Abomination by R.J. Creaney (A Free Short Story)

Publisher's Blurb:  In 9th century France, the zealous warrior Ragenard is finally within striking distance of his greatest enemy, a necromancer dead-set on disturbing the natural order of Creation. Their final battle ensues; one combatant fights with wrought iron and the other with the risen dead, although all is not as it seems about the two opponents and their enmity.

A historical fantasy/horror short story. 3,700 words.

Review:  This is a very well-written short story (31 pages) by author R.J. Creaney.  I enjoyed his short story The Playwright's Woman so much I read this one as well.
This incredibly rich little story describes the final battle between Ragenard, a man who thinks of himself as a holy warrior of Christ, and his mortal enemy, a necromancer.  It starts with Ragenard closing in on his enemy, who is  hiding in the graveyard of a deserted village.  As he enters the graveyard where the necromancer is hiding, he is attacked by the reanimated corpses raised as weapons by the necromancer.
The showdown between these two is incredibly descriptive and visual.  I felt as though I was there in the moonlit graveyard with the rotting, reanimated corpses.  The writing is vivid and smart (I love reading stories with words like revenant and paladin - keeps me sharp!), and in a short number of pages the reader realizes that Ragenard has become as much a monster as the one he hunts.  His self-righteous anger has become the focus of his life, and we never learn what, if anything, the necromancer has done to deserve death (other than the whole creepy ability to raise the dead and talk to recently departed souls).  The battle, the religious zeal, the hate, all feel contemporary although the story is set in the 10th century.
Well-done!

Check out the author's website at http://rjcreaney.wordpress.com/.