“Why was your sister and her baby beyond the safety of the wall?” I asked Eslem.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“I came across her and the Rift-cursed outside the Dark Bazaar. It doesn’t make sense. Why would she be there so close to dusk?”
Eslem stared down at the baby and shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
“Witch blood is toxic to vampires. I have seen the agonizing results myself,” Mehmet said, a haunted look on his face. “We simply don’t know why Erlik is attacking my people, and why he is targeting magical humans in particular. They are of no use to him.”
I inhaled slowly and deeply, exhaling as I considered his words. Nyla and Eslem’s sister had been taken right outside the Dark Bazaar. Was it possible that Erlik was lying or did he really have more enemies among his own people than he realized? Had I already fallen into his trap? He had lured me so easily. I had believed him without second guessing because of what I’d felt, because my instincts were screaming at me to trust him. But Emine was right. He was old and powerful. Had I already played into his hands?
“Baran and I met with Erlik. He expressed surprise when he heard what was happening. He claims there is discontent among his people.”
Mehmet laced his fingers together and leaned back. “Discontent.”
“He and Nadjla have parted, a difference in ideologies. He places the blame on her.”
“He told you this?” Mehmet asked.
I nodded.
Mehmet exhaled deeply. “It is not my place to advise you, but I urge caution with Erlik. He is a charming creature, and he is very good at telling a person exactly what they want to hear.”
I smiled softly. It seemed everyone had formed a negative opinion of the vampire save myself.
I looked from Mehmet to Eslem. “What would any vampire want with witches? Our blood is toxic to them, and we can easily overpower them.”
Even as I spoke, Emine’s words came to mind. The attack on the barrier had come from Taksim. It didn’t matter if neither Mehmet nor Emine believed in Erlik. Someone was abducting human witches. And there was a witch in Taksim who’d attacked the dome from the inside. The Priestesses of Umay were powerful. Because we had been trained, we knew how to inflict pain on a vampire with a twitch of the fingers and a single word. The witches in the human zone were untrained. They would not have knowledge of our spells. They were easy prey. They wouldn’t know how to protect themselves.
“For no good reason, that is certain,” Eslem said.
“You must keep anyone with the gift hidden and safe within the walls. Under no circumstances should they go outside again,” I told Mehmet. “Your people are vulnerable to attack. At the order, we could teach you how to protect yourself, how to use your skills—“
“No,” Eslem said. “I am content here.”
I inclined my head to her. “I would never presume. I fear only for your safety.”
Eslem’s smile softened. “Forgive me. You must understand there is a reason we have kept ourselves hidden from the order.”
Mehmet turned to me. “You are a different kind of witch, Pelin. That’s why I entrust this secret to you. You must understand that Baran and Emine would not accept Eslem’s and the others’ decision. There will be strife if they are revealed.”
I sat back in my seat. He was right. Under the formation of Nazar, it was law that all those born with the gift be sent to the order for training. Anyone found having skill in craft should be sent—or could be taken—for the good of our district.
“I understand, but Nazar is in danger.”
“Maybe we can find a way to work together. Please, think it over,” I said then reached out and gently touched the sleeping baby’s foot. “For her sake.”
“My sister,” Eslem said. “Do you know where she is, what happened to her?”
I shook my head. “No, not for sure. But I do suspect Nadjla’s involvement.”
“Based on the report of Erlik,” Mehmet said thoughtfully.
I nodded.
Mehmet sat in quiet thought. “I have met with the vampire king before. He is powerful, that is certain, but I have never known him to break the law. In fact, we have worked well together in the past,” Mehmet said then slapped his hands on his knees. “We must learn who is taking my people and why,” Mehmet said then rose.
It was my time to go. Taking Mehmet’s lead, I stood as well.
“Pelin, thank you for saving Nyla. I…I didn’t believe Mehmet when he told me my niece had been saved by the order…by a witch. Thank you.”
“Anyone would have done the same.”
Eslem laughed. “No, my dear. Not in Nazar.”
At that, I turned and headed back outside. Mehmet walked with me to the gate. The wind was warm and soft. The chimes in the trees made a lovely sound, shaking off the ominous feeling left by Eslem’s words.
I reached out for the gate then paused. “You are right that we must learn what is happening in Nazar. It was Erlik who asked me to seek another audience with you. He wants to know if you will meet with him.”
The old man raised his bushy white eyebrows. “Now, that is an interesting request.”
“I believe he is sincere.”
Mehmet nodded. “I will consider it.” He unlatched the gate, and we stepped out onto the street.
“May I also suggest that you be watchful? It doesn’t make sense that Eslem’s sister would take her baby into somewhere potentially dangerous unless…”
“Unless someone she trusted lured her there. Or worse,” Mehmet said.
I nodded.
