The Lark Taps Twice

Chapter 23: Open Doors

DRAGONS!?

As the echo of her mental scream thundered in her skull and Jonatham winced, Miriam chastised herself for the extreme reaction. In a world where the walls glow and almost anything can be manipulated with the power of one's mind, why is it so surprising that there would also exist creatures relegated to legend only on Earth? I wonder if other mythical creatures live here, like griffins and unicorns?

Jonatham untangled himself from Miriam and began sifting through the debris before answering. From what I could determine, nearly all of your world's common legendary animals live here. An important distinction between the creatures in your lore and those that reside here: such beasts are either neutral or aligned with evil and may choose to change their stance at will and for any reason of their choosing.

Miriam joined him in searching, though she wasn't sure what they were looking for. These dragons seem to be aligned with evil, as you put it. Is there any way we can convince them to be neutral again?

Dragons are easily influenced by promises of gold or gems, and they have a particular affinity for stolen goods. Most frequently they are hired to defend storage or transfer points for the various thievery guilds in exchange for a portion of every delivery or shipment. They also make excellent assassins, as very few structures are truly dragon-proof, given an adult dragon's size and ability to breathe magical fire to force entry. Even the safeguards of the royal palace are not impenetrable when more than one dragon is called on. Whoever hired this pair must have promised them something very special indeed, and persuading them to abandon such a valuable job will be a monumental task, if it can be achieved at all.

Miriam ducked as the dragons screamed and roared and swooped close again, the crackle of their flames vibrating the air above her head. Five years ago, she had believed that nothing was truly impossible. From the first gift from this prince, she had touched the impossible and discovered that such was not as frightening or even as invincible a label as she'd thought. Even the messenger who brought the presents–

The messenger!

At once Miriam knew exactly what she needed to do and how to accomplish it. She abandoned Jonatham to his search and crawled back to the stuck door. She ignored the handle and raised a tight fist to the center of the wooden slab and knocked.

Tap Tap

She pressed her ear to the door and held her breath.

There was no answer.

She drew on her inner MLB pitcher and drew her balled hand far back over her shoulder before pounding it into the barrier with all her strength.

TAP TAP

Again, she listened, and again, no response followed.

She interlaced all ten of her fingers together to form a crude club and made to swing it at the door when warmer hands clasped hers and lowered them to her lap. Jonatham appeared beside her with a twisted hunk of metal that might once have been a cast iron pan.

Together, he encouraged.

He knelt beside her and held the ruined cookware at the end of its bent handle between them. Miriam grasped the section next to his and took a steadying breath.

On three, she sent. One, two ... THREE!

As one, they swung the pan at the door, the sound reverberating like a ceremonial gong with each strike.

BONG! BONG!

This time she had no sooner leaned close to the wood surface than it shook with a dull thud. Jonatham snatched her backwards just before another thud sent the door flying toward them. It slammed into the wall with a bang, but Miriam barely registered the sound. There, outlined by shuddering light, in the doorway stood the king, the shopkeeper, and all of her animal friends, all tangled together as they fought to keep their balance.