Bats flew everywhere,
one even landed in my hair,
but I shook it out before it settled.
Thanatos gestured to a small archway
at the very back of the palace.
It was twice his height
and I began to walk towards it,
but then he said, ‘We will take this way;
it is the servants’ door.’
With two thumps from
his scythe, the heavy doors
swung open. He walked ahead of me
whispering, ‘Be very quiet,
and let me do all of the talking.’
I Sensed It Before I Saw It
The thing that protected these halls.
It was less of a presence and more
of a feeling. A fear and then
a hollowing of your spirit.
It liked to toy with its prey
before it appeared, or so
I had heard. When it had fed
enough on my dread,
a hooded creature with long robes,
clawed hands that hung
with decayed flesh,
appeared before us.
Red eyes glowing
like ominous lanterns
in its hood.
