That might have been the reason it took me several hours to fall asleep. Either that, or I had had too much of a nap earlier. No matter the cause, I tossed and turned for hours before finally drifting off into a troubled slumber. My dreams did nothing to improve the situation.
I sat astride a massive charger while staring across a sullen and brooding landscape. The sky was dark and heavy with clouds that appeared on the verge of producing rain, though none fell. A brisk wind whipped my face while I watched the sky grow ever darker. As I watched, the thunderheads grew and covered the sky completely, leaving the land in a darkness illuminated only by the glow of the clouds themselves, punctuated by occasional flashes of lightning.
It never occurred to me to wonder where I was, somehow I knew. This was the borderlands, the space between the world and elsewhere. The interface between the realm of men and the rest of… whatever else there was. Even in dreams I was unsure of what else might exist out there.
What was truly unusual was the weather. This place was normally one devoid of anything beyond bare rock and relentless wind. Thunder and lightning, much less clouds, were unusual and unwanted intruders here. Something is happening, I thought, worlds are about to collide.
The weather was a harbinger of something ominous. That I could feel, right down to my bones, and the electric tension in the air made even the roots of my teeth ache. I watched and waited, for I could think of nothing else to do. There was no course of action available to me here. I could only observe… and wait.
After what seemed an interminable wait, I felt, as much as saw, the sky crack. It was preceded by a darkening of the already black sky, followed by a thunderous flash of light, and a roaring noise that reminded me of thunder while being completely unlike it. It was the sound of reality being torn forcibly apart. In the wake of that terrible sound and the light that accompanied it, I sensed three incredible beings passing through. They were creatures of such power and magnitude, that I could not help but be left in speechless wonder and awe.
Deep within, my primal instincts urged me to dismount, to genuflect, or even lie face down, so great were the powers I sensed. These were gods, and while they were probably not even aware of my presence in the distance, my primitive hindbrain still yammered at me in mindless fear. I ignored it, and after a moment my stubborn nature and more rational forebrain silenced the raw emotion.
As my reasoning faculties began functioning again, I paid closer attention to the information my senses were bringing to me. A rift had been torn in the world, and three beings of enormous power had passed through, but they had not lingered. In fact, they had moved with a haste that left me wondering. The rift stayed open behind them, though it should have closed already. Such things were unnatural and could not sustain themselves, once the power that created them was withdrawn.
A cold sensation passed over me, while simultaneously the air grew still, as the endless ravening wind of the borderland came completely to a stop. In that pregnant pause, the light pouring from the rift died away as something dark occluded the opening, something ominous. A dark power issued through the tear in reality, and as it emerged, I could feel sweat standing out on my skin. This was a force far beyond the powers that had so recently passed, and while they were bright and indifferent, this power was undoubtedly malignant.
While I stared, I saw the dark mass turn, and somehow I could sense it was shifting itself to face me. An enormous eye appeared and I felt tiny in its gaze… fear shot through me as I realized it could see me. It was aware. Mal’goroth!
Sitting up in my bed I found myself cold and panting, as though I had run a hard mile and then been doused with cool water. My dream was still clear in my mind, and worse, I was certain that it was far more than just a night terror. My ears caught the sound of labored breathing, and I realized that Penny was twisting in the bed beside me. Her body curled and fought with the sheets she had wrapped around herself. That explains why I’m cold.
The thought barely registered though, I was more concerned with my wife. Her eyes had opened and she was staring rigidly at the ceiling, as though whatever her gaze had fixed upon left her paralyzed with fear. “Wake up,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.
Worried, I began to shake her, hoping I could snap her out of the dream, when something that had never happened before occurred. Her eyes fixed upon me, focusing, and then her lips moved, “Don’t.”
“Are you awake?” I asked. Her voice sounded odd.
“No, but I will be if you keep shaking. You mustn’t do that Mort. Let me finish talking to her,” as she finished that statement her eyes closed.
“Talking to whom?”
“To the Penelope of the present,” she answered softly.
Well that reply left me dumbfounded. I had thought I was talking to the Penelope of the present, whatever that meant. Her body had grown still and calm, so I felt better at least. Until her lips began moving, while she mumbled softly to herself, never quite clearly enough for me to understand. Penny had had a number of important visions over the years, and quite a few minor ones, but they had never been like this. In most cases she went limp, still, or appeared to pass out. Once or twice she had begun shaking, but tonight she seemed to be holding an internal dialogue while being not quite truly asleep.
“I really hope you aren’t going to start giving cryptic messages when you wake up. I’ve had just about enough of those for one lifetime, thank you very much,” I said, without much hope of being heard. It was doubtful that her conversation partner cared much for my opinion anyway.
She looked at me again, “That isn’t always easy. Sometimes you think simple statements like, ‘help the twins change their clothes,’ are cryptic. How should I know what you’ll understand and what you won’t?”
I stared at her uncertainly, “Am I addressing Penny of the present or ‘Penny the unknown’?”
She frowned, “What makes you say that? Were you watching my vision?”
“No, you told me to stop bothering you, and when I asked who you were talking to, you told me ‘Penny of the present’,” I informed her. “I got the distinct impression that you weren’t quite yourself.”
The expression on her face spoke volumes. Unfortunately, much like her previous mumbling I had not a hope of understanding what it was saying. Finally she spoke aloud, to put an end to my confusion, “You aren’t going to like this, but I’ve had another vision, and this one is unlike any of the others I have had so far.”
“Uh huh,” I nodded sagely.
“I saw a portent of dark times to come. The gods walk the earth directly, and we are all in danger…,” she began.
“I already knew that part,” I said interrupting, “I had my own dream.”
Penny gave me a waspish look. She rarely liked being interrupted. “Fine, then I can move on to the important part. I met myself and I’ve been given a message for you, as well as a choice.”
“Penelope Cooper, I swear on my father’s grave, if you give me some weird and unintelligible message, like, ‘Beware the man that casts no shadow, for he fears the wind,’ it will be the last thing you do,” I told her gravely.
She shook her head, which made her already loose bun fall apart. Brown hair fell about her in untidy curls. “No, there’s nothing mysterious about this one… if you’ll just let me finish, and my name is Penelope Illeniel, if you recall. We’re married.”