Page 165 of Mikoto and the Reaver Village
He hurried into a circle set with wardstones. Most were paleblue, but at the center Timur placed a single red crystal.
Timur grabbed him by the shoulders and backed him out of thering. “You’ll be onthisside of the barrier. Otherwise, our dragons mayinadvertently wooyouto their side, and that would leave your ladylonely.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll monitor things from inside. Ginkgo and Kyrie will keepwatch out here. Lapis and Sinder will be piling on the charm, and nobody here wouldbe able to resist.”
“Because they will be singing a love song?”
“A traditional ballad with admittedly amorous subtext.”Timur indicated the crystals. “I’m pretty sure one of the reasons Lapis insistedon the barrier is because it’s a clan secret.”
“If they’re inside a barrier, how will Tzefira be able tohear them?”
Timur blinked, then chuckled. Gesturing with both hands, he explained,“It’ll be switched. You and your guests are on lockdown. Lapis and Sinder willbe singing to the open sky.”
“What if they attract more than they intend?”
“Won’t matter,” assured Timur. “Even if the stars themselvesare lured in by their song, they don’t have Tzefira’s reason to stay.”
“And the song will help her know what to do?”
“That’s what they tell me.” Timur lowered his voice and tooka more serious tone. “It’s a very old, very long ballad that teaches byexample. A dragon friend slipped me the transcript once. It’s called ‘TheTemptation of Lord Beckonthrall.’”
Mikoto started out nodding, then shook his head. “What goodwill it do to hear about him? I cannot duplicate his methods.”
“You’ve got it switched again, my good man.” Timur’s eyessparkled. “According to tradition, Persiflage Beckonthrall was the one whosuccumbed to temptation. And the song was composed by the four winds who wooedhim.”
That wasn’t in the song Sinder had shared. Mikoto was almostafraid to ask. “How did they do that?”
Timur’s smile had a hint of smirk to it. “I think you’reabout to find out.”
Because of the barrier, Kyrie couldn’t hear Sinder andLapis, so he gave the blue wardstones a bit of encouragement—they were doing theirjob well—and slipped away. Certain the song would rise, he found the rungs setinto Zisa’s trunk and clambered upward.
Only when he’d reached the lowermost branches did Kyrierealize that someone else had the same idea. Salali rolled his eyes, signaledfor silence, and continued his own nimble ascent.
A voice filtered down. Zisa’s.
“You know he is in earnest. He is serious abouteverything.”
A pause.
“Has he neglected something? I thought not. Well, then …what more is there?”
A longer pause.
“Does that matter? I never gave it a thought. I simplyhappened.”
Salali revealed himself, strolling along the limb. “Who haveyou coaxed into my nest, Zisa?”
The tree looked relieved to see them. “Come, Salali. Come,Kyrie. What should I do?”
Squatting before the nest, Salali asked, “What’s needed?”
“Tzefira is not sure how to appear.”
“Isn’t that what the song’s for?” reasoned the squirrel.
Kyrie climbed one branch higher and stepped lightly alongits length, intent on catching the dragons’ song. To his delight, once he wasfar enough away from the trunk, he met Timur’s barrier. However, before Kyriecould coax it to give him a tiny hole to listen at, Salali’s words snagged hisattention.
