Anders stormed through the castle, cruelly shoving a fledgling out of his way. She cried out as she fell from the stairs, but Anders didn't even look back. He hated them. Hated them for all they had, when he didn't. Spoiled wretches with their enormous castle and their luxury clothes... The place had changed again since he was last here. Lavish new tapestries hung on the walls in the main hall, and the old torches had been replaced by hundreds of oil-lamps. He strode down a corridor, screaming in his mind the words he would never say to his Lord.
Why? What was my crime, Raziel, why am I punished? Why do I have to put my men on the line every night of every year, for an enemy you will never defeat? How can I make you see that what you ask is impossible? Don't you understand? This can easily last three more centuries, and nothing will have changed! Why are you doing this?
He grabbed an ornate vase, and smashed it against the rough stone wall. It burst apart with an artful crash and the shards scattered over the floor like frightened bugs. It was satisfying, in a small way, and Anders grabbed a second vase. He watched it explode with a desperate grin.
They're my sons, you wretch! How can you stand there and condemn them to death? He dropped himself into the alcove and covered his face with his hands. He didn't care about showing weakness anymore, didn't care about decorum. Nothing meant anything, nothing made any difference. Whatever he did, come the evening he would return to the south with a fresh contingent of fledglings, ready to die. Who knew, perhaps two or three would live long enough to learn how to survive.
He thought of his twins, no doubt bound and caged and starving. His proud sons... He groaned loudly. It was undignified, but he didn't care. If Raziel would happen to pass by, he would tell him to his face. He would tell him...
Footsteps approached, strong but rather quick. He went quiet, and willed them to pass, to leave the folded heap of misery in the corner, to pass by and forget, but the footsteps stopped, and the person they belonged to sat down next to him in the alcove. He glanced up. Of course. He should have recognised the little rodent by his footfall.
"Mouse!"
Marius smiled. "Anders, no one calls me that anymore."
Anders wiped his face. "Marius. Sorry."
"No need." Marius touched his arm briefly. "Here to plead the swamp dweller's case again?"
Anders nodded.
"And got the same answer, I take it."
Anders nodded again, his eyes fixed on the wall opposite. Marius sighed. "What is it?" he asked.
"They've got the twins," Anders said blankly.
"Oh!" Marius face fell in sympathy. "I'm truly sorry for that. Those two were... remarkable."
"They're irreplaceable," Anders said mournfully. There was a silence, deep as a well, wide as the road to Darheim. Marius felt cruel to break it.
"I hear you need more men," he started carefully.
"That's what he thinks," Anders said stubbornly. "To be honest, Marius, I don't want your men. They're a liability and I don't need more worries than I already have."
"My men are not incompetent," Marius said, slightly piqued.
"I didn't mean to say they are incompetent, Marius," Anders said wearily, "but they don't know the terrain. They don't know how to wade through a stream, they have never even been inside a barge before..." He turned to his brother, who looked at him in sympathy. "I've seen it a hundred times before, Marius, if they don't know what they're doing, they will get themselves killed. And I do not wish to murder your men as well as my own."
Marius smiled sadly.
"Do you know how many I've lost over the years?" Anders exclaimed. "They number in the hundreds. It's madness!"
"And now Hengest and Horsa," Marius said. "They were your first, were they not?"
Anders nodded, miserable. "Why does he keep doing this, Marius?" he asked, and it took Marius a moment to realise who he was talking about. "Does he really not see it? As long as they live in poverty, they will be forced to raid the villages for food. As long as we harry them back into the swamp as soon as they set a foot outside, they will live in poverty. We are creating our own problem; all we have to do to solve it is relent, but he won't give them a thumbs width! Why?"
"Pride," Marius answered immediately. He seemed to be contemplating the shards of pottery strewn across the floor. "Did you explain this to him?" he asked.
"Yes!" Anders exclaimed, exasperated. "Many times! But he doesn't listen to me. He thinks... I don't know, he thinks I should just stop complaining and learn to swim or something, it's..." he sighed deeply. "It's hopeless. And now you've been told to send your men with me, and there is nothing to be done about it, so let's just..."
"No," Marius interrupted him. "As far as I know, I've only been told to talk to you. So let us talk. Tell me about your solution. What did you propose?"
Anders looked at him, confused.
"You're right," Marius explained, "this is madness. And I have no desire to send my men to their deaths, any more than you do. I will talk to him, try if I can make him see reason. So tell me what exactly you would have him do."
Anders looked at him with a look of such surprise and gratitude that it made him laugh. He closed his arms around his much taller brother.
Anders whispered in his ear. "Thank you, Mouse. You've no idea..."
Hengest? Hengest, my heart, are you there? Hengest?
Raziel was reclining on a low couch covered in velvet. A brittle-looking folio rested on his knees and he did not move when Marius entered. Only after a moment did he look up.
"Yes, Marius?"
"My Lord," Marius said, and bowed, "I spent much of the night talking to Anders."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Raziel said dryly, and carefully turned the next page. "I hope he was not too tedious?" He looked up with a conspiratorial smile.
Marius sighed, he did not find this amusing. "You have little love for Anders," he stated.
"He has disappointed me," Raziel said coldly, "consistently." He turned back to his book.
"Did it occur to you, my Lord, that that might be because what you ask of him is impossible?"
Raziel frowned, without looking up. "They are only human, Marius. And I do not appreciate that tone."
"He's not fighting humans, he's fighting a bog, and it's killing him." Marius did not mean to raise his voice, but he could not help himself. Anders' anger at Raziel appeared to be contagious. "He cannot win this!"
