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                They

exited the grounds of the chateau, but not without many curious looks from the

visitors. It wasn't that any single thing about the group stood out, it was all

in the combination; an old bearded man in period costume, a middle aged man and

young girl dressed in modern designer clothing, and two rather impressive

looking dogs. It wasn't the circus, but it was outré enough to be eye catching.

                Leonardo

stopped and looked up and down the streets. While the town was old, many of the

existing buildings weren't five hundred years old. Some had been destroyed in

two wars, and many from Leonardo's time long ago rotted and new ones put in

their place.

                His

quick eyes caught sight of the lines of automobiles. He made a beeline for

them. "These are remarkable! How do they work?"

                Maggie

teased him before answering. "How do you know what they're for?"

                "Young

lady, they have wheels, albeit strange ones. Metal and..." he kicked at one,

"some strange black substance." He looked to Edward. "Enhanced tar?"

                "Something

we call rubber."

                "Rub-ber?

There is some much I will need to catch up on!"

                Maggie

tugged his sleeve. "You'll need to see the internet!"

                "Inter-net?

A net in between what exactly?"

                "The

whole planet!"

                "I see.

So you have advanced to the point that the whole of the earth is connected.

That is incredible. How big is the earth? I had heard tales of one of my

countryman sailing east to make his way across to find a better trade route.

Everyone said he'd fall off the world. I thought it nonsense at the time, but

people tend to be gullible by nature."

                "It's

huge, but nothing compared to the universe."

                He

stopped and tugged his beard. "Universe? Yes, I have missed much. I will have

to spare some time to look into all these things. But I digress. Which of these

self propelled carts is yours?"

                Edward

showed him the old Alpha. He walked around it without commenting for a few

moments. That he looked up. "I find it rather pleasing to look at. But is it

not rather small for five bodies?"

"I wasn't expecting to have a troop

to haul around. I got it because we needed a means of travel for me and Maggie.

The twins here were an unexpected bonus. And now there's you as well. We didn't

come here expecting to find you alive you know."

"I suppose then, under the

circumstances, you may be excused. But if you didn't think I was still alive,

why did you bother coming? Seriously now, why?"

Maggie spoke up. "Because I wanted

to come. We are from far away, and after learning about there being more rings,

I thought that maybe there would be a hint somewhere at your tomb."

"A hint at my tomb? Why would I do

that? Because my tomb would be the only part of my legacy people would still

have to remember me by?"

"No, I guess not. A lot of your

works are still around today." Then she stopped. "Hey, we found you didn't we?"

He smiled. "Yes you did. But I am

now left to wonder what the point of your discovery of my preservation chamber

was. I don't see there being any great need for my services. It seems your

present world has more to offer you than I do."

"But you're Leonardo da Vinci!"

"And you are Maggie Peterson. Never

shortchange yourself young lady. It's the worst mistake you can make. After

all, I am the bastard son of a peasant woman!"

She actually blushed. "I guess so.

What we really need to know is about the rings. Why were they made? And who

were they made for?"

"Child, I think that we will need

to find a better place to discuss this. Since your vehicle seems to be rather

small for so many, might I suggest we find some alternate means of locomotion?"

Edward was feeling embarrassed. He

really should have bought something more practical; but how was he to know?"

"I can sell this one and buy

something larger."

"I see up and down the line here

that there are more practical devices than yours. But I think I can help now,

rather than waiting for you to barter yours for a bigger one. Follow me."

Before they took off after him, Edward popped the trunk and they took what they

had left to their names and then locked the car back up. Edward gave a sigh as

they left it behind. "It was nice knowing ya!" he called back to it.

An old bearded man, a young man, a

girl and two wolf-like dogs made their way down along the river. After a while

Leonardo stopped and surveyed the area. "Damn. The landscape has changed a lot

since my time. I don't suppose you two would be so kind as to lend me your

rings?"

