January 8th, 2012, Beauxbatons, Pyrenees, France, 10:00 AM BST

Because of the whole 'ambassador' thing, we ended up having to get permission to leave the next day. While teleporting ourselves was easy enough, someone would have noticed we were gone. I'd popped over to see Sirius after dropping off the girls and had him arrange a meeting for us in the city with Remus the next day, around that same Cafe, and Genevieve was going to be meeting us there too.

It was easier than I expected to get permission to leave campus, which I probably should have assumed from the portkey hall even existing. The french were much more free spirited about getting on and off campus, probably because with the hidden nature of Beauxbatons it was less of a risk.

We got to the portkey hall fairly early, and we saw a familiar face. "Gabi!" Squealed Suzie happily as she darted forward to hug the tiny blonde. "It's so good to see you again! How are you?"

My cinnamon roll was one to make friends fast, and once you were a friend of Suzie you had a friend for life. The willowy blonde beamed at her, giving a quick hug back and then pulling away. "Susan! It's so nice to see you again? How was your first day at Beauxbatons? I hope we haven't driven you away already."

"Not at all." Suzie laughed. "We're taking a day trip to Paris." She winked at the younger girl. "Gotta do some shopping. How about you, where are you headed?"

The blonde pushed her hair behind her ear. "Nice. Our family has a Villa and we're due home for a quick visit. My mother has something or other to tell us, though I can't say what. Oh, sorry, this is my sister Fleur." She nodded to the side where a girl was waiting impatiently, I turned to look at her and…sex.

That was literally the only thought in my head. Fucking her pouty lips, her heavy tits, her thick thighs, her wide thick ass, hell I wanted to fuck the bend in this girl's elbow. It was like someone created a database of body parts a man would want to stick his dick in and frankensteined together a woman out of all the pieces.

Not that she looked like a monster. She was beautiful, breathtaking even, but it wasn't something I could appreciate through the sudden overwhelming urge to fuck. A brutal terrible urge that I found honestly disturbing.

I recognized it though, or at least realized what it was related to, and was able to smash it down ruthlessly, battering my sin of lust into submission. Once it was dispersed, I realized that I was pretty sure this hadn't been a natural thing. It wasn't mental magic, because it didn't hit my evil piece, maybe something like hormone influence? Whatever it was, I had to breathe through an almost violent urge to be inside this girl, and by the time I was done, I had apparently missed something.

"Ryan?" Said Suzie, apparently repeating herself. I saw Daphne staring at the girl, lips parted and eyes lidded with arousal, and I watched her subtly rub her thighs together before she too snapped out of it. " Fleur was just saying hi to you."

I had no idea why Suzie wasn't effected by…whatever the fuck that had been, but we were lucky she hadn't. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm Orion Black, this is Daphne Greengrass and Susan Bones, it's nice to meet you." I did not offer the girl my hand. I didn't want to touch her. Or rather I REALLY wanted to touch her, which meant I almost definitely shouldn't.

She regarded me coolly. "Yes. Miss Bones already gave us her name. I'm afraid we need to be going. We have a trip to make." I could tell from her tone she didn't like the way I'd been staring, which would have been fair if I didn't suspect she'd been the one responsible.

Even so, I was more than happy to get away from her. "Of course. Have a nice trip." I said quickly, then turned and walked away toward one of the portkey pads.

We stepped up and got our portkey, then I felt that same yank and we were swept away. Luckily for me it wasn't a long trip, we were pretty close to Paris. When we arrived, I stumbled and placed a hand on the wall, and not just because of the ride. "Holy shit that was unpleasant." I choked. I turned to Daphne. "Did that suck as much for you as it did for me?"

She shuddered. "I wanted to die." She whispered. "I wanted her to literally suffocate me with her arse. I needed her that bad. Even death would have been worth a taste. That was AWFUL."

"I felt like I was going to attack someone." I said with disgust. "Like sex and violence were getting all mixed together and they were going to drive me insane. What the actual fuck WAS that, and how do I keep it from ever happening again?"

Suzie looked concerned. "Are you two alright? What happened? Did I miss something?"

"More like it missed you." I said frankly. "And you should be grateful. That was…horrible. It was like my normal lust sin times a thousand. I felt like I wanted to tear off my own skin just to get as naked as possible. I think I'm going to be sick."

My sins were pervasive and they influenced me, but it was a subtle thing. They would draw my eyes to a thick ass or a nice pair of knockers as Val would call them, or push me to be cocky and a little stupid, or sometimes send me into a homicidal rage (which admittedly was less subtle than the rest). But they never changed me. Not really. Just poured gasoline on what was already there.

Whatever had happened back at Beauxbatons wasn't that. The lust I'd been feeling wasn't a mild stirring in my pants. It was a need to fuck. To mate. To mount and stuff and roar as I pounded something, anything, into submission. I'd felt like a wild animal, and it was one of the most deeply disturbing things I'd ever experienced.

"Veela." Croaked Daphne. "She had to be Veela. I suppose Gabi is too, it just hasn't hit yet. But her sister, the other one. Definitely Veela. I've heard stories about Veela allure, but I've never seen it myself. It was worse than people say." She turned a concerned frown on Suzie. "You really didn't feel it?"

My redhead shrugged. "She was very pretty." She said sheepishly. "But I don't really get those kinds of feelings for anyone but you and Ryan. Maybe Seras, I certainly think she's pretty, maybe once we know each other better."

We just stared at her, and then we burst out laughing. She pouted, looking hurt, and I just held up my hands placatingly. "Sorry sweetness." I said with a wheeze. "It's nothing bad. It's just that I didn't know that being demisexual could make you immune to succubus sex powers. No wonder you handle your lust so much better than we do. You have a lot fewer targets."