I knew we were about to part, but another thought came to mind. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you know about the Rift? About how it happened?”
“I was born after, so all I know are tales. We humans knew nothing of your kind. We know little of what caused the Rift, only what we were told.”
“And what were you told?”
“It was the order who first approached the human elders. They explained what had happened and gave shape to our new world. They were given laws that we were told to obey. Not believing, the humans did not obey at first. And then many died at the hands of the Berkano. After, we followed the rules in order to survive. And we have, in a way. But there was one thing we have always known, always held true. The world did not end due to our hands. It was witch and vampire who destroyed this world. Not us.”
“But how? How did they destroy the world? What were you told?”
“Ahh,” Mehmet said then nodded thoughtfully. “We were told that two people fell in love and their…union…destroyed the world.”
There was a hesitancy in his voice. “But?”
Mehmet smiled softly. “‘I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways.’ That is the poet, Rumi. Have you heard of him?”
It was my turn to smile. “Yes.”
Mehmet nodded. “Love is a healer. How could love destroy the world?”
Indeed. “Thank you for your time.”
He inclined his head to me.
With that, I headed to the exit of the human zone. Once more I came to the road that led to Aydin’s flat. And once more, I passed it by. My stomach twisted into a tight knot. Tonight, I would have to face Aydin and my betrayal would reveal itself. I would not carry on in deceit. Everyone was telling me Erlik was a liar, was not to be trusted. But if so, why did my heart sing each and every time I heard his name? Maybe I was a fool. Either way, I needed to find out, but I would not hurt Aydin in the process. Tonight, I would end it.
Chapter 22
When I returned to the palace, Zeynep was waiting for me.
“I want you to see something,” she said then waved for me to follow her. We headed toward the front of the palace where the modern administrative buildings sat unused. The first courtyard of the palace where most of the community lived had essentially closed up the administrative offices that had once run the tourism at the palace when Istanbul thrived. Onc
e, people from all around the world would visit the palace and marvel at its delights. Now, it was our home.
Zeynep and I followed a musty-smelling hallway to a suite of offices. Zeynep opened one of the doors. Inside, computers and other electronic devices sat with inches of dust covering them. While the vampires had revived some of the electrical infrastructure to light the Dark Bazaar, we witches had not bothered to bring back to life the world that had fallen around us. For us—or at least this was the rhetoric we bandied about—a world devoid of technology was better. I wasn’t so sure.
“I’ve been reading through our records. Almost nothing was recorded of the events leading to the Rift. There are scattered notes, records of who our members were, Linet’s recollections of meetings in the days before the Rift, brief reports of a rumor that a spell was being created to end vampirism, but nothing more. This got me wondering what the humans saw in the days before the Rift. I found this,” she said, lifting a yellowed paper. She handed it to me.
It was a newspaper from the morning the Rift had occurred. The headlines spoke to issues in the human world, but Zeynep pointed to an article along sidebar. Abnormal, extreme weather had been observed throughout Europe. I took the paper from her hand and read the article. Severe storms had been raging across Europe in the days before the Rift, coupled with odd occurrences of an aurora borealis.
“Whatever happened, the effects of it were felt days before the Rift,” Zeynep said.
“We are told that it was the tryst between witch and vampire that undid us, that caused the curse.”
“That is what we are told.”
I sat down on the corner of the desk and looked at the computer. Everything mankind knew was lost, the internet like some unseen dimension that could not be recovered—at least not in Nazar—where answers to the riddle lay hiding.
“The story is a lie,” I said.
“Something is a lie.”
I looked carefully at my old friend. In the days to come, I would need her and the others. We would have to band together to fight the war Erlik spoke of.
“Erlik told me that the tale of the liaison between witch and vampire is a lie used to hide the truth. The witches sought to eradicate vampirism. In his opinion, that is what caused the Rift.”
Zeynep gasped. “Is that true? Wait, when did he tell you this? You only saw him for a few moments at the Dark Bazaar.”
“I’ve met with him since.”
Zeynep bit her lip then inhaled deeply as she thought it through. She took the newspaper from my hand. “If they were casting a spell to end vampirism, it would have taken time for the spell to spread. The bad weather, the aurora the humans saw, that is a spell. The Rift, the way we are told the tale, would have happened in an instant. This is not an instant,” she said, staring at the faded photograph of a massive lightning storm in Paris, the Eiffel Tower in the background. “In fact, what we are seeing now seems a lot like what the humans saw with the Rift occurred. Something is happening in Nazar just out of view.”
“Will you keep my confidence?”
Zeynep nodded.
“There are witches in the human zone.”
“What do you mean?”
“Human-born witches. They did not come to the order. They stayed among their people. And now, they are being abducted.”
“What? By whom? The Berkano?”
“Yes and no. The Berkano have splintered.”
“Erlik told you this?”
