Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Six

I slept that night in a farmhouse in Blue, and Barley slept on the other side of the room.It was the worst night of sleep I can remember.I curled up on the bed, and the cooing of the hawk or the dove seemed so eerie.Barry seemed far away from me.Earlier, I was glad the beds were separated because it was less awkward.But now, I hope the two are forced to sleep together back to back. I blew out the lights and tiptoed out the window to see the half moon hanging in the sky and the clouds shattering.There is a shadow floating opposite, I am too familiar - no, just a flash, just a cloud, isn't it?Spread wings, curly tail?It disappeared instantly.I walked to Barry's bed and shivered for hours against his unconscious back.

It took some time to send Mr. Airozan to Turgut's drawing room.Before we left, Mrs. Bora came back from school at noon. Turgut explained to her in Turkish.Her gaiety was gone, to be replaced by palpable suspicion at first.When he gently pointed out to her the wound on the neck of her new visitor, she suddenly panicked and hurried towards the kitchen.No matter what happened, the patient was in for a good meal. After we made sure Mr. Erozan was well rested, Turgut dragged me into his eccentric study for a few minutes. With the curtains tightly covering the portrait, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you think you and your wife are safe keeping this man here?" I couldn't help asking.

"I'll take care of everything." Turgut gave me a chair and sat behind the desk. "I don't think there will be any more attacks here, but if there is, our American friends will see it." Vigorous self-defense." I looked at his tall, muscular figure behind the desk and believed him immediately. "I'm sorry, Professor," I said, "we've caused you so much trouble, and now we're bringing this threat to your door." I briefly described to him our encounter with that vampire, including the one I had last night. Saw him in front of Hagia Sophia's gate.

"Unbelievable," Turgut said. "I have a question for you too," I confessed. "What did you mean when you said in the archives this morning that you had seen a face like this before?" "Ah," my learned friend folded his hands, "yes, I'll tell you. Many years have passed, but I remember it well. In fact, it happened when I received Professor Rosie's A few days after the letter saying he knew nothing about the archives here. After class in the afternoon, I was looking at the collections for an essay on a lost Shakespeare work, The King of Tashkenyi. Some people believe in stories The setting is Istanbul. Maybe you've heard of it?"

I shake my head. "Several British historians have cited it. From their writings we know that in the original play, a demon named Dracor appeared to the ruler of a beautiful ancient city which the tyrant used It was taken by force. The ghost urged the tyrant to drink the blood of the people, and the words are frightening." He leaned forward, "I also believe that the tyrant who saw the ghost was Sultan Mehmed II himself, Conqueror of Constantinople." A chill ran up the back of my neck. "It is interesting to me, my friend, that by 159 the legend of Vlad Dracula had penetrated even into Protestant England. Besides, if Tashkenly is Istanbul, it shows that in the time of Mohammed , Dracula did appear here. Muhammad entered the city in 1453. At that time, the young Dracula returned to Wallachia only five years after his release from Asia Minor. There is no conclusive evidence that he died in his lifetime. Back in our part of the world. Some scholars believe that he himself paid tribute to the Sultan himself, but I don't think that can be proven. My opinion is that he left a vampire tradition here, if not in his lifetime after his death."

"You're a great historian," I said humbly. "You've been rewarded, my young friend. Have you ever had Poleck?" "Not yet," I admitted. "You should try it soon - it's a national dish and a delicacy." So I went to the restaurant. Since it was winter, it was already dark.As I sat at the table waiting for the food to be served, I took Professor Rossi's letter out of the file and read it again. As I have already said, I have only received the letter for a few days, and the content of the letter makes me more and more confused. When the waiter brought me my food, I accidentally glanced at him as he put down his things.He lowered his eyes, but I think he suddenly noticed the letter I was reading. Rosie's name was on the top of the letter. His sharp eyes glanced once or twice, and then his face became expressionless.But I noticed that he walked around behind me, put another dish on the table, and took the opportunity to glance at the letter from behind me again.

