The door to the home opened. Crispus whispered to me, "That's my father. For now, say nothing of this new discovery. Let him talk first."
I nodded, and Senator Valerius came into the atrium. Crispus dipped his head toward his father, and Aurelia did the same. I wasn't sure what to do, but I figured I should probably show the same respect. Once I looked up again, Valerius eyed me suspiciously. "Why are you all wet?"
"The dogs chased him into the pool," Crispus said.
Valerius grunted as if I was some great fool for having fallen in the water which I probably was. But I reminded myself that he had risked a lot to bring me here, so I had already impressed him somehow. I didn't need to do more.
"What about your arm? It's wrapped, and badly done."
Aurelia grimaced, but it wasn't her fault. I had rewrapped the wound myself after we escaped from the cistern. Whatever oils she had put on the cloth to heal the wound were long washed away.
Aurelia spoke up for me and her tone was cool. "There are people who will do a lot worse to Nic if they have the chance. Can we be sure you aren't one of them?"
He didn't answer, and instead turned to me. "Let's talk in private." His eye wandered from Crispus to Aurelia. "While you two are waiting, Crispus, get that girl something proper to wear. She doesn't talk like a servant. Let's not have her looking like one."
Crispus bowed again and with a backward look at Aurelia, I followed Valerius into his office. He asked me to sit, which I did, and then he took his chair behind the desk, clasped his hands, and stared at me. I felt uncomfortable beneath his gaze, but recalled Crispus's reminder that only slaves kept their heads down. I forced myself to look back at him and tried to appear calm.
Finally, he said, "I've been asking questions about you. You call yourself Nicolas Calva -- a rather fine name considering you've come from the slave mines. You were known to be a hard worker, and a brave miner, though not the most obedient."
"I obeyed every order that wasn't stupid."
He arched an eyebrow. "As a slave, you took it upon yourself to decide which orders were good and which were bad?"
"You get to decide that. Why not me?"
"I'm a senator!"
"You're a person, just as I am. And I want to live my life."
Valerius leaned forward. "And is that your goal now, to live? I saw the way you fought for your life in the amphitheater. With that magic you threw out, you could've killed thousands of people."
"But I didn't."
"But you could have!" He gestured toward the bulla. "What do you know about magic?"
I hesitated at first, but finally decided that I had made an agreement with Felix, and Valerius was the only one who truly seemed interested in helping me keep it. So after a quick, nervous breath, I said, "I think the Divine Star is the reason I can do magic. Without it, this bulla would be as useless to me as it is to anyone else."
"That's right. But the Divine Star is more than the reason you can do magic. It is the magic."
"I don't feel any magic there. It prickles sometimes, but that's all."
"I think you would feel it, except for the other magic that is pressing in on you." He nodded at the bulla, still in my hand. "There is so much power in that object, I would guess you feel like you were tossed in the sea when you only asked for a cup of water."
The comparison fit. The bulla's magic crashed into me in waves, not droplets, always so much more than I could absorb. And I always felt its weight, even when the bulla was cold.
"This used to belong to Caesar," I said.
"Until he abandoned it, and eventually, Venus withdrew her powers from it as well. But Caesar chose a most interesting place to bury it."
"In a cave near Lake Nemi," I said. "In the shadow of Diana's temple."
"Where I first met you." Valerius frowned. "We heard Caesar's treasure had been discovered and went to search for that bulla. Though once I saw the mark on your back, I suspected the bulla had already been found."
"Why do you want the bulla, sir? Without magic --"
"Better I have it than the person who wishes to destroy Rome." Valerius stood and walked closer to me, then sat on the corner of his desk. "Nic, you hold the first of three amulets. Each will make the powers of the Divine Star stronger, and each will give you additional powers. This one, for example, allows you to talk to animals and gives you great strength."
"Because that's what Diana could do," I mumbled. "She powers this amulet now."