Shailiha had stirred more than once in Tristan’s arms as a result of the bumpy ride, but blessedly remained asleep. She was still asleep now in the back of the wagon while the three of them crept up to the short rise to look down over the city below.
The Ghetto of the Shunned sat in a rather large bowl, surrounded on all sides by a sloping, grassy hillside. Geldon had explained to them that before the arrival of the Coven the city had been constructed in the center of the bowl for reasons of defense. Men lining the top of the rim could see for miles in every direction and easily warn the city below of danger, allowing the gates to be shut quickly and the drawbridge to be immediately taken up. Until, of course, the arrival of the Coven.
But that same strategic advantage was now making things very difficult for the three of them as they tried to take in the scene. It was impossible to tell what or who might be on the other side of the bowl, and the prospect of the Minions being either inside the city wall or camped around the bowl’s perimeter was a distinct possibility. There was no time to scout the area—it was just too large. Faegan’s portal would soon open up for the last time, and that was where they needed to be, regardless of the danger.
Inside the Ghetto. In Ian’s aviary.
The city had apparently been under siege from the Minions for the last several days, as the flying warriors carried out the last of Failee’s orders to Kluge and searched for conspirators who might have helped the Chosen One. The huge iron gates that had once barred entrance just past the drawbridge had been broken apart and dangled drunkenly off their hinges, the drawbridge itself innocently lowered as if beckoning them to enter. Although from this distance and angle little could be seen of the inside, it was apparent that a great many people had already died at the hands of the Minion troops. The traditional funeral pyres had been lit outside the city walls, the charred smoke rising lazily into the sky, carrying with it the remains of the dead. But those pyres could hold few bodies of the Minions, Tristan realized. The starved, weakened citizens of the Ghetto would never have been able to overcome many of the winged soldiers. The fires must have been burning the corpses of their victims, as the Minions made sure that the bodies of both those with and without leprosy alike were reduced to ash.
So many have died, Tristan thought in horror, simply because Failee was looking for conspirators. And there was in actuality only one. Ian, the keeper of the birds. I pray that he still lives.
“It is impossible to know whether the Minions are still there without going inside,” he whispered to the other two. “No matter how quickly we try to take Shailiha by wagon through the front gates we will be immediately detected, but I see no other way.”
“We must know if the interior is deserted,” Geldon said with finality. “And there is only one way to do that. You must allow me to swim under the moat and look inside. If I see nothing, I will signal you from atop the wall closest to the aviary. Come directly through the gates as fast as you can and go to the aviary without diversion. Turn immediately to the right and go as far as you can. Then, when you reach the eastern wall and can go no farther, turn left and continue for a few blocks. The aviary will be on the left. Stop for nothing. However, if the reverse is true, then there will be no signal, for I will certainly be dead. The smoke from the Recluse can only mean one thing to Kluge and he will know that his mistresses are gone, giving him license to do as he pleases.” The dwarf paused, and silence lay thick between the three of them.
Tristan looked at the wizard, tacitly asking for his opinion. After a moment, Wigg reluctantly nodded. Without giving them a chance to think any longer about it, the dwarf gathered up the chain to his collar and ran quickly down the hillside and around the edge of the wall, toward the area where he would find the underwater gate.
In an instant he was gone, the only trace of his presence the slowly calming ripples of water that closed in around the place where he had gone in.
Such great courage in such a small body, Tristan thought. We already owe him more than we could ever repay.
And then they waited. The moments went by slowly, and for a time Tristan feared that he might never see Geldon’s face again.
Then, suddenly, there he was, atop one of the walls and soaking wet, waving them forward. As quickly as they could, Wigg and Tristan jumped onto the wagon and charged it toward the city gate, Wigg taking the reins, the prince keeping one eye on Shailiha still asleep in the back.
The way down was harrowing since there was no real road, but they couldn’t stop for anything, or dare go any slower. Finally they were across the drawbridge and inside the Ghetto of the Shunned.
Wigg wasted no time as he galloped the charging horses down the main street. Buildings and corners flashed as Tristan looked around for signs of trouble, but the streets were completely empty.
Following Geldon’s directions, the wizard reached the eastern wall, careened the wagon to the left, and charged down the street. Finally, after several more blocks had flown by, Wigg skidded the horses to an abrupt stop in front of the building that housed the aviary.
Except the aviary was no longer there. And there was no trace of Geldon. Tristan jumped down from the wagon, his dreggan already in his hand, and stood agape at the silent, awful scene that lay before him.
The buildings in this part of the Recluse had all been razed and burned. The ashes were still warm, the dark, pungent smoke curling up into the sky. Of the building that had once housed the aviary, only the fractured, fragile skeleton of its foundation remained, rising a few awkward feet into the air. And all around the base lay the remains of Faegan’s enchanted pigeons, their wings and heads cut off, their bodies scattered.
The Minions had transformed this entire area into a sickening graveyard, a testament to their butchery. Dead bodies lay everywhere, just as they had in the streets of Tammerland, and in the center of the square were two separate piles of naked women, presumably raped and piled as trophies. The Pentangle of the Coven could be seen smeared in blood on each of the few standing walls, the severed arms and legs that had served as the Minion’s paintbrushes cast aside after having completed their grisly purpose. The air was hot and humid, with no trace of a breeze, leaving nowhere for the stench of death to escape to as the birds of prey began to wheel effortlessly in their lazy circles above the carnage, waiting for their turn to feed. A palpable, deafening silence reigned as the moments crept silently forward, taking the sun urgently higher in the sky.
Tristan turned to see that the wizard had climbed down from the wagon and was standing silently in the midst of the rubble that had been the aviary. Wigg beckoned to the prince to join him. Walking over, Tristan looked down and saw a mutilated corpse.
Ian lay dead in the ashes, his eyes gouged out, his arms and legs severed, the yellow leper’s robe torn and burned.
The gentle keeper of the birds, Tristan thought sadly. Kluge found him here and probably forced him to talk. The madness never ends. Looking around, he found a singed blanket and used it to cover the body.
He looked worriedly at the wizard. “I know,” Wigg said tensely. “We can only assume that he told them everything. He wasn’t strong enough to stand up against very much.” He looked around the small square. “But where is Geldon?” he murmured, half to himself. He looked to the sky, thinking. “There is less than an hour remaining.”
Tristan walked to the back of the wagon and lowered the gate. Gently lifting Shailiha from the straw, he carried her to a shady spot by the destroyed wall of the aviary. Her eyes opened partially and looked up into his face, but there was still no sign of recognition, and she did not speak. Come back to me, he begged her silently as he gently stroked her hair. Come back to me from the Chimeran Agonies, or I shall have to leave you in this place!