Just as it had in Crispus's vineyards, the arrow came directly toward me. Trying to catch it before had thrown off my balance, but not this time. I watched it spin in the air, fluttering slightly in the wind, and aimed at my heart. When the moment was right, I spun around and then caught the arrow in my fist. The audience burst into applause, but I wasn't doing this for them.
I spun again and with that motion threw the arrow into the air, as swift and strong as if I'd had my own bow to launch it. When Valerius realized it was heading to him, he cried out and ducked, but it didn't matter. I stopped the arrow at the tip of his nose, then let it fall.
Laughter and applause followed from the audience, but as soon as they had quieted, I yelled, "I am innocent of your accusations, Senator Valerius. And I'm a free person, not an escaped slave!"
Only then did I realize that Radulf had come up near me and held out a hand for peace. "Come with me, Nic, as my second in command. In our new world, there will be no Senator Valerius. You will become greater than everyone, even the emperor."
"Except for you." I arched an eyebrow. "Right?"
He smiled. "Bow to me, and I'll see that the world bows to you. Or if you refuse, I will kill you, just as I did Horatio."
"You won't have me so easily!" That, I hoped, was true. My magic was nearly drained, and fading fast. If another fight started between us, I wouldn't have enough magic left to squash an ant. Radulf sent another fist of air toward me, but I punched back with something that rattled the ground. I turned to run deeper into the arena, but before I got very far, he shot at my back and flattened me on the ground. I summoned everything I had left into the core of my body and started to get up, but before I could, his foot came down on my shoulder, directly over the Divine Star. It stung beneath his touch, but offered me nothing in added strength.
"You don't need a bulla to pull out someone's magic," Radulf said. "All you need is the willingness to inflict that level of pain."
I didn't waste energy in answering him. Instead, I searched within myself for what magic remained. There wasn't much.
"Everyone you know has betrayed you," Radulf said. "Aurelia, Crispus, Valerius, Felix, even your mother. The list goes on, except for one name and that is mine. How many times could I have killed you, and I didn't. And I won't."
"That's a lie!" I tried pushing myself up but he kept me pinned down. "You've killed everyone whose shoulder is marked."
"For good reason," Radulf said. "I must protect the power for those who should have it."
"That's not your choice!"
"It's our choice. Together, our magic will rule this empire. You will not be a slave anymore, not even a mere citizen. We don't need a fool emperor, or a Senate, or the Praetors' secrets. We can defeat them all."
"No!" I struggled again beneath him, but the shield for Aurelia had cost more than I could've imagined. I only hoped something would be left of me at the end of it.
He sighed. "You forced me into this, Nic. I wish you hadn't."
Radulf leaned down and placed his hand on my shoulder, beneath the tear in my tunic and directly over the Divine Star. What had been a mild sting turned to sharp pain as he began to pull the magic from my body. I cried out, both from the pain and the helplessness I felt. If he had been ripping out my heart, it couldn't have hurt worse. This was what Crispus had described to me only days earlier. It was the way
Radulf had killed everyone else with the mark, and now he had targeted me. Without strength to fight him, I could only lie there screaming and trying to keep whatever was left gathered in my hands, both of which were wrapped around the bulla. I couldn't let him take it, but I wasn't able to use it either. I squirmed, trying again to stop him, but the pain was greater than anything I'd felt before and was only getting worse. He dug through every vein of my body, seeking out the tendrils of magic that had attached themselves to me and cutting them free. A part of me wanted him to take the rest of the magic, because then this would stop. So I let go of the fight. If it went on much longer, I wouldn't survive the pain anyway.
"General Radulf, that's enough!" a man yelled. He must've come through the gates directly into the arena. "On behalf of Emperor Tacitus and Senator Valerius, the Praetors of Rome demand your arrest."
Hundreds of men had gathered with arrows aimed directly at Radulf. Though my eyes barely remained open now, I looked long enough to notice that each man wore a thin silver band, in the shape of an arrow, folded around his arm. It was Diana's arrow. I wasn't sure how I understood that, but I knew I was right. Radulf stood, and I saw a hint of alarm in his eyes.
Radulf glanced down at me and said, "Neither of us can fight them alone, Nic. The Praetors are more than what they seem."
By the time I looked up to respond, he had disappeared.
Radulf was gone.
Everyone, stay away!" Crispus ran through the opened gate into the arena, then was at my side where I still lay in a heap on the burnt sand. He put my arm around his shoulder, and raised me to my feet. I tried to walk on my own, but it was hard enough to keep my legs from collapsing, much less use them to take me anywhere. My bigger concern was my shoulder, which throbbed with the pain of losing its magic just as it had stung when Caela first gave me the magic. I felt turned inside out.
"Let him pass," Crispus yelled to the Praetors who had also entered. "My father, the presiding magistrate, wishes to speak to him at once. Besides, you know what Nic can do."
That was ridiculous. The magic left in me wouldn't create a slight breeze, much less threaten anyone. Crispus didn't know that. Obviously I was weak, but he didn't know the magic was gone.
I tried not to look at the Praetors as we neared them. Radulf had said the Praetors were more than what they seemed. Why had they worn that particular armband? And why did Radulf leave so quickly once he saw them here? Perhaps it was I who should fear them. Murmuring amongst themselves, they parted to allow Crispus to help me limp out of the amphitheater.
I took one last look at Horatio's body, still on the ground without a scratch on him. The fact that I had failed to save him tore at my heart. Despite my best efforts, my plan had changed nothing and my shield had not been enough. Aurelia wasn't here anymore. I didn't know where she had gone, or what she must think of me now.
Once out in the corridor, I pushed away from Crispus, determined to walk, or fall, on my own. "Your father is responsible for Horatio's murder!" I snarled. "He used me as bait so he could get the key!"
Crispus looked back through the gates at Horatio's body. "It had to be done. Horatio couldn't be trusted as presiding magistrate, and we couldn't allow Radulf to get the key."