Chapter 66

• The Rookery
• [Faye]
• Devona leads us around the castle perimeter to a large tower that stands separate from the main keep. As she pulls open a stiff wooden door, the afternoon light streaming in behind us casts shadows, our silhouettes darkening the floor covered in bird droppings and feathers of all shapes and sizes, colored from cream through russet to tan and blueish black. Overhead, several rows of wooden beams and shelving which house several small wooden boxes where feathered heads peer down at us, eyes following our movements in a very unnatural way. These birds are not ordinary birds, their gazes expressing deep emotion and intelligence.