Page 35 of Necromancers Don't Raise

I smiled grimly and pushed myself back up, holding my guns across my lap while I maneuvered so they wouldn’t catch on anything I couldn’t see. Finally, I ran out of stone and pushed myself off the right side and pulled myself over an outcropping and tumbled gracefully to the platform where Retta was standing, illuminated by a small line of purple lights, so she looked particularly grotesque.

“You lost, but don’t feel bad about it. You’ve got spunk.”

I grinned at her, tasting blood in my mouth from my cut lip. “I’ve also still got some bullets.” I opened it up, shooting her point blank, mostly her face, but I targeted her bare shoulders as well.

She screeched and bounced back, but that only made the target more interesting. When I ran out of paint balls, I rolled to my feet, knowing she’d attack me. I wasn’t wrong. Covered in paint, she went in low, and I sidestepped, throwing myself on her to knock her off balance and get a good hold.

Sissy was one of the best, and she’d taught me very well, until I could take even her on a good day. Retta was a goblin, and wearing armor, but so was I, and joints were joints. Even goblin elbows were delicate.

She rolled me, pulling my arm back like she’d dislocate it. I broke her nose with my other elbow, slamming it across her face so hard that my own bone cracked at the impact. Bone against bone, she was tougher. But I’d be fine, eventually.

She levered my arm back, and I screamed, then gnashed my teeth at her paint-splattered face so she had to pull back. “Your teeth are too dull to challenge me,” she said, then chopped a few times with her serrated teeth, barely nicking my nose. “You shot me in the face, so I should bite a few chunks out of you so you’re not so pretty.”

I scoffed. “Goblin teeth marks could only be an improvement.” I shifted, trying to shake her off, but she squeezed tighter.

“You think Goblin bites are pretty or you think you’re already hideous?” She stared at me curiously, then moved so she could fish her phone out of her pocket, pinning me to the rock and rubbing my cut cheek on the stone in the process.

“Look,” she said, playing an old video of a cabaret dancer. I froze for a second at the absolute weirdness of this situation.

“What are you doing?”

“She looks just like you. One of the most famous dancers of all time. She was pursued by vampires, werewolves, goblins, you name it. You could be her except for the white bald thing you’ve got going.”

I squinted at the screen. “She’s not beautiful.”

“Maybe according to boring human standards, but there isn’t only one kind of beautiful. Also, I’m pretty sure she was pursued by plenty of humans. She was incredibly popular. Went to Paris, and I think got killed while being fought over. So, not bright, but definitely pretty.”

I blinked and then shoved her off me, having gotten my shoulder free while she was distracted trying to prove that I wasn’t hideous. “Wow. Thanks for the pep talk. Is that what it was? I don’t know. Weird is what it was. Don’t show people cabaret dancers while they’re trying to dislocate your elbows. It’s just distracting.”

She cocked her head and grinned. “Sure. You weren’t supposed to shoot me during the game.”

“I didn’t. I shot you after you’d already won. So I was disqualified after I already lost. Does that revoke my defeat?”

She reached out and made a grabby hand motion. “No. Give me the body armor before I throw you off the cliff. There’s a net, but you’d probably be stupid enough to climb up again.”

I sighed and started undoing the vest. I was wearing the opposite set from before, holograph bra, and black velvet bottoms. Pity I hadn’t found the matching pieces earlier. Oh well. Nothing here to see. Except that dancer…

I shook my head and tossed the armored vest at her. “It wasn’t sportsmanlike for you to take me out like that.”

She grinned. “It wasn’t against the rules.”

“No? Good to know that you have a broad scope when it comes to morality.” I threw her pants at her and nodded. “That’s it then. Congratulations on your big win.”

She hesitated. “You did well, though. Don’t feel bad. For a human, you did very well.”

“There are some humans who can do much better than me, the ones who train for this kind of thing. I’m trained to sit behind a desk. I’d like to see you do that.”

She grinned and backed away, holding up her hands, which were holding my gear, leaving me mostly naked in the very chilly cave. “No, thanks. You did well. Particularly at the end fight. You need to bulk up and put on some muscle, but your technique is solid.” With those weird words, she turned and strode off.

I promptly sat down, leaning against the nearest rock, and tried to catch my breath. I also pulled the folded poster out from underneath my holograph bra strap where it had been nestled between my shoulder blades during my disrobing. I’d gotten it off her while she’d been distracted by dislocating my arm. I unfolded it and peered at the image of Mercury in thewan purple light. Yes, that was rain running down the massive muscles. His skin was so pale, like the moon, like the flesh of the corpses behind him, but so absolutely beautiful. Like snowy silk.

“Nova?” Mercury growled from the shadows then strode towards me, becoming more visible while I clutched the poster and tried to not feel guilty, like I’d taken advantage of his private moment raising the dead.

“Oh, hi. I was just…”

He scooped me up into his arms, propping me up against his chest while he cupped my face with one hand, peering into my eyes while my heart raced from a different kind of adrenaline. “Bones is worried that you’ll have amnesia,” he growled.

I swallowed as his low murmur rippled down my spine. “I did fall a few times, but there was a river and a net. My head is fine.”

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