A/N: I am so so so so so so so so so so *deep breath* so very sorry for the late update, and you have every right to be utterly furious with me. So yes, I apologise, but life got in the way with not having internet for two weeks, and then I had exams to study and do, so I really am sorry :)

- Chapter Ten -

Grim Tales

"What did you do when you found out your daughter, your baby girl, was sleeping with a vampire, Tanya?"

A rather large, blubbering woman burst into fresh tears, sobbing dramatically into a hanker-chief. Her skanky daughter rolled her eyes and sank lower in her seat as if she were horribly embarrassed by her mother. If I were her, I would be more embarrassed by my choice of clothing. A barely there strapless top and a mini-mini-mini-skirt. I took a large gulp of my beer, swishing it around in my mouth out of boredom before swallowing. The daughter barely had any clothes on. She looked as if she hadn't eaten any food in weeks, which is something dating a vampire does to you – if you're human, that is. You begin to live by their rules. The camera zoomed in on the sobbing mother, then the fang marks on this kid's neck and finally to the very solemn looking host who was practically shoving the microphone into the woman's face and who probably didn't give a rat's ass about this family as long as it brought in ratings.

"Well I just couldn't believe it," the woman cried, once again mopping her chubby face and letting out a dry sob. "My Bianca, dating a….a bloodsucker!"

"Whatever Mom, you don't understand, he loves me!"

The crowd booed and scoffed at her, but she stood up and made some obscene gestures. Boy, do I love humans.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

My eyes drifted lazily to our bedroom door. Eric had gone to see his Maker, and had his own card to get in anyway. Therefore, if it wasn't him, then it wasn't important. I snuggled deeper into the comfy couch. I couldn't answer in a loose, baggy t-shirt with Fangtasia written across it now could I? My legs were bare, and although whoever it was would be bloody lucky to see me so exposed, they unfortunately wouldn't get the chance. I only turned the television up louder, swigging more beer. It was pointless, really, since I couldn't even get drunk.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Go away please," I roared.

"Room service," a voice called back.

I rolled my eyes, sending an obscene gesture of my own at the door. "Didn't order any."

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

I muttered a few unfavourable curses beneath my breath, dragging myself off the sofa and walking – slowly, I might add, in the hopes that this weirdo would leave me alone if I took too long – towards the door. I glanced out the peephole, and saw a short, plump, dark-haired woman waiting impatiently outside. She was holding towels in her hands, and tapping her foot. Well, this was unpleasant already and I hadn't even let her in. Begrudgingly I opened the door, and met her with a cold glare.

"I didn't order any room service."

"Too bad." She pushed past me, flinging the towels on the floor carelessly. What kind of hotel is this?

"Excuse me, but what the Hell do you think you're doing?"

"Hell. Funny you should mention it." This woman pulled a cigarette out of her pocket, prepared to light it up.

"You can't smoke in here. The smoke alarm will go off," I muttered, pointing at the grey alarm box above her. "For someone who works here, you would think you'd know that."

"Well damn. Maybe I should just set fire to the whole damn place, how 'bout that?" she replied, grinning. She held a lighter in her hands, and then she threw it – still lit – onto the towels on the floor. I gasped, unable to help myself as the towels lit up in seconds. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Relax, Nero." The woman snapped her fingers, and the fire vanished. Vanished. Before my very eyes. "I can smoke if I want to. After all, it won't kill me, will it?"

As she put the cigarette in her mouth, she began to…change. Like a shape-shifter, she became taller and paler in seconds. Her blue maid outfit was replaced with a very smart black suit, her hair seemed to shoot back into her scalp, becoming shorter and darker until it was black. It was slicked back, her eyes went from a dark brown to a light blue. She went from a small, normal woman to a tall handsome man. I felt my tummy twist nauseously, my Mark tingling when I realized that Death stood before me, casually lighting up a cigarette. He offered me one, probably hoping to break the ice and I politely declined.

"What's the matter, Nero? Don't tell me you're worried about your lungs being damaged. That's a human thing. We, on the other hand, can do whatever we like. Hell, I could set this place on fire right now and you and I would walk right on out without a care in the world." He stretched his arm out with the lighter still lit. "Maybe this time, I won't put it out."

When I said nothing, he laughed, smoothing his hair back and blowing smoke rings. Impressive. Grim liked to put on a show, I suppose. He looked like a Mafia boss somehow, and I was his next hit.

"Oh, God," I muttered under my breath.

"Uh-uh," Grim grinned, blowing another smoke ring and shaking his head. "He won't be helping you, Nero. He's a little busy, you know, like he always is." He sounded almost bitter. "Besides, you aren't a believer anyway. Hell, the day Nero worships someone other than herself will be the day I die."

And then he did something absolutely insane. He put out his cigarette by burning his own flesh. He simply rolled his sleeve back and burned it against his skin, his face entirely blank and expressionless. What did he want with me anyway? I must be in trouble. Death would not visit me for nothing. His eyes, which only a moment ago had been blue, seemed a dark black now. Uh-oh.

"You were suicide bombed, from what I hear."

"Yes, sir."

"Rather unfortunate. I remember the first time it happened to me," he said wistfully, looking away as if lost in a pleasant memory. "The moment humans figured out to make bombs was a dark day. For them, I mean. But don't you think, Nero, that it's a little strange that you come to Dallas and then, just by pure coincidence there is a suicide bombing right at the party you happened to be at?"

