The violet light did not just glow, it practically screamed with a high, angry hum that rattled my teeth.
"Down!" I yelled, dropping flat on my stomach just as a blinding beam of purple heat shot straight through the space where my neck had been half a second earlier.
The blast hit the thick wooden doorframe behind me with a loud, explosive bang. Splinters of charred wood and hot sparks rained down on the back of my jacket, filling the small room with grey smoke and the bitter smell of burnt pine. Tobin came tumbling into the room right after, skidding across the wet floorboards on his knees to avoid getting his head taken off.
"Tobin, I told you to watch the hallway!" I coughed, wiping soot from my chin while crawling behind the overturned bedside table.
"The hallway is currently on fire, Amara!" Tobin yelled back, ducking behind the wooden bedpost and pulling his short sword out. "Staying out there would have turned me into charcoal! What kind of horrifying staff is that?"
