a/n: Some big rearranging in this chapter and a much more fluid/satisfying outcome, I like to think. This is the second chapter I've posted in the last six hours, so please, if you love me and want me to do shit like that more often, REVIEW!
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Parii Holds the Key
Leolin hadn't been back to the Louvre in years. She'd always planned return someday, but never in one thousand years had she imagined it would be like this. She'd wanted to study art, not steal it. That, she supposed, had been the dream of a different Leolin. A younger, hopeful Leolin was who madly in love and at the beginning of a very prominent career.
Tonight's grab wouldn't be La Genie's first from the Louvre, but it was the first Leolin herself had gotten to courage to attend to herself. The last several she'd simply sent Swish and Effie with instructions, trusting them to execute her orders. When Severina had told her three months ago what the client wanted, she'd flatly refused. She'd peddled a great number of masterpieces in her day, but this one was so painfully personal. Still, Severina eventually convinced her. Every grab, she reminded Leolin, brought her one step closer to Draco. Besides, the work wouldn't be lost forever; someday Leolin would return it to it's rightful home.
"You ready, Nay?" Sweeney said, drawing her from her reverie. "You looked a million miles away just then."
"Yeah," she said dazedly. "Sorry. You two remember the plan?"
"Yeah," Effie said. "The sculpture's in the front corridor. I grab it while you and Swish distract the guards, and I apparate out as soon as I'm outside the perimetre. Meet for drinks after?"
"After we have it stashed," Leolin said, smiling. "I'll buy."
"Excellent," Sweeney grinned. "Let's steal us a Canova."
The word hit Leolin in a part of her chest that made it somewhat hard to breathe, but she ignored it as they jogged off.
Despite the fact that La Genie had been galavanting around Europe stealing precious works of arts and evading Croften Teller and the International Aurors Office for almost four years, Leolin still found it painfully easy to negotiate both Muggle and Magical barriers.
The trick, no one seemed to realize, was devising a strategy that blending Magical and Muggle means. Leolin was surprised Crofton hadn't sorted her scheme yet, but from the nature of his investigations, he was miles off base.
All it took was fooling the Muggle barriers by Magical means and Magical ones using Muggle. It might have seemed, perhaps, that evading Magic without Magic was impossible. However, as Leolin quickly realized, it wasn't. Magical barriers were naturally designed to repel Magic, and that left that embarrassingly exposed on the Muggle end. If Crofton had the good sense to pull in more Muggle investigators, they perhaps could have told him this. As it was, he was too stubborn and too proud to admit La Genie had stumped him. His mode of attack was quite literally the definition of insanity, because he insisted on using the same method despite its continual failure. Leolin was unsure of why he thought doing the same damn thing over and over again was going to yield a different result, but for her part she was grateful he did.
They crept along the edge of the Magical barrier, careful not to touch in quite yet. They past the works in the outer atrium areas, and Sweeney admired them as they went.
"This place is dead cool," he breathed.
"It's not terrible," Leolin agreed, laughing.
By this time, Leolin, Sweeney, and Effie had reached the spot they were looking for. They all peered through the barrier, which shimmering like water.
"Oy," Sweeney said, gesturing to a narrow passageway in the wall. It was impossibly dark, and it emitted a soft swishing sound, like wind whispering through trees. "What's alcove? That wasn't in the plans."
Leolin joined him to look and she felt her heartbeat quicken a little.
"That's not part of the Muggle museum," she said simply. "You can only see it through a magical lens."
"So what is it?" Effie asked.
"It's the entrance to Wizarding vault buried below us. I don't know what's down there, but I do know that whatever they have guarding it is the stuff of nightmares."
"What's guarding it?"
Leolin shrugged.
"Only the custodians know of sure, but I've heard that hundreds of thieves have died trying to get that treasure out."
Sweeney shuddered.
"Let's give it a wide berth, then."
They turned their attention back to the barrier, all three trying to ignore the eerie statue.
It was powerful, and it was practically buzzing in the air. However, unfortunately for Crofton, the IAO had adhered the charm to the walls. As Effie raised a sledgehammer to smash the wall, the charm cracked. When she struck it again. The charm gave out with a crushing clap. She then drew her wand and repaired the wall.
This had, Leolin was sure, triggered a silent alarm. The Aurors would be apparating in any second. Effie took off to get a good head start, and as if on cue, Crofton and his team appeared. Leolin and Swish were split in different directions. She ran tore South and he started off North.
They were each tailed by an Auror or two, but Leolin knew the museum better than anyone, and she was able to apparate around at will. She and Swish did so in tandem, appearing and disappearing in front of the two groups of Aurors. Crofton was madly shouting orders as Leolin and Sweeney coaxed the IAO agents farther and farther from the Canova. When they had them in a proper tizzy, they both doubled back to help Effie.
She had to take the statue down the Muggle way, despite the fact that she'd used her wand to disable the Muggle alarms surrounding it. The Aurors' charm had been woven to protect all the works, but since it had been smashed, there was no magic guarding them.
Leolin rounded the corner just as Effie was easing Antonio Canova's Venus and Mars statue carefully off its pedestal. Seeing it after these years made Leolin's stomach ache. She had always adored the way Venus was gazing up at Mars, as if he was the only man in the cosmos.
Draco had loved this statue as much as she had, and he always teased her about stealing it to put in their back garden. It was hard to bear the fact that she was about to steal it for a wealthy Japanese Healer who was an avid admirer of Canova's work. It had been hard, in some way or another, to take each of the 45 priceless treasures La Genie had stolen to date. However, this was by far the hardest.
She wondered what Draco would think when he heard it had been stolen. Would he know it was her who'd taken it?
Of course he wouldn't.
Still, would it make him think of her? Make him remember how much they'd loved each other? How desperate they'd been to spend the rest of their lives together? She had to believe it would, for the sake of her sanity if nothing else.
"Nay!" Sweeney hissed. "What the fuck are you doing? We have to go!"
Leolin looked around. Effie had her arms safely wrapped around the statue, and she disappeared with a pop. She would do they customary border jumping to throw the Aurors before dropping the statue at their French safe house. They would meet her there when they were done. They heard distant shouts. They had to catch the Aurors up on their way out. It usually took them an hour or so to figure out the thieves were already gone, by which time Leolin, Sweeney, and Effie would be three or four beers deep.
Sweeney drew an enchanted map of the museum from inside his traveling cloak and consulted it. It seemed as if Crofton had sent teams to guard the Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Astromer, the Venus de Milo, Caravaggio's Death of a Virgin, and The Seated Scribe.
He smiled and showed Leolin, who laughed out loud.
"Oh Crofton," she laughed. "Puppy guarding works? There's like fifteen hundred masterpieces in here, if not more. How does he honestly think he's going to catch us doing this?"
"Good old Crofton," Sweeney said fondly.
"Swish, which would you like to go after?"
He considered.
"What the hell," he said, shrugging. "I've always wanted to not steal the Mona Lisa."
Leolin laughed again.
"I think I will go and pretend to steal me the Venus. It will be poetic when Teller realizes what we've actually taken."
"Meet you at the safe house?" Sweeney asked.
"Yeah," Leolin said. "We can pop a bottle or two of champ then head out. Teller still thinks I'm in Spain."
"Sounds good," Sweeney said. "Be safe, lassie."
"Always," Leolin said, drawing her hood up.
They both took off.
Leolin apparated right in front of the Venus de Milo statue, practically toppling into the auror would was guarding it.
"Shit!" she cried in mock horror, backing away. "Jacques, they knew were we were headed!" she said frantically into her magical communicator.
She started running and the auror followed.
It was Effie would was in charge of playing their mock counterparts, since both Leolin and Sweeney were occupied.
"Luke!" she said loudly through the communicator. "Just get out of there!"
Leolin disapparated, appearing in the hall that housed the Mona Lisa a minute later.
"Marcus!" she called. "We have to go! Forget it."
She heard Sweeney disappear, and so did she. They bounced around for a bit, the Aurors vainly trying to follow or side-along, before reaching the deserted Landscape hall.
