Return of the Titans

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

This was definitely a god.

Perhaps he wasn't as gargantuan and muscular as Thelonious. Perhaps he didn't carry himself with humility as Doc. Perhaps he wasn't as wise as the elk seemed to be. But the man had an air of dignity and prestige that lifted his chin and shone in his eyes.

He resembled more of a token businessman, what with wearing a gray business suit. He had a youthful face that looked like it belonged to a college student rather than a powerful being and a pretty dangerous one at that. He hardly had a beard, only faint traces of grizzled dark brown hair that happened when you shaved either too much or too little. Either way, he wasn't the omnipotent person that I initially thought of when everyone warned about the Lion-men's master.

But then again, that reminded me of what he had told me. Prometheus had said to not believe all that I saw and heard, which was understandable. If I was an evil tyrant, I wouldn't let my enemy see me at my best. I would catch them while they were off-guard. And trust me, we were very wary.

Father folded his hands behind his back, eyes landing on the kneeling Lion-men. "You may rise," he said.

Even his voice wasn't that commanding. It was grave, yes, but it didn't offer the sense of discretion that Lion gave him. Nonetheless, the Lion-men did what they were told without hesitation.

Jay leaned into me and whispered, "Is it me, but are who I thought of and who I'm seeing two different people?"

Father turned his head toward him, fixing Jay with a pair of steely gray eyes. I felt Jay recoil next to me from the man's intense gaze. But instead of calling Jay off, Father actually did the opposite. He laughed.

"You expected someone else," Father said. "That's understandable. Perhaps you thought that I would be big and menacing. After all, not anyone can control the Lion-men without some power backing themselves."

He leaned forward and said, "Don't worry, Mister Hun. My feet are as small as their attention spans."

A wave of laughter came over the army of Lion-men, one of taunting and malice. It echoed throughout the forest in a haunting roar. I saw the color drain from Jay's face and I stepped in to keep himself from going off again.

"Why're we here?" I asked him.

Father shifted his eyes onto me, and now it was my turn to inch away. Those eyes were just way too much to have on your face all at once.

"You must be the creature," Father said, then tilted his head curiously to the side. "You weren't what I expected."

I could say the same for him, but I also didn't want to upset the man that could smite us into oblivion at any time. I kept a good rein on my tongue as I said, "What were you expecting, sir?"

"Older. Stronger." Father narrowed his eyes. "Thinner."

My hands tightened around themselves as I wrung them behind my back. "I'm sorry if I'm not exactly what you imagined."

"I don't imagine things. I see it and they come to pass." He paused as if remembering something that might have contradicted that. Then, he blinked, and Father took an even breath. "Very well. I would have rather liked being told this sudden revelation --" He shot a pointed look at Lion. "-- but I suppose that you will do. And who're your friends?"

His gaze passed over Benjamin first, possibly because he was the closest to the god. The centaur also shrunk underneath the man's eyes, but what surprised me wasn't Father (although his presence still upset me). It was Jay, somehow finding his composure from before. When Father looked toward Benjamin, the much smaller boy stepped away from my side to stand by Ben. He didn't have a cocky stance, but his head was level with Father's line of sight, so he had to look at him instead of his disfigured friend.