Okay, this is going to sound silly, and maybe a bit stupid. But I'm having trouble with a certain sentence in Destiny's Bond. This one:

Bloodied and screaming, the monster lied curled in on itself, shredded wings and spiked tail its one defense against the steel and spells being battered against its scaled flesh.

All right. Here's my problem; Is 'lied' the correct word to have here? Or should it be lay? Or even lie, without the 'd'? I know 'lay' means 'setting something down', but the sentence just doesn't sound right with 'lied'. Is it my brain playing tricks on me? Is this sentence okay, grammarwise?

Some help would be deeply appreciated--I've been chewing over this for a couple days now, alternately changing lied to lay, then lay to lie, and so forth (I know, sounds extreme to be stuck on one tiny sentence. But I'm a nitpicker. Always will be)

Anyway, if someone grammar savvy could tell me if this sentence is fine--or not--would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Newbie Writer, Amber

Thanks so much for helping me, Robert. To be honest, that's how I originally wrote it out, with 'lay' being the word I used. But then my brain snagged and said, 'no, that's not right. Lay means to 'set something down'.

Again, thanks so much for responding! You've put my mind at ease

Amber

I wouldn't even bother with "lay" in that sentence. How are "shredded wings" part of the defense? That's the way it reads now. Also, using "being battered" is a weak verb format. Give us the actors who batter the monster. Maybe something like this instead?

Bloody and screaming, the monster curled in on itself with shredded wings folded tight against the body, its spiked tail a lonely defense against the spellcasters and warriors.

Just a thought.

Bloodied and screaming, the monster lied curled in on itself, shredded wings and spiked tail its one defense against the steel and spells being battered against its scaled flesh. - See more at: http://www.bookcountry.com/Community/Discussion/Default.aspx?g=postmessage&t=8589936844&m=8589960871#.dpuf

Now I'm a Brit, so it might be different in the US, but lied is the past tense of lie/untruth.

And Amber I get confused on this irregular verb, so I googled "lie,lay,lain" and got this:

 http://web.ku.edu/~edit/lie.html

For me, you don't need the 'lied' anyway. Try:

Bloodied and screaming, the monster curled in on itself. Its shredded wings and spiked tail its one defense against the steel and spells being battered against its scaled flesh. 

Hope this helps