The grassy field, dotted with tents and various structures, was now almost completely still. The rest of the Night Castle's crew seemed to have vanished into the depths of the tents. Only the occasional circus performer flitted between them, turning a deaf ear to the shouts from the people caught in the rope net high above.
A moment later, the circus ringleader's voice rang out, echoing through the night. "Give me a count! How many piglets have you got?"
The words had barely faded when the man who had so graciously invited Milady to tie on the rope shouted his answer from below the net, "Eight!"
Only then did reality finally begin to sink in for the captured "piglets."
"Piglets? We're done for, we're done for," a crew member muttered. "We've run into human traffickers."
