Lucas stood near the center of the gala hall, bathed in golden light and surrounded by music and chatter. The wine glass in his hand was nearly empty. He had been sipping it slowly, trying to shake the odd feeling creeping up on him for a few minutes now, but right now, it was getting harder and harder to ignore.

At first, it was just a haze, some minuted after he met that lady, Flora.

Then, slowly, it began to blur the edges of everything he saw, the chandelier overhead sparkled too brightly, and the voices around him started to feel like they were distant, like echoes in a tunnel....