The White Assassin (18 page)

Billycan began to shake. The same feeling he’d felt as
he gazed up at the Brimstone Building swept over him, only stronger. His blood felt as if it were boiling in his veins. His head grew hot and his eyes bulged from their sockets as if they’d explode. He bolted from under the car, swiftly scaling the gloved man’s leg, shoving his claws in as hard as he could and sinking his long incisors into the man’s shoulder as he clung firmly to his chest.

The man screamed in agony, dropping Lenore to the ground. “Lester,” he howled, “get it off me! Get it off me!”

The other man went for his gun, aiming it at Billycan as he slashed away at the gloved man’s neck. “No! You’ll shoot me! You’ve got to pull him off!”

The other man grunted, tossing the gun to the pavement. He lunged toward Billycan, trying to grab him around the middle. Billycan whipped around, lurched like a spring, and sliced the man’s face from forehead to chin. The man fell to the sidewalk, wailing in agony as blood gushed from his wounds.

“Billycan!” called Lenore. “Stop! It’s over!”

The gloved man covered his face, cowering against the brick wall. Billycan turned back to him, glaring at him, and backhanded the man’s ear with his claws, nearly detaching it. The man shrieked in pain and terror. The sound invigorated Billycan, who panted breathlessly as he wrenched his claws free and bounded to the ground.

Chest heaving and smeared with blood, he approached Lenore. “Are you all right?” he huffed.

Her face looked pained, as if the sight of him saddened her. “I’m…I’m fine. Are
you
all right?”

Billycan looked down at his bloodied coat and claws. He
glanced over at the two men, both writhing and moaning on the ground. “I did all that—by myself?”

“Yes,” Lenore said softly. “Your instincts kicked in, but don’t worry. You’ll learn to control it. It’s just going to take some time.”

Billycan shook his head. He knew whatever had taken hold of him would only grow stronger. He could still feel it inside him. The moment he’d smelled the blood, he’d wanted more. He could already feel himself aching for it. The men’s terror sent him to a dark place… and he didn’t mind it. In fact, it felt like home. Maybe Lenore could manage her instincts, but he knew he could never control the power that had just come over him. “I can’t stay with you,” he said.

“But why not?” Lenore asked. “You must come with me. There is so much for you to learn—so much you don’t know!” She sighed. “Please don’t go. There is a whole city of rats who’ll be more than glad to take you in, to be your family. I have so much I need to tell you—happy things—
good
things.”

“There is something very wrong with me. I can feel it.”

“You were just protecting me, worried those men were going to harm me. It’s only natural to—”

“No,” said Billycan resolutely. “I can feel it within me. It grows as we speak. I will hurt other rats. I might hurt
you.”
He nodded toward the men. “You saw what I did to them. When you looked at me a few moments ago, you were frightened of me. I could tell.”

“No,” she said weakly. “I was not frightened
of
you. I was frightened
for
you, but those feelings—those strong urges—you
can
learn to control them. I’ll help you. I’ll stay with you day and night. Whatever those fiends in the lab
gave you and the others, it made you this way. It’s not
your
fault! Stay with me and we’ll figure things out. I promise.”

“Thank you for freeing me from the lab.” He reached out and touched her fur. Despite the cold, it felt so warm. “If I did have a family, I’d want you to be in it.”

Billycan sped off, vanishing into the night.

“Wait!” called Lenore. “Billycan, you don’t understand!” She dropped to the ground in despair. “Please don’t leave me. Not now… I’ve waited so long. There is so much you need to know….”

Steady, thought Billycan. Steady. Don’t be too eager. Now! Billycan sprang across the rooftop and leaped onto the unsuspecting crow, breaking its neck with such fury that it lay dead in less than a second.

After cleaning the skeleton of all the meat, Billycan sat on the edge of the building’s roof and looked down at the alley. It made him think of Lenore. It had been a month or more since he had last seen her. He hoped she’d gotten back to her city unharmed. He looked down at his matted coat, filthy and spattered with blood old and new.

Something moving in the alley caught his eye. Hanging over the edge, he peered down at the scene. Two cats were fighting. Billycan had killed several housecats since his escape from the lab. Dorf had warned him about cats—how lethal they could be—but Billycan did not agree. The ones he’d come across were lumpy and lazy, easy to overpower and kill. They didn’t taste bad either.

He made his way down the fire escape. This could be interesting, he thought. He could kill them both. That would
make for a bit of fun and be quite a feast. The crow had been stringy and tough. His belly ached for something meatier, fatty. As his time of freedom grew, so did his appetite. The more he ate, the hungrier he felt.

Jumping from the last rung of the fire escape, he silently hit the asphalt, sizing up the two cats. The orange tabby had cornered the other one. The tabby looked feral and frenzied, riddled with sores and emaciated. It stared at its adversary flintily in sheer hatred. Billycan glanced at the other one, a meaty gray cat with nowhere to go, trapped in the corner at the alley’s dead end. Perhaps he could just let the orange kill the gray. That would simplify things, but where was the challenge in that? He grinned hungrily, slinking around a green city Dumpster.

Slowly he crept behind the orange tabby. It
can’t
be, he thought, nearing the gray. It had a long, pointed snout, thick, gleaming incisors, and a hairless tail, which twisted around its ample feet like a trained snake. It was the largest rat Billycan had ever seen. Tall like him, but big-shouldered and muscled. The rat suddenly lunged toward the tabby, striking it in the face with a clenched paw. The cat jerked backward, stunned by the blow. It shook its head, blood spraying from its nose.

