155. ‘Who goes there?!’
‘Who goes there?!’
His deep voice rumbled across the cave,
disturbing the stalactites that hung
from the ceiling. Far behind me,
I heard one fall to the ground.
I was many things, but I was not
a coward of any kind.
So I stepped further into the light,
and said, as strong-voiced as I could,
‘My name is Hekate,
Daughter of Asteria and Perses.
And I am trying to pass
through to the Halls of Night.’
His wild eyes took me in,
and I saw that his face,
much like his hands, was withered,
old and weary of something.
‘Perses.’ He stood up
and stepped towards me.
‘Now there is a name
I have not heard in a long time.’
I saw a scar on his throat.
The mottled place where
Zeus had sliced his sword
and unleashed his siblings.