CHAPTER 6

A/N – Hello, my dear readers! Again, thank you so much for all your amazing support, it really means a lot to me that you're enjoying this as much as I do! Anyway, I'm back with a new chap (even later than I had anticipated, damn!) so enjoy ;)

Luca Majerus – Luxembourg

Anri Majerus – Belgium

Andrei – Moldova

Leon – Hong Kong

The next morning the kitchen was ominously quiet and Lukas almost tiptoed in, flinching in surprise to discover his boss perched onto one of the bar stools, thoughtfully nursing a cup of black tea. The Norwegian observed him intently before gingerly slipping into a seat next to him, having noticed nothing aside from a faint bruise on the side of Arthur's neck, partly concealed by the collar of his crisp dress shirt.

"Where's Alfred?" he asked tentatively, fingertips flying nervously to toy with the rubirosa ring he'd put on the previous night. According to Tino's instructions, the rubirosa ring could make a contractor invisible to his Grim as long as they wore it on their finger, but now he wondered whether the American would be able to tell as well and if yes… what if… ? Technically Alfred could divulge his secret to Arthur and maybe even help the Dane get his hands on him! Now that would be really bad!

The green-eyed blond shrugged and sighed softly. "Starbucks," he replied bluntly, then shifted his gaze to Lukas. "I think he's jealous or something…" he added, with a small unexpected chuckle. "He got seriously worked up last night."

"But I thought… that he really loathed you!" And with what I saw and heard last night… It was odd though, because Arthur didn't seem to be in such a bad shape. Maybe he had misinterpreted things? But he was quite sure that-

"Fuck knows, but it really got to him that the prince kissed me."

"Why did the prince kiss you anyway? Was he… by any chance offering you an alternative to payment?"

Arthur shrugged. "Oh, he was just fucking around, but no. Not that I would awfully mind it, he's a cute kid and I have no money," he said with a small chuckle. "Speaking of, we'll have to do something about it soon."

A soft, warm breeze was sifting through the trees in front of the Luxembourg cathedral and across the tourist-filled square, a pale autumn sun casting its rays over the old stone buildings around. Mathias sighed and leaned on his forearms onto the stone railing, staring blankly at the large park spreading below the massive wall. He'd chosen a simple black Armani suit and matching shades for the occasion, looking like a businessman on his lunch break at that hour, and the funny thing was... well, he was here on business.

Actually, it wasn't funny at all.

And Mathias was angry with himself and blamed himself the most for this blasted mishap. During his rather lengthy career as a Grim, the Dane had always served his contractors in good faith and that was why – he'd naively supposed – he'd never had any problems with his contracts, he'd never messed up, even if things had been quite tough upon more than one occasion. Still, he was no spring chicken and he shouldn't have been so quick to trust the pale blond boy who looked like a fairy prince, even if… well, truth be told he'd heard of no one with the skill to forge a functional rubirosa jewel in the past three hundred years or so. Because this was what the little imp must have used to be able to vanish in this manner, making his Grim feel as if he'd never existed.

Yet the contract was still valid and the troublesome contractor very much present, reason for which Mathias was still in this world – having been left to starve, too! – instead of going back to hell. Thus, he had no choice but to resort to the help of the powerful Majerus family, even if he loathed their kind and lacked the necessary insurance. The Dane still had some money left from what he'd collected, but doubted it would be enough. Most likely he would be required to do some of their dirty work in return…

Sighing, he straightened his back and peeled away his shades, stuffing them in his suit pocket as he crossed the square with large strides, making his way to an ivy-covered entrance visible in one remote corner of the square. The massive oak door covered in pristine black polish opened before Mathias even got the chance to reach for the doorbell and a pale, black-clad Asian girl showed up in the frame.

"Welcome, Mr. Kohler," she spoke softly, in an accented voice. "Master is already expecting you."

The Dane refrained from rolling his eyes as he followed her into the dark, wainscoted corridor, plagued by an unsettling feeling. "So… how old is your master?" he asked casually, for conversation's sake and also out of suspicion that it was a sensitive subject bound to irk the staff.

