January 10th, 2012, Beauxbatons,Pyrenees, France, 12:00 PM BST

After my lessons, I took a detour back to my room, and poured over the Spells of Astaroth. It took me a few minutes of searching, but as I expected, I did find a defensive spell that guarded against mental influence. The 'Tears of Asmodeus' was simple enough to perform, even if I had to pop out to grab a few things.

From there I teleported to my mom's place and then over to Knockturn alley, it took me about an hour to find everything, and after creating the oils and anointing myself properly, then speaking the incantation, I felt the mental protections slide into place.

The biggest shock was that the spell didn't affect me, exactly. After casting, the markings I'd painted on myself sunk into my body and inscribed themself on my evil piece, creating a lasting effect that altered my very nature. I blinked as I studied the piece internally, but aside from the inscriptions now visible on the red surface, I couldn't see any difference.

Once I saw that, I flipped back through the Spells, hoping to find some sort of information about the book. Who was Astaroth, and exactly how had he created that spell? I had to assume that since the book said it was temporary, the extra effect was devil specific. Had Astaroth been a devil? How many devils had masqueraded as demons over the years?

I desperately wanted to try out some more of those spells, some of them seemed like they would produce amazing results, but now that I was protected, I had a meeting with Fleur. Before that though, I called my girls in and performed the Tears of Asmodeus on them as well, giving them the same mental protections. It was mostly supplementary, because the evil piece was already good protection, but this would make them immune to Veela, I was pretty sure, which could come in handy.

We barely made it to the cafeteria (though that word was woefully inadequate) in time for lunch with the sisters, but when we did, the delay proved entirely worth it.

I felt…nothing. I mean, Fluer was still really hot, but I could say that with aesthetic appreciation instead of ball clenching lust. Sitting down, I smiled at the bombshell blonde. "You can ease up a bit on the breath holding. I found a counter to your aura."

She blinked in confusion, glancing at me suspiciously for a second before her jaw dropped in shock. "That's…how did you do that? That shouldn't be possible."

Deciding that admitting I'd used a demonic ritual that was more properly designed to subdue succubi, I just smiled mysteriously. Fleur gave me an appraising look. "You're a very interesting man, Mr. Black. Now, you're looking for support in your search for this dark wizard. What can the Delacour's do to help?"

"Just like that?" I said with a raised brow. "I figured there would be a little quid pro quo involved. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just not used to things being so easy."

She shrugged. "You and your lady friends saved my sister's life. Probably mine too, given how dangerous the Beast was. A Delacour never forgets. So what do you need from us? How do we catch this degenerate?"

I'd been thinking about this myself quite a bit. "Manpower." I finally said. "We need people out searching. We have no clue where he might have gone, though I doubt he's been mobile out in the open. He might have fled to the catacombs, but despite the ease with which we traversed them before I worry about going back in."

"Phantomas." Fleur said with a nod. "If anyone would know about movements below the city, it would be him. While I understand the desire to avoid him, if anything, consulting him on your problem might be a better idea."

I blinked in surprise. "Why would he help me?" I didn't plan to open a vein for someone that old. If he decided he liked my blood I could easily end up chained to a radiator somewhere and treated like a pony keg.

"It won't be a problem." She said with a smile. "Phantomas has a…soft spot, for Veela. My grandmother was a favorite of his. It is one of the reasons we are able to live comfortably among beings such as werewolves and Vampires, who we affect so strongly. He is old and highly resistant to our charms, but he enjoys the taste of our blood."

That put a frown on my face. "Wait, does that mean you'll be expected to feed him?"

"Not at all." She laughed. "He has several Veela who live below the streets with him. He keeps them as ghouls, in return for their blood they enjoy long lives with eternal beauty. I have an aunt who became a catacomb attendant. I can get you a meeting with him, out of gratitude for your protection. Your dark wizard will be found in no time."

I grinned. "That sounds perfect. When can we go see him? I imagine that'll be a night time visit. How long to set it up?"

"We'll have to reach out to the family." She said, holding up a hand. "They'll pass on the request and we'll be given a time and a place for the meeting. Phantomas doesn't allow anyone in his inner sanctum. There's an entire section of the catacombs he's rebuilt."

Shrugging, I agreed. "No problem. A bit of a wait won't be the end of the world. Now, why don't I grab some food for us and then we can get to know each other, now that business is out of the way." I winked at her, and she giggled, seeming almost giddy at the prospect of someone getting to know her outside her power.

After snagging some croissants, some jam, a small assortment of fruit danishes and some fresh orange juice, I returned to the table, passing out the food to my girls before smiling at the bombshell. "So, tell me about yourself. I was a bit distracted the last time we talked. You seem like a fascinating person though, I'd love to hear more."

It was basically first date talk, but after seeing some of the power the Veela had used at the party, I was kind of interested in having one in my peerage. Fleur was sexy, powerful, and connected. I could do worse.

She beamed at me. "Well I am an equestrian. I ride horses over the summer. I enjoy wine, and opera, and swimming." She shook her head with a chuckle. "You know I haven't discussed my interests with a man in over five years? My Veela nature surfaced early, and combined with developing breasts I found most men interested in…other things. My parents kept them away from me, of course, when I was younger, but it made for a lonely life."

"What about other girls?" I asked with a frown. "You must have had some friends?"

She shrugged. "Not many. Some of them were as interested as the men, some despised me for the attention I got. Even the ones able to look past it grew uncomfortable when their fathers and brothers would find excuses to bring them to my house."

"That's pretty fucked up." I said bluntly. "This was before you figured out how to suppress your nature, I take it? Like I know that's uncomfortable, but if you could have I figure you would."

That got a sigh. "It was. Once I'd learned to control it better…well, solitude is habit forming. I do not mind overly much, I have Gabi, and my mother and father. It is novel, being able to speak to a man who will look me in the eye."

