Mark of the Thief

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  My entire body felt like a rag that had been wrung dry. Back at the mines, Sal had once punished me by requiring me to dig through rock for twenty-four hours without sleep or meals. Once I was finally allowed to rest, it had taken an hour for my muscles to stop shaking from pain. It was awful then, but that was nothing to how I felt now. Worst of all was my injured arm, which lay on the ground in front of me like an empty tube that was attached to my shoulder. With the broken manacle cuffed around my wrist, I couldn't lift it, and the limb didn't even seem to be part of me anymore. The bandage over my injury was still knotted at the end, but the rest had come undone and lay in a heap on the dirt. And though I felt its burn, I couldn't see where the infection was. That would require me to rotate the arm, which simply wasn't going to happen. I didn't even care to look.

  I flicked my eyes upward at the sound of voices some ways off from me. Aurelia was gathered in a tight circle with the other children, who occasionally leaned back to look at me, but I couldn't hear any of what they said.

  Finally, one of the children got up, the African girl with the wide eyes. She walked over to me and said, "Thank you and I'm sorry."

  I smiled -- even that hurt -- and asked, "Why and why?"

  "You saved our lives down there."

  "What happened was my fault. You don't have to thank me for that." Then I added, "Why are you sorry?"

  "For the chains."

  "You were only following orders. Maybe you can help me get these manacles off, though."

  "That's why I'm sorry. The key got lost when all that water came in."

  I rolled my eyes. That was a problem. If I was going to be on the surface with the entire population of Rome after me, I needed a way to blend in. With a little luck, I had some chance of passing as a free person, as Aurelia did, but not with manacles on my wrists and ankles, and lengths of chain dangling from every limb. They were almost as bad as a brand on my forehead.

  "Don't worry," I told the girl. "That's not your fault either." Then I smiled up at her. "What's your name?"

  She started to answer, until Aurelia appeared behind her. "Don't say your name," she said. "It's time to leave. I'll find you again when I can."

  The girl thanked me once more, and then wandered back to the others. I looked past Aurelia to watch the children form into a tight group, check around for anyone else in the area, and walk away.

  I squinted at Aurelia. "Why can't she tell me her name?"

  "Because I still don't trust you."

  "No, of course not. I only saved all of your lives."

  "And why do you think they needed saving?"

  "When you said the pipe was disconnected, I assumed you'd destroyed it. Not taken two pieces apart."

  "Nobody would've cared to fix it unless they were after you!"

  "You brought me there!"

  "You asked for help. I gave it to you!"

  "Right. If your idea of help was to put me in chains that nearly got me drowned!" I changed my mind about her. Again. At the moment, I had every confidence in my dislike for Aurelia.

  "Sit up," she said. "It feels ridiculous to argue while you're lying there like a half-dead fish."

  "I feel like a half-dead fish." But I gritted my teeth and got to a sitting position. When I did, I found Aurelia's knife at my neck again.

  "Tell me how you do the magic," she said. "Also, I want that bulla back. It's safer with me."

  This time, her knife was more of an annoyance than a threat, and I pushed the blade aside. "Is that how you make new friends, with a knife at their throats?"

  She knew I had called her bluff, and put the knife back in its sheath. "I don't make new friends," she mumbled. "Or keep any."

  Hardly a surprise. "What about those children?"

  "They're trying to stay out of slavery, and I help them. That's all."

  "Where are they going?"

  "To other safe havens. But don't ask where because I don't think you should know."

  I didn't think so either. Radulf could speak inside my mind, and I worried that he might also have the power to read it. I hoped not, but until I was sure, I wouldn't ask for information I shouldn't have.

  "Why do you stay in Rome?" I asked. "If you're as strong as everyone says, then leave."

  Aurelia bowed her head and her fingers traveled to the crepundia around her neck. Nothing more needed to be said. I understood now. Her family was here, somewhere. Just as my sister must be here too. Somewhere.

  "Listen, I'm sorry that happened below," I said. "I had no idea Radulf knew where I was, or that he could do something like that."

