The White Assassin (28 page)

“Yes,” said Julius.

Billycan smiled. He embraced his son and kissed him on the forehead, then set him down, covering him with the large map. He grabbed some chairs and set them in the corner in front of Julius as if someone had carelessly left them there years ago. “Now then, stay still and stay quiet, my boy. I’ll be back for you.” He leaned in and whispered, “I thought I’d lost you forever. I’m so proud to have you for a son.” Giving one last look to make sure Julius was fully concealed, Billycan left the War Room, gently shutting the door behind him.

The little rat crouched nervously under the musty map, thinking about what Billycan had told him. He must be a great leader now—afraid of nothing—and for whatever the reason, Julius wasn’t afraid. Worried, yes, but no longer afraid.

Billycan raced back to the throne room. Bitsy sat stiffly in her chair. “Where is the boy?” she asked anxiously.

“I hid him,” replied Billycan, “safe from harm.”

“I’ve been listening,” said Bitsy in a panic. “I hear them. I think I even smell them. How did they know we were here? What are we
going to do?” She searched the room for Texi. “Where is that little monster I’m forced to call a sister? I bet she gave us away—once a traitor, always a traitor!”

“You and your sisters need to leave now. I will handle Juniper and his Council.”

“No!” said Bitsy. “I finally have a chance to be revered, an esteemed High Duchess. I will fight to get what I deserve!”

“Juniper is out for blood,” said Billycan. “We’ve taken his son. You stay any longer, trust me—you
will
get what you deserve!”

“The boy belongs with us!” barked Bitsy. “Juniper stole him from my sisters and me—a spineless kidnapper!”

“Juniper stole nothing from you! You left my boy starving in the Combs to save your own hides! You and your witless sisters promised me long ago that if anything ever happened to me you’d take care of him. You left him behind—my son!” hollered Billycan. “Had Julius not been found, he would be dead. Juniper is the
only
reason the boy still lives!”

Bitsy scoffed. “He has turned your son into a soft, sentimental excuse for a rat! He has ruined him. Juniper is the cause of my suffering. He brought down the High Ministry, forced me into three years of wretchedness. And now it’s his time to die!”

The door to the compound suddenly burst open. Spears at the ready, the Nightshade rats rushed in, forming a half-circle around Bitsy and Billycan.

“Where’s Julius?” barked Vincent.

“You!” screeched Bitsy. “Son of Julius Nightshade, killer of my only brother, you will join your father in the grave!” She charged Vincent, swiping at his face with her jagged claws.

Vincent howled in pain, his cheek cut deeply. No matter how much he wanted to strike back with full force, he swore he’d uphold his oath, as all the Council members had that night. No one would die
by their claws unless absolutely necessary. Instead of running her clean through, Vincent knocked her backward with the side of his spear. Suttor and Carn came at her, but she dodged them, swiftly maneuvering out of their reach.

Lurching forward, Billycan grabbed for Bitsy, trying to pull her from the fray. Juniper and Cole pushed him back, with one spear aimed at his head, the other his heart.

“Where is my son?” growled Juniper.

Billycan held his paws up, trying to back down the corridor to the War Room.

“Stay put!” shouted Cole. “No more of your clever escapes. Juniper asked you a question. Where is Julius, rat?”

“You don’t understand,” said Billycan.

“I understand everything!” snarled Juniper, gnashing his teeth. “You are a liar and a killer—
nothing
has changed. Why are you covered in blood?” Juniper began to shake, fearful of the answer he might receive. “Whose blood is that?”

“It’s—”

Before Billycan could answer, the rest of the sisters tore from their room, hissing like hellcats and wielding knives and razor blades. One even clutched Billycan’s infamous billy club in her bony fist, swinging it around her head, banging on the rafters, shrieking and wailing like a demented ghoul. As the armed sisters charged, Billycan withdrew into the shadows.

All shrouded in grimy black cloaks, the sisters looked like the ghost of Batiste, rumored to haunt the Catacombs, materialized ten times over, ready to finally reclaim his stolen sweets. Eager for blood, they grunted and laughed, gruesome smiles on their faces as they approached the opposing rats, sizing them up.

