My whole body stiffened then I fell into oblivion.
There was a strange sound of metal scraping, but everything was dark. My senses felt muddy, and my head swam dizzily. I opened my eyes, my world coming slowly into focus. I was lying on the floor of a cell. On the other side of the door, I saw people looking down at me. Their torchlight hurt my eyes.
As my world came into view, I realized someone was kneeling down, looking closely at me.
Nadjla.
“Wake up, you smug bitch,” she whispered.
Moving carefully, I pulled myself into a sitting position.
The vampiress smirked. “She doesn’t look like much now,” she said eyeing me. “Are you sure?” she asked someone standing behind her.
“Yes,” a husky voice answered.
My senses snapped to life. Erlik.
I looked up to find Erlik standing there. He, along with two of the Berkano vampires who served him, and half a dozen more of Nadjla’s vampires, were all looking down at me.
“Erlik?” I whispered.
Nadjla laughed. “Erlik?” she mimicked in a sickly sweet mocking voice.
“That’s not necessary,” Erlik told the vampiress.
His eyes were steady on mine, but I could not read him at all. His emotions and thoughts were blocked. I searched his face, not believing what I was seeing. What was he doing here?
“She looks confused,” Nadjla said with a laugh. “Not that bright, are you? You know, Emine kept those girls so sequestered it’s no wonder. My dear, don’t you see you’ve been betrayed? You have good taste in men, I certainly agree with that. Too bad they were both loyal to me.”
I stared at Erlik.
A commotion behind him distracted me. Another group of vampires was dragging someone into the room.
“Ah, now I have the complete set,” Nadjla said. “Throw her in there.”
Three massive Berkano vampires dragged Meryem by the arms to a cell not far from mine. She kicked and fought them but to no avail. They dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor.
I rose unsteadily to my feet, my hands still chained behind my back. I stepped toward the bars and met Erlik’s eyes. There was nothing there. Nothing of the tenderness he had shown me. Nothing of the affection I thought had lived there. Now all I saw was the flashing silver light of a Berkano vampire. A devil. A demon. A creature with no soul. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible. As I stood there in front of him, seeing his betrayal, seeing the stony expression on his face, my heart nearly broke.
Erlik turned from my gaze to Nadjla. “Where is the blood witch?”
The vampiress pointed up.
Erlik nodded. “Very well. Let’s see if your pet is capable of pulling energy from our kind as this whore did with me.”
Nadjla clapped her hands happily, jumping like a giddy child. “Exciting times, boys,” she said to the others. “If Esmeray can use the combined energy to manage the barrier, then a new era will rise. Once more, we will own the night.”
“And the warlock and his acolytes?” Erlik asked.
Nadjla blew air through her lips. “Tools. They’ve done their part. They’ll meet their end tonight.”
“Bold but foolish. He is stronger than you think,” Erlik told her.
Nadjla glared at him. “You’re old fashioned. Use some imagination,” she hissed then turned and stormed out of the room, the other vampires following behind her.
“Erlik?” I whispered. My mind clearing, I tried to sense beyond the mask but could not pass it.
Erlik looked at me out of the corner of his eye then turned and walked away, the Berkano following behind him.
The torchlight disappeared down a long corridor then I heard the scrape of metal followed by the clatter of a door. Again, everything went dark.
I stood in the darkness staring at the hollow of Erlik’s wake.
They had all been right all along. I had been under a charm. Erlik and Aydin had both used and betrayed me. I had fallen for their false love, their lies, and now everything I held dear was being destroyed.
How could Erlik have done this to me?
“Pelin?” a voice called from the darkness nearby.
I did not want to speak. I could not. My heart was breaking into a million pieces. Aydin’s betrayal had stung. I’d lost someone I cared for. But Erlik…from the moment I’d set eyes on the vampire, I’d felt I’d met my twin soul. My love. My soulmate. How could this be happening?
“Pelin?” someone called once more.
