The White Assassin (29 page)

“What happened here?”

“Uncle, it was Billycan.” She panted, shaking her head in disbelief. “He saved us. He saved all of us.”

“Where is everyone now?”

“One of the sisters struck Vincent hard in the back, and he dropped his spear. While we were fending off the others, she chased after him with a knife! Everyone is searching for him.” Her voice trembled with desperation. “Uncle, Vincent is unarmed. We can’t find him!”

Large clumps of earth rained from the ceiling. The walls were
breaking apart, the rumbling almost drowning out their voices. “Listen to me,” said Juniper. “Vincent can take care of himself. Take Julius, Texi, and the others, and go back to Nightshade—now! The twins will go with you.”

“Uncle, I can’t leave Vincent. I won’t!”

“Clover, I will find him or, I swear, I’ll die trying. Leave now! The Catacombs are going to cave in!”

“But—”

“Go!” roared Juniper, handing her Julius. “Gather everyone and run as fast as you can! I will find him!” With Julius in her arms, Clover ran off with Texi, both trying to cover Julius’s head as they rushed down the corridor. Ulrich and Ragan raced close behind, using their spears to try to keep the falling earth from striking Julius and the girls, shouting to the others as they vanished down a corridor.

“Cole, you are Deputy Chief Citizen. It is your responsibility to run things in my place.”

Cole stood firm. “I’m not leaving you here.”

Shoving him in the shoulder, Juniper glared at him. “Go now, Cole! You owe it to the Council, to all that we’ve worked for. You owe it to every rat in Nightshade.”

Growling into the air, Cole slammed the end of his spear against the wall. He knew Juniper was right. “You’d
better
come back alive!” He muttered something under his breath and raced out of the compound.

“Vincent!” called Juniper, running in the opposite direction. “Vincent!” A support beam fell in front of him. He jumped over it and kept running, sizable clumps of falling earth now battering him.

He came to the compound’s storeroom—the very room where
Julius had been found as an infant, half dead from starvation. Bitsy lay motionless on the floor, a knife protruding from her chest.

There was Billycan, throwing his body against Killdeer’s immense silver throne. Vincent lay lifeless on the ground next to him, his leg trapped beneath the throne, blood trickling from his temple.

Juniper stared at the scene, not sure what to do.

Billycan leaned against the throne, his chest heaving wildly, trying to catch his breath. He finally looked up and spotted Juniper. “Well,” he said, panting heavily, “why are you just standing there? Come help me!”

Juniper shook his head like a dog, trying to unclog his tangled thoughts. He dashed over and positioned himself next to Billycan. Billycan nodded and they began pushing in unison, grunting and clenching their teeth as they struggled against the weight of the throne.

“He’s alive,” huffed Billycan. “Bitsy threw … her dagger at him, hit him in the temple … he fell … grabbed the throne for support, but … the vibrations, the tremors … it toppled down on him.”

More earth poured from the ceiling, rocks and pebbles pelting their eyes. “We’ve got to get out of here now!” said Juniper.

“I knew this place would crumble one day,” grunted Billycan as they gave another push. “C’mon, then, on three … one—two—three!” They looked at each other and pushed with all their might. Finally, with a synchronized groan from both, the silver throne moved. Billycan held it up while Juniper grabbed Vincent, pulling his leg free just before Billycan’s hold gave way. The throne came down with a fury, smashing to the ground in an explosion of dust and debris.

Rumbling thunder enveloped them. Anything still standing in the storeroom crashed to the ground. Juniper and Billycan each grabbed Vincent under an arm. “Quickly!” yelled Juniper.

They made their way out of the storeroom only seconds before the room imploded, an avalanche of rubble traveling fast at their heels as each corridor collapsed behind them. They raced through the Catacombs in the dark, years of memories guiding them.

Finally they reached the long tunnel back to Nightshade. They stopped for a moment, their lungs and limbs burning. “Take him,” huffed Billycan. “You need to get him to safety.” The tunnel shook again. “You must leave
now.”

