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Llangefni was under attack from all sides. Aided by the blood wizard, Merfyn's armies had already conquered Caernarfon and Beaumaris. Priests and wizards from those towns had taken refuge in Llangefni. Only Nhad Heilyn and Cadfael had the power to keep Merfyn's armies at bay. Only they, could bar Cadell's blood magic. After seven years under the tutelage of Nhad Heilyn, Cadfael had surpassed him as a wizard. Although they had determined he was Prince Emrys, his memory hadn't returned. Just as he could not bring back to life the boy who had been sacrificed for his memory, he couldn't restore his memory. Both were gone forever. To him, his life had begun that night in Dolwddelan. Neither could he restore his hair or remove his slave brand. A boy had given his life for them. His cock and balls were gone forever, too. Braith's cock and balls had been cut off. Cadfael could have restored them; but Braith preferred magic to his balls, and-without his balls-had no use for his cock. Braith, with Cadfael's help, had become a powerful wizard, not as potent as Cadfael or Nhad Heilyn, but powerful enough that no one reminded him that he had once been a slave. Cadfael, although he still had the appearance of a slave, radiated power. No one doubted that he was a wizard-and he was only eighteen. He would become stronger as he got older. Llangefni baffled Cadell. Try as he might, his power was useless in Llangefni. He couldn't use his sight to see who obstructed him, but could sense the presence of a powerful wizard. The God was strong in Llangefni. It was as if he had concentrated all his power there. Heddwyn's army, once they crossed the borders of Llangefni, became confused and wandered aimlessly. Perhaps, if he had accompanied them, Cadell would have been able to counter the God's magic, but he wasn't willing to take that risk. In Dolwddelan, Nysrogh ruled. Without his king on the throne, the God had no power. Cadell knew he was safe in Dolwddelan as long as Merfyn was king. Defeated by the God's wizards, he sent Heddwyn's armies to the south of Dolwddelan, even though he loathed having an enclave of the God so close at hand. The stalemate in Llangefni existed for ten more years while Merfyn's armies conquered most of North Wales. Since Merfyn and Cadell were immortal as long as they had boys to sacrifice, they could wait. Nhad Heilyn was already sixty-five. Even though Cadfael and Braith were young, they wouldn't live forever. As long as Merfyn and Cadell were in power-they would. Cadfael's power had eclipsed that of Nhad Heilyn. With his aid, even Braith had become a powerful wizard-perhaps as strong as Nhad Heilyn. Although Llangefni was impervious to attacks from the armies of Merfyn, he was rapidly conquering the rest of the land. Llangefni was an island of the God, surrounded by the forces of Nysrogh. It was a battle between gods as well as men. Knowing that he had to act, Cadfael planned to travel to Dolwddelan. He asked Braith to come with him. "We may not succeed," he said. "We may be powerless in Nysrogh's land-beyond the sight of the God. We may be going to our deaths." Briath would have been content to live out his life in Llangefni, but he owed everything to Cadfael. Without him, he would have either been a slave in Araby-or he would be dead. He would have done anything Cadfael asked, even if it meant his life. "What do you hope to do in Dolwddelan?" asked Nhad Heilyn, when they told him they were going. "You'll be beyond the power of the God." "Am I not the rightful king of Dolwddelan? Might I not have power in my own land?" "You can not be king as you are. Without your manhood, even the God could not make you king. Have you discovered a way to regain what you've lost?" "No, Prince Emrys will never be king. Cadfael will never have a cock or balls." "What can you hope to do, then?" "I have a plan, but I must keep it to myself. Although I don't believe Cadell can spy on us here, I can't take the chance. If he learned what I planned, we would have no chance of success. I dare not even tell Baith." Then, to Braith, he said, "Will you still come with me, even without knowing what I plan?" Braith assured him that he would. Cadfael and Braith left in the middle of the night. No one, other than Nhad Heilyn, knew they were going. They left on foot, disguised as traders, leading a donkey laden with meager trade goods, hoping to appear too poor to attract notice. Cadfael wore a wig and hat to cover his bald head and slave brand. Using their power, the two wizards arrived at the border of LLangefni without incident. None of the people they'd passed had even noticed them. Upon crossing the border, their power began to diminish, until, deep into Merfyn's conquered territory, they had none. They were as they appeared-ordinary men. Neither could have even healed himself. Deriving their power from the God, they had none in these lands where he was absent. "What can we...?" Braith was about to ask Cadfael what they could do without power, but, Cadfael, anticipating his question, placed his finger to his lips, urging him to keep quiet. Although even a powerful wizard such as Cadell had to focus his sight to see what was happening in his land, they no longer had the protection of the God to