Dirge for a Necromancer - By Ash Stinson Page 0,33

red phoenix on a field of pure white,” Raettonus muttered. “That was my family’s coat of arms.”

“And a very fitting one it is,” Kimohr Raulinn said. “I didn’t see it on anything you owned. I had to look into your world. Quite a feat, that, since my power as a god does not extend beyond my realm. It was made even harder, because the world you think you came from is not, in fact, the world you did come from. They’re similar enough, I think, but different in key ways. It took me weeks to figure out which one you came from, because there were so many like your world. But I found it and, for a brief moment, I was able to see your family’s banner and the phoenix upon it, and I sent it to you. Did you like it, by the way? The statue? I made it all by myself. You can keep it, you know. Think of it as a token of my affection and esteem.”

“I don’t want your stupid token,” grumbled Raettonus. “I want to be left alone.”

“Oh, but my dear Raettonus,” said the elven god, fairly hissing the name out from between his teeth. Kimohr Raulinn kicked his feet slowly through the water. “I only want to help you. I have an amazing offer for you, sweet child.”

“I know how your ‘help’ turns out, Kimohr Raulinn, and I don’t want it.”

“You wound me, Magician,” Kimohr Raulinn said, placing one hand on his chest and feigning offense. “I only do what I can for anyone who needs me. It’s more than can be said of the other gods. They sit their lofty seats divorced from the creatures who toil and die on this mortal rock and pretend they’re better than them. I do my best to help. Certainly, helping does often benefit me, and may sometimes—only sometimes, Magician—have, shall we say, unforeseen consequences for those I’ve aided. All the same, I am only trying to put my godly gifts to good use. Anything else you might think is only Kurok and his band trying to paint me black for daring to associate with mortals.”

Raettonus gave him a hard look. “I don’t find myself convinced, somehow,” he said dryly.

Kimohr Raulinn let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Raettonus, Raettonus,” he said softly. “So untrusting. I wonder, were you always so cynical?”

“Since the day I was born,” Raettonus affirmed blandly.

“That’s not good for you, you know,” Kimohr Raulinn said. “Cynicism ruins your health.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

The elf gave a soft chuckle and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “So you’ve really got no interest in me? In why a god would contact you?”

“Lots of people contact me,” Raettonus said.

“Lots of mortals,” Kimohr Raulinn agreed. “However, I’m not here to ask you to run an errand or to teach some children arithmetic and pyromancy. I’m here to offer you a service.”

“And I’m not interested, as I said before.”

“But what I am offering you, for only a small price—”

“Damn your offer and damn your price,” said Raettonus, rubbing his temples and squeezing his eyes closed. “I already told you: no. The answer’s going to stay no. A thousand times no. If you ask me every hour of every day for the rest of our fucking lives, I’m still going to tell you no, God damn it. I know about your offers and your prices. I’ve been around, Kimohr Raulinn, and I know perfectly well what kind of self-serving snake you are. So leave me alone. Go far away from me and let me back to my own dreams. I’d rather be in that awful nightmare than here.”

Beneath his mask the god frowned, looking somewhat hurt. “You didn’t even let me tell you my offer,” he said. “I don’t do this for everyone, you know. You’re of special interest to me, and I thought I’d be nice and offer you the thing you want most.”

“Whatever it is you think I want most, I certainly don’t want it from you,” Raettonus said.

“Ouch, Magician. Ouch,” said Kimohr Raulinn, looking down into the water. “I suppose I’ve been stoutly shot down, then? I must admit, I’m not used to such refusal. I feel like I’ve been jilted, to tell the truth. I think I’m even becoming a little bitter. A little resentful, maybe. Yes—that’s it. Resentful. I’m now beginning to wonder how it was I ever even thought of breaking the barrier between life and death for you. Certainly I was a