"And have you forgotten what I can do when I'm angry?" I said. Because I was plenty angry.
"How could I forget?" He smiled as he spoke. "What you can do is the reason we're all here tonight."
Not fully trusting my own eyes, I squinted back at him. "How did you get here? The emperor had you arrested."
Brutus widened his arms, showing his arrogance. "I told you that I'd give him the answers he wanted." His eyes darkened. "Not everything was to the emperor's satisfaction, unfortunately. I've been stripped of my Praetorship, my wealth, my social status." Then he nodded toward his arm. "Luckily for me, the emperor does not know the significance of this armband. By the time he figures it out, I will have forced you to make the Jupiter Stone and will have turned it over to the Mistress."
Aurelia yelled into the rag and shook her head again.
"Yes, girl." From above us, the dragon gave a deep laugh. "Use your anger. Diana admires that about you, just as she does in me."
"See what I mean?" Brutus shook Aurelia's arm until she quieted down. "Just imagine what she was like before I bound up her mouth."
"Make the storm, and we'll release her afterward," the Mistress said. "You promised to make me a Jupiter Stone!"
"With what rock?" I smiled, which I knew would irritate her. "Do you have one? Or did you forget about that?"
An irritated growl erupted from one side of her mouth. Her tail swished in the air a few times as she considered her options. Would one of the fallen concrete chunks work, or a rock from the ground outside? Or was a special rock required for me to be successful?
Finally, Brutus said, "Diana will provide the rock. Then you can make it!"
"Even if I can, I still won't, not until you let me talk to Aurelia."
Brutus pulled Aurelia even closer to him. "You are thinking that if I refuse, you can throw a little magic at me and have your way. Well, I can do plenty of damage before that magic comes. You won't risk the sewer girl's safety."
"If you want my cooperation, you won't risk her safety either," I warned.
There was something about my words that Aurelia particularly didn't like. She leapt forward, yelling something again, until Brutus pulled her back.
"Give me the amulets," Brutus said. "For them, I will trade five minutes to speak with the girl, if you are foolish enough to remove the rag. Then when you return her to my control, I will return your magic and you will make the storm."
It was a ridiculous proposal. "Even you cannot be stupid enough to think I'd give you the amulets!" I raised a hand, intending to get Aurelia away from him, but he moved her body directly in front of his.
The tall bronze doors to the Pantheon opened, and we all turned to see who had come. I saw the shiny golden horn of a unicorn first. Callistus's hooves clattered on the marble floor, but he wasn't alone. Aurelia's bow and arrow were still fixed to his saddle, though when I saw the rider, I figured the bow would never get used. The old vestalis sat there, commanding and calm. Her white robes were nearly the same color as Callistus's fur, giving them a look of being as one.
However, when she saw me, every part of her face pointed downward in disapproval. Her eye roamed to the Mistress, then went to Brutus and Aurelia, ending again with me. She let out a heavy sigh. "If you had done as I asked in the first place, things would not be nearly so complicated now."
"How did you know I was here?" I asked.
The old woman smiled. "When you see a dragon flying over the streets of Rome with someone in its grasp, it's not hard to figure out what is happening. I called on your unicorn for help."
She surveyed the room again as if trying to orient herself to what was happening between Brutus and me. "Ah, yes," she murmured, then held out her hand. "I will hold the amulets."
If it were anyone else, I would wonder how she could know what our conversation had been. But somehow with the vestalis, I'd have been more surprised if she hadn't known.
With her hand still held out to me, she looked at Decimas Brutus. "Surely you trust a vestalis?"
From the pinch on his face, his answer was no, but he couldn't say that directly to a holy woman, so Brutus only said, "If you give your word to hold them until the girl is returned to me, then I must believe you."
Her intense expression asked me to trust her. "Nicolas, give me the amulets."
Aurelia shook her head and tried to speak. I kept a watchful eye on her as I unlaced the Malice, then pulled the bulla off from around my neck and handed them to the vestalis, letting my hand brush against Callistus as I lowered my arm.