Their exit strategy was always Leolin's favourite part, because it was what always baffled Crofton the most. After all that apparating around, he always seemed to assume they'd apparate out and leave a trail they'd have no time to cover up. In reality, Effie would clear her trail of breadcrumbs while Leolin and Sweeney worked, and they went out a different way. Crofton always assumed he'd find the apparation ward disabled, and every time he didn't, he simply couldn't figure out the how of their escape. Of course, the answer was staring him in the face, if only he could see past his own wizard nose; they always got out the Muggle way.
They knocked aside a vent they'd loosened earlier in the day and Sweeney gave Leolin a boost up before she extended an arm and help him disappear through the hole as well. They sealed it non-magically before shimmying through the vents and up onto the roof. From there, they climbed their way down to the ground almost casually, knowing Crofton was still freaking out inside.
When both their feet hit the pavement, they grinned, high-fived, and disappeared.
The long corridor of the Louvre museum was dark and deserted, the only light pouring eerily in from the skylights above, the moonlight casting looming shadows on the marble floor.
Leolin turned, eyes alight as she took in Sweeney and Effie, who were waiting for her. Sweeney gave a crooked smile.
"Welcome home, genie."
Leolin didn't hesitate; she flew into their arms, folding easily into their joint embrace.
"We heard what happened in Germany?" Effie said, pulling back and smoothing Leolin's dark hair. "Are you alright."
She nodded numbly, ignoring Felix as he hesitantly joined the group.
"Kelly—" she choked quietly. "Adrian has Kelly. Our agent on the inside convinced him not to kill Kelly. Still—" she broke off.
"I'm sorry, Nay," Sweeney said softly, pushing his forehead against hers. "That couldn't have been easy."
"What happened?" Effie queried.
Leolin turned to glare at Felix, who looked bashful and ashamed, and Effie's face hardened.
"You little rat," she sneered. "How dare you."
"It wasn't like that," Felix defended somewhat sheepishly. "We agreed—and they aren't going to kill Troy—we need this."
"Just stop," Leolin said tiredly, all the intimacy from earlier in the day bled dry. "I don't want to have to listen to your pathetic excuses again." she turned to the twins, squeezing Effie's hand. "Let's go," she said. "We're wasting time."
They nodded, each giving Felix another cold look before Sweeney jerked his head.
"This way," he prompted.
They all took off, Sweeney leading, the girls hand and hand, and Felix trailing behind like a beaten pup."Why do I feel like I know where we're going?" Leolin said warily.
"Because you probably do," Sweeney said. "C'mon."
"La voûte," she said quietly as they followed him.
Sweeney gave a solemn nod.
"What's the vault?" Felix demanded.
"Its miles below us," Leolin said, willing her voice to stop shaking. "I don't know what's down there guarding the coins, but whatever it is, it's going to be fierce."
"I think it may be more than one something," Sweeney said, grimacing. "I met a bloke on the Isle of Skye who claimed his great grandfather had been a custodian. He seemed to think it wasn't just one obstacle; it was seven."
"Merde," Felix whispered.
Finally they arrive at a blank stretch of wall.
"What—" Felix began, but Effie wordlessly held up a magical lens, and suddenly a narrow passage way was visible. Just like the day they stole the Canova, it was emitting an eerie swishing sound, and a cold breeze was pouring out from it.
"You're up, Swish" Effie said, holding the lens out to her brother. "There are about a million wards on this thing, so you better work fast."
"Give me that," Sweeney said, taking the lens and scowling at Felix. "Chaisson, get over here and be useful."
He handed the lens to Felix, who peered through it.
"This isn't really my thing," he admitted, handing the lens back to Felix. "I bind-breaking. I'm not much good with physical barriers."
"Then you better learn fast. Everyone has to sing for their supper, Chaisson."
Felix looked through the lens again but didn't move otherwise, and Sweeney slapped him upside the head, making Felix scowl.
"Do something!" Sweeney snapped as Felix began weaving charms. "At least help me figure out what's keeping the portal closed to us."
Felix looked again for a long time then he and Felix went into a whisper conference.
"Are you ready for this?" Effie asked Leolin quietly.
"Not really," she admitted. "There's no guarantee we won't die down there. If we do, all of this will have been in vain."
"If I were with anyone else, I might be worried. As it is, I'm not worried at all. You're the cleverest witch I've ever known, Nay, and you have bloody bollocks of steel. I wouldn't trade Merlin for you on an op like this."
Leolin laughed, but it was tinged with anguish.
"I need to focus," she said more somberly. "I—so much has happened in the last twenty four hours. I feel number.
"Did something happen with Draco?" Effie said quietly as they watched the boys, who finally seemed to be making some headway, work.
Leolin bowed her head, biting her lip.
"We—" she paused, fighting not to lose it. Now was hardly the time. "I lost him, Eff. Maybe for good." We had a really intense moment on the dance floor last night, but then he—he walked away. Ran back to Gen, just like he always done. If I couldn't convince him to love me in that moment, I never will."
"What about that gag?" Effie pressed. "Surely that will turn the tide."
"I'm miles away from finishing it," Leolin admitted. "And Ren was the one helping me."
"Well fuck him," Effie said in comfort. "I'm sure you're more than capable of doing it alone."
She shrugged.
"Maybe, but I'm losing the strength to fight. In fact, after last night, I'm not sure I have any left at all."
"I'm sorry," Effie said. "I shouldn't have pressed."
"No," Leolin said tightly. "After everything that happened yesterday, it's not even the biggest problem on my plate."
"What's on your mind?" Effie said. "Besides Draco and Kelly."
Leolin shook her head.
"I—last night got so fucked up. After Felix and Brank turned Kelly over to Adrian, I got piss drunk, and then Brankovitch came back to the safe house and I—we—" she bent her head.
"Oh Lai," Effie said. "I'm sorry."
"I feel so foul," Leolin admitted, glancing at Sweeney and Felix as they worked in tense silence. "I—I profess to love Draco, but every time he hurts me I turn around and somehow Max Brankovitch is there, waiting to take full advantage of the situation."
"Then he's a creep," Effie said fiercely. "And I'm going to rip his stones off next time I see him."
Leolin bowed her head.
"I hate him for what he did," Leolin said quietly. "But it's only about a tenth as much as I hate myself. I didn't have to give in to Brankovitch's selfish little agenda. He didn't physically force me."
"That's not the point," Effie said defensively. "You were drunk and grieving, the fact that he even made a mood is unforgivable."
"And I hate him for dragging Ren into this. He was like you and Swish; he was family to me, and Brankovitch exploited that so I wouldn't see the Kelly thing coming. What was worse, Felix let him do it."
"Then whatever's down there waiting for us," Effie said. "At least we have Chaisson as bait, or a getaway distraction if some ravenous beast tries to eat us."
Leolin gave a feeble laugh, though as she glanced at Felix, it grew a little sad.
"What the plan after we knick the coins?" she said, desperate to change to subject.
"We scatter for awhile. You and I will both take a coin and destroy them separately. At least that way if Adrian catches one of us, he at least won't have everything he needs. Speaking of," Effie looked sheepish. "Any reason to think we might run into any Pucey-shaped trouble this evening?"
Leolin shook her head firmly.
"Us four and Draco and the only ones who know about this. I didn't even tell Ri or Xavier. Adrian's pretty clever, I'll give him that, but no one is that good."
"Kelly Troy doesn't know?" Effie asked delicately. She cleared didn't want to push the fact that he was likely being tortured for information as they spoke, but Leolin shook her head.
"He only knows we have the painting, but so does Adrian. We haven't told anyone what kind of progress Swish made the last two months, and Felix and I didn't tell a soul we were coming here, not even Brankovitch, thank Merlin."
"And you're sure you couldn't have been followed?"
Again, Leolin shook her head.
"If Adrian had known where I was hiding, he would have come after me."
"Unless he was waiting for you to lead him to the coins."
"No," Leolin said. "That idea might have worried me if Tommy hadn't died, but Adrian hasn't been himself since he did. Seriously, he was holed up in London for the last eight weeks. Besides, you know how good Sweeney is; if any of Adrian's goons were trailing him, he would have known. Besides, Adrian doesn't have that kind of muscles. All his blokes are nasty thugs. He doesn't have anyone artful or stealthy. Honestly, if he does show up here tonight and make a play for the coins, I'm just going to bloody give them to him. He'll have truly earned it."
