Impatient with my slowness to kneel, the executioner pushed at my back, directly over the Divine Star. Enough magic was in me now to flinch when he did, but not enough to fight back, so I still fell to my knees. The Divine Star could not erase my hunger or exhaustion, and it was not coming back strong enough on its own. In the time I had left, there wouldn't be enough. Magic wouldn't save me this time.
"Lower your head," the executioner ordered.
The stone in front of me was cold and smooth. I stared at it and then looked into the audience once more for Aurelia. Crispus was holding her again, so her back was turned to me. I was glad for that. I couldn't bear the thought of her having to see this.
I looked again at the stone, and suddenly, I knew there was going to be a fight. Because I could not and would not put my head down upon it. Even if I lacked enough magic to save me from that blade, Aurelia had been right before. I still had two good legs and arms, and a strong enough heart to use them. It wouldn't change the way the next few minutes ended for me, but at least I would go down with honor.
Or would I? For the moment I started to rise back to my feet, a nearby soldier grabbed the chains that bound my arms and yanked them to the floor of the platform. My body went with it, and cold stone slammed against my cheek. The execution stone.
"Whichever god will still hear you, this is your time to call to him," the executioner said. Even without looking, I knew he had raised his blade.
My eyes were closed, so I didn't see exactly what happened next, but I did hear a voice, speaking out loudly and with perfect clarity to the executioner.
"Stop this!"
Silence fell amongst the crowd, and footsteps padded toward me, though the soldier still held my arms down and I could not raise my head. It was a woman's voice, but not Aurelia's. The crowd would never fall silent for her, and even in her gentlest moments, Aurelia's footsteps were never soft upon the ground.
The executioner lowered his blade, and I heard him kneel behind me. "Domina, this boy --"
"This boy will come with me."
I knew the voice now. It was the old vestalis I had last seen in the arena, warning me not to attack Brutus.
"He has been convicted," the executioner said. "Sentenced to death by Emperor Probus himself."
The vestalis's voice strengthened. "I am a holy woman of Rome, and you will honor me as such! If the gods have brought me here to save this boy, then you will respect my word. A vestalis can free any condemned prisoner. You know this, and you will not question me further. Release that boy!"
The soldier removed his hands from the chains at my wrists, allowing me to sit up. I did, slowly, but I could not look at her. If it had ever been difficult for me to find the proper words to speak, it was nothing compared to what was happening now. I wasn't sure if I had ever known how to speak at all.
"Break those chains," the vestalis told me. "You are strong enough to do that now."
I widened my arms, holding my wrists straight, and the bit of magic in me responded, snapping the chains. Perhaps in another few minutes I could separate the metal of the cuffs and be rid of the chains entirely. But not yet.
The executioner had backed away from me, so I felt no fear when I stood beside him. My attention was across the comitium to the rostra where Emperor Probus had been. He was still there, also standing. But he only shook his head and walked away. Not exactly a pardon from the empire, but he wasn't challenging the vestalis either. I doubted he could.
After he disappeared, I still remained on the platform. Not because I was particularly eager to be near a blade that only seconds ago had had my name on it, but because I knew my legs would likely crumble if I attempted to go down the stairs. Instead, I gave the vestalis a respectful bow and left my head down.
"Do you still speak?" she asked. "I trust the empire didn't take your tongue."
"What you've done for me ... no words exist --"
"Of course they exist. The words are 'thank you,' and I accept them. Come down from that platform. We have things to discuss."
I obeyed her, vaguely aware that Crispus was still holding Aurelia back, and acutely aware that my legs were shaking. When she gave me the warning not to kill Brutus in the arena, maybe the vestalis had known how this would all end, but I didn't. In fact, I still didn't know how everything would end.
"Domina --"
"This is not the place for us to talk."