"Seventeen," the girl replied. "But he's already married, since he must produce an heir and all. Mortals are like that," she added with a bored shrug, flipping a long strand of luscious raven hair over her thin shoulder. A vampire, Mathias realized, and marveled at the number of silver rings decorating her small hand. For a vampire to wear silver jewelry and not be scorched by it, their master sorcerer had to be particularly powerful. "Look, there she is."

"Who?" the Grim asked, although he'd already spotted the blonde young woman observing him with interest from the top of a large stone staircase.

"His wife," the servant replied, motioning to the stairs. "It's that way, straight ahead." And she was gone, seemingly melting into the shadows hovering along the ancient walls.

Mathias climbed the worn staircase with even, unhurried steps, his gaze locked with the blonde's, who was now smiling openly. She was very pretty, with large green eyes and curly locks held back by a green ribbon and she was wearing an emerald-colored sundress which complimented her complexion. Still, she looked a bit older than seventeen.

"Mr. Kohler, we've been expecting you," she spoke, giving the Dane an appreciative once-over which was just a tad too straightforward. "I'm Anri Majerus."

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Majerus," he said, taking the offered hand and lightly pressing his lips against the delicate knuckles. "And I'm grateful that your husband has agreed to see me, on such short notice too."

"Please, call me Anri," the blonde replied, seeming to ignore the comment. "So, Mr. Kohler, what does it take to get a man like you?" she then asked, leading the way forward down a short, brightly-lit corridor at the end of which some tall, gold-painted double doors loomed.

"A contract," Mathias answered automatically, before even realizing that the question had made him cringe. Was Anri Majerus seriously trying to flirt with him? Or maybe this was some sort of test? Well, if that was what it was, the extreme bad taste of it was indubitable. "I'm sure that your husband can explain everything to you in great detail, if you're interested," he added quickly, with somewhat of a cramped smile, before smoothly slipping away from her to knock on the door.

The first thing Mathias saw as he entered the spacious, richly furnished office was a large and fluffy white dog, sprawled lazily onto the Persian rug. The animal's dull brown eyes took him in with almost unusual disinterest, but the Dane still stared a bit, amazed by the sheer size of the pet. His master sat at an elegant, polished desk in the back and lifted his gaze upon his entrance, shaking perfectly combed golden bangs off his turquoise-green eyes.

Luca Majerus was lean and fragile looking, with an even more youthful appearance than his real age, but his pale porcelain face had an openly smug and superior expression which hardened his features and made them somewhat unpleasant to behold. He graciously rose from behind his desk to invite his guest to a seat nearby and – Mathias thought – also probably to assess the effect of his posh outfit – a tight white vest over a finely striped, light blue shirt, white riding breeches and knee-high, perfectly polished leather boots.

To hell with this brat… the Dane inwardly cursed as he offered some meaningless pleasantry to his host, taking a seat in the indicated chair across from the boy.

"So, Mr. Kohler, you don't have a contract with us," Luca cut to the chase without further formalities. "But your contractor has disappeared on you? I suppose you'd like our help with that?"

Mathias nodded slowly, with a sigh. "I can pay you," he stated, with a heavy heart. Although perhaps he shouldn't have said that before actually hearing the price for said help.

"I see…" the Luxembourger observed, with an air which ironically spelled 'can you?' "Why don't you tell me more, then? I'm sure there must be something we can do to get to the bottom of this troublesome situation."

The Grim began to speak, words pouring reluctantly out of his mouth as he spilled out the little he knew about his contractor and the circumstances in which he'd seen the blasted Norwegian operate. Meanwhile, Luca opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a crystal globe which looked mundane enough to be taken for a bad joke and rang a small golden bell three times. The doors opened and two boys walked in, donning the same full-black attire as the servant Mathias had been let in earlier. One was Asian as well, with longish, wispy raven hair, smooth features and amber eyes, while the other was white and skimpy looking despite the expensive fabric of his garments, his mouse-brown hair rather tousled and long bangs falling into his bright red eyes. And, just like the girl, they were both vampires and both wore a ridiculous amount of silver jewelry.

"These are my assistants, Andrei and Leon," Majerus explained, motioning with this hand curtly.

The red-eyed boy – whose name was Andrei – walked up to his master's desk and sat down in Luca's lap quite nonchalantly, gracing the Dane with a bored gaze while the master's long, elegant fingers proceeded to stroke his hair and brush it away from his forehead.

