'I know you mean well,' he said, tossing aside dirt. 'But… doesn't the world have bigger problems than a few people's eyes or limbs? If this genie makes you as powerful as you say, couldn't you use it to fight dragons? Ragnar wants to drive all the dragons into the sea. Couldn't you actually do that?'
Jandra stopped digging. She bit her lower lip, lost in thought.
'What?' he asked.
'I just wish I could talk to Vendevorex,' she said. 'He had so much power, but he barely used it. He hinted that he was afraid that the Atlanteans might find him.'
'And you're worried they might find you?'
'Not in the least,' she said, with a cocky smile. 'But… it's easy to sit here and talk about driving the dragons into the sea when we don't have the power to do it. Once I have my power back, though… I hope I'm wise enough to know what to do.'
Shay brushed back the hair that was falling down into her eyes. He said, 'The fact that you have thoughts like this is all the proof I need of your wisdom.'
'Thank you,' she said. She leaned forward. He closed his eyes and met her in a kiss. It was much more pleasant than their aerial lip smash.
She pulled back and gave him a wicked smile. Shay smiled back. 'Would you like to take a break?'
She put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. 'First work, then fun. Keep digging.'
THREE HOURS LATER and six feet down, Shay's hands were blistered, his back was on fire, and sweat rained from his body with every thrust of the shovel. He'd removed his shirt and peeled his long-johns down, bunching them up at his belt. The deeper he dug, the harder the earth was packed. The hole was also becoming hotter.
Lizard had long since tuckered out. The little dragon lay next to the hole, his chin draped over the edge, looking down. Lizard was roughly at eye level whenever Shay tried to straighten up.
'I promise I'll make you feel better once this is done,' said Jandra, who was sitting at the edge of the pit, her legs dangling. 'Vendevorex had me study anatomy. I know what muscles to rub.'
'If you're trying to motivate me, I appreciate it,' he said. He stopped to wipe the sweat from his eyes. 'But, honestly, I think I'm done for the day. I'm a scribe, not a ditch digger. If you need someone to sit at a desk and write for eight hours straight, I'm your man.'
'You're my man anyway,' said Jandra. 'I like watching you dig. Your muscles are really bulging.'
She handed him the canteen. He tilted it up and let it pour into his mouth and down his chest in a bracing gush. He glanced at his shoulders and biceps. They did look particularly chiseled after his efforts.
'Ten more minutes,' she said, staring at him hungrily.
He swallowed another gulp of cool water. 'For you, my love, I'll make it eleven.'
He plunged his shovel toward the black earth, driving it with all his strength. The shovel blade barely scratched the soil. It felt like he'd hit bedrock.
'Ow,' he said, pulling his hand away from the shovel. The abrupt halt had pushed a splinter into his palm.
He looked up, hoping for a sympathetic word from Jandra. Instead, her eyes were focused on the spot where he was standing.
'Out of the pit,' she said, tossing off her coat.
'Do you think…?'
'I think there's not enough room for both of us in there,' she said, holding out her hand. 'Climb out.'
She practically yanked him out of the hole. Before he could brush the dirt off himself, she'd grabbed Lizard's trowel and leapt into the pit. She knelt on the black dirt, her fingers tracing the outline of something he couldn't see.
'The sword,' she said. 'I can feel the heat.'
Dirt flew up over her back as she hacked at the ground with the trowel. 'Vendevorex and I wore our genies as helmets, but Jazz kept hers beneath her skin. It served as her heart. Bitterwood left Gabriel's flaming sword piercing her heart but it never melted, even when the rest of her body crumbled to ash. We buried her heart with the sword still in it.'
Suddenly, orange light began to dance around the walls of the pit. Jandra stood up, holding a sword over her head. Faint flames flickered along the length of the weapon. Jammed against the hilt, pierced by the blade, was a lump of silver metal the size and shape of a human heart.
It was still beating.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
GET READY FOR MAGIC
SHAY SWALLOWED HARD. He was ten feet away from Jandra but could feel the heat of the sword warming his face. The air smelled like a hot stove. Lizard, who normally clung to Jandra like a burr, scurried behind Shay and cowered between his legs.
'I'm not certain this was a good idea,' he said. 'I didn't expect the genie to look so… alive.'
'It's not alive,' said Jandra, her eyes focused on the reflection of her face in the silver heart. 'It's only a tool. It's no more alive than a hammer.'
'I've never seen a hammer pulse like that,' said Shay. 'I've stood by you Jandra. I believe in you and I've trusted your judgment this far. Now, I'm hoping you'll trust me. I think we should re-bury the heart and consider this further.'
'You've got to be joking,' she said. 'After all we've been through to get our hands on this? You want to put it back in the ground?'
'I think-'
'When Bitterwood and I escaped from the Free City, he told me his hate was the hammer he used to knock down the walls of this world. That's all Bitterwood knows how to do-tear things down. I promised myself I would never walk that path. I don't want my life to be remembered for the things I've ruined. I want to be known as a maker, a builder, a healer. I need the power of this genie if I'm ever going to be the person I want to be.'
'Jandra, you're already that person,' said Shay. 'You're a good woman. You're going to change the world with your kindness and wisdom. Put the heart back in the ground. There are other wonders we can take from this place. The wings, for instance. Tools that are a little less frightening.'
'I'm not afraid of the genie,' said Jandra.
'Aren't you afraid of the goddess?'
Jandra shook her head. 'There're no such things as ghosts, Shay. Without a brain and a body, a person is gone forever. Jasmine Robertson is dead. You're covered in the ashes that were once her bones. She's not coming back.'
'You still have her memories,' said Shay.
'Those are, for better or worse, in my head,' said Jandra. 'It's my brain that will control the genie. Wearing this will help me make my own memories stronger, not weaker. I'm going to fix everything, Shay.'
Jandra placed her hand upon the heart. Shay winced; given the unbearable heat of the sword, he expected a sizzling noise, followed by smoke. Her fingers skimmed along the surface. The metal pulsed more rapidly.
'It senses I'm here,' said Jandra. 'It's responding to my thoughts. I was right. It unlocked upon her death. And and it's hurting. It's wounded. It can't heal itself while the sword is inside it.'
'You're speaking like it's a living thing,' said Shay.
'Sorry,' said Jandra. 'It's not really alive, but it's easy to slip into biological terminology. The nanocomputers woven into the heart are programmed to regenerate if damaged. Right now, they can't overcome the constant destructive effects of the sword.'
She grasped the hilt. 'There's no trace of her inside the heart,' she said.
'How can you know?'
'I know,' she said.
She pulled the flaming sword free and dropped it on the ground. The heart pumped in her palm, the jagged puncture wound pouring out a stream of black ooze.