“Yes.”
“And you believe him?”
I nodded.
“Interesting indeed.”
I smiled.
“Be cautious. He could be luring you into a trap.”
I nodded. “He could be. But with my whole heart, I believe he is not.” I looked out the window. The entire day had already passed. The sunlight was fading.
“Interesting or not, be careful.”
Interesting. Yes, he was certainly that. And handsome. And soulful. And so very intoxicating. “Thank you,” I said then turned toward the door. “I…I need to get going.”
Zeynep nodded, a knowing expression on her face. “Be well, sister.”
“And you.”
Chapter 23
As I headed into the ruins of Istanbul, I thought about Zeynep’s discovery. What the human world saw was a spell. Someone had been working magic that had brought the world to an end. Maybe there were events that led up to the destruction of the world but maybe not. The magical side effect, so to speak, smacked of someone doing dark magic. The story of the massive collapse of our world, it seemed, was not entirely accurate. Mehmet’s words on love rang through my mind. How could love be responsible?
So, if the cause of the Rift had been a lie, what did that have to do with Nadjla and her ilk? Why was she rounding up those with witch blood? It seemed clear now that the attack on the barrier had come from Nadjla and her people. Did she have witches in her service? Why? How? And why would she attack the barrier? After all, everyone in Nazar needed it to survive.
Or did they?
What if the barrier had been put in place only to isolate us?
That couldn’t be true. Each time the barrier fell, the earthquakes began, and magical storms ravaged the land. It created a mortal danger.
But vampires were not exactly mortal, were they?
My mind turned the puzzle around and around in my head as I made my way to the observatory. I kept my thoughts busy so not to think about what had to come next. Aydin. I had never been disloyal in my life. Not to my order. Not to my sisters. I would not begin now. My heart had tripped over itself in the presence of the vampire. I had made a mistake, but not one I would let go further. I had to end things with Aydin immediately. I already felt like a fraud and a failure.
If only I had words to explain myself. Which I didn’t. So again and again, my mind ran through a fit of distraction. Gathering my skirts, I began the trek up that tall hill that led to the observatory. The sun dipped below the horizon. I turned and looked over the city. The last of the pink and purple hues cast by the sunset were fading. Soon, the vampires would be out. I would need to mask Aydin and me at once.
Catching my breath, I started my hike once more, dodging rubble and cracks in the asphalt where the earth had shaken apart. After a brisk walk, I reached the pinnacle. The observatory was right outside the human zone. But as I neared it, I slowed.
Another presence filled my senses. A moment later, there was a flutter in the darkness, a sound that reminded me of bird wings. And then, Erlik appeared on the street before me.
“Erlik?” I whispered.
“Pelin, I need your help. Will you come with me?”
I eyed the observatory.
Sneering, Erlik looked over his shoulder. “Forget the human. Tonight, we will learn what treachery is afoot.”
My heart beat hard. I stared at the vampire.
“All right,” I whispered. The warnings of everyone I’d met screamed inside my head, but I didn’t listen. My heart was beating out a different message, and its sound was louder than any warning.
Erlik nodded. “We’ll cross the Golden Horn to Taksim.” He took my hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss thereon. I felt like I might melt into my boots. “We will need to move quickly. Hold on to me.” He grabbed me by the waist. I wrapped my arms around him. Moving with incredible speed, Erlik ran from the road and began to leap from rooftop to rooftop, moving away from the observatory toward the waterside.
Breathless, I looked back once more as the observatory faded into the distance. Guilt nagged at me, but at that moment, it was replaced by the flurry of excitement.
Erlik was incredibly strong. His movements were magical. No human or witch could move like he did. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop like it was no distance at all. We flew over the city. The lights of the moon, stars, and the aurora of the barrier illuminated the ruins of Istanbul. The minurets that remained unbroken—many of them had fallen in the earthquakes after the Rift�
�dotted the skyline like. My heart was slamming in my chest when we finally alighted on a rooftop not far from the ruined remains of Galata Bridge.
When we finally came to a stop, I observed that Erlik’s breath was not even elevated. He set me down gently then reached out and stroked my cheek. His dark eyes met mine, and then he leaned forward and kissed me. His lips were warm, the tastes of port wine and salt on his lips.
My whole body buzzed with excitement, and once more, I felt a terrible tug inside me.
Erlik too seemed to fight the urge. He gently gripped the hair and the base of my neck and leaned deeper into the kiss.
The want was terrible.
When he finally let go, he whispered, “Are you casting spells on me?”
“No. Are you mesmerizing me?”
Erlik laughed. “I couldn’t even if I tried.”
“I’m told you’re dangerous,” I whispered.
He smiled. “I am, but not to you. Now we must cross the Gold Horn and find our way through Taksim undetected. Can you help with that?”
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.”
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