Mark of the Thief

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  He sighed. "If you were right to warn me about today, then I do owe you some thanks for trying." He stared off and his eyes glazed over. "A caelo usque ad centrum. Do you understand those words, boy?"

  From heaven to the center of earth. I knew the words, not their meaning, and told him so.

  Still staring away, he smiled. "You will. If you survive the arena today, then you will soon understand everything." Then he saw Felix coming and pulled me forward.

  It was obvious from Felix's expression that he was not happy to see me. But he bowed to Horatio and said, "I will get him ready."

  As Felix led me away, I asked, "Get me ready? What does that mean?"

  "Do you understand the position you've put me in?" Felix scowled. "Horatio is the presiding magistrate and the sponsor of today's games. If anything goes wrong, he'll have my head. But then last night I had a visit from Senator Valerius, who believes that Horatio's games are a threat to the emperor. He insists you can stop it."

  I clicked my tongue. "Just do as Horatio asked. I don't want you in any trouble. If I can stop Horatio in the arena, then I will."

  "And if you can't?"

  "Then Rome will go to war against itself." We walked on farther and I asked, "Is the emperor at the games today?"

  "No." Felix glanced over at me. "When I found out you'd be here, I sent messengers warning him to remain at his palace. It's for his own safety. I hope you understand."

  I did, and if anything, I was relieved. If things went well, the emperor would hear about it. But if things got out of control here, and they probably would, I didn't want to feel responsible for his life.

  "Is Valerius at the games, then?" I asked.

  "He'll be in the imperial box at the north end. When I bring you up in the lift, you'll be directly in front of him."

  "Will there be animals?"

  Felix sighed. "That was the original plan -- we even have them all in place. But last night, Senator Horatio suggested a reenactment might fit better than a venatio."

  "A reenactment? Like theater?"

  "Everything in the arena is theater."

  I stopped and stared up at him. "Felix, how bad will it be up there?"

  His face remained as solemn as mine. "If it was bad, would you leave?"

  I should. A person would have to be an utter fool to walk into a situation designed to destroy him. But since the moment my life had crossed with the bulla, it was hardly the only foolish thing I'd done. Besides that, Radulf had my sister.

  "I have to fight Radulf, as we agreed," I said. "This is my chance."

  His smile back at me was grim. "Well, it is bad. Just ... be smart up there. You'll need your wits more than your magic."

  By then, we had arrived at the lift, the very one Felix had forced me into when I was tied to the horse. "Here." He handed me a tunic I recognized very well. It was the one from when I had been a slave, complete with all its rips and holes. It felt like grit in my hands.

  "He wants me to wear this?" I asked.

  "There's dried blood on yours. Even with that, you look like a patrician now," he said. "Horatio doesn't want the mob to think he's executing one of his own."

  "Fine. I wouldn't want anyone confusing me with his kind anyway." I pulled off the nicer tunic Valerius had given me and tossed it aside, then put on my old one. The smell of it shocked me. I'd never realized it before, but the odor was more animal than human, and more dead than alive. And against my skin now, it scratched just as it always had before. I decided to keep my sandals on. Felix hadn't ordered me to take them off, and I'd have disobeyed if he did. Then I adjusted the crepundia and bulla, both of which I wore around my neck, and made sure the bulla was perfectly visible over my tunic. While I tied the rope that had served as a belt, my wrists and ankles pulsed with a nervous anticipation, as if the chains would logically come next. I shook them, as though it would slough off the feelings, but it didn't help much.

  Felix leaned in close to me. "Valerius has a message for you. When this is finished, he wants you to return to his home. He says he is still prepared to honor his bargain with you, if you will honor yours."

  It meant he still wanted me to get the key for him. And that he was still planning for Horatio to die in the arena. On the other hand, he had also promised to recover my sister.

  "It's time to go now," Felix said. "You can do this, Nic."

  I took a deep breath, and then said, "Do me a favor, please. Once I'm gone, get everyone out from the hypogeum. I don't know what this fight will be like. So get everyone out."

