I charged at her, my dragon glass scimitar glowing green in the torchlight. Even from 100 feet away I could see the smirk on her face.

Dominyka raised her thin bare arms, palms pointed upwards and yelled “TREMELIA BORKOLO!”

The dozen dead trees that lined the chamber walls gave a simultaneous shake, their trunks twisting away from the ground with a woody groan, like a person stretching after a long nap. The base of the trunks vibrated violently and with an ear piercing pop, their roots sprung from the ground.

The roots became the tree’s feet, raising each tree higher off the ground, and the more prominent branches positioned themselves as arms. They were now an army and they charged at me.

I stopped running and crouched down, transferring what little magic I had left into my legs. Once I started to see my knees glow with golden light, I launched myself into the air.

The trees were feet away from me, but above them and out of the reach of their branches I was momentarily safe. I slowed down time, recited a boomerang charm, and launched my scimitar at the tree furthest to my right.

I watched with satisfaction as it easily sliced through the tree right where the trunk diverged to form its first branches. My scimitar then veered left and did the same for every tree in the horde. It took less than ten seconds.

When I landed I was looking at an even more dead forest than before the trees were enchanted. They were not just trunks with fresh haircuts. Haircuts that turned out to be deadly decapitations.

I locked eyes with Dominyka again. Her wits were no match to my blade.