ANTI-HERO, j.grace

TWENTY SIX

     It's enough to drive anyone crazy. That was the thought that circled inside or Klein Maddox's head, hazardously twisting it's way through every piece the girl was trying to put together in order to figure out what felt so wrong about the weatherman in front of her.

Everything about Aeolus rubbed Klein Maddox the wrong way. From the way his shirt changed colors like a brewing and ebbing storm, to the offhanded mention of the voice in his head. And especially to the look in his eyes that revealed something that was just completely... unsettled.

Crazy - it's enough to drive anyone crazy.

The girl had dealt with plenty of monsters before, and the gods were just as quick to change their minds about any sort of situation. But Aeolus quite literally changed intentions with whichever way the wind was blowing, and that left far more to chance than anyone in the group would have liked. It almost made it worse knowing that Aeolus was nowhere near being the big bad they were intended to face - in fact, they had yet to even confirm he was actually a bad at all. Despite that, Klein was left feeling unsettled since the first step they took into the Four Seasons Fortress.

Jason seemed to be feeling the same way, Klein could tell by the look on his face. His eyes flickered from Aeolus, to Mellie, to the makeshift floor, and back to the group of demigods at alarming place, as if he was trying to calculate just how long it was going to take for the ground beneath them to disappear - calculate just how quick he would have to act in order to grab ahold of his friends and suspend them in the air.

At this point in their quest, Klein had seen many expressions on the Grace boy's face: fear, sadness, defeat, curiosity. It was the new uneasiness that further assured the girl that she was right in feeling that something was incredibly off.

Certainly, it didn't help any that Aeolus's weather channel buzzed around them. Screens were flashing, lights were blinking, and Aeolus was talking so fast that Klein was sure her head was starting to spin. By the time the man finished his next spiel, the Maddox girl figured the most accurate part of the name OW! was the extreme migraine she was getting from the constant 'this god wishes terrible things on this town!' followed by 'oops! this god doesn't! never mind that terrible storm!'.

"So, you brought me some rogue storm spirits. I suppose... thanks!" Aeolus' smile dropped the second that the lights and speakers shut off, signifying the end of his weather segment. As if remembering he had guests he plastered it right back on, however Klein couldn't help but notice that it seemed more forced than natural.

"And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do."

Mellie shifted awkwardly, which was rather interesting considering that she was already floating. "Um, sir, this is Zeus's son."

"Yes, yes. I know that. I said I remembered him from before."

"But sir, they're here from Olympus."

Aeolus looked stunned, and for a moment Klein thought he was about to turn and leave. But then he laughed so abruptly that even Jason jumped. "You mean you're here on behalf of your father this time? Finally! I knew they would send someone to renegotiate my contract."

This time. You're here on behalf of your father this time.

"Um, what?" Jason questioned.

"Oh, thanks goodness!" Aeolus sighed, "It's been what, three thousand years since Zeus made me master of the winds? Not that I'm ungrateful, of course! But really, my contract is so vague. Obviously I'm immortal, but master of the winds? What does that even mean? Am I a nature spirit? A demigod? A god? I want to be the god of the winds because the benefits are so much better. Can we start with that?"