The White Assassin (19 page)

“Wait,” he whispered back before she could slip away. If Texi wasn’t taking care of children or doling out tea to the Council, she was usually with Elvi. “What’s wrong with Elvi today? She looks upset.”

“I’m not sure.” Texi glanced at her. “She seemed out of sorts earlier. Mentioned something about a day of reckoning, how it would soon be coming to Nightshade… Wonder what she meant?” Texi hurried off before Vincent could ask her anything else.

A day of reckoning
—what could that mean? “Elvi,” said Vincent across the table, “I’m just curious. As a newer member of the Council, what do you make of it?”

Surprised, Elvi looked up. Everyone stared at her. “What do I make of what?”

“Why, of Billycan going to the swamp and finding the swamp rats, who just happen to be like us, from Trillium. What do you make of it?”

Clover gave Vincent a look. His tone was clearly suspicious, not curious.

“Well…”, said Elvi, “I think there is possibly something to it. Who’s to say? He’s been missing for three years. He could have learned about the swamp rats from anyone. Perhaps rats no one here knows.” She looked directly at Vincent. “Or perhaps from someone you’d never
suspect, someone who has always appeared honorable and brave.” She gave a barely noticeable smile. “Perhaps someone… like you.”

Vincent sat huddled at a table in Bostwick Hall with the rest of the young Council members and Oleander. They looked furtively around the hall, eyeing everyone as they finished their dinners.

“Who do you think it could be?” whispered Oleander to the others.

“We’ve no clue,” said Clover.

“Nearly all the Council members have been questioned,” said Vincent. “No one has even a hint of scandal.” He eyed Clover. “Except Elvi.”

“Oh, not that again!” she said. “You’re talking about the Council meeting, aren’t you? She had every right to turn the tables on you—putting her on the spot like that. It was obvious you were trying to catch her off guard, hoping she’d say the wrong thing, something that would out her as the traitor.”

“Besides,” added Carn, “Elvi’s been cleared by Ragan and Ulrich, and they have a knack for that sort of thing.”

“Well, maybe their knack is off-kilter for once—maybe she’s just a brilliant liar,” said Vincent.

“Oh, hush!” snapped Clover.

“What sort of
knack?”
asked Oleander.

“You know, a sixth sense—they can sniff out the bad apples,” said Carn. “They run Security with me, and we’ve never had a wink of trouble. When we interviewed the Kill Army majors after we defeated Killdeer, we found that many of them were innocent. They didn’t hurt anyone while they served in the army. They were uncorrupted by Killdeer and Billycan, simply doing their jobs as I was, all trying to stay alive. Because of that they’ve remained free, and not one of them
has caused any problem in Nightshade, not in three years. Ulrich and Ragan have questioned them again, in case one of them is the traitor, but none showed even a trace of deception.”

Vincent leaned in, his voice lowered to a whisper. “Do any of you know of a rat named Lenore?” He looked at Clover. “Has Juniper ever mentioned her to you?”

“No,” said Clover, thinking back. “Why?”

Vincent hesitated, thinking maybe he shouldn’t share the information, but then he recalled that feeling he had back in the alley, waiting for the bats. No more secrets and lies, he thought. “I was looking for Juniper and wound up at Billycan’s cell. I was about to enter when I heard Cole and Juniper talking. There is something they’re hiding from us, some dark secret we are not to know. I could hear Billycan muttering in his sleep. He started calling out that name—Lenore. Juniper was upset over it. I could tell by his voice. She’s someone important, I just don’t know how.”

Cocking his head, Victor turned to his brother. “Maybe she’s someone from his past, but what of it? Perhaps you’re making too much of this.” He smiled. “Just like the big fuss you’re making over Elvi.”

“No,” said Vincent firmly, “this is different.” He looked down at his plate of untouched chicken pie. “I spoke to Billycan.”

The entire table’s eyes widened. No one said a word.

Suttor broke the silence. “Nightshade, are you crazy? We are under strict orders to stay far away from him unless Juniper or Cole authorizes it.”

“Exactly!” said Vincent. “Why are they keeping everyone away from Billycan? What don’t they want us to know? I had to investigate.” He shook his head. “After what I overheard, I
had
to see Billycan for myself.”

“But how did you get in undetected?” asked Victor.

“He was still so weak. The guard had not yet been posted. I knew I had to do it soon—and alone—without any of you trying to stop me.”

Clover shook her head, disappointed in Vincent’s brashness.