I closed my eyes. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I set my head on the bars of my cell. How stupid of me. I didn’t even know him. Twin soul? The vampire had mesmerized me. I’d been too foolish and too desperate. I’d wanted something more out of life than only the barrier. I wanted to really live, to love. I’d been used. All this was my fault.
“Pelin?” a voice called once more. This time, I recognized Zeynep’s voice.
“I’m here,” I croaked. Inhaling deeply, I cast out my senses. Not far from me, I felt my sisters.
“Light,” someone whispered.
A glowing orb of blue light appeared before Esma.
Meryem rushed to the bars of her cell. “Pelin?” she called.
“Meryem…I…I’m so sorry. I was wrong, so wrong.”
“Pelin,” she called gently.
I closed my eyes once more. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
In the distance, I heard Meryem mutter a spell. My eyes were closed, but suddenly I sensed light all around me. Opening my eyes, I saw that Meryem had cast a star shower over me. Twinkling silver and gold light fell from the illusion of a Rift-colored sky filled with dazzling stars.
The image of it pained me. It was just like the star shower I’d created for Erlik.
Gasping, I turned to Meryem.
She smiled, closed her eyes, bowed her head slightly then whispered a spell. A moment later, I heard the clatter of her binds as they fell to the floor.
Bending down, she picked up the shackles.
“How?” Zeynep asked.
“Silver plated only. Gold underneath. A lot of gold in the bazaar, you know,” she said, swinging the chains in front of her. She worked her hands and cast a spell. I didn’t hear her words, but a moment later, a bolt of golden light shot from her hands and zipped around the room. I felt the binds on my wrists loosen. The spell had unlocked all our shackles.
“I don’t understand,” Isla said as she pulled off her chains.
Meryem smiled softly at me. “He loves you. Burned himself in the sun trying to get to you.”
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Thank Umay.
“Pelin, do you know what happened to Emine? There was a terrible battle in the tower,” Isla said.
“Emine is dead,” I said gently.
Esma let out a soft cry of anguish.
“Endur and I fought off Baran and his followers to protect the first order acolytes, but Ender was wounded,” Meryem told the others.
“Where are the girls?” Isla asked.
“Safe,” Meryem said.
“Safe where?” Zeynep asked.
“Among friends,” Meryem said, turning to me.
Zeynep raised an eyebrow at me then nodded.
“What about Cain and Taavi?” Esma asked.
“I did not see either during the rebellion,” Zeynep said. “It was Baran and his small band of acolytes.”
“And what about the barrier? Without Emine or us watching it, it will fall,” Esma said.
“The spell Pelin cast last night shifted the energy. For now, it is holding,” Meryem said.
“We saw. Someone attacked the dome, then the dome changed,” Ayla said.
“Nadjla has a blood witch. She was the one who struck at the barrier,” I said.
“A blood witch,” Zeynep said with a gasp.
“What is a blood witch?” Isla asked.
“A human witch turned vampire.”
A look of fear crossed the others’ faces.
“But why?” Kamile asked. “We all need the dome in place to protect Nazar.”
“It is not the dome they want to end, it’s us,” I said. “We need to get out of here. The blood witch drank the blood of magical humans. Because she is a witch, magical blood did not poison her. I suspect strongly we are part of whatever ritual they have planned next.”
“Then, by all means, let’s go,” Zeynep said as a wicked grin crossed her face while between her hands, she formed a blazing fireball.
Chapter 31
I cast a masking spell around us as we moved silently out of the cell. A pair of Rift-cursed vampires stood guard at the end of the hall.
“Sleep,” Meryem whispered, casting an enchantment on them. They both slumped to the ground.
Bending, I shackled their hands with the enchanted silver locks.
“This way,” Meryem said, leading us down a long corridor.
As we moved, I cast my senses out, feeling for Erlik. I sensed him, and the other vampires, gathered together in the distance. And among them, I also felt the blood witch. Her attention pricked as I brushed past her senses.
Rebounding my efforts, I pulled magic from the earth and draped our presence in shadow.
“The blood witch senses me probing.”