It was an odd thing to see the vestalis holding the amulets, respectfully, but with no awareness of the magic within them. She didn't respond to their weight or warmth, or react any differently than she would if I had given her a child's bulla and a tin armband. Yet although she seemed unaware, I was not. All I could feel within me was the loss of magic, like a hole had opened inside me.
Well, there was one other feeling, and that was the desire to speak to Aurelia.
Once I'd backed away from the vestalis, Brutus pushed Aurelia toward me. "Five minutes."
Five minutes. That wasn't enough time.
Gently, I took Aurelia's arm and led her to the alcove where the statue of Saturn stood. He was the god of agriculture, which I figured meant he was largely uninterested in the Praetor War. And if he did care, then it was because he was also the god of liberation, so if anything, he was on my side. We went behind his statue where we had at least a small measure of privacy.
I first removed the rag from her mouth, fully expecting a lecture to follow. Instead, all she said was "Why did you say you'd cooperate with them?"
I took Aurelia's bound hands in mine and immediately began to untie them. "In just a few minutes, there will be a distraction. Use that chance to get out of here."
"You didn't answer my question, Nic!"
"There's a reason I didn't."
Aurelia's eyes blazed. "We are not cooperating with them!"
"And you are not cooperating with me! You have to leave, Aurelia."
"You have to leave. Why are you doing this? You promised you wouldn't make a Jupiter Stone." The tone in her voice became one of desperation. "You promised me, you promised Radulf and Livia. You promised everyone!"
"I've got to break that promise." I touched her arm, only to feel her pull away from me. "I have to bring in the lightning. Please just trust me."
"How can I, when you speak like that? If you bring lightning into this room, what do you think will happen?"
"I know what will happen, and I don't want you here to see it! Honestly, for once can you just do as I ask? I'm trying to save your life!"
It should've been enough reason for Aurelia to listen to me, but instead, she waved that away, as if being bound and in Brutus's control was only a slight inconvenience. "Are you saving my life? Or sacrificing yours?"
"I'll have a shield up. I'll be fine. But I can't manage the storm and a shield, and also protect you."
She shook her head. "Something is going to go wrong with your plan. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. You ask me to trust you, but I need your trust too. I've always been right on these feelings before, haven't I? If you create the Jupiter Stone, something will go wrong."
I put my arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Into her ear, I whispered, "I will not create the Jupiter Stone, but I must bring in the storm. If the dragon is hit with lightning, it will break the curse. It's simple, really."
She pressed against my chest, and when she leaned away, tears were in her eyes. "Nothing is ever as simple as you make it sound. Don't do this."
"There's no other way."
She put a hand on my cheek, the most familiar her touch had ever been with me, except when I had kissed her.
"How can I stop you?" she asked. "Tell me what to say or do, and I will."
"There's only one thing I want from you," I whispered. "Marry me."
Her eyes widened. I knew how long she had waited
for me to ask, but now that I had, her reaction was hardly one of enthusiasm.
"If my answer is yes, will you leave with me now?"
"Tell me yes, and when I'm finished here, I will find you again."
She shook her head again, harder this time. "You said you wouldn't offer when your future was uncertain. It's never been more uncertain, and if it is known, then that's only because of how it will end."
I smiled. "Marry me, Aurelia."
"Why are you asking now?"
"Because I want a reason to kiss you one more time. Give me that reason."
The first tear fell onto her cheek. "I'll make you this bargain. Come back from this, and then you can offer marriage in a proper way. Please come back to me, Nic, and hear my answer."
That wasn't exactly a yes, but I leaned in to her anyway, determined to get one last kiss. Before I could, something heavy crashed onto the roof above us. With Aurelia's hand in mine, we looked up to catch a glimpse of a large eagle's wing, and a lion's tail dipped inside the oculus opening.
Caela.
My distraction.
Her arrival sent the Mistress flying in circles beneath the oculus again, ready for a fight if Caela chose to enter the Pantheon.
"Did you call her here?" Aurelia asked.
