Page 212 of Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1)

The First Boon

I had brewed this on a whim.

My love of Cerberus and what I did

for Argos all those years ago

had driven me to create this potion.

It had sat in my apothecary,

unused and forgotten.

But not knowing what to bring this day,

I had added it to my bag of simples.

‘If you drink this,’

I told her, the potent liquid glittering,

‘you can roam the Underworld,

see your children whenever you wish.’

She frowned.

‘Why would you do this for me?’

I considered her suspicion.

A cold battlefield told her not to trust me.

So I did the only thing I could.

I told her the truth. ‘I am Hekate,

Goddess of Witchcraft and Necromancy,

and I believe enough mortals and immortals

have given blood to this war.

And I believe that you deserve

a better future than to be a bed slave

or alone in the fields of Asphodel.’

She reached eagerly for the urn

but I held it tight. ‘A warning.

If you drink this you will become

something not of this world.

No longer mortal.

No longer a human form.’

Her hand shook in hesitation

and I continued,

‘But you will be under my care

and my protection forever.

You will never know loss again.’

It was those words that did it.

She took the urn and drank.

And then, I watched her turn.

Her silver hair became silver fur.

Her sharp face became a sharp snout.

And before the sun dipped over the horizon

and as the crowd watched below,

she sat before me,

my first sacred animal.

My only silver hound.