The White Assassin (24 page)

E
XCEPT FOR LONGTOOTH READING ALOUD
and the restless shuffle of little rats waiting to hear what happened next, the library, even though it was brimming with children, was quiet. Mother Gallo and Julius sat on the floor in the very back of the children’s section, scarcely able to see Longtooth’s gnarled ears.

The former High Cook was now a caregiver to little ones and Head Librarian at the Nightshade Library. Fall was upon them and Pennies-or-Pranking would soon begin Topside, so she decided to read her favorite Hallowtide tale. She rocked steadily in her chair, grinning at the children as she read about a coven of wicked witches, cackling with every word. “I’ll get you, you unruly brats! Just you wait!” she shouted.

Mother Gallo whispered in Julius’s ear. “Sweetheart, why don’t I get you some juice and cookies? Maybe I can find Texi somewhere in the crowd.” Julius nodded silently, not wanting to miss a word of Longtooth’s story.

Mother Gallo rose to her feet. She turned and smiled at her son, so
content, then headed past rows of books and off to the lobby, where juice and cookies had been set out for the afternoon guests.

Julius’s neck bristled. Someone gently brushed his shoulder with a claw, sending goose bumps down his spine.

He turned to look, and gasped.

Juniper sat in the Council Chamber with only the original members, the four rats who’d seen him through thick and thin and everything in between. He had finally told them he’d been hiding the truth from them. He could stand it no longer.

Virden shook his head, incredulous. “But why didn’t you tell us? You know you can trust us. We’ve all been together since we were children.” Ragan and Ulrich nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t want to hide anything. I didn’t know how you’d react. I haven’t even told Maddy yet. I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to look at me the same again.”

“Well, you don’t give us too much credit, now, do you?”

“You’re right and I’m sorry, but please understand, it had nothing to do with trust. I trust you all with my life and that of my family. It was something I had to come to terms with in my own time. It took all I had within me to reveal the truth to Cole. He was with me just days after we received the report from Dresden about Billycan’s whereabouts. The timing of the news—coming so soon after Cole and I had learned about the serum—seemed as though it was brought to us by the Saints.”

“How did you learn about the serum?” asked Ragan.

“One night Cole and I were Topside in a rundown building inside City Hall. We’d been hunting for food. It was storming hard and we’d snuck in for shelter. There was a small television on at the front desk, left on by a guard, I suppose. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but it was a news report about Prince Laboratories.”

“And …,” said Ulrich impatiently.

“The reporter said that Prince had lost a class-action lawsuit, forcing it to dole out millions of dollars to the victims of the Serena scandal.”

“But what does that matter?”

“Well, not only did Prince have to pay the victims, but it would have to provide each victim with a dose of the remedy—a new drug called Cortexa, formulated to reverse the psychotic and violent effects of Serena.”

“In other words,” said Cole, “a cure for Billycan—provided, of course, he wasn’t simply born bad.”

“Yes, a cure. Serena is the drug they were testing on Billycan. It was supposed to help the humans battle depression, but instead it turned them into heartless killers, exactly like Billycan! Cortexa was originally formulated at Prince as a truth serum—something the humans’ military could use against its enemies—but then they discovered Cortexa did much more than that. It reversed Serena’s violent effects. I thought if we could acquire the remedy, this Cortexa, we could
stop
Billycan once and for all. Not only could we find out if he had anyone working with him, but we could change him—cure him—at the same time holding true to our sacred oath to never kill another rat. Nightshade would be secure once and for all.”

The others sat in silence for a moment. Finally Ragan said, “Do you think the serum is working? Has he truly changed?”

“Everything about him is different—his mannerisms, his eyes, his voice—he doesn’t even talk like himself anymore. Remember that vexing way he used to speak, always referring to himself as if he were talking about someone else, Billycan this and Billycan that? It’s gone! It’s as though the white rat we knew and hated has vanished.”

“How can you be so sure?” asked Ulrich. “He could be feigning all of it, every action forced and purposeful.”

“It’s true. He could be that same evil creature—born bad, as Cole put it—but I just don’t think it’s possible, not seeing him now.”

“But Juniper, I worry your judgment may be clouded,” said Cole. “You
want
to believe.” The others nodded in agreement.

“What about the young ones?” asked Virden. “How are they to handle this? Vincent, Victor, Carn—he took their families away, assassinated them. How are they to cope with such news?”

“I’ve been thinking about that since all of this began. Many times I’ve thought it best they never know.”

There was a sudden pounding at the door. The fist slammed the door so vehemently Juniper thought it might split the timber. “Who the devil—”

The door suddenly swung open, nearly ripped from its hinges. Vincent, followed by all the young Council members, stormed into the chamber.

Everyone stood up.

“Vincent!” barked Juniper furiously. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Enraged, Vincent threw the parchment on the table right in front of Juniper. “What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded.

Juniper’s gaze locked on Vincent’s. He was clearly angry, but his eyes were filled with pain. “How could you lie to us all this time? You’ve been trying to
cure
him? What’s to cure, Juniper? He’s evil, wicked. He killed my family! Carn’s family—right in front of his eyes, no less! What did you think this would accomplish? Tell me! You owe me.” He looked back at his friends. “You owe us all!”

Juniper stayed silent.

“Uncle,” said Clover in a trembling voice, “make us understand …
please.”

Studying all the young, broken faces before him, Juniper finally spoke. “I will be forever sorry for my decision on this matter, but I feared just such a reaction. Even three years free from the grasp of Killdeer’s High Ministry, your wounds are still raw. With that in mind, I made the reasonable choice.”