Effie nodded, laughing a little.
"Fair enough. The first thing I'm going to do after we destroy these bastards is slit Pucey's throat."
"No," Leolin said resolutely.
"No?" Effie repeated incredulously. "What do you mean 'no'?"
Leolin turned to look at her.
"Adrian is mine. I want to be the one to drive a stake into his heart and watch the light in his eyes go out."
Effie gave a grim smile.
"That seems fair," she admitted. "Though you're going to have a hell of a time convincing Malfoy."
She bowed her head in dull anguish, and Effie bit her lip.
"Merlin, Nay," she breathed. "That was a twat thing to say. I didn't mean to throw that in your face."
"No," Leolin said, taking a breath. "You're probably right. I think he hates Adrian as much as I do. Still, this honour is mine, no matter what Draco says."
"We'll certainly back you up," Effie reassured her.
"Thanks, I guess," Leolin said.
Effie smiled.
"Right," Sweeney said. "We're almost in. Get ready."
Leolin turned to Effie, squeezing her hand.
"Eff," she said reverently. "I never could have done this without. You are Swish both. I love you; you're family to me."
"It's been an honour," Effie said, smiling at her. "Truly."
"We'll be to Hell and back together," Leolin said. "And you never faltered. Even if I never do make it back to Draco, I would be hard pressed to regret La Genie, because it led me to you."
"You will make it back to him," Effie assured her. "I know it. And Swish and I are honoured to have known you, we were just happy to be here for the ride. You're a pretty incredible woman, Thénard." She laughed. "I can't wait to see what you're going to do next."
"Well whatever it is," she said, squeezing his hand. "I hope you'll be by my side."
"Of course I will be!" Sweeney said. "You're fun at hell. I wouldn't want to miss out on one of your crazy adventures!"
"I'm afraid the next few might be more dangerous than fun," she admitted softly.
"Crazy and dangerous are two sides of the same coin!" Sweeney said brightly. "You know that, Genie."
She smiled.
"I guess I do, yeah," she said. "Just remind me of that the next time we're in mortal peril."
"What am I here for?" Effie said, swinging an arm around Leolin's shoulders and pulling her to him.
"I wish was Crofton was here," she said, giving a nervous laugh. "I would feel so much more at home."
Effie grinned.
"Not too late to call him, I suppose."
Leolin smile faded.
"I saw him last night, at the ball. He was—less than thrilled to see me."
Effie laughed.
"I'm afraid I can imagine."
"It was weird," Leolin admitted. "I never would have expected to be, but I was actually nervous tonight." she laughed softly. "He's finally put it all together, Eff. He's hot on my fucking tail. Thank Merlin a war is about to break out; he is bloody itching to send to Azkaban."
"As if he fucking could," Effie smirked.
"Oh he could," Leolin said. "In fact, when this is all over, he's going to try his damnedest to. If we both even make it there, that is."
"You will," Effie said. "Of course you will. You are a god; it's going to take more than some silly war to take you down. And trust me, Crofton Teller is a not going to let anything get in the way of his pursuit of La Genie, especially not death or Adrian fucking Pucey."
Leolin laughed again. It felt good to do so, particularly in the face of heartache and mortal peril.
"I hope you're right."
Effie winked.
"You know I am."
"You two ready?" Sweeney said, glancing back at them.
"I think so," Leolin replied, steeling her nerves.
"Hey," Effie said, squeezing her hand. "This is just another grab, Genie. Nothing we haven't done a thousand times before."
Leolin glanced at Felix now, and though looking at him still made her heart throb painfully, she nodded at him.
"She's right, Nay-Nay," Sweeney reassured her. This is nothing we can't handle, especially together."
"I love you both," Leolin said softly. "I just want you to know that in case—"
Felix looked pained that she'd excluded him, but Sweeney ignored him and shook his head.
"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me," Sweeney said dryly, jerking a thumb towards the entrance. "C'mon Chaisson, you go first."
"Why me?" Felix demanded.
"Because no one really gives a shit if you live or die," Felix said. "Go on." He turned to Leolin, touching her cheek. "Ready?" he asked.
Leolin looked down at the diamond sparkling on her hand a final time.
"Yes. Let's end this here and now."
The reluctant Felix slipped in first, and the rest of the group filed behind.
It was substantially colder inside the passage, and Leolin had to fend off a shiver. It truly did seem as if they were wading through a sea of damp trees. It reminded Leolin of something, and it made her blood run cold.
"Midway upon the journey of our life," she said out loud. "I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost."
"What's that supposed does that mean?" Sweeney demanded, glancing over his shoulder at her.
"It's the first line of Dante's Inferno," Leolin explained. "He gets lost in a dark forest and eventually stumbled into the mouth of Hell."
"That's disturbingly apropos," Felix muttered.
Leolin couldn't see them, but she heard Effie slap him soundly upside the head.
"Stow it, both of you," Sweeney hissed. "What do you think, Nay? Do you really think this is supposed to be Dante's forest?"
"Well if it is, that means—" Leolin began.
"Look out!" Effie screamed, tugging her back as a snarling leopard appeared before them.
"Fuck!" Felix exclaimed.
"We need dawn to break!" Leolin cried, trying to remember what all happened in the first Canto. "That's what drives the leopard away!"
"Lumos solem!" Felix cried.
The forest was filled with light, and the leopard disappeared.
"Merlin's fucking beard," Sweeney said, panting a little.
"Don't get too comfortable," Leolin warned. "There's—"
They heard a great roar in the distance, though it was coming closer every second.
"Tell me that's not a lion," Felix pleaded.
"Okay," Sweeney said grimly. "We won't tell you."
"It's coming," Felix said fretfully.
"It won't be alone," Leolin said grimly.
Sure enough a haggard, half-starved lion appeared, roaring and licking its chops. An equally fierce she-wolf appeared from the other side, snarling.
"Now what?" Felix demanded as all four of them drew their wands.
"I don't know!" Leolin cried.
The two beasts were closing in.
"What happens in the poem?" Effie demanded frantically.
"I'm trying to remember!" Leolin said.
"Try harder!" Sweeney cried.
He fired a curse at the lion but nothing happened. If anything, he'd simple made it worse.
"Give me a break!" Leolin said, wracking her brain. "I haven't read Dante in a bloody age."
"Leolin!" Felix cried as the wolf leapt at him, her sharp claws raking across his left forearm as he raised it to shield is face.
"Poet, I thee entreat," she cried as Felix struggled with the snarling wolf and Sweeney dove to avoid the lion.
"So that I may escape this woe and worse, thou wouldst conduct me there!"
The snarling stopped; the animals disappeared. In their place was a lone arch leading down a long tunnel. The shadow of violent flames rose from the depths, and it literally felt hot as hell.
"Fuck me," Sweeney breathed.
Leolin tried to get her hammering heart under control. Just then a phantom appeared, a cold spectre wearing a laurel wreath and a Roman's toga. She screamed at his entrance, but he looked at them expectantly. His ghostly visage was enough to drain all the blood from Leolin's face. He reminded her of The Bloody Baron.
"Qui est-ce?" Felix said, voice quaking.
"That's the poet Virgil," Sweeney explained in a half-whisper.
Virgil's eerie spectre was still waiting, eyes completely black, devoid of both irises and pupils.
"Is he going to hurt us?" Effie breathed
It was a valid question; the phantom looked terribly sinister. He pointed a hand wordlessly towards the flames.
"I think we he wants us to follow him," Leolin said.
"Do we have to?" Felix said dubiously.
Leolin licked her dry lips. They couldn't lose courage now.
"Yes."
She stepped forward and started for the stairs.
"Nay, are you crazy?" Sweeney demanded. "You'll be burnt to a damn crisp."
"We have to go," Leolin said. "Do you want the coins or not?"
Sweeney said nothing, and Leolin raised her left arm to shield her eyes from the waves of heat. Seeing she was ready to follow, Virgil led the way. As he descended, the fire was extinguished. In fact, it grew uncomfortably cold. They all followed until they reached a plain wooden door.
