[I was beginning to wonder if you were going to talk to me again.] The dagger’s mental “voice” sounded a little frustrated. [There were plenty of opportunities to chat with me and it’s not every day a divine remnant is willing to form a contract.]

  “Sorry about that,” said Max without any real sincerity. “So you were able to watch me from inside the gate?”

  [Of course. For me, it wasn’t very difficult.]

  Max frowned and steepled his fingers before resting his chin on his hands. His cheap hotel chair squeaked as he leaned forward to stare at the dagger where it was lying on the bed. “Have you always been this chatty with everyone? Like Adjudicator Swan too? Or am I just lucky.”

  [Part of it is luck, but a lot of it is that you’re a Summoner.]

  And suddenly, with that one bit of information, a number of mysteries were solved and matters from the Quartet that never made sense, did. “Do all the…teleport daggers have remnant spirits like you?”

  [I can tell you’ve already figured some of this out. It’s one reason why I’m willing to work with you in the first place. The will to resist the greatest powers, the means to strike back, and a mind to ask questions are all rare, even more rare to all exist in on person. The answer to your question is yes and no. The real name for the “transportation daggers” is “transfer athames,” or “ral’tek.” How they’re actually made will be over your head, but a good summary would be that gods were killed a long, long time ago, cut into little pieces, and the pieces were used to power the ral’tek. I can still remember all of it. It’s not exactly the kind of thing I’d want to fixate on while making love or eating ice cream. And no, not all of my parts can talk–I am dead after all! In fact, being dead, I usually don’t talk at all. Funny, that. But sometimes circumstance can wake a bit of me up, like… shocking a severed hand with electricity to make it move.]

  “That works in real life? The electricity thing?”

  [I don’t know. I saw it on the TV last night while you were asleep in the hotel room. It might be fun to try, though. Oh, that was ballsy by the way, playing movies while you’re helpless. Won’t the TV being on make it harder to hear an attack?]

  “No, I have spirits that keep watch for me that never sleep. And after being back to Earth, the sound of traffic makes it hard to sleep now. I learned the TV-being-on trick a long time ago when I was a kid… But we are getting off topic. So if a part of you in one of these…ral’tek…wakes up, you can talk from the dagger that…your part is in?”

  [Not necessarily, and I know you’ve already figured this out, or at least suspect the truth. Yes, Max, Summoners are the only Path that can easily or naturally communicate with divine remnants. And yes, it is one of the reasons why your Path has been suppressed.]

  That did confirm what Max had suspected. “You’re using my name so casually, but you haven’t even told me yours.”

  [Ah. That’s true. It is past time that I introduce myself. I have been known as Anansi. Now I am sure you are suitably shocked and humbled. Please hold the applause. However, I do take tips. Sexual favors to show appreciation are either accepted or rejected on a case-by-case basis. I’ll just tell you that it is not an option for you right now, though. You won’t get far with me if you go that direction. I’m open to a contract but I am not interested in your rock hard man-abs. Sorry.]

  “Anansi? Aren’t you a spider or something?” Max barely remembered a special he’d seen on TV about African gods.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  [That’s so dismissive. “A spider?” Rude. Shallow. But yes, I am…among other things. Whatever I feel like.]

  “Like a spider man?”

  [I am the original spider man. And I look quite dapper in that form, if I might say so myself.]

  “You just did.”

  [I suppose I did. Anyway, that is who I am.] The remnant sniffed.

  Max frowned. Why am I always meeting weirdos? Out loud he said, “So I guess I will ask the obvious questions now. I apologize if these are rude but I don’t know any other way to ask without wasting too much time.”

  [Go ahead. I appreciate the attempt at proper decorum, but it’s probably too late now. You’ve been too casual and I have admitted that you have very impressive abs.]

  “Uh, alright. What do I get out of a contract with you, and what will you get out of it? Why won’t you fade away like a normal divine spirit?

  [What you get out of it will vary on a number of things. Some of it will be your compatibility with my domain or areas of authority. It will also depend on your talent. But one advantage of my divine nature means you will not have to be taught or really practice any of my abilities you manifest–other than just how to use them or when. Especially since you are a Summoner, you already have experience utilizing the power of another, channeling it. Also, new abilities through our bond can manifest the longer we work together.]

