Light of Requiem by Daniel Arenson

Author:Daniel Arenson [Arenson, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NLA Digital LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

AGNUS DEI

She raised her sword. Pup Killer, she had named the blade after a fight with Kyrie. A silly name, she knew. A silly fight. Tonight she wished she had a legendary sword like Gloriae's Per Ignem or like Mother's Stella Lumen, swords with history, glory, and might. Tonight she would need all the might she could get.

"We enter the mine," she said. "If we find Animating Stones, we'll take them. If we find Dies Irae, we'll kill him. I'll climb down first. If Irae is down there, I want him to meet my sword first."

Gloriae stepped up beside her. "I'll enter behind you. We are twins. We will wield twin blades."

With a small smile, Gloriae raised Per Ignem and touched its steel to Pup Killer.

Agnus Dei nodded. "Time of the twins."

Lacrimosa joined her blade to the salute. "The statues will enter behind you. I'll bring up the rear. Kyrie, you go with me. If anything enters the mine behind us, we'll kill it."

Kyrie touched his blade to the other three. Thunder rolled. It began to rain.

Agnus Dei approached the shaft leading into the mine. When she listened, she heard nothing from below. No hammering. No cries. Silence.

"There are more mimics down there," she said. "They're waiting. I'm ready for them. Come, Gloriae. Behind me."

With a deep breath, Agnus Dei climbed into the shaft.

A ladder led into darkness. Agnus Dei held the rungs with one hand, her sword with the other. She began to climb down. Cold air blew from below. When she looked down, she saw nothing but darkness.

Gloriae climbed above her. "Do you see anything?" she said.

"Yeah, I see your smelly feet above me. Nothing but darkness below."

It seemed that she descended forever. The air became so cold, Agnus Dei's teeth chattered. Wind moaned around her, ruffling her hair. The stench of rot grew as she descended. Above her, she heard creaking and thumping, and dirt rained onto her.

"Gloriae, what's going on up there?" she asked.

Gloriae's voice answered in the darkness. "The statues are digging their hands into the sides of the shaft. That's the only way they can climb down."

"Just make sure the bloody things don't make the mine collapse, all right? At least, not before we grab some Animating Stones."

They kept descending into the darkness. Agnus Dei remembered the last time she had plunged underground. She had crawled through caves in Fidelium Mountain. Father had been with her. Dies Irae and his nightshades had waited for them.

I wish you were with me here too, Father, she thought. The darkness seems colder without you. Your spirit now dines in our halls beyond the stars. If you can see me down here, please watch over me.

Finally the shaft ended. Agnus Dei let go of the ladder and stood on shaky feet. The darkness was complete. When she held her hands before her face, she couldn't see them.

"The shaft ends here," she said. "Be careful, Gloriae. Come stand beside me."

She felt in the darkness. Her hands touched craggy walls and slats of wood.

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