The Lark Taps Twice

Chapter 18: The Only Person in the Room

tap tap

The gentle poking of something small and pointed against her elbow roused Miriam into flinging her arm out to dislodge the tapper. She blocked the hazy light from her eyes with her forearm and slept again.

Tap Tap

Little gentleness accompanied the jabbing at her elbow this time. A low throbbing enveloped the back of her skull, and Miriam groaned and rolled to her stomach to relieve the pressure there and escape the mystery jabber. Somewhat more comfortable, she drifted back into the void, head pillowed on crossed arms.

TAP TAP, TAP TAP

The four sharp stabs at her temple snatched Miriam from the clingy embrace of unconsciousness, and eyes still closed, she thrust herself up from the ground to escape the stimuli, only to bang her shoulders into a solid surface before her elbows extended completely.

Where am I? The last thing I remember is being with Jonatham in his quarters. We ate, I had my first panic attack in nearly a decade, and Jonatham said something about a covenant...

Miriam forced her eyes to open, blinking rapidly to relieve some gritty dryness before peering into her dusky surroundings. At first, she did not recognize anything in the gloom. A faint scratching sound attracted her gaze, and the low light could not mask the glint of silver feathers on a familiar bird in the shadows.

"Hey friend. Thanks for waking me up. I wish you could talk and tell me about what happened here. Where are the other animals? Where are Jim and the king and– Jonatham!"

While she'd spoken, the lark retreated behind her, out of sight in the cloying dark. When he reemerged, a long section of once-white cotton dragged from his beak. The prince's cinnamon scent tickled her nose and shot a bolt of fear through her chest. If his shirt was so badly damaged, did that mean –

The bond! Miriam screwed her eyelids shut and fumbled for her end of the soulmate connection. Rather than the vibrant stiff rope she expected, the tie hung limp and frayed in her mind, a deflated cloth tube conveying nothing and ending just outside her mind. If she hadn't been seeking it, the bond would have been invisible to her thoughts. The state of it dropped her heart to the grimy rug beneath her, and she fought back tears.

How can I already be so attached to someone I have known less than a day?

Attached! Surely the bond would be gone if one half died, right? Miriam tugged at the connection lightly, and hope lifted her heart slightly higher when its threads didn't break off or unravel. A more forceful yank also did no further damage to the fragile link. Even as her heart settled back in her chest, the lack of any response to her pulls left it heavy with worry.

"Where is he?" she asked the lark. "Can you show me?"

The bird shook its head slowly back and forth. It hopped toward her and dropped the rag in front of her before tapping it.

tap tap

The cloth and rug softened the sharp sound; still it echoed in the wrecked chamber. Without hesitating, the lark hobbled forward, stopping directly under her sternum and tipping his face up in a blur that she had no time to interrupt before –

tap tap

Though softly done, the lark's beak on her breastbone stung her skin and sent fractals of pain across her ribs. To distract herself until the discomfort faded, Miriam picked up the piece of Jonatham's shirt and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Instantly, the bond twitched and thickened, and the sensation of it spanning the distance between her and Jonatham returned faintly. Another breath of his spicy smell strengthened the tie further, and Miriam decided to see if it would lead her to her prince.