Dirge for a Necromancer - By Ash Stinson Page 0,59
away and forgotten. In his experience, the dead were usually put away and forgotten.
* * *
Even with the sizable Tahlehson army serving beneath General Diahsis occupying the fort, the Kaebha Citadel was still quite empty. Most of the soldiers were stationed on the lower levels, guarding the loyalist Zylekkhans. For his part, Diahsis had taken control of one of the uppermost floors, posting guards at all the stairwells. Raettonus wasn’t certain what the young general needed with an entire floor, but he heard from Dohrleht—who often attended Diahsis with Daeblau—that the whole floor had been redecorated to suit his tastes, which were a lot more elegant than the Zylekkhan commanders who had previously had run of that level.
Those soldiers who weren’t put to work guarding the loyalists or keeping Diahsis’ level secure were mostly employed in rebuilding the wall their undermining had unsteadied. It was backbreaking work, and Raettonus did not envy them, but they were centaurs, and centaurs were strong, with powerful horse bodies to pull and powerful human hands to lift. Raettonus watched them working from the battlements as he sat up there with Brecan. The unicorn was skulking about the roof, catching sparrows and bringing them to Raettonus.
“Do you think they’ll be done with that any time soon?” asked Brecan after he had brought Raettonus another dead sparrow.
“They only just started,” Raettonus responded, tying the bird’s feet together and stringing it up with the others Brecan had caught for him. He hadn’t been counting, but was certain he had at least a dozen birds now. “I’m not sure they’ll fix the wall for at least a year.”
“There’s so many of them working on it though,” Brecan said, flattening his ears. “I think it’ll be done soon.”
“You can think that, but you’re still wrong.”
Brecan twitched his tail and sat back on his lion-like haunches. “I’m not wrong, am I?” he mumbled. After a moment, he stopped sulking. “Hey, Raet—is that enough sparrows or do you need more? Can I eat one?”
“You can eat one when I’m done with them,” said Raettonus, holding the sparrows up by the string and counting them. “I could use two more. This won’t be enough feathers.”
“Two more?” said Brecan, a little dismayed. He glanced around and, spotting a bird perched at the other side of the roof, bounded off after it, nearly bowling over a patrolling Tahlehson soldier who got in his way.
Raettonus turned away to watch the soldiers down below pulling blocks around and calling to one another in Tahlkyna, the soft-sounding language of their homeland. After a while, a shadow fell over Raettonus. Assuming it to be Brecan with another sparrow, he lazily put one hand out to receive it. “They’re not going to finish any time soon,” Raettonus said, still watching the construction. “Too many blocks broke. They’re going to have to carve more of them.”
“Yes, Magician, they will,” said the gruff voice of a soldier. Raettonus looked up and saw an older centaur standing over him. He had the accent of a Tahlehson. “General Diahsis has requested your presence.”
Raettonus pursed his lips and stood, slinging the dead sparrows over one of his shoulders. Brushing the dust off the back of his tunic, he said, “Fine. Lead the way, sir.”
The soldier nodded and took him down the stairs a couple flights to Diahsis’ floor. A number of tapestries had been hung on the walls, along with paintings Raettonus recognized as Deggho’s handiwork. The soldier led Raettonus to the general’s room, which was large and spacious with cushioned chairs and proper windows overlooking the ocean. Diahsis was lounging on a divan beneath a window as Raettonus entered. Dismissing the soldier, the general motioned for Raettonus to take a seat, which he did.
“It’s come to my attention,” said Diahsis, smoothing out the wrinkles in his lavish clothes, “that the goblin I executed was a friend of yours. You have my apologies.”
“That’s not necessary,” said Raettonus. “We weren’t friends.”
“He had a lot of paintings of you,” said Diahsis. He gave the birds slung over Raettonus’ shoulder a look of distaste as they leaked blood onto the divan Raettonus had seated himself on, but didn’t comment on them. “Surely he thought you were friends?”
“I don’t see that it matters what he thought—you killed him,” Raettonus said dryly. “He’s dead now, so let’s not discuss it, hm?”
“If you’d rather we didn’t talk about him, I won’t press the subject,” said Diahsis. He smiled again. “You know, Magician, I’ve been thinking quite a bit…”