Dragonseed da-3

by James Maxey

  From time to time, Lizard would look over his shoulder, glaring at Shay with what seemed to be a newfound hostility. Did Lizard understand the conversation he and Jandra had shared earlier? Was the small beast jealous? Or did his muted hostility somehow reflect Jandra's own reaction? She certainly had been anxious to change the subject. Was she looking for a way to let him down gently? He'd been a fool to say anything. He'd never mention it again.

  Or was he being a coward now? When he'd praised Jandra for her bravery, it had been a subtle confession of his own lack of courage. He'd run to escape from Chapelion while his master was away. A braver man might have waited for Chapelion's return and killed him. The biologian certainly wouldn't have anticipated it. No doubt, Shay would have been killed in the aftermath, but as a tactical move, killing the head of the College of Spires would have been a serious blow to the morale of all sky-dragons. But was courage only measured as a willingness to kill or be killed? Wasn't it also a type of courage to steal books and run so that he could teach others to read?

  He'd read a thousand books on the subject of courage, and been offered a thousand different answers. The same was true of love. He'd read countless poems and essays on the matter, studied numerous plays, and could recite from memory a hundred lines where a man summed up his feelings and offered them to a woman like some gilded rose. And now that his moment of romantic confession had come and gone, what had he summoned up? Something like hunger? Nothing like hunger? A lifetime of working with words had left him with these inanities. Perhaps, in the end, Bitterwood was right. Books had never done the world any good.

  He was pulled from his thoughts as the smell of the mines started to change. The damp, egg-scented air took on a saltier, more marine smell, as if they were nearing the ocean. It was like saltwater at low tide, a sort of soggy, methane-rich rot.

  Jandra halted as she studied the tunnel ahead. The passage widened. The mine shaft led to a cliff, and beyond this he couldn't see anything. Jandra reached up and took off her visor. She turned, nodded her head toward the end of the tunnel, and said, "Light."

  He removed the visor. He blinked in the darkness that swallowed him. Yet the darkness wasn't complete. The open end of the tunnel had a dull glow, like dawn just over the horizon. Jandra was a dark silhouette against this faint light.

  "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."

  L
izard 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."

  Shay's mouth felt dry. "Of course," he rasped, as Jandra unbuttoned her coat.

  Behind them, Lizard splashed up onto the shore, his mouth and all four claws brimming with bright minnows. "Big catch!" he said, spraying wriggly fish parts over the rocks before him.

  Jandra knelt down to her pack and pulled out the tin pot she carried. "Good job! Put the fish in the pot. They're small, so you'll need to catch a lot. Can you do that?"

  "Good hunter," Lizard said as he dropped his catch into the pot. He turned and leapt once more. He undulated beneath the surface as gracefully as an otter, his long tail whipping around like a rudder.

  "That should keep him busy," said Jandra, continuing to fumble around in her pack. She pulled out a walnut-sized chunk of white soap, the only thing that remained of the fist-sized bar they'd started the journey with.

  Shay had his coat, boots and socks off by this point and was fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. He peeled it off then reached for his belt buckle. He looked up, to see if Jandra was looking at him. She was. She had her hands on her own belt buckle. With a synchronized movement, each pulled their belts free. A few seconds later, each was standing before the other in their long-johns. The coal that had permeated their skin had sunk down to the once white cotton of their undergarments, leaving them gray. Jandra turned her back to him as she unbuttoned her long-johns.

  Slowly, she peeled the gray cotton down her shoulders, revealing her bare back. She was slender, but not boney. Her pale skin glowed in the soft light. Her underwear bunched up at her hips for a moment. She took a slow, deep breath and pushed the long-johns over her hips until they dropped around her ankles. She stepped out of them. She was now naked save for the silver bracelet on her wrist. She wrapped her hands across her breasts and looked back over her shoulders.

  "So," she said. "This is me. Scaleless, tailless, wingless, pale, and hairy."

  "I give thanks to whatever gods there may be that you are scaleless, tailless, wingless, pale, and hairy. You're breathtaking. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

  "Have you seen many naked women?"

  "None."

  Jandra smirked. "So the bar for comparison is fairly low."

  "Have you seen many naked men?"

  "Ragnar, obviously. Bitterwood when I cleaned his wounds. And I caught a pretty good look at Pet," she said. She paused, and he wondered if she was still searching her mental list. Apparently, however, she was remembering the last man on her list. "Pet was… well, honestly, he was like a work of art. He'd been bred to have a perfect body. It was only everything else about him that made my skin crawl."

