I didn't hear the rest of what she said, because now a voice thundered in my head, so loud that I tried to raise my hands to cover my ears, except the chains were attached to my leg irons and wouldn't reach that far.
"Nicolas Calva!" That was Radulf speaking directly into my head. I didn't know how that was possible, but I couldn't hear anything else, not even my own thoughts.
Aurelia didn't seem to hear it. "What is the matter with you now?"
"Can't you --" I started, but then Radulf's voice continued.
"I found you, Nic. By joining those children, you have chosen them to die with you."
"No!" I fell to my knees, and lowered my head enough to get my hands over my ears. But covering them only made the sound louder.
"If you give yourself up now, I promise to let them live. If you don't, there is no escape for any of you."
I looked up at Aurelia, who was staring back at me as if a horn had sprouted from my head. I pointed to the doorway. "How many exits out of here, into the main sewer line?"
"Only one," she said. "But nobody else --"
The same girl who had manacled me rushed into the room. "Aurelia, I hear sounds in the tunnels. Men's voices. Lots of them."
Her eyes darted back to me, full of alarm. "How far away?"
The girl shrugged.
"They're here for you, right?" Aurelia didn't say it as a question, and didn't need my nod for an answer. She pressed her lips together for only a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, Nic. I have to give you up to them."
"They'll kill me if you do!"
"They'll kill all of us if I don't. Including you!" She tugged on my chains.
But I wasn't going to budge. "I can get us out of here."
She turned around the room. "I told you, there's only one exit, from the outer room. And that will take us directly into the sewers with those men!"
"What's above us?"
She rolled her eyes. "Dirt."
Well, obviously. "No, above that!"
Aurelia shrugged. "An olive orchard, I think." Then her eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about it!"
"Give me the bulla."
"Is that how you did what you did in the amphitheater?"
"Yes. I think so." Somehow.
She shook her head. "I tried using it and nothing happened."
"And when I use it, big things happen, so do you want to debate why or let me have it?"
Then her eyes widened further. "I only think it's an open field. What if I'm wrong?"
"What if we do nothing? Do you really believe Radulf will take me and leave the rest of you alone?"
Aurelia reached for a familiar strap that had been hidden beneath her tunic and lifted out the bulla, which she shoved into my hand. It was heavier than before, which meant either I was weaker, or the magic in it was growing. I immediately began to feel its strength flow into me, moving through my chest, down my legs and arms, up my back and into my mind. The magic dug deeper, burning its way through my blood with a power I had never noticed before.
The children who had been in the outer room came running in, far more of them than I had expected. I counted at least a dozen heads, some of them quite young, and all of them looking to Aurelia for answers. "They're here!" one of the younger boys cried.