Mark of the Thief

  Ever since the moment I set foot in the venatio, a weight had been growing in my chest, and right now it was heavier than ever. She was correct. If I refused to give the bulla to the emperor, he would order my death. He would do the same if I gave it to him. And whatever choice I made, once General Radulf found out I had it, he would focus the whole of his power on finding me. Every choice was wrong, which really meant I had no choices at all. No way out. No chance.

  Unless I found a way to escape it, this was Caesar's curse.

  Aurelia left soon after our conversation. She said she had stayed for as long as Felix had paid her and that I seemed determined to ignore her anyway. That might've been true at first, but once she announced she was leaving, things changed. Maybe she was difficult and disagreeable, but so was I at times, and her reasons were every bit as valid as mine. I wished I had a way to ask her to stay. She hated me, obviously, but oddly, that seemed like a good thing. It meant she had no problem with telling me the truth, even if the truth was bad. I needed a friend here. I needed her here.

  "I doubt you'll be alive by this time tomorrow," she said as she sauntered away. "So don't let them bury you in the city. I live below ground and don't want your body dropping in unexpectedly."

  I would be alive. I just wouldn't be here. Caela and I were going to escape tonight. The only question that remained was how to do it. I was no further in my plan than I'd been the night before.

  The problem was that as evening approached, our true work began. Even more animals that had been stored east of the city were now being brought in, which only increased the noise and the stench. "And the danger," added a slave working nearby as he recounted the time a few years ago when several hungry lions had escaped their cage and killed nearly thirty men before they were all recaptured. "But the slaughter down here was nothing to that day's venatio." I shivered at the thought of it, and found somewhere else to work.

  In preparation for the games, the arena was being decorated to look like the jungle from which many of the animals had come, and so we spent the entire night hauling trees and grasses into place, and creating sandbars, then filling the low points with water. It spooked some of the other men to see the arena turned into such a foreign setting, but the mines were always creepy, and Caesar's cave worst of all. Compared to that, a fake jungle was nothing.

  As we worked above ground, other slaves continued their efforts in the hypogeum below. By the time I got down there, it was so thick with caged animals that there was barely room to move, and nothing but stale, foul air to breathe.

  "All of these are intended for the venatio?" I asked one man, who only grunted his way past me. At this rate, I wondered how long until the world ran out of animals, all for Rome's entertainment. It disgusted me.

  Dawn rose faster than we were ready for it, and I'd had no chance to get near Caela's cage, much less figure out a way to break the lock. I wasn't even sure she'd agree to leave. She seemed perfectly content with the gold they had given her.

  We had barely ended our preparations when Felix sent around orders to allow us each a drink and a bit of food. Nothing was to be given to the animals. The venatio was the first event of the day, and Felix wanted them eager to kill.

  I skipped the food and surveyed the various routes Caela and I might take to escape. The obvious choice was the ramp leading to the ground level of the amphitheater, especially since it was the closest to Caela's cage. But Roman soldiers were positioned at the top of the ramp to keep onlookers from coming down, so I doubted we'd get very far. There were other exits too, including some of the larger lifts that went directly into the arena, but unless I stayed behind, there was nobody to raise it. Besides, the exits weren't the biggest problem. It felt like every slave in Rome had been brought here to assist with the games. Even if I got Caela out of her cage, there were too many men for us to fight them all.

  Maybe Aurelia was wrong about my death. After all, the emperor needed me alive in order to operate the bulla. Additionally, nobody seemed to be treating me differently than any other slave. Felix had his eye on me a lot, but he still wasn't shy about barking out orders. As had been the case back at the mines, I worked hard, and obeyed every command that made sense. There were good reasons to keep me alive.

  And an even better one for the emperor to kill me. The bulla was heavier than ever. The magic in it was growing stronger. I had to get out of this place, and take Caela with me.