  "I will." Then Felix ordered men forward to raise me into the arena. When the capstan started turning, he said, "Remember, the crowd wants a show."

  I shook my head. "I'm not here for that. My only job is to stop Radulf."

  "Exactly." His smile widened. He was as eager for what was coming as I was dreading it. "Stopping Radulf is the show."

  As I was raised up, a door opened in the arena floor and scorching morning sun poured down on me. White sand on the floor blinded me at first -- it was different from the yellow sand that had been here before, and contained minerals that sparkled in the light. That alone was concerning. It suggested there was something different about today's games.

  Once I was higher, I realized the crowd in the amphitheater seemed twice what it had been before, but they were all speaking in hushed tones. By the time the top of my head appeared, they had become almost silent. As nervous as their cheers and yells had made me several days ago, the silence was worse. It was unnatural.

  I came up directly behind two large ramps in the center of the arena. Between the ramps was a wide platform with images of the gods painted on the sides. Yet as I turned away from the platform, I realized it was hardly the most impressive feature of the arena today. Twelve raised blocks were set around the perimeter. On each was a different person dressed to represent one of the gods. One at the far end looked like Apollo, who carried in his hands a silver bow, aimed directly at me. Of course it was aimed at me. Everything else in Rome had threatened me since I took the bulla. Why not a silver arrow too?

  On the next two blocks were men dressed as Mars and Jupiter, each carrying a spear, though Jupiter's was shaped as a lightning bolt. On the opposite side of the arena, Neptune held a trident and Vulcan had a hammer. Every one of them was watching me.

  Some of the people on the blocks represented the goddesses. I easily recognized Diana, also carrying a bow and arrow. At first I thought it was a woman in the costume, but then I realized it was still a man, like the others. And he was someone I recognized -- the soldier who had been with Radulf when he first came to the mines.

  These were Radulf's soldiers.

  I heard the sound of another lift and realized it was rising into the center platform. Bit by bit, Horatio appeared, dressed in all his Senate finery. The applause for him was polite, but not enthusiastic. His shoulders fell in disappointment, which made me smile, just a little.

  "Friends and Romans," he called into the audience. "Your games today are particularly special, for it pits the gods against the most unlikely of foes." Then he turned and pointed to me. "That boy, Nicolas Calva, is an escaped slave from the mines. You have seen him in this arena before, and you know that he is dangerous. But can he defeat the gods?"

  Boos flew at me from all sides, but I tried to shut out the sound. I wasn't here to win their affection, only to defeat Radulf. So where was he?

  A popping sound snapped near me, and when I turned to look at it, the floor burst into flame. I jumped and darted away from it, which sent the audience into fits of laughter. Worse still, there were more popping sounds, each one followed by the floor exploding with fire. I thought it was magic at first, but when I ran to another spot, my foot caught in some pipes that had been laid beneath the sand. I was lucky to only have scraped my hands as I fell; at a different angle, I could've been more seriously injured. When I looked more carefully, there seemed to be an entire grid of pipes laid out, probably carrying some s
ort of fuel for these fires.

  Another pop erupted so close to me that it scorched the back of my arm. I gritted my teeth but refused to make any sound of pain. I wouldn't have the mob laughing at me again, and I wouldn't give Horatio the satisfaction of knowing I'd received my first injury.

  Only he must've noticed, because in a loud voice meant for everyone to hear, he said, "There is only one safe place in this arena, boy."

  More fires popped to life around me, forcing me closer to the ramp. Finally, I had no choice but to get on it. The audience cheered when I did, and began chanting, "Fight, fight, fight!"

  "Shall this slave boy take on someone with the power of the gods?" Horatio asked. The audience cheered, but my attention was on the arena around me. By now, the entire floor was filled with flame, except for the twelve blocks where Radulf's soldiers stood, and this platform. The fires worried me. Whatever pathetic plan I'd had ten minutes ago was suddenly useless. To have any chance of winning, I would need to put out the fires. I searched the skies overhead, but there wasn't even a cloud, much less a rainstorm.