Since they were on their fingers at

the moment, it wasn't a problem. They handed them over. He slipped them on the

same hand as his and waved it around a little. He seemed to home in on

something and began tearing away brush and dirt. A few feet down he found a

brass ring, about the size of a small wheel. He pulled it outwards and twisted

it clockwise. There was a clang. Then the dirt started to move. The river wall

gave way as doors opened up.

Maggie tugged in his slightly dirty

tunic. "What is this?"

"My boat. I never got an

opportunity to get it into the water, and the king said I had to hide it lest

it fall into enemy hands."

The doors creaked open and stopped.

The master stepped in and with a werewolf roar pushed out his boat. It was big

enough for six or seven people. It had a series of paddles on both sides, and a

crank and gear assembly in the middle.  And

remarkably, it appeared to be in the same condition as when he had hidden it

away. Of course, the gaping hole in the ground hiding the secret room was going

to be noticed, but there was nothing that could be done for that now.

Before he gave it one last heave,

he hollered at them to get aboard. They did, and with their weight in the

front, it overbalanced and slid down the embankment into the River Loire. The

master jumped in the stern and settled on a bench. The current caught the craft

and set it in motion down the river. He grabbed the rudder and steered it

around the bridge abutments.

"If you're in a rush, then I

suggest we take turns operating the device which runs it. Otherwise, I think we

can allow the river the take us at its leisure."

Everyone agreed that the speed they

were going was fine.

"There will be another town down

the river where we can get out and perhaps you can find another one of your

auto-mobile devices that will fit all of us. I am most fascinated by the

concept of a self propelled cart. In the meantime, I would suggest we get better

acquainted. And that goes for you two as well." He was talking to the twins.

Edward got outfits for them as best

he was able from their luggage, and soon Emile and Corinne were dressed. It

wasn't a great fit, but they were clothed. Leonardo handed the rings back. "Why

are you really here?" This was directed to Edward.

"We told you. There was this guy,

this Cardinal Medici, who was in control of a bunch of werewolf hunters. He was

looking for the rings. I had mine from home, and somehow one of the hunters

found out about it. We got Maggie's from his storeroom, along with the empty

box you managed to get open . All we really wanted to do was to make our life

safe again."

"Yes, yes. You alluded to some of

this earlier. That's what took you to Rome. But why here, to Amboise? I find it

unlikely that you would come just to seek out my grave. If you were expecting a

dead man, what would you have possibly gained from it?"

Maggie answered a bit sharply. "I

wanted to see where you were buried. And Like I said before, I thought that

maybe I could find a clue about the rings!"

"Yes, the rings. It always seems to

come down to the rings."

"I beg your pardon," asked Edward.

"The rings. From the beginning they

have been as much a bane as they have been a boon. And to think I pulled

Lorenzo Ghiberti out of his retirement in Grecia to help me to create them."

No one knew who he was talking

about, but they politely deferred asking him at the moment. It probably didn't

matter who the man was anyway. Just some long dead metal smith.

"The Baetylus had been damaged. I

hope you know a little bit about it. It was nothing to be worshiped, and yet it

was. Those who knew its true power refused to give that information away, not

that I think it would have mattered. It was only to the kind that it would

provide healing, among other things. The Medici's got their hands on fragments

of it, after the stone was damaged. They, like me, had the blood of the kind

running through their veins. And they wanted a ring created from the stone

pieces, to provide them with a means of defense against opposing forces."

"Only one ring?"

"Yes child, only one. But I didn't

feel right crafting only one. So I acquired the entire mass of the rock. After

it went missing, I created the story that it was buried for safe keeping. Let

them look for it in vain was my thought. In the end, we were able to create ten

rings. Many snapped and shattered during the process. Whatever metals were in

that stone, they did not like being handled roughly. This was no gold or silver

(here he shuddered) to be worked with a hammer and die. This stuff took great

heat to melt, and great time. A week of continuous stoking was required before

the rock melted.  Then, once it melted,

we could not get it to cool down again. Obstinate stuff!"

