I nodded.
Taking me by the waist once more, he jumped to the street. Walking together, we set out onto the broken bridge. At its center, the bridge had collapsed into the water.
Rubble shifted under my feet, splashing into the dark waters of the Golden Horn below.
I frowned. “I don’t suppose you have a boat.”
Erlik eyed the gap between our side of the bridge and the other. He looked back at me and smiled. “Alone, the distance is no matter. With you, I’ll need a running start. Climb on to my back.”
I looked at him, weighing his seriousness. He wasn’t kidding.
I wrapped my hands around his neck, my legs around his waist.
“I sense others not far away. Will you be able to mask us?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said then moved my hands, cloaking us in darkness. “Can the others feel you as well?”
“Yes. All vampires have that gift to an extent.”
I pulled more magic from the earth, cloaking us more completely. “Got it. That should work.”
Erlik chuckled. “I hope so. Otherwise, we’ll need to smite everyone, and that might cause an uproar. Hold on.” He rushed back a bit and then turning, he sprinted forward. When he jumped, I felt every muscle in his body move. I closed my eyes and pressed my face into his back. There was a rustling sound, and a moment later we landed. Once more, I heard rubble fall but our landing was solid.
I exhaled deeply then slid off.
At once, I touched my fingers to the evil eye amulet and refortified my spell. A simple masking spell might hide me in the streets of Istanbul, but spiriting away a vampire was another matter. My magic amplified by the amulet, I wove a charm of magic around us, masking us from vision and hearing. And, I hoped, hiding the massive energy that surrounded Erlik.
He watched me with curiosity.
When I was done, I nodded to him. “I reinforced the spell, just in case.”
He eyed me skeptically. “How old are you, Pelin?”
“Twenty-five. Why?”
“Have you ever met another witch who can sense vampires, who can feel others’ presence as you can?”
“Each witch has her own skills.”
“But do any have this power?”
“No.”
Erlik studied me carefully.
It was then that I realized what he was considering. Had the Rift curse touched me? Rift-cursed vampires were weaker than their Berkano forefathers, but could also withstand the sun, and sometimes had a bit of magic. There had been talk among the Order of Tengri of a warlock who’d craved blood, and both Baran and Emine showed signs of prolonged life.
“Do you think it is the Rift curse?” I whispered.
“You are a peculiar and gifted witch. It only makes sense that your extraordinary skills come from my kind.”
I grinned. “Nothing special about the fact that I am descended from nine generations of full-blood witches in the Order of Umay?”
“Minor detail, of course. Come,” he said, reaching for my hand.
Under cover of night, we made our way through the city streets. There was a strange sense of decay around us. On this side of the Gold Horn, the stretch of water between the old part of Istanbul and the area around Taksim, the streets had not been cleared. The death of the old world seemed more evident. There was no light: no lanterns, no electricity, nothing. A heavy sense of foreboding filled the air.
Our senses guiding us, we moved toward the area of Taksim Square. It had once been a busy hub of tourism. Shopfronts lined the streets, but their windows were all broken. Many of the tall buildings along the landscape had fallen into ruin. The buildings looked like they belonged to part of an ancient civilization. The world around us, lit by the light of the moon, the glow of the barrier, and the storms overhead, held a strange, dense feeling.
My stomach knotted.
Someone was nearby.
Erlik and I both stopped. Moving carefully, we slipped into an alleyway and watched. On the rooftop across the street, another vampire appeared. His eyes shimmered silver. His mouth was full of fangs, his face twisting in an expression of angry fury. He glanced all around, but seeing nothing, he moved in the direction of the bridge.
“Nolan,” Erlik whispered. “He is one of the Berkano who went with Nadjla.”
“You said she was banished. How long ago did that happen?”
“Just after the Rift.”
“Just after the Rift. Almost one hundred years ago. Have you been alone all that time?” My heart was moved to think he had endured for so long without love.
Saying nothing, Erlik kissed me on the forehead. Then he took me by the hand, and we moved once more toward Taksim Square.
