Mark of the Thief

Aurelia explains that the bulla “is responding to the moonlight” (209), and when Nic steps out of the pool, the bulla’s glow fades. The god powering Nic’s bulla is Diana, the goddess of the hunt and the moon. She is why Nic can communicate with animals and possess great strength. Valerius enters and asks to speak privately with Nic.

Valerius explains that when Caesar abandoned the bulla, he buried it near Lake Nemi, “[i]n the shadow of Diana’s temple” (212). It is one of three amulets that enhance the power of the Divine Star. The other two are the Malice of Mars, which bestows victory in battle, and the Jupiter Stone, which carries powerful rewards. If Nic loses the bulla, he loses its powers. The emperor fears Nic because he fears the power he now holds.

Tacitus knows that Radulf has magic but cannot stop him because of his popularity and influence. He controls the military and the Praetorian Guard. Radulf wants to unite the three amulets, use their power to destroy the Roman Empire, rebuild it with no government but himself, and be worshiped as a god. The praetors hold the secret for how to create a Jupiter Stone. Their loyalty is to the magistrate of the Senate, Horatio, who Valerius says is not loyal to the emperor. Horatio has the key to the Malice of Mars but does not know where it is. Nic must work on his magic, as only someone with his powers can save the empire.

Valerius tells Nic to sleep. They will talk more the next day. Nic is given his own room with a proper bed, which he has never had. Deciding to lie on the floor, he reflects that he and Radulf may have the same magic, via the Divine Star. Radulf has the advantage of knowing how to wield it, but he does not have the bulla. Nic gets up and begins experimenting with his magic but is disappointed to find little effect. Radulf’s voice enters his head, saying he will use the magic to find Nic, urging Nic to join him and revealing that he has Livia.

Aurelia hears Nic but not Radulf. He asks if he can trust her, and she tells him that Crispus paid her 600 denarii as a reward. Aurelia could leave if she wanted to, but she is staying. Noticing Nic’s blanket on the floor, she tells him that he will be judged based on how he thinks of himself. He must believe that he is an equal to Radulf to fight him on those terms. He asks Aurelia if she believes that she and Nic are equals. When she hesitates, Nic turns away.

Nic is given a bath—the first of his life—and his first pair of sandals. After he is also dressed in soft clothes, a servant sets him before a mirror. Nic has never seen his whole self before, and he reflects that he does not look like an enslaved person anymore. He wonders if Aurelia will now believe them to be equals but doubts it.

At breakfast, she checks his wound and is startled at how bad it looks. She wants to treat it immediately, but Nic puts it off until later so he can practice his magic. Crispus offers to help Aurelia find her father, but she anxiously declines. Nic wonders about the status of her family and whether she knows who they are. Crispus asks Nic about his mother, but he only remembers that after bringing him and Livia to the mines, she said it would be safer to live elsewhere. Aurelia probes for an explanation, but Nic was too young to remember anything more.

On their way to the vineyards, where Nic will practice his magic, Crispus notes that a patrician’s family name determines whether one succeeds or fails in Rome. He has the family name, but his disinterest in politics makes him a disappointment to his father. When Nic says, “It doesn’t seem that way,” Crispus replies, “Things are rarely what they seem” (230).

At the vineyards, the trio sets to work training Nic to use his magic. Crispus shares that Valerius believes Nic’s magic is connected to his emotions: Its power intensifies as his emotions do. Aurelia affirms this, reminding Nic of his response to Felix in the caravan and Radulf in the cistern. The magic is dangerous because emotions “can be unpredictable and hard to control” (232). Nic understands that he needs to be able to feel so that he can generate magic, but that he also needs to control those feelings to control the magic’s power.

Crispus engineers a plan to frighten Nic by creating a pulley with rope and bricks that will fling him high up into a tree. Initially, Nic succeeds in channeling his fear and magic, but when the situation becomes more precarious, he loses control and comes crashing down, bringing the tree and bricks down on top of him.

From under the pile of debris, Nic is laughing. Using his magic, he stopped its momentum and saved himself. Crispus notes that he truly has the power of Diana, who can heal herself. Nic protests that he does not know how, until Aurelia reminds him how painful her treatment will be. He sends the magic of the bulla and the Divine Star through his arm and heals it. Crispus wants Nic to practice using the Divine Star without the bulla, but Nic objects because he feels Radulf’s presence when he uses it. Radulf was pleased Nic healed himself.