After I explained what demisexual was to the girls, we all calmed down and made a note to try to find ways to block Veela allure. Daphne mentioned Occlumancy again, which I'd kind of forgotten because my evil piece made it unnecessary, but after revisiting her description of the art I thought it might be more useful than I'd initially suspected. If it could halt the allure it might be able to combat my sins in general. I made a note to look into it.

We arrived at the Cafe at around half past ten, and we found Genevieve waiting for us outside. She was wearing a summer dress, big sunglasses, and a big floppy sun hat, despite it being January and overcast.

"Hello!" She said brightly, waving to us. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me today. You mentioned you were waiting for a friend?"

I nodded, scanning the Cafe and spotting a familiar figure. "He's already here, actually. Come on, let's sit at his table." She followed without complaint as I strolled over to plop down in the chair across from Remus. "Yo." I said casually. "You waiting for us?"

His eyes flicked up, and his lined and tired face quirked into a grin. It was a wide departure from the expression on it the first time I'd met him. He'd been convinced Sirius was a murderer and hated him to the bone, and me trying to clear him had convinced him I was an evil bastard. Now he seemed to be much more friendly and at ease, and I was glad to see it.

"You remind me so much of your uncle." He said wryly. "He was always much more gregarious than Reggie, at least around people he wasn't close to. Sirius got me your message, but didn't tell me why you needed me."
I explained, and he nodded solemnly. "Using my sense of smell to track the culprits. Might work. We'll have to check out the site of the abduction and hope it isn't too high traffic. We're not exactly close to the full moon, so my senses won't be as sharp as they could be, but I'll give it a shot." His eyes panned to Genevieve. "Who's your friend, by the way."

"Genevieve Dieudonne." I said with a vague gesture. "She's a local. Acting as a bit of a guide. We were going to order, do you want anything? Genevieve is on a liquid diet, so she won't be eating here."

She could actually, but I wanted to inform Remus of her situation without drawing attention. Silencing a table was much more attention grabbing in the middle of the day then late at night. People are supposed to be talking during daylight, so quiet calls more attention to whatever business you have.

He frowned, studying her, but didn't actually say anything about it. "I'd love a napoleon." He said with a wry smile. "I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth." He held up his coffee, which appeared to have been lightened to near white and most likely had a ton of sugar.

The napoleon sounded good so I got one too, though I got cocoa again along with Suzie because I honestly preferred it to coffee. Remus gave me a knowing smirk when I did that, but I just rolled my eyes.

Once the food came, we briefly lapsed into silence, but Remus pulled out a useful spell I'd never heard of. Muffliato was designed for the exact kind of situation we were in, drowning us out with a low murmur so we didn't stand out for being quiet but we still couldn't be heard. I was intrigued by the spell, but when I asked him where he learned it he just shrugged and told me it had been going around school back when he was at Hogwarts.

With that out of the way, I filled him in on everything we knew. Jean Chastel, Voldemort, the Court of Miracles, the vampires. All the disparate elements that would couldn't seem to make fit.

"I'm glad you called me." He said after I finished. "I think I can be of some help. You're spreading yourselves too thin, because it seems like you have too many leads. In reality, all of the other factors are secondary. Having me track the missing girls is the right play. Ignore the other players, focus on your objective."

He talked like he was educating us, and honestly I didn't mind. I was out of my element here, and I was more than happy to listen to advice. Especially GOOD advice which was what this seemed to be. "Alright." I said after he finished. "In that case, let's finish our meal and get started. We're burning daylight." Hopefully some of those witches were still alive.

January 8th, 2012, Paris, France, 11:00 AM BST

We escorted Remus out behind the Cafe and down a small side street. "Alright," I said as we walked. "Based on the CCTV cameras around here, she went into this alley and then never came out. The muggle police just assumed it was a glitch, but my friend was able to get his hands on the tapes and narrow down the location of her disappearance."

"Do you think they disapparated from here?" He asked grimly. His eyes were wild and bright, flicking across the walls and street as if trying to find an invisible enemy.

I shook my head. "They weren't worried about the muggle cops, they were worried about the wizards. They'd have taken her a different way. There's a few blind spots in this alley, but I'm betting they disillusioned her once they get her out. Unfortunately just looking for 'someone who doesn't have an unconscious woman with them' wasn't particularly fruitful when it came to searching the footage. That's where you come in. Disillusionment doesn't do anything to smell, right?"

As far as I knew, apparition could be tracked by magical means, but stuff like point me spells couldn't track human beings for normal wizards. Disillusionment, however, left no traces, which left us up shit creek without a paddle.

Remus nodded, stepping forward into the alley, walking slowly, eyes moon bright. He inhaled deeply. "Not many scents, but I have to sort them, give me a minute."

I left him to his business and turned to Genevieve. "The reason we brought you along is supplementary but no less important. You're the guide, so I need to know who controls the territory we're heading to. We might not run into anyone on the trail, but if we know who is in charge of the area we end up in, that's a big clue."

"I can manage that much." She said with a pleasant smile. "Oh, what fun this is, investigating a crime. How exciting." She shot me a teasing smile. "You certainly take me to such interesting places Master Black."

Remus's head snapped up. "I got it." He said distractedly. "The scent isn't exactly fresh, but this place is very out of the way. Not much to muddle it, and it's protected from the elements by the surrounding buildings. There are three of them from the same period. One is distressed, and female. That'll be the missing girl. The other two…nothing recognizable. Not werewolves at least. Maybe wizards, identifying magic by scent is tricky even when it's fresh."

"Which way did they go?" I asked eagerly. "Can you follow the trail?"

His eyes, wolf yellow, fixed on me. "Yes. I have the scent now, even if it's drowned out or washed away I should be able to follow the remnants."

"You were right Jen." Said Suzie with a wide smile. "This is exciting. I wonder what we'll find?"

