Phoenix

The trouble started about four months after I'd arrived at Camp Jupiter. That was the day I met Phoenix.

For most demigods who came from the Wolf House, their peers in the legion became their new family. Since I was only seven, my new family was two twenty-something-year-old residents of New Rome: Nico di Angelo, a fighting instructor with a kind heart, and Will Solace, a doctor with a demeanor as warm and soothing as soup on a sick day. Although I still called them by their first names, I was already beginning to think of them as my parents. And I couldn't have been happier to have found them - and to have caught a break from the past three years of training with Lupa.

That pleasant winter day was one of the rare ones when both Nico and Will could catch a break too. Every time they shared a day off, they let me pick something that the three of us could do together. Usually, I'd ask Nico to shadow travel us somewhere - those spontaneous trips were always exciting. But this time, I asked for something simple: to go to the market. Since the start of December, twinkling lights had been appearing all over New Rome, and the Forum's decorations were especially elaborate. Until then, I'd only been there during the daytime, and I wanted to see it in its full glory.

For the most part, the evening was quaint. The three of us wandered through the Forum, appreciated the decorations, sampled holiday-themed treats, and browsed the shops. It was my first real taste of Christmas - the first one I could remember, at least - and I loved it. I eagerly picked out wrapping paper, ribbon, ornaments, and trinkets that I thought my family and friends would like. As we were leaving, Will suggested that we take the long way home so we could look at more lights.

If I'd known what else we'd see on those streets, I might not have been so quick to agree.

The rest of the city was less crowded than the marketplace. There were still a few people chatting on their doorsteps or strolling by. But it was quiet enough that I could hear voices echoing from a gap between some buildings as we passed.

"Oh, sick!"

"Viv! Don't touch it!"

Bewildered, I paused to look down the shadowy alley. About thirty feet away, a few kids my age were huddled around a small lump on the ground. One of them was pointing a dim flashlight at it, and another was crouching and reaching for it.

As I stared at the unknown object, some odd things happened. My muscles tensed. Goosebumps sprung up on my arms. And a vague memory of my father popped into my head. I had no idea where any of that came from, but it felt important, like some kind of signal.

"Hey!"

I jumped as Nico's wary voice bounced down the alley. The other kids flinched twice as hard as me. Then they bolted, which I thought was silly. If he wanted to, Nico could've manipulated the shadows to grab their ankles. But it wasn't like he was going to attack a bunch of eight-year-olds, whether they ran or not.

"Smooth," Will teased him as the kids disappeared.

Nico didn't smile. His brows were furrowed as he started walking down the alley to investigate.

I think that's when Will picked up on the cloud of gloom hanging over the two of us. "I don't know if we should..." He trailed off as I went after Nico.

When I reached him, the son of Hades stopped and turned. The shadows were so thick that I almost ran into him. "We could use your help, Sunshine."

Will shook his head like he was exasperated, but he joined us in the alley. "What would you two do without me?"

Nico smirked and took the son of Apollo's hand, which was now glowing faintly, along with the rest of his exposed skin. Since it was wintertime, that wasn't much. But it was sufficient to illuminate a ten-foot radius around him.

Together, the three of us approached the mysterious thing. In the golden light, it shone like a flame, but it was no bigger than a loaf of bread. When I realized what I was looking at, a gasp escaped me.

It was a kitten - a fluffy orange-and-white striped one - and it was clearly dead.

There was no blood, but its little body was twisted like it had been in pain. I wondered if one of those kids had hurt it. The idea made the sight even more awful.

"Oh, gods. Poor thing," Will murmured.

Grief and anger warred in my mind, building pressure behind my eyes. I knelt next to the kitten, and my parents crouched with me. As I extended my hand toward its furry head, my whole body blazed like I'd stepped into Leo's forge. Before I could touch it, Nico put a hand on my arm, and the heat coursing through me vanished. I withdrew my hand and rubbed my watery eyes on my sleeve. "Can we bury it?" I begged him.

"Of course," Nico promised, "but not here. We'll take it outside of the city."