  “What are your areas of authority? I know a little about you, but not much.”

  [Ahem, it is perhaps a bit undignified to call myself such, but I have been known as a “trickster god.” Of course, you already know that I have an affinity with spiders. Shapeshifting is a specialty of mine, as well as a fairly unique form of magic that I am quite proud of. Escaping is something I have a knack for. Webs, webbing, well, you get the idea.]

  “I think I do. So what do you get from this, though? Remnants pass things on and feel they’re ready to leave this existence. For them, it’s like…an inheritance. But that doesn’t sound like your situation at all.”

  [That’s true. I very much want to be alive again. By contracting with you, I will ensure I won’t lose consciousness again. It means I will be stuck with this “part” of me being the only piece that can be conscious while I’m contracted, but it can’t be helped now since I am so limited. The tradeoff is worth it, though. The longer I am awake, the more time and effort I can put into rebuilding myself using this portion of myself as a seed.]

  That all answered his questions and even sounded plausible. Max had never questioned the explanations any spirits had given him before, and he wondered if Anansi being a trickster god was making him judge the situation unfairly.

  “If I have a contract with you, can I form a contract with another divine remnant? What about regular spirits, too? Will it affect that?”

  [So many questions! Ha! I approve! You should always go into every deal knowing as much as possible! But you’re concerned about other possibilities with divine remnants!? Like we are just lying around on the street!? Hilarious! You didn’t even know divine remnants existed until I spoke to you. However, to answer your question, no you are not limited to only one divine remnant contract as long as the divine remnants agree to coexist in the very limited real estate of your mortal soul. Of course, having a divine remnant contract will make you a target for the Quartet administration too, but you already are.]

  “Yes. That true. It’s only a matter of time until they track me down.”

  [Even so, I don’t risk anything by working with you. Either I can put my pieces back together again after forming a contract with you, or they stuff this piece of me back into the ral’tek. It’s not like my situation can become worse. As for you, the more power you get, the better.

  On that note, our relationship won’t affect your ability to contract with other spirits. However, I am a bit picky. I would like for you to only contract with spirit I think are worthy if you are my contractor.]

  “Really? I have a spirit now, a Warlord-level spirit who doesn’t want me to contract with spirits lower level than he is. Are you going to be like that too? Then I’ll never get another contract”

  [That is not what I meant. In fact, if you were my contractor, I would speak to this spirit of yours and perhaps help you find a compromise. For a Summoner to be limited to only contracts with Warlord or higher spirits can be a disadvantage.]

  Max sat back to think about what Anansi had said. Suddenly, something occurred to him. Why haven’t my spirits been talking to me this entire time? He mentally called out to his spirit, Are you all there?

  He got pings back from his spirits, but none of them spoke at first. Finally, Saliron spoke in his mind, saying, The dead god let us know he would prefer a private interview without us interjecting unless we felt he was lying. I would rather talk about bones anyway.

  We are being respectful, said Lavinia. This is the first time I have actually heard a divine spirit speak. I am…awed.

  Oh, replied Max. He rubbed his nose as he thought, and finally said, “Alright, I think I will accept a contract with you.”

  [What a life I’ve led. Now I am asking Summoners to form a contract with me and almost being rejected. Ha! Still, I am glad that we can work together. It will be a mutually beneficial relationship. I accept, too.]

  Suddenly, a window popped up in Max’s vision. It was pretty simple as contract windows went.

  Do you want to form a contract with Anansi, a divine remnant?

  *Note: The contract style is “default”

  Max chose “yes.”

  Then Anansi said, [I chose yes as well. Now our contract is complete, and–] His voice trailed off. [Hey wait a second, you never said you were already a Champion! Ridiculous. Part of your conversation with the Adjudicator was censored, but I thought it was Quartet-business. The system still messes with me after all this time! I cannot believe this!]

  The divine remnant's words devolved into passionate and inventive cursing.