Seriously, fuck this household!

"I can assure you that I've never done anything to make him fear me or to cause him the slightest discomfort. Why do you suppose he decided to disappear on me like that?" Mathias asked in conclusion, partly to dissipate the substantial awkwardness which was creeping on him at the moment.

"Well, I suppose some people, especially if they're young, are inherently frightened by something as permanent and inescapable as a Grim contract. Still, it's not an excuse," Luca stated. "We will find this unruly fellow and deliver him into your hands."

After that, Majerus and his apparently favorite assistant set to work examining the crystal globe and whispering to one another, while on the floor the large dog continued to doze off and the other vampire remained rooted on the spot, motionless, like a statue. Mathias resisted the urge to fidget in the tight suit which wasn't exactly his usual choice of clothing and to loosen his tie as he sighed discreetly, on the brink of regretting his decision to come here. Truth be told, he found the young Luca Majerus creepy in a very particular and disturbing fashion, far more than any of his vampire assistants and probably more than most of the unsavory characters he'd had to deal with in the course of his 'career'.

"Ah!" the Luxembourger exclaimed eventually, leaning forward on his elbows as Andrei slipped off his lap. "We have discovered something very interesting: it seems that your contractor – Lukas Bondevik – has eluded you with the help of his cousin, a Mr. Tino Väinämöinen. Do you know this person?"

The Dane shook his head.

"Well, apparently he has the ability to produce rubirosa jewels…" Luca muttered, his displeasure evident as he dug out a ledger from one of his desk drawers and began to leaf through it hurriedly.

"The name is familiar, I think he too is contracted," Leon offered. "And his Grim has an insurance policy with us."

"Oh? Then it should be easy," the teen concluded and tossed aside the ledger, beginning to type something on his laptop instead. "Indeed, look! He's currently contracted to Mr. Berwald Oxenstierna! I want him summoned here right away!"

Oh Hell… Mathias knew this name, having had a couple of run-ins with the grumpy Swedish Grim in the past. Not the kind of man to have a dispute with, if one could avoid it, he reckoned, even if Majerus would be doing the talking this time. And he really didn't think this would go well, or easy for that matter, considering that Berwald had actually paid Majerus for insurance, while he had not. However, this was also a sign that Berwald most likely didn't trust his own contractor, so maybe the newly uncovered information would be of interest to him? Mathias could only hope it would be enough to counter the trouble that Luca Majerus was about to cause the Swede.

Leon left the room for about ten minutes, during which the Dane was exposed to more of the wizard's shameless and tasteless flirting with his favorite vampire, after which he returned, ushering Berwald Oxenstierna into the room. The Swede looked less rugged these days than Mathias remembered, his unkempt beard was gone and the hair trimmed much shorter, and an elegant pair of silver-rimmed glasses adorned his icy features. His clothes were still dark but softer, more elegant and Mathias couldn't help thinking – not without a tinge of sadness - that the man must have gotten softer as of late.

Berwald threw a cautious glance around before sitting down into the chair he'd been offered and proceeding to grace the Dane with a suspicious stare. "Wh't is th's about?" he grumbled.

"The question is, Mr. Oxenstierna, do you know what is going on?" Luca Majerus interfered.

"Wh't is-"

"Are you aware, generally speaking, of what your current contractor is up to?" the wizard went on, pausing slightly to give his words time to sink in. "Are you aware that he is creating – and possibly selling too! – rubirosa jewels right under your nose?!"

Berwald tensed visibly – his surprise and chagrin evident – and his hands clenched slightly in his lap, but he said nothing, only shaking his head vigorously.

Luca sighed. "Mr. Oxenstierna, as you have deemed fit to sign an insurance policy with us, I'm sure you understand how unfortunate and even onerous this situation is for all of us. For example, we are quite certain that Mr. Kohler's contractor – who happens to be your contractor's cousin - has used one of these rubirosa jewels to give him the slip! Due to this fact and to the responsibility we have towards all Grims who have concluded insurance contracts with our house, I'm afraid we will have to bring your contractor in for questioning. Right away."

To be continued

A/N – Oh yes, and now I really got Tino into trouble…