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"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."
