed. “I hear something.” Eyes wide, Bitsy bolted upright in her chair as Billycan stood up, holding Julius, still fast asleep. “Stay there.” He nodded to Texi, who quietly stepped away from the table. He motioned to the darkest corner of the room. “Hide.”

Billycan left the throne room and stole down a narrow corridor to the War Room. Maps and blueprints still clung to the walls, and rows of vacant chairs sat waiting for the majors of the High Ministry to return once again and reclaim their seats.

“Julius,” whispered Billycan. “Julius, you must wake up.” Bleary-eyed, Julius looked up at him. “Son, you must listen to me. We haven’t much time. I need you to stay here. No matter what transpires, you must stay here and stay quiet. Do you understand me?”

Julius lifted his head. “What’s happening?” he asked.

“Pay attention, now. You mustn’t leave this room no matter what you hear—screaming, fighting, things falling to the ground—you
must
stay put. Your life depends upon it. Am I understood?” Julius nodded. “Good.” Billycan snatched a large map from the wall. “Over there in that corner, that’s where we’ll hide you, under this,” he said, his voice somewhat strained.

Now fully awake, Julius sat up in Billycan’s arms. His small chest felt damp. Julius looked down at his coat, smeared with fresh blood—his father’s blood. “You’re
bleeding,”
he said. He wrinkled up his face. “Will you be all right?”

“Yes,” whispered Billycan. He smiled. “I’ll be fine, just fine. It seems I have a knack for pulling through moments like this.”

“Who hurt you?”

“Don’t you worry about that. I’m sure the rat is long gone by now.”

“I’m afraid,” said Julius. “Don’t leave me here.”

“Fathers always defend their children at all costs,” replied Billycan. He winced as a jolt of pain tore through his chest. “So you have nothing to be afraid of. It may not feel like it, but you are well protected here. I will see to that, and I will come for you soon, I promise. Now it’s time for you to be brave. You must be a great leader now, afraid of nothing.” He carried Julius over to the corner. “Your directive is to sit very still and stay covered, young soldier. Do you think you can manage that for me?”