It made me smile to see she wasn't remotely worried about being in this viper's nest of a city walking with a vampire and a werewolf. She was more than confident in my ability to keep her safe if she couldn't do it herself, which as a devil was already a big if. More than that, we had other options. This wasn't our territory, which meant it was enemy ground, and one of the unique abilities of the evil pieces I hadn't been able to test yet would come into play.

Remus led us back out into the street, eyes focused off into the distance and blurred into action. His method of movement was strange, almost lupine, hunched slightly and parallel to the ground, but it didn't seem awkward at all.

The rest of us easily kept up, but I had to keep us from being noticed. Luckily I'd been researching muggle repelling charms in class and I could cast one easily enough. My intent made it stick and the group of us became invisible to the eyes of normal human beings, though I wasn't sure about cameras.

We wove through the streets of paris, making surprisingly good time until we came to a large ornate building that looked vaguely familiar for some reason. When we stopped, Genevieve looked up at the building with an expression of grave concern. "What's wrong?" I asked, holding Remus up before he could enter.

"This is the Paris Opera House." She said quietly. "If they brought her here it means they most likely used the basement to enter the catacombs."

I frowned, trying to place why that sounded familiar. "Wait, as in like…the Phantom of the Opera?" I wasn't a classics guy, and had never read the story, but I'd been around enough theater girls to pick up bits and pieces.

"The catacombs span the entirety of Paris." She corrected. "They're ancient. But yes, this particular location was the setting for that story. More than that, however, the being that inspired the tale still lives down there."

I blinked at her. "The Phantom of the Opera is real?" I asked in disbelief.

"Not exactly." She said in frustration. "The story was based around his name. Phantomas is an absolutely ancient vampire, possibly a Master, who has existed since the roman empire first made camp at Londinuim. He is apparently quite hideous, and avoids contact with outsiders. That said, he claims dominion over the catacombs beneath the Opera House, and only a select few are granted passage."

I groaned. "Let me guess. The Court of Miracles happen to be on his VIP list?"

"Just so." She said wryly. "It is, in fact, the reason for their continued existence. Their right of traversal through the catacombs gives them both flexibility and a unique usefulness to the powerful of the city. Elsewise such a gathering of rodents would have been wiped out quite some time ago."

"I don't suppose you're secretly and ancient super vampire who is the one person Phantomas is afraid of?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head quickly. "Phantomas is the one person in this city none dare to cross. I've been told that some think Roran Redhand leaves Paris to its peace simply because Phantomas dwells below. I apologize, but my guidance stops at those doors. No vampire will escort you into the catacombs."

"How about you?" I asked Remus wryly. "You scared of the uber vamp?"

He chuckled. "Terrified. Most wizards might not know what Elder Vampires can do, but I work for the Order of the Phoenix. I also happen to be quite educated in matters of dark creatures. A possible Master with several millennia under his belt is a terror not even Voldemort himself would take lightly."

"So you're out?" I said with a laugh. "Fair enough, we couldn't expect you to come down to your possible death."

A Master Vampire would be a hell of a fight, but with two Queens, not to mention my own powers, I doubted it would be so bad we couldn't at least run away. Our circle teleports could punch through anti teleportation wards, so we could withdraw at any time.

"I don't recall saying I would be going anywhere." Remus said with a small smile. "You're Sirius's nephew. In another life I might have been your godfather like Sirius is Harry's, but you're family either way. I've failed my friend more than enough for this lifetime. I'll be coming with you. Besides, you'll need me to follow the trail."

I grinned at him. "To clarify, we're not going to TRY to piss off the monster at the end of this book. The catacombs are a big place, right?" I asked Genevieve. "Is Phantomas definitely going to know we're down there?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. No one knows what exactly his skillset is. He's very old, which means he's very powerful. He might not even BE a Master, but I've yet to meet anyone willing to cross him just to find out. He may have means of detecting you, he may ignore you completely. I've heard of people braving the tunnels and coming out unscathed, but for everyone one of those there are a dozen more who vanish into obscurity."

"Joy." I said with a sigh. "Well it's better than the surety that we'll need to challenge him. Thanks for the escort Jen. Catch you around, assuming we don't die."
Her smile was charming. "I do hope you survive, Master Black. It would be a shame for all that delectable blood to go to waste splattered across dusty rock below the city." She winked, and then turned and strolled into an alley nearby. When she entered the shadows, she faded into them, vanishing completely.

"Well that was super creepy." I said bluntly, and the others nodded. "Wonder if she can do that trick in reverse? Like I need any more vampire nightmares."

The others chuckled, and then we headed for the door. I debated knocking, but in the end we were protected against muggle sight and it was the middle of the day. I reached up and gave the knob a hard twist, snapping the lock as I pushed the door open silently.

"I'll be honest." I said. "This place is less creepy than expected. I was figuring the door would creak menacingly as we entered."

Remus snorted. "The Paris Opera House is a historical location. Even wizards are aware of this place, several great wizard playwrights having put on performances here. This location has great consequence and is cared for extensively." He lead us inside, then sniffed loudly. "I admit, I was unaware of the terrible vampire living below it, but I have heard of the building.

He led us down a few hallways then to a dark closet. With our dark vision we could obviously seen fine though, and it only took a minute to move the right shelf and expose the rusty metal ladder leading down.

We mounted up, climbing into the bowels of the earth, and I was shocked at exactly how long it took to reach the bottom. We were DEEP. Deeper than I'd expected us to go. We stepped out of the small alcove where the ladder was set and I glanced in interest at the ancient crumbling brick of the tunnels around us.

"Nice place." I said dryly. "Their housekeeper deserves a bonus."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Yes, very clever dear, but these are abandoned tunnels. There's no one here to be dazzled by your rapier wit."

I stuck my tongue out at her and she primly turned away, only to squeak when I pinched her nicely rounding booty. She blushed heavily, though in the dark only Suzie and I could see it, and we all smiled as we followed the tunnel. Keeping things light was always a good way to prevent people from freezing up or freaking out. Plus Daphne's butt was just delectable.

