Heights of the Depths by Peter David Page B

standing in the middle of the street which in turn is in the middle of the city, and she raises her arms and stands there with them stretched toward the sky, thanking the gods for this vision. And she cries out, Oh gods on high, is this a vision of things that have yet to occur, or things that have been but will never come again, or things that were and can be once more? She waits for the gods to reply and at first there is nothing. No sepulchral voice, no guiding spirit, nothing to explain to her the full parameters of what she is seeing or telling her what to do with this information now that it is being presented to her.
    Then she sees something.
    It should be impossible for her to perceive it because it is simply too far away. And yet she does. There is a tall building, one of the tallest around if not in fact the tallest. There is a huge spike projecting upright from the top, and wrapped around that spike, holding tightly against a steady wind that threatens to dislodge her if she should ease up on her grip, is a female Mandraque. Jepp has no idea how the Mandraque could have wound up in such a position, but the Mandraque does not appear afraid. If anything, she seems intrigued by the position that she’s in, and genuinely eager to discover what’s going to happen next.
    They are separated by an incredible distance, by miles of both geography and altitude, and yet the Mandraque is now looking right at her. Again, it should not be possible, and yet it is, and the Mandraque tilts her head in curiosity, apparently as surprised to see Jepp as Jepp is to see her.
    Together, says the Mandraque, together we can accomplish this. And here is how. Ludicrously she leans forward slightly as if that will somehow bring them closer and then—
    “Wake up! Now!”
    Jepp was jolted from her slumber, sitting up so quickly and in such confusion that she banged her head on the low hanging ceiling. She was completely disoriented, thinking at first she had awoken in the tent of the Greatness, and then the jumpcar of the Bottom Feeders.
    A hooded figure was leaning in toward her. That was when she remembered where she was and, more importantly, who she was with.
    The Traveler was close to her, very close, his black-gloved hand on her shoulder, prodding her to awaken. There was mostly darkness in her room, and yet she could not resist seizing the opportunity. Had she given it a second’s worth of thought, she never would have done so. But she did not; instead she acted entirely on impulse as she reached up and shoved at his hood.
    It fell back for just a second, and in the darkness of the room, in the extended shadows, she should not have been able to see him, just as she should not have been able to see that Mandraque female in her dream.
    And yet she was able to, thanks to the Traveler himself. When his hood was knocked away, a glow emanated from the Traveler and filled the cramped room. It happened so quickly that Jepp only had the time to get a brief impression rather than a good look. That impression was of silver. Silver suffused with light. And there was beauty. She hadn’t seen the Traveler’s face clearly, and could not have described any details. All she had was an impression of intense beauty combined with astounding sadness.
    The Traveler yanked away from her, pulling his hood back into place. Jepp rose from her bed, fascinated, her hands reaching toward him as she said, “Let me see…”
    His hand whipped around and caught her in the side of the face. Her skull snapped so quickly that her neck would be sore for hours. Jepp let out a startled cry and fell back onto the bed. The Traveler loomed over her and this time when he spoke, there were no whispers, no brevity of sentences. There was just pure anger and it was all directed at her.
    “Are you out of your mind?” he demanded. “Do you have the slightest idea what I can do to you?”
    There was a young woman within Jepp who was cowering, who wanted to shrink away and beg