“Come with us,” said Juniper. “This entire place is disintegrating. Look at you—you’re bleeding! You’ll die if you turn back. You’ll never find a way out.”

“I
always
find a way out,” Billycan replied calmly.

“But what about Julius? What will I tell him?”

“Julius is
your
son. You are his father in every sense of the word. You tell him that, for that is the truth. And I know better than anyone how you like the truth.”

“I cannot leave you,” argued Juniper as dust flooded the corridor. “Billycan, you still don’t know the whole truth. The serum given to you was a cure for the drugs you were given in the lab—not a truth serum, as I told the others.”

“I knew it was something like that. I didn’t think I’d suddenly turned good.” Billycan smiled. “It’s ironic. The one time in your life that you lied, you lied for me. Thank you.”

“That’s not all. Lenore, the rat who saved you from the lab all those years ago, she was your mother
—our
mother. On her deathbed she told me about you. I have the proof back in Nightshade. Your matching lab tags—mother, offspring, both marked 111. Billycan, I am your brother.”

Billycan nodded as he reflected. “She looked like you … the same fur…. You always reminded me of her. Now I know why.”

“Yes,” said Juniper, “same mahogany fur and same eyes, my father used to say.”

Billycan’s eyes began to burn. He remembered her so clearly, always watching him with a hopeful, tender expression. “Lenore,” he whispered. Suddenly he grinned. “The rat who’s late may wind up with a frightful fate.”

“That’s what she always said,” said Juniper.

Looking up at the quaking ceiling, Billycan put a paw on Juniper’s shoulder. “Never was there a time, brother, when those words were more fitting.” Vincent started to moan. “Go, hurry now!” said Billycan. He turned to leave. The corridor to Nightshade began to shake, rumbling over their heads.

Billycan suddenly turned back. “Juniper, wait! There’s something you need to know about that rat you sent to see me—Elvi!” He shouted as loud as he could over the clamor. “Don’t trust her. She’s not who she says she is! She seeks revenge—on you!”

“What?” called Juniper. “Billycan, I can’t hear you. We must leave before the corridor caves in!”

“Do not trust Elvi!” Billycan yelled again. He could not hear his brother’s reply. Billycan gave Juniper one last look and then vanished into the dark.

E
VERYONE GATHERED IN
the Council Chamber. Vincent, his leg broken in several places, stood uncomfortably on the crutches Virden had fashioned for him. He looked around at his friends. Everyone was banged-up, scratched, bruised—battle-worn, but in good spirits. “Today’s the big day, then,” he said, nudging Carn’s shoulder. Carn and Oleander nodded. “I’m sure Telula and Cotton are already waiting for you two in the alley.”

“Bats are never tardy,” said Juniper with a chuckle. “We’d best send you on your way.”

“Dresden said someone from his colony will report to you once a week,” said Carn, “telling you everything we’ve discovered about the scientists’ diaries.”

“There’s so much to learn,” said Oleander. “Cobweb and Montague have been organizing the scientists’ papers by date, trying to make sense of it all. One can only guess what will be revealed.” She
hesitated for a moment. “Not surprisingly, they’ve found more than a few white hairs scattered among the papers.”

“You’re right,” said Juniper, “that’s not surprising at all.”

No one spoke for a moment, still baffled by what had happened in the Catacombs—the fury of the white rat, which seemed to explode upon everything evil that night.

“I’m still concerned about the snakes,” said Juniper, changing the subject. “I want to trust them, but they don’t call them snakes for nothing.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Carn. “Besides, we’ll have Thicket and Stono at our heels, watching our every move.” He smiled excitedly. “I can’t wait to see them!”

Clover squeezed Oleander’s paw. “We’ll see you soon,” she said. “We’ll join you at the manor as soon as Vincent’s well enough to travel.”

“Good,” whispered Oleander, glancing at Carn. “Someone has to help me keep Corn from getting into more trouble.” The girls giggled. Both Carn and Vincent flushed a warm indigo, unsure of which one of them was being poked fun at.

