The Historian

The narrator boards the train for France, carrying a silver knife and the packet of letters from her father. She resumes his story by reading the letters.

Helen and Paul arrive in Istanbul, and Helen remarks on its similarities with Romania. They do not know where Sultan Mehmed II’s archives are located, but they know it is near the Hagia Sofia. Helen talks about the conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul) by the Ottomans, who could be as brutal as Vlad Ţepeş. They tour the Hagia Sofia, musing on the history the great building encompasses.

At a restaurant, they meet Dr. Turgut Bora, who is dining alone; they invite him to join them and find him a repository of information. He is a scholar of Shakespeare and speaks fluent English, but he is also well-versed in vampire lore: When a Romani woman approaches Helen in the café, hissing at her about vampires, Turgut suggests that they talk further.

The narrator dozes off and decides to put away the letters. She is startled awake by the frowning presence of Barley.