Mark of the Thief

At the amphitheater, Felix instructs Nic to lead Caela underground and informs the other workers that only Nic is to handle her. Felix pays Aurelia a small sum, and her sad glance makes him wonder if he has misjudged her. Entering the hypogeum, Nic notes the heat and stench of sweaty men and animals. Caela hesitates, but Nic assures her that she is safe.

Later, Nic asks if Caela will be fed, and Felix replies that “she will have her chance to eat” (77). As they walk around the city, Felix notes that the Roman people are always on the brink of becoming a mob. The praetors keep them under control but are dangerous themselves. Felix points to Palatine Hill, the center of Rome’s seven hills and its most sacred place. He recounts the battle between the twin sons of Mars, Romulus and Remus, and their battle for Rome, settled by Romulus murdering his brother. Rome’s origins lie in “violence, betrayal, and blood” (79). Nic asks for assurance that Caela is safe. When Felix replies that she will have to fight the gladiators, Nic realizes that he has betrayed her.

Felix brings Nic back to his one-room home, which seems luxurious to Nic. Felix gives him a new tunic, food, and drink, then asks to see the bulla. Because he needs help, Nic shows it to him, though he remains suspicious. Felix does not detect its warmth, vibration, or glow. Nic acknowledges that the bulla belonged to Caesar, and they discuss Caesar’s claim that he was a son of Venus.

Felix affirms that Caesar’s claim was true. Venus favored Caesar until he grew to believe more in his own power than hers and discarded the bulla, her gift to him and a means of drawing on immortal power. Shortly after, his own senators murdered him. After his death, a comet called the Divine Star, believed to be Caesar’s soul rising to join the gods, remained in the sky for seven days. According to Felix, the mark on Nic’s back is that comet, and he now bears the emperor’s magic. Nic privately recalls the whispered warning in the cave that the bulla would curse him.

Felix warns him that the empire is vulnerable. Tacitus knows this, but he does not know how to fix it. Nic can neither keep the bulla as his own nor rid himself of it. Felix advises him to give it to Tacitus, so Radulf can advise him on how to use it. Nic reveals Radulf’s intentions, and Felix tells him to wait until after the games, then present it to Tacitus.

Nic spends a fitful night beside Caela trying to think of a way to save her, himself, and Livia, but he forms no clear plan. Assigned to feed the animals, he is surprised when they look straight at him. He increases their rations, especially Caela’s. Felix arrives, demanding to know how the Senate has learned about Nic. He tells Felix about Crispus and Valerius, and Felix warns him that no one is harmless and not to reveal the bulla.

Crispus arrives to speak with Nic. His father wanted to come, but he did not to avoid arousing suspicion. As they walk through the merchant stalls, Crispus remarks that the games become larger each year to give the people the fierce, bloody show they crave. He asks Nic to see the mark. Nic admits that it is the Divine Star. Crispus tells him the griffin gave him magic, and he wants to see what Nic can do.

Nic insists that he cannot do magic. Crispus replies that he has not learned to use it and that Valerius can protect Nic and teach him how to use it. According to Crispus, Nic is not the first to wear the mark; Radulf has found all who bore it, sucked out their magic, and killed them. Nic asks for Valerius to free Livia from the mines. Crispus agrees to report the request and get back to him.

After Crispus departs, Felix irritates Nic by assigning Aurelia as his protector. His resentment toward her escalates until she traps him against a wall and tells him that she resisted being sold into slavery while he is unwilling to pay the price for freedom. He tells her that he would never leave without his sister, and Aurelia softens, telling him that she has nobody. Nic understands that Aurelia’s hardness is a protective wall. He asks her about Felix’s motives, and she replies that he reports to Tacitus. Aurelia helps Nic realize that he will be killed whether he keeps the bulla or turns it over. Caesar’s curse is that he has no viable choice.

Aurelia leaves shortly after their conversation, leaving Nic disappointed, since she was the one person who was honest with him. Nic longs to escape overnight with Caela. The enslaved people work all night, and the sun rises before Nic can even return to Caela’s cage. The bulla grows heavier, a sign that its magic is becoming stronger. The amphitheater begins filling for the venatio.

