Good! Good! Thou fairly bumest! What is thy name, girl?.
"M-Marge, m'am. You are—Huspeth?.
The old woman cackled. "Sometimes. Sometimes. But come! Sit by my fire! We shall get to know each other well over what time is given to us. And stop that cowering! Art thou afraid of an old woman like me?.
"I'm told you are a witch of great power," Marge responded carefully. "Power is to be respected, and one mark of this respect is fear..
The old woman roared with laughter. "Fairly said! Oh, truly thou art a goodly one, and clever, too. If thou hast the will, I will take thee farther than thou hast ever dreamed." She hobbled up to the cauldron, sniffed, and looked a little quizzical.
"Hmmm.. .1 don't know. Come, girl. Smell and see if thou canst decide if it is ready..
Expecting some foul witch's brew, Marge approached hesitantly, took a deep breath, let it out, then leaned over and sniffed.
"it smells absolutely wonderful!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"What is it?.
"A recipe of mine. An old one, but a good one. I will teach 64 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS it to thee, and many others. Come! Get a bowl there, and a spoon..
There were two wooden bowls and two small, hand-carved wooden spoons beside the fire, and the old woman used one spoon to fill first one bowl, then the other that Marge held up.
The food had the consistency of porridge, but had various pieces of unknown fruits and vegetables—and perhaps other substances—in it more like a stew. It smelled of all the good Page 54 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods tastes Marge could remember rolled up into one, and it tasted even better, at least once it cooled slightly. Suddenly aware of her hunger, she ate unhesitatingly, feeling more relaxed.
Huspeth, too, ate, but said nothing more. Still, she kept looking at Marge with an almost hungry gaze, as if she saw, somehow, something in the younger woman mat was of the elder's own distant past, something lost forever but never from the mind.
Only when they both had finished and the bowls and spoons were put to one side did Huspeth decide to speak again.
'Tm sure they told thee a little about me," she began.
"Probably not the half of it. They think I do them a favor by taking thee, but I do no one favors, and that is something thou must remember..
"I'll remember," Marge assured her. "Actually, they said very little. But they know you're not their friend..
The witch cackled. "That is certainly true! Still, when I first knew of thee, before even they came to me as I already knew they would, I knew that we had a destiny, thou and I. Thou art unique. Virginal and with the soul of another world inside..
"Another world, yes," Marge agreed, "but virginal? Hardly..
"Virginal, yes!" the old woman snapped. "Hast thou still not understood what Bakadur, who calls himself Ruddygore, has done for thee? Thou hast cast off thine old body and with it thy taints and sins. Thou art the one thing that all believe is impossible. Thou art truly a virgin for the second time! Were it not so, we would not be meeting here thus..
Marge just shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry—this is all so new and so sudden. It takes time to accept something like this..
"Time! Aye, time. Tell me, girl, what wilt thou do with thy new life? More properly, what wouldst thou do with it if the choice were entirely thine?.
JACK L. CHALKER 65 Marge thought a moment. "I—I guess I really haven't thought that much about it. Right now I'm just going where I'm pointed..
The old woman nodded. "And yet that is the first thing thou must decide, and quickly. Think on it now with me. Dost thou have any skills? How wilt thou earn thy bread and board?.
Marge thought some more. "No skills, I guess. I've been a flop at most things, and my education wasn't good for anything back home and is of even less use here..
"Then thou hast the choices narrowed," Huspeth
"M-Marge, m'am. You are—Huspeth?.
The old woman cackled. "Sometimes. Sometimes. But come! Sit by my fire! We shall get to know each other well over what time is given to us. And stop that cowering! Art thou afraid of an old woman like me?.
"I'm told you are a witch of great power," Marge responded carefully. "Power is to be respected, and one mark of this respect is fear..
The old woman roared with laughter. "Fairly said! Oh, truly thou art a goodly one, and clever, too. If thou hast the will, I will take thee farther than thou hast ever dreamed." She hobbled up to the cauldron, sniffed, and looked a little quizzical.
"Hmmm.. .1 don't know. Come, girl. Smell and see if thou canst decide if it is ready..
Expecting some foul witch's brew, Marge approached hesitantly, took a deep breath, let it out, then leaned over and sniffed.
"it smells absolutely wonderful!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"What is it?.
"A recipe of mine. An old one, but a good one. I will teach 64 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS it to thee, and many others. Come! Get a bowl there, and a spoon..
There were two wooden bowls and two small, hand-carved wooden spoons beside the fire, and the old woman used one spoon to fill first one bowl, then the other that Marge held up.
The food had the consistency of porridge, but had various pieces of unknown fruits and vegetables—and perhaps other substances—in it more like a stew. It smelled of all the good Page 54 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods tastes Marge could remember rolled up into one, and it tasted even better, at least once it cooled slightly. Suddenly aware of her hunger, she ate unhesitatingly, feeling more relaxed.
Huspeth, too, ate, but said nothing more. Still, she kept looking at Marge with an almost hungry gaze, as if she saw, somehow, something in the younger woman mat was of the elder's own distant past, something lost forever but never from the mind.
Only when they both had finished and the bowls and spoons were put to one side did Huspeth decide to speak again.
'Tm sure they told thee a little about me," she began.
"Probably not the half of it. They think I do them a favor by taking thee, but I do no one favors, and that is something thou must remember..
"I'll remember," Marge assured her. "Actually, they said very little. But they know you're not their friend..
The witch cackled. "That is certainly true! Still, when I first knew of thee, before even they came to me as I already knew they would, I knew that we had a destiny, thou and I. Thou art unique. Virginal and with the soul of another world inside..
"Another world, yes," Marge agreed, "but virginal? Hardly..
"Virginal, yes!" the old woman snapped. "Hast thou still not understood what Bakadur, who calls himself Ruddygore, has done for thee? Thou hast cast off thine old body and with it thy taints and sins. Thou art the one thing that all believe is impossible. Thou art truly a virgin for the second time! Were it not so, we would not be meeting here thus..
Marge just shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry—this is all so new and so sudden. It takes time to accept something like this..
"Time! Aye, time. Tell me, girl, what wilt thou do with thy new life? More properly, what wouldst thou do with it if the choice were entirely thine?.
JACK L. CHALKER 65 Marge thought a moment. "I—I guess I really haven't thought that much about it. Right now I'm just going where I'm pointed..
The old woman nodded. "And yet that is the first thing thou must decide, and quickly. Think on it now with me. Dost thou have any skills? How wilt thou earn thy bread and board?.
Marge thought some more. "No skills, I guess. I've been a flop at most things, and my education wasn't good for anything back home and is of even less use here..
"Then thou hast the choices narrowed," Huspeth
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