The old village head remained kneeling on the cold stone floor. His head was bowed low. The words "My Lord" echoed in the sudden, deafening silence of the inn.
Riku and the girls froze. They all turned to stare at the twelve-year-old boy standing beside them.
Caelus's confident smirk was gone. It was replaced by a look of wide-eyed, exaggerated confusion.
"My Lord?" he asked, his voice full of a child's innocence. "Old man, I think you are mistaken. I am just a boy."
He looked down at the kneeling man. His expression was one of pity. But his eyes, for a single, fleeting moment, flashed with a sharp, cold warning.
Riku caught it. So did Sherry.
The village head looked up. He saw the look in Caelus's eyes. He flinched. The look of reverent awe on his face was instantly replaced by one of panicked understanding.