“Easy, now,” Faira placed a hand on the girl’s back. “I’ll do everything I can to get you back to your parents.” Faira bit her lower lip as the image of her own parents crossed her mind, before Scarlet reached out to Ann with a piece of candy.

Faira eyed the woman suspiciously, but before she could warn the girl against taking the candy, Little Ann had already grabbed and placed it in her mouth. When Scarlet suddenly exclaimed in pain, she looked up, and her eyes widened slightly at the suddenly low ceiling and the new wall in place of where the hall had once extended. Turning her attention to the only open space, she jumped to her feet at the sound and sight that greeted her. She gasped and stepped back as the raging water consumed her shoes, her eyes on the rising murky wetness.

She glanced up as Rosaline created a magic wall, and for a moment, Faira hoped they would be safe, at least for a time, but that lasted naught but a couple seconds before water began streaming in. Glancing to the frightened child, Faira picked her up as the waters threatened to rise above the girl’s head. Her breathing grew to near-hyperventilation as her back pressed against the wall and the water level continued to rise.

[b]“We need to get out of here!”[/b]

“You [i]think?[/i]” Faira shouted back in a squeak, her mind refusing to focus on little else beyond the threat of drowning.

The gentle tingle of her magic ran through her panic, almost like a reminder of its existence. Like a wordless suggestion, the most recent experiment she had conducted with her powers came to mind.

“Shadows,” she breathed, her words coming out in a rush, “I-I think I can travel through shadows, like portals. I haven’t tried it in full-scale yet, but…” She looked to the water, which had risen partially up her torso, and her words caught in her throat. She swallowed hard. “I took Ann with me when I transformed or whatever, so maybe…”