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Six of Mostyn's guards entered the cell with swords drawn. Afraid of no man, they were frightened of the two young boys. Neither, though, offered any resistance. When they approached the one sitting on the floor, he rose, holding out his hands as instructed. While two held their sword points pressed to his flesh, one tied his hands. Meanwhile the rest secured the other boy, who never took his eyes off the first. He seemed more afraid of him than he was of them, only struggling when they placed him in the cage with the other. Braith didn't understand why they were taking him-didn't want to be put in the small cage with the changeling. He had heard the other boys call Cadfael a changeling, but hadn't believed it-not until he had seen him change. Now, he was locked-with him-into a cage so small that he couldn't stand. Expecting to be killed like Ithel, he pleaded, "Please-don't kill me." Cadfael looked at him with the blue eyes of a boy, but-in his mind-Braith saw the yellow eyes of a cat. "Why should I kill you?" answered Cadfael. "You're the only friend I ever had." Magical wards to prevent the escape of demons had been placed around the cell in the church prison where the boys were held. Only after they were safely inside, did Fryr Idwal approach. One boy was obviously a changeling. He had no hair-and no sex. On the other boy, Idwal could see the scar where his cock had been-the shrunken scrotum where his balls had been. He probably wasn't a changeling, but he would be found guilty. Once accused, no one was absolved. Under torture, Braith confessed he was a changeling; but, after being tortured, all accused heretics confessed. There had been no need to torture Cadfael. His sexless body condemned him-besides, he readily confessed to being a changeling. Thinking that he was, he had no desire to live. Found guilty, both boys were to be burned at the stake, but, believing that Cadfael was an actual changeling, Idwal had to delay the execution until Nhad Heilyn could be summoned from Llangefni. Head of the priests at the monastery there, he was an actual wizard, one of the most powerful of the God's wizards. He would be needed to put a spell of confinement on the souls of the two boys, so they wouldn't escape their bodies, either entering someone else, or returning to Sheol. Once confined, their souls would burn with their bodies. Once confined, they would they would be aware until the last of their bodies was consumed-would suffer while any part remained-until nothing was left but ash. Only then, would they be dead-their souls consumed as well. When Nhad Heilyn arrived, he went to the boy's cell to observe them and to perform the spell. Having no sex, the one boy must be a changeling. He had the taint of Nysrogh about him. At the very least, he was under the spell of a blood wizard. Although he doubted that the other boy was, it wasn't his concern. The boy had been found guilty by the Inquisition. Heilyn was there to confine his soul, not to determine his guilt or innocence. Performing his duty, he confined their souls. When they burned on the morrow, their souls, too, would be consumed. Dawn broke, accompanied by clear skies-a good day for a burning. Two piles of wood had been prepared-each as tall as a house-to ensure that nothing was left of the boys' bodies but ash. Cadfael protested that Braith was innocent, then tried to will that he be released, but the spell of confinement was too great. He couldn't release Braith; neither could he have released himself. Their souls would burn along with their bodies-a prospect, which, for himself, Cadfael wanted. Rather than serve Nysrogh, he preferred oblivion. Perhaps for Braith, it wouldn't matter. He would suffer the prolonged agony of being aware until the last of his body was consumed, but slaves weren't thought to have souls that the God would accept. He blamed himself, though, for the boy's approaching death, feeling that he was murdering him, just as he had Ithel-although he realized, remembering the wound in his chest, that Ithel had tried to kill him. Recalling how he'd healed that wound, Cadfael thought it was another indication he was a changeling. No ordinary human could have done it. The boys were staked to the top of the piles of wood. Fires were set at the bottom. Cadfael felt its heat; his eyes watered from the smoke. He could do nothing; his magic was impotent against the spell of confinement. Suddenly, the previously clear sky clouded over; it began raining-so hard, it quenched the fires. Those come to observe the execution, church and secular officials, citizens of the city-soldiers-milled in fear and confusion. They thought they were observing the power of Nysrogh, come to save his servants. Nhad Heilyn detected nothing of Nysrogh in the power which had brought the rain-only that of the God. It was the God, who had saved the boys from burning. He ordered that they be taken back to their cell. He would have to consult the God and his magic to determine the true nature of the boys. He detected power in both the boys. He hadn't expected to find it in the red haired