"How far do you think we went?" Effie asked, looking around at the damp stone walls.
"We're miles below the museum," Leolin affirmed. "Or we might actually be in Hell. Honestly, I don't know."
Virgil stopped, pointing a pale hand to the door.
"Is he gonna—come with us, or what?" Felix asked dubiously.
"Doesn't seem like it," Sweeney said.
"I guess we ought to get this show on the road then." Effie said, approaching the door. She put her hand on the metal ring to pull it open, taking a breath to steady herself.
"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate," Virgil warned in a raspy, bone-chilling voice.
With that, he was gone.
"Holy Merlin," Sweeney breathed.
"What did he say?" Felix demanded nervously. "What did he just say?"
Leolin took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
Effie finally pulled on the ring, and they were admitted into an unimpressive stone room. The door behind immediately disappeared, and seven more appeared on the opposite wall. The first was a plain stone arch not unlike the one they'd just entered. The second was a modern door with an unassuming nob. The third was a set of bronze double doors that were at least fifteen feet high. The fourth was a mozarabic horseshoe arch. The fifth was a slab of dark stone. The sixth was a small round door no more than third feet in diametre, and the last was plain wood, identical to the second.
"Well shit," Sweeney said." Which way do we go?"
"Look," Felix said, pointing to a parchment that had been nailed to the wall. He approached and began to read aloud:
Danger Lies Before you, Safety Lies Behind
Three of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another two will transport the traveler back instead.
Three hold crippling darkness, and one more blinding light
Choose you must and quickly, if you want to end your plight.
Unless you wish to stay forever more
Use correctly these clues four:
However slyly darkness tries to hide, you'll always find it at safety's left side.
Different are those who stand at each end, but if you want to move forward, neither is your friend
All but two are different sized, but neither dwarf nor giant holds death inside.
Same are second left and second right, despite their difference at first sight.
"Alright," Effie said, taking a deep breath. "This is doable."
"Easily," Felix agreed.
As soon as he'd said it, the parchment spontaneously caught fire.
"Bollocks," Sweeney said. "Well that complicates things."
"What was the thing about the end ones?" Leolin asked.
"They are both bad, I think," Felix said.
"Think?" Sweeney said snidely.
"end rhymes with friend," Felix snapped, evidently growing tired of being the whipping boy. "Neither is your friend, or something. They are either the both darkness, or darkness and blinding light."
"So now we five doors to worry about," Leolin said, studying the doors. "And then the second and sixth ones are the same?"
"Yeah," Sweeney said. "So they're either the ways back or both darkness."
"Okay, what else?" Leolin said.
"Something about darkness always being on the left?"
"On the left or on the right?"
"Fuck," Felix breathed. "I can't remember. Shit."
"I think it was left," Felix supplied.
"I honestly can't remember," Leolin added. "But if it is left then one is light, two is back, three is black, five is black, and seven is black."
"Well at least we know where all the death ones are," Effie pointed out.
"Yeah, but we don't know which door is which!" Felix snapped in agitation.
"Are we missing a clue?" Sweeney asked. "There were supposed to be four, right?"
"Shit," Effie said. "Yeah. Merlin, we're going to die without getting through a single task."
"What's the bloody fourth one?" Leolin asked "Shit!"
"Something about big and small being safe?" Felix said.
"Oh yeah," Leolin agreed. "That sounds right."
They looked up.
"Shit, that still leaves us with four and six."
"And I'm not convinced that it was darkness on the right," Sweeney said.
"Wait!" Leolin exclaimed. "We're just not putting all together right! Two and six are the same! That means four is forward! C'mon!"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Felix said. "Slow down before we end up back in the museum. Or worse, in that creepy forest-y thing."
"So four and six are safety," Leolin said hastily. " Because big and little are not death. And two and six are the same. Since there is only one way forward, two and six must be ways back and four is the way forward."
"Okay," Sweeney said. "Let's do it."
They all held their breath as Sweeney and Felix heaved the doors open. They gave a collective sigh when they reached the second chamber.
"Oh fuck me," Felix said, still trembling. "We made it."
"Don't get too comfortable. "We have six more to go," Sweeney said. "What's this about now?"
The room was bare save for a table with five identical bottles on it, each with a small tag.
The first one read "I'm poison; I'll kill you"
"Well shit, put that one down," Effie said.
"Hold on," Leolin, who was holding the bottle, said. "Look."
She turned to card back and forth and the message began to switch between "I am poison; I'll kill you" and "This is a lie"
"What the fuck does that mean?" Sweeney asked.
"What do the others say?" Leolin asked, ignoring him.
"The second one says 'I'll take you back; that is true," Effie supplied.
Leolin read the third tag. "'I am wine; drink me."
"Okay," Felix said, reaching for the bottle. Leolin swiped it off the table and it shattered.
"Are you fucking mad?" she demanded.
"I could use a glass of wine right about now," he said, and something in his voice told her that it wasn't just because of the tasks. She turned, unable to bare the pained look in his eyes. It reminded her of what he'd done, which only succeeded in twisting the knife.
"This one's card is blank," Sweeney said, he uncorked it. "And it's empty?"
"What does the last one say?" Leolin asked.
Felix picked it up.
"I'll take you forward; do you trust me?"
"Okay," Effie said, massaging her temples. "Read them all again."
"Well its obviously not the empty one," Sweeney supplied.
"And Lefevre smashed the bloody wine," Felix grumbled
"What does that leave us with?"
"The poison, the way back, and the gamble."
"Well are aren't going back," Leolin said. "So not this one."
"So we just have to trust that one, right?" Sweeney asked.
"Not necessarily," Felix said, brow furrowed. "If it's a lie it's not poison, and if it is poison, it's not a lie; it's the truth."
"So it both is and isn't poison?" Effie asked dryly. "That fucking helpful."
"It's the Liar's Paradox," Leolin said, nodding in comprehension.
"Okay so is it safe or not?" Effie demanded.
"What if it's poison but also a lie?" Felix asked.
"Oh my days," Sweeney growled. "That's what we're stuck on!"
"I mean," Felix said, giving Sweeney an irritated look. "What is it is poison but it's not lethal?"
"What," Leolin said. "You mean like alcohol?"
Felix shrugged.
"It would be rather poetic; we would literally be picking our poison. As a former bartender, you have to admit that's pretty clever."
Effie uncorked the bottle.
"It smells like anise," she said. "Could be Jagermeister or Sambuca."
"Are we willing to die finding out?" Effie said cautiously.
"Isn't that why we brought Chaisson?" Sweeney sneered.
Leolin, fretful from the backbiting, picked it up and took of draught. It tasted awful; just like black licorice. As soon as she did, a door appeared.
"Alright," she said, wiping her mouth and grimacing from the foul drink. "Let's go."
The boys, who were still somewhat in awe of what had just happened, each took a swig and followed her, and Effie finished the bottle and made a face.
The next room made Leolin wanted to throw up. A series of giant blades swung back and forth in a pendulum rhythm.
"How are we gonna get through that?" Sweeney demanded.
Felix was scrutinizing it.
"We just need music," he said.
"Sorry?" Effie said.
"It's in three fourths time," Felix explained. "Like a waltz. If we have music we can easily navigate it."
Leolin drew her wand and gave a flourish, and suddenly the stone walls echoed with a cold, dreary waltz.
Slowly, carefully, they picked their way through. It took them the better part of two hours, and by the time they reached the safety of the other side Leolin was sweating.
"Good thinking, Chaisson," Sweeney panted.
Felix gave a silent thumbs-up, hands on knees as he caught his breath.
"Right," Leolin said, pushing the next stone door open.
The room was utterly bare, and as soon as Effie, who was the last person, stepped through, the door snapped shut.
Light from a single occulus let in light, and Leolin could see a door on the other side of the room.
"Look," she said, pointing.
They headed over, tugging on the door in vain.
"Well shit," Sweeney said. "Now what are we going to do?"
Just then a cool, disembodied voice filled the room, echoing off the walls.
I am here and I am there,
Invisible, yet everywhere.
