Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A Titan strode towards them, casually kicking lesser monsters out of his way. He was roughly the same height as Bob, with elaborate Stygian iron armour, a single diamond blazing in the centre of his breastplate. His eyes were blue-white, like core samples from a glacier and just as cold. His hair was the same colour, cut military style. A battle helmet shaped like a bear's head was tucked under his arm. From his belt hung a sword the size of a surfboard.
Despite his battle scars, the Titan's face was handsome and strangely familiar. Theo was pretty sure she'd never seen the guy before, but his eyes and his smile reminded her of someone...
The Titan stopped in front of Bob. He clapped him on the shoulder. "Iapetus! Don't tell me you don't recognize your own brother!"
"No!" Bob agreed nervously. "I won't tell you that."
The other Titan threw back his head and laughed. "I heard you were thrown into the Lethe. Must've been terrible! We all knew you would heal eventually. It's Koios! Koios!"
"Of course," Bob said. "Koios, Titan of..."
"The north," Theo whispered.
"The north!" Bob echoed loudly. "Ha-ha!"
The two titans boomed loudly and took turns hitting each other in the arm.
"Poor old Iapetus," said Koios. "They must have laid you low indeed. Look at you! A broom? A servant's uniform? A cat in your coveralls? Truly, Hades must pay for these insults. Who was that demigod who took your memory? Bah! We must rip him to pieces, you and I, eh?"
"Ha-ha." Bob swallowed. "Yes, indeed. Rip him to pieces."
Theo's fingers closed around the grip of her bow. She didn't think much of Bob's brother, even without the rip him to pieces threat. Compared to Bob's simple way of speaking, Koios sounded like he was reciting Shakespeare. That alone was enough to make Theo irritated. She hated iambic pentameter, people who threatened Percy, and Titans. So far this guy Koios was checking every mark.
She was ready to unleash some arrows if she had to, but so far Koios didn't seem to have noticed her. And Bob hadn't betrayed them yet, though he'd had plenty of opportunities.
"Ah, it's good to see you..." Koios drummed his fingers on his bear's-head helmet. "You remember what fun we had in the old days?"
"Of course!" Bob chirped. "When we, uh..."
"Holding down our father Ouranos," Koios said.
"Yes! We loved wrestling with Dad."
Theo winced. Poor guy wasn't doing very well at the whole "acting natural" thing.
Koios heaved a sigh. "Sadly, our co-conspirator of a brother Kronos was dissolved by those impudent demigods. Bits and pieces of his essence remain, but nothing you could put together again. I suppose some injuries even Tartarus cannot heal."