We emerged into a massive cavern and we all stopped as we came to the edge of a huge underground lake. I grimaced. "Ok, see after what happened at the last like, I somehow don't think this one is going to be a breeze to cross. I see a boat down there, but maybe we can just fly. Suzie, can you transfigure a bird and fly it across for us to test?"

"Of course!" She said happily. Her wand slid out and she flicked it confidently. The nearest large rock shifted and flowed, warping into a tiny yellow bird. With a chirp it launched into the air, flying gracefully across the lake…for about fifteen seconds.

As it reached about a quarter of the way across, there was a horrendous roar and a massive scaled form erupted from the water, snapping its giant mouth shut on the bird and then retreating to the water. I sighed, turning to Remus and the girls. "Ok, I might have been wrong. But did that look like a giant electric eel to anyone else?" Fucking lakes, man. Nothing good ever happened when I came across lakes.

January 8th, 2012, Catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 12:00 PM BST

Remus glared down at the lake. We all waited patiently to see if anything else happened, but once the water settled down, he inched closer and then knelt down to sniff the lake gently. The eel didn't lose it until the bird got about halfway, so it was probably fine, but I prepared myself to intervene just in case.

After a second, he stood and backed away. "Blood." He said grimly. "It's faint, but there's blood mixed into the water."

"Phantomas." I snarled. "He ghouled the fucking eels. Who does that?"

He shrugged. "Master Vampires, apparently. But yes, I suspect the eels have been altered over a very long time period. I've heard that ghouled animals can become larger and more aggressive, but not to this extent. Part of it is probably the blood itself, given his age, but this must also have been a labor of decades."

"You think diluting the blood with the water was intentional?" I asked after thinking about it for a bit. "Throttle the mutation so he could keep control of them?"

"More likely so they didn't overload their bodies and die." He said with a shake of his head. "But that was probably a side effect. I'd imagine he has excellent control. If he started with baby eels they've probably had a long time to acclimate. I assume, at least, I have no idea how long eels live, but however long it is, the blood will have extended it."

I sighed, glaring at the lake. "I somehow don't think summoning that boat is going to work." I said grimly, staring across the lake at the moored rowboat. "What do you want to bet if we try the eels go crazy and try to kill us?"

This was a worst case scenario, mostly because Remus was here, and we weren't getting past this lake without showing more than I wanted Dumbledore's agent to see. But if I had to choose between death ort leaking a bit of extra info, I'd pick the leak. Besides, it wasn't like I needed to pop my wings, there wouldn't be any obvious devil shenanigans here, just a shit load of power.

"Suzie, Daphne, we're in enemy territory." I said vaguely. "You know what to do." That was enough to be considered permission to use promotion, at least with my intent behind it. I felt something click as the nodded, focusing on their evil pieces as they selected the Queen piece, empowering them dramatically.

I gestured to the water. "I'm not going into that lake to dig out a bunch of monster sized eels. I'll hit them when they come out, so do me a favor and turn up the heat a bit."

Daphne grinned, flicking her wand. There was a wash of power, and I saw a glowing patch under the water.

Fire on the surface would just have evaporated it, so she'd cast it underwater. It would have taken way more magic to do, but as a Queen she'd have it to spare. As I watched, the glass like surface of the water started to simmer, then bubble.

There was a colossal explosion of water as the eel, along with four friends. Grinning, I flicked my wand, sending out a cutting curse as I said. "Suzie, chains." A bit of willpower curved the thing in midair as it headed to the ceiling, and it sheared off a dozen huge stalagmites hanging overhead.

My redhead didn't need to be told twice, her own wand flicked out as the stalagmites dropped, and she shifted them midair into a huge tangle of black iron chains.

Daphne, still watching intently, flicked her wand and said "Incarcerous." Her intent shifted the spell, and rather than shooting out a chord, she funneled the magic into the chains, which whipped around the eels and yanked them together into one big jumble of chain and writhing serpentine form.

Pointing my wand at them, I focused and then shoved as much power as I could into a stunning spell. A beam the size of a basketball slammed into the writhing mass, rolling over both the chains and the eels, and they collapsed back into the water.

"Killing them seems like a good way to piss off Phantomas." I told Remus when he gaped at me. "They're water creatures so they won't drown, and the stunner will wear off in an hour or two on things that size. Then they can bust out of the chains with nothing more than a bad attitude."

Suzie beamed at me. "I think that's an excellent decision. No one would be happy to have someone show up and kill their pets for no reason."

Phantomas was an ancient ass vampire close to Roran's level, and I didn't want any part of that shit. We were here to track some kidnappers, not piss of a super vamp. With the eels down, I felt reasonably sure summoning the boat would be safe, so I did so. Sure enough, it glided smoothly across the surface of the lake, stopping in front of us.

Holding out a hand to each girl, I smiled charmingly. "Miladies?" Suzie giggled and Daphne rolled her eyes fondly, but they both took my hands and let me help them into the boat.

Remus was still looking at me like I had two heads. I sighed. "Did you think Flitwick would have recommended me for an apprenticeship with a Master Enchanter if I wasn't talented? It wasn't that big a deal. Suzie and Daphne were way more impressive."

I meant that too. Transfiguring a few tons of falling rock into iron chains, boiling an underground lake, and using aforementioned chains to restrain five giant electric eels. Those were all absurdly impressive feats. Sure, the Queen piece gave them the raw power, but the skills necessary to pull that off still weren't exactly the kind of thing you'd pick up in a textbook.

He chuckled ruefully. "The standards at Hogwarts have certainly changed since I was a boy. I suppose seeing all three of you pull off such absurdities means it must be more common than I'd expected. What a monstrous crop of students."

Weirdly, I couldn't blame him for that train of thought. Me being insanely powerful was suspicious, but since there wasn't exactly a form of contagious superpowers that he knew of, everyone else being super strong too made it seem less special. Reasonably there was no other plausible conclusion.

