Page 70 of Courting the Dragon King

Konrad looked away. His hands balled into fists. He clearly did not like Wraith’s answer.

“When you saw the coffin, you were sad by the loss of a life so young. But I didn’t even notice it. I was too busy staring at the crying child trailing after her father, calling out ‘Daddy’ whilst he couldn’t even see her,” Wraith said.

“Her body was empty. She was not there. Nothing done to Mary’s corpse could hurt her anymore.” Although, technically, her body could have been used to call her back. But that was not relevant right now. “But Mary was still hurting. She was weeping and in need, and that was what mattered to me,” Wraith explained, hoping he could get Konrad to at least see his point.

“Dead bodies seem less important when there is an actual spirit that needs assistance.” Wraith had never seen reanimating skeletons and corpses as a big deal. The reanimated did not suffer or hurt.

It was the suffering spirits he cared about. And it was the not letting the dead move on that made him uneasy. Especially if they wanted to go.

Wraith knew the dread knights he’d created during the war had been enthusiastic volunteers, who’d been desperate to join the eternal army. They’d not wanted to move on.

Still, Wraith as a reaper had not liked to be a part of it. He had no stomach for creating undead armies and was glad those days were behind him. Now, at the Castle of the Dragons, he could just help the dead find peace. Konrad would not see that as bad.

Wraith thought of Konrad’s experience from the war. He had a feeling that the necromancers who’d raised Konrad’s friend had probably done so knowing how traumatic it would be for the Draconians to fight their own. It seemed like the sort of tactics his people would use.

Konrad didn’t speak for a moment. “I guess that makes some sense,” he said finally. Although, his tone was begrudging.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

It was difficult for Konrad to wrap his mind around it all. But it was also difficult to keep his feelings in check. He believed Wraith’s role as a reaper was something good.

But at the same time, there was so much about necromancers that repulsed him. Just hearing what they got up to had him wanting to shift, roar, and rage, lighting up the sky with dragonfire, even though he knew it would accomplish nothing.

Still, he was trying to listen before judging. And, honestly, Konrad was actually curious how necromancy worked, despite his strong dislike of it.

“Can a spirit be reconnected to the body after death?” Konrad asked.

“It can. However, it is less common.” Wraith’s forehead creased. “For most necromancers, reanimating corpses and skeletons comes more naturally. Still, an innate ability is required. Although, training can improve that ability. Also, a great deal of power is needed to control the reanimated and compel them to do your bidding, especially if you are controlling a lot of them. Like in an army.”

Konrad gritted his teeth. How many times had he faced one of these vile reanimated armies?

“I never really had the skills to create and control the reanimated, nor was I trained to. But many of the necromancers who could do that lacked the ability to engage with the spirits and bring them back, like what I did with Umbra. But even with her, I did not bind her spirit to her body. I created a new form that could move between this world and the next.”

Wraith plucked a buttercup from by the side of the road. “Although, that was unintentional on my part. I was so young and had no idea what I was doing. If I was doing it now, I could have reconnected her spirit to her corpse.”

Wraith twirled the buttercup between his fingers. “Although, I think she is happier without an actual body holding her back.” He huffed. “She was so keen to return to me, which made it all easier. If she was unwilling, I doubt I would have had the ability to bring her back.” He threw the buttercup.

“Necromancers can bring back the unwilling?” Konrad’s skin crawled.

Wraith lowered his gaze. “A necromancer can force a spirit back and bind it to its corpse. Or another corpse. But it’s difficult. The cost is high. Controlling someone who does not want to come back or be bound to a necromancer’s will requires a lot of power.”

Konrad licked his lips. “I heard a whisper once. Of a dragon being brought back as a creature of smoke, bone, and fire. I never saw it during the war, but I was always scared of coming across such a thing.” He even had nightmares of battling his dead siblings as undead dragons. “Is that something a necromancer can do?”

“I’ve heard talk of them too. Bone dragons is what they are called. But it’s more a myth than a reality. At least from what I know.” Wraith’s nose wrinkled. “I’ve never seen it done or heard of an actual case.”

Wraith paused. “Hypothetically, it is possible. But … I said it was hard to bring back a resistant spirit, that’s especially true with some, such as dragons, sorcerers, and other magic users. It’s like their powers resist the necromancer’s will.”

“So it is not possible to bring back a dragon?”

Wraith’s brows drew together. “You’d need a strong necromancer, probably multiple. And to control the sort of power that the dead spirit had—” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you’d manage it. I’m not sure it would be possible. If it was, Necros would have raised a bone dragon by now.”

“Do you know if they tried?”

Wraith hesitated. “There were many attempts during the war to bring back dragons, mages, and sorcerers.”

“Were any of those attempts successful?” Konrad asked, voice tight.