Raziel looked up from his book and narrowed his eyes. "I can tell you've been talking to Anders," he said, "you sound just like him. Defeatist."
"He is not defeatist, Raziel, he is right!" Marius exclaimed, his arms sweeping through the air like gestural exclamation marks. "And I am unwilling to sacrifice any more of my men to your pride!" He realised he was shouting.
"Very well," Raziel said, his eyes flashing with anger, "then you may follow my order unwillingly. For I order you to pick fifty of your men and send them with Anders to the south."
"He doesn't even want them!" Marius exclaimed.
"Perhaps the problem is of a different nature," Raziel said slowly, his voice sharp as glass shards. "Perhaps I simply sent the wrong man down there. Do you think you could do a better job, Marius?" Finally, he closed his book and put it aside, without taking his eyes from his officer for a second.
"You can threaten me if you like, it doesn't change the facts. The swamp cannot be taken, the savages cannot be defeated, they are out of our reach," Marius said, unmoved. Raziel stood up and drew close as he talked, towering over the short captain, who continued, "Your decision is wrong, and I will not hesitate to tell you. I am not Anders, or any of the others. I am not afraid of you."
Raziel backhanded him across the face, hard. Marius was expecting it, but chose not to ward off the blow, moving with it instead. The pain was nothing. It was only a warning, in any case, but he realised his chances were diminishing with every word he said. He'd angered Raziel, probably so much that he would not now listen to him. He cursed himself, silently. He glanced up at Raziel, who was staring at him, his face impassive.
"Forgive me," Marius said softly and bowed. "My behaviour is undignified." He kept his eyes firmly on the intricately pattered carpet. "I am concerned for the lives of my men, my Lord."
"Understandable," Raziel's voice sounded from above, "but it is no excuse."
"No," Marius agreed, "it is not."
A long silence fell between them. Marius kept his eyes down, even though it made him feel faintly ridiculous. He had known Raziel for centuries, had been his advisor, his friend. And here he was, groveling like a slave before its master. It seemed Raziel felt similarly uncomfortable, for when he broke the silence, it was with a gentle hand on Marius' shoulder.
"Go, Marius," he said softly. "Do as I ask."
Marius lips drew tight. He had promised Anders to try, and now he had ruined his chance with his inappropriate anger. "Raziel," he said, looking up at last, "can I really not seduce you to listen to what I discussed with Anders?"
"Seduce me?" Raziel asked, a slight smile threatening his lips. "I wasn't aware you were trying to seduce me to do anything, except maybe rip you to pieces."
Marius grinned guiltily. "No, I don't think such a seduction would be wise. I fear I would be rather successful."
"I agree," Raziel chimed in, but his eyes were smiling.
"Raziel, I truly believe this plan is sound," Marius said in his most reasonable voice. "And a better idea than trying to take the human settlement by force." Especially since the human settlement is singularly beyond our reach, he added mentally, but kept those words to himself.
"Very well," Raziel said with a theatrical sigh and sat down again. "Tell me about this plan."
Marius thanked him internally for his indulgence. "The humans have asked for a small village near the swamp, one that was sacked several years ago and has been derelict ever since. Anders proposes to let them have it, under very clear conditions. They will no longer raid the surrounding settlements, they will not build any fortifications to protect their village, and they will not expand beyond the border, which is delineated by a low wall already in place." He halted for a moment to organise his thoughts. He decided to avoid the term "free state", which Anders had used quite happily. He feared the term would be offensive to his Master's elegantly pointed ears.
"Yes?" Raziel asked impatiently.
"Under these conditions, they can have their village and be exempt from taxes. It will draw them out of those accursed marshes and allow us at least some degree of control over them. It will also draw men and women from far and wide to settle there."
"Yes," Raziel said skeptically, "and increase resistance against the bloodtaxes. I fail to see the advantage, Marius."
"That's why we've set the borders in stone, Raziel. Soon enough there will be more people than can comfortably live in such a small place. If they breach their boundaries, we punish them and wipe out that nest of rebellion without getting our feet wet. If they do not wish to breach their boundaries, strong, healthy men will be forced to settle in our villages, and mix with our mortals. Think of it as a breeding grounds that is not under our direct control, but can still only be a benefit to us. The herd could do with a little fresh blood, if you ask me."
The look in Raziel's eyes made it quite clear that he did not remember asking Marius, but the energetic little vampire continued, unperturbed.
"Yes, we will have to give our word that we will not harm them, but only those living within the confines that we have set. All we have to do is be patient, for they will not be able to stay within those confines. Who knows, within a couple of generations, they will trade in their special status for more ground to build on, and they will simply be another part of the herd."
"Don't you think that is a little optimistic?" Raziel asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Perhaps," Marius admitted. "But I think the experiment is worth a try. What have we got to lose?" He looked at Raziel and bit his tongue. Actually, he realised, Raziel had quite a lot to lose, if he were to admit he was wrong now, after all this time. Marius knew perfectly well that this plan was nothing new, it was something Anders had first suggested some two and a half centuries ago, it had changed only in detail. He could only hope that his sire would be big-hearted enough to conveniently forget that fact.
"And this is what you've concocted last night?" Raziel asked.
Marius hesitated. This plan was all Anders', but Raziel clearly did not want to take it from him. "This is what we discussed, yes," he said weakly. It was good enough. Raziel nodded.
"Hmpf," he said and thought about this for a while. Marius waited, impatient, pressing his lips together to stifle the helpful comments that popped into his mind. His sharp tongue had done enough damage already.
"Very well, find Anders, I'll discuss this with him."
Marius smiled. "Thank you, Raziel."
His Lord smiled darkly.