I can't explain this behavior, I just feel uncomfortable. He walked away without a word, and I couldn't help watching him walk up and down the restaurant.If he hadn't had eyes—what do you say? ——If the light is fierce, it should be a handsome person. He ignored me for an hour, and suddenly, he came to the table again and put a cup of steaming tea in front of me. I was taken aback because I didn't order tea.I think this may have been sent, or by mistake. "Your tea," he said, putting down his glass. "Hot tea specially made for you." Then he looked straight at me.

I can't tell you how horrible that face was.I smelled weird from him and felt sick and dizzy. He left after a while, walking back unhurriedly towards the kitchen.I have a feeling he's come to show me something - maybe his face.He wanted me to watch him carefully, but I couldn't tell what kind of fear it was. Turgut, pale now, leaned back in his medieval chair. "To calm myself down, I scooped some sugar from a bowl on the table and put it in my tea. But at this moment, something very , Something very bizarre happened." His voice trailed off and almost died away, as if he regretted telling the story.

I know all too well the feeling of, "Go ahead, please." "It's quaint to say now, but it's true. The steam came out of the cup and disappeared." My mouth was dry, "Did you see that waiter again later?" "Never again. I asked a waiter and said his name was Akema." "You think his face says he's—" I didn't finish. "I was terrified. That's all I can tell you. I saw the librarian's face that you—as you said—brought over, and I thought I knew it. It wasn't just death There is something in that expression—” He turned his face uneasily, and looked into the wall where the portrait hung, “I am shocked that your story, which you have just given me The story says that since you first saw this American librarian, he has taken another step into the world of ghosts."

"What's the meaning?" "When he attacked Miss Rossi in the library back home, you could have knocked him out. But my friend at the archives said when he was attacked this morning, the guy was very strong, and my friend wasn't much thinner than you. ...this demon has been able to suck quite a bit of blood from my friend, alas. We saw this vampire in broad daylight, so he hasn't quite turned into a vampire yet. I think this guy is either in your book Mansion, or drained of life for the second time here in Istanbul. If he has help here, he will soon be blessed with the third evil, and thus become a zombie forever."

"Yes," I said, "if we can't find the American librarian, we'll have nothing to do with him. You'll have to watch over your friend very carefully." "I will," Turgut emphasized sullenly. He was silent for a while, then turned to his bookcase, and without a word took down a large album with Latin letters on the cover. "Collected by a historian of art, here are pictures of churches in Transylvania and Wallachia." He put the book in my hand, "why don't you turn to the twentieth What about five pages?" I did. It was a polychrome carved mural covering two pages, and the church it was in was a black-and-white photograph with a fleeing dragon on the left, its tail curled not once but twice.It appeared to swoop down on something to the right.It was a cowering man, crouching in terror, with a cutlass in one hand and a buckler in the other.Around his knees were small people, densely packed, with sharp sticks passing through their bodies, each of them writhing. Turgut looked at me. "Dracula funded this church during his second reign," he said quietly. Turgut took the book away and turned to me. "Now, my friend, how are you going to find Professor Rossi?" This frank question cut into my heart like a knife. "I'm still putting together all this," I said slowly. "You, and Mr. Axel, did a lot of work last night, but I think we Not much is known yet. Perhaps Vlad Dracula reappeared in Istanbul after his death, but how do we know that he was buried here? I can't answer that question. As for where we go next, I only have I can tell you that we are going to Budapest for a few days." "Budapest?" "Yes. You remember Helen telling you the story of her mother and the professor—her father. Helen felt strongly that her mother knew something that she never told Helen, so we're going to Talk to her mother." "Ah," Turgut almost smiled, "When are you leaving?" "tomorrow or the day after." "Very good. You have to bring this." Turgut stood up suddenly, took out something from the small box containing vampire hunting tools he showed us yesterday, and placed it firmly in front of me . "But this is your baby," I objected. "Besides, it may not pass customs." "Ah, don't let the customs people see it. You have to hide it very carefully," he nodded encouragingly, "but you must take it, or I will be very worried." I didn't say anything more, Take the wooden box and put it together with my dragon book. "When you were visiting Helen's mother, I was here trying my best to find clues to the cemetery. I haven't given up on my idea yet." He narrowed his eyes. At this moment, the door of the study opened, and Mrs. Bollah came in and asked us to have lunch. The meal was as tasty as yesterday's, but far more serious.