Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  "Let's talk about it now, right here."

  He leaned in. "If you intend to defy the Praetors, then you need to know everything about the Malice. And about the Mistress who guards it for the gods. Do you want to learn these things from me, or from Decimas Brutus?"

  "Who is the Mistress?"

  He glanced around the street. "You cannot possibly expect me to discuss that out here."

  My hand tightened around the bulla. "You'll steal this, take my magic again." I still cringed to think of when he had done it before.

  "What I did is nothing compared to what the Praetors will do to get that key." Radulf smiled. "Besides, it appears that I'd have to kill you to take your magic entirely, and as you know, I need you alive to create the Jupiter Stone." He sighed, losing patience with me. "I give you my solemn vow. You may keep the bulla, for now. For some reason, I can't operate it anyway, and if the Praetors return, at least one of us should be able to destroy something with it."

  "I don't have the key to the Malice."

  "So you've said, probably a thousand times today alone. Stubborn boy, can't you see I'm trying to help you?" When I didn't respond, he said, "I have a gift for you in there, something I wasn't going to show you until the chariot races for the Ludi Romani next week. If you miss your griffin, you'll want to see this."

  That tempted me, enough to finally give in and follow him inside. I knew there were several areas I had not been allowed to explore, so it was hardly a surprise that he might have secrets here.

  We went through the atrium into his baths. I smiled when I saw how torn apart they were. Destroyed, really. Except for a few inches at the very bottom of the pool, the water was entirely drained out, and the concrete was missing large chunks. It was obvious where those chunks had flown up out of the water and crashed against his walls. Repairing this room would require almost an entire rebuilding.

  "What happened here?" I didn't even attempt to sound innocent.

  He laughed. "My grandson hasn't learned the proper use of a door apparently."

  Even I had to laugh along with him, partially out of relief that I would not be punished for what I'd done. Looking at the destruction, I definitely deserved it.

  But Radulf only led me past the baths to a door I'd wondered about every time I'd been in here. He gave a quick knock, two short raps followed by a pause, and then a third knock. Then the door was unlocked on the inside and opened by a small, hunched man who was dressed as a gardener.

  He eyed me suspiciously and said to Radulf. "Callistus is for him? Are you sure?"

  I tried not to take offense. After all, despite having washed before leaving the sewers, I probably still carried too much of its odor. And I'd just fought off several Praetors, which couldn't have improved my smell. Callistus meant "most beautiful." Whatever it was, I'd probably melt its nostrils. I was almost melting my own.

  Radulf nodded, and we were allowed to pass through the narrow corridor into a fenced courtyard. I heard the snort of a horse and the glimpse of a white tail, which didn't surprise me. Radulf had already told me this was for the chariot races, so I figured he must have a powerful horse in his possession.

  But it wasn't that. Not exactly anyway.

  Radulf had a unicorn.

  I felt myself walking forward, drawn to the animal as if from his will rather than my own.

  "How is this possible?" I mumbled.

  Radulf put his hand on my shoulder, pressing against the Divine Star that was there. I flinched when it sparked, and moved away from him.

  "Do you remember how I got magic?" he asked me. "My Divine Star?"

  Magic had to come from a creature of the gods, and the memory of how he had acquired his returned to me like a kick to my gut.

  "It was given to you accidentally, as you killed a unicorn."

  "The unicorn was a mother, and this was her colt. I named him Callistus." Radulf's voice bore no hint of sorrow or regret for what he'd done, which sickened me. "For obvious reasons, he won't allow me anywhere near him, and only my oldest servant can feed and water him." With his hand, Radulf pressed me forward. "But I suspect Callistus will like you."

  The unicorn had his eye on me as warily as I was watching him. His fur and mane were as white as clouds, his eyes like the blue heavens from which he had come. But most notable was the spiral horn on his forehead, as golden as the bulla.

  Since Radulf had trained me in chariot racing, I'd become comfortable with horses, but I still wasn't sure what to expect from a unicorn. He pawed at the ground a few times and arched his head, and then stared directly at the bulla, hidden again beneath my tunic. He knew it was there.

