Lords of Trillium Read Free

view of things, but then again, all those years she spent in Tosca . . . She was around your age when she was forced onto that boat during the Great Flood. She wasn’t prepared for what life had in store for her, surviving in that jungle on her own. Luckily, she made it out alive.”
    â€œTo be strong in mind, one must be strong in body,” Texi recited.
    â€œI suppose Elvi said that, too.”
    Nodding her head, Texi glanced at his wounded arm. “Juniper, do you think we’ll ever find the lost Hunters?”
    â€œI don’t know,” he replied gravely. “But I’ll find them or die trying. Everyone on the Council is trying to figure out where they might be. Speaking of the Council, Ulrich misses you.”
    â€œI haven’t seen him for a while. Elvi said I mustn’t. Not until I learn all my life lessons. That’s what she calls them, life lessons.” She smiled weakly. “I do miss him, though. Ulrich always makes me laugh . . . that stubby tail of his.”
    â€œWell,” said Juniper, rapping his claws against his chin, “let me speak to Elvi. You’ve come a long way this past year.” He patted Texi’s shoulder. “I think it’s high time you had a littlediversion. Besides, we’re all sick to death of Ulrich’s constant grousing.”
    â€œOh”—Texi looked down at her feet—“it’s all right. You don’t have to do that for me.”
    â€œBut I
want
to,” said Juniper.
    â€œBut after what I did . . . to . . . to little Julius, I don’t think I should do anything but study for now, learn to be . . . good.”
    Juniper lifted Texi’s chin. “My dear, you
are
good. All has been forgiven. We are not angry with you. Why, we never were. Maddy and I know how very hard you’ve been working . . . and how far you’ve come. You’re stronger, more self-assured. Even your eyes—they shine brighter than before.”
    Texi placed the dagger back in the holster on her leg. The same kind Elvi had. “Thank you,” she said softly.
    Batiste was killed on Hallowtide Night
,
    while searching Topside for sweet delight
.
    Batiste was killed at quarter past three
,
    while searching for food in the Battery
.
    Now he is lonely, now he is dead
,
    now he Pennies-and-Pranks for your tail and your head!
    The morbid verse ran through Billycan’s head as he placed a grimacing gourd with a fanged mouth in a corner. There weren’t any pumpkins to be found, so instead he and a band of others had absconded with a crate of small squashes they pinched from one of the many vendors at Tosca’s open market. They’d do just fine.
    After insisting the others go to bed, he and Ajax worked furiously through the night. When he thought about it, it sounded preposterous. Two grown rats who’d seen more war, death, and destruction than any creature should ever witness, sitting onthe floor, surrounded by gourds and colored paper, whittling Jack-o’-lanterns and hanging cutouts of devils and spooks. He supposed it was fitting. It was
something
, in any case. It was yet another happy moment, another
good
moment, to help force out all the bad ones . . . the ones that haunted him far worse than any Hallowtide ghost ever could.
    â€œThey will be horrified!” he shouted as he made a frenzied dash down another corridor. He had planned everything so well. His white snout highlighted by firelight, he would start with the story of Batiste. He couldn’t wait to tell the little ones of Tosca all about the aged phantom, roaming the corridors for Pennies-or-Pranking, searching aimlessly for his stolen sweets! His heart raced in anticipation. He hadn’t felt this kind of rush in ages . . . not since that night . . . He shook his head vehemently. He didn’t want to think about