172. ‘I Will Take Her, Mother’
‘I Will Take Her, Mother’
His voice was soft and gentle.
It had to be. Thanatos was the God
of bringing peace in death.
I could see his storm-dark eyes clearer now,
so like his mother’s, but kinder.
And much more tired.
His mouth looked quicker
to smile than to frown
and that told me everything.
As the hurricane outside died,
and the dark fog melted away,
Thanatos stepped forward,
laying his scythe down at
his mother’s feet, a gesture of respect.
‘She too is the child of Gods,
just like you and me.
I will take her to the Fates
for the knowledge she craves.’
Nyx tapped the arm of her throne,
her expression adrift now
in a thousand thoughts.
I thought I knew how slowly
time, that old trickster, could move
when I was alone on Styx’s riverbanks.
But nothing seemed longer
than waiting for Nyx
to make up her mind.
I saw her face harden,
and steeled myself for a refusal.
But then she looked at Thanatos
and grudgingly,
to my surprise,
she nodded in agreement.