“Then stop probing,” Zeynep said with a smirk.
“Once we get out of here, then what?” Kamile asked.
“Our first priority must be to protect the dome and the humans,” Isla said.
I nodded. “Yes, but unless we end this rebellion, it will be a useless endeavor.”
“What do you suggest?” Zeynep asked.
I paused. The others looked at me, a mix of worry and anger in their eyes. “I suggest that we wipe out Nadjla, her vampires, the blood witch, and Baran and his followers. And then we repair the barrier when we’re done.”
“But Pelin…how?” Suzan asked. “Meryem is the only one who has her evil eye amulet.”
“You can’t go two feet in this city without running into a shop that sells evil eyes. We’ll get new ones,” Meryem said.
I stared at her as an idea washed over me.
I grabbed Meryem and pulled her into a hug. “You are brilliant,” I said then let her go. I turned to the others. “Come with me. I know what to do,” I said.
It was already dark by the time we found our way out of the ruin in which we’d been held captive. As we emerged from the rubble, I was surprised to discover that we’d been detained in a police station. So much for justice.
This time, acting more carefully, I cast my senses out.
“They are all gathered in Taksim Square,” I whispered. “There are sentinels not far from us. There,” I said pointing to the rooftops. Closing my eyes, I felt once more. “Some of the Berkano—Nadjla’s people, I think—are coming this way,” I said.
“For us?” Kamile whispered.
I strained my senses to feel. Yes, there was malice there. But also fear.
I nodded.
“Pelin, look,” Zeynep said, her eyes cast upward. The barrier over the district was fluctuating wildly. “They must be doing something already.”
I looked up at the sky. She was right. The barrier was beginning to buckle. The magic I had performed wasn’t enough. But still, there were opaque patches where the wounds had been sealed. The sky was both threatening and promising all at once.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Letting my senses guide us, the nine of us rushed in the direction of the square. My stomach clenched hard, but I fought off the anxiety. We had a plan. It would work. It had too. If it didn’t, everything would come to an end.
When we turned a corner, we found ourselves standing at the edge of a square thronging with vampires.
“Umay protect us,” Isla whispered.
“We’ll be all right. Just follow the plan, right? What could go wrong?” Meryem said.
Anything? Everything? I smiled confidently, not letting the others see how furiously my hands worked to gather shadow around us, to blur us to the senses of the dozens of vampires gathered there—and Baran, and the blood witch, and Nadjla. Isla was right to be scared.
Near the center of the square, just as she had been the night before, Nadjla waited on the platform, the blood witch, Esmeray, at her side. I did not fear the vampires or Baran and his warlocks, but the blood witch unnerved me. She had powers I did not understand. And in that, she was dangerous.
Erlik and his small band of Berkano stood on the ground near the dais. Erlik wore a nonchalant expression, his eyes shimmering silver under the night’s sky. He looked every bit the dangerous vampire I’d been warned away from. But at this moment, he was risking himself. He was playing with Nadjla, pretending to be on her side. I was alive because of him. Now I simply had to stay that way.
My eyes slid to Aydin who was standing close to Esmeray, the blood witch. He was leaning toward her, whispering to her. The girl nodded mutely. The familiarity between them seemed odd. Why was he here? How did he know that creature?
Unseen, we wove our way down the wide path that led to the sacrificial dais. We moved between them like shadows, wraiths in the darkness.
On the ground not far from Nadjla stood Baran and a dozen of his acolytes. The young men all wore the same hard, angry expression Baran favored. How self-righteous he looked. Emine was dead because of him. Endur was either gravely wounded or dead. Taavi and Cain were missing. The magical families were missing. The order was destroyed because of him. I felt anger splash up inside of me, stiffening my resolve. The Order of Umay preached peace but did not shy away from a necessary means to an end.
“There is Emir,” Isla whispered.