Once we were all in the boat, Remus used some strange movement spell I'd never seen to get us going. "You picking up a scent yet?" I asked him as we skimmed toward the other bank.

"Nothing." He said grimly. "At least, nothing but the smell of lakewater, blood, and eel. This place is overwhelmingly filled with strong scents. We'll need to wait until we hit the other side. Be ready in case something attacks." He smiled wryly. "Normally I'd be protective of you in this situation, but after seeing what you did to those eels I'm less concerned."

I chuckled as we touched down, remaining alert like he said. I jumped out first, straining my devilish senses as I stood guard. Suzie and Daphne came next, with Remus bringing up the rear.

He stopped after we entered another tunnel, kneeling down to sniff the walls and ground, and when he stood back up he was frowning. "I got them back." He said worriedly. "But they aren't alone. There are a few other scents about the same age, and at least one of them is a werewolf. No one I recognize."

Grimacing, I nodded. One of Chastel's people probably. That wasn't ideal. We were about to continue, but I felt…something. Some twinge in my instincts. "Stop." I said, holding up my hand.

Everyone froze, and I stared down the tunnel. It was the same as the last one, crumbling brick and dirt sprinkling the floor. I tried to think of what I might be missing. Nothing obvious, so it was probably a trap or something, but I didn't know how to check for those.

I knew a charm that would do something similar though, and I knew how to modify intent. "Laqueum Revelio." I intoned, using the changed word to help me focus my intent on what I wanted. Homenum Revelio was a fairly basic spell, only useful against things like disillusionment, but if this one worked…

A pulse of magic rolled out over the tunnel, and along the walls and floor I saw flashes of light. "Got em." I said with a grin. "Follow me." I stepped forward, avoiding a square of light I was pretty sure was a pressure sensor, then hopping over a well hidden hair thin tripwire, then shuffling sideways and ducking to avoid a light trap.

Everyone did what I did, and I slowly led us past all the traps, hopping over pit traps and avoiding pressure plates until we got to a fork. Remus led us to the left, and by following the werewolf's nose, we reached another ladder like the first. We climbed up and emerged into yet another tunnel, this one much smellier.

"We're in the sewer." Said Remus with relief. "This should be out of Phantomas's domain. I'm relieved you decided not to kill his pets. I didn't want to bring it up while down there, but I was terrified he might stumble on us."

Laughing, I clapped him on the shoulder. "Well you didn't show it. Can you still track them in the sewer? The smell down here must be overwhelming."

He grimaced. "It is, but it's a gestalt of human smells, so the trail blends rather than being smothered. It's much more difficult to pick the scent out of the mash, but it's still doable. Follow me."

We continued on. Daphne was frowning. "What is it?" I asked with a grin. "Don't like the mess?"

"Not remotely." She said absently. "But that isn't my worry. We've left the vampire's domain, and now we're in the sewers. From what Suzie told me about the film, isn't this the Court of Miracles home territory?"

I sighed, wincing at the smell. "It is." I admitted. "But I'm not worried about them nearly as much. Just stick with your promotion. As long as we're still in enemy territory you should be able to maintain it, and between the three of us these money grubbing bastards won't stand a snowball's chance in hell."

Of course, the second I said that, a thick iron gate slammed shut behind us, and then another out front, sealing us inside a circular chamber with a pool of water in the center. "Oh really?" Said an amused voice. I looked up to see several cloaked figures emerging from openings higher up the walls.

Grimacing, I searched their faces, all visible to me even in darkness because of my devil eyesight, and confirmed I didn't know any of them. No Bell, no Voldemort. Could be worse.

Suzie was staring around in fascination, and under her breath I could hear her mutter. "Haven't you heard of a horrible place where the villains of paris collect in a lair." I ignored her mumble singing to focus on the person who had spoken.

"Yeah, that's so." I said boldly. "And if you have a problem with it, why don't you come down here and say so."

The man smirked, then stepped off the ledge, floating gently down to the ground. He hadn't drawn a wand or cast anything aloud, so he was either a sorcerer or a genius wizard, but it hardly mattered. "Well." He said, spreading his arms widely. "I am down here. How are you going to deal with me now, my friend."

I grinned, flicking my hand to the side. A fifteen foot serpent of powerful acidic liquid coalesced to the side of me, baring its fangs at the man. "I have some questions for you, buddy. Thanks for volunteering."

January 8th, 2012, Catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 1:00 PM BST

I had to give the guy credit, he was barely reacting to the giant snake in his face…at least until I had Asclepius drip a single drop of liquid onto his shoe. Obviously, it burned right through the appendage and down into the ground, and the man stumbled back screaming as a small pin sized hole was eaten through his foot.

"The whole snake is made of that same stuff." I said pleasantly. "So how about you tell me what I want to know, or my danger noodle is going to give you a big old hug."

He sneered at me, anger overriding his fear. "How dare you do this? Do you know who we are? Where you are? Even if I die, the Court is legion, we will find you and kill you. You and your little whor-"

My face went hard, and I reached out and cast a simple summoning charm with all the force I could manage. The man's arm was ripped bodily off his torso and flew across the chamber. He collapsed to his knees with a scream, and I threw the arm casually to Asclepius, who snapped it up and dissolved it in moments.

"That was the first warning." I said coldly. "You use that word to describe my girls again and the next appendage that comes off will be a whole lot smaller and MUCH more precious."

He sat there, curled up and crying around his limb, and I grimaced at the growing pool of blood. "Y-yes." He wheezed. "I understand. Please don't hurt me again." I sighed. Might've gone overboard with that one.

"Episkey." I said casually, pointing to the stump, and the wound closed up. That spell couldn't regrow an arm, but it could knit up a big ass hole. "There, now you won't bleed to death. Maybe have some juice after this though, you lost a whole bunch of blood." I glanced up at his friends. "You all planning to try to help him?"

