The Museum of Underwater Archaeology beneath Bodrum Castle had been completely cordoned off by the Ministry. The waters had been drained, and amidst the ruins of the destroyed Leleg temple, illuminated by massive spotlights all around, four gray-robed official Aurors roamed silently. These were no ordinary patrol officers; this was the special hunter squad, codenamed “Inquisition,” deployed by the Ministry to clean up its own mess. The leader of the squad, Barlas, stood before the cracked Third Port stone in the center of the temple. With his graying hair, razor-sharp suit, and the silver-headed wand he held like a cane, he resembled an executioner more than a bureaucrat. He was so skilled in binding spells (Incarcerous Maxima, Petrificus Totalus) that he usually threw his victims into Ministry dungeons trapped in their own bodies without leaving a single scratch on them. “Ice magic,” said Sina, sniffing the frozen puddle on the ground in the corner of the temple. He was the “Hound” of the squad. He was born blind, but had magically mutated his senses of smell and taste to read magical residues. “A very strong, very sudden Glacius Maxima. Cast with pure anger. The oxygen molecules are still vibrating. Darius Widdershins was here.” “Let the mad dogs eat each other,” said Okan, leaning against a ruined column, impatiently twirling his short wand between his fingers. He was in his late twenties, the new generation “golden boy” of the Ministry, and a ruthless duelist. He was known for his speed and the devastating curses he fired one after another. “Let Abu Nazir and Widdershins break each other, and we’ll clean up the rest.” “You are wrong, Okan,” Vera interjected with a cold and arrogant voice. She was the mind master and illusion breaker of the squad. She had been specially chosen to be Lidya’s worst nightmare. She touched the black ink stains on the ground with the tip of her wand. “Nazir wants to destroy this city. Widdershins wants to deliver his own justice... Both are undermining the Ministry’s authority. Barlas, the tracks are fresh. Let us start the hunt.” Barlas lightly tapped his silver-headed wand on the stone. His voice echoed off the museum walls. “Widdershins is no longer a hero, but a wounded animal. And wounded animals make mistakes. Sina, follow the scent. When you find them, I only want Widdershins alive. You may execute the rest.” At those same hours, the interior of the rusty yacht in the İçmeler Shipyard was overflowing with old parchments, antique Bodrum maps, and Leleg architectural plans that Efsun had illegally downloaded from the Ministry archives. Darius was examining an old Carian map spread out on the table, synchronized with star charts. The scars on his face were still fresh, but the focus in his eyes was lethal. Efsun’s voice didn’t come from the radio, but from the door of the yacht itself. As the old woman entered in her soaking wet cloak, she tossed the thick, leather-bound folder in her hand onto the table. “Barlas,” Efsun said, panting. “The Ministry has set him after you. Along with Sina, Vera, and Okan. They copied your magical signature at the Underwater Museum. It’s only a matter of time before Sina sniffs you out.” Meltem stopped sharpening her knives and looked at Efsun. “Barlas? That man isn’t an Auror, he’s a psychopath. Before the Ministry’s dogs find us, we must find the Fifth Port. What’s on the map, Darius?” Darius slid his finger across the star coordinates on the map. “Nazir isn’t choosing the Ports randomly. Karakaya, the Antique Theatre, Pedasa, and Kara Ada... They are all on ancient Leleg and Carian energy lines. If we look at the sequence in which the first four Ports were broken and the nature of the Sanguis Vinculum ritual, these lines draw a spiral.” Lidya leaned over the map. Her shadows made the ancient writings on the parchment more distinct. “Where does the center of the spiral lead?” “To a tomb,” said Darius, pressing his finger firmly onto a spot in the heart of Bodrum. “To one of the Seven Wonders of the World. To the place where pure death and the energy of memory have accumulated for thousands of years.” Alaz lowered the welding machine in his hand. “The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.” “Spot on,” said Darius, placing his wand inside his robes. “The tomb of King Mausolus. The ruins of the mausoleum might be an open-air museum open to tourists right now, but beneath those rocks, where the actual burial chamber is located, lies a massive pool of magic. The Fifth Port is there.” Meltem took a deep breath. “With Barlas’s hounds breathing down our necks, if Nazir also comes to the Fifth Port, we’ll be caught right in the middle of a crossfire.” “Then we will fan the flames,” Darius said. For the first time, there was a tactical, ruthless gleam in his eyes that erased the traces of that heavy defeat on Kara Ada. “We are not going to try to dodge Barlas and his squad, Efsun. Let Sina use that scent-tracking magic he relies on so much. ‘Accidentally’ leak to them that we are at the Mausoleum.” Efsun’s single eye widened in astonishment. “You’re going to draw the Ministry hunters to where Nazir is? That’s suicide!” “No,” said Darius, with a dangerous smile on his lips. “This is chess. When Barlas, succumbing to his own arrogance, raids the Mausoleum, he won’t just find us, but Abu Nazir in the middle of his ritual. Let the rabid dogs of the Ministry and the devil of hell fight among themselves. And amidst that chaos, we will destroy the Fifth Port stone beneath the Mausoleum.” 32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFeJuZvIl3
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