“Who are they?” whispered Oleander to Clover.

“The dead High Minister’s sisters,” said Clover, “ignorant, hateful things. Carn says they’ll cut your throat out just for a giggle.”

Bitsy grinned deviously. “Let’s play a little game, shall we, sisters?” The others howled wildly in approval, clapping their paws, as they followed Bitsy to the long table. “What Nightshade rat can we hit first?” She grabbed a clay mug from the table and hurled it at Cole, clipping him hard on the shoulder.

“Shrew!” muttered Cole, pulling bloodied chunks of pottery from his fur.

The sisters snickered as they continued their game, throwing anything and everything on the table at the Nightshade rats. Ragan got hit in the head by a soup ladle. Another sister threw a cleaver at Ulrich, just missing his backside. His eyes widened when he saw how close it had landed, relieved that he’d already been missing his tail.

“That’s enough!” shouted Carn. “Remember me?” He glared at Bitsy as Suttor and Victor came up behind him.

“How could I forget?” said Bitsy in a shrill, mocking tone.
“Billycan’s groveling servant boy—Carn! Don’t worry, boy, you will be his servant once more.”

Carn snatched a plate from the ground and flung it toward Bitsy at full speed, hitting her square in the incisors. She grabbed her face, screaming in agony as blood spurted from her mouth and nose, a front tooth now dangling from her gums.

“Ingrate!” hissed Persephone. “After all Billycan and my brother did for you, hitting a relation of the High Minister—a lady, no less.”

“There are no
ladies
before me,” snapped Carn, “only a slithering pack of witches! Now, where’s Julius?”

“Cheeky one, isn’t he, sisters?” sneered Persephone. “Tricky, tricky servant boy. Perhaps we should teach him some manners.”

“Oh, yes,” said another, “quite disrespectful. Ungrateful slave.”

“Thinks he’s the cat’s meow,” said another, and her sisters cackled madly.

Vincent, Oleander, and Clover stood ready for battle behind Victor, Suttor, and Carn, the long table between them and the sisters.

Persephone leaped onto the table. “Here’s Juniper’s precious boy,” she shouted, “what’s left of him!” She kicked over the heavy cauldron of stew, drenching the ground with a slick, greasy muck. “He was delicious!”

“That’s enough,” growled Oleander. “You wouldn’t last one day where I come from. My cousin Thicket could take out the pack of you!” She bounded onto the table and charged Persephone, tackling her with such force that she propelled them both to the ground. Landing atop the other sisters in a mountain of claws and tails, Persephone moaned in pain. The others began tearing at Oleander, ripping at her skin with claws and blades.

“Oleander!” yelled Carn. The young Council members jumped
on the sisters, pulling them off Oleander, hitting, clawing, biting, whatever it took to get them under control.

Clover grabbed one of the sisters, breaking her brittle wrist against a table leg, forcing her to drop her dagger as she screamed, “Little brat!” Clover tossed the dagger to Oleander, who scrambled to her feet and whipped around in a circle, slicing the air, trying to keep the sisters at bay.

Using his tail as a whip, Victor snapped Persephone in the paw, flinging her dagger across the room only seconds before she could plunge it into Vincent’s spine.

“You horrid, horrid boy!” she screamed, holding her throbbing paw.

Carn knocked a sister down with a hard elbow just as she charged him with a razor blade. Another came at him from behind, about to propel her knife into his neck. He heard a loud crash and turned in time to see the sister fall to the ground, unconscious, surrounded by large chunks of stoneware from the pot Oleander used to had thump her over the head.

“Oleander,” exclaimed Carn, “you saved my life!”

“I told you I’m as strong as you!”

Juniper, Cole, and the twins rushed through the chambers of the compound. Billycan and Julius were nowhere to be found.

They came upon another door, and Juniper pushed it open with his spear. The rats entered an egg-shaped chamber.

“Empty like the rest,” said Ragan.

“Juniper, they’re gone,” said Cole.

