The Web and the Stars by Brian Herbert

the spider rose on its line and returned to its web. Noah found himself struck by the perfection of the gossamer structure, so uniquely beautiful and astounding in the way it had been spun. He found his mind expanding on its own, spinning into the cosmos and onto the faintly green cosmic webbing that connected the entire galaxy. As if he were a podship himself, he sped along one strand and then another, changing directions rapidly, vaulting himself out into the far, dark reaches of space.
    He saw a podship and caught up with it, but he could not gain control of it. He was, however, able to seep inside, and entered the central sectoid chamber. There, he saw a tiny Parvii pilot controlling the creature from a perch on the forward wall of the chamber.
    Tesh! he thought, feeling a rush of excitement.
    She looked to one side, and then to another, as if sensing his presence.
    Noah noticed something different this time, compared with prior occasions when he had journeyed around the cosmos. A faint mist formed where he was, and it took the barely discernible shape of his own body, dressed in the very clothing he had on now. Could she see this? Was it really occurring, or was it only in his imagination?
    Drifting closer to her, he dwarfed her with his presence. And he whispered to her, but to his own ears the words were ever so faint, as if coming from far across the cosmos. “I’ve missed you,” he said. “Can you hear me? I’ll tell you where I am.”
    No reaction.
    He said it again louder, and this time he added, “Have you been thinking about me, too?”
    She looked to each side again, and then turned her entire body and looked around the sectoid chamber.
    “You heard me, didn’t you?” he said.
    A perplexed expression came over her. She looked toward him, but in an unfocused way, as if peering beyond him.
    To check her, Noah moved around the chamber, and after a moment’s delay each time, her gaze followed his movements. “What do you see?” he asked.
    No reply. Obviously, she could not make out the words, and he didn’t think she could discern his ghostly mist, either. But she seemed to be sensing something. How far did it go?
    On impulse, he floated to her side. Since his physical form (as he saw it) was much larger than hers, and he wanted to kiss her, he brought his mouth as close to hers as he could and let his lips touch hers. Or seem to.
    Instantly, she jerked her head back, then brought a hand to her mouth.
    “Who’s there?” she demanded.
    He kissed her again in the mismatched way, like a hippophant kissing a tiny bird. This time she didn’t pull her head back, but left it in position, and even moved toward Noah just a little, as if cooperating in the cosmic contact.
    “Noah?” she said as they separated. “Is that you?”
    In response, he attempted to kiss her again, but this time she showed no reaction at all. He tried again, but still she didn’t respond. “Tesh?” he said. “Did you feel that?”
    Abruptly she turned away, and resumed her attention to her piloting task. “I’m going crazy,” she said. “That wasn’t Noah. It couldn’t be.”
    “But it is me!” he shouted. Now he didn’t hear the words at all, not even the faintest sound. And looking down at his misty form, he saw that it was fading, disappearing entirely.
    In a fraction of a second, Noah found himself back in the prison cell, wondering what had just occurred.

Chapter Eleven
    Never let down your guard, especially in time of war.  
    —Mutati Saying
    The violence had been totally unexpected.
    On the grounds of the Bastion at Dij, the Emir Hari’Adab strolled along a flower-lined meadow path, skirting a grove of towering trees. A large white bird flew beside him, alternately soaring upward into the cerulean sky and then back down again, keeping pace with him.
    But it was not really a bird. It was a shapeshifter, a female aeromutati with whom he had a special relationship. For the moment, she left him to his troubled