Page 97 of Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1)

A Strange Meeting

As a child I ached for company,

but now that I was older,

I yearned for it even more.

I wanted to talk to someone

who knew their purpose,

someone perhaps my own age.

When the yearning grew too loud

and during the days that Charon,

Pallas and Styx were nowhere to be seen,

I would walk with my lantern

to a safe distance

from where Cerberus stood.

He growled and barked

but the noise of another being

that breathed in this place where

nothing seemed to breathe

gave the restlessness in me

a little bit of peace.

I would sit for hours,

until he got tired of his barking

and lay down, one pair of six eyes

watching me suspiciously.

It happened on a day like this.

I was sitting with my lantern,

Cerberus straining against his chain,

all three heads barking at me,

when a voice spoke to me from the dark.

‘If you want to be friends with him

you need to give him treats.’

I frowned, turning my light

in the direction of the voice.

That was when I saw him.

A boy with shorn hair

and an angular face, dressed

in long robes. But it was his eyes that sang.

They were so tired and yet so kind.

He held a staff in one hand

and in his other hand,

three red, red cuts of raw meat.

Unlike his reaction with me

Cerberus whined in the direction

of this visitor, his huge tail thumping.

The boy stepped forward

and gently placed the meat

before each head.

The three-headed dog

devoured them hungrily.

And then the boy reached forward

and touched one of Cerberus’ heads.

‘Hello, little one,’ he whispered,

‘It has been some time.’

‘Little one?’ I exclaimed,

‘He is three times the size of a lion!’

The boy chuckled at this.

‘All dogs are little ones to me.

I see them all from birth to death.’

He looked at me.

‘Would you like to try being friends

with him now? He should be docile.’

I nodded and stood up.

The dog’s closest head turned to me

and a soft growl escaped his throat.

But when I showed him my hand,

he snuffled it softly

and, swallowing hard,

I reached out and touched his nose.

Cerberus whined and thumped

his tail even harder.

And I smiled. ‘So this is how

we become friends.

I shall remember the treats

from now on.’

I turned to thank the boy

but to my surprise, he was gone.