I looked from her to the acolyte of Tengri. His brooding expression and dark brow had always seemed so fetching—particularly to Isla—before. Now, I sensed danger from him. He and the others had come to watch us be sacrificed in a blood rite. I looked back at Isla. My heart broke for her as I watched her expression change. She’d had hopes, as I’d had for Aydin, and in that single moment, everything she’d ever felt for the boy fell to pieces. A betrayal of this depth was unthinkable. Kamile took Isla’s hand, squeezing it gently. What came next would be hard but necessary. If we wanted to survive, if we wanted to save Nazar, to save the humans, to save innocent lives, we’d all need to set aside hopes we’d had.
I glanced at Aydin once more. He was looking at the blood witch, studying her face carefully. His brow crinkled in frustration and worry.
Turning away, I looked back at the others. “Be ready. When I give the signal, I will drop the mask, and we’ll do what we must. Nazar is counting on us. If we fail, all is lost.”
They nodded.
I turned then to Zeynep. Her eyes met mine. She nodded. I twisted my hand, dropping the masking illusion around Zeynep and me.
Together, we emerged from the shadows that had hidden us, appearing as if out of thin air before our assembled executioners.
Chapter 32
A terrible hush fell over the assembled mob when Zeynep and I suddenly appeared before Nadjla and the others.
The blood witch eyed me, her dark eyes like deep wells filled, not with loathsome rage, but terrible sorrow. She met my eyes then looked away.
Nadjla sneered. “What is this sorcery?” She turned to Baran. “Warlock, are you blind? Silence these two.”
Baran stepped forward and began casting a spell.
“No,” I said then turned to Zeynep. “Now.”
Fire erupted between the girl’s hands. Before Baran could even process what was happening, she lobbed a raging wall of flames toward the wizard.
Baran’s followers, including the treacherous Emir, moved to protect their leader, but none of them were prepared for Zeynep’s power.
The vampires, more ready to protect their hides from fire, moved quickly away from the scene, dodging the flames.
The spectacle
was a sight to behold. Zeynep’s hair turned a fiery orange as Umay filled her with the scorching light of the sun. Her eyes too seemed to light up with flames. An inferno let loose from her hands as she channeled the fire energy. A massive hush fell over the crowd as Baran and the others screamed. Their cries, however, were short-lived. No one moved. No one dared touch us. A moment later, Zeynep let go. The ground where Baran and the others had stood was charred black. The warlock and his ilk were no more than heaps of ash on the ground.
The crowd fell into silence.
I cast a glance back at the vampires. They stood, eyes glimmering in the reflection of the flames, all fangs and twisted faces, but they did not attack. Nadjla had been filling their minds for years, telling them stories about my order. Just because the witches in old Istanbul kept their magic secret did not mean we were not powerful. If anything, the magic used by the Order of Umay had increased since the wake of the Rift. Our sheltered life had seen to that. Whatever Nadjla told them we were—weak, useless, easy targets—it was clear now that we were anything but. I sensed surprise and confusion.
“Nice trick,” Nadjla said with a sneer, stepping off the dais toward us. She moved around the lingering flames and heaps of ash nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed by the carnage. “But your magic doesn’t frighten me.”
“Then you’re more foolish than I thought,” I replied.
“Smug words, witch. But you’ve done me no harm. I was planning to kill the warlock and his followers anyway. You’ve done me a favor.”
I shrugged. “I guess no one likes liars, and they always get what’s coming to them.” My eyes went to Aydin. He’d been looking at me, but he turned away.
Nadjla laughed. “You’re haughty, aren’t you? Typical of your order. But you don’t understand what I’ve done, what I’ve created. It’s taken me years, but I’ve found a way to undo your kind,” she said then turned and stormed away from me. “Crash it all down. Now,” she told Esmeray, the blood witch. “And destroy these two.”
Moving as if against her will, Esmeray pulled away from Aydin. She lifted her hands to the sky, and with a terrible shriek, let out a bolt of dark magic that ripped across the heavens. The black energy smashed into the barrier, and a moment later, the dome began to rip. The first blasts of Rift magic crashed into Nazar. The ground shook.
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