Without waiting for any more instructions,
Cadmus and Harmonia slithered
towards the staff and, moving
like they were dancing,
swirled their bodies around it
till they were a perfect, symmetrical
pair facing each other.
Something about it made me feel
unwell, like something awful
was about to happen,
something unchangeable,
and my stomach lurched.
Hermes’ fingers reached out
to grip the end of the staff
and at his touch,
much like Midas,
the serpents suddenly became
shockingly still, as still as
the dead as their bodies
turned into cold, metallic gold.
Shock Flooded My Body
‘Hermes, what have you done?!’
I stared at the staff and tried to take it.
He held it away from my grasp,
‘I did what my friends asked me to do.’
This is what Olympians do,
I chided myself. I was so foolish,
trusting him as I had.
‘Your friends asked you to—’
‘They were tired of this place,’