"That's…" Said Suzie wetly. "The saddest thing I've ever heard!" She threw herself at the blonde, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'll be your friend, Fleur. I'd love to learn horseback riding and swimming and do all those things with you and Gabi. You seem like such a nice person. You deserve plenty of friends. I can introduce you to some others who you'll love, too!"

Which was a decent idea. I could cast that demonic protection spell on anyone in the peerage, and probably would. That would really expand the Veela's social circle, and would be a good warmup for a possible reincarnation later. Plus her childhood did sound pretty fucked up. I couldn't imagine being that isolated.

Fleur's face lit up with excitement. "Actually." I said consideringly. "I can think of at least one person who would be able to teach you all about stuff to do with friends." My Vampire was an outgoing and excitable person in her old life, and a good friend. She'd become more somber and depressed after her parents died, but showing Fleur the ropes seemed like a great way to force her to adopt that mindset again.

Reaching into my pouch, I slipped out a piece of paper, scrawling a quick note, then shoved it back into my pocket and through a circle, dropping it in Seras's room. She would be a good person to have around, given her power and her nature as a Vampire, and bonding with Fleur would be a great way to spend time with Seras too.

Suzie was chattering happily to the blonde, excitedly talking about all the things they could do together and telling her new friend about her favorite movies and Hannah and a dozen other things that had the Veela looking overwhelmed, though still glowing with happiness. As she finished her food, she dragged the blonde away, still talking cheerfully as she went for more food.

Gabi, sitting next to us, shook her head in wonder. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone that naturally friendly. I warmed up to her fast too, just something about her…"

"I know." I said with a laugh. "She was such a shy person when I met her. Used to be just her and Hannah, her best friend. I think she sees a kindred spirit in Fleur. Maybe not in terms of the reasoning, but the result of her situation was pretty similar. Ever since she started hanging out with the rest of us she's really come into her own, but she's still just as kind and sweet as always."

Daphne nodded fondly. "She can get through to anyone. Even when I was at my bitchiest I couldn't help but adore her. I think everyone needs a Suzie in their life."

"Agreed." I laughed. "And it looks like Fleur has one now. I was also planning to introduce her to Seras. I think they might get along." She gave me a puzzled look, but I just waved her off. After thinking about it she shrugged, seeing my point, or rather, a point. I doubted she was thinking the same thing I was, but even on the surface level, being big tittied blonde monstergirls, the two of them had quite a bit in common.

Suzie came back, dropping another plate of danishes in front of me with a quick peck on the cheek, and then informed us all that Fleur was going to be taking us out to learn to ride horses today.

It was nice seeing her so happy, and I could tell the idea of horseback riding was exciting to her too. I made a mental note to pick up some horses at some point, maybe stash them in a stable we could teleport too. If she was this happy about them it might make a nice gift.

The meal was a success, in my opinion, and it gave us some much needed downtime before dealing with Voldemort. Once we got him out of the way, I liked to think the rest of our time here in France could be this fun and relaxing. I took a long sip of orange juice. Also I was really enjoying some of the food. The pastries here were fucking fantastic.

January 13th, 2012, Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 7:00 PM BST

"And we're back." I said glibly, staring up at the intricate facade of the Paris Opera House. "We're here during like…primetime though." I said to Fleur. "Shouldn't we be sneaking in through a back entrance or entering the catacombs through the sewers? What if people see us in there."

The blond bombshell smirked at me, flipping her hair over a shoulder smoothly. "They'll be too busy staring at us to pay you any attention." She said loftily. "We are, how you say, sexy as fuck?" She gestured to her body, covered in an ankle length backless silver dress with a slit up the side that showed part of her plump, creamy thigh.

She was speaking english right now, so she had that cute little accent. I raked my eyes over both the girls, and I had to admit she was right. Seras had arrived, and she and Fleur had been spending tons of time together. They'd gotten along so well the Veela had requested my Rook accompany us to meet Phantomas, and I had no reason to turn her down.

Suzie and Daphne, however, I'd left at the school. Phantomas was…scary. There was a non zero chance he could just snuff me out like a candle. Seras had some protection from Roran and Alucard, but my other girls didn't. I wasn't risking them in a first meeting with an ancient super vamp if I could help it.

Fleur wasn't one of my people, but she was safe enough, since Phantomas was all lovey dovey with her relatives. Being the local badass's favorite snack seemed to have some perks.

"We do look damn good." Said Seras with a smirk. She was wearing a red cocktail dress that she was practically busting out of. It was easy to see why Val's nickname for my vampire was 'knockers'.

I offered them each an arm. "Well then, I hope you ladies can protect me from the ravenous masses. I'm at your mercy."

Fluer licked her lips. "I like the sound of that. I'm sure I can think of plenty of things for us to do together. I'm afraid I'm fresh out of mercy, however. Are you sure you want to take your chances with me?"

Seras chuckled. "Don't let him fool you Fleur. He doesn't have any mercy either. He'll leave you a drooling puddle on the bed."

Biting her lip, the Veela fluttered her eyelashes at my vampire. "Perhaps I am already drooling, ma cherie. But who says it is him for whom I drool?" Seras just rolled her eyes, but I smirked at the interplay.

While usually fairly outgoing and friendly with Seras, Fleur tended to poke at the other girl when she got wound up. I was pretty sure Fleur was a bit of a danger slut, and flaunting herself to a vampire was fun when she was sure the vamp in question was friendly and under control. Didn't hurt that Seras was a bombshell and Veela were pretty much ALL bisexual.

My vampire didn't mind. I knew she'd been hit on plenty in her old job, by men and women alike. She was gorgeous and built like a porn star, so attention was inevitable. "Sorry luv, the only way I'm going to be part of a sandwich is with a thick slab of meat in the middle, so if you want to drool for anyone, he's going to be part of the process."

