The Lark Taps Twice

Chapter 27: Sweet Defeat

At first, nothing happened. As usual.

Then the hue of the luminescence around her dulled to a burnt umber, a change that was most obvious the lower she looked. Her eyes caught on her own hand, clasped with Jonatham's, where electric orange light, as bright or more than the dragon fire that lingered all around, piercing the gaps between their interlaced fingers. A nudge in her mind spurred her to loosen her thumb's grip as Jonatham did the same, opening a gap between the heels of their hands to expose the dreamstone that no longer rested cold and smooth in their grasp.

In sharp contrast to the glittering pinpricks of light Miriam had come to expect when wishing, the surface of the unique rock pulsed with brilliant red and orange light, a raging forest fire trapped in a tiny cage. Miriam could look at it directly for only a few seconds before glancing away, and in doing so, she caught sight of the miracle as it happened.

A particularly strong bolt of dragon fire stabbed through the umber glow unscathed and scored a direct hit on the dreamstone. With a snap, a half sphere of orange energy materialized over them, expanding from the dreamstone's surface almost instantly. Once in place, the few remaining bits of blue fire falling from the sky were absorbed into the dome, leaving no trace.

How –

Angry shrieks interrupted her thought, accompanied by a heavy hail of stones the size of toasters. Instinctively, Miriam ducked her head and threw her free arm up to block the impending blows, remembering to leave her other hand entwined with Jonatham's and the dreamstone at the last moment. Her fingers loosened, but his grip resisted her release, and the reduced muscle tension surrounding it changed the orientation of the glowing rock. The resulting shift in the lighting in the room penetrated Miriam' mind enough that she squeezed her hand around the stone again, just as the first stone struck the magical vault.

And disappeared.

The same happened to each new object that contacted the barrier, no matter how many struck at once. Besides the sound of beating wings, the chamber was eerily quiet. When the barrage ended, silence reigned for three of Miriam's shaky breaths, and the anticipation weakened her knees. Before she could collapse to the floor and lose her grip on Jonatham, he pulled her into him by their joined hands. Keeping her close, he slid them both down to their knees before tugging her onto his lap with his free hand.

In all this maneuvering, the stone's light became largely obscured, squished between their bodies. The protective magic above them dimmed in response, even warping inward in places. A stray pebble hit one of the weak spots and made it through, though halved in size. Sensing an opportunity, the dragons let out a terrible scream before filling the air with the sound of wings rushing over their wings as they dove from the sky, tendrils of trailing forked blue fire revealing each twisted face, each massive fang.

Projecting calm to counter her panic, Jonatham extracted their joined hands from between their bodies and with a twist, he flung them forward, straightening elbows and wrists with more grace than Miriam had ever mustered under stress. In a blink, their arms were fully extended, but the stone's light still only dimly crept from between their clasped fingers. The magical dome trembled, and more dimples appeared as the first bolt of dragon fire licked its outer surface.

At even intervals around the wavering shield, the five dragons landed, the thud of each new arrival vibrating through the floor to Miriam's soul, sparking fear that chilled her to her bones and froze her in place. In unison, the dragons threw back their heads and howled, like enormous dogs with scales and wings, and teeth that would span the width of her palm – not that she planned to get so close, of course. The low dark undertones of the dragons sounded like a victory call of sorts, and the stone in her hand pulsed, before dimming slightly.

As before, the shift in the light drew her attention, and confidence thawed her fear. The simplicity of the solution struck her as humorous, and it was with laughing lips that she relaxed her thumb and twisted her wrist away from Jonatham's. His actions hesitantly mirrored hers, and as their hands formed a deep bowl, the newly exposed stone flashed brilliant red. The magical dome flared bright to match the dreamstone, illuminating more of the dragon's bodies as the ruined chamber was painted with the red glow.

The dragons ceased their howling and paced around the dome, now a thick bubble without blemishes or divots. Their growls resembled laughter, and the corners of their mouths tipped up in mirth. This show of humor in the face of such a strong shield worried Miriam. What are they up to?

Jonatham's response was immediate. They may sense our impending frenzy and anticipate our resolve weakening. They think they only need to be patient for triumph to find them. Mir, they are not wrong...

Miriam cut him off by focusing deeply on the closest beast, refusing to dwell on the thought that their defeat could be the default for this situation. She recalled that the dreamstone's power lay in reflecting evil back on its source, but how to achieve that effect? Thus far, the barrier only absorbed insult, without a hint of returning it on its source. What were they missing?

How does a car or a horse find its way to an unfamiliar destination? Jonatham asked.

The answer sprang into her thoughts without effort. Directions! But how can we direct a magical force we cannot control?

We can try telling it what we want, just as we would speak a wish to the stone under regular circumstances.

She shrugged, Worth a try. How to phrase the request, though? It has to be carefully done or it won't work.

Immediately he returned, Just like this: We wish the dragon's attacks would return to them, with no damage to us, until they abandon this attack.

Together they turned their gazes to the glowing dreamstone and spoke the words in unison. Miriam half expected nothing to happen right away, but the stone suddenly burned hot white, and the dome overhead brightened to construction orange in hue.

The dragons howled and screeched, and their pacing became more agitated, their long tails lashing back and forth like that of angry cats. Miriam suspected they shared a mind link when as one they spun to face the dome, rising to their hind legs and stretching their jaws open wide, a quintet perfectly suited to any nightmare. They inhaled quickly and unleashed blasts of branching blue fire so brilliant Miriam narrowed her eyes against the light.

As before, the shield absorbed the attack as though it were a light breeze, allowing nothing to penetrate it to touch Miriam and Jonatham. However, with every passing second, the color of the dome faded until after a minute of constant dragon fire, it resembled the frosted glass of a shower door, translucent white that glowed and pulsed with its own rhythm.

It began to emit a high pitched hum, and one by one the dragons halted their assault. Miriam could still hear their claws scraping against the floor as they paced, their dark forms barely visible as hulking shadows. She sensed that the magic was waiting for something, but what?

Permission.

Together they shouted, "Now!" and the dreamstone flashed blue in their hands. Its protective magic instantly cleared, giving them a perfect view of the uncertainty that painted the dragons' features. Then the room was ablaze with dragon fire targeting its former wielders, and each strike drew screams of fury from the beasts and left behind red trails of missing scales and seared skin.

After a minute, the blue fire ceased. In its place, the dome began to fling chunks of stone, the very ones it had absorbed from the beasts' earlier assault. Each landed with impressive accuracy; hardly any projectile met floor instead of flesh. Soon black blood oozed from dozens of wounds, and none of the dragons had an intact wing left to attempt a flying escape. The monsters were defeated.