impede his vision, and he might have set wards on the road from Llangefni. Cadell had been aware of them as soon as they had crossed the border. Their power had attracted his attention. Focusing his sight, he saw what appeared to be two ordinary traders, but knew they were more than they seemed. Realizing that one of them wore a disguise, Cadell looked beneath the wig he wore, discovering his bald head and slave brand. It was Emrys! He should have been in Araby. Mostyn had told him he'd put him on the ship-but here he was, on the road to Dolwyddelan. He had sensed power, but it had faded. Neither of them had any, now. Cadell remembered the boy Emrys had killed to prevent his being used as a sacrifice-a sacrifice which would have obviated any chance he had for power. The boy might have acquired power. Cadell wondered if he were the one who had blocked him in Llangefni. It didn't matter now. The God no longer ruled in Dolwyddelan. It no longer mattered that Emrys had power. He had none in the land of Nysrogh. He sent word ahead to Dolbadarn. Soldiers at Dolbadarn would intercept them and bring them to him at Dolwyddlan. Having had power as far back as he could remember, Cadfael felt naked without it. Limited to ordinary senses, he had been stripped of his most important one, blinding and deafening him to the world of magic-to the real world as he knew it. He knew what he saw through his physical eyes was illusion-a facade which hid reality, but try as he might-without his magic-he couldn't see it. He had been blinded. He would have preferred to lose his eyes rather than his sight. He still had hope-but, what if he were wrong? They arrived at Dolbadarn, where he had met Braith so many years before-when they had both been naked slave boys. Cadfael had intended to bypass the castle, but soldiers had been waiting for them on the road. "What have we here?" asked their commander. "We're honest traders," answered Cadfael, traveling on business." With a blow to Cadfael's head, the soldier knocked off his hat and wig, revealing his bald head and slave brand. "Honest traders, hey? More likely, escaped slaves." He had the young men stripped, unveiling their smooth crotches-more evidence that they were slaves. Besides, he had descriptions of the men-orders to bring them to Dolwyddlan. Leaving them naked-as slaves should be-he placed slave collars on each. A chain connecting their collars, was tied to his horse. Taking them to the castle, he placed them in the dungeon, while he prepared for the trip to Dolwyddlan. It was too late to begin the trip that day. "This is where we met," said Braith, after the guards had closed the door to the cell-the same one Mostyn had lodged them when they were his slave boys. "What do we do, now? I have no power. Do you?" Braith also felt as if he'd been blinded. He'd forgotten what it was like to be without power. "I have none," answered Cadfael. There was no longer any need to keep quiet. They had obviously been expected. Only his plan, would he keep to himself. There was still hope. The soldiers were taking them to Dolwyddlan. That's what he wanted. "Then, we're lost," said Braith. He was resigned to dying. He'd had a good life-better than he could have imagined. He'd had a friend-Cadfael; he couldn't have hoped for more. Brothers couldn't have been closer. Even if Cadfael had been mistaken to come, he hadn't been mistaken to accompany him. If he were to die, let it be with Cadfael. They slept on the cold stone. Before, Cadfael had used his power to keep them warm. Now, huddling together, they only had each other. Early the next morning, after a breakfast of bread and mush, the guards came for them, locking them once again into slave collars. Early risers watched the soldiers escort the two neutered slaves from the city, thinking nothing of it. They had often seen such sights. Two days later they arrived in Dolwyddlan. Both Cadfael and Braith had bloody feet. It had been years since either of them had gone barefoot. Each also had been marked by the soldier's whips. First, they were taken before Heddwyn. "Prince Emrys. How did you return from Araby?" Not answering the question, Cadfael said, "You must be Heddwyn. You're the one who delivered me to Mostyn." Heddwyn thought that Emrys must have regained his memory, but from his answer, wasn't sure he had. "You don't remember anything before that night?" "No. I remember nothing, but I know that you're a traitor. You betrayed your king. And, though I don't remember him, I know he was my father." Heddwyn hit him across the face to shut his mouth. He had almost expected to be struck down, but the prince obviously wasn't protected. Otherwise, his feet wouldn't be bloody and he wouldn't be bleeding from the cuts which the guard's whips had inflicted. He hit him again. Nothing happened. "Who is this?" he asked, referring to Braith. "He's no one," answered Cadfael. "Just someone I met on the road. Let him go. He can do you no harm." "Cadell wants to see you both. I doubt we'll be freeing either of you." "Prince Emrys," Cadell said, when Heddwyn delivered them to him. "I thought you were in Araby." "Heddwyn was also under that misconception." "Where have you been?" "You know where I've been-in Llangefni." He hoped Nhad Heilyn, with the God's aid, could continue to protect