The Hounds of Hell

In the middle of the night, the eagle and the panther arrive at the coast of Italy. They see two ships approaching, one of which is on fire. The eagle tells the panther that they should avoid the battle, as it would take their feline eyes to find a trail in the darkness. He tells the bird that they want neither the barbarian gods nor the Christian one. They want neither of them to torture the women and children of the city. The bird tells the eagle to take the horses and leave. They do not have time to kill the women, and they do not care about the fate of the goths. They cannot allow the women to be tortured. They should not kill the children, they tell the bird, because they will be struck by horror when they return to Rome. They must do something, the bird tells them, but he does not want to look at them. He wants to know where the archeress is hiding. He knows that the enemy army is already gone. He asks the bird to leave him to gaze at the spectacular sight. He wonders where he has committed such a treason. He also wonders about the past night, when the city was on fire