Page 14 of A City of Hearts and Feathers

"Can't we tell them that I have no idea where it is?" she asked, dodging a stray cat.

"No one will believe it, and they will find a way to use you in ways…never mind. It's not going to come to that. I promise," Kahil assured her. His hand moved to rest on her shoulder as they crossed the narrow street, but he pulled it back quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to touch you without permission. It's just those shoes make me worry you're going to trip with the uneven paving stones."

"It's okay," she replied. It had been the briefest of touches, but Zoe could feel the heat of his fingertips through the soft cotton of her top. A part of her wanted the physical touch as reassurance that this wasn't some kind of dream; another part wanted to run in the opposite direction.

"Here we are," Kahil said and pointed to a church that was wedged between two other narrow buildings. The front facade was flanked with stone statues on either side. They looked like saints in ornately carved robes, except for the fact that each had the head of a dog. A triangle shaped mosaic crowned the top of the doorway and shone with a brilliant gold background. The dog-headed saint and another feminine figure stood in the center of it with sad, knowing eyes. She was carrying a pomegranate with a golden bee resting on it.

"Who is the woman?" Zoe asked, staring at her purple robe and golden crown.

"That is Sophia, the divine wisdom," Kahil replied and opened the carved wooden door for her.

Inside was cool, the chapel small but beautifully decorated. There were only a few rows of wooden pews for people to sit down in front of a tryptic altar piece of the saint and a black Madonna.

Beeswax candles were lit in metal stands lined with sand, and all the walls were painted with different scenes. Zoe studied one with pyramids in the distance, and the dog-headed saint walking along the Nile.

"These are beautiful," Zoe whispered, the hush of the chapel making her check herself.

Kahil smiled. "If you know how to read them, some of the images are heretically pagan. I'll point them out later if you like, but we better get a move on. Arslan is waiting."

"You are heretics as well as warriors?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Ah, sweet Zoe, we are so many things. There are worse things than being a heretic." Kahil opened another door to the left side of the altar, and they walked past a few offices before going outside again.

They were in the middle of a stone courtyard with fruit trees and plants growing in well-tended beds. There were alcoves with cushions to sit and enjoy the garden, and tables to read or study at. The buildings behind them were made of the same stone as the church.

Kahil followed her gaze. "These are our apartments where the Order members stay when they are home. There are only about ten of us currently in Istanbul. The rest are off on missions. We have places like these all over the world, and visiting members always have a safe place to stay."

Zoe had a million questions burning on her tongue, but she swallowed them down. She needed to focus on one mystery at a time or her brain would melt.

Kahil led her along the shaded walkways until they came to another stone statue of a dog headed man. Unlike the ones out the front of the church, this one was holding an ankh in one hand and a set of scales in the other.

"No one has guessed that this dog-headed saint was Anubis the whole time?" Zoe asked curiously

Istanbul was a city with many religions and had a long history of wars and conquests. The fact that a Byzantine era church was still in such a good shape and open to the public spoke more to her of the Order's influence than anything else.

"People see what they want to see. Also, no one outside the Order is generally allowed past the church," Kahil replied and turned the stone ankh. Zoe gasped as the statue slid away to reveal another open doorway and stone steps going down.

"This is so fucking cool," she said, eyes going wide.

Kahil laughed brightly. "If you think this is impressive, I'm about to blow your mind,balim."

He went down into the darkness first and held a hand out for her. Zoe took it and stepped down through the doorway. The statue slid shut behind them, blocking out the bright sun. Her eyes adjusted to the lamps that lit the stairs above them, and she realized she was still holding his hand. It was warm and slightly rough and made hers feel tiny in comparison. Kahil ran a thumb over the inside of her wrist before dropping his grip on her.

"This way," he said and led her down the steep stairs.

Zoe could hear water dripping somewhere and classical music from a record player. "Are we in a cistern?" she asked, her voice bouncing off the stones.

"We are about to be. Very fancy cisterns," he replied.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Zoe found herself on a wooden walkway covered in traditional Turkish carpets. She glanced at the dark water beneath her as she crossed the bridge and was on stone once more.

Zoe covered her open mouth. The place was immense with high ceilings and tall pillars carved with snarling Medusa heads. Large bronze chandeliers hung from the roof, and antique incense burners were set in corners, filling the place with the smell of frankincense resin.

Kahil walked up a short flight of stone steps to where a sitting area was set up with a low table and surrounded by flat cushions to rest on.

A man was sitting at the table next to a hookah, a wide smile on his face. He had long silver streaked hair that was bundled into a knot and wore a clipped beard. Golden eyes shone out of an intensely handsome face with high cheekbones. He was broad, and even sitting, Zoe knew he would be tall when he stood.

Power and authority radiated off him in a way that made all the hairs on her arms stand on end. This wasn't just a man; this was a king.

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