Nic is assigned to work a lift that brings the animals from their underground cages to the arena. He surprises himself and the other enslaved people with his strength and realizes he must be using the bulla’s magic. He works the lift throughout the venatio, which is to be followed by the criminals’ executions. Another enslaved person tells Nic that the criminals will be set loose unarmed in the jungle arena and hunted by the animals. Caela will be sent in at the end to make a good show before she is inevitably killed. Nic must use his power to save her. Among the prisoners led in for execution is Sal.

Sal sees Nic and begins shouting that he “never killed that slave boy,” pointing Nic out to the guards (111). Nic ducks out of sight, aware that if the guards catch him, the Divine Star on his back will be revealed. He hears the criminals released into the arena and begins running to Caela’s cage, desperate to save her and Sal, who Nic feels responsible for since he chose not to kill him for trying to escape the mines. Felix and two soldiers block Nic’s path. Felix apologizes as the guards grab him. He will be sent into the arena with the criminals, and after he is dead, the bulla will be presented to the emperor.

He is tied to a horse and released into the arena along with Caela. The hunt begins, and the crowd begins chanting for the bestiarius to be unleashed. Nic recalls Aurelia’s earlier advice to “think like a Roman” and draws on his strength to break his bonds (116). He commands the horse to escape the animals attacking them. Emerging into a clearing, he sees Radulf glaring at him.

Radulf shouts orders to the guards, who run for the doors, swords drawn. Nic steers into a dense part of the jungle. Sal jumps out, and Nic gives him the horse, instructing him to go into the clearing and prove his innocence. Ignoring Sal’s question as to why Nic is helping him, Nic asks where Livia is. Sal knows only that she was taken after he was arrested. Nic hopes it was Valerius who took her and looks for Caela, repulsed by the audience’s cheers and the knowledge that the show is only half over.

The bestiarius finds him, but Nic snaps his spear and runs on, finally finding Caela. The bestiarius chases after him and stabs Caela with a second spear. As the bestiarius charges again with a mace, Nic warns him to stay back and then thrusts his arm down. The entire arena begins to shake. The bestiarius is knocked off balance. Nic wonders if he is becoming one with the bulla and experimentally raises and slams down his arms, then feels exhausted. The entire arena begins to collapse. The bestiarius falls through the ground as the crowd charges the exits in a panic. As Caela flies them out of the arena, Nic realizes that everyone now knows what he has.

Nic directs Caela to fly toward the Tiber as the soldiers pursue them. As they pass over the city, an arrow flies by. Nic orders Caela to fly higher, but she is struggling. Nic sticks out his arm to stop an arrow meant for Caela and is struck. Losing his grip, Nic falls; Caela briefly catches him with her talon but then releases him. He falls along the bank of the Tiber as Caela vanishes. He yanks out the arrow and begins running, ducking into the Cloaca Maxima, the sewer river. Two soldiers are sent to follow him. He runs in any direction that allows him to avoid the soldiers. Eventually, he loses them but realizes he is also lost in the maze of sewer tunnels. Recalling his mother’s parting words to take care of his sister, Nic keeps looking for a way out.

Nic spends two days lost in the sewers, overwhelmed with pain and hunger. Sal was right: He is cursed. Recalling Aurelia’s warning that the emperor would turn on him, Nic remembers that she lives underground. He pushes on until his strength fails. As he feels the magic leaving him, he wonders how Radulf steals others’ magic. After resting, he continues on.

Each grate he passes is sealed. He considers trying to break one open using the bulla but remembers the damage he caused in the amphitheater. He does not know if the magic, and he himself, is good or bad. The bulla had unleashed destructive magic in the amphitheater, but it also saved his life, and he still needs it. Frustrated, he curses and kicks the wall, and Aurelia appears, warning him that it is “dangerous for any slave to have such a temper,” especially when he “has the power to use his temper against fifty thousand people” (137).

Aurelia is suspicious of him, but he insists that he would never hurt her. When he places his hand on the sewer wall for support, it shakes, and Aurelia braces for a fight. Asking for her help, Nic takes a step toward her, and she kicks at him, her foot connecting with his wounded arm. After Nic collapses, Aurelia apologizes and tries to help him up, then realizes his arm is infected and that he is burning with fever.