“Were you scared?” asked Victor.

“More like terrified,” admitted Vincent. “Even behind bars, wounded, and changed by the serum, or at least acting that way, he made my heart race like a rabbit’s.”

“All right, Nightshade,” said Carn, growing impatient, “what was he like? What did he say?”

Vincent related the encounter.

“You’re sure Juniper knows her?” asked Suttor.

“I’ve no doubt.”

“Why don’t you just ask him about it?” asked Oleander.

“I’ve thought of that, too. I’m torn. I want to say something, but Juniper is probably just trying to protect everyone as he always has. I want to know, but I don’t want to offend him. I’ve never known him to react like that—ever. If you could have heard his voice… he was shaken.”

Suttor’s eyes scanned the room. He looked at every face. “Juniper saved my brothers and me from the Catacombs. I just can’t believe… I mean, you don’t think…”

“Don’t even say it,” warned Clover. “Uncle would never betray a soul, and shame on you for thinking it, even for a second.” She studied her friends’ faces. They all looked down, unable to meet her eye. “You can’t be serious. Uncle would never—”

“We must
not
rule him out,” said Vincent. “As Elvi said back at the Council meeting, it could be the rat we least suspect—someone who’s always appeared honorable and brave. I may not like her, but the way Juniper has been acting—how he’s been lying—she made an excellent point.”

“You’re becoming obsessed with this,” said Clover. “Accusing Elvi I can understand, but Juniper—after all he’s done for you?” She looked around the table. “For all of you.”

“No one’s accusing Juniper,” said Victor. “And I’m the first one to agree that my brother is becoming a bit of a conspiracy theorist. But if the evidence suggests there’s a chance, then we must investigate it.”

Vincent squeezed Clover’s paw. “We just need to clear Juniper once and for all. Why is he acting so suspicious? For my own peace of mind, I need to know. We all do.”

Suttor nodded in agreement. “Vincent’s right. Juniper is not giving us much of a choice.”

“If Juniper, Cole, or anyone else on the Council is going to hide things from us, then we’ll have to find out the answers on our own,” said Carn. “If we work together, perhaps we can uncover the traitor.” He looked at Clover. “I don’t believe for a second that Juniper’s involved, but we must check him out, and the sooner the better. Then we can all move on.” Carn looked around the table. No one protested the idea. “So then, are we all agreed?”

Everyone nodded.

Julius held Nomi by her front paws and hoisted her into the air with his hind feet. As she swayed back and forth she giggled hysterically. Julius was making silly faces.

Juniper and Mother Gallo had just returned from the Council meeting. “What’s going on in here?” demanded Juniper sternly. “Why, you’re loud enough to wake the Saints! We can hear you children all the way down the corridor.”

“You’re not
really
mad, Papa!” said Julius.

“Oh, I’m not, eh?” He growled, crossing his eyes and jutting out
his jaw in an exaggerated scowl. Nomi screamed with laughter as her father scooped her up in one arm and plucked Julius up in the other. Opening his mouth, he snarled at them as if he might take a bite.

“Papa, you’re pretending!” shouted Julius. Nomi squealed blissfully as her father spun them in a circle.

“You found me out!” Juniper smiled contentedly. It was in these moments that he stopped worrying about Nightshade and quietly reveled in his children’s happiness. Nomi pulled softly at Juniper’s scruffy hair while Julius grabbed his face and giggled. Both beamed at their father.

Mother Gallo went to the table and patted her oldest son, Tuk, on the head. His snout was stuck in a schoolbook. “How goes the studying, dear?”

“Fine, I suppose,” answered Tuk. “I haven’t been able to get much done, though.”

“Were the children bothering you?” Mother Gallo sighed. “I told them to keep quiet while you studied. I should have had Hob and Gage stay back to help. The library could have waited.”

“Julius and Nomi didn’t bother me,” answered Tuk. “It was Texi. She stopped by and didn’t seem to want to leave. She read them stories and played games with them. It was so noisy I couldn’t concentrate.”

“How was Texi? We’ve been worried about her.” Mother Gallo lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m afraid the whole Billycan matter may just be too much for the poor dear.”

“Now that you mention it, she did act a bit peculiar,” said Tuk.

“How so?” asked Juniper.

