The temptation to just leave, run, get the hell out of there was so powerful I was shocked at my own lack of courage. Mind you, I'd been through a lot, thanks, what with having no contact with my magic and almost being burned alive and all. But it wasn't like me to cut and run.

Time to slice myself off a little piece of slack. I drew one deep breath after another while Demetrius forced chunks of stone into the sorcerer's mouths, the rock seeping outward like Charlotte's gag, ...