That got a pout from the silver haired beauty, but I could tell it was all in good fun. "Look, as hot as it is thinking of fucking both of you, I'd rather not meet one of the strongest vampires in all of europe with a raging hard on, so can we maybe have this conversation after?"

"Spoilsport." Said Fleur, sticking out her tongue. "But very well. Come along, we must descend into the catacombs, lest we run late."

She strutted away, and I admitted I watched that plush, bouncy booty as she walked, enjoying the jiggle and sway of her candy ass. "Are you sure you got rid of her sex voodoo?" Seras asked quietly as she watched alongside me. "Because threesome jokes aside, I kind of want her to sit on my face."

"I think." I said as she looked back over her shoulder at us. "That her body is just hax. Even without Veela allure, that ass doesn't quit."

She sighed. "I'm gonna end up munching her rug, aren't I?"

"Only if you want to." I grinned. "Daphne would bend over backwards to get a taste of that. Or forwards, I guess. You saying you don't want to fuck her with me?"

She just glared at me. "Can you at least let me PRETEND to be reluctant. I was a good god fearing catholic girl before I met you. Now I'm a muff snuffling vampire with devil powers. You're a terrible influence."

"Yeah." I said sarcastically. "Because I was the one who wanted to get tentacle ganbanged with my necromancy powers. You were always kinky, Seras. I just let you be more honest about it. But you never gave me an answer? If you're not down for it Daphne and I can double team her. It's up to you."

Pouting, she stalked towards the entrance to the Opera House. "You better fuck her into a coma when it's her turn. I want to watch her squeal." I watched yet another abundant rump bounce as my vampire made her way up the steps, enjoying the view some more before I trailed after her. Paris was truly a city of beautiful views.

Fleur looked smug when we caught up, so I assumed she had enhanced hearing, but she guided us through the opera house to that same closet, sliding aside the covering to that ladder when we arrived.

I heroically offered to go first, because I was brave and steadfast, and definitely not because I wanted to see if they were wearing panties (Fleur no, Seras G-string). Sadly once we hit the Catacombs proper the time for fantasizing was over.

Asserting my hard one self control proved easier than expected when I was worried about my girls, and I was on razor sharp alert as we made our way to the lake where the eels waited.

Rather than knocking them out, Fleur simply cut herself and dripped a few drops of her surprisingly pink blood into the water. The eels surfaced momentarily, but after a slight hesitation, slid quietly back below the surface of the water. Fleur flicked her wand and a boat we hadn't seen last time drifted down from above us, settling onto the water like a floating leaf.

This particular vessel was warded in a special way, and when it touched the surface, runes along it flashed pink. Fleur smiled at us brightly. "The key to bypassing Phantomas's pets is in knowing the right steps. Though I was told to pass on his thanks for not harming them overly much on your last visit. He was most appreciative of your forbearance."

We stepped into the boat, and with a flick and swish of her wand, she sent us drifting out over the lake. Rather than cross it as we had before though, we turned halfway across. I was mildly alarmed to see us drifting towards a rock wall, but I doubted Fleur would crash us for no reason, so I just sucked it up and waited. Sure enough, when we reached the wall, we kept right on going, passing through the false image and into a side cavern, where we crossed a smaller lake to come to a stop at a tiny shore.

"Welcome." She said smugly. "To the REAL Paris catacombs. Home of the Master of the city of Paris."

I nodded slowly. "That's very dramatic and all." I pointed down at the entrance to a nearby tunnel. "But are there supposed to be a pile of dead rats over there?" Her head whipped around, and as her eyes focused on the rats, I could practically hear her hackles rising.

"No." She said tightly. "Phantomas has a fondness for rats. He controls them en masse. It allows him to keep watch over the tunnels of Paris. Many claim he is all seeing, and with his rodent hordes, it is nearly true. He would not stand for such butchery. Something is wrong." I slipped my wand out of my jacket, and saw Seras draw hers too. We both knew the lead up to a fight when we heard one.

We approached the pile of dead rats, and I saw that each of them seemed shriveled and emaciated, sporting two neat holes in their sides. Fang marks.

"So…what are the chances that a vampire coming to challenge Phantomas right at the exact time we're meeting him is a coincidence?" I asked hopefully. Because if not, it meant Voldemort had even scarier friends than we'd seen so far, or at least allies. Werewolves, Necromancers, and Vampires, oh my.

Fleur looked worried. "Nonexistent." She said as we eased past the rat massacre. "Phantomas has remained unchallenged in this city for centuries. And killing him would be…problematic. Even should you manage, Roran Red Hand is right across the channel. He allows Paris its freedom out of respect for Phantomas, but depose him, and the Red Hand would alight on our shores within a single night. The Seine would run with the blood of the city's vampires."

"You are much more up to date on vampire politics than expected." I said as we made our way down the corridor. "This a Veela thing?"

She shrugged. "Hazard of growing up among my family. As I mentioned, my aunt is one of his handmaidens. Be alert, both of you. Phantomas has been down here for quite some time. Aside from his personal strength, he has survived by being very cunning. He is not above the use of traps."

We turned a corner and stopped. "Traps like…that, for instance?" I gestured down to a wide pit full of spikes, at the bottom of which sat several very desiccated corpses impaled on lengths of wood.

She stared down at them worriedly. "Exactly like that. Those are all vampires. Fairly young ones, but I can see some dust down there from a few elders as well. How many vampires did they bring with them?" She sounded worried, and I didn't blame her, we were stuck in a trap filled labyrinth under Paris with an unknown number of hostile vampires who were under the impression they could kill a millennia old possible master vampire.

I gestured to Seras to help Fleur over the pit, and we made our way across, continuing down out path, on the next turn, we came upon a different scene. Several more vampires impaled on flaming stakes, but between them and us, a small crowd of dangerous looking creatures. They were sickly pale white with no hair or clothes. Pale, smooth bodies and sharp ears, like humanoid white bats.

