Read A Wild Ride Through The Night for Free Online Page B

blurted out.
    ‘Excuse me?’
    ‘Gustave Doré …’ she said, as if to herself. ‘You, of all people!’
    She cackled insanely, muttered something that sounded like ‘Incredible!’ and ‘That’s all I needed!’ and brushed some invisible crumbs off her robe. Then she seemed to quieten. ‘What are
you
doing here?’ she asked curtly, looking straight at Gustave.
    To his ears, the question sounded as if it had been asked by someone he’d known for a considerable time and had now re-encountered in an exotic, outlandish place. It also sounded as if that someone was anything but pleased to have renewed their acquaintance.
    Closer examination convinced him that he didn’t know the old woman at all—indeed, familiar though she still seemed, he was sure he’d never seen her before. Despite the bewildering nature of the situation, he tried to answer her question as truthfully as possible.

    ‘I’m on my way to perform a task for Death. Several tasks, in fact. It’s a complicated business. That’s why I have to cross this forest. Do you know it well?’
    The old lady laughed rather too loudly—almost hysterically, it seemed to Gustave.
    ‘Me? This forest? Do I know it well?’ She cackled again, so violently that she choked and had a coughing fit. Then, fixing Gustave with an expression which, though grave and stern, was somewhat less unfriendly than before, she asked, ‘So you’d like to know what route to take?’
    Gustave thought for a moment. ‘It might be helpful,’ he replied.
    ‘Aren’t you getting to be of an age when you ought to make such decisions yourself?’
    Gustave was taken aback. He hadn’t been prepared for such a searching question.
    ‘Just keep going, boy! I don’t know you and you don’t know me. You only think you know me. Be off with you!’
    Gustave was about to ride on, chastened by the black-clad figure’s brusque manner, when her last remark brought him up short. ‘How did you know you seem familiar to me?’ he asked. ‘I never said anything about it.’
    The old woman avoided his eye and bit her lip. ‘Damnation!’ she muttered.
    ‘Who are you?’ asked Gustave. ‘What are you doing here, all alone in this deep, dark forest?’
    ‘I, er … I’m a forest witch. An
evil
forest witch!’ croaked the old woman, but she didn’t sound too convincing. Her eyes roamed uncertainly to and fro, and she fidgeted with her robe in embarrassment. In Gustave’s estimation, an evil forest witch would have been a bit more self-assured.
    ‘I’m an evil forest witch in a good mood!’ the old crone added quickly. ‘Better take advantage of the fact and get going before I transform you into, er, stinging nettles, or something of the kind.’ She opened her eyes wide and waggled her bony fingers in the air.
    ‘Come on, let’s go,’ Pancho called impatiently. ‘We’re not wanted here.’
    ‘How is it I don’t believe you?’ Gustave asked as politely and amiably as he could. ‘How come I get the feeling I know you, although I’ve never seen you before? Can you explain that?’
    The old woman bowed her head and fidgeted with her robe some more. ‘Yes, I can,’ she said, and it seemed to Gustave that she was blushing.
    ‘Oh, really?’
    ‘Yes, I can …’ The old woman lifted her head and looked him in the eye. ‘I’ll have to go back a bit, but you’ll understand in the end.’ The note of uncertainty had left her voice, and she seemed to be getting ready to tell the truth. She raised her hands and spread her wizened fingers.
    ‘Very well, picture the following: a large department store—one of those modern places that exist in big cities nowadays. You’re employed at the information desk. You know, you’re one of those nice people at the counter on the ground floor who tell you where to find the menswear department.’
    Gustave nodded, Pancho snorted contemptuously.
    ‘You’ve had the job for a long time, so you know the store like the back of your hand, but