Not if I killed the dragon first. The vestalis wouldn't want that, but I didn't care. It would break the curse, and now it would save Aurelia too.
"You wish to kill me?" That was the Mistress's voice now. "No, Nicolas. If you return to my cave, you will not leave until you have pledged to obey my will."
"Never!" I shouted.
"Then Diana will not allow you to come."
Cries suddenly rose up from near the shores of the lake, though they weren't human and weren't really even cries. The sounds below me came from animals. A lot of them.
I slowed my run, hoping to approach with caution, to be sure of what was waiting for me before I announced my presence, but Diana took care of that too.
A huge brown bear darted from the underbrush, almost directly in my path. It rose to its hind legs, making it at least twice my height, and growled with a fury that even the Mistress would respect. I swerved to miss it, but it raised a claw and swiped at me. I flew several feet before landing on the dirt, then slid face-first the rest of the way to the bottom of the hillside.
When I raised my head again, I was surrounded.
To my right were more brown bears, at least twenty of them, and all larger than the first bear had been. Some were standing on their hind claws, and others paced on all fours like the tigers beside them, of equal number. To my left were packs of wild dogs, crouching low but barking out warnings that they would attack anything in here, or anyone. Two elephants were behind me, blaring out anger through their trunks like trumpets. Ahead of me were dozens of lions, already staring at me and growling.
"Swear to obey me," the Mistress said. "Or Diana will force that vow from you."
She meant that I'd be trampled, bitten, or half-eaten until I finally pledged my loyalty. I preferred to avoid any of that, but I couldn't deny this threat was real. These animals looked hungry.
They weren't wild, though, or hadn't been wild for the last few months. Elephants and tigers didn't wander about the Roman countryside, nor did lions, at least not in these numbers. They must have escaped the venatio, but for all of them to escape, and all of them to come here, was no coincidence. As the goddess of wild animals, Diana had undoubtedly sent them here to do her bidding.
Perhaps Diana had made a mistake, though, because with the bulla, I had some of her powers too. I backed up against a tree, hoping another brown bear wasn't behind it, then put one hand on the bulla and shouted to the animals, "I am not your enemy, and I will not harm you. Go into the hills of Rome. You are free."
I looked around, waiting for whatever might happen next. Though I'd had some success before in communicating with animals, the truth was that I was never sure what they were saying, and I'd only ever guessed that my messages got through to them. That was hardly enough reason to believe they'd understand me now, or obey my command.
Indeed, they were all watching me, and their total silence was far more unnerving than their noise had been. Silence meant they had heard me and refused to obey.
Inside my head, the Mistress laughed. "Did you think they'd care about your words while Diana speaks to them? They are hers, as I am hers, and by the end of this night, you will be hers too."
My back straightened in defiance. "I'd rather pledge loyalty to these animals' droppings!"
Unamused by my joke, the animals closed in tighter around me, attempting to back me away from the lake. If this was Diana's grand plan to keep me away from the Mistress, it was remarkably foolish. There was only one way for me to get into the cave, and that was by making myself disappear there. She could add another thousand animals, and it wouldn't make a difference.
Surely, Diana knew this. Which meant there was something more.
She was sending me a message, a warning. She wanted me to know that at least part of my powers were stolen from her, and that ultimately, she was greater than I'd ever be. Well, that was obvious. She was goddess of the hunt, and of the moon, and of wild animals. I had come from the mines not far from here. Nothing about me could compete with her, but that didn't mean I had to obey her.
Nor did any of the other gods, and there was one other whose magic I could wield: Mars. His animal did not obey Diana either, but it would hear me.
I used the amulets to call through the hills around this lake. Diana might have her war in the heavens, but different rules applied here on earth. Namely, that some animals are very territorial and will defend their land.
The hills around Lake Nemi belonged to the wolf. The animal of Mars.
They were already collecting in every valley and lining every ridge. Hundreds of them had answered my call. They howled at the moon, at the goddess who controlled it, and gave honor to their god of war for the battle that lay ahead. A venatio the Romans would never see.
Even before the wolves came, the dogs had already run, almost immediately disappearing into the night air. By the time the wolves arrived, they had the remaining animals surrounded. Their teeth were bared, and their growls were fierce.
"I'll grant you safe passage to go." I was still in the center of the animals with the wolves on the outside of us all, but this time when I spoke, I knew they were listening. "The amphitheater is your enemy, and those who hunt you within its arena. Out here you are free, if you leave now."
As the wolves moved in, the elephants trampled through their lines, though it nearly caused them to trip over the tigers that were also leaving. I hoped they were smart enough to stay out of the city gates. Even then, some poor traveler was likely to get an odd surprise very soon.
The bears joined the stampede away, crashing over themselves in their hurry. Mars had answered Diana's threat with a greater threat of his own.
Standing closest to the lake, only the lions remained in defiance of the wolves. They were greater in number and seemed very willing to fight. The remaining wolves were behind me, their backs arched and fur standing on end.
I held up my arms, having full respect for the fiercely courageous natures of both animals. Such beautiful creatures could not be allowed to harm one another.