At the time, I didn't understand his reasoning. It wasn't until years later that he told me about the last time a child of Pluto had opened up the cobblestone streets and accidentally created a sinkhole. That disaster had inspired a law to prohibit people from disturbing the ground in city limits without the proper permits.

As Nico moved to pick up the kitten, Will protested, "With your bare hands?"

"It's recent," Nico replied, like that was supposed to be reassuring. When the glowing healer frowned, he added dryly, "Would you rather I use my powers?"

Will pulled a face, and I wondered if he was imagining the dead cat standing up and staggering to its grave like a poorly animated puppet. Then he took off his jacket and handed it to the son of Hades. "Here."

Nico began to wrap the kitten, using Will's jacket like a burial shroud. But before he could scoop it up, he flinched and let go of the bundle. It was like he'd been shocked by a live wire. "What's wrong?" Will demanded, touching his hand to scan for injuries.

His question was answered when his jacket moved. The three of us watched, awestruck, as a clump of orange and white wriggled into view. After a few seconds, the fluffy kitten squirmed free of its swaddling. It mewled and blinked at us with big amber eyes. Then it toddled over to Nico, who was the closest.

"Are you doing that?" Will whispered to him.

Nico shook his head slowly. Moving like the air was solidifying, he brushed the back of his fingers against the kitten's side. As the little creature purred, the son of Hades stared. He looked like he was trying to sort through his thoughts...or maybe he was just observing the rise and fall of its tiny chest. Then his eyes found mine, and he asked, "Did you touch it?"

His tone was calm - almost too calm. Something about the look in his eyes frightened me. I quickly shook my head.

As Nico continued to watch me with that too-serious expression, I suddenly realized why. Once the kitten had moved, I'd assumed that it had just been sleeping, despite every fiber of my being telling me otherwise. But Nico thought that I'd brought it back to life. And if my past experiences with my powers were any indication, he was probably right.

Nico seemed to sense that he was freaking me out, because he composed himself and turned to Will. As the two had a silent exchange, the kitten wandered over to me. Despite my nerves, I couldn't help but smile when it gave a plaintive meow. I gingerly picked up the adorable thing and held it against my chest. My smile grew as it burrowed into my jacket. Its torso was only as big as my hand, and I could feel all of its ribs, but it was warm and soft and purring - and very much alive.

I ran a finger down the kitten's spine, and its breathing began to slow. I continued to pet it like that, and a few seconds later, it was fast asleep. I stared, amazed that something so fragile could be so trusting. In that moment, I vowed to protect the innocent creature at all costs.

If Nico was right - if I did save this kitten's life - I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

Abruptly, the hair on my neck stood on end, and I glanced down the alley. Someone was peering around a corner at me. I assumed it was one of the kids who'd run away, but I couldn't make out much, because the only thing illuminating him or her was a thin strip of moonlight. We made eye contact, and I glimpsed a flash of gray. Then the stranger disappeared, leaving me with a lump of dread in my throat.

Nico and Will were too busy wrapping up their semi-telepathic conversation to notice any of that. Before I could decide whether or not to tell them, Will stepped closer and brushed his fingertips against the sleeping kitten. "She seems healthy," he announced softly. "A little underweight, but that's it."

I stiffened as the two of them gave me identical frowns. At that age, I didn't fully understand the implications of my slip-up. All I knew was that I was in big trouble. But there was something that I cared about more than being punished. So I cuddled the kitten closer and pleaded, "Can we keep her?"

An hour later, I was sitting on my bed and beaming as I played with my new pet. After we'd gotten some supplies and fed her, she'd really perked up. Will had given her another checkup - all the while insisting that he's not a vet and that she would need to be examined by an actual professional - and he'd guessed that she was around seven weeks old. He'd also determined that she was a Maine Coon, judging by her long fur and the tufts on her ears. At that point, Nico had given him a strange look, to which he had shrugged and said, "My mom's a cat person."

The whole night was going surprisingly well for me...until Nico appeared in my doorway with a somber face.