  I withdrew the bulla, and this time felt its power with more intensity than usual. Of course I would, in the presence of such a magnificent animal. And Radulf killed his mother. I glared back at him, wanting him to feel the force of my anger for his crime.

  But Radulf was past feeling anything. He only pointed to a leather saddle hanging over the fence. "This was made for Callistus. With the finest materials the empire can produce. Callistus is yours now, Nic."

  No, this unicorn wasn't his to give. Callistus was a prisoner here, as I had been. Or maybe as I still was.

  I reached out a hand, touching Callistus along the side of his neck first, and then slowly moving up to his head. I didn't dare touch his horn, but I sensed powerful magic in it, something I felt both in my shoulder and in the warming bulla. After a moment, Callistus nudged toward me, much as Caela used to do. I looked into his deep blue eyes and felt swallowed up in them.

  Callistus truly was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen, just as Radulf's name for him suggested. But even more, he was pure, like the fresh-fallen snow described to me by men who came here from the far north. And here I was, filthy from the sewers. I was a thief, a runaway slave, and a potential rival of the gods, his true masters. I was unworthy to ride him.

  I withdrew my hand and turned to face Radulf again. "I cannot accept this gift," I said. "Callistus should not be owned, or made to serve anyone. Not me, and certainly not you."

  "Callistus might save your life. His horn can heal the worst of injuries."

  "The Divine Star can heal."

  "At great cost. It nearly killed you to save the griffin. The Divine Star may not be enough for what the Praetors will attempt when they find you." Radulf put a hand on my shoulder again and steered me out of the courtyard. "But if you won't accept the gift, then let's get some servants to clean you up. After that, we'll eat. I'm sure you're hungry."

  He was right about that, and after I'd been scrubbed down by at least five of his servants, I hurried into the dining room to eat. Radulf was reclined on his couch, waiting for me, but I was halfway through a bunch of grapes before he'd even reached for his first bite. Rather than eat anything, he sat up and studied me.

  Finally, I stopped eating and looked over at him. "You obviously have something to say."

  "I know what Brutus told you. By tomorrow, you have to give him the key or else they'll kill your mother."

  With that reminder, I lost my appetite completely. "I don't have the key, I swear it upon the gods."

  "What if the key is something that can't be held? Like a code?"

  "I've considered that," I said. "But there was nothing like a code when Horatio spoke to me. Never."

  "Well then, your mother has a big problem."

  "You said you'd help me rescue her," I reminded him. "That's the only reason I came back here."

  "And I will," Radulf said. "But since you don't have the key, to get her back we'll have to trick the Praetors."

  "This is my mother. There will be no tricks and no games."

  "Tricks and games are all we have left. You must trust me, Nic."

  Which might be a problem since my plan had always been to trust nothing from him. Cautiously, I said, "What are you thinking?"

  "First, you must leave the bulla safe here with me."

  I snorted. "You've got to be joking." That was lik
e leaving fresh meat in the safekeeping of a lion.

  "If they capture you, then they capture the bulla, and everything you can do with it."

  "And if I give you the bulla, then I know everything you'll do with it."

  "Listen to me --"

  "What about my mother?"

  He sighed, then reached down and opened a box that had been near his feet. "The magic of the first amulet is stored inside a bulla, as common as any Roman boy would wear. The Malice of Mars is just as simple."

  He pulled out an armband, similar to those worn by the gladiators in the amphitheater, except made of silver rather than the more common leather or bronze. Indeed, several of the statues of Mars in this city showed him with armbands very similar to what Radulf was now holding. Images of Mars holding his spear were carved onto the band, though most prominent was the head of a wolf.

  "This is not the actual Malice," I said.

  "No, but Valerius gave this to me yesterday. He had it made as an exact model of what he believes the Malice will look like."

  "There's no magic in it. The Praetors will know this is a trick."