Llangefni, if his plan failed. "Is this a wizard you brought from there to protect you?" he asked, indicating Braith. Braith repeated the story he'd told Heddwyn, that Braith was someone he'd met on the road. "I think not," answered Cadell. "He came with you from Llangefni. That much I know." Cadell could tell that the spells he had placed on the prince were still active. He didn't know whether he had been the one with power, or whether it had been the red haired man. It didn't matter. Neither of them seemed to have any now. "What do you want to do with them?" Heddwyn asked. "Execute this one," he said, indicating Braith. "Take the prince to the dungeon." He would sacrifice the prince in the public square. Even though he had no genitals, he would be a worthy sacrifice. Now that Nysrogh had replaced the God, it could be done. Cadfael was taken to the dungeon. Braith was taken to the courtyard to wait while they prepared a pole for him outside the gates. He was placed in a cart. Outside the gates, soldiers sharpened a pole and placed it into the ground. Then, he was driven through the city, chained to the back of the cart. Citizens hurled insults, stones, offal, and other objects at him. Braith saw the pole they had prepared for him. Taller than the height of a man, and thick as a man's arm, it was sharpened to a point, which glistened in the sun. It wasn't a death he would have chosen. Backing the cart to the pole, they unchained him, then lifted him, setting him on the pole. It entered his ass, penetrating his rectum and his intestines, when they released him. Despite his resolve not to, he screamed. He had never felt such pain, not even when the boys had tried to stomp him to death. Every breath, every movement lowered him onto the stake-but slowly. He knew his death would not come quickly. He might be there for days before he died. The pole, acting as a plug, held in his blood. Cadfael was locked into a small cell in the dungeon of his father's palace-now, Merfyn's palace. He had been born in this palace. Had he balls, he would have been its rightful master. Here, in the place of his birth, he couldn't be denied power. He felt it return-could see once again-and, seeing, saw Braith sitting on the stake. He could feel his pain-knew how much he was suffering, but could do nothing. He couldn't reveal his power before he had completed his mission. Using power to open the door to his cell, he went looking for the one he'd come to Dolwyddlan to find. Cadfael found him in his room. There had been guards at his door, but, using his magic, Cadfael had walked past them. The man was naked, on his bed, holding a knife to the balls of a boy. The boy was tied to the bed. A young man, naked and neutered, with black curly hair, stood beside the bed-silently watching. There was no expression on his face. Looking up when the door opened, Rhodri saw a bald, neutered slave enter. He must be a slave. He had a brand on his head. "What do you want?" he asked. The slave made a motion with his hand-spoke an incantation. The next thing Rhodri knew, he was looking at himself through the slave's eyes. It had worked. Cadfael was in Rhodri's body. He had a cock and balls, and, having them, no longer had power, but, having them, was the rightful king. In that instant, Nysrogh was banished from Dolwyddlan. He felt the God's presence. Jumping up from the bed, he ran past the confused Rhodri, who was now in his old body. As he ran, naked, from the room, he shouted to the guards, "Release the boy, and arrest that slave-the one with the bald head. The baffled guards-they hadn't seen the bald slave enter the room-arrested him, thinking that he must be crazy. He kept insisting he was Prince Rhodri. Cadfael, rushing from the palace, ran for the gates, where he found Braith. He was still alive, but delirious from the pain caused by the stake. It had settled almost two feet into his ass. Cadfael reached up, touching Braith on the leg. "Feel it, Braith. Feel the power. Use the power to save yourself. I need you-now, more than ever." Though the fog of his pain, Braith heard someone calling, but looking at the young man touching his leg, didn't recognize him, but, then, heard him say, "It's me, Braith. It's Cadfael. The God again rules in Dolwyddlan. You have power-use it." Power? It was true. Braith could feel it, and, feeling it, used it to dissolve the pole, collapsing into the man's arms when it disappeared. "Now, use it to heal yourself," said the man. He did. In a moment, he was whole-just as if he had never sat on the stake. Now, he was able to listen to the man. "I'm Cadfael," he said. "I exchanged bodies with my cousin, Rhodri. I'm now the king of Dolwyddlan. The God again rules here. "But, your power," said Braith. "I have none. You shall be my wizard-my source of power." Aided by Braith, Cadfael, now King Rhodri, vanquished Merfyn, Heddwyn, and Cadell. Without Nysrogh, Cadell was no more than an ordinary man. None of them could stand up to Braith's power. Four fresh poles were set outside the gates. They would be the last used in Dolwyddlan, but their use would be appropriate for their occupants: Merfyn; Heddwyn; Cadell; and a bald slave. Merfyn had increased King Rhodri's kingdom. He ruled all of North Wales. Even Llangefni accepted him as their king. |