  I could tell from the noises above that the amphitheater was filling with people. Time was running out. I began looking for anyone who might have keys to Caela's cage. If I got a set and then coaxed her out, maybe I could convince the others that I was moving her into place for the hunt.

  But nobody would believe such an obvious lie. Felix himself had said that Caela was intended for the middle show. Besides that, the keys were on ropes hung around the supervisors' necks. How exactly was I supposed to steal them from there?

  Once the games got under way, the tunnels beneath the amphitheater flew into action. It was still morning and yet with so many of us, the humid air rose to boiling temperatures. Further dampening my hopes to escape, I was assigned to work on the upper level of a two-story lift to send the animals onto the arena floor. We were to push the bars around a rotating capstan that would gradually raise the animal's cage. Once we got the animal to the right level, another group of slaves pulled the cage door open. The animal would instinctively walk the narrow plank toward the light, with no idea it was heading into a battle arena.

  At first I refused to help. It wouldn't stop the venatio, but at least it would allow my conscience to sleep at night. Then I heard a snap and instantly felt a sharp sting on the back of my leg. I collapsed to one knee and turned to see a supervisor below us with a long whip in his hand.

  "Get up, you fool!" a nearby slave hissed at me. "Do you think they won't kill you?"

  On the contrary, I was certain they would try. Remembering Caela, I stood and took my place on the capstan. Three slaves worked alongside me with another four men turning the same capstan below us. Despite their warnings, the lifting seemed easier than it should have been, and gradually the other men fell away. Without them, it became hard, and I was moving slower than before, but I was doing it.

  One of them said to me, "How is a boy your age strong enough to do the work of eight men?"

  I didn't have an answer for him. No doubt my years in the mines had made me strong, perhaps stronger than many men. But not eight of them. I felt the warmth of the bulla again, flowing into my back and arms. If it was giving me strength, then it meant I was doing more than just feeling the magic. I was using it. I pushed the bars again, amazed at the surge of energy. Maybe it was only borrowed strength -- or stolen strength, since I knew full well the bulla didn't belong to me -- but I liked the feel of it.

  There were dozens of other lifts, all of them working at the same speed, constantly delivering new animals into the arena to fight. I tried not to listen to the noises above, and hated every second of what I was being forced to do.

  I worked solidly until the announcement went out that the venatio was over. The animals still alive were being allowed to remain in the arena for the next event. That was the one in which Caela would participate. We were almost out of time.

  I turned to the man next to me. "What happens now?"

  "It's lunchtime for the spectators," he answered with a smile. "Execution of the criminals. It's too bad you can't be up top to see the show to follow -- we have an elephant trained to walk a tightrope. It --"

  I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but I asked anyway. "How are the criminals executed?"

  He shrugged. "Various ways, depending on the games. Sometimes they make it quick, like a beheading, but the people always enjoy it more when the criminal's death is part of the entertainment. Today they'll use the jungle setting for more fun. They'll set the criminals loose and unarmed. Some animals up there might find them first, or I saw a bestiarius wandering around here too. I imagine he
'll go in and hunt for the survivors."

  "What about the griffin?" I asked. "What's her role?"

  The man smiled. "She'll go in at the very end, as the finest of all animals versus the strongest of all animal hunters. Your griffin will have to lose of course -- they'll make sure of it -- but it's certain to be a great fight."

  No, there wouldn't be any fight at all. I intended to do everything in my power to get her out of here.

  Power. On my own, I could do nothing for Caela. But I had the bulla, and it had magic. All I had to do was figure out how to use it. I really was running out of time, though, and didn't know where to begin.

  "How many criminals are being executed today?" I asked.

  "Not many. In fact, they're bringing 'em in now." The man pointed to the ramp where Roman soldiers were leading a small group forward. I counted two men, then a woman, and then -- my jaw fell slack and might've landed on my chest.

  The very last man was Sal.