Valerius returns for a private talk with Nic. At a Senate meeting that morning, Horatio doubled his reward for Nic’s capture. He intends to announce his loyalties at the next games, two days away. Nic says that he needs more time, but Valerius tells him the Roman Empire is at stake. Nic must stop Horatio and defeat Radulf, “[a]t any price” (244). Privately, Nic reflects that he is unwilling “to blur the shades of right and wrong” and is bothered that Valerius is (244). He tells Valerius that he needs his griffin. Valerius reveals that she has commandeered the baths on the Appian Way, where she lies hurt and dying.

After Valerius departs, Nic spends the afternoon practicing with Crispus and Aurelia but makes little progress. Concern for Caela dominates his thoughts. As the trio returns to Crispus’s house in the evening, Nic asks about the Appian Way. Later that night, he tries to sneak out but Crispus and Aurelia catch him and insist on joining him. Crispus has a wagon ready and has brought meat for food. Privately noting the ever-increasing debt he owes to Crispus and his father, Nic admits that he is going to Caela but not to say goodbye, as Aurelia assumes.

At the Appian baths, Nic finds Caela more badly wounded than he had expected. He draws on the power of the bulla and the Divine Star to pour healing energy into her, though he knows Radulf will use it to track him. Using the magic comes more easily to him now, but he also feels his strength gradually waning, until he can barely lift himself up. Radulf’s voice enters Nic’s mind and expresses surprise that Nic has saved the beast that marked him, as Radulf killed the unicorn that marked him. He taunts Nic that his body is not strong enough to “hold such powerful magic” (257).

Nic heals Caela but can barely move afterward. Aurelia rushes to his side. Radulf tells Nic that he took what was his and intends to get the bulla, but Nic reminds him that it was Caesar’s. Radulf replies that he is outside with Livia and will trade the bulla for his sister. Aurelia warns him that Radulf is lying. Nic agrees but must find out for certain.

Crispus places the bulla around Nic’s neck and offers to join him, but Nic declines. Outside, Nic sees Livia looking well dressed and groomed, but it is a trick of the light designed to lure him outside, as Aurelia had warned. The image of Livia dissolves and is replaced by a light image of Radulf, who claims Livia is part of his household now. Aurelia and Crispus come outside, but they cannot see Radulf, since he is visible to Nic alone. Aurelia and Crispus try to get Nic to leave, but his attention remains focused on his conversation with Radulf.

Radulf tells him the story of Nero and the fire of Rome, and Nic anticipates that Radulf will set fire to the thatched houses around the baths. Nic uses his power to put out the fires but causes destruction in the process. As only Nic can see Radulf, he appears to have caused the destruction of his own volition. Nic’s power surprises Radulf, but Radulf says he will always be stronger because he is willing to sacrifice innocents in his quest for power, while Nic is not. After Radulf vanishes, Aurelia and Crispus urge Nic to leave with them before the people grow angrier.

Nic spends the night practicing magic. At the morning meal, Valerius surprises him with a warm welcome. He apologizes for putting everyone in danger, but Valerius feels the events of the previous evening prove that Nic has progressed. Nic is upset about the homes he flooded and rebukes Valerius when he brushes it off. Aurelia insists Nic is not ready to fight Radulf, and Valerius insists it is their only hope. Valerius instructs Crispus to show them the banner of Horatio’s house and reveals his plan: He will hold up the banner at the games and ask the people to cheer Horatio’s support of the empire, certain that this will prevent Horatio from joining Radulf.

Nic voices his disbelief that the plan will work, and Aurelia insists that Horatio is no traitor. She accuses Valerius of trying to get Nic killed, and he dismisses her as a girl of the sewers who was unacceptable to her family. As Aurelia rushes out, Nic realizes that the symbols on the banner match those on her crepundia and realizes that Horatio is her father. He follows her and accuses her of using and endangering him for her own ends. After demanding she leave, he hears pounding at the entrance. Horatio and his personal guard have arrived.