Before I could answer, I covered my ears when a series of piercing squawks echoed inside the room. I looked over at Aurelia to say something, but she was covering her ears too. The Mistress hissed and spat out rings of smoke, warning Caela to stop.
If I was lucky, then I had just enough magic left in me to temporarily slow the Mistress in time for Caela to get Aurelia and escape. I'd already told Caela what I wanted. Once Aurelia got onto Caela's back, she would protest or threaten or even kick at Caela to make her return to the Pantheon, but Caela was not to let her go until they had arrived in Britannia. Aurelia would forever be furious with me for this, but at least she would be alive.
"Get ready to jump on her back," I said to Aurelia. "When Caela gets down here, you won't have much time."
"I won't leave you," she said.
I only smiled back at her. "Then Caela will snatch you in her claw. Trust me, it's far more comfortable riding on her back." Aurelia continued protesting, but I'd already left the alcove.
By now, the Mistress had landed on a different coffer, lower on the roof where the concrete was thicker. When her claws dug into it, two bronze sheets fell to the ground, followed by chunks of concrete thick enough to crack the tile floor. I wondered how many chunks of concrete could be pieced away from the roof before the entire dome collapsed. As bad as that would be, I also wondered how much more damage would be done in this elegant room before the night was over.
I no longer had enough magic to do any harm to the Mistress, and that wasn't really the point anyway. All I had to do was get her out of the way for a few seconds. It would empty my magic completely, but once I got the amulets back, it would quickly return. No matter how angry he'd be after Aurelia escaped, Brutus would still allow the vestalis to return the amulets to me. What other choice did he have?
I climbed onto the altar in the center of the room and checked again that the Mistress's claws were dug into the bronze sheets. I wasn't sure that anyone even noticed me; they were still distracted by Caela's awful cawing.
I aimed my hands toward the Mistress, or rather, to the bronze sheets, and used magic to tear them from the concrete roof. The Mistress fell with them, struggling to regain her balance in the air. She might've been more successful, except that I was rotating in a circle, pulling down several other bronze sheets still in the dome. Some landed on her head or wings, their heavy weight throwing her off balance again. Those that missed her still kept her from flying properly since she was trying to avoid them.
There were only a few places in the Pantheon that were safe right now. Directly beneath the oculus, I was safe. The alcoves were safe -- Aurelia was still in Saturn's alcove and, unfortunately, Brutus was hiding in another of them too. I didn't know where the vestalis had gone, but Callistus would keep her safe.
Caela flew into the Pantheon, trailing behind the Mistress where the bronze sheets had already fallen. After making a half circle around the dome, she landed on the floor and cawed out for Aurelia to run toward her.
Aurelia didn't come out at first, and I wondered if above the sound of bronze sheets clanking onto the marble, she even heard Caela. But this was her only chance. She had to go.
I was out of magic. Whatever was done was the most I could do. And I was also out of strength, though I refused to fall. If I did, Aurelia would try to help me and I couldn't allow that. So I forced myself to remain standing, just until I could gain enough energy to get down from the altar.
Finally, Aurelia ran forward, but it was a moment too late. For by then, the Mistress had regained her balance and crashed directly into Caela. They rolled together on the floor, wings tangling with claws, while one screeched and the other growled.
Caela had lionhearted courage, and talons far sharper than the Mistress's claws, but puffs of flame kept erupting from the Mistress, which forced Caela back. Once they untangled, the Mistress took to the air first, though Caela shot up immediately after her. From below, Brutus cried out his support for the Mistress. I found just enough magic within me to send him into a coughing fit. I'd have caused him to choke on his heart instead, except that I wasn't sure he had one.
Overhead, Caela was screeching again, and the Mistress had smoke billowing from her nostrils. From what I could see, Caela had more than her share of wounds. She was losing.
I needed to do something to help the griffin, though I knew I wasn't up to it. I tried sending up bursts of magic, but they came from me with little more force than whispers and feathers.
"Stop this!" Aurelia yelled it loud enough to get everyone's attention in the room. Even Caela fluttered to the ground and the Mistress returned to the coffers, her claws digging into the bare concrete.