  "The Praetors cannot sense magic, so they can be convinced. Besides, we don't need to trick them for long. Just until we get the real Malice of Mars on our own."

  "We can't get it without the key."

  "We should try! But in the meantime, we can use this trick to bargain for your mother."

  I stood, feeling my temper rise. "We cannot risk my mother's safety."

  "The Malice is worth the risk! It contains powers you cannot imagine!"

  "Then perhaps I should've bargained for your life this morning. Would you risk yourself?"

  Radulf shook his head. "I already did, outside the Pantheon."

  "No, I risked myself, to save you."

  Radulf opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. After a moment, he whispered, "Yes, you did. Why, Nic?"

  My eyes darted sideways, and I unclenched my fists. There was no answer to his question. I only said, "I already lost my father. I might need your help to save my mother."

  "You lost your father -- my son -- because of her! He was too hasty in believing he could create a Jupiter Stone, but he attempted it in trying to save her. We can succeed where your father failed."

  "You're wrong. I saw the lightning bolt that killed him. We can never win against it. And I was wrong to have come here."

  I stormed from the room and headed toward the baths. Using the bulla, it was nothing to open the locked door to the courtyard, which flew apart at its hinges. Callistus was standing in the center of the courtyard as if he had been waiting for me.

  Radulf ran in behind me. "You'll never save her on your own. And worse still, you'll let them destroy you too."

  I grabbed the saddle from the fence post and set it on Callistus's back, then whispered my apologies for asking such a humble task of him. In response, he arched his head and angled toward me, making my job easier.

  Radulf stepped closer. "I am the only one who can help you."

  "You've already helped me too much," I said, climbing into the saddle. "And my greatest hope is that you never help me again."

  With that, I released enough magic from my hand to break open a hole in Radulf's courtyard. As usual, the bulla's overflowing power collapsed most of the wall and leveled several trees in my path. I gave Callistus a brief pat on his neck, and then we rode away.

  Radulf released a flare of magic as I left, lighting a tree in his courtyard on fire. I wasn't sure if that came from his anger or his frustration at not being able to control me. And I really didn't care.

  Chariot racing had taught me better control of horses than I might have otherwise learned in a lifetime, but I quickly discovered that Callistus needed none of that training. I didn't have to speak to him, as I did with Caela. He knew my thoughts, and understood instinctively that I needed his help to find Aurelia and Livia again. And after that ... well, I didn't know what.

  Aurelia always had everything fully thought out before the first breath of an idea had ever entered my mind. So I already knew that she would find a safe place to hide Livia. But though I had a good idea of where she wasn't, I still had no idea of where she would be. Would they return to the sewers? I hoped not, because I couldn't find my way through them and didn't like the idea of going there yet again. My present goal was to limit my sewer visits to no more than once a month.

  Aurelia probably had a thousand places to hide in Rome, which was a good thing for both her and Livia. If I didn't give the Praetors a key tomorrow, my mother would pay the price for it. Livia was next on their list. Aurelia would follow.

  As I considered my options, it bothered me to realize that there had been some wisdom in Radulf's plans. Without a key to give the Praetors, there really was no choice but to trick them. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine what I could come up with by tomorrow. The Praetors were no fools.

  But I certainly was, a truth I felt running through every vein of my body.

  Was it possible that Callistus knew about the key to the Malice? There was no reason he should, but if the key had come from the gods, and so had this unicorn, then maybe he knew something. But when I asked, Callistus only snorted, which I took as a sign that I was still on my own.

  The biggest problem I faced was in convincing everyone that I didn't have the key. If they knew the despicable way Horatio had treated me every time we were together, they would understand why he never would have chosen to give it to me. The only thing Horatio had ever given me was a handful of insults and a nasty sword wound from his soldiers. Even after I tried to warn him that Valerius wanted him dead, Horatio went into the arena anyway. Despite my best efforts, Valerius succeeded with his plan. If Horatio gave away the key before he died, it wasn't to me.

  Then why did he announce in the arena that he had?