"Well, sir-…"

"Shut it. I'm not finished."

I felt like a school-girl being scolded in front of a whole class by a teacher. I felt as if I were burning with shame, trying to avoid looking in his eyes for too long.

"Now I let you stay with the vampire Eric Northman out of trust, Nero, and trust means a lot to me."

He grabbed me so suddenly I didn't even have time to register it. He had flitted across the room in the blink of an eye and slammed me into the wall behind me, letting me fall on my ass. Ugh. He gave himself some time to fix his hair before he bent down to my level.

"You're gonna tell me in very simple terms why you betrayed my trust, Nero. I mean, I gave you a chance to be happy with this bloodsucker, on the condition that it doesn't cause me any problems. And what happens with months of this? A bombing in the home of your boyfriend's Maker. Do you know what an embarrassment that is to me? Your fellow Reapers were not pleased to hear I was letting you stay with the vampire. Trouble, they said. That's all this will bring is trouble. And they were right. So we're gonna end it, unless you can give me one good reason not to."

"Fellowship of the Sun," I hissed, and he paused.

"Excuse me?"

"Fellowship of the Sun," I repeated bitterly. "A cult. They hate vampires. They kidnapped Eric's Maker, they were gonna kill him. But he managed to escape and they…they were coming back for some revenge, I suppose."

He stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter. My eyes widened as I watched him in baffled amazement. He was laughing at me! When he saw my expression, he tried to control himself, failing miserably. "I'm sorry Nero but a cult. Only you. Only you in all of the beautiful Reaping world would manage to get herself tangled in a vampire-hating cult that tries to bomb her."

"Tell me about it."

"You know, I miss the days when all humans did to please their Gods was sacrifice a goat. Then they moved onto human sacrifices, and that was fun to watch, but then it got so out of hand," he said, sounding strangely as if he were complaining about it, expecting my sympathy. "Well, Nero, luckily for you, I believe you. And if what you say really is true as I think it is, I will forgive this little…indiscretion."

He stood up and outstretched a hand to me, helping me stand up. He glanced at his watch. "Aw, I'm gonna be late for a suicide Nero, so I really must get going. But you listen to me-…" – he grabbed my shoulders harshly, pulling me closer – "I don't have time to deal with your fuck-ups. I came here to kill you, you know? I didn't want to, but I wasn't gonna let a Reaper make a fool of me by telling me she wouldn't cause any trouble by dating a vampire. I was gonna kill you because you did make trouble, Nero, and if it happens again I won't be so lenient. I'm a busy man, Nero. Count yourself lucky. Next time it might not end so well."

My legs felt like jelly, because he was grabbing my neck and holding it so tightly. I hated to admit it, but he petrified me.

"Oh, and one last thing…" he grinned. He stuffed a familiar piece of parchment into my hand. My List. I had almost forgotten that I worked for this man, simply because all I could think about was the fear I felt at the fact that he had come here to kill me. I was so close to dying all because I had messed up and embarrassed him. Grim, as you know, doesn't like it when people do that. Of course, I didn't purposely get myself into so much trouble with the vampires and the Fellowship – it just happened.

When I looked at Death again, his gaze was focused on the television, where the blubbering woman was now trying to talk to her brat of a daughter about why vampires were so evil. Grim was smiling.

"I love that show. Reality television, one of the best things humans ever made," he laughed. He clapped me on the back. This guy was sending some really mixed signals right now. One moment he was playful and humorous, but then he was terrifying and made me feel like I could burst into tears like that woman on the television. "So, Nero, I think I made it perfectly clear. I will check out this Fellowship of the Light-…"

"Sun, sir."

"Whatever, they're all the same to me. I'll look into it myself. Cults have always been very…interesting for me, because I'm always portrayed as the bad guy. Oh well, what can you do? Keep yourself out of trouble Nero. Like I said, I might not be so nice next time. Then you'll see the real bad guy."

He slapped my cheek gently, grinning at me. He lit up another cigarette as he strolled towards the door. I didn't know Grim liked to smoke. Like he said, it wouldn't kill him. He could do whatever he pleased. Just as he reached the door, there was a knock. He swung it open without even thinking about it. Sookie stood there in her dressing gown. When she saw him, her cheeks went a little red, probably because she thought he was just a very handsome man. He tipped his imaginary hat at her.

"Hello Miss Stackhouse, pleasure to see you," he smirked. He glanced back at me. "Goodbye for now, Nero, it really was lovely talking to you again. I hope our next meeting is just as pleasant!"

"Yeah. Me too."

When he had finally left, Sookie stood looking baffled. "Who was that? How did he know my name? Nero, are you okay, you look a little scared? Did he do something to you?"

I had never been so pleased to hear Sookie Stackhouse speak, even if she was asking too many questions for me to answer at once. I took a deep, shaky breath in the hopes of calming myself.

"That, my friend, was Death. He knew your name because he probably knows everyone's name. I'm fine. He just wanted to kill me is all. Nothing big."

I smiled at her, enjoying the look of utter confusion on her face. Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish. And, after a few moments of watching the gears in Sookie's brain trying to work this out, she finally gave up and said, "I think we better find Eric."