56 pages • 1 hour read
Mark of the Thief
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Chapters 1-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
The first-person narrator is Nic, who introduces himself as a Roman enslaved in the mines under Sal, a cruel enslaver with total control over his life. While exploring a cave “believed to contain Julius Caesar’s lost treasure” (1), Sal orders Nic to enter a deep shaft that has killed one man and reduced his friend Fidelius to an incoherent mess. Nic wonders if the cave is haunted or if he is being punished for having earlier spiked Sal’s drink with sand. He regrets any worry he would cause his younger sister, Livia, for whom he has been solely responsible since their mother was sold.
Nic refuses to follow Sam’s order, accusing him of wasting lives in the search for treasure, but Sal is determined to get whatever lies hidden there, especially before the Roman general Radulf arrives. Fidelius warns that Caesar will curse him, but all the miners already assume they are cursed since they work near a temple of the goddess Diana.
Enraged by Nic’s disobedience, Sal orders a guard to kill him, but Nic uses his knowledge of the caves to his advantage and slips away, determined to get Livia and escape with her to freedom. While moving through the cave, however, he overhears two Roman soldiers speaking. Radulf has arrived early and is planning to overthrow the emperor, Tacitus, and crush the empire. The crucial piece of his plan lies in Caesar’s cave—magic.
Chapter 2 Summary
Notified of Radulf’s arrival, Sal greets him obsequiously, and Radulf orders him to lead the way to the cave. After Nic is discovered and pulled from his hiding place, Radulf claims that Nic looks familiar. Privately, Nic reflects that they have nothing in common since Radulf is free and Nic is in chains. However, Radulf sees himself in Nic; they both spent their childhoods in Gaul. Radulf recalls the uprisings against Rome, which had destroyed Nic’s family. Sal reveals that Nic’s mother, Hortensia, was Roman, and that his father was unknown. Nic knows his father’s name—Halden—but he keeps it to himself, since he died “without honor” in a lightning strike (9). Sal sold his mother away and intends to marry Livia when she comes of age.
Nic convinces Radulf that Sal must accompany them to the cave, infuriating his enslaver. As they proceed toward the tunnel, the other enslaved people watch Nic sympathetically, though they are relieved not to be in his place.
Chapter 3 Summary
Radulf orders Nic’s chains removed so he can descend into the long, steep shaft leading to the cave. Sal is reluctant, though Nic notes it was not the chains that kept him in the mines but Livia’s fear of attempting to escape. She did not remember being free, as Nic did.
Looking into the black deep, Nic feels certain he is beholding “forbidden earth” (12). Radulf privately confers with Nic, revealing that he knows Nic overheard his plans. He instructs him to recover one thing only from Caesar’s cave: a bulla, which is a pendant worn by every wealthy freeborn Roman boy as a protective charm. If Nic retrieves it, Radulf will bring him and Livia back to Rome with him. If Nic does not find the bulla, he will be left behind.
On the descent, Nic accidentally extinguishes his torch and is forced to grope in the dark. Relieved that the air is not poisonous, he moves slowly and feels with his hands. Soon, he discovers that he is amid the bones of people who were killed. He hears something breathing.
Chapter 4 Summary
The breathing seems to be just ahead of him. A faint light illuminates the body of the miner who came before Nic. He appears to have died of fright. The light draws Nic toward it. He believes it is Caesar’s spirit, but when he enters the enormous cavern from which it emanates, he finds Caesar’s treasure: piles of gold objects and a fist-sized, glowing, golden bulla inscribed with Caesar’s initials—the object of Radulf’s search. Nic unties the rope connecting him to the surface, intending to sprint for the bulla and then back to the rope before the breathing creature can reach him. The moment he reaches the gold, however, a griffin attacks him.
Nic grabs the bulla and attempts to run back to his rope, but the griffin lands and blocks his path. To free his hands for fighting, Nic hangs the bulla around his neck. A gust of wind immediately swirls up around him and whispers that the bulla will curse him. Instinctively recognizing a threat to his perception of reality and even life, Nic clutches the bulla to steady himself, and the griffin stops fighting him. He introduces himself and names her Caela, but when he attempts to spring past her, she attacks again, inflicting a deep cut. As Nic holds the bulla, it begins healing him, and Caela stops fighting him. The ground rumbles, and just as Nic reaches the rope, rocks tumble down on his head.