If you hope to recover that which you seek,
You need only know what words to speak.
The room fell deadly silent. Finally Felix spoke.
"Everything thinking it, so I'll just go ahead and say it; fuck riddles."
"I am here and I am there," Leolin muttered to herself. "Invisible, yet everywhere. If you hope to recover that which you seek, you need only know what words to speak."
"So we need some kind of charm," Effie said, thinking aloud.
"But what kind?" Felix asked.
"That's the billion galleon question," Sweeney said, sitting on a rock.
Leolin sat down on the damp floor as well, repeating the riddle over and over in her mind. A half hour went by, then an hour, then two.
"Merde," Felix breathed, mostly to himself. "Merde. Nous allons mourir ici."
"What did he say?" Effie demanded.
"He says we're going to die in here," Leolin said. She tried not to let that idea resonate, but she had to admit that she too was nervous.
"Shut up, not helpful," Sweeney snapped at Felix.
Leolin had gone back to brooding. What was invisible yet everywhere? Air? Nothing? And what might they be looking for? There was already a door.
"I can't just sit here anymore," Felix said. "I'm going to try and break it down."
"How?" Effie snapped, "It's magically locked."
As he said it, something dawned on her, and she leapt up.
"Felix!" she cried. "Does that thing have a keyhole?"
He looked.
"Yeah. But what good does that do us? We don't have a key."
"Not yet we don't."
Leolin was already drawing her wand. She thought about the first time she'd use the spell she was about to cast. It was when Draco was in the hospital wing, and she'd flown up to see him. The very idea of him made her heart ache, and she savagely pushed him out of her mind.
"Prodio" she said loudly. As she did, a large antique clock fell from the ceiling and thudly on the stone floor.
"What was that?"
"Conjuration," Leolin said, coming over and examining the clock. "Someone hid a vanished object in here. But I thought it would be a key to unlock that door."
"Made you wind the clock and it opens the door?" Sweeney offered.
They had no more time to consider this, because the voice was back.
Half my riddle you've now unraveled,
But my other you'll need if you seek to travel.
I'm much more than a mere clock
Give me new shape and the door with unlock.
"Shit," Leolin said. "So we have to transfigure the clock into a key. I have no fucking clue what the incantation for that is."
"I can a design an incantation right now," Felix said. He sat down again. "Give me a minute."
He began muttering to himself.
"Any time now," Sweeney said after another hour past.
Leolin had no idea how long they'd been down there. It had to have been four hours or more. She then wondered how much time had passed in the real world. Had it been hours or days, or were they going to emerge to find they'd only been gone ten minutes? She had no idea, but she realised she was starving. Her stomach grumbled, and she tried to ignore it.
"Alright," Felix said, standing and drawing his wand. "Done. Clavis Recludam."
The clock began to shudder as the hands spun wildly around. However, the shape began to morph, and after about ten minutes Felix held a solid gold key in his hand.
"Try it," Leolin said. She was growing uneasy. She didn't know what exactly it was, but something didn't feel right.
Felix tried the key and it slid into the hole like butter, making a satisfying click as it turned.
The next room was tall and skinny, and it was clear that unlike the previous four, it required only physical strength. They only opening they could see was at the top.
"Shit," Sweeney breathed. "Hope you lot are up for a climb."
"You alright, Nay?" Effie said gently, touching her back.
She nodded.
"I just—this looks hard as hell. I'm not sure I'm strong enough either," she admitted quietly.
"Of course you are," Sweeney said with encouragement. "And you weigh nothing."
She nodded.
"I'll go first," Felix offered. "Test the waters."
"Good idea," Sweeney agreed. "If anyone is going to die, I would sincerely prefer it be you."
Felix sneered at him before glancing at Leolin in the hopes of support. Instead she just bowed her head.
The first obstacle was a set of monkey bar that they were meant to swing across then climb through to a small platform.
Felix leapt up as gracefully as his namesake, easily grabbing a bar before beginning to swing. Sweeney went next. All seemed to be going well as Leolin prepared to leap up, but Felix gave a hiss of pain.
"Damnit," he said through gritted teeth, "the bars are heating up."
"You're telling me," Sweeney said, crying out as he grabbed a new bar. "You're practically through."
"Fuck" Sweeney grit out. "There's no way you two are going to be able to make it."
By now the bars were white hot. Sweeney and Felix were both standing on the platform, examining their ruined hands. Leolin looked down at her own.
"Praemonio Manus," she whispered quietly, suddenly her hands were coated in what looked and felt like aloe vera gel.
She leapt nimbly up to grab the first bar, and the protection on her hands sizzled against the searing heat. She could already feel it creeping into her palms, and she knew the charm wouldn't hold for long. Pulling herself up by her arms, she slipped through the bars and stood atop them instead. Now the heat was heat was creeping into her trainers, but at a much slower rate.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Felix screamed. "If you fall you're going to burn your face off!"
She winced as the heat began to prick the bottoms of her feet.
"Then I better not fall," she said.
Steeling herself, she began to simply run across, willing her feet not to slip between the bars and cause her to stumble. Somehow she managed it, and just as her trainer's were about to melt, she took a running leap and grabbed the edge of the platform.
"Eff," do what I did! It's the only way at this point.
Effie followed, and she was by far the quickest, though her trainers were practically melted by the time she leapt to safety.
"Merde," Felix breathed. "This is going to be a real bitch."
"Do you suppose they all heat up like that?" Sweeney asked, flexing his hands.
"Probably," Leolin admitted. "Let me see you two's hands."
They both extended out their palms, which had already begun to blister. She murmured some healing spells and the blisters disappeared.
"Thanks," Sweeney breathed.
"Now what?" Effie asked.
They all looked over to see a single wheel twenty feel across hanging about a third of the distance to the next platform.
"What do you reckon?" Sweeney asked. "You jump then use your momentum to swing the wheel?"
Leolin look again, heart pounding.
"That's a long fucking way."
"And you have to guess the wheel's going to get hot again," Effie pointed out.
Leolin considered.
"Take off your shoes," she said at last.
"What?" Sweeney said. "Why?"
"Swish, you're good at transfiguration. You can make them in to dragonhide gloves."
"Can you really do that?" Felix asked. "How?"
"Gamp's Law," Sweeney replied like Felix was stupid before considering the eight shoes in front of him.
"Who what?" Felix asked, seemingly growing agitated at being so out of the loop.
"Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration states that while an object cannot be produced from thin air, it can be transformed to be something of the same kind. Material matter, thus, can be transformed into other material matter."
"What about that conjuration, then?" Effie asked. "You and Malfoy do that all the time."
"The objects in my cache are tangible things I've vanished. I'm not producing them from thin air; I'm conjuring them from non-being," Leolin said. "It's different"
"That's pretty brilliant," she admitted. "Did Malfoy make that up?"
Leolin bit her lip, feeling terribly nervous again.
"No," she said in a meek voice. "His father did."
"Okay done," Sweeney said, passing the gloves back. "These will keep the keep the heat out, but that doesn't come without a price. The gloves are going to compromise your grip, so hang on like hell and jump as soon as you get the momentum."
"I'll go first," Effie said. "I weight the least and have the smallest hands. I can pass back advice."
"Fuck," Sweeney breathed. "Okay. But please please be careful."
Effie was already mid-leap, and she caught the wheel with some ease.
"Start swinging!" Sweeney called.
She did as she was told, and in a few deft swings, she'd gained enough momentum to leap.
Next it was Leolin's turn. She took as big of a jump as the platform would allow, and when her shoulders screamed a bit in protest. It reminded her of the time she'd leapt off her broom to stop a quaffle in a match at Hogwarts. The yearning to travel back there was so overwhelming it was hard to think for a second. Still, she could feel the ring heating up and her hands starting the sweat.
"It's already hot," she called back. "It's not hurting but I can feel it through the gloves."
She was swinging wildly now, the wheel transporting her ten feet in either direction.
"That's as far as you can go!" Sweeney called. "Jump, Lai!"
She squeezed her eyes shut and heaved forward, barely catching the edge. She pulled herself up labouriously behind standing and smiling.