As we did so, more signs of life, such as it was, became evident. In the distance, I saw the orange glow of firelight, heard voices, and felt people…a lot of people. Erlik, sensing the same, came to a stop.
“There,” I said, spying the ruins of an old building. It was clearly unsuitable for inhabitants but offered a view of the square. I couldn’t feel anyone inside. Everyone seemed to be collected at the square ahead of us.
Moving quietly, Erlik held on to me and leaping upward, made short work of the distance between us and the upper floors of the building. If I truly was Rift-cursed, I regretted that I had not inherited extraordinary strength and speed. We crept down the hallway of the ruined building to a room with a view on the square below.
Once more, I touched my amulet, centering myself with the energy of Umay, drawing strength from the earth. This time, I wavered a little, feeling my magic draining. I pulled the darkness even closer around us.
Careful to measure my breathing and stay hidden in shadow, I looked out the broken window at the scene below.
It took everything inside me not to audibly gasp.
At the center of the square, a rickety platform had been erected. Around the square, the vampires had gathered in a circle. Five humans were chained to wooden stakes, wood heaped at their feet. They struggled to get free. Their cries for help faded among the cheers of the vampires gathered there. The vampires were all worked into a frenzy. Their silver eyes shimmered, their jagged fangs snapping hungrily, faces deformed and twisted. There were so many of them, maybe a hundred or more, gathered there.
My hands tightened into fists as I looked over the humans.
And then, I saw her. Melek, the mother of the tiny baby, was there. She hung limp, barely alive, at the stake.
My body shook. I had to do something.
“My children, let us rejoice this night!” a commanding voice called, pulling my attention away.
All attention turned to a raven-haired beauty standing on the center platform. The beautiful creature with pale skin and shiny black hair laughed and cheered.
“Shall we feast? Bring out the bounty,” she screamed.
From a building nearby, a row of humans bound by ropes at the neck, their hands tied, feet shackled, were led into the square. The vampires kicked and pushed them, standing the humans in a circle around the platform on which Nadjla and another vampire stood watching.
The vampires raged, teeth shining. They screamed and howled in frenzy. My blood ran cold at the sight. It was pandemonium. This was what the witches of old had sought to extinguish. There were dangerous, blood-hungry creatures.
“There are so many of them,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Erlik replied coldly. When I turned to look at him, I saw he was reining in his anger.
“How? You said that your kind was unable to make more, or nearly so.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” His eyes scanned the scene. Whatever Erlik thought was happening in Taksim, it wasn’t this. Erlik’s problems were far worse than he knew. It seemed to me that he only thought he was in charge of the vampires in Nazar. From what I could see, the vampire community was alive and well and living in secret.
“Feast, my children,” Nadjla called.
At that, the vampires attacked the sha
ckled humans.
I gripped my evil eye amulet tight and closed my eyes.
The humans screamed in misery. I felt their fear, their pain. It smacked me again and again like wave after wave. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t do anything to save them. They were being devoured. My hands shook. I should do something, but I was already too late. Only when their cries fell silent did I dare look again.
The vampires were reveling, their faces covered in blood. They looked so far from human, more like horrid, twisted creatures.
I looked up at Erlik who was shielding his eyes.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“The blood,” he said.
Then, through the spread of his fingers, I saw that his face had contorted into the same angry mask the others wore.
I twisted my hands once more, and this time, I set a block between us and the scene. I could not taste the blood in the wind, but Erlik clearly could. I shielded us from the scent.
After a few moments, Erlik exhaled heavily. “Thank you.”
I nodded but had to steady myself as dark spots appeared before my eyes. I inhaled and exhaled deeply. The heaving masking was taxing my magic. I’d have to work hard to keep it steady.
My skin rose in goose bumps, but I forced myself to look once more. There was nothing but pulpy red sinew, shreds of cloth, and bone left lying on the street. Satisfied with their feast, the vampires gathered around their leader once more.
“Bring her forward,” Nadjla called.