They hissed as they saw us and I grimaced. I'd heard of these. A special breed of vampire resulting from sorcerous experimentation. Apparently Voldemort had been dabbling in all SORTS of fun necromancy projects.

The closest batvamp launched itself at us, but my own vampire was in front of it nearly instantly. A casual backhand smashed it into the wall of the tunnel, flattening it. The rest of them hissed and backed away, and a man stepped from behind them. One I recognized. Jean Luc Baptiste, the vampire Genevieve had pointed out at the party.

Fleur had called Phantomas the Master of Paris, but Genevieve made it sound like this guy was in charge. Apparently he didn't like to share. "Ah." He said in a cultured accent. "One of the bird whores. What a lovely surprise. I do so love when food delivers itself without my having to order." He eyed Seras hungrily. "I'll take the blood brat. Kill the boy, capture the bird." And then the battle was on.

January 13th, 2012, Catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 8:00 PM BST

The batvamps seemed pretty impressive, but they were no match for a devil…at least not one on one. But there were six of the fucking things. Fleur, to my shock, was able to pull two, using some sort of flame conjuring power alongside her skillful wand use (and some sort of partial bird transformation) but that still left me fighting the bastards four on one.

Luckily for me, I'd been training my ass off, not just magically but physically. I conjured a pair of Asclepius serpents to hold off two and then engaged the final two in hand to hand. It was easy to wrap two of them with my acidic snakes, since they weren't really sane enough to play defense, and two on one was much more manageable in a fist fight.

As the first batvamp came in, I slipped to the side, darting under the lunge and kicking out at its ankle. Planting my hand on he cavern floor, I pivoted my body on my arm, bringing the other leg up to smash into the middle of the vampire's chest, sending it crashing into the other one, and both of them smashing into the wall.

I had my wand out and pointing before they even made contact, howling "Incendio!" As I unleashed a torrent of fire at them. The flames landed and the vampires screamed, but their bodies were too tough for the small fire spell I was able to use in these tight confines to finish things off. They were burning slowly, but they were distracted and standing still, which was all I needed.

Flicking my wand, I launched a volley of cutting curses at all four of my opponents, my arm blurring as I let loose a storm of severing magic. I managed to take a limb from each of them, and two from one of the burners, but even in pain and distracted their instincts were top notch. Three of them lunged at me (having lost arms) while the fourth lost a leg and was a bit slower to reach me.

They got in close, which was a bad thing, but I didn't bother with worrying. Something had been scratching at my brain for the entirety of the fight, and I had been trying to pin it down since we started. As they came in, one tried to disembowel me with a clawed hand and another aimed to rip out a chunk of my thigh.

The last one attacked from behind…but I wasn't there. That last split second of danger was the push I needed. The world turned just a bit, shifting inside my head, and then it clicked into place.

I dipped under the slash from behind, shifting off my back leg smoothly as I bent forward, avoiding all three blows. I took two steps to the left, narrowly avoiding having my throat ripped out, and then leaned back as the one missing a leg sailed down from above, having bounced off the ceiling to attack me.

Two steps left, one forward, then back. It was like I was dancing with them, I didn't even have to think about it. Foresight. My instinctive reactions to all the stimuli up to now were brief flashes of it. It wasn't something I could count on all the time, in fact, against most people it was highly unreliable, but these things were animals. Monsters that acted purely on instinct. There were no variables, no other options.

The batvamps had one path forward, and I could see it like the lines on a map. My wand flicked out as I spun under a sweeping kick, severing an ankle, then continuing to remove a hand. The vampires snarled, attacking with fang and claw, becoming even more frantic and desperate, and even more predictable because of it.

I hadn't realized until now what I was experiencing, but as it finally came into focus, I realized what was going on. A clan trait.

According to the booklet I got with my evil pieces, certain devils had special traits or attributes that could be passed along family lines. These couldn't be emulated or stolen, they were only inherited, and they gave unique advantages. The thing was, clan traits had COME from somewhere. The original seventy two pillars had developed them as they grew in power, and there was a small chance for devils to develop their own the same way.

I was, for all intents and purposes, a low class devil. I was ten times stronger than any wizard, but that was chump change for a devil. I was still growing, and at my current rate of improvement I suspected I'd hit mid class sometime before next year, but I had a lot of room to improve.

That was why my clan trait hadn't shown itself until now. I wasn't strong enough for it to function properly. The more I grew, the more it would improve. I doubted I would get to the point where I could do what I was currently doing against the batvamps against thinking opponents anytime soon, but now that I knew about the trait I could learn to tap into it. Next year we would be getting electives, and I was pretty sure divination was in my future.

As I thought, my body moved on autopilot, my wand flickering out to lay open flash and cleave bone. By the time I finished my internal analysis, I was stepping past the headless corpse of the fourth batvamp.

Fleur was having a bit of trouble with hers, but with her distracting them, beheading one and then pinning the other for her to immolate was child's play (her flames were apparently hotten than a bog standard incendio, at least of the level I could use here). "You alright?" I asked her as I got close enough to catch her when she stumbled.

"I am fine." She panted. "I do not use that ability often enough. It is taxing." She glanced down at her body, noting the feathers that lined her arms, and the wings poking out her backless dress. "I suppose I must look like a monster to you, no?" She said sadly.

I snorted. "No. And even if you did, monstergirls are sexy. I'm still gonna clap those feathery cheeks as soon as I get a chance." I dropped a hand to her abundant booty, copping a quick feel, and her eyes widened. I noticed they were avian gold and much more intense than normal, and they pinned me like a butterfly on a card.

"I do not…disgust you?" She asked hopefully. "You are immune to my allure, yes? There is no lust to lessen your disgust at my…freakish form." She gestured down at herself. "I have claws. Talons for feet. I am a beast."

Laughing, I winked at her. "Then after we get out of this lets fuck like animals."