"See?" she called breathlessly. "Easy."
"That's what I said," Effie said, smiling as well.
Sweeney went next, and after years of thieving and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he reached the other side with relative ease.
Felix has opted to go last because he was by far the strongest, but by the time it was his turn, the wheel was once again white hot.
"Be careful," Effie warned sternly. "Don't let your feet get near those spokes."
"Got it," Felix said, pale-faced.
He took a running leap like the others and made it easily to the wheel. However, his hands hadn't found good purchase, and he was only able to keep a hold on with his left hand.
"Felix!" Leolin screamed, hands over her mouth.
Despite everything he'd done, the idea of losing him now was unspeakable.
"Merde," Felix grit out. "It feels like my arm's going to rip out of its socket!"
"Swing your arm up and readjust you grip," Sweeney called. "You are okay, take your time."
Felix took a calming breath and did as Sweeney instructed, drumming his fingers to get the bar more solidly situated before beginning to swing.
"Merde," he said again even as he gained momentum. "I still have a bad grip. I don't know how much longer I can hold on."
He was swinging fairly far now, though not as far as any of the other three of them.
"Just do one more big swing and jump!" Sweeney prompted. "We'll catch you if we have to."
He jumped, and Leolin could see right away it wasn't going to be enough.
She ripped off her gloves, fell to the ground and cried, "Petrificus spathulas!"
Immediately she felt her legs sealing into place as she extended her arms.
"Ren!" She cried, tearing of adrenaline in her eyes. "Grab my hands!"
Sweeney followed Leolin's lead, his legs glued as well.
"C'mon, Felix!"
Felix extended his arms as far as he could, and he managed to grab Sweeney's arm with his left hand and Leolin's with his right. Luckily, he hand managed to grab as high as their biceps, giving him better leverage.
"Hang on, Ren, please!" Leolin pleaded as Felix gave a defeated groan. "Swish, pull!"
They both heaved, and with a groan Felix managed to pull his torso onto the platform before dragging his legs up as well.
"Oh my gods!" Leolin burst, and she realized there were tears on her cheeks.
Without thinking she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him, and he seemed revived by her loving embrace. He pushed his forehead to hers.
"Thank you," he breathed, but as the moment faded and Leolin had time to accept he was safe, she gave him a cool look before retreating as far away from him as the small platform would allow.
They sat in silence for a few minutes catching their breath. The last task was a slender beam that ran the length of the space. At the very end was a rope and just the left of the top of the rope was the occulus.
"Can you make dragonhide boots?" Felix said. "I can't do any more hanging."
Leolin shook her head.
"We need to be light on our feet. Swish, can you make this back into trainers?"
Felix and Sweeney both gave her dubious looks.
"Just keep your eyes ahead and sprint like hell. The bar is wide enough to easily hold you feet. Momentum with keep you from wobbling."
"I don't—" Sweeney began, handing Leolin's trainers back.
"Nay is right," Effie said, eying the bar. "It's the only way. I will go first. Watch me closely and don't wait for me to get all the way across. When I'm in the middle, the next person goes. That way we can at least try to avoid the hottest temperature."
They nodded wordlessly to affirm they understood. There were rungs on the wall leading up to the beam and Effie eased herself onto the beam and took off. When she was a quarter of the way through her sprint Leolin followed. She fixed her eyes on the rope and everything else fell away. It only took her ten seconds to cross, and she could hear the next person behind her as she grabbed the rope. She shimmied up it quickly and heaved through the occulus into what looked liked a cave. Felix was right behind her, and Sweeney behind him.
"Merlin," Sweeney said. "I didn't realize how much of a cakewalk the first three were."
"They're getting harder," Felix agreed.
"That doesn't bode well," Effie admitted.
They lumbered to their feet.
"Ready?" Leoin asked, dusting herself off.
"As I'll ever be," Sweeney affirmed.
There were torches along the cave walls illuminating the path.
"Does anyone else wish Virgil had come with us?" Effie asked, trying to avoid her own growing unease.
It has never taken this long to find a guardian, and they were all on edge.
"At the very least," Sweeney said. "We would have had a proper laugh watching him navigate those monkey bars.
Leolin and Effie both laughed.
They came around a corner, and Felix, who was in front, stopped in his tracks, making the others bump into him.
"Merde," he whispered.
There, sitting calmly in front of the plain oak door on the far wall, was a Sphinx.
She was bigger than a regular lion, though not by much, and unlike the mangy creature they'd faced on the way in, her coat was sleek, glossy, and thick. Her large paws were equipped with nasty-looking claws, and they were crossed in front of her, seemingly guarding something. She had the bare breasts and shoulders of a human woman, but a powerful pair of wings protruded from her shoulder blades. They glistening in the low light with what look golden feathers, and they were folded neatly against her back. She had a beautiful human face, with jet black, shoulder-length hair crowned with a ruby-encrusted diadem. Her eyes were yellow with the diamond-shaped pupils of a cat. She had ruby red lips, and when she parted them run a tongue across her glittering teeth, they could see that the second ones from left and right were two small but sharp fangs.
"Enter," she purred.
Felix was frozen, but Effie shoved him roughly forward.
She drank them in and Leolin wanted to cry she was so anxious.
"It has been some time since somewhere has reached my lair," she said in an even tone. "Now you must answer three riddles."
"Oh bollocks," Sweeney muttered.
"Uh, do we have to?" Felix asked dubiously.
She didn't answer, but her yellow eyes flashed.
"Right, okay," Leolin said. "And if we get them right?"
"I let you pass," the Sphinx answered.
"And if we don't I assume…" Sweeney trailed off.
She licked her chops in response.
"How many riddles, did you say?" Leolin asked, mind already racing ahead.
They needed to relax or they were sunk.
"Three."
"And how much time do we have for each one?" Felix queried.
The Sphinx's eyes flashed again.
"Let's begin," she said in response. "The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginnings of every end, the end of every place."
They considered.
"Do we get guesses?" Sweeney asked.
"Two each," she replied, swishing her tail.
"God," Felix said.
"Incorrect."
"Merlin, Chaisson," Effie chided. "Waste a fucking guess, why don't you!"
"We don't have forever to answer!" he defended.
"So you're just going to blurt the first thing that comes to your mind?" she snapped back. "This is why we're feeding you to the Sphinx first."
"Fuck, okay," Leolin said, ignoring their snapping. "Harry told me that Sphinxes like the trip you up, mislead you. We have to think outside the box. Maybe it's not a thing? Harry had to assemble a word to make the answer, I think."
Sweeney considered, muttering the riddle to himself. Finally, he nodded grimly to the others and turned to the Sphinx.
"The letter E."
The Sphinx bowed her head.
"Correct."
They gave a collective sigh of relief. One down, two to go.
"What does man love more than life
But fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves
And all men carry to their graves?"
"What does man love more than life?" Sweeney asked quietly.
"I don't know? Sex? Money?" Felix said.
Leolin looked up, but the Sphinx seemed calm. Apparently this sort of conference was allowed.
"Happiness?" Effie whispered. "I feel like rich people are never happy. Look at Malfoy; he's a bloody trainwreck."
"Geek, thanks, Eff," Leolin said hollowly.
"Fuck," Effie said. "Sorry, Nay."
"Who cares," Felix said. "Clock's ticking."
"Right," Felix said, nervously, looking over Leolin's shoulder.
The Sphinx must have been stirring slightly.
"Sod all that subjective stuff, what does every have when they die?" Leolin said
"The same thing contented men desire?" Sweeney offered.
"Not helpful!" Effie hissed.
"I mean, you don't bring anything with you when you die," Sweeney defended.
"Unless your Jean du Bones," Felix added.
"Definitely not helpful," Effie snapped.
"Okay what do contented men need? They ostensibly have everything," Sweeney pointed out.
Leolin's mind raced through the other clues, and without consulting the others, she cried, "Nothing! The answer is nothing."
"Correct again."
"Merlin's Pants," Sweeney breathed. "I feel like I'm gonna wet myself."
"I'm not entirely sure I haven't already," Felix said raggedly.
The Sphinx began a final time.
"Four men sat down to play,
They played all night 'till break of day.
