I started to narrow my eyes again, to retry blinding him, then stopped myself. Give it up and stick with what will work. I had to choose carefully, though. The more powerful the spell, the more spell-power it required. If I cast something big and it didn’t incapacitate him, I’d be screwed—unable to cast anything stronger than a cover spell. I emptied my brain and began the mental preparation for a high-level witch spell.

Dachev continued, “I think I will let you fight. But first, I should let you know what fate you are fighting. We’ll start with a sampling. Nothing too disabling. Not an arm or a leg. Perhaps a finger or two? No. That might still impede you, and give me unfair advantage. Let’s say an ear. Or perhaps the nose. Yes, that’s it. I’ll cut off your ear or split open your nose.” He leaned into my face, lips pulling back from his teeth as he smiled. “Your choice.”

I feigned struggling, to buy more time to prep the spell. Dachev pinned me easily.

“Enough of that,” he said. “If you don’t choose, and choose quickly, I’ll do both.”

I mouthed something.

He frowned. “What was that?”

Again, I opened my mouth, as if struggling to speak, but only a choked gasp came out.

He eased back on my throat. Mouth slightly open, I whispered a few words of the incantation, but knew I didn’t have enough time to finish.

“Ear,” I said. “Take my ear.”

I managed to get out another line before his arm clamped down on my throat again. I closed my eyes as the knife went to my ear. The blade sliced into the tender skin between my earlobe and my face, and began cutting up, through the soft lobe. When he hit cartilage, he shifted forward for a better cutting angle. As he did, the pressure lessened on my throat, and I managed to whisper the last line of the incantation.

Dachev screamed, an eardrum-piercing wail. I shot out from under him and leapt up. He stayed on the floor, doubled up, screaming as if his guts were on fire. Which they were. I’d used a fireball spell, conjuring the same simple, nearly useless fireball that Paige used. With one important difference. This fireball was conjured in the belly of the target, producing a few moments of blistering agony, followed by a quick death. Unless you were already dead, that is.

Dachev rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach. I walked over to him, bent down, and snatched the knife from his hand.

“If you can hear me, it’ll be over in a minute,” I said. “The fire, that is. The burning, well, that’ll take a while to heal.” I leaned over him and smiled down. “In the meantime, you’ll need plenty of bed rest. I think I can help with that.”