Radulf stopped. "You are the presiding magistrate of the Senate, and yet you address me with the superior title?"
"Because you are superior, Dominus. I still have the key. But if you want it, you must accept me as your second in command."
"I do not bargain with fools." Radulf shook his head. "Give me the key, or they will carry your body from this arena."
I got to my feet and yelled, "Fight me, Radulf! Not him."
Radulf turned to me, slowly. "Why do you want this fight? Do you believe you cannot lose? Is that because you have the key hidden, just as you tried to hide the bulla?"
"Valerius is using the key against all of us. Don't fall for his trap!"
"One of you has it." Radulf turned to Horatio. "Is it you?"
And he raised a hand to throw a punch at Horatio, but I used my magic to place a shield between them, much as I had shielded the people near the baths on the Appian Way. It immediately cost the bulk of my magic, and the strain of keeping it in place was quickly wearing me thin.
In his attempts to push through my shield, Radulf was becoming tired as well, and when he paused to rest, I took my chance to change the course of this fight. With one hand keeping the shield on Horatio, I raised another hand to the skies and commanded the clouds to gather. They formed out of nowhere and darkened so quickly that it felt like the daylight had been extinguished.
"What are you doing?" Radulf seemed as surprised as I had been when he first appeared on the platform. He stepped forward, forgetting our fight. "Nic, how are you doing this?"
"I need that arena floor." With that, I directed the clouds to pour down their rain, and they obeyed. It was more than I wanted, as usual, but the onslaught of water quickly put out the fires in the arena, leaving great clouds of steam to mix with the rain and suffocate the air around us. Once the last fire went out, I tried to part the clouds and end it, but the storm was still worsening. Thunder rolled above us, echoing in the skies. That frightened me, more than I wanted to admit. I had never wanted the thunder to come.
I ducked as the storm cracked overhead, and my shield protecting Horatio fell with it. Radulf crouched as well, then cried, "Nic, stop this!"
If only I knew the way to stop it. Where there is thunder, lightning follows. Every storm I'd experienced in my life brought with it the thoughts of my father standing on a tall ridge in defiance of Jupiter's power. But now, Sal's words filled my head -- my father had had magic too. He had faced the lightning, hoping to create a Jupiter Stone, and with it, end the war in Gaul. But he had failed, and died.
Radulf grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Nic, we cannot be out here with the lightning! Send this storm away, now!"
I closed my eyes and willed the clouds to part. Another roll of thunder crossed the sky, and so at first I was sure I had failed, but slowly it faded and I saw sun again. The audience cheered at that, which surprised me. I had forgotten they were here.
Radulf sat back, clearly as relieved as I was. I knew why lightning storms frightened me, but I hadn't expected him to be afraid as well.
Before he recovered, I stood and call
ed out to his men, who were still standing on their raised blocks, although they were now dripping wet and significantly less godlike than they had been before. "Drop your weapons," I yelled. "Or they will be eaten out of your hands."
And I raised both arms, then spread my fingers apart. Obeying my will, the thirty-six lifts from the hypogeum below opened into the arena. Felix had said the animals were still in place from what had originally been planned as a hunt this morning. If the mob had expected a hunt, I would give them one. But the animals would not hunt one another.
Out from the lifts came lions and bears and wild boars. There were also tigers and large black cats, and even an elephant. And because I had the bulla, they would hear me and obey.
"Do not harm any unarmed man in this arena!" I told them.
The animals charged, knocking the blocks out from beneath Radulf's men and baring teeth in ways that even made me nervous. Weapon after weapon was thrown aside, followed by the men breaking through the north gate of the arena to escape. The animals went with them, every last one. The audience exploded with cheers.
I figured Rome would probably not have another venatio for some time. Mostly because they had just lost every single one of their animals.
And if nothing else went well for the rest of this battle, that alone made me smile.
I kept four animals back, to stay with me in the arena, specially chosen for Radulf, who Valerius had told me was terrified of lions.
Indeed he was, for when he saw them coming, Radulf jumped off the platform and went running for a lift that still had its doors open. Except a familiar face was coming up on that lift, with a long knife at her waist and a bow in her hands. I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life.
Aurelia jumped onto the arena floor and nocked an arrow aimed directly at Radulf. "Another step closer and you'll get poked."
He threw some sort of magic at her, but I had already put up a shield to block it.
"I stand with you, Nic, as an equal!" she said. "This is what friends do!"
"Not here!" I yelled.