Song of Dragons The Complete Trilogy - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,193

on a boulder.

"You're getting it dirty, pup," Agnus Dei said and shoved him. He glared at her, and dumped dirt down her shirt, and she growled and leaped at him. Soon Gloriae joined the fray, laughing as she tried to separate the two.

Benedictus watched the youths, and he smiled. It was so rare to hear Gloriae laugh.

"Her laughter is beautiful," he said to Lacrimosa. "Our daughters are beautiful."

He held his wife close. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and they sat watching the young ones, waiting for the griffins.

DIES IRAE

He hovered over his throne, wreathed in nightshades. They flowed around him, through him, inside him. He could see through their eyes, the multitudes of them that covered the land. He saw the weredragons cowering outside the city, covered in leaf and filth. He saw them peeking, whispering, fearing him.

"Let us fly to him, master." The nightshades hissed, flowing into his ears.

Dies Irae shook his head. He patted the nightshade that flowed by his right arm. "No, my pets, my lovelies. Let them fly here. Let them crash upon my walls and towers."

The nightshades screeched, and he patted them, soothed them, cooed to them.

"Let us fly to them, master," they begged. "Let us suck their bodies dry."

Dies Irae shook his head. "They are like rats, my pets. They run. They flee. They hide. If you chase them, they will scurry into holes. Wait, my lovelies. They will come to me. They will try to kill me; they've been trying for years. When they fly to our city, we will be ready."

A knock came at the doors of his hall, and Dies Irae raised his eyes.

"Ah," he said, "your dinner has arrived." He raised his voice. "Enter my hall!"

The doors creaked open, and soldiers stepped in, clad in mail and bearing axes. They dragged peasants on chains. Dies Irae saw old women, young mothers holding babies, and a few scrawny men. When they saw the nightshades, the peasants' eyes widened, and a few whimpered. The nightshades screamed, writhed, and licked their lips with tongues of smoke.

"The nightshades have destroyed your farms," Dies Irae said to the peasants.

One of them, a young woman holding a boy's hand, nodded. "Yes, my lord. They toppled our barn and their screams wilted our crops. We have nothing now, my lord. We're starving."

Dies Irae nodded sympathetically. "If you have no more farms, you are useless to me. You cannot grow my crops. You cannot pay my taxes."

Another peasant, a tall man with black stubble, stepped forward. "Please, my lord, we'll do any work. We'll serve you however we can."

Dies Irae smiled. "Exactly! You will serve me the way I demand. You will feed my nightshades. They shall feast upon your useless souls."

They cried. They screamed. They tried to flee. They fell, the nightshades upon them. The creatures of inky darkness swirled over their bodies, tossed them against the walls, bit into their flesh. The peasants thrashed, weeping. The nightshades sucked out their souls, and spat out their empty bodies onto the floor. Dies Irae sat on his throne, watching, a smile on his lips.

The nightshades crawled back to him, bloated, and coiled at his feet. Dies Irae patted them.

"Full, my lovelies? Good. Good. And soon you will enjoy your main course. Soon you will feed upon weredragons."

KYRIE ELEISON

He walked with Agnus Dei between the bricks of a fallen fort. They walked alone, seeking supplies; the others had remained at camp.

It was, Kyrie realized, the first time he'd been alone with Agnus Dei since their fight in Requiem. He looked at her and his heart skipped a beat. She was scanning the ruins, eyes narrowed, lips scrunched. Her mane of curls bounced.

She's beautiful, Kyrie thought. More beautiful than anything I've ever seen.

She noticed him staring, frowned, and punched his shoulder. "What, pup?"

He put an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her cheek.

"Not now, pup!" she said, wriggling in his grasp. "We're on an important mission to find supplies."

"I know," he said, refusing to release her. "We really shouldn't."

He kissed her ear, then her cheek, then her lips. She struggled a moment longer, then placed her hands in his hair, and kissed him deeply. He held the small of her back, and whispered, "Do you know what else we're not allowed to do?"

She was breathing heavily, cheeks flushed. "What?"

"Shift into dragons."

She raised an eyebrow. "You can't be thinking...."

"Think it's possible?"

She gasped, but her eyes lit up. "You are one disturbed pup."

He nodded. "It would be