“Well, she was whispering to Julius over by the fireplace, and then she asked if she could take him for a walk—in fact, she insisted on it. I said you wouldn’t approve. She kept pressing me, but finally relented after I told her under no circumstances was I to let the children
leave our quarters.” He smiled at his mother. “I can’t risk you getting cross with me, or you’ll never extend my curfew.”

Mother Gallo smiled at her son. “You did the right thing, Tuk. It is certainly too late for the little ones to be out for a stroll.”

“Julius,” said Juniper, “did you talk with Texi tonight?”

“Yes,” said Julius. “She told me she was very sad.”

“She did? Did she tell you why she was so sad?”

“She said she needed to make things right or she’d never be forgiven. A rat was very mad at her for what she’d done.”

“Oh,” said Juniper, glancing at his wife, “that is very sad. Did she say who this mad rat was? Did she mention a name?”

Julius nodded. “Yes, it was a funny name.”

“And what was that funny name?”

“Killdeer.”

Crouched in a ball on the floor of his cell, his head buried in his arms, Billycan remembered—remembered Killdeer who had taken him under his wing, showing him how the criminal set operated in Trillium City.

Billycan took to crime as easily as one breathes air, never regretting one merciless act. Always in his mind was Dorf’s teaching, Only
the strong shall survive.
Billycan’s loyalty, cunning, and love of the kill made him priceless to Killdeer.

Feeling the cell’s cold floor under his feet, he remembered distinct moments from his past—terrible moments. Bad things, dreadful things, were coming back to him.…

“No, no, no!” Billycan barked at Lithgo. “You’re being too soft. If the dock rats won’t give us what we want, then simply
exterminate them!” He leaped from his stool, kicking it across the room. “If we want to be taken seriously, we must show brute force from the onset—not an ounce of indecision.”

Lithgo, Schnauss, and Foiber all eyed Killdeer, waiting for him to say something. He stayed seated in his chair, deadly silent.

With paws clasped tightly behind his back, Billycan marched around Lithgo in a crooked circle. “The early leaders of Trillium did not mollycoddle the populace. They did not give them peace offerings and warm blankets. They gave them nothing, took everything. The dock rats are foolhardy if they think I’ll accept their insolence, their defiance.”

“Billycan is right,” said Killdeer. “They were given the opportunity decades ago to go underground. Trilok offered them sanctuary in his precious Catacombs. They unwisely refused, too stubborn to leave their beloved docks and plentiful food supply. Now I want that food, and I shall have it. The dock rats will get what they deserve.”

“Yes,” said Billycan. “If they do not hand over their operations peacefully, then they will be eliminated.”

Lithgo had had enough. “No,” he said decisively. “If we slaughter them all, who will do the work? I’ll tell you who—us! The whole point of this was diplomacy—a gentle bending of wills—to allow
them
to labor, while we reap the benefits.” He stepped close to Billycan, who glared at him unflinchingly. “
You
are not one of us. You never have been. Killdeer took you in only because you did him a favor. We taught you the ways of our kind at
his
request.” Lithgo’s chest started to heave as years of resentment spilled out. He motioned to the
mob of rats behind him. “None of us wants you here!” Billycan stayed silent. “Look at you, with your snow-white fur and eyes like blood. You don’t belong and never will. There is something
off
about you—something inherently foul. Never have I seen a rat so eager to kill, so full of bloodlust.”

Billycan gave Lithgo a grin, a grin that slowly broadened into a menacing sneer of pointed yellow fangs. Billycan’s eyes narrowed, their shade shifting from a composed red to a fury of sizzling orange. “Finished?” he asked snidely.

Taking a step back, Lithgo stuttered, “Y-yes.”

“Good,” replied Billycan, clasping his paws theatrically, as if delighted by the answer. “Now then, I believe it is my turn to speak—unless of course anyone has something to add?” He turned in a circle, eyeing the entire throng. Except for Killdeer, everyone shifted uneasily. “Let me be clear right now so there will be no further need to speculate about
my
motives.” He turned back to Lithgo. “You’re quite right. I am… oh dear, what was the term you used?” Billycan abruptly lurched forward, thrusting his snout nose to nose with Lithgo’s. He snapped two digits. “Ah, yes,
inherently foul,
that’s it. I learned that about myself some time ago. And now, thanks to my dear friend Killdeer, I’ve come to realize that my skills are needed—greatly needed. He has taught me that I should not fight who I am, but
embrace
it! So that is exactly what I’ve done. That being said, Killdeer has made me an offer, and, you’ll be delighted to hear, I’ve accepted.”