Page 37 of Styx

I have been visiting here

since I was a small child,

and I never saw you

or any of your family here

until today.’

She lifted her lips in a sneer

and showed me her fangs.

Instinctively, I took a step back,

recoiling in dread.

As She Stepped Forward

I stopped myself

from retreating any farther.

I had a right to be here.

My home, my father’s palace,

was not far from this spot.

In fact, I had hidden one

of my biggest secrets here.

‘If you do not believe me,’

I said quietly, ‘look in

the water and see for yourself.’

Styx looked into the pool

and then turned back impatiently.

‘There is nothing there.’

I scowled at her. ‘Yes there is.

I created them myself,

those creatures that glow

and make the water shine like stars.

Look closer and—’

But as I turned to the pool,

I saw it. A dark, long serpentlike