Lords of Trillium (9 page)

Hidden by the darkness of the early morning, Billycan watched for what felt like hours as rat after rat darted up and down the pier, attending to their duties.

The dock rats were a rough sort. They contended with the humans every day, easily outwitting them. In his dark days, Billycan had once tried to take over their operation. Had the Bloody Coup not happened when it did, he might have succeeded.

Billycan's head was pounding, throbbing in time with his rapidly beating heart. He pulled at his ears, listening intently even through the pain. He remained silent in the alley, looking, listening, waiting, which was beginning to drive him mad. He didn't like to wait.

Suddenly a huge rat approached from behind. Billycan turned to face him. He was a big, brown fellow. One ear was all but gone and the other had a rather sizable bite out of it. His fur was disheveled and missing in a few places, revealing deep battle scars. His tail was mangled, and looked more like
a frayed piece of twine than a proper rat's tail. The rat was battle-worn, thought Billycan.

“You don't belong here!” said the rat in a gruff voice. “You're in my territory. What do you want?” He flared his long claws. He gave Billycan a wicked sneer, grunting arrogantly. The rat's rancor poured off of him like the stench of rotting meat.

Billycan circled swiftly around the rat, his body shaking with suppressed rage.

“Well?” demanded the rat.

“I'm waiting for someone,” said Billycan. “Moreover, this is the dock rats' territory, not yours.”

“Is that so?” The rat grinned crookedly, flexing his digits. He cracked his neck from side to side, a sure sign he was preparing for a fight.

Billycan was in no mood to trifle with this rat. He shook his head resignedly. “We are not going to settle this amicably, are we?”

The rat grinned deviously. “Well, now, where would be the fun in that?”

Billycan's eyes narrowed to dark slits. His voice dropped to a callous whisper. “Do yourself a favor, as you don't look like the brightest of fellows. Do not challenge me. You'll lose.”

“I'll kill you!” shouted the rat, now thoroughly infuriated.

Billycan sighed. “I'll say it again, slowly this time, so you understand me. You'll lose.”

The rat snorted disdainfully. Flaring his teeth and growling, he immediately circled in closer. He inspected Billycan, eyeing him for a soft spot.

Billycan noted the rat's snout. It was oversized, just as he was—its underside slightly bulbous and rounded. His meaty chest had several deep scars on it. He'd been injured there
before. And then there were his eyes, bulging like swollen black globes. A plan formed in Billycan's head: snout, chest, eyes, and finally jaw, in that order—four steps.

Still circling, the rat suddenly took a deft turn, charging at breakneck speed. Here was Billycan's chance. Instead of jumping to the left or right, he dived underneath him, causing him to topple backwards as Billycan struck the bottom of the rat's snout with his head. The rat groaned loudly in agony. Step one—complete.

“Lucky shot, is all,” said the rat as he staggered to his feet. He wiped blood from his mouth, stumbling dizzily to the right and then back to the left, clearly unable to focus, his brain ringing from the blow.

Quickly now, thought Billycan, time for step two. Using his heavy tail as a whip, Billycan came up from behind, cuffing the rat hard in the chest—the blow so powerful Billycan's tail smarted. The rat coughed and groaned, a fine mist of blood flying from his mouth.

Billycan laughed gleefully, circling tightly around the rat, who teetered, unable to stand straight any longer. Billycan threw himself to the left and then quickly back to the right, hurling himself into the rat's cranium, striking with such force Billycan could feel the bone around the rat's eye break. Step three—achieved.

His once rigid body now slack, the rat moaned feebly, bobbing back and forth. Billycan came at him one final time. Charging him head on, Billycan lunged at implausible speed, his arm lurching forward, grabbing the rat's lower jaw. He locked on to his mandible, pulling downward. The rat howled as his jaw cracked. Billycan's body shivered with delight.

Step four—accomplished.

Task—concluded.

The rat fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Billycan was mesmerized by the sight. He surveyed the damage. Blood trickled from the rat's mouth, eye, and chest, his eye socket crushed, his jaw nearly detached, undoubtedly fractured. The rat would be lucky if he kept his sight in the wounded eye, but Billycan suspected he'd probably lose it.

All and all, recovery would take at least three months. The healing of the rat's ego, on the other hand, might take far longer.

Billycan's agonizing headache had vanished. He looked around, unsure where he was. He looked down at his bloodied paws, uncertain how the fight he wound up in even started.

The rat was out cold on the pavement. Billycan sat down next to him, confused, but it seemed as if a fog had suddenly been lifted. He lay on his back and looked up at the stars, their light dimmed by the illuminated city.

He was glad to be home.

“Oh, Clover,” said Mother Gallo, digging through her chest of sewing supplies, “this is all so exciting—a wedding!” At her feet Nomi squealed with delight, covering herself in strands of beads and ribbons that had fallen to the floor. “Only a few days until the big event. There is so much to do in so little time.” She paced around the fire pit, tapping her chin. “Why, there's your sash—I'm thinking a lovely yellow to match your eyes—the invitations, the decor, the seating, the menu, the music, and
so
many other details. I almost don't know where to begin.”

“Really, I'm fine with a small, quiet ceremony,” replied Clover, seeing the worry on Mother Gallo's face. “There's no need for you or Uncle to fuss. After four years, Vincent and I don't want to wait any longer than necessary.”

“If anyone knows how you feel, it's me,” said Mother Gallo,
thinking back on how long she was apart from Juniper. “You and Vincent are right. Don't wait! And about having a small, quiet ceremony, well, you can simply forget about that. Nightshade City will have the wedding of the century!”

“Of the century!” repeated Nomi as she placed a large pink bow atop her head.