“Diseased, disgusting feline!” yelled the rat with an imperious air. “I’ll snap your bony neck before you’ve a chance to touch a single hair on my head!”

The cat hissed wildly, lashing out, claws extended. Billycan reacted instinctively. He bounded at the cat, smashing it into the brick wall. Starting at its neck, he dug in with his claws, pulling downward. The cat gave a final hiss and fell to the ground—dead.

Billycan’s chest heaved. Wiping spatters of blood from his eyes, he looked over at the gray rat, which stared wide-eyed at him.

The rat stayed in the corner, cautiously eyeing Billycan. It cocked its head and examined him, as if unsure what sort of creature stood before it. Finally it took a step forward. “Many thanks, my unique-looking friend. You have spared me from being that filthy feline’s evening meal.”

Billycan was taken aback by the gray rat’s self-assurance. Every creature he’d encountered on the streets of Trillium was deathly afraid of him, fleeing at the mere sight of him. He looked down at his soiled, bloodied coat. He was quite a fiendish sight, to be sure, but this rat showed no concern.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” said the rat. “My name is Killdeer, and you, my friend, look rather hungry.” Billycan did not respond.

Killdeer kept his black eyes trained on Billycan’s. He smiled. “Let’s go find you something to eat, eh? My associates and I have more grub than we need. We take what we want.” He nodded toward the Dumpster. “No garbage picking for us. You don’t look the sort for picking through thrash, either—far too stately for that.” He chuckled. “Let’s be on our way, shall we?”

We take what we want,
thought Billycan. Just like the great leaders of Trillium. He liked the sound of that very much. Killdeer was strapping and confident, the way a leader should be. He felt an immediate kinship.

“C’mon, then,” said Killdeer.

Billycan looked at the dead cat, not wanting to leave the fresh meat. He salivated.

“Oh, no!” said Killdeer, seeing his ravenous eyes. “You don’t want that disease-ridden thing rotting in your gut. You’ll end up with worms. Come on, we’ll fix you up with some real meat.”

Billycan followed Killdeer out of the alley, all the while thinking maybe this rat knew of the Catacombs. He wanted to know if Lenore had gotten home all right. Maybe Killdeer knew her.

Hesitantly, Juniper entered the small antechamber that led to Billycan’s cell. Perhaps today would be different. Nodding at the guard, he went inside.

Billycan’s ears perked as Juniper entered. Pleased to see another face, even if it was his jailer’s, he pulled himself to his feet. “Good morning,” he said, approaching the bars. “It is morning, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” replied Juniper. “You look a bit better today—healthier.”

“My shoulder still throbs, especially at night, but yes, it’s getting better. Perhaps you could tell me now how I got these wounds?”

At first Juniper had thought it best to keep things to himself, worried it might alter the effects of the drug, influencing what Billycan knew as the truth.
Since nothing had changed, he guessed there wasn’t much sense in keeping it from him now. Perhaps it would help jar his memory. “A pack of wild boars attacked you.”

Billycan took a step back. “Wild boars?”

“You killed one of their pack. Many species still believe in an eye for an eye. The boars are one of them.”

“I—I don’t understand how…” Billycan couldn’t seem to form words. He stared confusedly at his feet. “But why would I…” His body stiffened.

For the first time Juniper saw a flash of recognition. Billycan was remembering something.

Finally Billycan looked up. “An eye for an eye,” he repeated softly. “Your eye, under that patch, it’s gone.” He ran a nervous paw across his face. “I took it from you, didn’t I?” Juniper nodded. “I have killed before, haven’t I…
many
times.” Juniper stayed silent. “I thought I wanted to know all of my past, but I’m afraid now.” His whole body drooping, Billycan sank to the floor. He wrapped his long arms around himself and rocked on his heels.

For the first time Juniper actually felt sorry for Billycan, who truly seemed to he in pain—physically
and
mentally. Juniper wanted to distrust Billycan, as everyone else did, but he couldn’t help hoping that this was no act.

T
EXI SCURRIED AROUND THE LONG TABLE,
filling everyone’s cup with tea. The Council had gathered, trying to make sense of the papers the swamp rats had found in the manor attic.

“My father,” said Oleander, “along with Cobweb and Montague, is trying to organize everything. There are scores of papers—all about us.”

Befuddled by the whole idea of it, Carn shook his head. “The swamp rats are from Trillium? I don’t understand any of this.”

“Remember how I told you about the scientists who used to live in the manor with their families? As it turns out, they were from Trillium. When they arrived in the swamp, they had cages of Trillium rats with them.”

Juniper rubbed the bridge of his snout wearily. “What are the odds, then, of Billycan ending up there? Could he have known? So many questions we don’t have time to answer right now—not until we know Nightshade is secure. Speaking of that, until we’ve found
the traitor, we’ve posted round-the-clock guards outside Billycan’s cell, just in case this traitor is planning to help Billycan escape.”

Vincent glanced over at Elvi. She shifted awkwardly, as though the conversation bothered her. Texi suddenly popped up before him, refilling his teacup. Vincent jolted. The little rat was always coming out of nowhere at Council meetings, passing out tea and biscuits at the most inopportune moments. “Thanks, Texi,” he said, not wanting to be rude.

She smiled sweetly at him. “You’re welcome,” she whispered.