Chapter 5 Summary
Nic wakes up with his head aching, unsure how he survived. The bulla is still securely around his neck, and Caela is sleeping beside him. With the entrance now blocked, Nic coaxes Caela to fly them through tunnels to safety. They cross Lake Nemi, and the bulla glows as if with Diana’s approval. If not for Livia, Nic would ask Caela to fly him away from his old life, but he will not leave his sister behind. He ponders giving the bulla to Radulf and begging him to keep his promise to take Livia and him to Rome.
Realizing he is hungry, Nic looks at the valley below for food, and wild strawberries instantly appear. Caela drops him, and he begins gorging himself, overwhelmed with the pleasure of a full stomach. He lies down to rest, wondering if he could pretend to have lost the bulla during the cave collapse, but he knows this would be futile. Caela returns, and they sleep until the guards find Nic.
Chapter 6 Summary
The guards accuse him of trying to escape, but Nic insists he was helping Radulf. As Caela attempts to flee, the guards reach for their bows. Nic convinces her to stop fighting them. When she lands, they surround her with ropes and then grab Nic roughly. A young boy around his age called Crispus appears and reprimands them. He wears the purple-trimmed white toga exclusively worn by senators and their sons. His father, Valerius, comes forward. Nic notes that he wears the black boots of a high-ranking citizen. His eyes are kind as he questions Nic.
Valerius asks about the mark on Nic’s back, and Crispus gasps when his father shows it to him. Valerius tries to buy Nic from the guards, but they insist he be taken back to the mines first, since they will be punished if they do not return with him. Valerius agrees to go to the mines. Before Nic is taken away, Valerius whispers to him not to trust anyone in Rome. If they see the mark on his back, they will kill him.
Chapter 7 Summary
Livia is waiting for Nic back at the mines. Sal welcomes him back with a kick to the belly. The guards tell him Nic was trying to escape. Nic begs to be allowed to get back to work, but Sal wants to make an example of him. At first, he considers branding his forehead. With such a branding, Nic would have no hope of a future, even if he did manage to secure his freedom. Sal reveals that Radulf was furious when he believed Nic had been killed. He asks Nic why a Roman general would take so much interest in an enslaved person, and Nic is genuinely puzzled. When Nic claims not to have found what Radulf sent him into the cave for, Sal announces that they must kill him as an example to the other enslaved people.
Chapter 8 Summary
Nic struggles as the guards throw him into a wagon. Livia begs for her brother’s life, but Sal tells her that enslaved people “don’t get to have families” and calls Nic “a curse” (50). A second wagon contains Caela, who is bound. Nic tries to escape but is tackled to the ground. Sal raises his knife to kill Nic, but Livia intervenes, promising to marry Sal when she comes of age the following year if he spares her brother. Sal agrees and then reveals that he will send Nic with Caela to Rome. The griffin will be his gift to the emperor, while Nic will be given over to the games. As the wagons bear him and Caela away, Nic sees a wagon bringing Valerius and Crispus toward the mines, but they are too late.
Chapter 9 Summary
Arriving outside of Rome the next morning, Nic is handed over to Felix, his new enslaver who serves Emperor Tacitus. Felix says he will give Nic water once they are on their way and introduces him to a girl his age, Aurelia, who Nic deduces must be a plebeian based on her dress and crepundia, which is a chain of amulets given to babies and small children. She will be guarding Nic on their entrance into Rome. Felix explains that he works in the venatio, an animal show held before the gladiatorial games.
After Caela breaks free and swats Aurelia, Nic calms her, leading her into the caravan. Felix inspects Nic. Recalling Valerius’s warning, Nic does not want to let him get too close but has no choice. Felix sees the mark on Nic’s back and asks if it is the work of the griffin. Nic promises he will not cause trouble, but something has disturbed Felix. Ignoring Nic’s request for water, Felix shackles him in the caravan. With Aurelia on guard, Felix warns her not to get too close. Nic elbows the metal wall of the caravan in frustration, and he and Aurelia are both shocked to see the dent he caused.
Chapter 10 Summary
Nic begs Aurelia for water, saying he is not dangerous, but she does not believe him. He tries to grab the water from her, effortlessly loosening the bolt that fastens his chain. Aurelia gives him the water and strokes her crepundia. Aurelia reveals that Caela saved Nic’s life. Felix was going to give him over to the games “with the other criminals” but needs him to control the griffin (63). A peal of thunder makes Nic duck, prompting Aurelia to laugh. He tells her his father died in a lightning strike.
Nic asks why she wears a charm given to babies, and she reveals that her father gave it to her before exposing her. Nic expresses sympathy, and she tells him to stop talking. He reflects that they will never be friends.
