“Then we are all lost. Erlik’s people respect our order. We are safe here. And believe it or not, the vampires may need our help.”
“Pelin,” Mira said, her voice filled with apprehension. She slipped her hand into mine.
“Remember your power. With a word, you can cripple any vampire to the ground. But right now, Erlik’s nest is truly the safest place for you. The humans are at risk for attack, and I cannot hide you there. We have all been taught to fear the vampires, and surely some are a threat to us, but they are not all what they seem.”
Meryem raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. She walked beside me as we headed into the Bazaar. As before, I passed the abandoned stalls lined with gold jewelry, pottery, and stunning worked glass. The morning sunlight, its rays shining faintly into the entrance, caught the colorful glass of the lanterns. An array of colorful light glimmered.
Turning from the entrance, I led the girls down the hallways into the labyrinth that was the Dark Bazaar, away from the ruins of the mortal world and into the world of the vampires.
At this time of day, in the quiet of the morning, the only sound that could be heard was the moans and whimpers of the humans chained in the exterior sections of the Bazaar.
“These are the good guys?” Meryem whispered to me as we turned down the hallway where the thieves and criminals sat shackled to the floor.
“Good is a matter of degrees,” I replied.
“Please, Priestess, please free us,” an ancient looking man who was so thin one could see every bone on their body said, reaching out for Meryem’s skirt.
Meryem stepped away. “Pelin?”
“These people are criminals,” I said firmly, looking back toward the others. The girls’ eyes were wide with terror. “The humans delivered them here to pay for their crimes. It is the way we have kept the peace in Nazar.”
I could see the fear and doubt on their faces. Maybe it had been a mistake bringing them here, but I could not leave them at the palace nor take them to the human zone.
And besides, having been sheltered under the watchful eye of Emine, unaware of the politics of Nazar, tied only to the dome, had destroyed us. We’d been betrayed from within, and now we would need to work to survive.
“Come,” I said. Leading them deeper into the bazaar, I moved toward the area of the market. Ahead of me, I could sensed humans and some of the light-tolerant Rift-cursed vampires.
I touched my evil eye charm and sent my senses out further. Deeper, below the Bazaar, I found the rest of them. In the halls and rooms below, the vampires, including Erlik and the Berkano, had gathered.
“Pelin?” a voice whispered in my head.
“The order is destroyed. Betrayed,” I said in reply, unsure if he would be able to hear me.
There was no answer.
I cast my senses out once more. Erlik and his brothers were moving toward us.
When we walked into the hall, one of the vampires came forward, a suspicious look in his eyes. I recognized him. He was the magic-touched vampire I’d met near the palace the night I’d saved the baby.
“Baris, isn’t it?” I asked.
His dark eyes met mine.
Stunned silent, the other vampires fell in line behind him. Most certainly, the sight of the Order of Umay in force, little though the girls were, was most unexpected and felt like a threat.
“You have no business here, Priestess,” Baris replied.
“I do. Your master will be here in a moment.”
His lips twitched as he suppressed a sneer, but he looked over the girls, his eyes taking in the situation as he assessed. I felt the magic around him. It pulled at a part of himself I could see he wished to reject.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nazar is falling,” I said simply.
Behind him, the assembled group of vampires and humans who served as blood cattle murmured to one another.
At the end of the hallway, a door opened. Erlik and the other Berkano vampires entered the hall.
He looked every bit the ruler of his people. Taller, stronger, with more power emanating from him than the others, his long black coat trailing behind him, Erlik looked feral and dangerous. Something mean in him had been awakened, and I was suddenly glad I was on his side.
Meryem shifted, pulling herself to her full height. I felt the energy around her moving, and suddenly the priestess took on an impressive, imposing posture. She loomed over us. The effect was intimidating.
I looked back at the girls. Take the cues from Meryem and myself, Mira had collected the others behind her and nodded to them, encouraging their strength.
“Pelin, what did you find?” Erlik asked.
“The palace is decimated. The Order of Tengri betrayed us. My other sisters are missing. This is Meryem, and these are the Acolytes of Umay. Baran, we are assuming, has taken my other sisters to Nadjla. I need your help. I need to keep my younger sisters safe.”
Erlik turned to two of his men. “Take the Acolytes of Umay into the gold alcove. Assign trusted guards.”
“I must go warn the humans. They have no idea what’s about to happen,” I said, looking from Meryem to Erlik.
Meryem turned to me. “Someone must watch the barrier. It is stable at the moment but could collapse quickly. We must be ready.”
“The mosque outside,” Erlik said, gesturing toward the entrance. “During the daytime, you will be relatively safe there. My kind are reluctant to go within, and we will be close by if there is trouble.
Meryem nodded then looked back at the girls. Her brow furrowed with worry. “The girls,” she said, looking back at me.
“We’ll watch over them,” Erlik told her. “Trust us, Priestess.”
“We’ll be all right,” Mira said looking from us to the Berkano. There was a confidence in her voice that had not been there before. I wondered what she had sensed or seen.
I turned to Erlik. I did what I could to hide the emotions that wanted to pour out of me. When our eyes met, we spoke volumes. “I must go,” I said.