  "And I'm sorry I didn't believe you. When I take you to Horatio, we'll convince him of how dangerous Radulf is."

  My mouth literally fell open. Either she was evil or completely insane because I was pretty sure I had just proven how difficult it would be to force me to do anything. That said, when I stood, my legs were wobbly and Aurelia came closer to assist me. Before she could, I locked my knees and turned away. Every time she helped me, my situation got worse, which was no small accomplishment since it had started out pretty close to the bottom.

  "You walk like you have two broken legs," Aurelia said. "How are you going to run from me if you can't walk?"

  "I'm not going to run," I said. "But I won't obey you either. I'll never have a master again."

  Aurelia hesitated and then smiled sideways at me. "Finally, you're beginning to make sense."

  Well, it wouldn't last long. Because the idea I was about to propose defied any logic. Hopefully, it was worth the risk. "If you're going to find your family, then you need money, right?"

  "I need a lot more than what you could pay me."

  "How much is Senator Horatio offering for me?"

  "It's not about the money, Nic. I really think he will help you."

  I snorted. Maybe he wouldn't try to drown me in a cistern like Radulf had, but ... actually, maybe Horatio would. According to him, I was only a filthy slave boy.

  Aurelia rolled her eyes. "It's five hundred denarii. But even if there were no reward, I'd still take you to him, for everyone's safety, including yours. Who knows what damage you'll cause next?"

  Certainly, I didn't know, and for that reason, I had a hard time arguing with her. But that didn't mean I would cooperate. Not the way she wanted anyway.

  "Maybe we can help each other," I said.

  Her brows pressed together. "How?"

  "I think Senator Valerius took my sister from the mines, at my request. I don't know my way around Rome, especially with everyone looking for me. I don't know the customs here, and I don't know how to control the magic. I need your help to find Valerius." I drew in a shallow breath, one that chilled my lungs and sent shudders through me. "If you can take me to him, then afterward I will go with you to Horatio. He'll give you your reward money."

  She frowned, obviously skeptical. "Just like that?"

  "No, not just like that. I have to be sure my sister is safe, and I hope that Valerius will help me get my freedom from the emperor. Then Horatio won't be able to touch me."

  "Horatio is the presiding magistrate of the Senate. If anyone can convince the emperor to spare your life, it's him. I'm sure he can help you."

  My eyes narrowed. "Don't pretend to care about what happens to me. All you want is the money. Well, you'll get it. But you have to help me first."

  Her eyes shifted to the bulla folded in my palm. "What happens to that?"

  "I don't know." Radulf would kill me for it, the emperor too, and probably Horatio. Which meant Aurelia might do the same, especially if we ran into any problems on our way to finding Valerius. I shrugged and said, "I'll keep it until I find my sister. I might need it, especially if Radulf tries anything else. But when this is all over, I'll be glad to get rid of it. It's brought me nothing but trouble."

  Aurelia bit her lip while she thought about my proposal. "Valerius is a senator, so I can find him. But once we do, getting close to him will be your problem. Runaway slaves ca
n't just walk up to senators. For that matter, neither can plebian girls."

  "He'll see me." That part of the plan didn't concern me at all.

  "And once your sister is safe, you'll come with me to see Horatio? You promise me that?"

  "You'll get your money, Aurelia."

  Then her head tilted. "What about Radulf? This could be dangerous."

  I barely held back a mischievous smile. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have the courage."

  She lightly punched my arm -- my injured arm, but I probably deserved that much. "I'm in."

  It turns out that I'd already worn these very manacles once before. Aurelia confessed that this was the same set Felix had made me wear in the caravan. Instead of returning them to Felix, she merely kept them.

  "You mean you stole them," I corrected her, only half teasing. "Was this one of those choices you had to make to survive? Or are you also a thief?"

  "I'm a girl with a knife, so be careful of your accusations," Aurelia shot back. Not half teasing.

  We were hurrying toward the venatio, hoping to get there before it was light enough for many people to be around. She believed Felix would have another key.

  "He won't give it to you," I said. "Especially if he knows why you want it."