Chapters 1-10 Analysis
The plot of The Mark of the Thief broadly follows the trajectory of the hero’s journey. At the beginning of the novel, Nic is living the “ordinary” life of an enslaved boy in the mines of the Roman Empire. Day by day, he tries to survive and to protect his sister while subverting Sal in ways large and small, including resisting orders he feels are wrong or harmful and spiking Sal’s water with sand to make him feel the pain he inflicts on others. The site of his current mining assignment—the caves believed to hold Caesar’s treasures—bring him into contact with a magical artifact, Caesar’s bulla, that becomes a call to adventure: Possessing the bulla, coveted for its power, puts Nic in the path of high-ranking citizens vying to possess it. He will confront challenges and temptations, face death, experience revelations, and become transformed in the process.
The first 10 chapters introduce the main characters and central tensions that will be explored through Nic’s journey in Rome. Nic is the protagonist and hero of the story. His antagonists from the outset are Sal and Radulf, while the motives and intentions of Felix, Aurelia, Crispus, and Valerius remain shrouded. In some ways, they appear as potential allies. Both Valerius and Felix warn Nic about what he is facing by possessing the bulla, but Aurelia’s revelation that Felix intended to turn Nic over to the games shows him to be dishonest, setting the stage for later revelations about him. That Aurelia and Crispus are near Nic’s age suggests that they will become more deeply involved with him, though in what capacity remains open at the end of this section.
Nic’s willingness to resist Sal from the beginning shows that he has a strong sense of self, introducing the importance of Cultivating Personal Agency and Self-Control. Nic’s loyalty to Livia establishes that his primary loyalty is to his personal relationships, not the state. He is willing to sacrifice his freedom to remain with his sister, but he also recalls what it felt like to be free, launching the theme of Pursuit of Freedom in Body and Mind. The bulla will become both a help and a hindrance in this quest, a potential route to freedom and temptation for another form of enslavement. It gives Nic the strength to survive but is also the reason he needs to fight for his life in the games.
Nic repeatedly demonstrates protective instincts, not only toward Livia but also toward Caela and those who she might potentially harm. Thus, from the outset, Nic is established as a round character who can confront and wrestle with competing loyalties. However, he also lacks full control of his actions and emotions, which can become self-destructive. His incessant demand for water, though entirely reasonable, frightens Aurelia, and his frustration causes him to lash out, bashing the side of the caravan. This foreshadows the later unintended violence he will cause when he cannot control his emotions and his magic.
Radulf appears in the first chapter as a man intent on destroying the Roman Empire. This introduces The Corrupting Influence of Power. The revelation of his relationship to Nic is foreshadowed in his observation that Nic looks familiar. Valerius does not reveal whether he personally wants the bulla, and he presents himself as someone kind and concerned for Nic’s welfare, but his warning not to trust anyone in Rome raises the question if he himself, a prominent Roman senator, can be trusted.
The Mark of the Thief is designed to relate to the concerns of young readers while also educating them about the history of the Roman Empire. In her Acknowledgments, Nielsen explains that Julius Caesar’s claim about being descended from Venus, the Roman goddess of love and warfare, helped launch her story. The novel builds a fantasy version of the Roman Empire around the idea that Caesar’s claim was true. In all other respects, the novel is set in the historical Roman Empire with numerous references to Roman culture. A bulla was a protective amulet given to ancient Roman boys shortly after their birth and worn around their necks. The bulla was a pouch of leather, cloth, or gold (for the wealthiest citizens) and filled with charms that varied according to wealth and status. A crepundia likewise functioned as an amulet. It featured a collection of symbolic objects strung together and is associated with children. Crepundia may also have functioned as baby rattles. Through Crispus and Valerius, the novel also introduces Rome’s sumptuary laws, which enabled a citizen’s status to be identified through his or her dress. Clothing was an outward marker of status, or lack thereof, which becomes important to the exploration of what it means to be free or enslaved, since it impacts how people are viewed and how people view themselves.
The final significant reference to Roman culture in the first 10 chapters is where Felix works. As he tells Nic, the venatio is a type of animal show, but Felix does not elaborate on the precise nature of it. In history, the venatio was the opening show, followed (as in the novel) by gladiatorial contests. Exotic animals were brought to Rome from the farthest borders of the empires, thus a display of Roman might and influence across the known world. The animals would be let loose to kill each other and be hunted by a bestiarius, a hunter of wild beasts. The animals’ deaths were the goal of the event, and thousands could be slaughtered in a single day.
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By Jennifer A. Nielsen
