Page 42 of Phoenix Chosen 2

“He is my reflection, my counterpart,” Lord Aethereos continues. “Before light, there is darkness.”

“The First,” Tyler says slowly.

“Yes, that’s what he calls himself,” Aethereos says as he walks through the garden. “Falling into my brother’s shadow is as inevitable as the sun setting at the end of the day. I was exiled here, to Gaea. This is my prison.”

Tyler looks around. “Well, as far as prisons go, it’s not too bad.”

Lord Aethereos laughs. “Yes, well, why not fashion my cage to be as much like home as possible?”

“I don’t understand,” I say. “Why is your exile inevitable? You say that our clan is burdened by a cycle?”

“That’s right. My brother’s jealousy of my light is reborn with my renewal, leading eventually to my downfall at his hand. It’s written in the stars, as is your place in this story, Kalistratos and Tyler.”

“Hold on,” Tyler says. “Are you saying that this has happened before? That has been happening for…ever?”

“Yes and no,” he answers patiently. “Before. Forever. Again. Never. These are all mortal ideas created in an attempt to understand a force that you can only barely perceive. There are some things I can’t explain.”

“Oh, great,” Tyler says. “Nothing like having a puny mortal brain. So, does that mean that nothing I do matters? Everything is preordained?”

“You’ve always been Chosen, Tyler, and always will be. And Kalistratos has always been and always will be your guardian. But that doesn’t mean that everything is in stone. The story you forge in this cycle is not predetermined. You can fail. And my brother will do anything to make sure you do. That’s why he sent you back to Gaea—but what he didn’t intend was for Kalistratos to come with you. It was your connection that did that, your bond, forged in the crucible of eternity. And now he wants to separate you forever.”

“Butwhyam I Chosen?” Tyler asks. “What the hell do I have to do with all of this?”

“The child you carry, along with the other children of the Chosen, bear a fire that will restore the flame in the lost temple. I will be reborn, and once again my brother will be banished to the darkness. The Phoenikos will be reunited.”

“Other children?” I say.

“Tyler, you aren’t the only Chosen,” Lord Aethereos says. “Three Guardians. Three Chosen omegas.”

Tyler and I exchange a stunned look. Tyler presses his fingers to his temples. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Are you saying I wasn’t the only guy to get yanked out of his life and sent to Circeana? Two other dudes are sitting around somewhere in need of our help?”

“Cheesus,” I mutter in disbelief.

“Christ on a crutch,” Tyler finishes.

17

TYLER

“That is why you must return to Circeana,” says Aethereos. “You must find them, and you must find the temple and finish the cycle.”

I spread my arms wide open.“Great. We’re ready. Zap us back.”

The Great Phoenix stops beneath the cover of a tall and luscious pomegranate tree. Rain continues to roll down the glass wall close behind it.

“If I could, don’t you think I would’ve done so already?” He examines one of the branches heavy with the bright red fruit. “I sacrificed much when I sent you and the others to Circeana. What little remains, I use to keep Umbrios’s shadows out of this place. They will overcome me; it’s only a matter of time now. Tyler, you must return yourself and Kalistratos to the world before that happens.”

“Me?With all due respect, Mr. Aethereos… How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“The power is with you. You just need to learn how to access it.”

“What happens if I can’t?”

Aethereos plucks a pomegranate from the branch and splits the fruit in half with two hands. The dark red juice trickles down his hand, and he turns the halves over and shows them to me. I gasp. The seeds have become black worms, writhing through a spoiled core. And then another vision flashes into my mind—of a shadow washing over me, much like when I was transported back to Earth. I see Kalistratos, overcome by a tidal wave of darkness that coats his body like a terrible oil spill. He fights against it as it clings to him and tries to pull him into the ground. He shouts my name and reaches for me, struggling as the shadow moves up his neck to suffocate him.

The vision is gone. I’m back in the garden. The pomegranate is perfectly normal and healthy. Aethereos puts the two halves together and buries the fruit.

“Tyler?” Kalistratos says, touching my hand.

---