They played for gold and not for fun
With separate scores for everyone.
When they came to square accounts,
They all had made quite fair amounts.
Can you the paradox explain,
If no one lost, how could all gain?"
"What sort of card game can everybody win at?" Sweeney asked at once.
"None," Effie said. "And that's too obvious."
"Alright," Felix began again. "What's a game were everyone wins? Or situation, even?"
"Love?" Sweeney posited.
Leolin''s face fell.
"Decidedly not," she said softly.
"Betting?" Effie ventured.
"I mean, that's gambling, essentially," Felix said. "And there's tons of losers in that, believe me."
"Cheating? I mean if you cheated you could all win?"
"Only if everyone collectively agreed to cheat on everyone else and be cheated in return," Sweeney pointed out.
"Shit," Leolin said fretfully. "I have no fucking clue."
"I think it must be some sort of business thing. Like an enterprise when men scheme and they all win because someone else loses."
"Maybe," Felix said after a minute. "But I don't really think that fits all the clues. And it's too vague."
There was a sound over their shoulder and they all turned.
The Sphinx was watching them intently, her sharpening her claws again the stone.
"Bollocks," Sweeney whined. "Chaisson, get ready to throw yourself at her. The three of us deserve to live."
"Okay," Leolin said, ignoring Sweeney and Felix's cold glare. "What's a game you play together collectively? Like not against each other"
"A quidditch team?"
"But you usually do that for fun, not for money," Effie said. "And you don't usually play at night."
"And they all had separate scores! What the fuck is that?" Leolin hissed frantically.
The Sphinx gave a deafening roar that bounced off the walls. They turned and she was off her feet now, wings spread wide. Her eyes were terrifying.
"Maleficent," Effie pleaded. "This is not how I imagined I would die!"
Only Felix kept going.
"Play with separate scores!" he screamed manically to himself. "Play with separate scores!"
The Sphinx roared again and Leolin screamed.
"They play with separate scores!" Felix said. "Merde, they're musicians!"
The Sphinx stopped, stared at them, and sat back down.
"Correct. Now," she said, purring softly again. "I will give you this."
She lifted her paw to reveal what she had behind her paws.
It was a faded white shield with a red cross atop it.
No one moved, and it became clear that someone was meant to go and fetch it from her.
"Bollocks," Sweeney whispered. "This is Virgil all over again."
Leolin took a shuddering breath and stepped forward, bending to retrieve the shield. As she did, she could feel The Sphinx's breath ruffling her hair. Finally she had it, and she casually stepped back.
"I will give you one last riddle. You will need to solve if you truly wish to retrieve the treasure you seek."
"Are you going to—eat us if we can't solve it?" Felix asked dubiously.
"No," she said. "But you will never escape this vault if you don't."
"Alright," Effie said dubiously. "Go on, then."
"I drive men mad
For love of me,
Easily beaten,
Never free."
"And what's this for?" Leolin asked, holding the shield up.
The Sphinx's eyes flashes, but she said nothing.
"You may pass," she said in return, and she rose and took several grace strides in the opposite direction before settling down again
They passed through the oak door and down another damp, dim passage.
"So, what do you suppose that last riddle is about?" Sweeney asked.
"I think we have a bigger problem at the moment," Leolin said.
"What's that?" Felix asked.
The damp air had finally begun to warm up, and it felt good.
"In the Muggle bible," Leolin said slowly, hoping to hell she was wrong, "there is a saint named George who carried a shield just like this one."
By this time the passage was uncomfortably muggy, and they were all sweating.
"And what did George do?" Felix asked.
It was downright hot now.
Leolin and Effie exchanged a scared look.
"He slayed a dragon," Effie finished.
They came around the bend just in time to watch a massive Hybridean Black belch a lungful of flame.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Sweeney demanded. "No wonder why no one's ever got their hands on the coins!"
They all took cover as the Black breathed more fire.
"We need to figure out the riddle!" Sweeney screamed "So we know what we're looking for!"
Felix recited it.
"I drive men mad for love of me, easily beaten, never free."
"What drives men love so much it drives them crazy but is never free?" Effie cried over the din as they all dove for new hiding spots to confuse to smoking beast.
Leolin considered as she watched the dragon raise its head and roar. It drove men crazy, it was never free, and it likely had something to do with dragons. For once, the answer seemed simple.
"It's gold!" She cried to the others. "It drives people crazy for want of it, it's a malleable metal, and it has inherent value and thus is never free. Plus, dragons were bred to guard treasures!"
"Look," Felix said. "Underneath the dragon!"
There was a small pool, and it glittered like gold from the fire light.
"That's our way out."
"I have a way to distract the dragon!" Sweeney screamed. "When I tell you, run for it!"
He aimed his wand at the wall and fired a sonic hex. The sounded bounded off the walls of the cave, confusing the dragon.
"Go! Go!"
They all took off at a dead sprint and Felix fired another hex at the ceiling, making the dragon look up. When they were close each they slid, the gravel underfoot carrying them to safety beneath the beast's iron belly. It realized where they'd gone and dipped its head, but by that time they were beneath the surface of the water.
They swam, first downwards then through a tunnel, and just when Leolin felt her lungs would burst, they emerged in an underground cave.
"Where are we?" Effie breathed, looking around them.
There was a poisonous smell in the air that strung the skin a little, and the water was being somehow lit from below, which made it easy to see.
"Charonium, I think," Leolin replied, rubbing her hands against her arms to keep the green poison from collecting on her clothes. "Or some approximation of it. It's named about Charon, the ferryman."
"And Charonium is…" Felix supplied.
"The entrance to Tartarus," Leolin said, heart thundering again.
"Which is…"
Effie looked green.
"The Greek Underworld," she supplied quietly.
"What's that?" Leolin asked, pointing to something glittering just off the water's edge.
Sweeney leapt out.
"It's a bag of coins!" he exclaimed. "Do you think Bones's coin's are in there?"
"I doubt it," Leolin said. "But take it with us. We have to get moving anyway."
The gas was hurting her throat now, and she dove down and kept swimming. When they emerged, they found themselves in an eerie green cave.
"Are we in the Underworld right now?" Effie whispered.
"I have no idea," Leolin said.
They came around a bend to finding themselves looking at a dark, cold river.
"Don't suppose we ought to swim in that one," Sweeney said.
"Decidedly not," Effie replied.
Leolin took a shuddering breath. They were so close, she could feel it.
"I think this the River Styx," she breathed as she approached the rushing water.
It was wide, almost fifty yards across, and Leolin could hardly see the other bank.
"Oh my gods," Sweeney said quietly. "Are we actually going to have to take the coins from Charon?"
"I—" Leolin pleaded. "I don't know."
"We need to get across the river," Felix said. "How do we do that?"
"Well usually you pay Charon to take you," Leolin explained. "But I don't see him or his boat."
"So there's a boat?" Felix said. "And what do you have to give Charon to take you across?"
"Really, Chaisson?" Sweeney snapped. "Really? All this talk about Bones and his payment and you don't know the answer to that question?"
"So coins," Felix said, frowning a little at Sweeney's snide remark. "What kind?"
"Obols," Leolin replied.
Felix grabbed the bag and dumped out the coins on the rocky ground.
"Which ones?" he asked. "Which ones are obols?"
Leolin picked the two out. Felix took them both in hand and threw them into the river.
"What the fuck did you do that for?" Sweeney explained. "What if those were Bones's payment?"
"Look," Felix snapped impatiently. "We clearly need a way to get across the river, and if they were the coins we were looking for, at least they're lost."
"Yeah, but what if Pucey somehow—"
Leolin wasn't listening.
"Look," she said softly, pointing to the obsidian bank. A small barge had appeared.
They all scrambled up and leapt on. Felix and Sweeney maneuvered the oars as Leolin and Effie tried to make out anything on the far bank. Finally they arrived, and the minute they stepped onto the damp rock, the boat disappeared.
"Sure hope there is another way out of here," Felix commented.
