Page 48 (2/2)

Hollow City Ransos 18950K 2023-09-01

"They can’t penetrate a loop," Emma said "And if there’s a tale about this cathedral, there’s probably a loop entrance here, too"

"Perhaps," said Millard, "perhaps, perhaps Hand ate"

Bronwyn opened her trunk and handed Millard the book

"Let es until he reached "The Pigeons of St Paul’s"

Boht I have entered the realm of the insane

"Listen closely!" Millard said "If there’s a loop entrance nearby, this tale may tell us how to find it It’s a short one, luckily"

A bomb fell outside The floor shook and plaster rained fro I clenched

Unfazed, Millard cleared his throat "The Pigeons of St Paul’s!" he began, reading in a big, boo voice

"We know the title already!" said Enoch

"Read faster, please!" said Bronwyn

"If you don’t stop interrupting ht," said Millard, and then he continued

"Once upon a peculiar ti before there were towers or steeples or any tall buildings at all in the city of London, there was a flock of pigeons who got it into their h place to roost, above the bustle and fracas of hueons are builders by nature, andBut the people of ancient London weren’t interested in constructing tall things, so one night the pigeons snuck into the bedroom of the most industrious human they could find and whispered into his ear the plans for a reat excitenificent church with a great, reaching spire that would rise from the city’s tallest hill A few years later, at enor sort of tower and had all eons could roost, and they were very satisfied with thes sacked the city and burned the tower to the ground, so the pigeons had to find another architect, whisper in his ear, and wait patiently for a new church tower to be built--this one even grander and taller than the first And it was built, and it was very grand and very tall And then it burned, too

"Things went on in this fashion for hundreds of years, the towers burning and the pigeons whispering plans for still grander and taller towers to successive generations of nocturnally inspired architects Though these architects never realized the debt they owed the birds, they still regarded the about wherever they liked, in the naves and belfries, like the uardians of the place they truly were"

"This is not helpful," Enoch said "Get to the loop entrance part!"

"I a to!" Millard snapped

"Eventually, after eons’ plans beca tih to carry the the hill to be cursed, so h he tried to put the idea out of his ht, to whisper it in his ear Still, thethe day, which they had never done before, and told hie that he was the only hu their tower, and he simply had to do it But he refused and chased theone with ye, filthy creatures!’

"The pigeons, insulted and vengeful, hounded thehi his hair, fouling his food with their hind-feathers, tapping on his s at night so he couldn’t sleep--until one day he fell to his knees and cried, ‘O pigeons! I will build whatever you ask, so long as you watch over it and preserve it from the fire’