None of them responded, but the man himself spoke up after getting his tears under control. "They will not, sir." He said respectfully. "I am sorry for my insolence." He pressed his forehead to the ground. "I am Claude Renoire, of the Court of Miracles. Please spare my men from your ire."

"I'm here to ask questions, not kill people." I said lazily. "You keep a civil tongue about my women and it'll stay that way. Savvy?"

"Yes." He said quickly. "I understand. Please, ask your questions. We will answer as best we can." His voice was shaking, which was fair. My little trick with the arm was VERY tough to replicate. Most magic has trouble overriding human sovereignty over their own body. Levitating a whole person was one thing, but tearing off a limb?

Aside from being magically impressive, it's deeply unsettling to know someone can pluck off your arms and legs with a casual gesture. It's a level of unsafe that most people never experience, being completely at the mercy of another.

Doing something like that was flashy and violent in a way I usually wasn't, but aside from the whole 'whores' thing, this guy was also part of a criminal organization that kidnapped women to be magically experimented on, so I didn't have a ton of scruples about how rough I was treating him.

"So." I said casually as I leaned against the wall. "Am I to understand that this is your territory? That nothing happens here without your permission?"

Claude nodded. "It is. We are simple a small group of locals who call this stretch of sewer our home. Most of our business is permitting travelers through…for some small consideration." I smirked at his attempt to pretty up literal highway robbery, but honestly gave no fucks about them robbing people.

"Good." I said approvingly. "So you can tell me about a group of people who came through not long ago. There were at least two men, probably more, and one of them was a werewolf. They had cargo with them, though they took pains to hide it." Remus could track the scent, but it would just lead us to where they stopped going by foot. He couldn't track apparition, obviously.

Better to know who we were dealing with from the source. Judging by the way Claude's already pale face turned almost grey, he was well aware of who we meant.

"Sir." He said delicately. "Those are members of our organization, but not from the same faction as we. You could consider the Court a massive network of gangs and factions. Our particular group are called the Saint Roux Sovereigns. You're looking for another group. They call themselves the Sons of Flying Death."

I grimaced, because my translation power was telling me that I knew that phrase in english. Or rather, I knew it in French but as a unique word. Voldemort meant Flying Deadman. Which while an objectively stupid name was not ideal to hear in this context.

"And do you know where we might find these 'Sons of Flying Death'?" I asked patiently.

He shook his head. "Not any longer. They've recently relocated. We're not sure who they displaced, but the tunnels they frequented have been abandoned."

"We need to find them." I said solemnly. "Do you know how we might do that?"

Claude looked frazzled, but after a moment's thought he nodded. "The Marche du Voleur." That one, weirdly, came out in french. Maybe because it was a specific title or place? Repeating the words in my head gave me the meaning though. Market of thieves.

"This is some kind of…what, black market that only the Court can access?" I asked with restrained excitement. That actually sounded amazing. I was betting I could find some really cool stuff at the lair of Paris's biggest criminal organization.

He nodded again. "Yes sir. And we might be able to get you in." I could see a bit of slyness in his gaze. He might be scared now, but he was pretty sure his whole organization would be enough to take me down. He might be right, though I doubted it. That was fine. I had friends I could ask to tag along, not to mention some local muscle I suspected would love a chance to impress me.

I snapped my fingers and Asclepius dissolved, the excess water flowing into the pool in the center of the room. I waited to see if Claude would attack me, but my previous show of power was obviously enough to dissuade him.

Remus was on high alert, and I could see Daphne and Suzie preparing for violence, but I was more than confident we were fine. These guys lived in the sewer and hustled people for coins when they came through, they weren't exactly iron blooded warriors. I trusted them to take out anyone who tried.

"So." I said blandly. "We'll be relying on you to take us to this market, but I somehow doubt it's open at one PM. Until then, we'll follow the trail and see if we can dig up anything else. Let us out of this room."

Claude nodded quickly. "Of course, sir." He glanced up at one of the figures on the ledges. "Henri, open the doors!" There was a groan and the door opened slowly. Once it was done, the Frenchman smiled obsequiously at me. "Does sir require an escort from this point?"

Yup. I could tell from the simmering anger in his eyes he was going to try to have us all killed at this market. That was fine, I was planning to bring along Genevieve, and I seriously doubted they were stupid enough to pick a fight with one of the local vampires. Phantomas wouldn't step in if something happened outside his tunnels.

Hell, maybe he wouldn't step in at all. Maybe he knew about the kidnappings and not stopping us from pursuing the culprits was his way of making his displeasure known. Who knew how vampires thought?

We all kept our guards up as we left, though as I suspected, nothing happened, and once we were clear Remus looked at me seriously. "What you just did broke at least one law of magic." He said bluntly. "You can't summon the limb off of a human being. If that was summoning. Maybe telekinesis?"

"It was summoning." I said with a shrug. "I just poured a lot of intent into it. I AM studying to be a Charms master." Wouldn't hurt for them to think I was a prodigy. He wasn't wrong, wizard magic couldn't do what I'd just done. But I didn't really use wizard magic. Just demonic energy that mimicked it. They were awfully similar at times, but there were still differences.

He shook his head, muttering under his breath about 'scary fucking kids' and took a deep breath before setting off down the tunnel without another word. I winked at my girls, and Suzie rolled her eyes as Daphne giggled at my antics.

We followed Remus down the tunnel, taking a left, then a right, then another left, and then climbing some steep ledge thing and jumping across a culvert. We walked for about twenty minutes, until we finally heard the sound of rushing water at speed. We stepped carefully across a bunch of stones and then climbed an iron ladder, coming out in an alley.

Stopping at the edge, he turned and came back to us, shooting me a rueful smile. "They got in a car. I don't know anything else. Tracking people in vehicles is almost impossible even in rural areas, in Paris I'd have a better chance of divining their direction with a ouija board."

