Flowers In Darkness

Chapter 4: Cold and Judgement

Virgil paced nervously, glancing between the clock and Roman, who was idly strumming a tune on his harp. Patton was late. He always met with them at this time every day. It was one of the few times he could get away from Demeter, and the three of them looked forward to it. In all the time they had known each other, Patton had never been late. Not once. And he was extremely late today.

"What do you think happened to him?" Roman stopped playing at Virgil's quiet question, and the Muse shared a sad look with him.

"You know what happened. His mother probably went batshit insane when she heard Logan was sniffing around her baby boy, so she's got him under lock and key again. Who knows when he'll see freedom again?"

"It's so unfair." Virgil muttered, scowling at the floor.

"Life often is, or so the mortals say." Demeter's voice sounded from the doorway, and the pleasant tone of her voice immediately put both of them on edge. Roman covered beautifully, offering her a beaming smile.

"Demeter, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here? I thought you'd be down celebrating the harvest?" Roman quickly moved to the goddess, bowing and kissing her hand before leading her to a seat. Her smile was oddly fixed, her eyes unfocused, and there was something...unhinged...about her that made his skin crawl, but he knew better than to talk back to her. The only person that would be punished would be Patton, and he would never allow his friend to come to harm.

"I would be, Roman, but something terrible has happened! My son...my son was stolen...taken from me...." she nearly whispered the words, and she looked so very torn and lost that Roman almost felt sorry for her. Almost. Then her eyes filled with an insane kind of rage, her hand tightening on his as her nails dug in.

"Do you know who took him? Was anyone spending time with him at that party?! The nymphs mentioned a chariot drawn by winged black horses." Roman schooled his face to look completely indifferent, but Virgil was no actor and her eyes swung to him as soon as the strangled sound left his lips.

"What?! What do you know?!" Virgil backed away slowly, his eyes darting around nervously for an escape. The air in the room got colder and colder, until it felt like the frigid air was stealing the breath from his lungs. Demeter's face was a fixed rictus of a smile, her eyes mad.

"....There's only....one god....who has black winged horses...." Virgil wheezed, shivering in the extreme cold of the room. Frost etched on the glass of the windows, ice forming on the floor. The sun seemed a distant memory, and Roman looked at Virgil, and nodded once. Virgil's would have sighed in relief, if he could have caught his breath.

"WHO HAS HIM?!" Demeter screeched, finally softening when Virgil frantically gestured that he couldn't breathe. "Oh, oh dear I'm so sorry." The room warmed, and the air was no longer so horribly cold. Virgil gasped a few breaths, his hands on his knees.

"Logan. Patton approached Logan at the party. We tried to stop him, but you know how friendly he is! Logan has a chariot like that, my lady." Virgil was proud of how steady his voice was, considering how hard his heart was pounding. Demeter stared at him, an expression of horror on her face.

Virgil glanced at Roman, who gave him an encouraging smile. Demeter was clearly insane, but even she knew better than to tangle with the brother of Zeus. There was no way a low-level goddess like herself could take on the Ruler of the Underworld. Even knowing who likely had him, there would be precious little she could do. Patton was safe, for now, and for the moment so were they.

"Oh, my poor, sweet boy!" Demeter's eyes filled with tears and she slowly sat, weeping. Roman sat next to her, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I know it's a shock. I got him away from Logan as soon as I could, I swear it! I never thought anything would come of it." The goddess gently patted his hand, wiping her tears away and giving him a false smile that set his teeth on edge.