Crow of Flame

Chapter 10

Hades was brooding. He had been for the last four hours. Cadmus seemed to let it go, Zeus and Eliot were having a good time. We were hanging out in my room. Cadmus had picked up a book and was reading by a lit fire, Hades was slumped in a chair next to him. Zeus and Eliot were touching all the instruments and I was sitting at the piano bench watching Hades. I was zoned out starring at him. So zoned out that I didn't notice Zeus move behind me and I jumped as he said, "You really play all of these?"

I nodded, looking up at him. Eliot came beside him, "play us something."

I looked him, boredom plaguing me, huffing out a sigh, "why?"

Zeus met my gaze, "because, it's too tense and quiet, and you've obviously got the abilities of a siren or muse... possibly both.." His voice trailed off as he ran a hand over the white lid to the piano. He shot a look over at Hades, "I'm sure mr. pouty over there would love it too..." his voice faded as his eyes crossed to mine. "Please?"

A smile crept onto my face, that was obviously not a word he said often. Blight's words flashed through my mind, 'why would you extend to an old hideous fool such as myself, such respectful words?' How many times has anyone spoken to him with words of disgust, purely because of the way he appears?

I shook the thought from my mind, that is the past. I can change what happens in the future. He will be treated with respect from now on.

I nodded towards Zeus, "one song... on the piano."

He laughed and clapped his hands with kiddish glee. He drug the couch and chairs over from the reading nook, Cadmus begrudgingly let him, taking his seat again once it was in front of the piano. They pushed Hades in his chair. Eliot and Zeus sat on the couch and looked at me with childish wonder in their eyes.

I took a breath and raised the lid that covered pristine keys. I ran my fingers gently over them, they were smooth and cold. I pressed down on the middle c. A perfect sound resounded. I first played my favorite chord progression to focus myself, then I began playing Debussy's 'Claire de lune'. The first chords sounded, the music washed over my senses. I immediately gave myself over to the magic of the music. I could see the staves and notes swirling around me in blissful chaos. The dissonances that resolved coincided with the relaxation of tensed muscles. Each new phrase of melodic notes were the words I couldn't say. Just me speaking to the moon.

I was captured by the sound. The movement of the notes, the rhythmic interludes that express the inexpressible. It's a way of seeing things, I translate my emotions into predisposed notes, the markings on paper become memories yet to make. Scenes to replay. I can see flashes of terror hit on chords that resonate conflict and flashes of joy on the major chords. My emotions flow through the piece, it's a one of a kind performance, more personal than a journal. It's a look into my mind, it's a painting of my emotions in a moment. It's the calm and the storm wrapped into one.

The last chord resounds and I let it vibrate through the room. I looked up from the piano towards the boys. Zeus and Eliot had sunken back into the couch. Zeus was looking at me with glazed eyes and a serene smile. Eliot had his eyes closed and his head tipped back. I shifted my focus to Cadmus who stealthily wiped a tear from his eye and took a deep breath. Finally, my gaze reached Hades. We locked eyes and I could see a storm brewing behind the green stare. He scrunched and un-scrunched his brow, he opened and closed his mouth, and finally, he took a deep breath. His eyes softened, he saw me.

Zeus, Eliot, and Cadmus excused themselves soon after I was done, and I was left in the room alone with Hades. He hadn't spoken, he just stared at me. I stared at him, for another moment of silence before I got up, closed the lid over the keys, and walked over to him. "Why are you being a little bitch?"