It was odd. I would have worried about offending a normal girl. But somehow, I knew that wasn't the issue here. Fleur wouldn't be offended if I flinched away from her. She'd be hurt. Unlike her human form, which was treated like a sex object by any man (and most women) who saw her, this form was a secret shame. She needed to feel beautiful, desirable.

"You are not like any man I have met, Ryan Black." She said softly as I groped her. It was weirdly hot how passive she was being about it, especially as I could see her preening like an actual bird and my touch. "After we leave this place. We will, as you say, fuck like animals."

"EXCUSE ME!" Shrieked an angry voice from behind us. "If you two are done playing grab ass, I could use some help here!"

I blinked, turning to find Seras still fighting. Jean-Luc Baptiste, sadly, was NOT a batvamp. In fact, he was basically the opposite. As a relatively old vampire, his strength was about on par with Seras. She had the edge still, but his dramatically superior combat skills were winning the day.

Seras, despite training with Val for quite a while and having police combat training, was fairly new to battle. Her overwhelming strength was also a crutch she'd come to rely on, and Baptiste was flowing between her strikes like a ghost, lashing out with his own claws, slashing my Rook up. I levelled my wand at him, unleashing my necromancy, and the cloud of darkness coalesced into binding chains, wrapping around his legs.

His eyes widened as he tripped, and Seras was on him in moments, getting him in and arm bar. She transition that into a triangle choke, and with a snarl and and a jerk of her hips, used her pillowy thighs to snap his neck. He stopped struggling, his spine broken, and she moved in to finish the job, but I stopped her.

"Wait." I said, holding up a hand. I flicked my wand a few times, severing all of his limbs, then kicked them away from his body, leaving him helpless. I knelt down next to him, Seras having backed up to let me get the last limb. "Why are you here?"

He sneered at me, his crushed throat already healing enough to talk. "I came to take my rightful place as master of this city. Phantomas is a coward. He lurks in his hidey hole, playing with his Veela toys and only deigning to emerge to dictate his will to us. He isn't worth to-"

I punched him in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Vampires didn't need to breathe, but you couldn't vibrate a set of vocal cords without air. "Sorry." I apologized. "That was my bad. I was unclear. Why are you here NOW? No one cares about your plans for world domination. Those batvamps wouldn't be enough to stop Phantomas."

He giggled maliciously. "They are not. The process of transformation has varying effects. Those were fledgelings. He brought his own cadre of vampires, older and stronger vampires, to besiege Phantomas. I supplied them myself. In exchange for my favor, he's promised me this city once he takes Phantomas. One such as he, if transformed in the way of these creatures, would be unstoppable. Even Red Hand would fall."

I felt my blood run cold. That…that was a bad thing. Phantomas was ancient and horrifying. If Voldemort got control of him… I suspected this was part of why he'd chosen Paris for his research. This had probably been his plan all along, and we'd forced his hand by killing Chastel and setting the whole city on him.

Part of me was glad we had. If he had more time to stockpile the batvamps he would have swept these traps easily. He must have come in through another entrance with his own group of them to maximize search efficiency. We needed to get to Phantomas and stop him from being taken.

I glared down at the vampire. "If you split up to search, you must have some way of locating each other. In case one of you finds him first."

He shrugged. "The red pendant around my neck. It glows brighter when aligned with him. A twin of his own." At my surprise he grinned manically. "Why do I care if you find him. He'll kill you all in any case."

Staring at the limbless vampire, I considered my options, thinking over what I should do. After a moment of contemplation, I shrugged, then flicked my wand. For some reason, Jean-Luc's eyes widened in shock as I took his head, seemingly unable to believe I'd killed him. I just rolled my own eyes and snagged the necklace.

"Well…" I said with a sigh. "Looks like we're on a clock, ladies." Reaching into my coat, I pulled out a familiar wooden box, looking right at Fleur. "I was planning to wait a bit longer to feel things out, but if you die down here it'd be a huge loss." I could reincarnate her, but who knew if I'd have time during the battle. I pulled out a Rook, raking my eyes over her transformed body. "Tell me, pretty bird. How would you like to make a deal with a devil?"

January 13th, 2012, Catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 9:00 PM BST

"This feels amazing." Fleur marveled. She'd adapted to the Rook piece much faster than the others, but that was to be expected. The pieces scaled with my own power, and I'd grown substantially since I'd reincarnated the rest of my peerage. It had only taken about thirty minutes for her rise after the conversion.

Now she was on her feet, shadow boxing and bouncing on her toes excitedly. Between her prodigious rack and her tiny dress, it was a good look for her. I was definitely enjoying the sight of her butt cleavage in that backless dress as she bounced around.

"It looks amazing too." I said with a smirk. "But I don't think we have time for me to leer. Honestly I'm still surprised you accepted. Becoming a devil is…a big decision."

I'd made the offer because Fleur was honestly a great pick. Veela were stronger than humans, came with pyrokinesis (which meant she might be able to pull off hellfire like Val) and Fleur was gorgeous and got along well with my girls. The fact that she was built like concentrated porn star didn't hurt either.

Mostly though, it was because my instincts told me that she was a good choice. I'd felt it pretty early on, something magnetic about her, and I was willing to trust my instincts after they saved my ass in that fight.

Seras snickered. " Big decision huh? Is that what we're calling it? I'm sure your decision is huge after watching that. But we should change out of these dresses. They were mostly to show off for political reasons, and despite birdie over there popping that arse like a pro, if we're fighting it would be better to do it in proper togs."

I sighed, but she wasn't wrong. I opened a circle, reaching through to pull out some clothes and tossing them to Fleur and Seras. "Sorry if they don't fit." I said with a shrug. "I stole the shorts from Daphne, and the shirt from Susan, but only because I don't have access to any rooms where anyone else would leave theirs."

If I had to pick I'd have taken a shirt from Amelia and pants from Hermione, but fat ass aside, Hermione wasn't nearly as tall as Fleur, and I didn't have a mental image of Amelia's room readily available. With my girls I knew where they kept all their stuff, so it was easy to get.

