"Something's changed," said Jandra. "When we left, the place had fallen into total darkness."
"We're here? This is the kingdom of the goddess?"
"Yes," said Jandra, walking forward at a rapid pace. "It's a world within a world. I only saw a small part of it when I was here with Bitterwood and Hex, but it stretches out for over a hundred square miles."
Shay hurried to keep up. They halted at the mouth of the tunnel, on a ledge overlooking a large underground lake studded with islands. The stench of rot was extreme. The light came from thousands of small bright pin points scattered across the roof of the endless cavern.
"To have been built by someone who loved nature, this has to be one of the least natural places on earth," Jandra said. "After the human age ended, Jazz withdrew to this underground world. She took her self-appointed title of goddess a bit too seriously perhaps, and began to populate it with life of her own design. She was fascinated by the limits evolutionary history had imposed on organisms. She wondered if she could create species that were more intelligently designed to fill niches left in the earth's ecology by the mass extinctions brought about by civilization."
"She thought the world needed long-wyrms?"
"And talking cats, and amphibious sharks, and zebra-striped winged monkeys," said Jandra. "She thinks of herself as an artist. She has the freedom to work on a canvas that no artist has ever truly been able to master: life itself. Some of her art is serious; some is whimsical. And, from the looks of things, some of it might still be alive."
Shay wrinkled his nose. "It doesn't smell like much is alive down there."
"Something or someone turned on the lights," said Jandra. "The other long-wyrm riders, perhaps? And… wow. Look at the walls." She pointed to the stone behind them. He turned and found that almost every surface was studded with pale yellow mushrooms. There was also something moving over his head. It was the size of a squirrel, but furless, slimy, like a long, pink frog with a tail. It crept along the rock face using sucker-toes, pausing to munch on mushrooms.
"I've never seen one of those before," said Shay.
"I haven't either," said Jandra. "But somehow I know that if you lick the hide, you experience psychedelic visions."
"My first instinct wouldn't be to lick it," said Shay.
"When you're immortal, even with all of creation as your plaything, there are times when you get a little bored," said Jandra. She looked back out over the saltwater lake. "Luckily, that big island a few miles away is where we need to go. That's where we buried the goddess's heart. It was a genie… the same sort of device I used. Vendevorex said his was designed to unlock upon his death so that anyone could use it. I'm gambling that hers acts the same, if it still works at all. We buried it with a flaming sword stuck through it. I'm not certain any technology, no matter how advanced, is going to survive that."
"How are we going to get over there?"
"That's an excellent question," she said. "Swimming is a bad idea if the ichthyosaurs are still alive. They were the apex predator of the lake and could survive quite a while by hunting one another. Any that are left are likely to be hungry."
"So what options do we have?"
Jandra pointed toward a stony path leading down the cliff side toward a black beach below. The beach ran along the outer perimeter of the cavern. About a half mile away, a waterfall spilled down over the rocks, crashing into an elevated pool before it spilled into the lake. A few sad trees stood beyond it, their leaves gone.
"Maybe we can build a raft?" she said. "I'll think about it some more in a little while. More immediately, I want to take a bath. There aren't any ichthyosaurs in that pool. I'll feel better and be able to think clearer once I get the grime out of my hair."
"I know what you mean," said Shay. "I've never been this dirty. Even my teeth feel gritty."
"There may be some small fish in the pool," said Jandra. "Won't it be nice to eat something fresh, instead of hardtack and jerky?"
"Good hardtack," said Lizard. "Good jerky."
"You'll like good fish even more," Jandra said. "You can use a bath, too. You used to be green. Now look at you."
Lizard looked down at his coal-darkened scales. "No bath," he said, firmly. It was the first time he'd ever said no to Jandra that Shay could remember.
Jandra gave the little dragon a good, firm stare.
Lizard looked down, avoiding her gaze, then looked up at Shay with big, pleading eyes.
"Don't drag me into this," said Shay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
THIS CLOSE TO HEAVEN
The waterfall fell a hundred feet into a pool twenty yards across. The water churned white at the point of impact, but most of the pond was crystal clear, revealing schools of silvery fish no bigger than Shay's thumbs darting through the water. On the rocks surrounding the pool, white crickets the size of mice jumped away as they approached. The insects chirped with a high pitched rhythmic drone that provided a musical accompaniment for the thunder of the falling water. The whole scene was lit by a trio of bright lights high overhead. They looked like shards of moon set in stone. They emitted a steady radiance like nothing Shay had ever seen outside the heavens.
Through some lucky chance of geology, the water smelled like nothing more than water, free of the sulfur stink that had tainted their canteens ever since they'd moved underground.
Jandra dropped her pack on the rocky shore. "I've never wanted a bath so badly in my life," she said.
"No bath!" Lizard chimed in. He was perched once more on her shoulder.
"Fine. Don't take a bath," Jandra said, reaching up and stroking Lizard beneath his chin. "I like you the way you are."
Lizard tilted his head, looking skeptical.
Jandra pointed toward the pool. "Look at all those fish! I bet they'd taste delicious. Too bad we don't have anyone fast enough to grab them."
"Lizard fast," the small dragon said, sounding mildly offended. "Good hunter!"
"But see how they're darting around? Nobody could be fast enough to jump into the pool and start catching them by hand."
"Lizard catch!" The small dragon leapt from Jandra's shoulder with such force that Jandra stumbled backward toward Shay. Lizard looked like he was flying, sailing out twenty feet over the pool before splashing into the water.
Jandra lost her footing on the slick rock and Shay's hand darted out, catching her arm, giving her the added point of stability she needed to steady herself. She looked up at him. They stood there, still and silent. Jandra's eyes were fascinating, a complex mixture of hazel and amber flecked with mossy green.
"You have the most beautiful eyes," he whispered. It felt perfectly appropriate to kiss her.
She turned away as his lips approached, looking flustered.
"I'm sorry," he said, drawing back. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"You didn't," she said. "I… I want you to kiss me. But, not right now. I want everything be right. I've never kissed anyone before. I mean, Pet kissed me, but it was sort of a sneak attack that I wasn't really prepared for."
"That's more experience than I have with kissing," said Shay. "But my impression is that it isn't all that difficult."
"I'm sure it isn't," she said. "But, we're both covered with mine grime and have breath that could wilt flowers. A kiss at this moment might not be a pleasant experience for either of us."
"I'm absolutely certain I'd enjoy it," Shay said.
"You can wait, can't you?" Jandra said, backing away. "We could both stand a dip in the water first."
"Oh," said Shay. "I… yes, of course. I'll go wait behind those trees while you bathe."
"You can wait there if you want," she said, shyly. "Or we could both go in the pool together. There's plenty of room."