  "Fight, fight, fight!" the audience chanted even louder than before.

  "Then here he is!" Horatio threw a red cloak in the air, and when it fell, Radulf appeared out of nowhere from within its folds. He wore a gladiator's uniform over a fine white tunic, but all in gold and not too different from those his soldiers on the blocks were wearing. If he wanted to give the impression of being one of the gods, he had done a good job of it. The audience froze for a moment at his appearance, completely stunned, and then broke into thunderous applause. Standing at the top of one ramp, I wasn't nearly as fast to recover. Radulf was clearly a master at magical skills I hadn't even dreamed were possible.

  Radulf used the moment of my surprise to attack first. He struck me with some sort of magical force that knocked me to my back where I rolled to the bottom of the ramp, inches from a fire. I got to my feet and ran up the ramp again where he struck me a second time before I'd managed to gather enough magic for a first hit.

  I fell to my back, but didn't get up again until I felt something churn inside me. It wasn't much for magic, but I tried to aim for his legs. When I did, it scooped him off his feet and dropped him face-first onto the platform. The audience laughed at that, though it didn't last long before Radulf was on his feet again.

  We exchanged hits after that, some harder than others. Radulf struck with far more force than I had thought possible, but from the expression on his face, I was sending out my magic with power too. It wasn't an easy fight, but thanks to the strength of the bulla's gems, he was struggling as much as I was. Slowly, I was forcing Radulf backward along the platform, feeling power grow within me.

  Then as suddenly as he had appeared, Radulf vanished. I stopped, unsure of what to do, and felt a hand punch at my back, exactly on the Divine Star. I collapsed to the ground, and Radulf's knee went to the center of my back. The audience cheered, and somehow above their noise, my cries could still be heard.

  "I thought this would be harder," Radulf said. "Do you have any last words?"

  "Only that I'm not through fighting, you miserable roach!"

  Radulf laughed and dug his knee in harder. "Yes, Nic. You are."

  I might not have had anything more to say to Radulf, but someone did. From the imperial box ahead of us, Senator Valerius's voice rang out loudly. "My Roman friends, do not think this is the end of the fight. Senator Horatio would never make it so quick or so easy that you don't get your proper entertainment. In fact, he has given the advantage to Nicolas Calva."

  He had the audience's attention, and Radulf's too, for that matter. I thought about what Felix had said, that this was theater. Valerius clearly understood that too.

  He continued, "To help Nicolas win the fight, Senator Horatio has given him access to a second magical amulet. It is a key that Nicolas now holds, and it is the reason the slave will defeat a general today!"

  Radulf threw me onto my back. "You have the key?"

  I had expected a trap from Valerius, and this must be it. If Radulf believed Horatio had already given me the key, he would be angry. Angry enough to kill him.

  "I don't have it," I said.

  Radulf pressed on my chest with something that seemed to punch a hole through my heart. I yelled with the crushing pain of it and he said, "Where is the key?"

  Still gasping for air, I choked out, "I would sooner go to my grave than let you get it."

  "That can be arranged," Radulf said.

  Valerius called down again. "Or does Senator Horatio play his own games with us? Maybe he wishes to keep the key for himself?"

  Radulf instantly forgot about me and swung his attention to Horatio, who throughout our entire fight had somehow managed to seem invisible in the far corner of the platform.

  Horatio raised his arms in innocence. "Valerius lies, Dominus."

  Radulf stopped. "You are the presiding magistrate of the Senate, and yet you address me with the superior title?"

  "Because you are superior, Dominus. I still have the key. But if you want it, you must accept me as your second in command."

  "I do not bargain with fools." Radulf shook his head. "Give me the key, or they will carry your body from this arena."

  I got to my feet and yelled, "Fight me, Radulf! Not him."

  Radulf turned to me, slowly. "Why do you want this fight? Do you believe you cannot lose? Is that because you have the key hidden, just as you tried to hide the bulla?"

  "Valerius is using the key against all of us. Don't fall for his trap!"

