A/N: Yo. Well, here it is, a new chapter! Notice I used a line from Terry in this! :) I'm really happy that so many people like Nero, she's kind of my favourite character to write, so it feels awesome. Enjoy! X

- Chapter Thirteen –

The Tribunal

1. Should a Reaper ever attempt or conspire to murder a fellow Reaper, they will be thrown to the witches without mercy. 2. This murderous traitor will no longer be considered a Child of Death, and shall no longer go by the proud title of Reaper. 3. Any Reaper found conspiring with witches shall be duly punished. These, ladies and gentlemen, are just a few extracts from our unspoken rule book. We call them the Reaper Rules – alliteration gives it a catchy ring, don't you think? – and follow them rather religiously. Now, you'll be surprised to find that I've been in plenty of situations where someone is trying to murder me. I know, I know, who would want to murder someone like me? Beautiful, talented, intelligent, loyal. I just don't see why anyone could want to kill me off. Really.

I've had my fair-share of close encounters with all kinds of mutinous murderers, and you'd think those experiences would make me pretty cautious about things. But obviously that isn't the case, seeing as I'm strolling right into the lion's den. Or rather, the vampire's den. Stupid, stupid Nero.

Have you ever found yourself in a Tribunal before? No? Well, let me tell you that it is most unpleasant. A bunch of hungry-eyed, vicious vampires gathered around to watch one of their fellows receiving an excruciatingly painful punishment. Watching one of their brothers or sisters being burned by silver, made to suffer for the crime they have committed, being treated as outcasts. At first, when I walked to this parking lot with Eric, I thought I fit right in. Leather jacket, boots, pretty pink hair. Every other vampire was wearing leather of some kind – even Eric with his boots, Pam with her belt – so I believed I was fitting right in. Until, that is, all eyes landed on me.

Must be my luscious Reaper blood that had attracted their attention.

Eric stood so close to me we were almost like Siamese twins. "Do not return their looks, Nero. Keep your gaze focused firmly on the Magister if you can."

I snorted. "And here I was thinking I'd make some friends."

"Take this seriously," he snapped.

"Alright grandpa, I'm taking it seriously," I replied, equally snappish. I crossed my arms over my chest. Why had he bothered asking me here if he was just gonna give out to me?

We had the most unexpected pleasure of watching a vampire being de-fanged – his screams still ringing in my ears as he was dragged away – only for the Magister to call out for Eric. He paused upon seeing Eric move ahead of me, looking slightly puzzled as to my presence before he called me forth as well. I strolled confidently to stand beside Eric again, just feet away from the Magister. I beamed up at him, keeping my head high. Vampires smell fear, and I was definitely not afraid of some damn vampires. Or their strength. Or their fangs. Or their mutual love of leather.

"My, my. What a pleasant surprise it is to find a Reaper in our midst," the Magister drawled, sitting up slightly. Typical vamp, always trying to get in our good books in the vain hope we will save them from eventual Death. Nice try, buddy. "And what is your name?"

"Nero. Like the Emperor." I gave a sweeping bow, truly dramatic and theatrical. His smirk grew wider, as I had expected.

"What a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman."

"Your Magister, I'm honoured," I replied sarcastically, and Eric pinched my arm from where he stood slightly behind me.

"Like the Emperor, hm?" he asked, repeating what I had said earlier.

"Yes, sir."

"You must be quite old then, Nero."

"It is rude to ask a lady her age," I replied curtly, raising an eyebrow. "Hasn't anyone told you that? You look old yourself, after all."

"Mr Northman, how old is your friend here?"

"A thousand years old," Eric answered automatically, and I glared at him. I understood why he said it though. In the hopes this would appease the Magister and he would quit his questions. No such luck.

The Magister whistled with a bright smirk, playing with his cane and watching my every move. "Well, Nero-like-the-Emperor" – the other vampires snickered gleefully – "we are thrilled to have you here. Tell me, what is it like, being a Reaper?"

"Morbid, of course."

"But of course. I do not see a Mark upon you."

The other vampires ceased their snickering, apparently confused as to what he meant. Most of them would never know what a 'Mark' was. I was surprised the Magister even knew. How had he found out about them? Cautiously, I took a small step backwards, without thinking about it. Showing him my Mark felt like showing him something deeply private that only other Reapers should see. But I did not want to look like a coward, either. I hesitated, looking at Eric for his support. He seemed torn as well. I scowled up at the Magister, making my own decision.

"You are not a Reaper. I refuse to show you it."

From Eric's sigh, this was not what he was hoping for. The Magister raised an eyebrow in what I assume was surprise. "I suppose your Maker taught you your manners."

"Maker?" I repeated, frowning in confusion. "You mean Death himself?"

Many vampires were shifting uncomfortably by the way I spoke so freely of him. Vampires and humans alike share a fear of Death, the thought of ending, of not existing anymore. I, in their eyes, as an embodiment of what they feared most. Even the Magister seemed a little put-off by my blatant words. What did he expect me to say?

"Yes," he said eventually.

"He did not…raise me," I said, for lack of better phrasing. "He made me a Reaper. That is all. We do not have Makers, like you vampires do. We make our own way."

"How admirable," he said, slightly sarcastic if I'm not mistaken. "Now. Bring me your murderer."

I had almost forgotten about Bill, and why we were here in the first place. A coffin rolled up to us, pushed by a devious-looking female vampire. I raised an eyebrow. Jeez, only three seconds into Bill's Tribunal and already things are looking bad for him. Unless they wanted him to take a quick nap before his trial. I highly doubted that, though.