I grinned at him, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "What a coincidence. I was just about to consult the dead." I dialed a number and waited and when the phone picked up I greeted Skulduggery. "Hey. I have a street address. I need you to call your buddy in the French Police and get me the security video from…" I trailed off, looking at Remus.

He sniffed delicately, then gave me an exact window. I repeated it to my Bishop. Skulduggery made an interested noise. "I'll get in touch with him. Might take a bit for him to respond. What are you looking for exactly?"

"A license plate, if possible." I said after a moment. "Chances are damned good that after the absurd measures they took to throw off pursuit they won't bother to switch cars. Maybe if we find the car we'll be one step closer to finding the girls. We have another lead we're following up on, but we won't be able to pursue it til tonight. Anything on your end?"

He filled me in on his investigation (which was a lot of very thorough recounting of absolutely nothing happening) and then I hung up, turning back to the others.

"Well." I said with a chuckle. "Looks like we're officially done here. Personally, I'm starving. What do you say we snag a hotel room to wash up and then head out for a late lunch? I've been dying to try french bread from actual france. It's always way too stale when I get it from grocery stores."

Rolling her eyes, Daphne groaned. "It's called a baguette." She said in exasperation. "But yes, food sounds lovely." She turned to Remus, smiling politely. "And you, Mr. Lupin? Will you join us for a meal?"

I was surprised she asked. He must have impressed her. He smiled politely but shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I'll pass along your well wishes to Sirius when I see him though, if you'd like. I'm heading back to Grimmauld Place." Left unsaid was who he would see there, and I was sure Dumbledore would be hearing all about our adventures, but we hadn't shown anything TOO out there.

We said our goodbyes and thank yous and once he was gone teleported back to my room at Beauxbatons instead of paying for a hotel. Then we washed up and went to lunch. It was going to be a long night. I could already tell.

January 8th, 2012, Marche du Voleur, Paris, France, 8:00 PM BST

"You know." I said as we stepped onto the Parisian back street. "When they said 'Market of Thieves' I expected something a bit more…thievish. More sewer tunnels maybe. Not…this. Everything is all out in the open."

Genevieve giggled as she led the way. "Oh trust me, this is plenty hidden. Between magic, shut off street cameras, and conveniently closed roads, this street might as well not exist right now."

"Fair enough." I chuckled. "If you girls see anything you like let me know." I told Daphne and Susan, who were each holding one of my arms. "Just because we're here on business doesn't mean we can't have some fun. Not sure if you'd want anything though. I don't even recognize half of the shit they're selling."

The vampire smiled. "Most of it is fake. They ARE thieves. This market used to be in London, actually. It moved across the channel after the blitz. It was on Portobello road. The market itself is still famous, but it's been turned into more of a tourist attraction. The truly unusual items have long since migrated to this side of the river."

I chuckled as we passed a stall. "I can see why. Napoleon's pistols? Did he even use pistols?"

"At times." Genevieve said absently. "Though he preferred to avoid close combat. The musket was more his firearm of choice, and he used a sword occasionally when he rode with the cavalry. I don't think those are his. I think that Samovar might have belonged to Catherine the Great though. It looks familiar." She squinted at a large tarnished silver…metal thing.

I was about to respond, but I was cut off by the sounds of movement. I saw Claude step from an alley, about a dozen men with him, and as I watched, they spread out and surrounded us.

"Mr. Black." Claude said with an unpleasant smile. "You made it. And you brought yet another lovely lady. How kind."

Next to him, a tall thuggish looking man with thick black sideburns froze, staring at Genevieve in horror. Apparently he recognized her. She gave him a demure smile. "Hello Marcel. You're certainly looking spirited."

"Miss Genevieve." He said thickly. "How pleasant to see you. My compatriot failed to mention that you would be present."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well then what might be the reason behind your…enthusiastic welcome. You've brought a veritable horde of friends to greet my arrival. Or should I assume they have other intentions?"

"You may assume what you wi-" Started Claude, but he was cut off by a heavy fist smashing into his face as Marcel lashed out without even looking at him. The frenchman stumbled to one side, dazed, blood pouring from his broken nose. "Marcel!" He shouted. "What is the meaning of this?"

Marcel flexed his hand and it rippled, shifting into what looked like solid steel. That was a new sorcerer trick. I needed to learn that one. "This is Lady Genevieve Dieudonne. A contemporary of my master, Prince Andre."

Claude froze, glancing at the hands currently filling up with his blood and then up at the vampire, who smiled prettily.

"So Claude." I said in a friendly voice. "You were going to show us to your friends from the sewer? Or did you lead us here under false pretenses?" My hand shifted and a pair of fifteen foot serpents coalesced from heavy water on either side of my girls, both insulating them from hard and showing off what I could do.

His eyes widened in panic. "Of course not!" He said hurriedly. "The Sons of Flying Death will be here soon. Until then, we simply wanted to welcome you with the pomp and circumstance that you deserve. I'll be happy to show you around all the best stalls at the market."

"You hear that Jen?" I asked the vampire in amusement. "He came to escort us around personally. Isn't that nice?"

She bared her teeth at him. "Yes. He is very…sweet. I could just eat him up."

Claude squeaked in terror, and then, without saying a word, toppled over backwards, unconscious. I glanced at Genevieve. "Did you do that?" She shook her head and I clicked my tongue. "Well that's just embarrassing. Hey big guy. Marcel right? Can you give us a tour guide? Ours seems to be a bit under the weather."

"That expression never made sense to me." Said Suzie with a small frown. "Weather is in the sky. Aren't we all under the weather all the time?"

I paused. "That's a really good point. I wonder where that comes from."

Daphne sighed. "Focus please, children. We're in enemy territory, right?" I caught her question and nodded with a smirk, feeling the pair of them promote to Queens again. Just in case.

