7. Kalistratos

Tyler's home—his ahparrmenn, 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 fresco I'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.

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 for everything."

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—jinnshors and 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.

"Gym. Shorts," he says, cackling as he takes a step back to look at me. "God damn. I liked you in a man-skirt, but gym shorts are definitely not bad either."

"They're quite restrictive. This is normal?"

Tyler comes in close and gives my bulge a playful squeeze. "It's exactly what I like."

As he leans in to kiss me, a loud ringing noise echoes from the heavens. I grab Tyler and drop into a defensive stance, slapping at my chest for my knives that are not there.

"What is that?" I shout.

Tyler presses his finger to his lips, then points at the door. He quietly walks over to it, looks through the small hole in it near its center, and then groans.

"Shit… It's Jeff."