Mark of the Thief

Nic asks where they are, and Aurelia tells him they are in an old cistern whose pipes to the sewers they disconnected. She cannot hear the footsteps. Nic tells her that soldiers are coming, and they must leave, but Aurelia does not believe him. He hears Radulf speaking inside his head: Nic and the children will die unless he surrenders. A girl rushes in to report that soldiers are coming. Aurelia tells Nic that she will have to give him up to save herself and the children. He replies that he can break them all out safely and asks for the bulla. Aurelia finally gives it to him, and Nic feels its strength flowing through him.

More children rush into the room, and Nic instructs them to get behind him. Radulf arrives in the outer room with six soldiers, pleased to see Nic shackled. Nic warns him to stay back, but Radulf knows that Nic is not trained to use the magic. He demands the bulla. Nic orders him to leave. Radulf magically sends a wave of air that hits Nic with the strength of a boulder. Nic flings out his hand, creating a large crack above the doorway and sending rocks falling until the doorway between the two rooms is blocked and the cistern is in danger of collapse. The room begins filling with water.

As water pours into the room, the children cry out in fear. Nic orders everyone back as he tries to create a hole in the cistern’s roof, over which is a field. Dirt, roots, and rock fall into the water. Aurelia pushes the children onto rocks to escape the rising water. They climb up a rusty ladder. Nic’s manacles impede his movement and drag him underwater. Aurelia pulls him to the surface and tells him to break his chains. Radulf’s voice in Nic’s head calmly tells him not to make things more difficult by fighting him. Fury consumes Nic, and he breaks the chains on his arms.

A falling rock traps him under the water. He struggles free but becomes trapped again and gives up fighting. Radulf’s voice tells him not to give up so quickly. Nic resumes fighting, finally finding a way to the surface, and Aurelia hauls him onto the ladder. He forces himself to climb up. Radulf’s voice urges Nic to come with him, claiming he will teach him. Nic refuses and keeps climbing. He and Aurelia join the children in the field. Aurelia admits that Radulf is a problem. Nic reflects that his and Aurelia’s fates have become entangled, but he does not know whether it is for the better.

Exhausted and in pain, Nic rests. Nearby, Aurelia huddles with the children. The African girl who had shackled Nic thanks him for saving them and apologizes for having lost the key to his manacles since they will make it impossible for Nic to blend in. He asks the girl her name, but Aurelia stops her from answering. She still does not trust him. The children are all trying to escape slavery, and she is helping them. They will go to another safe house now. Worried that Radulf has access to his thoughts, Nic resolves not to ask for any information that could endanger others.

Aurelia asks Nic how he does his magic. He asks her why she stays in Rome and then realizes her family must be there. Aurelia still intends to bring him to a senator, Horatio, for the reward money. Nic suggests that they can help each other and asks her to take him to Valerius so he can find out if his sister is with him. If she can get him to Valerius, he will go with her to Horatio. Until then, he will keep the bulla.

Aurelia reveals that she bound Nic using Felix’s manacles and that he will have the key to unlock them. When they find Felix, he tells Nic that everyone in Rome knows he performed magic and will kill for his bulla, Aurelia included. Nic reflects that he needs her but cannot trust her. He asks Felix why the emperor created a fight when Nic is on his side. Felix replies that the emperor fears his power. The fact Nic does not know how to use his magic only makes him more dangerous. Nic insists that Radulf is the emperor’s real enemy. He will prove it and in return will ask the emperor for his life, his sister’s freedom, and five hundred denarii, Aurelia’s reward money.

Nic tells Felix that he will trade the bulla for his life, but for now, he needs it to protect himself from Radulf’s magic. Felix unlocks Nic’s manacles and reveals that Radulf was born into a northern barbarian tribe and that he was captured and enslaved when his home was conquered. He became a gladiator and was never defeated, earning his freedom, citizenship, and military post. Radulf has the same mark Nic does. If Nic does not kill Radulf, Radulf will kill Nic. Two soldiers spot Aurelia and Nic, and they quickly depart.

The soldiers chase Aurelia and Nic through the forum, while Nic fears the disaster he might cause if he accidentally releases his magic. Aurelia pulls them into a temple of Julius Caesar, planning to ask the vestalis, or Roman priestess, for asylum. Nic notes the large, imposing statue of Caesar; on his forehead is the Divine Star, also featured on a wall fresco. it. Nic feels the bulla warming. The soldiers enter the temple, and Aurelia hurriedly asks the vestalis for asylum. The soldiers declare that Nic is an enslaved person, criminal, and enemy of Rome. The vestalis reminds them that Caesar’s temple is a place of asylum for all. They claim Nic dishonors the temple, but Aurelia says that Nic honors it, then reveals his mark to the vestalis. She tells the soldiers that Caesar himself has granted Nic asylum. They leave, warning Nic that he will be killed the moment he leaves the temple. The vestalis cautions Nic to do no damage.

As they wait in the temple, Aurelia wonders aloud if Nic and Radulf are connected through the mark. His attempt to drown Nic was not meant to kill him but to flush him out. Nic recalls Radulf urging him to keep fighting when the risk of drowning was greatest. Inside the bulla, Nic finds three glowing jewels. If Venus withdrew her support from Caesar, Nic wonders who is giving the bulla its power.

Aurelia asks Nic why he trusts Valerius since both he and Horatio are loyal to the emperor. Nic reveals that Valerius tried to protect Nic. Aurelia warns him that there will be a price for Valerius’s support. Nic privately notes that he has grown to see Aurelia as a friend, even if to her he is merely a ticket to money and a better life. She tells Nic that he is not alone, but she will hold him to his promise to go to Horatio. As they discuss the situation, Crispus enters bearing two togas. Valerius saw them enter earlier and distracted the guards. Crispus asks if they have considered dressing as old women and holds out the togas.

In their disguises, Aurelia and Nic exit the temple with Crispus, who instructs Nic how to walk through the city as a patrician, with his head up, undistracted by the sights. They enter the basilica, and Crispus insists on buying a loaf of bread for Nic and Aurelia; it is more flavorful than anything Nic has ever tasted. Sal sees them and immediately knows who they are, but he does not expose them.

Crispus leads them to his home. Nic asks if his sister is there, and Crispus reveals that she was already gone when he and his father went to the mines. Nic immediately fears Radulf has her, but Aurelia reminds him that Radulf would have believed Nic dead at that point. It was only in the amphitheater that he realized Nic was still alive. Aurelia privately asks Nic if they should still go to Valerius, since he does not have Livia. Nic is not ready to go to Horatio and suggests Aurelia reveal Nic to Horatio herself. She retorts that she cares about more than just money.

When Nic observes her holding her crepundia, he knows they are “careening toward an impasse” (199). In other words, for her to get what she wants, he will have to fail.