C<br >HAPTER<br >O<br >NE<br > Vivid dreaming is his gift and affliction， the lash of<br >memory and a guide to justice， a mystery and sometimes<br >the key to mystery， prod to violence and maker of peace，<br >an invitation to madness and the fountainhead of his<br >power as an artist.<br > Now vivid dreaming is also his passport to the land<br >where his love is lost.<br > "Come to me，" Sharon whispers. "Love me， Veil. Tango<br >with me on the edge of time."<br > "Yes，" he replies， and begins his dream journey through<br >no time and across no space to the place beyond the<br >Lazarus Gate， a perilous state of consciousness a sigh from<br >death that only Veil can reach and return from safely.<br >Sharon had gone beyond the Lazarus Gate to be with him<br >at his time of greatest danger， and now she is trapped<br >there.<br > As he approaches death he becomes pure blue flight， an<br >electric pulse with no differentiation between body and<br >mind. There are no fixed reference points， no sound， only<br ><br >