boy, since he had been born a slave-but he did have red hair and green eyes-often a sign of power. Since the boy was unaware he had power, it was undeveloped. The other, though, had power-unexpected power for one so young-power from the God. He was also under a spell-a blood wizard spell-one for which Nhad Heilyn had no counter. Boys-their blood-had been sacrificed to fix that spell. Taking Cadfael from the cell, he took him to the chapel. That he was able to enter, was further proof that he wasn't a changeling-a servant of Nysrogh. "I'm not a changeling?" he asked, to be reassured, once Nhad Heilyn had told him he wasn't. "But, I changed into a cat. Everyone, even Braith, saw me. I killed Ithel." "Was Ithel a threat? Did he attack you?" "Yes. He stabbed me in the chest while I was sleeping." "That's it, then. Either your magic or the God changed you so you could protect yourself. They had called you a changeling-so, subconsciously, you used that to protect yourself. I can change into a beast, if I wish, and I am no changeling. I serve the God, not Nysrogh. You also serve the God. There is a blood wizard spell upon you, but you are no servant of Nysrogh. Cadfael is your name? Where are you from?" "I named myself. I don't know what name I was given at birth. I have no memory of a time before the day I was sold to Mostyn." "And, where was that?" "Dolwyddelan was the name of the city. There was a blood wizard. He had sacrificed four boys. I thought he had used them to summon me from Shoel." Four boys? This boy must be important to have sacrificed so many. Such a spell would have been costly to the blood wizard. It would have taken him a long time to recover. More than one spell-certainly including one of forgetfulness-must have been placed on the boy. Dolwyddelan? He had detected the spell of a blood wizard on Dolwyddelan. It blocked his vision. He couldn't use his magic to see what was happening there. "Do you know the wizard's name?" "No. I never heard his name." "Was anyone else there?" "Besides the wizard there was: a man dressed in fine clothes-a noble, I think; soldiers and their commander. The commander had the soldiers killed before taking me to the market, though. I thought that strange. I had seen them do nothing to deserve their fate, and it had been planned; the killers were waiting, and the commander held back, sending the soldiers ahead to their deaths." "Was there anything else?" "I remember the wizard saying that no one would recognize me now-all they would see would be a neutered slave boy." It must be as he had thought-the boy's appearance had been altered. The wizard must have even stolen his sex. It was known that Prince Emrys of Gwynedd had disappeared. Could this be the prince? Why else would the blood wizard have gone to so much trouble? Anyone else, he could have killed. No wonder the boy had such power. No other answer made any sense. The boy must be the prince. "Do you know of Prince Emrys?" "The name means nothing to me." "Do you remember nothing of your past?" "Nothing. Whenever I try to remember, I come to a locked door. Try as I might, I can't open it." "You may be Prince Emrys." "I thought I was a slave, then thought I was a changeling. Now, you say I'm a prince?" "Not just a prince, but the rightful king of Gwynedd." "I'm a king?" "No, you should have been king. If you hadn't been altered, you would have been. That's the reason for the spells. Protected by the God, they couldn't kill you-just as we couldn't burn you. Instead, they neutered you. Neutered, you cannot be king-even favored as you are by the God." "So, what happens to me, now? If I believe what you've told me, how can I go back to Mostyn? How can I be content to be a slave?" "You won't go back to Mostyn. You're a wizard-possibly a powerful one. You cannot be a slave-even if you aren't Emrys. You will come with me to Llangefni. There you will learn magic." "What about Braith? Does he go back?" "No. He, too, has power. Nothing like yours, but he, too, can become a wizard. He'll come, too." "I thought slaves weren't favored by the God." "That's what people say-people who aren't slaves." When the boys weren't burned, Mostyn wanted them back. Besides the money he had invested in the red haired boy, he had the obligation to see that the hairless one was put on a ship to Araby. Dolwyddelan was an excellent source of boys, and Heddwyn had promised that, once he had kept his part of the bargain, he could purchase them cheaply. He wished the boys had been burned. Surely, that would have satisfied Heddwyn. When he went to the priest house for them, he was told that they belonged to the church-that having given them over to be tried as heretics, he no longer had any right to them. No one listened to his protests. He could only hope that the word didn't get back to Heddwyn. If asked, he would say that the boy had been shipped to Araby. It had only been a freak rainstorm which had saved the boys-not the God. Dolwyddelan was a long ways off. No one noticed when a slave was killed. No one cared if a heretic was burned. Chances were that Heddwyn wouldn't hear about what had happened in Caernarfon. |