Clouds closed in, turning the world and her mind to a humid mush. 'Go to the company buildings,' the voice told her. She did not feel herself make the decision, in fact, she found herself lost in the fog after just the first two words. But her legs knew where to go, where to drag her rotting body to carry out the orders.
Step by step, she left the room of reflections. A dark shadow moved aside, then the leaden legs carried her down, down, down. There had been a staircase there, but this did not feel like descending steps. No, it felt like falling in slow motion. She did not know where she was falling to, only that she had no choice.
So who had her choice? Having realized that she could not control her movements, she shifted her focus to clouds in her mind. They could move, but they gave way to thought at the speed of a dying ant. She could crush ants still, if they passed underfoot, she knew that. But who had her choice? Who had waved their gloved hands before the clouds had hugged and crushed?
The Loch Ness monster. The creature that lived in the fog that now enclosed her still swam through the world without notice. Her fury felt distant, like a candle barely surviving a crashing rainstorm. It could not be that important. At least she had left him a gift to ruin his fun. The naiad that swam with him would be his undoing.
She smiled, or at least she smiled mentally. Her face was numb like everything else, but the fire of revenge survived the storm. The warlock would either bring his own death or lose a life worth living.