The mob allowed us to leave them behind. Even the Praetors let me walk away, which had everything to do with their respect for the vestalis's power, not mine. I looked back for Crispus and Aurelia, but they were gone. I hoped they would be safe. I hoped no one else had guessed the true contents of Aurelia's satchel.
The vestalis took my arm as we walked out of the forums, though I didn't think she really needed it. It felt more like a gesture of familiarity and perhaps even a sort of affection. I already understood what it was to have a grandfather, even if Radulf was far from an ordinary grandfather. But from the vestalis, I now understood what it must be like to have a grandmother. Impossible not to love.
"How soon until you can heal the injuries to your back?" she asked.
"Not yet." Magic was slowly returning to the Divine Star. However, my first priority was to get the chains off my wrists. I hated them there.
"The lashing was worse than I'd expected," she said. "I underestimated Brutus's anger."
I didn't have any answer for that. So instead, I asked, "Where are we going?" We were walking away from the forum, which was perfectly fine by me. But that didn't mean other surprises weren't somewhere ahead.
"You'll see, soon enough."
It was all the answer I was going to get, which I understood. The streets were crowded today, and enough of the passersby knew my face, not to mention the fact that I was being escorted by a vestalis. We were already drawing enough attention our way. There was no need to complicate it by having a conversation that was certain to be dangerous.
We entered Trajan's Forum, full of treasures that had been taken from areas Rome had defeated. Once we passed through the basilica there, we entered a small square with libraries on either side of me, one full of Greek documents and the other with Roman documents.
I doubted whether I'd ever have enough education to read in Greek, but how I longed to enter the Roman library and absorb every last page there. I could read a little, which felt like a single taste of the sweetest fruit. All I wanted was more. What sort of person might I become if I were able to take in everything a library offered me?
But that was not my life and probably never would be. It was foolish to forget that only minutes ago, my life was condemned. I reminded myself again who I was, and why the vestalis had brought me here. We had not come to discuss books. Nor the happy prospects for my future, I guessed.
Nestled between the libraries was a wide marble column that seemed almost to touch the heavens. Well, maybe not, but it was higher than any of the surrounding buildings and had a viewing platform on top, so I supposed there was a door on the other side that was meant to be entered. I walked around the column, and though I found the door in the square base, my attention had already been drawn upward to the detailed and intricate carvings that wound their way up the column, telling a story of war.
"This was built many years ago in honor of Emperor Trajan's military victories," the vestalis said. "What images do you see?"
I walked around it, picking out the carvings that represented the emperor and his soldiers. Women and children were depicted here, as well as whatever army Rome had fought in this war.
I described everything to her, but with each image, the vestalis only nodded and asked, "What else?"
I circled the column again, telling her of the carvings of river crossings, the slaves who assisted in the battles, and the armored horses Rome brought into battle.
"Do you think any of that is what I wanted you to see?" she asked. "Look carefully, Nicolas. The army defeated by Emperor Trajan fell far too easily. Th
ey are not worth such a grand column. Look again and tell me who the true enemy is to Rome."
I walked around it again, and this time my eye instantly locked upon the image of a serpent's head, its jaw open and baring lines of sharp teeth and a forked tongue. Though the carving didn't show fire on its breath, I could almost picture it there. I had seen this same beast before.
"The dragon," I said. "They show the dragon as part of the enemy army. Yet although I can see the images for the army's loss to Rome, I do not see the dragon's defeat."
"Because it never was defeated," the vestalis said. "The dragon remains an enemy to this empire. She has had many names over the centuries: serpent, draco, dragon. But you know her as the Mistress. The only way to save Rome is to defeat the Mistress."
"Why would I save Rome now?" I asked. "After what they've done to me, do you think I care at all about this empire?"
"You must care! Imagine a forest, thick with tall and deep-rooted trees. If one of those trees happens to fall, does it land on empty ground?"
"I imagine it would land on other trees, causing them to fall as well." I shrugged that off. "You're telling me that if Rome falls, other civilizations around it will also come to ruin. Well, maybe they should. The Mistress might be doing the world a favor."
