Read Online Songs of the Dancing Gods by Jack L. Chalker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jack L. Chalker
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more than four hours more of sunlight, thanks to our late start,” Joe said to them. “I’m not too thrilled trying to take this river road at night, the way it twists and turns. I say we make what time we can, then camp and get an early start tomorrow. No telling how long a wait it’ll be to get on the boat.”
Every couple of miles along the road there was a small spur leading down to a flat, mossy area almost at the river. These in, fact were rest stops, so to speak, where you could use the river to relieve yourself, build a fire to cook and to eat, or make camp if you were caught short on the trail by sunset. Sunsets came very quickly in this pan of Husaquahr, and the nights tended to be very, very dark.
After their first pit stop, Tiana said, “No telling how much standing around we’ll have to do tomorrow, so I’m gonna run the distance today. Too much riding makes me stiff.”
“Well, we’re not in any real hurry, so don’t get too far ahead,” Joe warned her. “You never know who or what’s around on roads like this.”
“Don’t worry so much,” she scolded him. “If you’re that nervous, keep up with me!”
“Man! I’m tired just watchin’ her go!” Irv said bemusedly. “How can anybody get that way on lettuce and fruit salad?”
Joe laughed. “I don’t know. She was never like that before. She was like six-two or -three, two hundred and sixty pounds. You saw the statues. She was something of a fitness nut even then, though. Hell, I think she could’a lifted me.”
“She ain’t all that short now, for a girl.”
“Talking averages, no, five-six isn’t short, but it’s three-quarters of a foot shorter than she was. And, of course, the body’s totally different. It’s still her inside, though, and I’d trust her judgment most of the time, except when she’s dancing, anyway.”
Irving looked out at the broad river, more majestic-looking than ever, the distant green shore showing little detail. Suddenly he frowned, stared, and looked again. “There are girls-womenout there!”
Joe turned and looked, not seeing them at first, then finally catching what the boy had seen.
“Holy Hell! Did you see that?” Irv cried. “A big fish just jumped out and right on top of one of them!”
Joe laughed. “No, it only looked that way. Those aren’t women, they’re river mermaids. Contrary to the old legends, mermaids are mammals like us and breathe air. River mermaids mostly have that bluish cast to their bodies and light underbellies, kind of like dolphins. Ask your stepmother about mermaids sometime. She was one of the salt water kind once, in between then and now.”
Irving could just stare for a moment. “Jeez! Just when you start gettin’ used to this place, somethin’ like that pops up and hits you in the face! Mermaids! Wow! Uhare there any mermen?”
“Not that I know of, but I couldn’t be dead certain on that. I think they mate with regular men, like you or me. They’re supposed to be able to hypnotize you or something so they’re irresistible. But they only have daughters and they’re always mermaids. Don’t get any bright romantic ideas at your age, though. They do it in the water, and it’s even odds the guy drowns in the end.”
Irving gulped. “Uhthanks for the warnin’.”
“There’s all sorts of things that live out there in and beneath that river,” Joe told him. “A lot of ‘em aren’t that pleasant, and even the ones that are might have little flaws like that. You run into any of the nonhuman races, never make the mistake of thinking that they’re just funny-looking people or people with odd abilities or powers. They’re not. They think different, live different, and have a whole different way of seeing things than we do, and most of ‘em haven’t got a lot good to say or think about humans. Our people pretty much wiped out their people back on Earth, and they know it, and since death to them is final, they don’t ever want to give
Every couple of miles along the road there was a small spur leading down to a flat, mossy area almost at the river. These in, fact were rest stops, so to speak, where you could use the river to relieve yourself, build a fire to cook and to eat, or make camp if you were caught short on the trail by sunset. Sunsets came very quickly in this pan of Husaquahr, and the nights tended to be very, very dark.
After their first pit stop, Tiana said, “No telling how much standing around we’ll have to do tomorrow, so I’m gonna run the distance today. Too much riding makes me stiff.”
“Well, we’re not in any real hurry, so don’t get too far ahead,” Joe warned her. “You never know who or what’s around on roads like this.”
“Don’t worry so much,” she scolded him. “If you’re that nervous, keep up with me!”
“Man! I’m tired just watchin’ her go!” Irv said bemusedly. “How can anybody get that way on lettuce and fruit salad?”
Joe laughed. “I don’t know. She was never like that before. She was like six-two or -three, two hundred and sixty pounds. You saw the statues. She was something of a fitness nut even then, though. Hell, I think she could’a lifted me.”
“She ain’t all that short now, for a girl.”
“Talking averages, no, five-six isn’t short, but it’s three-quarters of a foot shorter than she was. And, of course, the body’s totally different. It’s still her inside, though, and I’d trust her judgment most of the time, except when she’s dancing, anyway.”
Irving looked out at the broad river, more majestic-looking than ever, the distant green shore showing little detail. Suddenly he frowned, stared, and looked again. “There are girls-womenout there!”
Joe turned and looked, not seeing them at first, then finally catching what the boy had seen.
“Holy Hell! Did you see that?” Irv cried. “A big fish just jumped out and right on top of one of them!”
Joe laughed. “No, it only looked that way. Those aren’t women, they’re river mermaids. Contrary to the old legends, mermaids are mammals like us and breathe air. River mermaids mostly have that bluish cast to their bodies and light underbellies, kind of like dolphins. Ask your stepmother about mermaids sometime. She was one of the salt water kind once, in between then and now.”
Irving could just stare for a moment. “Jeez! Just when you start gettin’ used to this place, somethin’ like that pops up and hits you in the face! Mermaids! Wow! Uhare there any mermen?”
“Not that I know of, but I couldn’t be dead certain on that. I think they mate with regular men, like you or me. They’re supposed to be able to hypnotize you or something so they’re irresistible. But they only have daughters and they’re always mermaids. Don’t get any bright romantic ideas at your age, though. They do it in the water, and it’s even odds the guy drowns in the end.”
Irving gulped. “Uhthanks for the warnin’.”
“There’s all sorts of things that live out there in and beneath that river,” Joe told him. “A lot of ‘em aren’t that pleasant, and even the ones that are might have little flaws like that. You run into any of the nonhuman races, never make the mistake of thinking that they’re just funny-looking people or people with odd abilities or powers. They’re not. They think different, live different, and have a whole different way of seeing things than we do, and most of ‘em haven’t got a lot good to say or think about humans. Our people pretty much wiped out their people back on Earth, and they know it, and since death to them is final, they don’t ever want to give
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