Maxim Darko: The Greatest Gift of Evil. A Vampire Chronicle

CHAPTER TEN MUSTAFA THE OTTOMAN

Ciril patiently stared out an open window from Mustafa's third floor office. His office was situated in the impenetrable stone Galata Citadel in Constantinople. The height of the building allowed a cool breeze to blow in from the Bosporus. But the breeze did little to ward off the stifling heat, and humidity of the city. Noise, and the stench of an overcrowded city drifted up from the street below. Ciril's mind wandered as he waited for guidance from his Lord, Mustafa. He glanced at Mustafa, who did not resemble a merciless warrior. He was pre-maturely showing signs of aging from a life hard lived. A few minutes earlier, Mustafa's personal servant Salih, had delivered a messenger pigeon to him. Like a little boy, Mustafa was bent over his desk, gently cooing to the pigeon. His long gray locks fell forward, creating a shower of hair for the pigeon to hide in.

Will you already open the damn message? Ciril impatiently thought.

Unfazed by his waiting janissary, Mustafa fed the pigeon some scraps of dark bread, before finally unwrapping the small piece of goat's skin tied to its leg. Instead of opening the message, he set it on his ornate wooden desk. With care, he picked up the pigeon and told it, "Rest now my little bird. You may be needed in the future." He kissed the bird on the head, and handed it to his silently waiting servant, Salih. The servant immediately departed to the tower to cage and feed the bird.

Mustafa was reaching for the note when Mangata the Alchemist and Necromancer, burst unannounced into his office. Weighed down by heavy stained robes, he shuffled into the office carrying a young striped tabby cat in his arms. Unceremoniously, he plopped the cat onto Mustafa's desk. Took a step back, brushed some unruly locks of hair away from his eyes, and removed some wax coated pieces of cotton from his ears. He then shouted, "We did it Lord!"

Mustafa picked up the message, and then gently stroked the cat's fur, who immediately began purring like a kitten. Looking up at Mangata, he calmly asked, "Pray tell, what did we do?"

Mangata held his chest and took a deep breath prior to speaking. "Forgive me Lord. I must catch my breath. It is a long walk from the dungeon, and I am not as young as I once was."

Mustafa held back a sigh, he was accustomed to Mangata endlessly talking around a subject, before finally coming to the point. With a mischievous grin, he said, "My dear Mangata. If you could manage to quiet the child beasts, you would have a splendid airy laboratory on the first floor of the citadel."

Mangata frowned at his own failure. "I have tried many methods over the past weeks Lord. The child beast's minds are deranged. Strong bodies, but they possess little more than the reasoning capability of beasts inside of their young heads. They are to remain in the dungeon if we are to hide their endless wailing from the people. I only manage to work in the cacophony by plugging my ears with heavy cotton soaked in bee's wax."

"Please, tell me what has made you so excited."

"The cat Sire! The cat!"

"What about the cat? I ordered you to confirm if the child beasts were actual vampires, and if we could use them in a purposeful way. And you bring me a cat?"

"That cat is my longtime companion Degerli!"

Mustafa picked up the purring young cat and held it before his face. He looked deeply into the cat's golden eyes. "Can it be? Are you truly Degerli?" The cat purred at the sound of her name. "Your eyes are clear." He turned her around, so he could fully examine her body. "And your coat is glistening, and healthy. You are a young version of Degerli, my girl." Mustafa set the cat back on his desk and asked in astonishment. "How can this be? Degerli was on her deathbed. She must be at least fifteen years old."

"The vampire blood Lord." Mangata blushed, and his ability to speak faltered. "During an experiment...I accidentally killed one of the weaker female vampires," he stuttered after admitting his fatal mistake. "Bu...but...but I managed save the beast's blood, and organs." Mustafa rolled his eyes at his clumsy alchemist. Regaining his confidence, Mangata continued, "I mixed the blood with myrrh, and mace, and a little wine. And then I forced a small portion of the elixir down Degerli's throat."