Chapter 9:

The disappearance of Megan might have been overlooked, but not the disappearance of Prince Emrys.  The kingdom was thrown into turmoil.  It provided an opportunity for Cadell and Heddwynn.

"Now," said Cadell.  "We must act now, before the king proclaims Rhodri, the son of Merfyn, his heir.  With his son as heir, Merfyn might not be so amenable to our plan."

"Were you behind the disappearance of the prince?" asked Heddwynn.

"No," said Cadell.  "I don't know what happened to him.  I've searched for him with my magic, but cannot detect him anywhere.  If he still lives, he isn't in Gwynedd."

"But how could it have happened?" asked Heddwynn.  "I thought the God protected him."

"I don't know.  Perhaps the God is even weaker than I thought; but if he weren't, he is weakened by the absence of an heir to the throne.  That's why we should strike now."

* * *

"Why should I trust you?" Merfyn said to Cadell.  He, Heddwynn, and Cadell were in the wizard's chambers.

"Because we need each other," said Cadell.  "You want to be king, and I want you to be king."

"Why me?" asked Merfyn.  "You already control that fool brother of mine.  Do you think I would be an even bigger fool?"

"No," said Cadell.  "I have no desire to control you.  I would have no need to control you."

"How say you?" said Merfyn.

"I need to control Gwaid because we serve different gods."

"What god do you serve, if you don't serve the God?" asked Merfyn.

"The Dark Lord," said Cadell.

Merfyn glanced quickly at Heddwynn, whose expression hadn't changed at the mention at the Dark Lord. 

Suborned by the wizard, he must have accepted the Dark Lord.  That he hadn't arrested the wizard, spoke the truth of that assumption.  "I serve the God," said Merfryn.

"You serve a god that made your fool brother king, even though you were first born, a god that would never accept you as king?"

"He will have to accept my son as king, now that Gwaid's brat has run away."

"But which son," asked Cadell, "the strong first born or the weaker, second son, one weak like the current king, one who prefers books to swords?"

"It matters not," said Merfyn.  "It would still be a son of my loins."

"Would you not rather it be you that rules in Gwynedd, not one of your sons?" asked Cadell.

"The God will not allow me to rule as you know."

"But if the God should no longer rule in Gwynedd?"

"How can that be?" asked Merfyn.  "The God defeated the Dark Lord in battle over five hundred years ago.  He's relegated him to the depths of the nether world, the world of darkness and despair."

"Perhaps, he's escaped from the depths," said Cadell.  "Perhaps, he's become strong enough to challenge the God once again.  I serve Nysrogh --" Merfyn flinched when he heard the word, expecting Cadell to be struck down by the God -- but he wasn't.

"See," said Cadell, holding out his arms and turning around slowly, "the God does not strike me down when I mention his foe's name.  I have rid the Gwynedd of its prince.  Now, I shall rid it of its king. and of the God, himself.  Nysrogh shall rule in Gwynedd.  The decision for you is whether you want to be her king?"

"And if I don't wish to be the Dark Lord's king?" asked Merfyn.

"Then I shall destroy you and make your son king in your stead."

Merfyn's face turned red.  "You think you can destroy me?" he screamed.  "If I go to the God's priests with this information, you'll burn."

"Mayhap," said Cadell, "but not before I destroy you."  He  out a blood stained piece of cloth.  It had Merfyn's crest on it."

"Where did you get that?" asked Merfyn.  It had torn from his cloak the night he had killed Rheinallt, the former wizard.  It hadn't turned up in the years since, so he thought the loss of it had been of no consequence.

"If I turn this over to the king, his healer can determine that it contains her dead husband's blood.  What will your fate be then, Merfyn?  And how do you think you were able to kill the king's wizard in the first place, if the God had been watching.  I helped you kill him.  We helped each other.  I wanted him dead as well."

"You weren't even here at the time," said Merfyn.

"I was," said Cadell.  "I have been here for a hundred years, but in other forms."

"A hundred years," said Merfyn, "no man lives that long."

"I have," said Cadell, "and plan to live much longer.  You can, too, if you join me."

"You can live forever," said Heddwynn, speaking for the first time.  "The three of us can live forever."

"And the Dark Lord won't take our souls?" asked Merfyn.

"No," said Cadell, "not so long as I have other souls to feed him.  He will let us live so long as I have souls of the God's children to feed him.  He will cherish them more than ours."

"And what do you want of me?" asked Merfyn.

"I want your sons," said Cadell.  "Nysrogh needs their blood to blind the God so we can kill his king; and once the king is dead, the God will be bound.  Nysrogh will rule in Gwynedd with you as his king."

"Their blood," said Merfyn, "all their blood?"  You mean to sacrifice my sons to Nysrogh?"

"No," said Cadell, "you must sacrifice your sons to Nysrogh.  Only in that way can you become Nysrogh's king."

"You would have me kill my own sons?" said Merfyn.

"What are sons to an immortal?" said Heddwynn.  "If you live forever, you might have thousands of sons."

"You have sons, do you not, Commander?" asked Merfyn.

"Yes," said Heddwynn, "I have two sons."

"Then sacrifice yours," said Merfyn.

"Mine are not of royal blood," said Heddwynn.  "They are not even of noble blood.  They would not do.  Only yours are of royal blood."

"Sacrifice yours and I'll sacrifice mine," said Merfyn.  "After I see yours die, I'll kill mine." 

Having heard the Dark Lord's name spoken aloud, not once, but several times, Merfyn had come to believe that Nysrog might be able to defeat the God. 

He wanted to be king.  All his life, he'd wanted to be king, but even first born, had been rejected by the God.  He felt no love for the God.

He had killed the king's wizard, hadn't he, without being struck down.  Perhaps Cadell was right.  Perhaps the God's rule -- his power -- had come to an end. 

Wasn't the kingdom alone worth his sons' lives, even without the added promise of immortality? 

Could he not rule even more than Gwynedd, given eternity to live?  Could he not rule the world?  Given immortality and power, would he not be a god?  Wasn't the only real difference between gods and men that the gods lived forever?

"Kill your sons," he said again to Heddwynn, "and I'll kill mine."

Heddwynn turned to Cadell.  "Not my sons," he said, "their deaths avail us nothing."

"Their deaths gain you the death of mine," said Merfyn.  "If you want the death of mine, first give us the death of yours."

"No," said Heddwynn, turning once again to Cadell, "there must be some other way."

"I have need of Merfyn," said Cadell.  "If needs be, I can find another commander.  Bring your sons.  Sacrifice them or I'll sacrifice them and their father."

"When?" said Heddwynn.

"Tonight," said Merfyn.  "Bring them here tonight.  Ride for them, and I'll ride for mine."

"Do it," said Cadell.  "Do it tonight.  It must be done tonight."

Heddwynn looked back and forth, from Cadell to Merfyn, then back to Cadell.  His sons.  He didn't just have to allow them killed, he had to kill them himself, these sons he'd dreamed of having beside him while he rode off to battle. 

But if he didn't, he knew that Cadell wouldn't let him live out the night. 

He suddenly realized just how precarious his position was.  Cadell needed Merfyn; they both needed Merfyn.  He'd always been an essential part of their plans, but they didn't really need him. 

Another commander would do.  If he wanted immortality -- if he just wanted to live -- he would have to kill his sons.  Otherwise, Nysrogh would feast on his soul. 

But if he sacrificed his sons, Nysrogh would feast on theirs.  Better that they had never lived.

"Ride," said Cadell.  "Bring your sons.  I give you an hour; no more."