Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More by Mina Carter & Julia Mills & Stephanie Rowe & PM Briede & Jami Brumfield & Claudy Conn & Eden Ellsworth & Nicole Garcia & Lane Hart & Tracey Jane Jackson & Melanie James & Gena D. Lutz & Michelle Mankin & Marie Mason & A K Michaels & Angela Snyder & Candice Stauffer & Melissa Stevens & Izzy Szyn & C.A. Tibbitts

Author:Mina Carter & Julia Mills & Stephanie Rowe & PM Briede & Jami Brumfield & Claudy Conn & Eden Ellsworth & Nicole Garcia & Lane Hart & Tracey Jane Jackson & Melanie James & Gena D. Lutz & Michelle Mankin & Marie Mason & A K Michaels & Angela Snyder & Candice Stauffer & Melissa Stevens & Izzy Szyn & C.A. Tibbitts [Carter, Mina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-10-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“NOW LISTEN TO me, this is the story of why the amulet is important, and why you must take it to your sister. Again, humor me by saving your questions until after.”

Ryan and Lexi looked at each other and Ryan answered, “Of course, we’re all ears.”

Jakub took a cigarette from a pack on the table and lit it. He inhaled and blew swirls of blue grey smoke into the ceiling light. His eyes seemed to be looking into the distant past.

“My story starts in Warsaw, Poland. It was 1941 and I was fourteen years old. I lived with my parents and my two little sisters in a flat that was located above a closed down bakery. This was in the Jewish Ghetto that you are undoubtedly familiar with. You know the history well of how this happened. It was a terrible place those Nazi monsters created.

Not only did they treat us like we were animals, they enforced a particular cruelty on us. Those were the days of heart breaking decisions of who would be chosen to be sent to the labor camps, whenever the SS ordered deportations to be carried out.”

Ryan pointed out an observation. “They were making sure that nobody could trust each other, particularly the leaders.”

“Exactly. In order to control us they sometimes made Jews make those heart wrenching decisions. They needed to pit us against each other, keeping us in a state of mistrust and fear. They knew that by doing this, it would make it very difficult for us to organize a resistance.

The Nazis created what they called the Judenrat, or Jewish Councils made up of Jewish community leaders. The SS held all the councilmen responsible for ensuring that the Nazi SS orders were carried out. If the council failed to obey them, the SS threatened to liquidate the entire Ghetto by killing everyone. They also established Jewish police to uphold their rules.”

Jakub paused while he finished his cigarette. He squashed the butt down in an ashtray and pushed it aside.

“My father was council leader, and he was certain the Nazi’s would collapse on themselves, due to the constant pressure from other countries. My father was convinced it would all end soon. We just needed to survive. He set strict rules for us to live by. His greatest fear was that I would be overheard in speaking out against the Nazis. So my father always told me—never to talk to any strangers, and to only come to him about things that were happening around us.”

Jakub paused and drank his tea as if he were trying to steady himself for the rest of his story. “So now you know the type of place this was.”

“Now, I want to tell you about Shandor, the Magician. One day, I met a very old man who was on the street with the beggars. This man had been staying on our street for many days. Sometimes he hid himself in crates or barrels. I was very curious about how he lived, because he was never seen begging.