Page 16 of Phoenix Chosen 2

Only, it isn’t another man. It’s me.

“Dude, what the hell!” Tyler shouts at me.

I lower my fists and gape at the perfect reflection in front of me. “What is this new sorcery?” I say.

“It’s a mirror, Kalistratos, a mirror. You’ve never seen a mirror before?”

I’d once stolen a small bronze mirror from the horde of a wealthy merchant and traded it for three folded steel daggers. It was hazy and dim, nothing near the crystal perfection of the portal standing before me.

“Jesus. Good thing I don’t plan on sticking around,” Tyler says as he touches the massive crater I’ve left in the door. “My landlord used to give me grief foreverything.”

I wave, turn my face back and forth, then flex my bicep. “Hm. Not bad.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tyler grabs me by the shoulders and turns me towards the bath basin. “I know you’re sexy. Don’t fall in love with yourself, alright?”

He reaches in and pulls something on the pipe, and the water magically sprays from a spout high on the wall.

“We call this a shower,” Tyler says, seeing my wonder. “Some say it’s even better than a bath.”

“We shall see about that.”

“Take your time. There’s shampoo and soap right there.” Tyler sees my blank expression and laughs, then swats me on the ass. “Alright, get in. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

The warm water pours generously over my head like the gods have favored me with a personal summer rainstorm. Tyler steps in behind me.

“Too hot? Not hot enough?” he asks.

“You can change the heat at will?” I say in astonishment.

“That knob there. Turn it left to make it hotter, right to make it colder. Gently, though. I like having skin.”

I carefully turn the spigot left. The water grows hotter.

By the gods. It’s incredible.

“Turn around,” Tyler says. “Close your eyes.”

He rubs his hands into my hair and a powerful scent fills my senses, like the bouquet of a vast spice market. I open my eyes.

“What is tha—ARGH! IT BURNS!”

“Jesus Christ! Close your eyes! I told you to close your eyes!”

“Are you trying to blind me, dammit?!”

Tyler pushes my head beneath the shower and rinses away the frothing potion.

“The mightiest phoenix, taken down with a bottle of Old Spice,” Tyler says. “Stand still, you big baby. Let me wash your back.”

A shower is a thrilling experience.

Afterward, Tyler fetches me a set of his clothes—jinnshorsand a “teacher.”

“Teach who?” I ask, examining the strange garment.

“Tee shirt,” he says emphatically. “Not ‘teacher.’ And these are gym shorts. Say it with me.” He says the words very slowly.

“Ji-nn…shorr,” I repeat back.

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