15. Tyler

"Tyler and Kalistratos?" they call.

"Who wants to know?" Kalistratos shouts back.

He comes toward us. From his height and the sound of his voice, I expect him to be younger, but he seems to be about my age. He has silver hair and is wearing a crisp white blazer and white shorts. Even the umbrella is white. It looks like some kind of private school uniform, or something. He bows slightly, looking very unconcerned about the shadow monsters he just frightened away.

"He would like to meet you," the man says.

"Who?" I ask.

He holds the umbrella out to us. "Come. You should hurry. Your questions will be answered."

"Won't you get wet?"

But the man has already produced another umbrella from somewhere. He opens it up and starts back in the direction he came from, pausing only to silently beckon us to follow. Kalistratos and I look at each other, then go after him.

He walks just ahead of us, deflecting any questions with a repeated and patient "Your questions will be answered soon."

"It would be nice to have our questions answered right now," Kalistratos says. "How do we know we're not walking into some trap set by whoever sent those monsters?"

"You came all this way," he says, still smiling patiently. "Would you turn away now that you're here?"

He stops. I look up and realize that the towering high-rise in front of us is the address we'd been looking for. It's modern, all glass and steel, and almost completely unmarked except for the swirling symbol in simple etched bronze sitting right above a pair of beautiful oak double doors, like an all-seeing eye.

"Can you at least tell us what to call you?" I say as he unlocks the door with a biometric scan.

"You may call me Feather," he says simply and pushes the doors open.

We enter a massive lobby made using what looks like white marble with sleek accents of bronze and gold, with a tall and very old-looking olive tree growing in a garden at the center of the room. This place looks like some multibillion-dollar company"s headquarters, not one with a placeholder webpage with zero information. It's opulent, grand, and a complete ghost town. It feels as though we're the first people to enter; like there is no staff, or customers, or anyone, ever.

Feather takes our umbrella and bows slightly.

"First, allow me to provide you with some dry clothing," he says. "Follow me, please."

We walk through the lobby to a set of symmetrical staircases leading up to an atrium overlooking the center garden. There's something about the way this place is designed that reminds me of Athenos. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there, like a subconscious thought.

He brings us down a corridor to a room that smells and looks like a day spa. Everything is made of a soft colored wood and the floor is heated. Two sets of clothes sit on a table for us—chiton robes and sandals, finely crafted from contemporary materials. They're in Circeana style but look like they were made here. Feather waits outside as we change.

"I can't tell if he's Phoenikos," I say to Kalistratos. "The feeling is there, but it's not like when I met Airos, or you and Alyx. It's weird."

"Yeah," he grunts. "I don't know what he is, but he's not human."

We go outside, and Feather leads us back through the corridor to an elevator with a polished gold door. It opens as we walk up to it. There are no buttons inside. The door closes and the car starts going up. Kalistratos looks around, and it takes him a moment before he realizes he's the only one still facing the back wall. He turns around. I snicker, and he shrugs at me.

My heart is still pounding fast from the close call in the alley. Feather stares calmly at the elevator doors. He looks completely unaffected, like scaring away a shadow monster and rescuing us is part of his normal day-to-day responsibilities.

"You're not Phoenikos," I say. "Are you?"

"No," says Feather.

"But I can feel some kind of phoenix power from you."

He looks at me from the corner of his eye and a small smile forms at the corner of his mouth.

"Which clan do you belong to?" Kalistratos asks. "I can't tell."

"Your questions?—"

"—Will be answered soon," Kalistratos finishes, waving his hand. "Yeah, got it."

After a long ascent, the elevator chimes and opens to a large open room with many rows of illuminated museum display pedestals. We follow Feather through. The displays are unmarked and feature ancient artifacts from different cultures—I recognize a few, like one of those Egyptian lion statues, a Chinese vase, and Roman-era coins. Then we reach a set of massive wooden doors with bronze rings as big as a car steering wheel. They look ancient, especially in contrast to the sleek modern design of everything else. Feather pulls one of the doors open and invites us to enter with an extension of his hand.

This next room is completely different from everything else we've seen. Now it truly feels like we've stepped into some Athenosian temple. Huge columns made of translucent stone glow from within with a soft cascade of pastel colors like an abalone shell and stretch up to a high, bright ceiling. Colorful banners hang across the columns with large wreaths of flowers and fresh leafy cuttings. Braziers burn with bright yellow smokeless flame, and the sweet smell of incense and oil surrounds us. Long flowing white curtains form a barrier that prevents us from seeing deeper into the space, and Feather leads us through.

Kalistratos takes my hand. We're surrounded by a fog of flowing white silk that washes across us, caressing our bodies and faces. The air is thick with the soft rustle of fabric as the curtains dance and swirl around us. It's a complete envelopment of the senses that quickly disorients me. I have no idea if we're going straight or in circles. Holding the figurine around my neck is reassuring. It feels warm in my palm, as warm as Kalistratos's hand. And then something washes over me, a tingling sensation that spreads through every part of my body. Lightness and happiness, like my world has just gotten a little brighter. I want to stretch and run and feel my body. I want to hug Kalistratos. I want to celebrate surviving the monsters and being here. I just feel good. Kalistratos squeezes my hand. He's feeling the same thing that I am.

Then I hear something unexpected drifting from somewhere ahead of us. At first, I think I'm just imagining that this strange energy is making me have some kind of horny-brained hallucination. No, I'm not. Soft murmurs of pleasure drift from somewhere, like laughter on the wind. Then Feather pushes aside a final curtain. We're in a rounded chamber lit by a bright white fire burning in a crystal sphere floating above the room like the sun. The white marble floor is inlaid with a pathway made from blue tile that spreads out into a spiraling colorful mosaic fresco of a flying phoenix. And in the center of the room is a high platform with a set of black obsidian stairs. Whatever is happening, it's coming from up there. Feather ascends the stairs, and Kalistratos and I exchange a perplexed look.

What the hell are we walking into?