"They serve the gods?" I asked. "So does all of Rome."
"They serve only one. Diana, the goddess who powered your bulla."
Instinctively, I reached for it at my side, though I found nothing. The bulla hadn't rested there for two months.
Aurelia leaned in closer. "When Caesar first had the bulla, who gave it magic?"
"Venus was the first." I shrugged. "But after Caesar abandoned it, Diana gave it power."
"Did you ever wonder why Diana did that?"
I shrugged again. Once I stole the bulla, everything had spun so quickly out of my control, there was no time to think about why anything was happening.
"It's because Diana intends harm against Rome, and against the other gods," Aurelia said. "And the Praetors are sworn to help her to do it."
"How?"
"They want the three amulets here in Rome," Crispus said. "The bulla is powerful, of course, but not nearly as powerful as the Malice of Mars. The Praetors followed my father because the presiding magistrate has always held the key to unlocking that amulet. But he never got it. Before his death, Horatio gave it to someone else." His eyes drifted to mine.
"He never gave it to me," I said firmly. "The Praetors will find sugar in the salt mines before they ever find me with that key."
"My father believes you have it too," Crispus said. "Everyone believes it."
"Everyone is wrong," I said. "Radulf has searched me many times. If I did have the key, he would've taken it from me. So tell the Praetors to capture him instead and leave me alone!"
"Is the key in that sack at your waist?" Crispus asked. "Every time we've come to these practices, I've seen you carry it."
"No." I bunched the sack in my fist, as if he might try to take it. "How many of my practices have you been to?"
"Several." Crispus looked back to the track. "My father is a big supporter of the blue faction. Just like the emperor."
"The blue faction races like they were pulled by kittens," I said.
"Can we focus on an actual problem?" Aurelia touched both of our arms. "The Praetors want more than just the key. There's a third amulet."
"The Jupiter Stone," I breathed.
"They know how to create it," she said. "But they need someone with magic to attempt it. You."
"Radulf took my magic in the arena," I said. That much was true, and I wondered if not saying anything more made it a lie. "Even if he didn't, I wouldn't help the Praetors make a Jupiter Stone."
"The Praetors don't want it for themselves," Crispus said. "They want it for Diana. With it, she will become invincible, even to the other gods."
My eyes narrowed. "I won't help them. I won't allow Diana that much power." The ridiculousness of such a statement did not escape me. I was still a runaway slave. She ruled in the heavens.
"You might not have any choice," Crispus said. "If they --" Then he stopped, like his words had slammed into a stone wall.
With little patience left, I asked, "If they what?"
Crispus sighed. "You have to trust me and my father, no matter how they try to force you. Because if the Praetors succeed, it could mean that all of Rome is destroyed."
My temper warmed, but I kept my voice low. "Why won't I have any choice in helping them, Crispus?"
I looked to Aurelia for answers, but she only glanced down. Muttering a curse under my breath, I left them and walked over to Valerius and Radulf, still in conversation. Their backs were toward me, so they didn't see me approach, and I heard their argument as I came closer.
"You must believe me," Valerius was saying. "Nic is in grave danger."
They turned when they heard me coming. Valerius stood, his face creased with lines of worry. But Radulf leaned back and smiled. He said, "Welcome to the conversation, Nic. Sit down."