"We need to talk."

I swallowed my dread and put down the dangly cat toy - and the orange tabby pounced on my hand. Fighting a smirk, I scooped her up and shuffled over, making room for Nico to sit on the other end of my bed. He raised his eyebrows as I plopped the feisty creature in my lap and she immediately tried to scale my shirt, like a tiny clawed rock climber.

"She seems to like you."

I nodded, knowing exactly what he was getting at. Most animals tend to steer clear of Underworldly demigods like us. For some reason, the kitten didn't seem fazed by our presence. I hoped she wouldn't grow out of that.

"Have you thought of a name yet?"

I hesitated, biting my lip. I did have a name picked out, but I wasn't sure Nico would appreciate it in this context. As the kitten climbed onto my shoulder and meowed at her success, I smiled and scratched her behind the ears. "I want to call her Phoenix," I admitted.

I thought Nico might have smirked, but the reaction was so subtle that I couldn't be sure. "Fitting," he agreed. His tone was light, but that same unease from earlier was stirring in his eyes.

My smile faded as quickly as it had come. "Are you mad at me?"

Nico sighed. "I'm not mad, Dante. I'm worried. I just want you to be safe." He must have detected some confusion in my expression, because he went on, "Do you remember that chat we had when you first came here? The one about your powers?"

I tried not to pull a face. I remembered that conversation like it was yesterday. Nico and Will had sat me down to ask me how much I knew about my father. Then Nico had gone on to explain the importance of things like restraint and responsibility:

"There's a thin line between life and death," he'd told me that day. "Our powers might let us walk that line, but it's a balancing act. We need to be careful, because if we ever mess up and cross that line, the gods won't be happy with us."

"Have you ever crossed that line?" I'd asked him.

"I tried to, a bunch of times," he'd explained. "I only managed it once, and I was lucky enough to avoid being punished for it. But that was a special circumstance. Most people don't get away with it."

"I did," I'd confessed, half-afraid that an angry god would swoop down on me the moment I said it out loud.

"I know," Nico had answered, to my surprise. "My father told me that you brought yourself back to life a few times. He's been keeping an eye on you."

I must have looked stricken to hear that the Lord of the Underworld was aware of my transgressions, because Nico's gaze had turned stoic, and he'd put his hands on my arms. "Listen, Dante. You have a gift - a really amazing one. But for your own good, that gift needs to stay with you and only you, no matter how hard that might be. Do you understand?"

I jumped as Phoenix nibbled my ear. "I didn't mean to," I whispered anxiously as I scooped her up again.

"I know you didn't," Nico assured, placing a hand on my knee. "It's okay. I doubt anyone will notice one missing cat. But you can't make a habit out of this, alright?" As I nodded and let out a shaky sigh, he pointed out, "Did you feel anything when she came back?"

I recalled the heat that had rushed through me the moment I'd unintentionally used my powers, and I shivered and held Phoenix to my chest again. I described the sensation to Nico, adding, "I thought those kids hurt her. I...I got really mad...and sad, I guess."

The son of Hades frowned at me with a faraway look in his eyes, like my phrasing had dug up an unpleasant memory. Then he stated firmly, "I want you to start training with me."

My heart started racing, but not out of fear. "You're going to teach me how to use my powers?"

"Yes."

"Can you show me how to shadow travel?"

Nico smiled. "We'll get to that. I think we need to start with this reset button ability." When I frowned, he explained, "You can practice on bugs or worms - something small. But you need to get used to that feeling, so you can hold it back if you need to."

"When do we start?" I asked, attempting to mask my eagerness.

"How does tomorrow sound?"

My grin broke through, and I had to resist the urge to jump up from my bed. I shrugged it off and said, "I suppose I can clear my schedule."

Nico chuckled. He stood and messed my hair affectionately. Phoenix mewled at him, so he petted her head too. "You'll do great," he told me. Then he put on a scowl and added, "But seriously, don't do that again. One stray cat is enough."

I nodded my agreement. I was perfectly happy with just the one.