“The War Room,” said Juniper, gazing at the tattered maps. Just then, something rustled in a corner. Juniper put a claw to his mouth. He slowly moved toward the sound, noticing the large map crumpled
in the corner. He motioned to the others, who followed behind him, spears ready to plunge.

“We are armed,” he called out. “You’d best come out now. If you do not comply, we will be forced to attack.”

As he drew nearer, Juniper realized no grown rat could be hiding under that map. It was far too small. His heart raced. It could be a shrew. It could be a beetle. It could be his son.

The creature did not move. Juniper nodded to Cole, who suddenly lunged forward, knocking the wooden chairs out of their path, hurling them across the room.

A panicky gasp came from under the map. “Julius?” said Juniper anxiously. He reached down and snatched up the map. “Julius?” The creature jumped up, swinging a dagger, grazing Juniper’s lip.

“Stay away from us!” screamed Texi. She had her eyes closed tight, blindly swinging the knife around the room. “I won’t let you hurt him!”

Ragan and Ulrich came up from behind, ready to strike, but Juniper quickly held up his paw. “Stop!” he commanded, spitting out blood. “It’s Texi.”

Texi clutched Julius around his middle. “Stay back! Don’t hurt us! Leave Julius alone! You can’t have him. He belongs in Nightshade, and I will
never
allow you to hurt him!”

“Papa!” blurted Julius.

Shaking, Texi finally opened her eyes, which darted between Juniper and the others, stricken with fear.

“It’s all right, Texi. It’s Juniper,” he said softly. Dropping his spear, he held up his paws, giving as warm a smile as he could manage. “Texi, put down the knife. Julius will be just fine.” He spoke evenly. “It’s all over now. We’ve always kept you safe, and we always will.”

Throwing the knife to the ground, Texi dropped to her
knees, holding Julius. She rocked back and forth. “I thought you were Billycan!” she cried. “I’m so sorry, Juniper. I thought I was doing the right thing for Julius. I wasn’t trying to hurt him. My sisters
promised
to be good. They said no boy should be kept from his father, and the Saints would punish me if I didn’t help Billycan find a way into Nightshade and reunite him with Julius. I should never have believed them. I’m so sorry.” She looked at Julius. “I would never, ever hurt you.”

Sitting up in her arms, Julius held her face in his small paws. “It’s all right. You’re not bad. And I knew Papa would come for us.”

Slowly Juniper knelt down and took Julius from Texi, hugging him close. “Thank the Saints!” he whispered. “You’re alive.” He checked his son over. “Julius, you’re covered in blood! Where are you hurt?

“I’m not hurt, Papa. It’s not my blood.” Juniper struggled to keep his composure. “Papa, I’m fine.”

Juniper smiled. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“That’s what Father said, too.”

“Father?”

“Yes, he hid me in the corner. He said he thought he’d lost me forever, too.” Julius looked down at his chest. His ears drooped. “This is his blood. He’s hurt badly.”

“You mean the white rat?”

Julius nodded.

Screams and shrieks emerged from the throne room, loud thuds as bodies were hurled about, followed by wails echoing through the corridors of the compound.

Clutching Julius, Juniper snatched up his spear and ran from the War Room. Cole grabbed Texi by the hand, while Ragan and Ulrich followed.

They entered Killdeer’s throne room, now deathly silent. The candles had been snuffed out—all but one. Juniper took it from its stand and held it out to the darkness. “Bless the Saints,” he muttered as he took in the scene.

The sisters’ bodies lay on the ground in awkward, broken arrangements, their black cloaks now death shrouds.

A sound like thunder suddenly pierced the walls of the compound, and the room shook.

“What was that?” asked Cole as dust sprinkled their heads.

Before anyone could respond, the sound rumbled again and then again from the west end of the Combs. Bits of earth fell from the ceiling, and the walls began to tremble.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” said Juniper. “These walls can only take so much.”

Juniper searched the room for others. “Clover!” he called out. “Vincent, Carn? Where are you?”

They raced down the corridors calling for the others. Clover appeared from around a corner. “Uncle!” she shouted.

“Clover, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, rushing toward him.