Spookerella | Horror Short Stories

14 | The Humiliation of Hermes

I normally enjoy watching Hermes look after the most dangerous of monsters and animals. They always end up in a disaster and with being his apprentice, I get to experience it first-hand. It made talking in the taverns that much more interesting for me and everyone around me. I always had a story to tell.

Halloween night was no different as I laughed jovially with a tankard of beer sloshing over the top, relaying the story of what happened to Hermes earlier in the day to anyone in the tavern who would listen. Perhaps I was slurring my words at this point, but no one cared, not where Hermes was concerned.

The beast was one of his favourites. A strange thing that was a mixture of a faun, sphinx and a phoenix. When Hermes was first tasked with caring for the creature, he was unsure of its species or origin himself. Perhaps a cross bread? Maybe someone conjured it up and the spell had gone horribly wrong? Either way, Hermes learned how to look after it from its eating habits to where it likes to sleep.

Tonight, though, the monster had a very different habit to display to Hermes. Someone had carelessly left open the enclosure where it stayed, locked away from everything else in case it was eaten (or it ate any of the other monsters Hermes possessed). The monster ran amuck, leaping from one place to another through the various portals hidden around the realm where they dwelled.

Then, the creature stopped in the underworld, messing with the business Hades was attempting to deal with. Let us just say that I've never seen Hades so angry before, nor have I seen him throw his slipper at my head before. Perhaps I was laughing a little too loudly this time.

After a cross word or two from Hermes (none of you need to know) he raced after the beast, attempting to capture it with a net. That didn't work. The talons tore right through the rope. He attempted to climb onto the back of the rampaging beast, which did work for a time, but he was thrown off. He rolled on the ground until he was by the impatient tapping foot of Hades who glowered down at him.

With a nervous laugh, scratching his head, he left to capture the beast again. It took some time, but eventually he tamed it with food, leading it back through the portals where I followed with the stinking bucket of fish until we landed back in the enclosure where we locked it back up.

"And there you have it!" I turned around, my tankard in the air before I downed the remainder of the beer, wiping the foam from my face. "That's how Hermes was humiliated in front of Hades!"

Laughter engulfed the room until all I heard was my own obnoxious laughter, stamping my feet against the floor. I soon stopped when I was hit on my head by Hermes.     

Word count = 499 words

Written for the Myth and Legend prompt for the Halloween Vault 3D