Marcel cleared his throat. "No need for such hostility, my lady. Any friend of Lady Genevieve is a friend of mine." He glanced around. "Gaspard!" He snapped. A small weasely looking man with thinning grey hair appeared. "You will escort our guests around the market. When the Sons of Flying Death arrive you will bring them to meet."

The man bowed obsequiously. "Of course, my friend." He turned to us with a smile. "I am Gaspard Benoit, but you may call me Weasel, as most do. I bid you greeting from the Court of Miracles as a whole. What, pray tell, do you wish to see first?"

Since our targets weren't here, we could just shop. I considered what I might be interested in. "How about…books." I said after a beat. "Then maybe jewelry or some kind of food."

"Books it is." He said with a smile. "I know just the place. Follow me." He spun, his threadbare coat whirling in a surprisingly badass way for such a ratty little guy, and strode off into the crowd. We caught up easily, trailing him around a corner and down a street until we found a small stall with a large assortment of hardcover books stacked to the ceiling.

I started scanning them slowly, my interest pretty light but open to finding something interesting…and my eyes snagged on an oddity. I reached into the stack, pulling out what looked like half a book. It was old and beaten up and quite possibly fire damaged, but surprisingly readable.

I checked what was left of the spine. The Spells of Astaroth. "Is this for sale?" I asked, holding up the book. It was only the first half, sadly, but that meant the first hundred or so pages were fine, with all the fire (and possibly water now that I looked what the fuck had they been doing with this book?) damage confined to the latter pages and therefore leaving me with plenty of intact book to work with.

He raised an eyebrow at it. "I've never seen that before." He said in a suspicious tone. "I don't sell damaged books."

"Does that mean I can take it for free?" I said with a saccharine smile.

He flushed in embarrassment. "Well…no. I can't just give away product. But I won't charge you much. Twenty five euros."

I fished into my pocket, pulling out a galleon. "So five of these, give or take?" I said as I showed him the gold. His eyes lit up, and I counted out the money. Despite not necessarily being consistent legal tender, most people liked gold, and as someone aware of the wizarding world (probably) he would find a use for them.

Taking the book, I started flipping through it lightly, careful not to damage the pages. Daphne and Suzie had split off to check the books themselves, but returned when they saw my find. "What is that?" Daphne asked as she tried to read over my shoulder.

"Demon magic." I said absently. "Very simple demon magic, but still. Looks like curses, summoning and binding a familiar, stuff like that. I suspect the impressive stuff is in the second half." It was suspicious that this was here. The fact that the book guy hadn't KNOWN it was here was even more suspicious. But I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I sat there for about thirty minutes reading, taking in everything I could and planning to study more later. The first entry was a basic ensnarement power, a type of hypnotism native to demonic energy, and I was pretty sure I could do it easily.

A hand pulled me out of my reverie, tugging on my sleeve. "Sir." Said an urgent voice. "They're here. The Sons of Flying Death have arrived. Marcel took the liberty of withdrawing the friendly factions from the area before your confrontation, so you may approach them and question them at your leisure."

I grinned, putting the book away in my pouch and clapping him on the shoulder. "Thanks Gaspard. Take us to them."

Genevieve was practically vibrating with excitement, and my girls were cool as cucumbers as we approached the back of the market where the Sons were waiting. When we got close enough I spotted them easily. They were wearing fucking dark marks on their backs, so it wasn't hard.

I stepped up behind them, the girls spreading out. "Excuse me gents." I said cheerfully. "You the Sons of Flying Death?"

Turning, they all regarded me suspiciously. They were all young, some ugly and some more refined, but all…hungry looking. Like they were searching for someone to devour. I could sense power coming from at least two of them, two werewolves out of seven. Great.

Luckily for me, this didn't need to be a fight. I went over the chapter I had just been reading, ready and willing to try out my new mind trick on the bastards who had been kidnapping women. I looked the lead guy in the eye, and I formed a link with him. Meeting the eyes of a person creates a connection, even in normal humans, and I was able to piggy back on that.

I pumped demonic energy through the connection, letting it saturate his mind, and then used its malleable nature to slowly shift his thoughts into a more accommodating state. "Who are you?" He asked muzzily.

Smiling warmly, I layered on more energy. "I'm your friend Ryan. Don't you remember? We go way back. We tell each other everything."

He blinked at me in confusion. "Everything?" He asked with a slur. Blood was coming out his nose. Shit. I might have overdone it. That was fine, he wasn't dead yet, I'd just ease up. I pulled back a bit on the energy flowing into him.

"Everything." I agreed. "Like where you took the girls." I saw the others getting uncomfortable, but a quick gesture had silent stunners slamming into them from the girls. "The ones you kidnapped? Where did you drop them off?"

He smiled dreamily, blood dripping down over his teeth. Shit, torture might have actually been less damaging. I needed to practice this. "To the manor." He said with a giggle. "Chastel's manor. There's a party there tomorrow, you know. Everyone will be there. Will you be at the party? I'll be at th-" And then his eyeballs popped.

I grimaced, wiping eyeball fluid off my face as he toppled over. "Ok." I said sheepishly. "That could use some work." I turned to Genevieve. "Is that enough information for you to find this…party? I can try to question the others, but I don't think it'll go much better."

"More than enough." She assured me. "If it's a large scale supernatural event, I'll have an invite. I can get us in."

I shrugged. "Fair enough, then I suppose we should get back to our shopping." I glanced at the Sons of Flying Death. "You want these? I could drop them in the ocean or something, but I'm sure you have better methods of disposal, or maybe even uses for them."

Her dainty smile made my blood run cold. "Oh I can take them. I can think of many uses for such as them." Note to self: if I give Genevieve blood, bleed into a bottle. Those fangs weren't coming anywhere near me.

As usual pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmtent hope everyone enjoys.