Song of Dragons The Complete Trilogy - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,224

legs."

Lacrimosa gasped. The table legs were curling inward, forming a shape like animal legs. Before her eyes, the table began to creep across the floor, insect-like.

"What the—?" Kyrie said. "Agnus Dei, look what you did. Even the table is mad at you."

"I did nothing!" Agnus Dei objected.

Lacrimosa rose from her chair and stared. Her heart raced and her fingertips stung. She didn't like this. The table crawled, reminding her of a spider. It seemed to... turn to face her. The book and gemstone slid and fell onto the rug.

The table froze.

"Look, the rug!" Lacrimosa said.

They crowded around it and watched. The bearskin rug twisted. Its head rose to glare at them with its beady eyes. Its mouth opened, fangs glinting, and roared. The body of the rug squirmed, as if the bear were struggling to rise and surprised to find that it had no bones left.

Kyrie whistled. "First the griffins and nightshades. Then the mimics. And now the furniture is turning against us. Can't we ever win?"

Agnus Dei punched his shoulder. "Pup, this is no time for being smart."

Lacrimosa lifted the gemstone off the rug. The bear gave a last growl, then fell flat onto the floor. Once more, it was still, its eyes dead and its mouth shut. The gemstone was now ice cold, nearly freezing Lacrimosa's hand. Red liquid swirled within it; it looked like blood.

"The gemstone brings things to life," Kyrie whispered, voice awed.

Agnus Dei snorted. "Sir Obvious saves the day again."

He glared at her. "You sound just like your sister, do you know?"

They raised their fists, and their eyes flashed. Lacrimosa stepped between them.

"Children! Stop fighting."

Agnus Dei flushed. "I'm not a child, Mother, I'm nineteen. The pup is only seventeen. He's a child."

Kyrie opened his mouth to object, but Lacrimosa put a finger against his lips.

"Kyrie, not now. No arguing. You two are children, and intolerable children at that." She placed the gemstone in Kyrie's hand. "Hold this. Now let's try this book again—quietly this time."

Lacrimosa turned several more pages, then nodded. "Here we are."

This chapter was entitled "Animating Stones". It featured an illustration of a battle. On one side fought knights, swordsmen, and archers. On the other side, a wizard commanded an army of statues. The statues seemed to move; they were tossing javelins and waving swords.

Lacrimosa read out loud.

"As there is no greater crime than taking a life, so is there no greater Magik than giving it. In all the lore of Ancient Artifacts, the Animating Stones are the most powerful, and the most dangerous. An Animating Stone can cause a river to rise like a serpent; a statue to march and fight; a corpse to escape the grave; or any other dead matter to take life, to move, to serve its master. Such is their might, that around Animating Stones, all other Magiks and Artifacts lose their power, and—"

"Look at this part," Agnus Dei interrupted. She pointed at the next paragraph. "About the Ancient Days."

Lacrimosa sighed and skipped forward. She kept reading. "In the Ancient Days, when the world was in chaos, the Ocean Deities created the Animating Stones, so they may mold the species from fire and water, and create a male and female from each. First they created the fish, then birds, and finally creatures to crawl upon the earth. They created Man and Woman last, him of fire and her of water, and placed the last two Animating Stones within their hearts."

Agnus Dei scrunched her lips. "It doesn't say when they created Vir Requis."

Kyrie shoved her. "The Draco stars created us, not any Ocean Deities. You should know that."

"Pardon me, oh wise scholar pup."

Lacrimosa continued reading. "When all creatures swam, flew, crawled, and walked, the Ocean Deities collected all the Animating Stones. They took them to a dark forest, and dug deep tunnels, and scattered them underground. None have seen them since."

The chapter was finished. Lacrimosa closed the book.

"So where is this dark forest?" Agnus Dei demanded. "How did Dies Irae find the buried Animating Stones?"

Kyrie mussed her hair. "If the book told us that, it would be too easy. And things are never easy. Haven't you learned that yet?"

"Stop messing up my hair, pup."

Lacrimosa stood up. She looked at the youths—Agnus Dei with her flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, and Kyrie who was like a son to her now. She thought of Gloriae, her golden daughter, who guarded above, strong and brave. For the first time since the mimics had attacked, Lacrimosa saw hope for her children.

"Let's return to