"You don't believe that," the vestalis said. "If you did, you would not have asked the emperor to pardon her past crimes."
"I didn't want to die with Atroxia's voice still in my head. That's all."
Her tone sharpened. "No, you did it because you felt compassion for Atroxia, despite her crimes against the empire, and her crimes against you. All I ask is that you show the same compassion for Rome."
"You want me to save the empire." I shook my head, even as I mumbled the words. "On the same day the empire sentenced me to die."
"I ask you to end the Praetor War, on the same day I saved your life!"
"If I kill the dragon, as you want, it will kill Atroxia too. The Mistress may be an enemy to Rome, but Atroxia is not. She bears a curse that has changed her. That curse has done far worse to her than the punishment ever could."
"Yes, I know." The vestalis took my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Which is why it was such an important first step to get her forgiven of her crimes."
The first step? Suddenly, I understood my role in the vestalis's plan. She had given me asylum shortly after I got magic, protecting me from the empire's soldiers. She had helped me find the rock meant to become the Jupiter Stone. She had saved me from the executioner. Now I knew why.
It was only ever about reclaiming Atroxia, about bringing back one of her own. The vestalis had not saved my life. She had only delayed my death. Nothing she had done was for me -- it was only to use my power the same way everyone else wanted to use it.
"I won't do it!" I yanked my hand away. "This is not a fair request!"
"It's not a request at all, Nicolas. It's your fate, and you must accept it."
I shook my head. "I've done all that I can do for Atroxia. I thought if she received forgiveness for her crimes, it would end her punishment and allow her to die."
"The dragon must die. Atroxia must live."
"I can kill the dragon, maybe, but the only way Atroxia will live is if I free her from the curse. Do you know the price for that?"
"Lightning." The vestalis spoke calmly, as if she had accepted my death, so I should too. "You must bring in a storm."
I stepped back from her, unable to believe she had really said those words. "You're asking me to make a Jupiter Stone. It's the same thing the Praetors want, the same thing the Mistress wants." My eyes narrowed. "Maybe there's no difference between any of you."
"There is every difference!" the vestalis said. "Have I asked you for glory or power? Have I demanded anything for myself? My only desire is to right a wrong that was done centuries ago. If we correct that wrong, then we will save an empire."
"But it will not save me," I whispered.
"To become free, you must walk through the fire," the vestalis said. "Haven't you always known this was how things must end? Every move leads you closer to it. Every attempt to avoid it fails."
I shook my head again. "You want me to create a Jupiter Stone and break the curse. But if I fail, then the Mistress gets the Jupiter Stone."
The vestalis smiled. "Obviously, then, you cannot fail."
"I'll destroy the amulets instead. If there are no amulets, there can be no Praetor War."
"Yet the dragon would remain, carrying out her own revenge against this city. Besides, what power can destroy amulets made by the gods?"
"It doesn't matter anyway," I said. "The stone isn't where we left it. I believe the Mistress has it, and she won't give it to me if she believes I'll use it to destroy her."
Without looking away from me, the vestalis stretched out her hand, then rotated her wrist to reveal the white rock I instantly recognized as the one I had taken from Jupiter's eagle.
I took the rock, rolled it around on my palm, and said, "I used to think you were saying I'd have to walk through dragon fire. But I've done that and nothing happened. You're speaking of the fire that comes with lightning."
"You must face both fires. The one will refine your courage, and the other will test its limits."
"I know the limits. I know the price of bringing in lightning." My heart pounded, even as I folded my fingers around the rock. "Do not ask me to do this. I will lose everything."
"To win, you have to lose. That is what you must understand."
"Understand what? Your riddles? Your advice that sounds exactly like what my enemies would say? I was brought here as a slave, and if the world made any sense, I wouldn't even be here, not in one piece. By your mercy, I am still alive, and that is the way I hope to remain. I thank you for my life, Domina; please do not ask me for it now. I've promised never to make a Jupiter Stone. I must keep that promise."