"Now, Compton. Explain what happened."

Listening to Bill's story made me tune out for a few moments. I mulled things over in my mind, thinking about my Mark. Subconsciously I began rubbing it beneath my sleeve, beginning to wish Alliyah were here. I felt like a baby crying for his mother in a way, and I felt quite out of place. A Reaper among vampires. My kind did not mix with theirs. It felt odd to be here. The Magister furiously yelled at Bill for murdering one of his own in the hopes of saving his 'pet'. Poor ol' Sookie.

"Tell me Nero," the Magister drawled, getting my attention. "What would happen if a Reaper murdered another of his fellows?"

I glanced at Bill, who was clearly pleading with me to say 'Oh sir, we'd give them a kiss and a hug and tell them not to worry about it'. I couldn't do that though. I also couldn't say that we would be thrown to the witches, because then the vampires would know our weakness. I couldn't have that, either. Only Eric knew about that. His eyes burned holes into the back of my head. "Well, they'd be punished."

"That seems fair, Mr Compton. An eye for an eye."

"Makes the whole world blind," I muttered swiftly.

"Your Magister, Longshadow broke the law first. She was mine and he knew it. He would have killed her and fed from her."

"She was still human!" the Magister argued. Ah, of course. Vampires once again thinking they are the best thing to ever happen to the damn planet. I rolled my eyes. "Irrelevant. Happens everyday."

Vampires are staked every night, too, but I didn't dare say that out loud to him. Not with this many vampires around anyway. When Bill mentioned how Longshadow was stealing from Eric, the Magister looked interested. His eyes skimmed past me to Eric. "Sheriff?"

In a deep voice, Eric said, "Yes Magister, it's true. Longshadow was a thief and a liar. He was hurting my business."

"It was the human who exposed Longshadow. Tell him Eric."

Whoa, way to put so much pressure on Eric. I scowled at Bill, silently scolding him. Eric seemed to be doing the same, with much more loathing in his eyes than in mine. I watched their exchange, as Eric said, "The only reason the girl was there…was because I called her."

"To protect your wealth!" Bill exclaimed.

"To protect my wealth, yes," Eric continued, glaring at Bill. "Magister, she is…valuable."

Well, there it was again, that jealous feeling in my tummy. I have come to the conclusion in the past few seconds that I am a very jealous person. I liked Eric. In fact, I really liked him. To hear such admiration in his voice for Sookie…it was irritating to say the least. I kept my face as expressionless as possible, knowing Pam was eyeing me. I stood tall, too, keeping my gaze firmly on Eric.

"Humans exist to serve us, that is their only purpose," the Magister sighed, leaning his head back on his chair and twisting his cane around in his hand. Oh, that insolent pig! I mean, vampires were technically beneath us in the hierarchy, but I didn't say that they existed to serve us, did I? Of course not. Humans were on this planet because they were supposed to be, not for the vampires. This idiot really thought himself to be something wonderful.

"There are those among us who think differently," Bill said. Wow, he had some balls to say that. I was quite impressed. I gave him a delighted smile. Eric, however, was looking moodier by the second. He sent me a warning glare, which I ignored completely. I'm not the precious or valuable Sookie, so therefore I don't have to do anything he says.

With every angry word that came from the Magister's mouth at this, Bill reacted with angry breaths. You know he must be really mad, if he's bothering to actually breath from fury. His fists clenched. I wondered if he would be stupid enough to fight with the Magister. "Bill," Eric warned, and Bill seemed to find himself again.

"Well, you haven't bored me," the Magister sneered. "That works in your favour." I really hated this guy. He made my blood boil. "And you seem to be obedient to your Sheriff."

"For the most part," Eric muttered. I nudged him as Bill glared at him. We might just get Bill off the hook! "What matters, is he is."

"Usual sentence is five years in a coffin chained with silver," the Magister murmured, observing the cane in his hands before watching Bill again. I winced, thinking of how painful that must be. "During which time your body will waste to leather and sticks…you'll probably go insane…However, I'm feeling a bit…creative."

Oh, brother. Here goes. He whistled loudly, and a car rolled up. Perhaps he would take Bill for a 'drive', you know. I glanced up at Eric, who was frowning deeply.

"What's going to happen, Eric?"

"I'm not sure," he whispered quietly. "This is highly unusual."

He was right about that. As the Magister spoke, I became distracted by a noise. The others vampires – Eric included – were too focused on what the Magister said to listen to it. It was, if I wasn't mistaken, a heartbeat. A loud, petrified, thumping little heartbeat. I strained my ears intently, focusing on the noise. It was coming from the car! The trunk, to be specific. Don't tell me there was a human in there. I had a very bad feeling about this.

"You owe us a life," the Magister nodded, and I realized I was very right with my idea.

When a female vampire opened the trunk, a terrified human rolled out. She wore a blue dress, her red hair tied back, and a petrified look on her face. My eyes widened in surprise. This was cruel, even for the vampires. She stumbled and screeched, fell on her behind in confusion and watched us all with wide, blue eyes. I felt a twinge of guilt for her, which I tried to supress. I hate feeling bad. Guilt is a useless emotion. The human was pushed to the ground in front of us, and for a fleeting moment her eyes met with mine. I wished I could tell her that things were not going to end well for her, but I think she already knew that herself.