She didn't bother to turn around as she peeled off the dress, and I took in her pale, naked body hungrily before shoving the arousal in a box for later. She stared at me proudly, looking me in the eyes as she drew the shorts up her thighs and pulled on the shirt. They barely fit, as expected, but it would do for now. I took the dress and tossed it through the portal onto my bed.

I briefly considered asking for backup, bringing in Val or the others, but something cautioned me against it. Maybe it was instincts, or maybe I was just letting my fear control me, but the two Rooks seemed like the right call for this fight.

Val…I was worried about putting her too close to Voldemort now that I thought of it. Seras finished dressing, shooting Fleur an appreciative look and then turned to nod to me. "So what's the plan, boss?" She had a serious look on her face, and her eyes glowed red in the dim illumination of the ambient illumination that I finally realized was glowing moss.

"We…find them and stop them?" I said slowly. "I'm kind of making this up as I go along."

She rolled her eyes. "You've been getting real strong boss, but you've still got a lot to learn about tactics." She frowned. "Damn, wish we had some drones or something. Can we make magic drones?"

I considered that. "Maybe?" I glanced at Fleur. "You're in your third year right? Do you know how to conjure birds? I don't think I asked what your major was."

Drawing her wand, she flicked it, muttering a few words, and a bunch of graceful songbirds appeared. Grinning, I used my necromancy to gouge out some stone, then shaped it into a bunch of disks. I had her command the birds to lift the disks, then focused and opened a small circle on each of them, connecting them to corresponding open circles in the air. The ones on our side were larger, like windows.

"That should do." I said cheerfully. "Good idea Seras. I need to look into a more easily constructed and more permanent version of this." I gestured to Fleur. "Send them out down the hallways, and keep an eye on the windows."

She flicked her wand again, and the birds scattered, fluttering down the tunnels in every direction. In the air, the hanging portals showed large images of what was in front of the birds. We scanned them carefully, before finally catching sight of a troupe of batvamps. Unfortunately, as soon as we caught sight, I had to close the portal because they swarmed the bird.

"Got it." I said triumphantly. "But there are a lot of them." I frowned. My instincts were screaming not to call Val. But we would need backup. I ran through a list of names in my head and came up with one I was happy with.

I let the hanging portals close and opened another, into an estate in Ireland. In the library on the other side, a skeleton in a dapper suit was scrubbing his skull with a toothbrush. He stopped when he sensed me, and I got the impression he was glancing at me obliquely. "Oh." He said calmly. "Well, this is embarrassing."

He lifted his skull and set it back on his neck, retrieving his hat from the end table beside him and setting it on his skull. I cleared my throat. "Sorry to interrupt your…skull brushing? Head bath? I don't know. I was hoping you'd be interested in helping out with a fight."

"Why, I'd be delighted." He said cheerfully, standing and reaching into his coat to draw his gun. "Who will we be battling today? Another dragon perhaps?" His skull jerked back and forth, seemingly trying to adjust itself, until finally I heard a pop, and he stopped moving it.

I shook my head. "Afraid not. Just a horde of necromantically enhanced super vampires led by an insane lich."

"Ah." He said dryly. "Simply a warm up. A pity. You really should do more to keep us entertained, oh king of mine. It's a shame to collect such talented servants and not make use of them. I've been wasting away from boredom. Look at me, you can see my ribs." He poked at his suit plaintively.

Rolling my eyes, I gestured him through the circle. "Can you be serious for once." I held up my hand. "Wait, no, don't answer that. I know what you're going to say. Just get over here."

He doffed his cap in a deep bow and then stepped through. I let the circle close, and turned to find Fleur staring at him in terror. "Damn." I said. "Knew I forgot something. Fleur, this is Skulduggery Pleasant, my bishop and a professional detective. He just happens to be a skeleton."

"Probably not the first man to sport a boner in front of you." Said Seras with a wink. I stared at her drolly and she pouted. "What? It needed to be said."

"The opposite of that." I said bluntly. "But I don't have time to teach you humor. Come on, we've got to get going. They'll reach Phantomas soon." I set off in the direction we'd seen the vampires.

Skulduggery paused, though he caught up quickly. "Did you say Phantomas? Possible master who rules over Paris Phantomas? Strong enough to keep Roran Red Hand from crossing the channel Phantomas? Former centurion in the roman legion Phantomas?" His voice was getting more stoic as he spoke, losing inflection as he became more serious.

"That'd be the guy." I said with a sigh. Then I gave him a breakdown on everything that had been happening.

He groaned. "Of COURSE Bermuda gave a megalomaniacal lich research funding. Because why wouldn't he? That old monster is a complete moron when it comes to anything that doesn't have to do with murdering people or creating things to murder people." He made an intrigued sound. "But it's interesting to know the brulee noire didn't affect you. And fighting evenly with Jager is no mean feat."

"You know them?" I said in surprise. "I mean, I guess you were a necromancer for a while, so that makes some sense. What is Jager, by the way, he seems stronger than a zombie should be. I think. Stronger than the white cleaver at least."
He shrugged. "Not really a term for it. But you could call him a murder golem. Bermuda constructed him out of parts of dead serial killers, and stitched him together with a ritual. His brain and soul came from a powerful necromancer that used to be Bermuda's student. He's Bermuda's proudest achievement."

"That explains how strong he is." I grimaced. "He was way tougher than expected. I almost-" I froze, shutting my mouth with a clack. Closing my eyes, I listened. My wand came up in a silencing charm. "They're nearby." I said softly. They couldn't hear me, but it was force of habit. "I don't suppose you have your armor handy?" I asked my bishop.

He shook his head. "Still can't use it. I've been trying to form a connection with it since I got my evil piece, but I've been having to empty and refill it completely to reconnect. It doesn't recognize my power anymore since I've become a devil. Valkyrie had a similar problem, but her ring is much smaller, so it wasn't too big an imposition."