I went to give the rock back to her, but she held up her hands to refuse it. "That rock is yours. You fought Jupiter's eagle to get it. Keep it or destroy it as you will."
"It is not my fate to end a war in the heavens," I said.
She frowned. "If that is true, then no one can do it."
Sounds of an approaching horse caught my attention for a moment. When I turned back to finish the conversation with the vestalis, she was already gone.
Nic!"
Aurelia called my name while they were still at the far end of the square. She was riding Callistus, and Crispus was behind her in the saddle. Although I didn't think it was particularly wise to have brought Callistus so out in the open, it was hardly the biggest of my concerns.
Aurelia leapt from the saddle even before Callistus had fully stopped, and threw her arms around me. I tried to hold her too, but the pain of moving so swiftly stopped me. I gasped, and she immediately drew back.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "If I just hurt you, I'm sorry, but I wasn't thinking ... I can't think ... I can't believe ..."
"I came back from it." I was safe now, and more important, I intended to remain that way. Before Aurelia could ask me any questions about the rock, I slipped it into a pocket of my tunic.
"Why are you here?" Aurelia asked, looking beyond us to the column. "Was the vestalis here with you?"
"It doesn't matter," I said. "I told her no."
She furrowed her brows, clearly concerned at why my answer was so vague. But instead of pressing the issue, she reached inside the satchel now looped over her arm, and handed me the bulla.
Eagerly, I put the strap over my head, burying it beneath my tunic. I felt its strength immediately and the warmth that accompanied its magic.
"Get the chains off your wrists," Aurelia said. "You were freed from the emperor's sentence of death, and you have been freed as a slave. If you won't remove those bands, then all of that is for nothing."
"I'll gladly do it." The bulla easily allowed me to break the locks, and I let both bands fall to my feet.
Next, I gave attention to the
worst of my injuries, those where time had not lessened their sting. With each wound that closed, relief poured over me. And while I let the magic work, Aurelia took my hand and continued to stand close by me. She withdrew the Malice and cuffed it around my arm, bringing with it immense strength and bolstering my ability to heal every wound I had received yesterday.
My eyes were closed when Aurelia said, "Now what?"
I looked for the vestalis again, but she was still gone. From the corner of my eye, I did see Crispus approaching me, his expression remarkably somber considering what I had just escaped.
"I tried to save you in every way I could," he said, barely able to look at me. "Had it not been for the vestalis, my failure would have been complete."
"What failure?" I asked. "My crimes were indefensible, and you defended me anyway. You have proven yourself the truest of friends." With the injuries to my back in far better condition now, I walked forward and embraced him. "Thank you."
He gave a firm pat to my back, and only then did I remember that Aurelia had treated the injuries with honey. I stepped back, embarrassed, and stickier than any person ought to be. "I, uh ... this tunic."
"At least it can be washed and used again, but you do need another one." Crispus shared a knowing smile with Aurelia. "I'm sure you must be hungry as well."
"I'm starving, yes."
Crispus put his arm around my shoulders. "Well, I'm quite sure that the vestalis had a reason for bringing you here, and quite sure that whatever she wanted, it's nothing you feel like discussing out in the open. Can that conversation wait until you have eaten and bathed?"
That led me to smile as well. "I think it must wait. Rome surely does not want to be saved by someone smelling like the sewers beneath it."
Aurelia giggled. "Nor will I join you for supper smelling this way. If you two want to go to the baths, I'll meet you at Crispus's home tonight."
We agreed to the plan, and Aurelia led Callistus in one direction, while Crispus and I went to the baths.
Because Radulf's home was so fine, it hadn't been necessary for me to visit the public baths before. Thus, my only experience with the public baths was soon after I'd obtained magic, and it involved me pulling the water from them to put out fires on some nearby homes. Hardly their intended use.