From the back, two vampires led a thin, dark-haired girl up the steps to the platform. She had wide dark eyes. She stared blankly out across the crowd. She was young, no more than a teenager, and petite. Her face struck me as familiar, but I didn’t know her. She swayed a little when the vampires let go of her. My senses prickled, and as I looked at the girl, I realized a terrible truth. She was a witch. I could feel the magic inside her. It was chaotic.
“Here you see the future of Nazar,” Nadjla called. “Here is the key to our new beginning. It is she who will bring new life and end the reigns of Umay, Tengri, and the Dragon.”
The crowd cheered.
“The Dragon?” I whispered.
“I am named Erlik for the serpent lord of the Turkie people, the Dragon.”
“Begin the sacrifice,” Nadjla called, waving to her generals waiting below.
At that, the vampires moved toward the humans tied to stakes, Melek included, and did the unthinkable. Slashing the flesh and veins on the humans’ ankles, the vampires bled the humans into goblets. They collected the blood then brought it back to the platform.
“No,” I whispered. I squeezed my hands into tight fists. “No.” I stared at Melek. She didn’t move. She merely hung like a limp rag doll on the pyre.
“I have to do something,” I whispered.
“Against them all? You cannot.”
“I can. A spell. A curse. Something. I can’t simply stand here watching.”
“You are strong, Pelin, but there are too many of them. They will kill you.”
I stared down at the scene. The waif of a girl stood beside Nadjla and stared absently ahead of her. Nearby, one vampire stood holding a tray upon which were four goblets filled with blood.
My eyes moved from Melek to the other humans hanging there. They were all touched with magic.
“Light them,” Nadjla called, motioning toward the pyres.
Lifting torches, her henchmen began setting the pyres on fire. The wood must have been dosed with oil because the flames grew quickly. Some of the humans screamed, but most of them were already silent.
I moved closer to the window when the fire under Melek was lit.
“Erlik,” I whispered, touching my fingers to my amulet. “I can’t just stand here and—”
“You must,” Erlik said, reaching out to move my hand from my chest.
“But…” I began, but my voice faltered when Nadjla began speaking once more.
“One sacrifice for the night,” Nadjla began, lifting the first goblet. Dipping her fingers within, she then turned and streaked blood across the girl’s forehead. Afterward, she gave the goblet of blood to the girl. The glassy eyes girl drank the blood greedily.
“One sacrifice for the moon,” Nadjla added, lifting the second goblet. She made another mark on the girl’s forehead. Again, the girl drank.
“One sacrifice for the fire,” Nadjla continued, again going through the same movements.
“One for the Rift,” she added, lifting the fourth goblet, marking the girl, then handing the drink to her. The girl’s lips were marred with a ring of fresh blood.
At such a far distance, I could not make out what she was drawing on the girl’s forehead. I looked back where Melek hung, her body burning. My heart broke. What in the name of Umay was I to do? What was happening in Nazar?
“What is this?” I whispered.
“A blood rite,” Erlik replied.
I gasped. Blood magic. None of my order practiced such dark arts, but we all knew tales of people who had. But why would a vampire seek to evoke such evil?
Nadjla lifted the last goblet. “And one final sacrifice for Nazar,” she said, making the final mark.
The slim girl drank the blood then moved to the center of the podium. Her face changed, her eyes shimmering silver, her forehead furrowing like a vampire. As she worked her hands in strange movements. I saw in horror what she was doing. She was drawing magic to herself. The energy around her was wild and powerful. The girl’s magic had been enhanced from drinking the blood of the witches. The girl drew magic from the ground so quickly and violently that the earth below us tremored. And then, once she had gathered all her power, the girl flung her hands into the sky.
The magic that flew from her fingertips crackled. Black lightning pouring from the girl smashed against the barrier and ripped a hole in the dome. The earth shook. The magical Rift tempest outside the barrier seeped into Nazar.
Her face wild with dark energy, the girl flung her hand across Nazar. Magical light blasted from her fingertips unlike anything I had even seen. In the distance, I heard a great crack where the girl’s bolt of magic had struck the ground. I winced as my ears popped. The ground trembled. A sound like rolling thunder echoed across the fallen city. The girl then spread her hands wide, erecting a protective shield, not unlike the wall that surrounded the palace, over Taksim.