“Get used to it,” said Vincent.

Carn snorted. “Already am.”

Juniper gave Oleander a hug. “Thank you for all your help. Give your father and the others our best.” He turned to Carn and embraced him, slapping him on the back. “Don’t let this one get away,” he whispered.

“Not a chance,” said Carn.

Mother Gallo and Juniper sat in the Council Chamber with Texi and Elvi, who sat across from them.

“Texi,” said Mother Gallo, “you’re very lucky things turned out the way they did.”

Texi’s eyes were puffy from crying. “I know. I’m so sorry. I understand now what could have happened to Julius and the others. My sisters promised me they’d be good. I didn’t think they would attack the way they did.” Ashamed, she looked away. “I didn’t think at all …”

“It’s not just what could have happened to Julius or the others,” said Mother Gallo. “It’s what could have happened to you. We could have lost you.”

Texi looked up, her chin quivering. “I don’t understand. Why would you care about what happened to me?”

“My dear, how little you think of yourself,” said Mother Gallo. “It breaks my heart to know you thought your sisters were looking out for you, and not us. It worries me dreadfully.”

“They told me they were wrong to treat me so poorly all those years. Bitsy told me they were all going to make up for it and treat me like a
real
sister.”

“Texi, think clearly now. How would you treat a real sister?” asked Juniper.

“Well … I’d be kind to her. I do things with her, like read books and play games and stay up all night talking.” She smiled feebly. “That’s how I would treat a sister.”

“I know how your sisters treated you,” said Juniper, “but tell me, how did they treat each other?”

Furrowing her brow, Texi thought about all ten of her older sisters. A thought struck her. “They were terrible to one another. They bickered and fought all the time. They stole things from each other. They were hateful.”

“So then tell me, who are your real sisters now?”

“Well … Mother Gallo,” she said. “And Elvi … and of course Clover.”

“All right, then.” Juniper smiled. “I think you understand what a real sister is. Many times, it has little to do with blood.” His face turned serious. “Now Texi, as much as we’d like to forget all of this ever happened, we can’t, not just yet. We want to be able to trust you, but we have to be assured that nothing like this will ever happen again.” He nodded at Elvi, who put an arm around Texi. “Elvi has offered to take you under her wing, to watch over you, to be that sister you never had.”

“You know how Elvi feels about you,” said Mother Gallo, “and with the life lessons she’s acquired, you’ll learn a great deal.”

“You will be on probation,” said Juniper, “under Elvi’s constant supervision. You will share quarters with her, have your meals with her, assist her with her many duties around Nightshade, but most of all you’ll learn from her. We think after a while we’ll be able to trust you again and you’ll get a much better sense of who you are. You need some confidence, Texi, a sense of worth. You need to realize
you
are important, too, to everyone in Nightshade, and all those unkind words you endured from your sisters—that you’re slow-witted—well, that’s utter drivel. You are smart. You only need to realize it.”

“That’s my
punishment?”
asked Texi, surprised. “It doesn’t sound very harsh.”

“It’s not meant to be, Texi,” said Mother Gallo.

“Don’t you worry, dearest,” said Elvi, patting her paw. “I will be your friend, your mentor, and your sister. I will teach you everything I know. I will give you the same confidence I learned growing up in Tosca. By the time I’m through with you, why, you’ll have the spirit of
a lion!” She laughed. “What a pair we’ll make. No one will be able to stop us.” She smiled broadly at Mother Gallo and Juniper. “No one.”

The city was sleeping. Mother Gallo held Nomi in her arms, singing softly as she drifted off. The boys had fallen asleep—all but one.

“Papa,” said Julius as they rocked in the chair, “is Billycan really, truly my father?”

“Yes, Julius, he is your father.”

“Is he a bad rat like everyone says?”

“No, son, he was a broken rat. When he was a little boy like you, he was hurt very, very badly, and no one ever bothered to fix him. But he’s all better now—he’s good.”

“I thought so,” said Julius. “I
knew
he was my father.”