Savage Messiah

CHAPTER LXXXII

Faegan on thsat in his chair e palace roof, his heart saddened beyond measure. Jessamay, Shailiha, Abbey, and the remaining acolytes stood by his side. Duvessa, Dax, and a large host of Minion warriors were there as well. Safe in her nursery, Shailiha's daughter, Morganna, was being tended by the ever-protective Shawna the Short.

Faegan had called the group together because he would need all of their services if his plan were to have any hope of success. But the early optimism he had felt as a result of his research in the Redoubt was dampened by what he saw from the rooftop.

Tammerland was burning

It was well past midnight. The southwestern side of the city was engulfed in flames. The once-beautiful capital had become a raging inferno. Faegan could smell the stink of the polluted river and the smoke that was rapidly filling the sky. The terrible spectacle was almost more than he could bear.

The unexpected speed of the fire would make his group's task much more difficult-perhaps even impossible. If he underestimated the pace of the fire's progress, then all of their work would be for naught-as it would be anyway if Tristan and Wigg did not return soon.

The sound of screams alterted him to the fact that the first of the city's refugees had finally reached the palace. Earlier in the day, Faegan had steeled himself and ordered the drawbridge raised, and every other entrance to the palace closed and guarded. The dark, ominous forms of Minion warriors lined the tops of the palace walls.

Desperate citizens jumped into the moat and tried to scrabble up the palace walls. Minion warriors used their spears to gently but firmly push them back. Still more jumped in, crowding one another in a fury of desperation. Many drowned before Faegan's eyes.

Tears in her eyes, Shailiha turned to look at the wizard. "Is there nothing you and Jessamay can do to help them?" she asked.

Faegan shook his head. "Nothing. As much as I hate to say it, we are doing exactly what we should right now-that is, preparing to implement the first stage of our plan. I understand your feelings. But you all simply must trust me when I tell you that, this way, far more people will survive."

Shailiha took the old wizard's hand. "We all trust you," she said. "You know that. It's just so difficult to stand by and watch."

"I know, Princess," Faegan answered softly. "I know."

Turning his chair around, he surveyed the results of his group's recent labors. Hundreds of closed containers of every size, type, and color covered the rooftop. Several Minion litters sat nearby filled with yet more vessels.

"Do you all understand what it is you are to do?" he asked. They said they did. Faegan nodded.

"Under no circumstances are you to open the containers until you are sure of your surroundings," he reminded them. "Waste nothing, for your lives may depend upon it. Be sure to use it all. And above all, do not stray far from the palace. If you come too close to the fires, not only might you lose your lives, but all of our good work will go up in smoke. Be as surreptitious in your work as you can."

Pausing for a moment, he looked at them all with hope. "Go now," he said.

Faegan and Jessamay watched as the Minion warriors picked up the various containers and took flight, headed for the parts of the city that were still intact. Then Faegan's group took their places in the litters and the remaining warriors lifted them into the air. In a matter of moments, the wizard and Jessamay were alone on the rooftop.

Faegan watched as the litters grew smaller and smaller, their sides highlighted by the raging orange-red flames. He knew that if the warriors carrying them flew too close to the inferno, the intense updrafts of heat could cause them to crash. But the job had to be done. Even so, for the hundredth time he wondered about the wisdom of his actions.

"Can it really work?" Jessamay asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Faegan sighed. "The theory is sound. But when the craft is involved, there are a hundred ways for something to go wrong-especially when the theory has never been applied. We can only wait and hope."