  "Then I'll have to steal it." She caught the playful gleam in my eye and immediately followed that with, "Don't say another word." But this time, I was sure I saw a hint of a smile. Barely, but it was there.

  No matter how quiet the city was in the predawn hours, the venatio workers were already hard at work. Other animals were being transported to the amphitheater, which likely meant more games were coming soon. The animals clamored for attention as the workers shouted orders to one another about filling the animals' needs.

  Only days ago, I had been one of them. Moving about in a haze of blindness, thinking that even if life in bondage was bad, it was still tolerable. But no more. From behind the copse of cypress trees where we hid and watched, I already felt apart from that world. I repeated in my mind the same vow as before, that I would never again fall into chains. I was my own person now. My own master.

  "There he is." Aurelia pointed at Felix, who was crossing from his home to the amphitheater.

  We darted out into the street, and then ran up to Felix. He heard us coming and started to yell for help, but Aurelia drew her knife. "None of that," she said firmly. "We need the key for these manacles. My copy was lost."

  Felix looked from me back to her. "After what happened in the amphitheater, now you're helping this slave boy? He could've caused thousands of deaths. He's a fugitive of the empire, not to mention a runaway slave. I paid good money --"

  "I'm free now," I said. "I don't care what you paid."

  Felix shook his head. "Ah. So slaves can declare their own freedom now? Why not make yourself a patrician, or a senator?"

  "Because I don't stink as bad as they do," I retorted.

  "The key," Aurelia repeated.

  Felix produced a ring full of dozens of keys and handed them to me. As I started poking each one into the manacle lock, hoping for a match, he said, "All of Rome knows you performed magic, and those who know how you did it will kill to get that bulla. Do you think Aurelia is any different?"

  I glanced sideways at her. The very opposite was true. Despite the fact that I needed her help, nobody seemed more dangerous right now. What if we couldn't find Valerius? Would she become impatient and try turning me over to Horatio early? What if someone else -- such as Radulf -- offered a greater reward? Would she lead me to him instead? And if she tried, could I stop her? I had a bulla I scarcely knew how to use. She had a knife. At least her bow was gone. Considering the possibility that she'd try using it against me, I was glad I'd broken it.

  Still looking for the right key, I said, "Why did the emperor have to make this a fight? I was on his side."

  "I warned him you'd find your magic in the arena, but he didn't believe it." Felix clasped his hands together. "You're a threat to him, Nic."

  "I'm not!"

  "You nearly brought down the amphitheater with a stroke of your arm, while holding a bulla that would be useless in his hands. You frighten him, and for good reason."

  "He should be frightened, but not of me. He has an enemy --"

  "He has many enemies, and if they get the bulla, they can use it against the entire empire. You proved that in the arena."

  "I didn't control any of what happened!"

  "Exactly my point!" Felix gestured in the direction of the amphitheater. "If you caused destruction like that without having control of the bulla, imagine what an enemy who controlled it could do."

  "The enemy is General Radulf," I said. "Emperor Tacitus must have him arrested."

  "On what charge?"

  "Illegal sheepherding, for all I care!" I shrugged angrily. "If he made up charges against me, then he can do it for the general."

  Felix snorted. "The general cannot be stopped. As I've told you, all the emperor can do is hope Radulf does not turn against him."

  "He already has! I've told you what he said!"

  "Give me the keys, you're too slow." Aurelia took them and knelt at my feet, working first at the manacles there.

  "What if I get evidence against Radulf?" I offered.

  Felix's eyes narrowed. "What would you ask in return?"

  "For my life. The emperor must forgive all criminal charges against me. And I want my sister's freedom." When I found her. "And I want five hundred denarii."

  Still at work with the keys, Aurelia muttered something under her breath. It shouldn't matter to her where she got her money. This way, I could avoid Horatio forever.

  "Those are heavy demands," Felix said. "But I might be able to persuade Emperor Tacitus if you give him the bulla as part of that agreement."

  "I will trade the bulla for my freedom. But until Radulf is defeated, he can still get at me, and I need the bulla for defense."

  Curious, Felix tilted his head. "What do you mean Radulf can get at you?"

