A tree near the road bent sharply as several of its largest roots were severed at once.
The trunk groaned under the strain, and its branches scraped across the roof of an abandoned house, showering the yard with leaves and broken twigs.
The tree tried to lean toward the mansion, but it was too large to move quickly.
One of the surviving vines wrapped around the trunk and tugged while several others reached for the lower branches as though they could somehow drag the whole thing out of danger.
They couldn't.
"Leave it," I ordered, even though the words tasted worse than the smoke coating my tongue. It honestly felt like I was about to cut out my heart and have Lingyun burn it. "Anything that can't move fast enough gets cut off."
The vines hesitated, their leaves shaking around the tree.
"I know," I muttered. "I don't like it either."