  Even from the distance between us, Sal's eyes immediately locked on mine. He started shouting, so loud that from here I could hear every word. He pointed at me with one shackled hand. "I told you I never killed that slave boy!" he yelled. "I sold him to the venatio -- he's right over there!"

  The soldier closest to him struck his cheek. "You're here because General Radulf wants you punished."

  Blood ran down the corner of Sal's mouth. "Radulf can have his boy -- go get him, over there!"

  By then, I had slipped out of sight. Sal took another hit for lying.

  I couldn't let Sal see me again -- he'd talk until the soldiers eventually cornered me and it wouldn't be hard for Sal to prove I was the boy Radulf wanted to find. Sal was a roach, and had abused every slave in the mines simply because he could. How many times had I wished to the gods he would get what he deserved?

  But not today. Sal could have killed me for trying to escape the mines, but he didn't. I'd certainly given him plenty of reasons to do it before then as well. I had to help him now.

  The criminals were unshackled, then quickly sent up into the arena. I heard the hisses from the audience when they appeared, and I knew that one man was almost immediately attacked by an animal because I heard his screams for help right above my head and the cheering that followed. It was horrible, but at least it wasn't Sal's voice.

  If Caela and I did not leave in the next few minutes, she'd be taken to the arena and hunted down. Then Felix would come for the bulla, and for me. If we left now, we both had a chance to live, and yet I could not leave knowing I had let Sal go to his death.

  Caela would have to help save him. I didn't know how to convince her to help, but I had to try. I started running to Caela's cage, but was blocked by two soldiers on my way. Felix was with them.

  "I'm sorry," Felix said. "Please know that I didn't want this."

  "What are you talking about?" I asked.

  "This!" One soldier grabbed my arms while another knocked the flat end of his sword behind my knees and sent me to the ground. I cursed at him and even threw out a punch until he swatted my mouth and got me in the servile position they wanted.

  While they bound my hands in front of me, Felix said, "If it makes you feel better, I'm getting no reward for the bulla. The emperor wants the people to see the bestiarius take it from you after your death and present it to him. He thinks that if Rome has any enemies in the audience, it's the best way for them to know he has the power now."

  "I've committed no crime," I said, struggling against the ropes. A soldier behind me took exception to that and hit me in the back, forcing the breath from my chest.

  "You committed several crimes," Felix said. "You stole that bulla and tried to escape your master at the mine. And only yesterday, someone spotted you eating a stolen apple."

  I was still fighting, though I was quickly losing against the soldiers. "Those are all lies, Felix. You know they are!"

  "Not all of them," he said. "A slave who steals from an emperor's treasure has committed treason. If that emperor is also a demigod, then it's heresy. There is nothing I can do to save you."

  "What about Caela? She won't cooperate for anyone but me."

  "We're counting on that," Felix said.

  A fine brown horse was brought in by another slave, and even from her cage quite far from us, I heard Caela already squawking. One of the men at the lifts had explained why griffins hated both horses and men. The men, because they always tried to steal the griffin's gold. And the horses, because they carried the men to their crimes.

  Despite my protests, the soldiers lifted me onto the back of the horse and then tied my feet to each foothold of the saddle.

  "If you try to slide off, this horse will drag you to your death," Felix said.

  The soldier beside me laughed. "And if you don't, that griffin will take care of it for you. She's already angry."

  They led me to a larger ramp normally used for raising sets into the arena, and immediately ordered the other slaves to raise me up. When it was halfway there, someone opened Caela's cage.

  Caela thundered out of her cage toward the closest open entrance. The noise she made spooked the horse beneath me, and as soon as he was able to run, he rode us into the arena and took off into the jungle setting.