  "One of you has it." Radulf turned to Horatio. "Is it you?"

  And he raised a hand to throw a punch at Horatio, but I used my magic to place a shield between them, much as I had shielded the people near the baths on the Appian Way. It immediately cost the bulk of my magic, and the strain of keeping it in place was quickly wearing me thin.

  In his attempts to push through my shield, Radulf was becoming tired as well, and when he paused to rest, I took my chance to change the course of this fight. With one hand keeping the shield on Horatio, I raised another hand to the skies and commanded the clouds to gather. They formed out of nowhere and darkened so quickly that it felt like the daylight had been extinguished.

  "What are you doing?" Radulf seemed as surprised as I had been when he first appeared on the platform. He stepped forward, forgetting our fight. "Nic, how are you doing this?"

  "I need that arena floor." With that, I directed the clouds to pour down their rain, and they obeyed. It was more than I wanted, as usual, but the onslaught of water quickly put out the fires in the arena, leaving great clouds of steam to mix with the rain and suffocate the air around us. Once the last fire went out, I tried to part the clouds and end it, but the storm was still worsening. Thunder rolled above us, echoing in the skies. That frightened me, more than I wanted to admit. I had never wanted the thunder to come.

  I ducked as the storm cracked overhead, and my shield protecting Horatio fell with it. Radulf crouched as well, then cried, "Nic, stop this!"

  If only I knew the way to stop it. Where there is thunder, lightning follows. Every storm I'd experienced in my life brought with it the thoughts of my father standing on a tall ridge in defiance of Jupiter's power. But now, Sal's words filled my head -- my father had had magic too. He had faced the lightning, hoping to create a Jupiter Stone, and with it, end the war in Gaul. But he had failed, and died.

  Radulf grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Nic, we cannot be out here with the lightning! Send this storm away, now!"

  I closed my eyes and willed the clouds to part. Another roll of thunder crossed the sky, and so at first I was sure I had failed, but slowly it faded and I saw sun again. The audience cheered at that, which surprised me. I had forgotten they were here.

  Radulf sat back, clearly as relieved as I was. I knew why lightning storms frightened me, but I hadn't expected him to be afraid as well.

  Before he recovered, I stood and call
ed out to his men, who were still standing on their raised blocks, although they were now dripping wet and significantly less godlike than they had been before. "Drop your weapons," I yelled. "Or they will be eaten out of your hands."

  And I raised both arms, then spread my fingers apart. Obeying my will, the thirty-six lifts from the hypogeum below opened into the arena. Felix had said the animals were still in place from what had originally been planned as a hunt this morning. If the mob had expected a hunt, I would give them one. But the animals would not hunt one another.

  Out from the lifts came lions and bears and wild boars. There were also tigers and large black cats, and even an elephant. And because I had the bulla, they would hear me and obey.

  "Do not harm any unarmed man in this arena!" I told them.

  The animals charged, knocking the blocks out from beneath Radulf's men and baring teeth in ways that even made me nervous. Weapon after weapon was thrown aside, followed by the men breaking through the north gate of the arena to escape. The animals went with them, every last one. The audience exploded with cheers.

  I figured Rome would probably not have another venatio for some time. Mostly because they had just lost every single one of their animals.

  And if nothing else went well for the rest of this battle, that alone made me smile.

  I kept four animals back, to stay with me in the arena, specially chosen for Radulf, who Valerius had told me was terrified of lions.

  Indeed he was, for when he saw them coming, Radulf jumped off the platform and went running for a lift that still had its doors open. Except a familiar face was coming up on that lift, with a long knife at her waist and a bow in her hands. I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

  Aurelia jumped onto the arena floor and nocked an arrow aimed directly at Radulf. "Another step closer and you'll get poked."

  He threw some sort of magic at her, but I had already put up a shield to block it.

  "I stand with you, Nic, as an equal!" she said. "This is what friends do!"

  "Not here!" I yelled.

  "You asked me to stand with you!"

  "Symbolically!"

  "Can we fight about this later?" she asked.