New MONSTROUS Scene: Eros & Hecate

Good morning, lovelies!

I'm going through the long, dry process of self-editing Monstrous. The way I do this is by printing out the manuscript, noting mistakes/changes in red ink, and then plugging them into the digital copy on my laptop. I find a lot more errors this way. But it is, unfortunately, very monotonous. Especially the transfer from paper to digital.

However, sometimes I get a fun little break, in that I get to write an entirely new scene or even chapter.

This one comes before Aphrodite curses Psyche. Even before Psyche and Eros are in a relationship. In the previous draft, Eros seeks help from Artemis, Athena, and Hephaestus, telling them about his little fugitive problem, and all three of them refuse or are unable to help.

While editing, I thought, Wait, wouldn't he also try Hecate?

So I added the scene, and here it is. Enjoy!

*

Eros had never been to the Underworld. Not even the edge of it, where the goddess of witchcraft lived.

Hecate’s cave reminded him of Hephaestus’s forge. It was underground, with stone walls that were warmed by the massive, blazing hearth deep in the cave, the main room tucked away around a corner so the wind couldn’t get to them. Luxurious rugs and furniture made the place comfortable enough, and every table’s surface was covered in herbs, magical ingredients, jars, glass vials, and tools and detritus that Eros couldn’t even begin to decipher. A raven stood at the edge of the table, staring at him as he pled his case to black-clothed Hecate, who sat, unmoving, on a chair, listening.

The crone’s head sighed as the maiden’s tsked. The matron said, “I’m sorry Eros, but I can’t help you.”

“You’re a Titan!” he argued.

“Children are often stronger than their parents. That’s why I joined the Olympians when they stood against Kronos and the rest of my kin. My power—magical and political—has long since passed its peak.”

“You could still transform Psyche, couldn’t you?” he pressed. “Give her a new face, perhaps?”

“I could,” Hecate said. “But that path doesn’t lead to anywhere pleasant. Your mother does find out, usually after Psyche has born children. Which means she doesn’t bear the punishment of a wrathful goddess. They do.”

Eros grimaced. The last thing he wanted was collateral damage. And going after someone’s children? That would be worse than anything Aphrodite could do to Psyche now.

“There are multiple paths before you and Psyche,” Hecate said. “That’s why I became interested in her in the first place. Some of them are boring and peaceful, but very unlikely at this point. Some end in tragedy, others in triumph. Almost all of them, at some point, require Psyche to walk those paths alone.”

He glared at her. “She’s my friend. I won’t abandon her.”

The maiden chuckled. The matron rolled her eyes. The crone was the one to say, “I cannot offer you any meaningful help at this time. But I can give you advise: cherish the time you have with her now. She will need it later.”