Horrified, I leapt to my feet and ran. I didn’t know exactly what I was running on, but my feet rolled more than once, so I had a pretty good idea of what lay below. I would’ve apologized to the dead as I ran, but I didn’t like the idea that someone here might answer back, so I kept my mouth closed and continued running.

After some distance, I came to solid ground and began to breathe easier. I’d hoped that my eyes would gradually adjust, as they always did when I was mining. But not down here. There simply wasn’t any light for my eyes to adjust to.

So I took careful, halting steps, always keeping one hand on the rope as my last connection to the surface high above me. But that was little comfort. I had never been so alone in my life.

Except, I was beginning to think I wasn’t actually alone. Somewhere in the blackness, something was awake. Its breath came in even and deliberate strokes. Whatever it was, it knew that I was here too.

The bones I had stumbled over weren’t from people who had died in here. They had all been killed.

I felt my way through the cave like a blind man. And like most blind beggars, I knew my fate if I didn’t find some sort of mercy. Darkness was part of any life in the mines. But I’d never been so deep on my own, and rarely without the hope for a lit torch somewhere shortly ahead.

The breathing continued, so quietly that I might not have heard it if everything else wasn’t so still. And though I tried to move away from it, the echoes in this cave made it sound as if the creature was always ahead of me, just out of my reach. Or if there were no echoes, then the creature was moving, like a cat waiting to pounce.

I wanted to call to Radulf to pull me up, but I didn’t. Not only was I certain he would ignore my request, but I also doubted the wisdom of giving away my exact location to the thing inside this cave. That was ridiculous, of course. No matter how blind I was, it clearly knew exactly where to find me.

Somewhere ahead there appeared to be some sort of light. It cast a faint gleam toward me, enough to see the fallen body of the first miner who had entered. He was on his back with his hands like claws frozen in place. His skin was white like the moon, as if all blood had drained from him, but I couldn’t see any sign of injury. It was the look of a man who had died of fear.

I stepped carefully around him, then continued moving. It wasn’t much, and I ignored the bigger question of how there could possibly be any light at all this far below ground. But I felt the pull of the light, calling me toward it. I was a moth to the flame.

When I had first started working in the mines, the dark had frightened me. But my mother had shown me how there was nothing in the darkness that didn’t also exist in the light. Since then, I had never been afraid of moving in the deepest shadows … until now. Because this time, I was certain that she was wrong. Not only was some mysterious creature down here with me, but the closer I came to the light, the more I believed it was coming from Caesar’s spirit. I felt him, still here, drawing me forward.

As real as that seemed, when I got closer, I saw the true source of the light. I was standing in the doorway of an enormous cavern, more vast than any place I’d ever seen underground. The room was filled with piles of gold. There were toppled stacks of coins, thousands of them, and heavy gold bars, each one larger than all the gold we might carve out of the mine in a year. Tossed carelessly amidst the rest were goblets, rings, and trays, all made of gold. But they weren’t the source of the light. The glow came from something on the very top of the highest pile, something I only saw when I stood on the tips of my toes and arched my neck. It was a golden bulla, the size and shape of my fist, with a brown leather strap to hang from the neck. It seemed no different from any other, except for the glow. Admittedly, that was odd. I’d mined gold before, and it never, never glowed. Without a doubt in my mind, I knew this was the object Radulf wanted. It was Caesar’s bulla.

I tried to step into the vast chamber, but by then I had reached the limits of the rope. If I was going to retrieve the bulla, there was no choice but to untie it. My plan was simple and undoubtedly stupid: move fast, grab the bulla, then race back to the cave’s entrance. With any luck, the creature down here wouldn’t fit through that doorway, and if it did, then I hoped Sal was faster with the rope than the creature was on his feet. I hoped for that. But I didn’t truly believe it.

The instant I was untied, I set off on a full run toward the gold. My mind couldn’t even begin to process the value of everything down here. One handful of gold could buy freedom for my sister and me. With another handful, we’d have a life of luxury. The sweetest foods, the softest fabrics. Even sandals for our feet. Radulf had told me to ignore everything but the bulla. But … what if I didn’t?

The bulla was square in my vision as I continued running. If it had jewels inside, as most bullas did, then they could be as valuable as two handfuls of gold. Maybe more.

But the moment my foot touched the first gold piece, I was attacked from the side by something that knocked me to the cave floor. My head banged the ground hard enough that my vision blurred while the creature flew away. I tried to focus my eyes. Whatever the thing was, it had powerful wings, and a long, muscular tail.

I rolled to my stomach, then pushed myself up onto all fours while I got a breath. When I did, the creature swooped down from above, flapping its great wings hard enough to create a wind that rattled the gold pieces. It snatched me up with a giant talon that squeezed my lungs. I didn’t care what this thing was — I’d have it for dinner before I gave up fighting. So I kicked back, landing a foot into its soft underbelly.

The animal dropped me almost on top of the pile of gold and screeched in anger. Only then did I turn to my back where I could see it better. It swept upward and fixed a furious eye on me. The animal had the head of an eagle, only it was as large as a horse’s. When outstretched, its eagle wings commanded the cave, and the creature circled around, always with an eye on me. Once it crossed behind me, I saw the rest of its body, that of a lion.

I knew what this was. The king of all birds and the king of all beasts, joined in one animal.

It was a griffin.

My mother had told me about them, but had insisted they belonged only to the gods. If that was true, then this must be a very special griffin, for she guarded Caesar’s treasure.

That was fine by me. For all I cared, she could guard the entire pile of gold, minus just one thing. That bulla was my only chance of getting back to the surface. Without it, I might as well give up now. My bones would join the rest down here.

The griffin flew to a ledge high above the cave floor and stared down at me. Then she squawked and the rear claws pawed the rock beneath it, ready to attack. I didn’t have much time.

I eyed the bulla, almost within reach. The initials were clearly visible from here. G.J.C. Gaius Julius Caesar. This was the one Radulf wanted. I made another run up the stack of gold, placing my feet on the gold bars, which would hold my weight better than the coins. Once I was high enough, I dove for the bulla while straightening my body. With the bulla’s strap clutched in my hands, I rolled down the pile.

Shrieking louder than before, the griffin shot off the ledge and aimed herself directly at me. No arrow could’ve been faster, or more direct in its target. A talon swiped for me, but I tossed up a golden pitcher, blocking the attack. The heavy pitcher fell, landing on my chest hard enough that I nearly blacked out for want of air.