I just sighed, nodding as I drew my own wand, readying for combat. Stopping at the corner, I called to my necromancy, creating a flat surface at the end of a long tentacle. I opened a circle on the surface, then snuck it around the corner near foot level to get a glimpse.

This was an interesting new application of my portals I hadn't considered until Seras mentioned drones. I could theoretically just open a circle in the air to see through, but that lacked versatility and mobility. We got a good look at all the vampires, seeing them huddled around a figure standing in front of a huge set of double doors."

"Baedan!" Hissed the hooded figure, and a swirl of black leapt from its outstretched wand, climbing up the door. The metal began to warp and crack, the doors decaying, and I saw that they were already heaving damaged. The last spell caused several mostly faded sigils to explode in bright pink sparks before the door collapsed to the ground in pieces.

Before the vampires or the robed figure could move, and explosion of white flame came rolling out of the room the doors led to. With a hiss, the figure (which I saw was wearing gloves and a creepy black mask) flicked its wand and a dome of darkness intercepted the wave, the two forces clashing. The flame sputtered out, but it drove the figure back, scoring the ground as the shield was pushed away.

From within the doorway, a man emerged. He was small, wearing burlap robes, with glarled pale features and beady red eyes. His face looked like melted candle wax, but his stare was clear and cold. "Who are you?" He asked calmly. "Who seeks to enter my home?"

I felt a shiver run through me at the voice, something in it calling to mind the growl of a hungry lion, despite being surprisingly high and light. From behind him emerged several beautiful women, all wearing togas of all things, and brandishing wands. Phantomas, then, and his Veela attendants. Looks like we'd arrived just in time.

January 13th, 2012, Catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, Paris, France, 9:30 PM BST

I was pretty intimidated by the shockingly ugly vampire, but Voldemort seemed unfazed. "Phantomas." Came that familiar snide voice. "How kind of you to come and greet us. Perhaps you'd like to surrender and save me the trouble of subduing you?"

Phantomas snorted. "You, subdue me? You overestimate yourself, necromancer. A few lab experiments and you think you're a match for the master of this city? And even if you were, I'm hardly alone myself." His eyes flicked to the Veela around him. "Do you like his chances, my darlings?"

The gorgeous women were all staring unblinkingly at the opposing batvamps. Their eyes glowed in a suspiciously familiar shade of red. "Ghouls." I said, after making sure we were covered under a silencing charm. The Veela are all ghouls. Just like those fucking eels, though I'm betting they're way more dangerous."

Skulduggery hummed contemplatively. "Interesting. I was under the impression humanoid ghouls were nothing more than animalistic killing machines. Perhaps their Veela nature shielded them from the effects."

"I had no idea." Fleur said when I glanced at her. "Aunt Iris never mentioned such a change. What should we do? Let them fight? It seems as if Phantomas is prepared."

I shook my head. "No. Voldemort is a paranoid psycho. He never does anything without being sure he'll survive it. I don't know what happens to his wraith if he loses another body, but it can't be good. In fact, I'm not sure how the hell he even got this one. Maybe he used the Horcrux to assert control? It would explain why he went to Chastel."

Voldemort wasn't the kind of guy to do things for a single reason when he could do them for two. I glanced at Skulduggery. "You're the most experienced necromancer here. Do you think he could have used the Horcrux to more solidly capture a new body?"

"Research was never my area of expertise." The skeleton detective admitted. "I was more about overwhelming force. The theory is sound, however."

I considered the ring inside my pouch. I didn't know enough about Horcruxes. I needed to figure out a way to destroy them. Then I blinked. THe black flame. The one Bermuda had used. It burned souls. It hadn't worked on me, but it should work fine on the Horcruxes. More than that, it should ONLY burn the soul, not setting off any defenses on the items, which we were almost sure would be a factor.

Sadly that meant MORE magic training to add to my schedule, assuming I could even find someone to teach me. Then again, I had actually "suffered" the Brulee Noire myself, so maybe I could recreate it.

"Can we help them?" Fleur said pleadingly after I'd gone silent. The two sides were at a standoff, but it looked ready to break out into violence at any moment.

I reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "We will. Don't worry. But we need to wait. Voldemort is too calm. He's got some kind of trump card, I'm sure of it. We need to wait until they're in danger, or until Phantomas forces it out. I know it sucks, but we don't attack until we know we can take them down."

She didn't seem happy, but I could tell she understood. This fight was WAY out of our weight class. We needed to approach it carefully.

"Enough posturing!" Spat Phantomas, cutting off Voldemort's incredibly verbose self aggrandizing monologue (that guy fucking LOVED the sound of his own voice). "Darlings. Destroy them."

The Veela hissed, feathers erupting as they flashed forward almost too fast for me to track. The batvamps flew out to meet them, and as they did, Phantomas, raised his hands, and the walls exploded, a horde of small animals rolling over and past the fight to attack Voldemort. Thousands of rats, snakes, and even some honey badgers hurled themselves mindlessly at the lich.

Voldemort's wand appeared in his hand like fucking teleportation magic, and he started hissing incantations too quickly for me to understand, chaining together spells as he wove patterns in the air.

Whoever this body was, he was way more powerful than Quirrel, or Voldemort had figured out some new tricks in his research, because he had absolutely not been this strong during our last fight. Spells whipped out, tearing apart the animals, transforming some into horrible abominations, making some explode.

To my shock, it wasn't enough. Phantomas's forces were endless, and for each converted monster a hundred fell on it ravenously to tear it apart, while the explosions were swallowed by the beastly tide.

Phantomas, meanwhile, vanished into the horde, somehow melting into his animal army like a shark beneath the waves, emerging behind the lich to try to tear him apart.