  "I suspect magnificent isn't the word about to spring into your mind," Shay said. He clenched his jaw. Jandra was all but naked. It was time for him to take the plunge. Since she'd turned her back to him to work up the courage, he did the same. He unbuttoned his long johns and pushed them down. They didn't bunch around his hips. Unlike Jandra's hourglass figure, Shay was built like a plank. His limbs were lanky and lean. His torso was so thin his ribs could be counted. If there was an ounce of fat on him anywhere, he was unaware of it.

  His skin was as white as the soap Jandra held, save for stripes of freckles around his shoulders. His torso was mostly hairless, though his legs were covered in thick orange growth. Jandra was quiet. He wondered if she was repulsed. He looked over his shoulder and discovered she was only a few inches away, staring at his back. Her hand fell gently upon his shoulder blades, her fingers tracing the map of ropey white scars.

  "By the bones," she whispered. "You said… you said you'd been whipped. But…" Her thought trailed off. Shay knew why.

  His most severe beatings were best described as flayings, the whip peeling away flesh and muscle down to the bone. It was why he always stood with rounded shoulders and a slight hunch. Due to the scarring and muscle damage, he couldn't stand truly straight if he tried.

  "You said I was brave," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I couldn't have survived this. I can't believe you're still alive, let alone still hopeful. So willing to risk everything to share what you know with the world. I don't know that I could be so defiant after what's been done to you."

  "I was always willful," Shay said, managing the faintest ghost of a grin. "I read about things like freedom and justice and love, and I believed in them. I wanted to experience them. And if a world run by dragons didn't offer these things, then I knew from an early age I'd have to change the world. Chapelion did his best to beat my dreams to dust. I'm not brave, Jandra. I'd beg to avoid a whipping. I'd weep before the leather ever touched my back, and renounce every idea I'd ever believed in. When the beatings would stop, the slavecatchers would order me to drop and kiss their talons in gratitude for their devotion to my improvement. I've groveled, Jandra. It's not courage that drives me. It's fear. It's shame. I'll slit my own throat before I ever bow down to a dragon again."

  Silently, she took him by the hand and led him toward the pool. They crept into the cool water together, their hands clasped for balance on the slick, smooth stones. Shay shivered as the water rose up his legs. They neared the white water at the edge of waterfall and suddenly he slipped. He plunged beneath the water, pulling Jandra down with him. They both flailed about, their legs and arms entwining. They both grew still as Jandra pressed her breasts against his chest. They clung to each other tightly as they drifted back to the surface. Jandra's body was hot against his despite the chill of the water.

  They bobbed above the surface of the pool. The water was deep here; Shay could barely touch bottom by stretching his toes. Jandra was floating, with her arms still clasped around his shoulders and her left leg wrapped around his hip. Gray water streamed out of her coal-tinted hair. Dark, oily spots lay upon her cheeks as the water beaded on the grime. Her face was only inches from his.

  "Clean enough," she murmured, as she pressed her lips against his.

  His assumption proved true
. Kissing was simple enough to figure out. He closed his eyes as his toes curled and they drifted in the water, weightless.

  "Scary birds," said Lizard.

  Jandra's eyes fluttered open. The little green earth-dragon was perched next to her head. Behind Lizard, the fire had died down to a few smoking embers. Shay was still asleep beneath the blanket with her, his bony arm draped across her rib cage. It was warm under the blanket with the two of them pressed together. Jandra wasn't in the mood to get up and worry about breakfast yet.

  "Go catch fish," she mumbled as she closed her eyes. She snugged the blanket tightly beneath her chin. She felt marvelous. For the first time since the goddess had altered her memories, she felt like she'd dreamed her own dreams. Shay's arms around her made her feel safe. He held her tightly enough that she couldn't be pushed out by the goddess.

  Lizard's damp paw fell onto her forehead. He flexed his claws ever so slightly, pricking her.

  "Scary birds!" he said, more emphatically.

  She opened one eye. She didn't normally consider birds a threat, though she supposed a particularly robust eagle could have carried off Lizard. Still, for all she knew, there could be eagles the size of elephants down here.

  "Where?" she asked.

  "Scary birds!" Lizard shrieked, pointing skyward.

  It wasn't birds. Three winged humans were flying across the lake. Their wings were metallic silver, similar to the wings Gabriel-the goddess's robotic angel-had flown on. While Gabriel had been designed as the pinnacle of human perfection, these winged men were a sorry looking bunch. They were wearing the once white uniforms of long-wyrm riders. All carried crossbows. Two of them still wore silver visors, but the third one's visor was missing and he'd recently suffered some horrible injury to the left side of his face. His eye was swollen shut and his lower lip dangled, streaming drool.

  "Poor Meshach," she said, as Jazz's memories flashed the men's names into her mind. These were survivors of the goddess's long-wyrm riders. The wounded one was Meshach, the one with the thick black beard was Shadrach, and the last one, a short, balding man with a unibrow, was named Guido.