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“Damn cat!” the man yells, swinging the stick wildly and knocking down several bottles of oil from his neighbor’s stall. A fight quickly breaks out.
“Time to go,” Kalistratos says.
He leads us to a pathway off the main road past crumbling brick and white plaster buildings splashed with belts of faded blue paint, smelly horse stables, and a work yard filled with huge marble blocks and half-carved statues.
“Who’s this?” Alyx asks, darting to the front.
“He’s the mercenary who tried to kill us,” Kalistratos says.
“But he’s changed his mind,” I chime in. “He’s Phoenikos.”
We stop beneath a tall willow tree. Two painted columns frame a flower-laden trellis over the road, which leads up to a staircase and a building with a colorful mural on its outer wall.
“My name is Airos. You seek the Great Phoenix, and so do I.”
Kalistratos jerks a thumb at Airos. “Apparently, he can decipher the map.”
“Wonderful,” Alyx says. “Welcome to the party. Is this why you took so long to get here? I was beginning to worry the frogs had gotten you. Word on the street is they have a bounty out for you. On Tyler, in particular.”
“Me?” I say in disbelief. “What did I do?”
“You’re no ordinary omega,” Kalistratos says. “Anyone can see that.”
Airos holds up his hand to silence us and ushers us behind the tree. “We may have attracted some unwanted attention back there.”
Back from the path where we came, a pack of disheveled wolves slinks through the crowd, sniffing at the air. Two of them shapeshift into human form, and it’s clear from their garb they aren’t looking to make friends.
“That tends to happen when you’re waving bags of drachmae around,” Alyx says accusingly to Kalistratos. “What were you thinking?”
Kalistratos struggles to come up with a reply.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have stopped to look at those figurines.”
“You apologize for nothing!” Airos says, sweeping his sleeve dramatically in front of me, blocking Kalistratos. “If this silly thief had allowed me to purchase a gift for you, we wouldn’t have drawn any attention.”
Kalistratos lifts Airos’s sleeve like a curtain and pokes his head under. “Who the hell are you calling ‘silly thief’, you phony monk! When did Tyler ask you to buy him a gift?”
“What the hell is happening?” Alyx groans, puffing out his fur. “We need to get out of here!”
“To the hideout?” Kalistratos says, pushing Airos out of the way.
Alyx shakes his head. “I was getting to that. The hideout has been compromised. It’s being watched by Erpetosi hunter toads.”
Kalistratos scowls. “Cheesus. How have we gathered so much heat?”
Airos smiles. “Then allow me to prove my honor to you. I know a place we can go. The Athenos library. My order has a presence there—we’ll have safe harbor.”
“Well, we’d better move,” I say. “Our new friends have just caught our scent.”
A frightened shopkeeper points in our direction, and the two men shift back into their wolf forms, joining the rest of their group who begin to stalk through the crowd towards us, their dark, dripping tongues lolling over yellowed fangs. One of them makes direct eye contact with me and snarls.
My heart is pounding as I reach for my sling, but Airos grabs my arm and pulls me after him. “We run,” he says.
“Kalistratos!” I shout. He’s behind me, and I turn back to reach for his hand. The feeling of not wanting to be separated from him takes me by surprise. I suddenly realize that I wouldn’t feel safe without knowing he’s nearby, even if he’s knocked out and I need to revive him with a fucking kiss.
I’m a pretty self-reliant person. Even when it comes to Jeff—or maybe because of Jeff—I’ve never believed I would need a rock in my life, someone I could lean on to make me feel safe. I’ve always had to do that for myself. But here, I’ve realized that Kalistratos is my rock. I know he’s here for me. It's such a strange and incredible feeling. We’ve known each other for less than three days, and yet I feel safer with him than I ever did with Jeff.
He grabs my hand and is right next to me. Alyx leaps onto his shoulder, and Airos leads the three of us up the stairs to a long plaza busy with people. All the different clans are mingling here. Some are holding debates on raisedstone platforms as groups watch. There are street musicians, beggars, and monks shuffling about reading aloud from long scrolls that drag along the ground, and all along the sides of the street are huge buildings sided with tall columns adorned with different animals. I see wolves, lions, frogs, bears… but no phoenixes.