He nodded. “We’re making ready. Return before dark. We’ll need you.”
“I’ll need you.”
I smiled at Erlik.
I turned to the girls. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and Meryem will not be far away. Remember what I told you.”
They nodded.
Looking to Meryem, I nodded to her then we turned and headed back outside.
“Be safe, Pelin of the Order of Umay,” Erlik called.
“Be safe, Erlik of the Berkano.”
I ignored the side-long glance Meryem gave me, a knowing grin crossing her lips.
“Now that is a creature worth getting your boots muddy for,” she whispered, then we turned and exited the Dark Bazaar.
Chapter 29
Meryem and I headed to the mosque. We looked up at the barrier. Opalescent colors shimmered across the dome, a smooth cascade that seemed, for the moment, healed.
“It was you who did that?” Meryem asked, gazing upward.
I nodded.
“How?”
“I combined my energy with that of the vampire, Erlik.”
“I’ve never seen it hold this long unattended.”
“Nor have I. But, no doubt, Nadjla will do everything she can to undo it.”
Meryem looked at me, a desperate expression on her face. “I can’t hold it long alone, not like you and Zeynep.”
“I will hurry.”
“Why did Baran take them? What will he do?”
I shuddered as I remembered the screams of the magical humans Nadjla had burned alive, taking their blood first in sacrifice.
“I…I don’t know. We’ll get our sisters back.”
Meryem nodded, but her expression was anything but hopeful. She pulled up the hood on her robe then turned to go inside the mosque.
“Do you think…do you think their god will mind?” she asked as she took a tepid step inside.
I smiled. “Ask. After all, all you
wish is to keep everyone alive.”
“Be safe.”
“You too.”
I raced down the streets through the ruins toward the human zone. As I rushed, I played over in my mind the myriad of things that could happen. Nadjla and the others would attack the humans, in which case I should stay with them and try to shield them. I could try to put up a barrier around the human zone. But then again, no vampire could pass into the human zone without invitation. But the blood witch—and what if there were more than one of her kind—may be able to enter. Or worse, perhaps Nadjla would do nothing, simply destroy the barrier from Taksim, saving only her people, and let the Rift storms end the rest of us. The energy from a massive sacrifice—such as sacrificing my sisters—could undo everything. Yet Zeynep and the others were strong. They could fight. Yet they had still been overtaken by Baran and the others who had betrayed us. To what end? Didn’t Baran see that Nadjla would use him? What kind of deal had Baran made?
My lungs burned as I raced down the street. There was no time to waste. When I reached a fork in the road, I stopped and debated. If I passed through the gate, there would be delays and questions.
Turning, I headed to the abandoned building that sat alongside the wall of the human zone. As I stepped into the rubble, I suddenly stopped.
Someone else was in the building.
I froze.
I was about to twist off a mask to hide myself when Aydin stepped around the corner.
“Pelin,” he exclaimed, a look a relief passing over his handsome features.
My stomach turned into a hard knot. At once, terrible guilt washed up over me. But there was no time for that now.
“Aydin,” I said, trying not to stammer. “Aydin, I must get to Mehmet at once. We are all in terrible danger.”
“What’s happened?”
“The order…the order has been destroyed. A new league of vampires seeks to take control. I fear they will attack soon.”
Aydin inhaled deeply. “As we feared. Come. I was going to Mehmet now,” he said then turned back in the direction of the city, away from the human zone.
“Wait, he’s outside the safe zone?”
“He went to the observatory early this morning. We saw a variance in the barrier last night. In fact, I was planning to come for you. You…you did not meet me as planned, and we saw strange magical happenings.”
“It’s Nadjla. She and a group of vampires have broken off from Erlik. They’re in Taksim. They’re the ones trying to destroy the barrier.”
“How do you know?”
“I was there. I saw.”
“You were in Taksim last night?”
“Yes,” I said, at once overcome with my memories of the hidden room in the Dolmabahçe Palace and the intense feelings that had overcome me there. I did care about Aydin. And I had nearly convinced myself I was in love with him. But I wasn’t. I’d always felt like there was some block between us, some point I could not pass. I had always assumed it was because I was a witch and he was a human. But maybe not. Perhaps I had not felt as deeply for him as I had thought.
“I don’t understand. Why did you go to Taksim in the first place?”
“I…I went with Erlik.”
Aydin stopped. “You went with Erlik?”
“Yes,” I said. My hand behind my back, I quickly cast a mask over my face, pulling on the impression of calm. It was wrong to deceive him, but the guilty seed inside me didn’t want Aydin to suspect anything between Erlik and me. Already Aydin’s emotions felt wild, his face scrunched up into tense lines, a confused, or angry, or worried expression on his face. I didn’t know what he was feeling, but I knew he was upset.
We moved across the city toward the observatory. Its dome roof shone above the other buildings on the skyline. I cast a glance at the sky. The barrier was fluctuating but holding. Aydin followed my gaze.
“Is Emine holding the barrier? I don’t see the thread of magic coming from the palace.”
“Emine is dead,” I said.
Aydin stared at me, his dark eyes searching my face. His brow furrowed, and he looked away. “I…I’m sorry. Who is reinforcing the dome?”
