Chapter 52 Chapter 51

For a split second I felt that Turgut and Selim must be with some sort of dark force, and what kind of ritual would it take for these two men - whom I once considered friends - to work for a long-dead Sultan Woolen cloth?Have they lied to us about other issues too? My wild thoughts were interrupted by Helen's voice, "Professor Bora," she said slowly, "how old are you?" ' He smiled at her. 'Ah, my dear lady, if you were to ask me if I was five hundred years old, the answer would be—fortunately—no.I worked for Sultan Muhammad II's World Asylum, but never had the crowning glory to see him. "

"So what the hell are you trying to tell us?" I blurted out. Turgut laughed again, and Selim nodded at me kindly. "I did not intend to tell you at all," said Turgut, "but you trust us in many things. Since you have asked such a sensitive question, my friends, we will explain. I Born a normal year, I hope to die in my bed in a normal way in — oh, circa 1985 —.” He chuckled, “Members of my family usually live long, though. So, I Will be doomed to sit on this couch as long as he is too old to be respected." He put an arm around Mrs. Bollah's shoulders, "Mr. Axel is as old as you see here .We are completely normal. What I want to tell you is the top secret that I can disclose, and you must strictly keep this secret under all circumstances. We belong to the Sultan's Crescent Guard."

"I don't think I've ever heard of this," said Helen, frowning. "Yes, Madam Professor, you haven't heard of it. We are the Sultan's loyal confidantes, a secret guard formed by the elite troops of the Guards." I suddenly thought of those wide-eyed but expressionless young faces I had seen in paintings of Topkapi Palace, guarding the sultan's throne, ready to pounce on a would-be assassin. Turgut seemed to read my mind, he nodded, "I know, you have heard of the Guards. Well, my fellows, in 1477, the Great Sultan summoned his twenty officials Secretly bestowing on them the emblem of the Crescent Guard. He has a task for them - and if need be, for which they will give their lives. This task is to keep our great empire from being disturbed by the dragon's order. Its members will be exterminated."

Helen and I both took a deep breath, but this time, I reacted faster than her, "The Crescent Guard was established in 1477—the monks came to Istanbul in that year!" I tried to clarify as I spoke. Question, "But the Order of the Dragon was established long before that—King Sigismund in 1400, right?" "148, my friend, to be precise. Of course, by 1477, the Dragon's Call and its war with the Empire had been a headache for every sultan. But in 1477, Your Majesty The World Shelter concluded that the Dragon Order will launch even more powerful attacks in the future."

"What does that mean?" "Even our statutes don't say anything about this," admitted Turgut, "but I'm sure it was no accident that the Sultan created this guard a few months after the death of Vlad Tebes." He said Folding his hands, he seemed to be praying—but I remember that his ancestors were prostrate on the ground when praying," the charter said, His Majesty established the Crescent Guard to hunt down the Dragon Command, the most shameful enemy of the empire. Pursuit Killing will span time and space, the ends of the earth, and even death." Turgut leaned forward, his eyes were bright, and his thick silver hair stood up in a mess, "My opinion is that His Majesty has a feeling, or knows What kind of danger will Vlad Dracula's death bring to the empire?" He pushed his hair back, "We have seen that the Sultan has also established an archive to collect information on the Dragon's Order—— The Archives is not a secret, but we have been using it secretly, and still are. Selim's discovery of this unusual letter, and your lady's folk song - these prove that His Majesty's concerns are very justified .”

"But how did you—and Mr. Axel—get into this guard?" "Membership in the Guard is passed from father to eldest son. Each son is formally appointed at the age of nineteen. If any father has a son who is unfit, or has no son, the secret dies with him. Secrecy of the Crescent Guard Work was done so well that even the other Janissaries didn't know that some of their colleagues belonged to such an organization. Our dear King died in 1481, but his Guards continued. Hit the weak Sultan in power , the Janissaries were powerful at times, but we kept secrets. When the empire finally disappeared from Istanbul, no one knew about us, and we carried on. During the First World War, our charter was established by Selim Akso's Father took good care of it, during World War II, Selim kept it. He still keeps it in a safe place, which is our tradition.” Turgut took a deep breath and took a long sip of coffee .

"I think," Helen asked a little suspiciously, "you said your father was Italian. How did he become a member of the Crescent Guard?" "Yes, ma'am," Turgut nodded over the glass, "actually, my grandfather was very active in the Guards, and he couldn't bear the tradition to go with him, but he only had one daughter. He saw the empire Gone forever in his lifetime—” "Your mother!" cried Helen. "Yes, my dear." Turgut smiled eagerly. "You are not the only one who has an extraordinary mother. If you want to see her, her portrait is here."

He got up and took the portrait from a carved wooden table in the corner, and put it in Helen's hands very gently. The lady looks calm and patient, but the artist has captured a certain gaiety in her eyes against the backdrop of the black cloth, which reveals the unblemished dark brown skin of an Ottoman princess. Turgut took the small photo frame back lovingly, "My grandfather broke the tradition and made her a member of the guard. This decision was wise. My father knew her identity and he was often worried about her safety. Helen moved around me, stretched her legs carefully, "You said that your grandfather is very active in the Crescent Guard, what do you mean? What are your activities?"

Turgut shook his head regretfully, "Some things must be kept secret. We tell you so much because you asked - you almost guessed - because we want you to have complete confidence in our help to you. If you Going to Bulgaria, the Guards will benefit greatly. There are very few Guards today—just us.” He sighed. "I would like to sigh aloud, but no, maybe I could argue with Helen, but arguing about the secret power of the Ottoman Empire is beyond my powers." Turgut held up a finger, "I must give you a warning, my friends, we I have revealed to you a secret that we have carefully kept for five hundred years.Anyone who reveals the secrets of the Guard to the enemy will be punished immediately.As far as I know, this has never happened.But I beg you to be careful, for your sake, and for ours. "

There was no malice in his voice, no threat, just deep seriousness.It suddenly occurred to me how Turgut would attract Rossi, what kind of living history he would see in Turgut, and what questions Rossi would ask him—questions I might think about. Can't even think of it. However, it was Helen who said what had to be said.She stood up and we all stood up with her.She held out her hand to Turgut. "We are honored that you told us this," she said. "We will protect your secrets and the expectations of the Sultan with our lives." We could have stood there all day, looking at each other wordlessly in the twilight.But Turgut's phone rang, high-pitched.

"What happened?" I asked. "Yes, alas," Turgut said, beating his chest reproachfully, "it's Mr. Erozan, the librarian. The man I sent to look after him has been out for a while, and he's calling now to say, My friend was attacked again. Erozan was unconscious and the man was going to get a doctor. It was serious, the third time, at sunset." Shocked, I reached for my coat, and though Mrs. Barra patted Helen on the arm imploringly, she put on her shoes. Turgut kissed his wife, we hurried out, I looked back and saw her standing in the doorway, pale and terrified. "