The Dark Bazaar: Division 8 (The Berkano Vampire Collection) by Melanie Karsak

Author:Melanie Karsak [Karsak, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

As we made our way back to the streets of Istanbul, Erlik was silent. I could tell he was lost in thought. It was odd how well I understood his mood. How was that possible? The energy radiating off him was unlike anything I had ever felt before. He was powerful and wise, and so sexy that it had taken everything I had not to climb on top of him and feel every inch of his body.

Despite the lingering want that I could not deny, there were his words. We walked to the water’s surface at the edge of the Gold Horn and looked out across the water.

“There,” he said. “Watch.”

I followed the line of his hand then cast out my senses. I touched the evil eye pendant on my chest, amplifying my reach. The glass eye sparkled. I exhaled deeply then looked.

A few moments later, I saw a light shimmer briefly. It was as if someone had passed with a lamp then disappeared.

“Taksim,” Erlik whispered.

I stared across the dark water. The light did not shine again. I could not see anything, but I felt them there, vampires and humans alike, in the old Taksim district.

“How many Berkano went with her?” I asked.

“Most are loyal to me. We are two dozen. She has five.”

“And Rift-cursed?”

At first, Erlik did not reply.

I looked up at him. His dark eyes shimmered silver in the moonlight. “Many,” he said. “And she is trying to making more.”

“How?”

Erlik was silent for a moment.

“How?”

“The Order of Tengri lied to you. There were survivors across the Golden Horn. For many years, they have been kept to ensure our survival.”

“Kept? What do you mean? Enslaved?”

“Yes.”

“By whom? By you?”

Erlik frowned. “No, but I am complicit. Nadjla made the arrangements many years ago. Only the elders in your order would know anything about it now. Nadjla and the others turned many of the humans, and the rest are used as blood cattle.”

I gasped. There was no way Emine knew about this. She never would have permitted it. But then I remembered how she had sought to see into Taksim, and how Baran denied seeing anything. That bastard. He did know. “And those at Yedikule? They don’t know?”

Erlik shook his head. “No. Nadjla’s dealings in Taksim are separate from the peaceful world we strive for on this side of the water. I have made my own arrangements with Mehmet the Wise, always within the law. The rules worked well because no one got greedy. Until now.”

“But the abductions. I saw two vampires try to take a woman and baby into the Dark Bazaar,” I said, suddenly doubting his word. After all, what reason did this vampire have to trust me with so great a secret? Why was he telling me all of this?

“Nadjla’s followers are growing in number. Her kind are recruiting mine. I am losing my hold. Soon, Nadjla will seek to take over. She will use her minions to oust or kill me, destroy Yedikule, and the Order of Tengri will enslave you when Emine dies.

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