  Shortly before he sent me into the arena, Horatio told me he had the key with him at all times. We'd exchanged a few more words before he actually sent me into the arena, but that was all, just meaningless words. No codes, no cipher, and certainly nothing I'd consider a key. Up through the moment he entered the arena, Horatio planned to give the key to Radulf, right after my death. But much to his frustration, I had lived, so I doubted Radulf ever received the key either.

  No, what Horatio had announced in the arena was that he had given me the key, and kept it for himself. What did that mean?

  I became so absorbed in thinking about Horatio and the key that the clatter of Callistus's hooves against the paved stone road had become background noise. When it quieted, I realized we had left the road and were now far from Radulf's home. Callistus had us outside the center of Rome, in an area that might not have been familiar to most people, but I knew it well. Callistus was bringing me to Valerius's villa.

  I didn't want to go there, which surely Callistus already knew, and yet despite my attempt to prod him back to the road, he was intent in his course. Then it occurred to me why. If anyone in Rome knew where Aurelia might have gone, it was Crispus.

  That thought dug into me like a knife. For all I knew, Aurelia was staying here in his home. It wouldn't be frowned upon for her to have her own room here ... if she were viewed as his future wife.

  But Aurelia didn't seem to want that any more than I did. She said she would leave Rome with me. Maybe they were only words to get me to leave the fight with the Praetors. But maybe not.

  The only thing I was certain of was that Crispus did not deserve her.

  For that matter, neither did I. Yet she had eaten dinner with him, and had come to the circus with him.

  Callistus suddenly reared up, and I realized I had wound his reins so tightly around my fingers that they were pulling against him. Why was I so angry? It was jealousy obviously. The jealousy Diana felt toward Venus was flowing through the bulla and into me.

  Either that, or Diana had nothing to do with this. Maybe the beat of my heart whenever I saw Aurelia had nothing to do with magic.

  I whis
pered an apology to Callistus, who began running again, and in only minutes, we were at the property at the rear of Valerius's home, a place I had not been for the past two months. I saw his villa in the distance, already lit from within. If Aurelia was in there, I wanted to find her at once. Or alternately, never have to see her again, where I'd be forced to face my own stupidity. I wasn't sure which was worse.

  At least here in Valerius's fields, I could hide amongst his many rows of vines, which were thick with ripening grapes. In another few weeks, I'd have filled my belly with them, but for now, I had to be content with inhaling their delicious scent.

  Valerius had a vast amount of property. Most of it was these thick vineyards at the far end, but off to one side was a wooded area on a hill, and nearer the villa was an empty field. That was where I had first experimented with controlling my magic. Back when Crispus and his father had seemed like friends to me. And when I had been naive enough to believe there was an easy way to gain my freedom from the empire.

  While we were still on the outskirts of the field, I asked Callistus to halt. A sound had caught my attention; I could've sworn I'd heard something. Quiet as a breeze, but deeply disturbing.

  A woman was crying. Not in sobs, but in sharp breaths as if she'd been crying for a long time. I put my hands over my ears, testing whether I could still hear, but that only made it louder. Sure enough, this was happening inside my head. No one else would be able to hear it.

  I gently slid off the unicorn's back. "Wait here," I told him. "Don't let yourself be found by anyone but me."

  Then I started to walk away, but hesitated midstep and removed the bulla from my neck. Radulf was also right about that part of his plan. If the Praetors found me, I couldn't risk them getting the bulla too. I knotted it to a dangling cord on Callistus's saddle and then tucked the amulet beneath the saddle. Even if someone found Callistus, they would never notice the bulla, and Callistus wouldn't let anyone come near him anyway.

  Night was approaching, but enough light still remained to see my way through the fields. As I followed the sound of the crying, it grew louder, so I knew I was getting closer. I didn't dare call out to the woman -- if this was a trap, the last thing I wanted was to announce myself. I could hear her better now, and the desperation of her tears worked its way deeper inside me and weighed me down. It was the saddest thing I'd ever heard, as if the woman had lost everything she loved.