Page 15 of Phoenix Chosen 2

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KALISTRATOS

Tyler’s home—hisahparrmenn, as he calls it—is as full of mysteries as the world outside the door. The incredible barriers in the windows are made of glass, but of a quality and translucence that seem impossible. He uses a stylus to copy the swirling symbol Nelly drew on his arm, and color flows from its tip without the use of an ink dish. It reminds me of a vein of charcoal, except when I touch its tip, it leaves nothing but an indent in my skin. But what is most impressive of all is the great quantity of the parchment he uses to draw on.

It's everywhere in his home. Many are adorned with the most dazzling and impossible images, which look like life itself has been captured on its surface. Some pieces are as pristine as white marble. I’ve never seen anything like it. Just a single clean sheet would probably fetch a hefty bag of drachmae, and the decorated ones… Those would certainly be worth a small fortune.

I pick up a piece. It shines brightly beneath the glow of the false sun hanging from the ceiling, slashed with all the colors of a field of wildflowers in deep spring, more vivid than any frescoI’ve seen. The red feels like it could burn my eyes. The blues are as deep as the ocean. And there is a smiling woman so lifelike I’m certain she is about to speak to me.

“How is this not magic?” I say. “You can’t tell me this woman isn’t somehow imprisoned here with some spell.”

Tyler glances over and laughs. “No, Kalistratos. It’s a photo, and that’s just some junk mail. She’s a realtor or something.”

I grunt. None of what he’s said makes any sense. I hold the parchment close to my face and stare at the colors. It’s mesmerizing. I want to see more.

“Alright,” Tyler says, showing me the drawing. “Now we just have to figure out what the hell this means. Kalistratos.”

“Sorry.” I pull myself away from the mesmerizing parchment. “I wish I could say this symbol is familiar to me, but it isn’t. I’m not exactly versed in lore. If only that phony priest were here.”

He sets the drawing down. “Alyx and Airos… You think they’re okay?”

“They’re Phoenikos. They can take care of themselves. What I want to know is, who did this to us? Who was that man?”

“The First.”

“Yes… That’s what they called themselves, isn’t it?”

“They were in my dream, back in Circeana. They were the voice that called me to the roof.”

“A sorcerer,” I mutter. “No… When the void opened behind you, I tried to halt the flow of time but found my powers inaccessible, like they were being blocked.”

Tyler frowns. “Didn’t Airos say that a phoenix with enough knowledge can interrupt another phoenix’s powers?”

“He did.”

“Then… this person could be a phoenix?”

It’s not something I’d considered, and the thought disturbs me. “This level of power… I admit, my encounters with my kind are infrequent, but my gut is telling me that no ordinary Phoenikos could do the things that they did.”

“Not to mention, why would they have any reason to come after me? They were in my dreams, and no one else’s.”

“Right.”

“By the way, I forgot to show you. Look what came back with me.” Tyler reaches into his pocket and produces the little wooden chicken I took from the Athenos marketplace. “My little lucky charm.”

He hands it to me before walking off to another room. How was it that nothing else was returned with him, not even his clothing? All of my belongings had been torn away.

“If it weren’t for that little bird, I probably would’ve thought I’d hallucinated the whole thing. I might not even have paid attention to the TV and seen your sweet ass.” Suddenly, I hear the sound of water surging from a pipe. “You want a bath?”

Absolutely. I follow the sound to a small room with a large white basin made of what looks like polished stone. Tyler is leaning over a silver spout that is gushing water.

“Is this shared by the other residents of this, uh, ahparrmenn?” I ask with wonder.

“No, this is all mine,” he says.

“Incredible. Such a thing is?—”

I step into the bathing room and spin in shock, slamming my shoulder into the door with a loud crash. There is another man there stepping out from an impossible doorway! He crashes against the far wall and stares at me with wide, startled eyes.

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