Page 210 of Hekate: The Witch
echoed around us mournfully.
‘She is at the centre,’
Styx grimaced.
I knew this, and yet
I had hoped
she would be closer.
But Hades was clever.
He knew that someone
would come looking for her,
and no one survived this forest.
Well.Almostno one.
Styx and I walked to the edge of the trees
and we heard the tendrils,
the serpents, before we saw them.
But Styx was ready,
and from her hands
came the poisonous waters
even the Gods feared.
I stood back as she bore a hole
through the forest,
killing murderous roots
of poisonous tree-mockeries
and chasing snakes away.
If I had thought walking here
with Thanatos was safe,
Styx made me feel invincible.
Kore
We ran through the woods,
the sound of our racing feet
mingling with the sound of her sobs