  "He's got magic, Felix." I had seen it, and felt it, and still had the echo of his voice in my head.

  Felix's expression changed. It wasn't one of surprise, but rather, as if I had spoken a truth he had refused to acknowledge until now. "Are you sure?" For the first time since we began talking, he sounded as frightened as I felt.

  "It's different from whatever I can do with the bulla, but just as strong. And I bet that if he got the bulla, he could use it, maybe worse than me. He'll make what I did in the arena look like a game of knucklebones."

  Felix's face went pale. He took the keys from Aurelia, sorted through them until he found the one he wanted, and handed it back. She stuck it in the lock on my manacles and it opened.

  While she completed the others, Felix said, "General Radulf wasn't born a Roman. He came from a barbarian tribe up north and was captured thirteen years ago when Rome conquered his land. He became a gladiator here, one of the few to never lose a fight. Radulf became a hero in this city, and through his skills, he earned his freedom, then his citizenship, then his military position."

  Aurelia snapped off the last of my manacles and said, "Let's go."

  I resisted her tug. "You think he won because he had magic?"

  Felix looked around before speaking, as if he thought we might be overheard. "I worked with the animals while Radulf waited for his turn to enter the arena. I saw him up close many times, bare except for his gladiator uniform. Nic, whatever that mark on your back means, Radulf has one exactly like it."

  "Nic, now!" Aurelia said. "We've been spotted." Two soldiers talking by the amphitheater glanced at us.

  No, this was my chance to get answers. Maybe my only chance. "I heard he killed others who had the mark."

  "Every one of them, and now we know why. He'll do the same to you." Felix's eyes darted around again. "If that mark is a source of magic, then you have to worry about more than the bulla. It means there is magic coming from inside you."

  Aurelia
pulled at my arm, but Felix grabbed my shoulders. "Listen carefully. These are dangerous times, and what you did in the amphitheater proves you will either be the emperor's greatest friend, or his greatest enemy. He will not take the risk of guessing wrong about you. If you go to the emperor or anyone loyal to him right now, they will kill you."

  Aurelia only briefly met my eyes. Clearly, Felix's warning included Horatio, the leader of the emperor's Senate. And I had agreed to go.

  Felix continued, "If you want forgiveness from the emperor, you will have to do more than get evidence against Radulf. You will have to defeat him and take his magic, just as he has taken it from others."

  I shrank beneath his gaze. "I can't stop him, Felix! Expose him, maybe, but that's all."

  "You may be the only one who can."

  The thought of that terrified me, but then I remembered when the bulla had pressed against the mark on my back, the way I had felt it pulling out the magic. If I could do that same thing to Radulf, I could win. There was an obvious problem, of course. I would have to get close to Radulf, and I doubted he'd cooperate with my plan.

  "We have to go now!" Aurelia grabbed my arm. The two soldiers who had been talking to a slave closer to the amphitheater pointed at us. One of them pulled out his sword.

  I started to leave, but turned back long enough to look at Felix. "If it's the only way I can get freedom, then I will do as you ask. But if the emperor doesn't keep his end of the bargain, then yes, I will become his greatest enemy."

  Felix only stared as Aurelia and I hurried away.

  This time, Aurelia actually had a good excuse to be angry with me. I had tarried so long with Felix that the Roman soldiers were on our heels now. As far as I was concerned, my reasons were good. Aurelia disagreed.

  "Why didn't you listen?" she scolded.

  "You could've left, you know. It's only money." I spoke as irritably as she had, though I hoped she wasn't angry enough to actually leave.

  "You're worth more than just money," she said, then shifted directions slightly. The soldiers had taken a high road, hoping to cut us off. This bought us a few extra paces. "This way! We'll hide in the forum."

  It didn't seem like the best suggestion, and in any other situation, I'd have stopped to make an argument of it. I'd only seen the forum from a distance, but enough to know it was always full of people, going to and from the many temples, markets, and other public buildings. Most of them had probably been in the amphitheater. I figured it was a safe guess that they'd remember the boy who had nearly destroyed it.