I turned to her and raised my hands, but not to fight. It was in surrender.
Amidst the confusion, Aurelia must've found Callistus and gotten her bow and arrow from his saddle. An arrow was nocked and aimed directly at me.
Aurelia's eyes remained on me, but she was speaking to the entire room. "Every one of you wants something from Nic, do you not? Well, I can stop the Praetor War right now. All I have to do is shoot him, and unless you listen to me, that's exactly what I'll do."
Aurelia did not have the magic of the gods, nor the strength of a dragon, or powers of either a Praetor or a vestalis. Yet she was the one suddenly in command of the room.
Aurelia pulled the arrow back even further, and the tone of her voice made it clear she would not hesitate to release it. "I warned you, Nic, that I would not allow you to make a Jupiter Stone. Even if it requires me to become your enemy, for your own good, I will stop you."
I didn't particularly want to be shot with an arrow tonight, but if that happened, I knew I'd come back from it. Despite the heavy tone of Aurelia's voice and her threatening posture, this was not the act of an enemy. Aurelia would shoot me, bringing me down, and then once I was given up for dead, she would help me heal. If I could figure out the plan this easily, then so could the Mistress. This trick would never work.
"Shoot him if you wish," the Mistress said with honest indifference. "We have the amulets. It won't be hard to find someone else with magic who will be more cooperative."
That wasn't entirely true. If finding someone else were as easy as she made it sound, they'd already have killed me.
The Mistress continued, "The same is true for my Praetor. Stop him tonight, and another Praetor will rise in his place, and another, and another. Diana's war will continue on."
I looked up at her. "None of this is necessary, Mistress. I've said I will bring in the storm. Let Aurelia leave with the griffin, and I'll do as you ask."
"I have a different plan," Brutus said. "Tell the griffin to leave, and I won't kill the girl."
I
turned and saw he must've snuck up behind Aurelia and had a knife at her throat. Aurelia's face was set in a tight grimace, and the knuckles of her hand holding the bow were white. She was clearly angry with herself for failing to hear his approach, and I worried that anger would overshadow her wisdom. "Drop the weapon," he said.
Aurelia shook her head, her stare fixed on me. She wanted me to use some magic to stop him, but I had nothing to offer her.
"Do as he says," I said. Unlike her gesture just now, Brutus was not playing any tricks. She closed her eyes, lowered the bow, and let it clatter to the floor.
With the knife still against Aurelia's neck, Brutus addressed me. "Order your griffin to leave."
Caela was watching me, waiting for my instructions. "Go now," I said. It was all I could do.
Caela gave a soft caw, one of sadness, I thought. But I nodded at her as well. With a long final look at me, she spread out her wings and lifted into the air on a steep climb out of the Pantheon. She kicked at the concrete with one talon before leaving the oculus, and a chunk fell down, almost hitting the Mistress, who left her perch in the dome to avoid being hit. I thought Caela would be equally upset she had missed that opportunity.
Once Caela was gone, I said, "Now let Aurelia go."
"I think not." The Mistress swooped down and grabbed Aurelia within her claw. Aurelia flailed and tried to loosen the grip, but there was nothing she could do. The Mistress carried her high into the dome.
I raised a hand. Some magic had returned from the Divine Star, but not enough to force the Mistress to release Aurelia. All I could hope for was to protect her fall, if necessary.
The vestalis had entered the room again, though this time Callistus only walked along behind her. She gave Aurelia and the Mistress little more than a passing glance before walking over to me, still on the altar.
"You know how to save her, Nicolas." The vestalis placed the amulets at my feet. "You can save everyone here."
Aurelia cried out. It looked as if the Mistress was squeezing her.
So I pulled the white rock out of my pocket and held it up. "This is what you want, Mistress." That got her attention as her black eyes focused on the rock, hungry for its powers. I took a step forward. "If you harm Aurelia in any way, I will destroy this rock. Let her go, or it will become dust in my hands."