The Salamander Basins

The only warm light the deep makes, raised two years at a time in standing water.

I come down to the basins on a free morning, following the warmth before I follow the way. The phosphor in the corridor walls runs cold and faint behind me, and then the air thickens, wet against my face, and I step into a low vaulted room of standing pools fed by geothermal crac…