Clover giggled. She crouched down, helping Nomi put another necklace over her head. “I suppose it's settled, then. Thank you for your help.” She paused for a moment, remembering their first meeting in the Catacombs and how Mother Gallo had safely delivered her to her uncle. “Thank you . . . for
everything
. Without you, I doubt there'd be any wedding celebration for me. I owe my life to you.”

“My dear,” said Mother Gallo, ceasing her harried pacing. She smiled down at Nomi. “You are just as much a daughter to me as this one. And though I could never take her place, it's my pleasure—more so, my
honor
—to fill in for your mother on occasions such as these.” She held an anxious paw to her heart. “I only hope I do her proud.”

“Mother Gallo, you already have.”

Billycan had moved away from the injured brown rat, down the pier, where he hid behind a pile of ropes. Finally the rat Billycan had been waiting for emerged from the dark. Its coat was a
gleaming cinnamon. Its eyes shone a brilliant violet, reflecting the cold water.

Billycan wasted no time. “Gwenfor!” he called out, trying to keep his voice down. The rat turned her head in his direction. “Over here!”

Long and imperial, the rat stood stiffly on her haunches. “Who's there?” she asked, baring her lethal teeth. “Who calls me?”

Stepping into a thin shaft of light, Billycan showed himself. He stared at her. “
I
do.”

Gwenfor stood her ground, looking at him coolly. “Billycan, we had an agreement, you and I. Why then have you come? What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

“You
owe
me,” said Billycan decisively. “It's high time I collected payment.”

“I owe you nothing,” she said, her regal mouth slipping into a sneer. “You gave me your word you'd never come for me. My debt is paid. I
never
should have trusted you.”

“You're quite right,” he replied grimly. “You never should have trusted me, but things have changed. Many lives hang in the balance, possibly your own. That being the case, our little arrangement is null and void.”

“What are you talking about? Apart from your own skin, since when do you care about lives hanging in the balance?”

“I've no doubt you haven't forgotten Killdeer, his plans for you and your rats.”

Her eyes flooding with hatred, Gwenfor spat bitterly on the pier. “How could I forget? We celebrated for days upon word of his death.” She took a step forward, trying to get a better look at him. “What's different about you?” she asked, cocking her head curiously. “Your voice, it's . . . calmer. And your eyes, they are not the same.”

Billycan ignored her observations. “A rat from Killdeer's reign has returned—one who wielded much power, but even more venom. She and members of her throng have infiltrated Nightshade. There will be bloodshed.”

“Who?” demanded Gwenfor.

“Hecate,” he said coolly.

“But—but why?”

“To take power, of course, to reclaim the throne in Killdeer's name—to kill any rat she feels has wronged her, from the most powerful rat in all of Nightshade down to the most innocent child. She is out for blood.”

“Elvi, what possible objection could you have to Texi being in the wedding?” asked Juniper. “She's one of Clover's dearest friends.”

“After what Texi
did
I do not think you should reward her in such a way,” Elvi replied with conviction. “She hasn't been able to concentrate on her studies since Clover asked her, dizzy with thoughts of dancing and merriment. How is she to pay for her crimes, if we indulge such folly?” She shook her head. “It's utterly ridiculous.”

“Her
crimes
?” said Juniper, incensed by the choice of word. He got up brusquely from his chair. “What Texi did, she only did to gain acceptance from her sisters—to feel loved. She thought she was doing the right thing, and in the end she protected Julius from them. Her heart has
always
been in the right place, and there is no crime in that!” He exhaled, not wanting to broach his mounting concerns with Elvi, but it was time. He lowered his voice. “Why must you be so hard on her? Of late you have
not
been yourself. You seem so angry, dare I say bitter, not the Elvi I know so well, not the one I grew up with
in the Catacombs.” He rubbed his brow. “We've all noticed it. There's been talk among the Council. It's clear to everyone. Many of the Council members have grown wary of you, afraid to speak their minds in your presence lest you explode.” He reclaimed his seat. “After the harsh life you endured in Tosca and all that happened last year, I'd think you'd be happy to have some peace, but you only stew with rage.”

Getting up from her chair, Elvi fetched her teapot. She turned her back to Juniper, her mouth curling into a sneer. “I know I've been . . . cold lately.” She sighed. “Happiness is an elusive thing for a rat such as me. Every moment of joy I've ever felt has been stolen. Perhaps my heart has been stolen as well.”

“Elvi, I had no idea how deeply you'd been wounded,” said Juniper, watching her small, cloaked frame curl over her teapot. “You've always been so self-assured. I suppose it never occurred to me that your scars from the past could run so deep . . . and for that I am sorry. As for your stolen heart, I'm afraid it's still very much with you. In fact, you've a bigger heart than any rat I know. Texi is proof of that. You've built up her confidence, and we are all grateful for that, but just as you've built her up, I've noticed she's become rather dependent on you. It seems she can't even breathe these days without asking your permission first. She needs to make up her own mind, make her
own
decisions.”

Turning around with the sweetest of smiles, Elvi cocked her head. “You always put things into perspective, Juniper. Here I thought it was good for her, but perhaps I
have
been a bit iron-handed. I only thought I was helping her.”

“You
have
helped her,” said Juniper, “but it's high time she stood on her own two feet.”

“Agreed,” she said, reaching for two teacups in her small cupboard. “Standing next to Clover will be a special reward for Texi. She has earned it.”

“You've earned it as well,” said Juniper. “Without you as a teacher, Texi could not be the self-assured rat she is today. Elvi, you should be proud. You deserve it.”

She grinned broadly. “You're right. I
do
deserve it.” She set a teacup in front of Juniper.

“Oh, no, thank you,” said Juniper, holding up his paw. “I must admit I feel more energized lately, more lucid. Probably just happenstance, but it all started when I stopped drinking tea.” He chuckled. “I know it sounds foolish, but for that reason alone I'll politely pass.”