Grounded

amended.
    "What? Wait! That was real? That was you? All of you were watching ? Oh-my-God ! " Heat suffused her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands, sure she would die of embarrassment.
    "Of course we weren’t watching," Ira said.
    "No, dear," Aurora rolled her eyes. "We weren’t watching."
    "Really?" Patty raised her head.
    "Really," Ira assured her. "By the way, I’m Ira. Dion’s brother."
    "Nice to meet you," she said and politely extended her hand. "Please, can you tell me where I am? This woman seems to think we’re on Mount Olympus! Which, of course, doesn’t even exist." She leaned toward Ira and whispered, "Is she crazy? Does she require medication?"
    Ira threw back his head and laughed out loud. "I’ve always thought so." He chuckled,
    Aurora gave him a searing look, and Ira cleared his throat, instantly sobering. "But yes, you are in a palace on Mount Olympus, and my mother should never have brought you here until Dion was ready to tell you the entire story."
    "Oh, all right, I’m sorry," Aurora said. "What more do you want from me?"
    "Can you send me back?" Patty asked hopefully.
    "Of course, don’t be silly. You haven’t been kidnapped!" Aurora rolled her eyes again. "But before I do, would you take a walk with me? I’d like to show you something first."
    Patty hesitated, shooting a frightened look toward Ira. He nodded slightly and smiled. "Yes," Patty said, trusting Ira’s judgment. "I’ll go with you, but then you have to send me back. Okay?"
    Aurora smiled broadly, obviously pleased. "As soon as we’ve had a little time together, I’ll send you back," she agreed.
    ~ * ~
    "I don’t know why she hasn’t returned," Dion told the priest, looking at his watch. "I sent her for a file I misplaced, but she should’ve been back by now." He sighed and gathered his things together. "I hope you’ll forgive me, Father, but I am really concerned about my assistant. I need to check on her and find out what’s keeping her."
    "Of course. Don’t worry yourself about a thing; I’m sure she’s fine. And don’t worry about our business here. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the man we’ve been looking for."
    "Thank you," Dion said and shook the priest’s hand. "I’ll contact you later. ” As he hurried out of the building, his car pulled up and the driver stepped out. "Do you know where she is?" Dion asked in fluent Italian.
    "I’m sorry, sir. I waited for her but she never returned. I had the hotel staff check the room, but she wasn’t there. They searched the hotel and found no sign of her."
    "Take me to the hotel," Dion said and climbed in the car. Damn, he wished he had the ability to instantly move through space on this plane. But that only applied when he wished to go home; on this plane, he was forced to rely on normal transportation.
    Once at the hotel, he jumped out of the vehicle and hurried to the elevator. Impatiently, he rode it to his floor and hurried down the hall to his suite. The room was empty, except for Patty’s purse and the case she’d had with her. Nothing was disturbed, and there was no sign of a struggle.
    "She couldn’t just disappear," he said aloud. "Could she? Mother!"
    Dion clenched his fists. His mother had gone too far this time and he was going to make sure she would stay out of his affairs once and for all. That was his last thought before he moved from the earthly plane to Mount Olympus.
    ~ * ~
    "Mother!" Dion bellowed and looked around his mother’s quarters. He lifted his head and sniffed the air, his fury growing when he caught Patty’s lingering scent. "I’m going to kill her," he said and started out of the room.
    "Not so fast, little brother." Ira stopped him. "You need to calm down."
    Dion whirled around and grabbed Ira by the collar. "She’s gone too far this time, Ira! I’m going to… I’m going to…” In his fury, he was at a loss for words. Suddenly, thunder rolled and boomed, shaking the building’s very foundation.
    "Hello, Father," Dion said. Both he and Ira bowed as Zeus appeared on a bolt of lightning.
    "You’re going to what, my boy?" Zeus’s voice boomed across the room.
    "Really, Father, she’s gone too far this time!" Dion said through barely contained rage.
    "I have to take Dion’s side. Again," Ira said with a frown. "Her meddling has gotten out of hand. You have to do something about her."
    " I hav e to do something? Do you forget to whom you speak?"
    "I’m sorry, Your Highness." Ira apologized and bowed