Leolin wasn't istening. Before the opposite bank had been too dark to see anything. However, once they stepped off the raft, it was dimly lit, and they could make out a hulking statue. Leolin approached. There, lying in the loving arms of Sleep and Death, was the Trojan hero Sarpedon from Sebasten's painting, two gleaming obols over his eyes.
"They're here," she croaked in disbelief. "I have them."
Leolin picked one up gently, holding it up so she could see it. It was made of dull silver and it was obviously ancient, but it still gleamed dully in the torchlight. She immediately vanished hers into her cache. She flicked the other to Sweeney.
"There's a passage this way!" Felix said. "Let's go!"
He tore off, and they were hot on his heels. The journey back up was shorter, and Leolin wondered again how much time had gone by. She'd sworn they'd been down there for almost eight hours, but she couldn't be sure. The staircase spilled out right back into the eerie forest through which they come, and they sprinted through, not caring as the branches whipped at their clothes and nicked their skin. Finally they emerged, panting. The moon was still shining overhead. No more than two hours could have passed.
"We have to split up," Leolin said immediately. "Just in case."
However, no one moved immediately.
"I can't bloody believe it," Sweeney croaked, looking numbly at the coin pressed into his palm. "We fucking did it."
"La Genie strikes again," Effie gave a laugh that was so tightly wound that she sounded like she was going to burst into tears.
"And no Adrian," Leolin breathed in relief.
"Don't jinx it," Felix warned.
"If he knew where we were," Leolin reasoned. "He would be right here waiting for us. He wouldn't risk us sneaking out a back way. He knows how well we know the layout of this place."
"So we've beaten him at his own game," Sweeney said quietly. "Can't pretend that doesn't feel damn good."
"What now?" Felix asked.
Now that the danger had passed, he was eying Leolin longingly, clearly desperate to tug her into his arms and never let go.
"We need to separate the coins," Leolin said. "I'll take one and Swish and Effie with take the other."
"What about me? Maybe I should take it instead of you. I don't want a bigger target on your back."
She shook her head and frowned at him.
"You have no experience in this. Go home. Get out of here. Find somewhere safe to lie low until we know it's safe to reconvene."
He looked pained, and she shook her head again.
"I mean it, Felix. Get out of here. We can't dawdle."
He nodded tightly, eyes begging to hug her goodbye. However, she crossed her arms and he let his hang stiffly at his sides.
"Be careful, bichette," he said softly. "Adrian is still looking for you."
"Just go," she said with less malice, turning her head so she didn't have to look at him.
He nodded and disappeared in a pop.
"What about you two?" Leolin said, turning to the twins and taking both of their hands.
"We have a place in the highlands," Sweeney said. "Completely off the grid. We will hang there until the heat cools, then I'll start looking for a way to destroy these bastards."
He held up his obol. Leolin nodded.
"What about you?" Effie said, stroking Leolin's hair affectionately.
Leolin shrugged.
"I honestly hadn't thought about it. To Rome, I suppose. Back with Sev and Xavy until it's safe to go back to London."
Sweeney nodded and he and Effie shared a meaningful look.
"What?" Leolin demanded, watching them. "What was that look?"
"I know it's probably not my place," Sweeney said. "But for the record, I don't think you should go to Rome."
"What—" Leolin began, but Sweeney shook his head.
"Go to Greece, Nay," Effie urged. "Go to Draco and tell him how you feel. I know you think it's too late, and maybe it is, but you'll never know if you don't try. Besides, tonight is the night of impossible miracles, and you and Draco being together doesn't even need a miracle. It just needs a nudge."
Leolin looked at Sweeney, feeling vulnerable.
"Go, Leolin," he said, taking her hand. It was odd to hear him call her that, but she knew why he was. "As much as I love Naomi, you have to set her aside and be the person you were always meant to be. Go to your Draco, Leolin. Go to him and reclaim the prize you've spent five years fighting for. You've more than earned it."
Leolin wiped at a tear, though she was smiling now.
"Things are only going to get harder going forward," Effie admitted. "Don't force yourself to go through all this alone."
Finally, Leolin nodded.
"You're right. This is gone on too long. I have to go and finally set things right."
"That's my girl!" Sweeney said, ruffling her hair. "Go get 'em, tiger!"
Leolin laughed.
"I will floo from Greece. I love you both; see you soon."
"See you sooner," Effie smiled. "Good luck."
Leolin smiled and disappeared, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and picturing the villa in her mind. She met the resistance of an apparition ward as she tried to enter, but after a moment of pushing it seemed to recognise her and dissolved, allowing her to finally materialise on the sprawling patio. It was pleasantly warm, and a soft breeze ruffled her hair.
"Draco!" she cried. "Draco, where are you?"
She tore from the deck to the meeting room they'd first convened in almost ten months before. She burst into the lounge, and the first person she laid on was Draco.
"Drake!" she cried, starting towards him and beaming despite everything. "We have them. The coins. We got them."
Relief flooded his tense expression, but only for a second. After that, it reverted back to suppressed anguish. It was here she realised they were not alone. The whole Athenos family was assembled before her, and they all looked pained as well. Narcissa said in a winged back chair, and Sebasten was behind her, hands pressed soothingly to her shoulders. He looked angry, angrier than she ever imagined him being. His stance was also fiercely protective of Narcissa. It was clear she'd been crying, and when she looked at Leolin, the tears started fresh.
Aleco stood pacing, Marina and Petra were holding each other on the couch, and, to Leolin's dismay, Gen stood only a few feet from Draco, expression unreadable.
"What is it?" Leolin said, drinking in their despair. She was gorged on it by the time she looked at Draco again. "Has someone died?"
Marina shook her head and bit her lip.
"I don't understand," Leolin said numbly, all the hope the twins had inspired long since extinguished. "Then wh—"
"I'm pregnant," Gen interrupted tightly, studying Leolin with a cool hate but looking none too happy herself.
Leolin stood rooted in shock. Finally she looked at Draco, and his face was the very portrait of pain. Leolin could see in that moment that the dance had meant to same thing to him that it had to her, and he was still desperately and irretrievably in love with her.
"Is it true?" she croaked finally, willing him to expose Gen's lie and come into her arms instead. However, the sadness in her eyes told her he wouldn't. He couldn't.
He nodded.
"Yes," he whispered hoarsely.
Leolin looked wildly around, wishing someone else would call Gen's obvious bluff. She wasn't pregnant; she couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. Draco would never have let that happen. However, everyone's faces were somber. She realised with dismay that they'd likely spent all day testing her. The fact that they were gathered in the manner that they were suggested that the decision of what should be done was already made.
"What there something else you needed?" Gen bit out, clearly fighting against the constriction in her throat. She was obviously on the verge of tears, but Leolin suspected Gen didn't want to give her the satisfaction of crying while she was still there.
Leolin ignored her outright. Instead she turned to Draco again, taking a step towards him.
"Drake," she breathed. "Please, don't do this to me. Not now. Please, I'm begging you; don't leave me. I need you, now more than ever."
Her lower lip was trembling now, too.
"It's too late," Gen said in a hollow voice, clearly deriving no pleasure from her victory. "Draco's already made his choice."
"What choice?" Leolin demanded. "Drake, don't let her do this. Please!"
She looked around at everyone else, and they all clearly yearned to help her. Still, they were as powerless as she was. She glanced back at Gen, who'd advanced to take Draco's hand, though his body was rigid. Leolin could see into Gen's mind as easily if she was reading her thoughts. She'd already threatened to take off if Draco left her, already forced him back into their broken arrangement by holding the baby as collateral against him.
"You foul bitch," she spit at Gen. "I'm not going to let you get away with this."
"It's done," Gen intoned coldly. "There's nothing you can do to change that."
Leolin, seeing now how close she was to defeat, looked desperately back at Draco.
"Drake," she begged. "Please. Don't let her do this. After everything we've been through the last ten years, don't let her do this."
"I love you," he ground out candidly, studying her beautiful as if he was seeing it for the first and last time. There were tears in his eyes, too. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you that sooner."
With this the dam burst, and Leolin began to sob with abandon. Draco squeezed his eyes shut, a tear slipping down his cheek as well. Everyone immediately moved to help, to comfort her, but she couldn't bear any more pity, and she disappeared with a sickening crack.