💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Eleven: Mr. Grimaldi's Next Client

The Apprentice

"Well, you could have just told me." Rose replied. She glared at me as I unwound my fingers from her arm. With one last look at the insurance door I ushered her into the last door. We were in another hallway. The walls were chalkboard black, and the floor was the same emerald green as the walls had been in the last hall. It looked like someone had managed to carve out a gigantic emerald and set it into the floor! Rose's heels clicked over it satisfyingly.

This hallway was much longer than the last, and was lined with ivory pedestals holding various relics and magical items. They reminded me of Cedrick Hawthorne's hallway, but the pedestals weren't topped with glass to protect their respective items. Instead each item held a black plaque detailing in-depth descriptions of each item. Rose reached tentatively for an item-and in return her hand was smacked away!

"Read the fine print before you touch anything!" Death snapped. Rose sent him a withering glare before reading through the rest of the plaque. I peered over her shoulder and read along. 'Anyone who touches this item hereby agrees to the act of stealing, and will therefore be imprisoned. As compensation all belongings of said thief will promptly be removed and will consequently be property of this establishment.' My eyes widened in shock. Rose turned to thank Death, but he was already stalking down the hallway. I threw Rose a smirk before following after him.

"They can't do that!" Rose whispered.

"In the magic underworld of crime, inside their endless maze of a building? They can do whatever they want. Magic laws are different than your laws. We hold our own government outside of any of the countries'. We have our own prisons, law enforcers, and titles within the government. We have laws and other types of rules that keep our world a secret from humans and other non-magical beings. I explained.

"How?!" Rose asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could Death rapped his knuckles against a tall, narrow, black door. There was a window on this door as well, but a thick, green, velvet curtain was covering it, shielding the inside from prying eyes. It snapped open, and suddenly yet another pair of eerie blue eyes were staring back at the three of us. The man who they belonged to grinned slyly, and set about unlocking the door. Several clicks were heard down the door frame before he was finally able to open the door.

"Death..." The man greeted us with a flourish of his arms.

"Mr. Grimaldi." Death said seriously.

          "Emerson." The man corrected.

          "...No...." Death said awkwardly. "We need your assistance. The Scythe has been stolen by a human, and we need to get it back before something catastrophic happens. We need your sources to tell us whether this human has been spotted in London or Cairo before it is too late." Mr. Grimaldi nodded along, resting his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

          "You'd better come inside." He stated. We all followed him into his office before he locked the door and pulled back the curtain once more. The walls were a deep green, and the hardwood floor was a dark brown. Even more pedestals lined the walls. Piles and piles of yellow, wrinkled papers etched with cursive and calligraphy were stacked messily over a huge, oaken desk that had been painted black. A drink full a shimmering silver liquid was shoved in front of my face.

          "Drink?" Mr. Grimaldi purred.

          "No!" Death ordered. "He's a Fae."

          "I thought the Fae could only be lawyers." I admitted.

          "And I thought someone who lived as long as they liked would learn a thing or two from basic social movements, but here we are." Mr. Grimaldi noted with a tone of annoyance before withdrawing the drink. "Fae make fantastic lawyers. Not being able to lie makes for experts in loopholes. However, like any race, we can be anything we want."

          "Except politicians." I joked.

          Mr. Grimaldi didn't smile.

          "...Sorry." I apologized awkwardly.

          "Anyways, let's discuss payment. What would you like to trade in exchange for my services? This, perhaps?" Mr. Grimaldi requested innocently as he held up a grey block. I squinted at the intricate, sparkling runes on the top of it. My eyes bugged. It was the tablet! ...Only smaller.

          "You brought that thing?!" Rose scolded Death.

          "And shrunk it?!" I added.

          "Of course! I couldn't leave it unguarded at the apartment!" Death protested.

          "Because you're keeping such a great hold on it!" Rose fired back.

          "Relax..." Mr. Grimaldi commanded, rubbing his temples. "I'm a Fae. There will be no thievery here. Only bargains." 'Devil's bargains...' I thought to myself. I heard the sound of a door shut as Death and Mr. Grimaldi began to haggle over bargains. It was probably the next client. Pap! The sound of a thick paper went off as something rattled down a dark tube in the ceiling and fell out. It hovered above the desk for a moment before landing smack in the middle of the desk. Mr. Grimaldi excitedly snatched it off of the desk and held up a thick, black envelope embellished with a metallic, silver, wax seal.

"Aha! Maybe this will motivate you! Your answer lies within this envelope!" Mr. Grimaldi exclaimed. He and Death went back to chattering. Rose peeked out from behind the curtain as I leaned over the desk and looked up to see how far up the tube went. It was too dark for me to see, even with my enhanced vision.

"Death..." Rose whispered.

No one could hear her over the arguing.

"Death." I spoke up.

"Not now." Death griped.

"Death." Rose squeaked.

"I said, 'Not. Now.'"

I strode over to the door and peeked out the window with Rose. A tall, abnormally pale man was slowly walking towards our door. He wore a black hat and pea coat. His gaze at us from under the hat was downright murderous. I did not like the looks of him.

"Death!" I piped up.

"What?!" Death boomed.

"I think Mr. Grimaldi's next client is here."

"I don't have any other clients..." Mr. Grimaldi frowned. Death regarded the door cautiously before beckoning for the two of us to move. Rose and I stepped back as Death strode quickly to the door. He reached a hand out to snatch the curtain and began to swipe it back with an annoyed flourish. BOOM!