“No one. My sisters have been abducted.”
Aydin looked at me.
“Aydin…I…” I began, but I didn’t know what to say.
Aydin gave me a half-smile and said, “I am truly sorry about Emine. We should hurry.”
I nodded, relieved that I would not have to hunt for words in my confused state. My grandmother was dead. The sisters of my order were missing. My way of life was decimated. And yet the barrier which I had infused with my growing love for a vampire was holding unlike anything we had seen since the Rift.
Hurrying our steps, we walked quickly toward the observatory. The structure sat on one of the highest hills overlooking the city. It had a good view of both the sky and the landscape of Nazar. The earthquakes right after the Rift had destabilized the hill to one side of the observatory. The parking lot on the far side of the structure had cracked and fallen, as had the buildings on that side of the hill. While a good outpost for seeing around, entering the building was not without risk.
As we crossed the street toward the building, I sent my senses outward. There were at least two people inside. I reached out with my energy, seeking the benevolent presence of the human leader, but was unclear what I had found. For some reason, the energy around the people inside felt blurry. Odd.
Aydin opened the door and motioned for me to follow him. We headed up the staircase that led to the observation platforms. From there, one could look at the heavens through a massive telescope or walk the outdoor platform and observe the city.
Painted on the floor outside the door to the observation platform was a large evil eye. As we approached the door, the eye shimmered silver and for a moment, seemed to blink.
“Did you see that?” I whispered to Aydin. I stopped and looked down at the eye.
“See what?” he asked, looking around.
I glanced up at Aydin. He had an odd expression on his face and looked terribly pale.
“The eye,” I said, motioning to the floor.
He shook his head then reached out for my hand.
I stared down at the evil eye as I passed over the painting. Taking me by the hand, Aydin led me from the foyer area into the observation room. He pushed open the door to the platform. I turned, expecting to find Mehmet there, but instead, I found something entirely different.
Baran.
I looked at Aydin.
“I’m sorry,” Aydin whispered.
A moment later, someone hit me on the back of my head.
I fell forward, the taste of blood filling my mouth.
Then everything went black.
Chapter 30
I felt hands moving me from place to place. It was not until I felt a spray of water on my face that I was able to open my eyes. I was blindfolded but could see out of the very corner of the fabric. The unusual noise of an engine and the motion of the vessel told me we were on a boat. I tried to move my hands, but they were bound behind my back. I felt the cool metal of the enchanted binds on my wrists.
“She was supposed to be with you last night,” Baran said, his voice full of frustration.
“She did not meet me as she promised,” Aydin replied.
“So much for your assurances that she was in love with you. Apparently, she preferred the company of a vampire.”
“Watch your words, warlock.”
“Or what? You’ll whine to the vampire queen. Please, you are nothing more than an amusing morsel to Nadjla.”
“You don't know anything about it.”
I closed my eyes. Aydin had used me and betrayed me. Was he really in league with Nadjla? At once, I felt both hurt and furious. I had been carrying guilt for my growing affection toward Erlik, guilt over hurting a man who I thought had loved me. But he hadn’t. He’d deceived me.
I gritted my teeth and sent my energy searching. Someone had remo
ved my evil eye charm. My hands and feet were bound. I inhaled deeply and felt the magic around me. The earth was alive with power. I did not need my hands or any other charm to cast a crutch.
“Stop,” I whispered, willing the boat engine to stall.
There was a loud clatter, and the engine went dead. The boat slowed.
Baran reached out and yanked off my blindfold. I winched in the bright sunlight then met his dark eyes. He lifted a finger and directed it at the unseen third eye in the middle of my brow.
“Sleep,” he said.
Baran and Aydin. And they told me the vampire was treacherous.
In the single moment before Baran’s spell took hold, I was able to call out. “Erlik,” I called, casting my energy out to him. “Erlik, I need you.”
“Pelin?”
I’d never been under the spell of a warlock before. It was a strange feeling. I felt Baran’s will pressing itself on me, immobilizing me. Though I fought back, I felt like I was climbing out of a deep well. I could see the top, could see the way back to myself, but Baran’s enchantment pushed me down. Partially aware, I heard the boat sputter to life once more only to stop along a dock where waves splashed against the shoreline. Someone carried me uphill. My senses were dull, but I sensed vampires all around me. There were muffled voices, and I was taken inside then downstairs. Soon, it became dark and cold. I heard water dripping and smelled the sharp scent of minerals.
Someone dropped me onto the hard floor. My knees banged against the hard stones. Pain shot down my shins. I wanted to cry out but I could not.
“Is she alive?” I heard Aydin ask, his voice sounding unsteady.
“She’s enchanted, not dead. Don’t get soft on me now, boy. The work is done.”
Aydin did not reply.
Bastard. Lying, deceiving bastard. And it was not just me he had deceived but his own people. It seemed clear now that he had been the one sending the magical humans outside the safe zone. He had betrayed his leader and his people. Why? Didn’t he know he was being played for a fool?
“Pelin?” I heard Zeynep’s unspoken call.
The Dark Bazaar: Division 8 (The Berkano Vampire Collection) Page 16