There was an explosion of green flame, and I flinched as Voldemort cocooned himself in fiendfyre. Cursing, I stepped out of concealment, throwing all my will into my wand as I roared. "Aqua Eructo!"
A column of water the size of a fucking wheelbarrow smashed into the flames before they could spread too far. Vampires didn't have much of a counter for fire, especially magic all consuming fire. Aqua Eructo was a direct counter for Fiendfyre, especially the way I cast it. My immense intent made my spells unusually durable, and I was able to pump out magic at a fast enough rate to counter the flames.

In the split second before I acted, the flames consumed fully HALF of the beastly horde, but once I cast, it became a me vs. Voldemort battle of wills, and I refused to back down.

From within the cocoon, Voldemort's voice screamed. "YOU!" THe flames redoubled in power, and I had to dig in my heels to push it back. "Release the seals!" He shrieked.

The batvamps howled , and the previously one sided beatings they'd been taking reversed as they all flexed their claws and started throwing fucking pressure bursts. I recognized exactly what that was. Elemental sorcery.

Voldemort had been trying to unlock his own sorcerous powers without a true name, and clearly he'd made some progress. The batvamps were fully unleashed elementals now, and the combination with their absurd bodily power was…rough. The Veela ghouls were hurling flames at the monsters, but the air pressure either put them out of exploded on contact, and it was filling the cavern with smoke and debris.

"ENOUGH!" Bellowed Phantomas from where he stood across the room. I caught sight of him standing next to an empty wall, and he slashed his palm, letting blood flow freely. Smacking it on the stone, he drew a line, and there was a rumble as the wall began to descend.

I pushed as hard as I could, crushing the Aqua Eructo down on the Fiendfyre, trying to smother the magic as I felt Voldemort's attention slip. "No!" He screeched. "Fools! The vampire! Destroy the vampire before he dooms us all!" I felt him flex his will and had to brace to prevent him from breaking the connection.

Voldemort was stronger than I was, or at least, about AS strong and MUCH more skilled. Even after the training, a straight fight wouldn't be in my favor. Add in my girls (who were even now helping tear the batvamps off the Veela) and we might manage, but it would be rough.

Unfortunately for him though, Voldemort was the one thing I had counted on him being. Lazy. He knew uncountable dark spells of ancient and terrifying origin, but when we first met, he defaulted to the killing curse. Similarly, besieged by an army, the bastard used the biggest, most damaging army breaker spell he had.

I was trained and skilled in the perfect counter to Fiendfyre, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and I'll melt your fucking face off. The spell was expensive, powerful, and resistant to control. As long as it was active, he had to pour all his focus into it and couldn't do anything else, and as long as I was pouring down a water hammer on his head, he HAD to keep it active.
Which was why he couldn't counter the additional forces attacking his troops, or try to precent Phantomas from unleashing HIS trump card, which was, of all things, a fully grown ghouled Cerberus.

This thing was beefy as fuck. It was to the Hogwarts puppy what goldfish are to great whites. I was glad we were in a giant cavern, because there was no way this thing would have fit otherwise. The Veela must have used a space expansion charm, actually, because the ceiling of this place was higher than the ground would be outside the catacombs.

The colossal canine snarled, heads snapping left and right, gulping down batvamps like a hungry hungry hippo. The creature was monstrous, not just huge, but corded with muscle and covered in scars, with hellish bright red eyes. Those eels had been nothing compared to this beast, and I almost felt bad for Voldemort. Then I remembered who I was talking about and decided he could go die.

When the last of the batvamps were dead, Phantomas leapt up onto the back of the Cerberus, riding it around to where I was holding down Voldemort. "Mr. Black, I take it." He said in a surprisingly cultured voice for someone who had been screaming like a rage monster a minute ago. "It seems our meeting will take place after all. What might I help you with?"

I grunted in amusement. "Was going to ask for help finding that asshole." I nodded at the bank of steam containing the lich. "Seems like I might have it handled."

"Indeed." He said with a twitch of his lips. "What can I do to help with your disposal of our mutual enemy? I suspect after this I'll owe you a favor, rather than the other way around." The Cerberus growled at me and he gave it a reproachful look. "Be good, Gaius." Its heads drooped sulkily, but it stopped growling.

I considered the situation. "I can break through his spell. It'll throw him off balance for a second. Can you have your Veela flash fry him when it drops?"

"It would be my pleasure." He said with a sharklike grin. Literally. Dude had way too many teeth.

Exhaling slowly, I focused on my power, gathering all my mental energy and my intent for one final surge. Keeping this output was rough, but it hadn't drained me even a third of the way. With a mighty heave of will, I smashed the other two thirds of my power into my spell, smashging the cocoon of Fiendfyre and sending a wave of acidic heavy water (I'd changed the PH with my last push) surging into Voldemort.

He screamed, sending a series of spells out to intercept, his shield actually managing to throttle my attack, which melted a hole in the ground as it splashed down…but unfortunately for old Voldy, he was paying too much attention to the unstoppable me, and not enough to the blood drinking bombshells lighting up their hands around him.

A dozen columns of Veela fire crashed into the bastard, Phantomas having somehow communicated the plan to them without speaking as they burned him down with volleys of flame. He screamed in pain and rage, and the robes burned away, exposing a body I didn't recognize for a second before it turned to ash. A surge of darkness shot up towards the ceiling as it did.

I sent a couple of cutting curses with soul damage intent up after him, but they passed right through, apparently there were limits to things like that. I sighed in frustration, but I considered the ring and decided to call it a win.

Turning to Phantomas, I shot him a cheerful grin. "Now. Since the subject of my visit has been taken care of, why don't we have something to drink and get to know each other. I'll be honest, I do have a few questions." The french vampire laughed, and then gestured me and my girls through the destroyed door. I accepted, of course. I was riding high on driving Voldemort out of town. Now I just had to talk to Daphne and figure out how to use this newest feat to my advantage.

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