  I heard the deafening noise of the audience before I saw them, and once I did, I was amazed to see such a vast crowd all in one place. It was impossible to believe there were so many people in the world, and yet I knew this represented only a fraction of Rome's total numbers. They filled every bend of the arena, row after row of them crowded together, like I had entered a hive of bees. Between us was a wall made of polished marble bordered by ivory rollers that even the best climber could not get over, and elsewhere was a tall metal net. Attendants roamed behind the net to threaten the animals and drive them to the center of the arena, and to kill them if necessary. There were other things happening in the arena too, hidden from my view by the dense jungle foliage, so I didn't know what was causing all the onlookers' cheers and screams and boos. I probably didn't want to know because whether the audience was happy or angry, nothing happening in here was good news for me. Sunlight poured into the arena, filtered through a vast canopy over most of the amphitheater. The red wool cloth kept out some of the heat, but gave the arena a slight reddish tint. So the empire would give the people comfort in their barbarism. If I could've done it, I would've pulled the canopy down and let the people feel the same heat and sweat they had inflicted upon me.

  The horse turned again, and I tried to get my bearings from what we had put in place last night, but it had been quiet, and dark, and empty then, like a mine. It was nearly impossible to concentrate in here now.

  The brush moved past us in a blur and it took all my strength to hold on to the horse, especially since my hands were still tied. I didn't want to be on this ride, subject to the horse's fears and instincts, but with my feet fastened to the saddle, there was no smart way to leave it.

  Or maybe it was foolish to consider leaving. We came to a clearing where a tiger darted out from the underbrush. On my own, it would've gotten me. But instead it nipped at the horse's heels, encouraging him to go faster. The audience reacted to that with a roar that sounded like disappointment. I hoped they'd get used to it, because I wasn't finished with disappointing them. Not even close.

  Once we got more into the open, I caught my first glimpse of Caela. She fluttered off the ground like she was trying to fly, but whenever she did, the attendants behind the nets threw rocks that forced her back down. She had the nugget of gold in one of her talons, and sacrificed her body to protect the gold from those stones. Her screeches came out almost like a lion's roars, and further terrified the horse beneath me.

  "Bestiarius, bestiarius," the audience chanted. He was the hunter, and I assumed he must've just entered the arena. A knot formed in my throat. My life had been in danger many times before, from the risks I was forced to take at the mines, and from Sal's punishments, but nothing like this. For the first
time ever, I was prey.

  Along with the attendants, in one area just outside the arena podium, I saw archers crouched with their bows at the ready. I didn't understand that at first -- after all, the bestiarius was somewhere in this arena, and I trusted that he was deadly enough. But then I saw the people right behind the archers: senators and Praetors and their wives and children. The archers were there to make sure nothing left the arena alive. Not the animals or criminals, or Caela. Or me. The only one who would walk out of here was the bestiarius, after he removed my bulla and presented it to the emperor.

  This was exactly what Aurelia had tried to warn me about. She said I needed to think like a Roman.

  That was what I needed to do now. I had to think. Concentrate. Escape.

  The bulla had given me strength in raising the pulleys. If I was strong enough for that, maybe I could break the ropes around my wrists. I tried it and they snapped like brittle twigs. That was almost too easy, and I wondered if all magic was like that, as simple as having the thought.

  I shook off the rope from my arms, and just in time too, for the horse reared up when a wild boar charged out from the underbrush.

  "Turn right!" I yelled. "Now!"

  And it did, as if it had understood me.

  I rubbed a hand across his neck and leaned into his ear. "I will help you, if I can. But you must be calm."

  Not far from us, a horrible scream erupted. The audience roared with delight -- another criminal had been attacked. I didn't know who or what had gotten him, but I needed to keep riding as far as possible from that sound. The sweat that had creased my brow dripped into my eyes, stinging them. But I wiped it with the back of my hand and kept riding. I could not stop now.

  Caela was still somewhere behind me, hidden within the thick jungle leaves, but her feline instincts seemed to have taken over those of the eagle. I didn't see her trying to fly anymore. She would be somewhere, silently crouching, and waiting for the moment to pounce.

  The horse took us into a clearing near the edge of the arena floor. When we emerged, a man in the lower seats stood and his glare bored right through me.