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Twilight touched the cobbles of the emptying marketplace.
Two burly slaves lowered a sedan. A hooded figure emerged, green
silk visible below the cloak's hem, gold slippers flashing in the
gloom. Farmers bearing loads bowed even lower, while merchants
paused to evaluate the chances of a final sale.
But the figure's path was set. It swept into an alley as
serpentine as the wares sold in the laneway's only shop. A sign
declared the Viper-Seller's establishment; gilded ideograms regaled
his imperial connections.
A hand emerged from the cloak. The symbols dulled, the sign
cracked, and fell from the wall. Only then did the figure step
through the doorway.
The Viper-Seller emerged from a backroom. Undoubtedly an
elderly man, his sprightly gait and smooth skin attested to the
power of his products. He gazed upon the figure with equanimity;
he was used to facing the darkness of deep cowls.
"How can I help you?" asked the Viper-Seller.
"You are the famous purveyor of rare serpents who supplies
even the Emperor's court?" said a soft voice.
The Viper-Seller bowed in acknowledgement. That his
customer was a woman came as no surprise. Was she, he
wondered, a spinster seeking beauty, a trained assassin perhaps,
or a virginal princess in search of an abortifacient? He watched the
woman walk from one basket to the next, leaning close to view the
slithering contents, stroking each cage and whispering something
before she moved on. The woman did not return to the counter
until she had caressed every basket in the shop.
She's a witch, decided the Viper-Seller, for who else would feel
so comfortable surrounded by venomous adders?
"Where is your son the Serpent-Catcher?" asked the woman.
"Is he abroad gathering exotic specimens?"
"No, he hunts in our local forest today."
"Will he return soon?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Then I will wait." As the woman spoke, a sibilance rose from
the baskets, and a rustling sound filled the shop as the snakes
became increasingly agitated.
The Viper-Seller eyed the swinging cages. Suddenly wary, he
moved away from the counter. The woman darted after him and the
cowl slipped from her head. The Viper-Seller gasped, for her beauty
was too extreme for an ordinary woman and no mortal looked upon
the world with such reptilian eyes, but before he could fully retreat,
the woman had already flowed over the counter, shedding her
clothes and sandals. Within seconds, the woman's face was poised
close to his and her naked breasts pressed against the Viper-
Seller's chest, while the lower half of her now serpentine body
coiled about the old man's waist and legs.
"Who are you?" asked the Viper-Seller. He was startled, but
not afraid. Snakes of all sizes were his trade, and he knew the
intimate secrets of these creatures after a lifetime of
experimentation.
"Your warding spells are strong," said the creature.
The Viper-Seller smiled. "No serpent can ever kill me."
The snakewoman hissed, delicate fangs visible between her
lips. "Do you enjoy slitting live bodies and crushing fresh scales
and milking blood and venom for your trite purposes? Is it right
that innocent creatures should die so a man might stiffen his
manhood or a bureaucrat might slay a rival?"
"Is it right that snakes prey upon mice and poison innocent
children playing in the fields? Your arguments will not stir me.
What do you want?" said the Viper-Seller.
"Let's ask your son, whose huntsman's steps are as silent as
ever. Do you remember me, Serpent-Catcher?" asked the
snakewoman.
"Of course, Nu-Kua," said the young man who now stood just
behind her.
He reached out and placed a hand on the snakewoman's
lower back, slid his palm upwards, then slowly slipped the hand
down her spine again. The Serpent-Catcher repeated the stroke,
using the soothing motions he employed when about his trade in
the forests and deserts and wetlands. Utterly seduced, the
snakewoman's upper torso swayed slightly and her eyes became
glazed.
The Viper-Seller smiled at his son's skill, and waited for the
seizing of the head that deprived serpents of the power to escape.
"I remember your betraying touch, and how you lured me into
a basket three years ago," sighed Nu-Kua.
The Viper-Seller glared at his son. "You caught this creature
and then lost her?"
The Serpent-Catcher looked down.
The old man snorted in disgust. "Clod! You're as hopeless as
your mother! The Emperor would pay a fortune for the potions I
can extract from such a magical creature. Grab her now! Do not
cheat me of this prize again!"
Nu-Kua reached back, wound an arm about the Serpent-
Catcher's neck and murmured, "Do not obey him, please."
"I am his son, and his creature," said the young man sadly.
"I fed his mother snakebone brews even before she became
pregnant, then gave my newborn son venom dowsings and left him
to sleep in a crib full of adders," boasted the Viper-Seller.
"You made him and bound him, then forced him to supply
your vile trade! But now it ends," spat Nu-Kua, and she twisted
about and sank her fangs into the Serpent-Catcher's throat.
"No!" cried the Viper-Seller.
The young man reeled, then righted. He blinked as if waking
from a sleep, then the Serpent-Catcher smiled tenderly at the
snakewoman.
"For every poison, there is an antidote, my love. I have
searched far and wide so that I might free you as you once freed
me," whispered Nu-Kua. She released the Viper-Seller, resumed her
human form and clothes, and held out a hand to the Serpent-
Catcher.
"Let us go home, Szu-Ming."
"I forbid it!" cried the Viper-Seller.
But Nu-Kua and Szu-Ming ignored the old man and left the
shop.
Behind them, baskets crashed to the floor, spilling forth their
sinuous occupants. Snakes surged forth and coursed up the
serpentine alleyway, following their mistress and her lover through
the city and back to the mountains beyond.
Only a single serpent remained behind, alive and well, an ancient
viper lashing about in a tightly-woven wicker cage.
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