The city, Marburg, still isn’t mine. It never has been in name. And I never wanted her to be. People like me aren’t meant for that kind of responsibility. Not publically anyway. Behind the thin veils all of us weave so artfully I have been pulling strings for decades. Uselessly so. I manage to prolong the inevitable. And I know it.

Lost in thought again. Really, I should top this.

Die Kiesel knirschten als sich jemand von hinten näherte. Das Geräusch an sich war wenig verwunderlich. Er hatte ihn erwartet. Sie hatten zu reden. Sie hatten so oft zu reden.

Thomas should have been here. People still think I sold him out. Which I didn’t. Doesn’t matter much though. Reality also is what is perceived as such. Some of them even complimented me on the move. Others just ignored it. And Jason? Never spoke a word about it to me. He’s… strangely withdrawn…

“The prince sent me, brother.” Jason.

The prince… After granting that last piece of mercy to a friend, a lover, she had been called and graciously accepted the vocation. Hell, who could have blamed her. With Brückner still unheard of she’s probably thinking she’s upholding the name of a friend. And she is. Sadly we’re all just pawns in politics. Expendable. At some point one of those more or less clever ploys had to work. Or she sensed a danger that wasn’t really there. With both of us having had so much of her blood, how could we do anything against her will? Still. Expendable, as I said. So she has her reasons for sending him here.

Der Neuankömmling trat nun doch vor seinen Clansbruder. Ganz wie üblich im Anzug. Ganz im Auftrag ihrer Majestät. “Thanks for not trying to run, Nate.”
“I kept telling you, Jason. I can’t.”
Jason nickte und zog in aller Ruhe einen Pflock hervor.
“Is this going to hurt…?”, fragte Nathaniel unsicher.
“I’m afraid yes.”

Betrayal is a bitch, that much I know. Only, I never did. At least not that I know of. But once judgement is passed I guess I must have screwed up at some point. Screwed up bad. Not being able to see it, that’s what drives a guy like me absolutely bananas though.

…

And he is right. The damn thing hurts like hell! It’s like heart surgery without the benefit of any form of anesthetic. Pure. Agony. And you can’t move to do anything about it.

“You should have run, brother.” Wäre da nicht dieser distanzierte Anklang von Professionalität gewesen, hätte das glatt mitfühlend klingen können. So jedoch tippte Jason nur kurz etwas auf seinem Handy ein. Ein paar Augenblicke später waren die beiden wohlbekannten Damen zur Stelle und trugen Jasons alten Vorgesetzten weg.
Der sich schon wenig später auf dem Dach eines Hochhauses wiederfand. Nach wie vor unfähig sich zu bewegen. Es kostete Anstrengung auch nur ein Wort hervorzubringen. “Dee…” Diesmal war der Blick echtes Mitleid. Nur blieb er ungesehen, nachts im Dunkeln, hinter ihm.

Two hours, fourtyfive minutes and three seconds. Which means she’s not coming. Which also means that neither is Greg. And that, in turn, means he’s been there before he came to me. “Enjoy the sunrise.” – Famous last words, though his, not mine. Like hell I am.