I turned from the window and raced to toward the back of the building. On the other side, the windows looked across the Golden Horn back to old Istanbul.
Erlik followed me.
Gripping his arm in panic, I saw the dimming glow of dark magic coming from Topkapi Palace. The girl had attacked the order. In horror, I watched as the Rift storms seeped through the barrier and began blasting Nazar.
I sucked in a breath and waited.
No protective light streamed upward from the order.
“Emine,” I whispered. “Emine, come on.”
I watched, waiting for the blue light of Emine’s shield to combat the darkness.
Nothing. There was nothing.
No one was casting.
I gasped, looking up at the sky. The barrier was falling apart.
The earth began to shake in earnest. In the distance, buildings began to collapse.
I turned and stared at Erlik. His eyes were wide with shock.
Squeezing his arm, I said, “I need you.”
“I understand. Stop them.”
And then, drawing as much energy as I dared from the vampire, I turned and cast every bit of magic inside me—mine and his mixed together—upward toward the rip in the barrier.
Blue magical light blasted from my fingertips. As I worked the spell, I floated in a strange oblivion. My mind drifted to memories of my parents and Emine. Images of my life as a small child living in the palace drifted through my mind. And then the images shifted. I saw old images. I was riding on horseback under cover of night with a massive army. These were Erlik’s memories. My st
omach twisted with excitement when another of Erlik’s memories floated through my mind. I saw myself through his eyes, I felt what he felt when I’d cast the star shower enchantment to please him, and I saw him looking at me that night we’d met at the bath. And, strangest of all, I felt the love in his heart.
The vampire truly loved me.
How interesting and impossible.
And then, everything went dark.
Chapter 24
Rough motion woke me. I felt the wind on my face. When I opened my eyes, I found myself pressed against Erlik’s chest. He was breathing heavily and moving fast.
His body tensed as he sprung into the air. He landed with a thud on the rooftop. My bones rattled. I opened my eyes slowly.
“Erlik?” I whispered.
He halted to a stop. “Pelin, you must hide us at once.” He set me down.
My knees felt weak. I put my hand on his shoulder and drew energy from him. His life-force felt wild. He was in a fit of anger, his energy coursing wildly through him.
And then, I felt why.
Like a swarm, the vampires were closing in on us.
Gasping, I wove a dense shadow around us.
I nodded to him. “That will hold for now.”
“We need to keep moving,” he said.
Lifting me again, we headed back off into the night.
I closed my eyes and held the spell as best I could. There was no magic left inside me. I tugged magic from the aether. We were nothing. No one. We could not be seen or heard.
As Erlik raced away from the fire and blood, we moved deeper into the ruins of the city. Soon, I heard the lapping of water as we neared the Bosphorus.
I opened my eyes. The buildings in this part of the ruined city near the outer edge of the barrier were almost entirely collapsed. Erlik leaped from rooftop to rooftop, finally slowly as we neared a massive structure.
Though it was dark, I could make out the outlines of the ruins of Dolmabahçe Palace.
“Won’t they think to look here?”
“Perhaps, but between your spell and my knowledge of the palace, we’ll be safe.”
Moving quickly, he set me down. Taking my hand, he led me through the courtyard toward the entrance of the palace. Much of the magnificent structure had been destroyed in the earthquakes. Erlik led me within. We moved down the hallways toward the far wing of the palace. Even in the dark I could see that the massive staircase, the magnificent paintings, crystal chandeliers, and the golden filigree trimming the place were still beautiful. Erlik rushed down a side hallway. The floor was littered with rubble. We came to a set of doors, and moved through them into a small meeting room. On the far end of the wall was a painting of Sultan Abdulmecid. All around the painting, the wall had been painted in an elaborate mosaic of red tulips, blue flowers, and gold-leaf trim. Even in the dim light, I could see how beautiful it truly was. Erlik went to the painting. He felt along the ornate frame. Then, he turned and smiled at me.
The Dark Bazaar: Division 8 (The Berkano Vampire Collection) Page 13
