Mark of the Thief (30 page)

A
s I had done days earlier, we entered the amphitheater beneath a tall arch and walked down the ramp that would take us into the hypogeum. The smell assaulted me far worse than it had the first time. Had I already come so far from the pits of slavery that I could see this place as a free person? Because although I had disliked it before, I had also felt like a part of its filth, used to being chained like an animal. But now I wasn’t that slave boy anymore. I remembered freedom again and could never go back to this.

We passed Caela’s former cage, now occupied by animals with black and white stripes. Horatio called them tiger horses. I thought of how enraged Caela would be to know they were here, and wished she were here with me again. There were several lions today and one very large black cat that paced anxiously in his cage. I understood his restlessness, which filled my veins as well. I paused long enough to whisper that there would be no death in the arena today. He watched me, and even dipped his head as I passed by. If that cat were a human, it would’ve been a bow, a thought that amazed me.

Horatio told a passing slave to fetch Felix, then turned to me. “I don’t know if it’s bravery that leads you into the arena today, or foolishness.”

“Bravery on my part, foolishness on yours.” I stared back at him. “Let me go in alone to fight Radulf. If you enter the arena, you will not come out again.”

“I am the sponsor of these games,” he said. “The mob will expect to see me, and I will give them the show of their lives.”

“Don’t give Radulf the key,” I said. “Don’t start this war.”

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.”

A
s 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 sort 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.”