Page 111 of Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1)

Charon Visited

He knew he shouldn’t. I had been

forbidden from seeing anyone

after my last escapade in Asphodel.

Styx was furious I had disobeyed her.

It was also, I had now learned, at risk to himself.

If Hades learned of his visits,

he could burn the oak of his handcrafted ferry.

Yet it was the only way Charon could see me.

And besides, he told me,

he could make himself another boat.

But I knew it was not that simple.

He was the ferryman and it was his duty

to escort the dead where they must go.

A boat to carry the dead was crafted

in the dangerous bowels of the Underworld

with the blessing of Hades himself.

It warmed my heart that he would do this,

risk the wrath of Styx and Hades

to see me, and for our friendship.

So as he sat there at my obsidian table,

our laughing reflections gleaming

inside the smooth surface,

torches around us

glowing with light,

I listened carefully as he told me

about his day, his work and sometimes now,

he confided in me of the difficulty of growing up

as a bright son of the darkness and the night.

‘So,’ he asked,

‘why has Styx forbidden you

from even leaving the palace?

What have you done?’

‘Nothing,’ I said abruptly. But he

raised his eyebrows and I relented.

‘I was in Asphodel some days ago

and I met an old woman.’

Charon’s eyes narrowed.

‘Was she in a black shroud?’

I nodded.

‘And did she have no eyes?’

I nodded again

and was greeted with silence.

Then I noticed Charon

had sat back in his seat.

Finally, at long last,

he spoke,

his words like

cold metal and ice.

‘The woman you met

was a Goddess, a Moirai.

She is the oldest

of the three Fates.’