So, it finally came. The question every student, every person asked, at least once in their lifetimes. Khasekhemwy sighed.
“Have a seat, Danny,” he said, in the kindest voice he'd ever used with the boy.
Khase picked up his empty plate and placed it on the counter. The sensible place for it would have been the sink, but he hadn't quite worked out what the function of the sink was yet – or, actually, how to wash up cutlery and crockery – or... even that he should. Because Khase conjured and vanished everything he used, he didn't realise that everyday household artefacts were reused regularly. He assumed that once it was dirty, it was thrown out.
He didn't waste time or try to create any to think; having had this conversation a number of times before, the Palestinian deity knew already what had to be said and how. In fact, this ground was so familiar that he looked less nervous than usual. He didn't twist his hands together or tug at his fingers, and the dark brown eyes which gazed at Danny looked more sympathetic than fearful, for once.
“The dead cannot be brought back, not really,” he began quietly. “Sometimes, if they died in a certain way – grasping for life, denying their impeding death with every ounce of their being – an imitation of them can be brought back, as Aura was. The imitation is generally referred to as a 'ghost', but it's only a weaker version of the greater personality, and ghosts are never happy in this realm. It is not wise to seek to restore the deceased, Danny. Nor does speaking to them ever bring about any real sense of closure.”
He leant back in his chair and sighed again. “There are a number of ways to contact the dead. Some psychics – mediums – have the ability to speak with the dead. Divinity can technically do it too, but for whatever reason the originals have never been adept at contacting the deceased. Alternatively, genuine séance candles, while expensive, permit a one-off communicate with a single deceased soul for approximately fifteen minutes.
“Death is a mystery better known to ordinary fairies than to the originals,” he studied Danny's face a little sadly. “Perhaps because we are immortal. There's no original fairy god of death, apart from in obscure polytheistic circles, and this is one magic that we tend not to tamper with. For you, there are ways... but they are long, bitter, and will probably not give you the answers you seek.”
khasekhemwy
patron deity of palestine
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