HEKATE'S RETURN

In Harris’ debut fantasy, witches band together to rescue their abducted children from the god who took them.

Centuries in the past, a witches’ camp comes under attack. Apis, the Bull God, looses his bull army upon the witches, trampling many of them and destroying their land. At the same time, a group of nomads runs off with the witches’ children stuffed in sacks. Did Apis act alone in his attack, or was he aligned with The Dark Emperor, one of the witches’ greatest enemies? In either case, going after the children will pit the surviving witches against a god and formidable dark magic, a confrontation they may very well not walk away from. Sometime later, Araja the Demon, one of the twin demi-gods (along with Araja the Just) among the witches’ community, tracks down one of the missing children, or so she believes. The child is Sara, who appears to be about 13 years old and hails from a modern city of “technologies and inventions,” courtesy of a new metal, bronze. The citizens attribute their good fortune to Moloch, a powerful being who’s provided them with these advanced “gifts.” The followers of Moloch viewed the kidnapping of the witches’ children as “the Great Rescue,” the heroic retrieval of “the children of Moloch.” When the twin demi-gods realize that Sara has untapped magic abilities, they surmise that this means more, if not all, of the kidnapped witch children may be somewhere in the city. The Empress of the Witches puts together a rescue party to bring their children home—although Moloch, who has ties to Apis, may be just as intimidating as the Bull God. The witches and the twins vow to save everyone, not just the young ones, held at the mercy of Moloch: “What if they could help these people escape Moloch, but keep the knowledge they’d gained? What if they could help these people resettle somewhere else and what if the Witches could help them with whatever they lose in leaving Moloch behind?”

Harris takes inspiration for this story from various mythologies and pieces of folklore. The titular Greek goddess Hekate, for example, is responsible for giving magic to the witches long ago (and the demi-god twins, are the spawn of divine parents Diana and Lucifer). This eclectic worldbuilding helps the author develop a dense backstory and solid narrative foundation. Nevertheless, the novel is not a typical epic—the characters and their personal histories drive the story; The Empress and the twins, for example, are at odds over who to blame for abducting the children, and their individual conclusions are based in large part on vendettas. Descriptions of the environment and even the cast’s appearances are sparse, but the personalities shine through (one witch girl “sat bored in a corner, kicking the dirt floor and casually nudging a hanging bronze shield to entertain herself with the flashes it made in the firelight”). Harris rounds out this tale with shocking deaths, betrayals, and a smashing denouement that leaves room for further adventures with these splendid characters.

An exemplary cast fuels this engaging mythical tale.