Vincent clenched his jaw and stood rigidly before Juniper. “Or perhaps you were afraid that had you put this brilliant plan to a vote at Council—as you should have—you would have lost! I implored you to eliminate Billycan. That was the
reasonable
choice! I don’t care about our oath never to kill another. This is different, far different—he’s a monster! Death is what he deserves! Why do you care so much about him? Even if your precious cure—this Cortexa—works and he starts acting like a normal rat, he’ll only want his son back. He’ll try to take Julius from you! And what if this cure is temporary? What if it doesn’t last? What then?”

“Vincent, whatever happens with Billycan, he
will
have to answer for his crimes. He will not lay a claw on Julius, or anyone else for that matter. Now, I realize how disturbing this must be, but—”

Vincent cut him off. “But what, Juniper? But your need to uphold your silly oath outweighs the value of our lives? Or is Billycan just more important to you now? You put Carn in great danger—a rat who has been nothing but loyal to you and every member of this Council. He could have been killed by the horde—or by Billycan himself! You were just lucky that things turned out the way they did! Had something happened to him, had the horde or Billycan ripped him to shreds, his blood would have been on your claws alone!”

“Vincent!” roared Juniper. “Need I remind you, that oath was one we all took willingly, including you, young rat!”

“It doesn’t matter anymore! You put Carn in peril for selfish
reasons!” barked Vincent defiantly. “We could have captured Billycan and imprisoned him for life along with his Kill Army majors. If he was killed in the attempt, so be it! Those are the risks of war. But no, we had to take him alive. I see now that was because you wanted to cure him! You act as though you care more for Billycan—the White Assassin himself—than any of us! What about my father? What about Julius Nightshade, your son’s namesake—this city’s namesake? Billycan killed him—
your
friend! Do you no longer care about my father? Is he nothing to you now?”

Juniper seethed with anger, every word making him more incensed. “Why, you impudent little—”

“And what of your brother, Barcus?” continued Vincent. “Don’t you have any respect for his memory? Barcus may be dead, but he’s still your brother—your own flesh and blood!”

Juniper growled, looking balefully up at the ceiling. He grabbed the sides of his head, yanking at his hair in frustration. “Vincent,” he snarled, “Billycan is my flesh and blood! He is my brother!”

Everyone gasped, then silence filled the room.

Juniper exhaled heavily, relieved to finally say the words out loud. The younger rats all glanced worriedly at each other. Cole stood next to Juniper and set a paw on his shoulder.

Vincent cocked his head and spoke softly. “Juniper, what are you saying? How can Billycan possibly be your brother?” He took a step closer. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? It’s been a rough road, these past few weeks. The strain can plays tricks on the mind.”

“Don’t give me that look,” said Juniper, shaking his head at Vincent and the rest of young Council members, who looked back at him as though he were out of his mind. “I’m not crazy. Billycan, the High Collector, the White Assassin—
whatever
you wish to call him—he is my brother. My half brother.”

Cole cleared his throat. “Juniper’s mother was briefly captured by a Topside lab. The lab personnel bred her with one of the albinos. Billycan was the result of that union. The rest of her litter were not strong enough to survive the toxic injections. She escaped the lab during a break-in and returned to the Combs alone. She married and had her children, Barcus and then Juniper. She died without ever finding out what happened to her first son.”

“And for that I’m glad,” said Juniper. “To know what he’d become … she’d only have blamed herself.”

“How long have you known this?” asked Victor.

“I figured it out shortly after we defeated the High Ministry.”

“Lenore,” said Clover, making the connection. “She’s the one that Billycan mentioned. Lenore was your mother?”

“Yes,” said Juniper, “your grandmother, whom you never had the pleasure of meeting.” He gave her a stern look. “I’m not even going to ask how you got that information. I don’t think I’d like the answer, now, would I?” He gave her a small smile. “You would have liked her.”

“Papa always called her Mama Nori,” said Clover.

“Yes, that’s what everyone called her around the Combs. Nori was short for Lenore.”

“Juniper,” said Vincent, “even if all this is true, how does it change anything? Brother or not, he tried to murder you. He’s twisted and depraved. You’re disfigured, missing an eye, because of him—your
brother.”

“It changes nothing,” said Juniper. “He
is
my brother. I must help him or die trying, no matter what the cost to me. It would go against everything in me to leave my brother forever thinking he’s some monster he was not born to be. If there’s a chance to bring him back to us, with a heart, a soul, I
will
do it. I must. But hear me now: brother or not, he will have to answer for every ounce of suffering he has brought upon us.”

Juniper took Victor by the shoulders, steering him face-to-face with Vincent. “If Victor,
your
brother, changed for the worse—better yet, if something beyond his control changed him for the worse, turning him into a fiend like Billycan—could you kill him for his sins?”

Vincent looked down at the ground, ashamed. “No,” he said softly, “I could never do that. It’s just hard to imagine Billycan being anything but …” Vincent couldn’t finish his thought, still flummoxed at the idea of it all.

“Uncle, if Billycan really was altered by those drugs, made violent and malicious like the Topsiders were, then what’s a fair punishment for his crimes? How can we hold him responsible?” Clover shook her head, just as confused as Vincent.

Vincent sat down next to Juniper. “But after all he’s done, how can we not?”

Juniper slumped wearily into his chair. “Billycan is the cause of many tragedies in our world, the demise of many families, pain that will never go away. I pride our city on hope, the hope of staying
above
the fray. To kill only when crucial to our own survival, to help rats in need. That’s what Nightshade City is based upon—how we came about. Vincent, I suppose you’re right in some ways; maybe I do take our oath too far. I just wonder … I don’t think creatures are born evil. That answer is simply too easy. I do believe, though, in the possibility of redemption.”