"However, that did make

experimenting with it easier. In the end, we poured some of it into a tubular

mold. It took two days to solidify, and the day after we were able to slide the

form out. It took days to cut the rings apart from the whole. Several broke,

but we ended up with ten. I gave one, in the box I specially designed for it to

the Medici's.  One I kept for myself, one

I gave to Lorenzo, with a box just for him, and that left seven. I crafted

boxes for each one depending on whom their recipients were and distributed them

quietly."

"What would happen if someone wore

all the rings at once?"

"Nothing. Leastwise, nothing

spectacular. As you know, the ring protects against silver and other harmful

agents. It also enhances the mind of the one wearing it, as long as they are of

the kind. It also seems to enhance the transformation process. I never played

around too much with it. To be honest, I never transformed that much. There was

rarely a chance to kick back and enjoy a good romp."

"why did you were the three rings

back there?"

"Because the more metal there is,

the more I can sense things I am looking for. Don't ask me to explain it. It

just is."

"But what about eating people?"

"What?" The master looked genuinely

alarmed. "Who does such a thing?"

"We do. I do. Well, used to. I

couldn't eat regular food before the ring."

"Dear me. That is awful. I know

that several members of the kind did kill, but never as a source of food." He

was speaking in French, allowing the two without rings to understand him, as

well as the twins. At times he would translate what the others were saying.

Emile had been sitting quietly, in

awe of the presence of the great man. "Sir, what they say is true. Meat such as

lamb and pork do not agree with use. Eating normal food would be such a great

thing. We would love to have a ring for ourselves, even to share!" Corinne

nodded shyly, agreeing with her brother.

Leonardo patted his own ring. "We

know of three my young wards. I would gladly give you mine, but for the moment

I believe it behooves me to keep it on my person. We have a box that may

contain a ring, but opening it may prove problematic. So I guess for now, when

it comes time to eat, I shall share with you. I don't wish to be party to

murder, even if it might be for the good of the kind."

He turned to Maggie and Edward.

"How long has this been a problem; the eating of the flesh? In my day, there

was no such problem."

They both shrugged simultaneously.

"We don't know. Neither of us had any information until recently, and the only

source, the Taborum, never mentioned it."

"Then the book is pointless.

Information is power. If there was some point in time where the kind became

infected with something, it would have helped to have it documented."

"Infected?"

"Is that so thought provoking?

Disease in my day was rampant. I studied the body to better understand both how

it worked and how it might be treated. I was no doctor, but then again, once I

had the ring, I needed no doctor. "

Maggie made a sound like a snort.

"Yeah. About that. I thought you died."

"You were supposed to. The world

was meant to mourn me and forget. What sort of story did they tell?"

"That you died with you head in the

king's lap."

"That's a good story. Simple,

poignant, and totally fabricated."

"What really happened?"

"Oh, I was getting old, in my own

way, and I wanted to call it quits. While I still had life left in me, I

devised my cooling apparatus using some of the metal left over from making the

rings. It has many properties I did not have time to fully come to appreciate,

I'm sure. Metal from outside to confines of Earth! Who knows what value it

has?" He sighed.

"But as I was saying, I was feeling

old and much put upon. Everyone wanting this or that created. Even my friend

the king was badgering me for technical toys. A lion! He wanted a mechanical

walking lion! I told him to get one from a menagerie. He didn't take kindly to

my jest."

Edward cut in. "Is that what we saw

in your workshop?"

"Yes, I was working on it. It just

seemed to be below me to manufacture toys. So I made my chamber. And I made it

so that no one could get it open without a few of the rings. I didn't want just

any fools waking me up. I figured a hundred years or so might pass. But I guess

my message was never read."

"Message?"

"Yes, in my journals. I guess

that's the problem with writing backwards and in code. No one is smart enough

to figure it out. And then you four come across me entirely by accident. Even

if you had purpose to your discovery, I was not what you were expecting to

find. So now I am at a loss as to what I will do with my remaining years. I

don't think that a man a half millennia out of date will be of much use to

anyone."

Maggie stood up, rocking the boat.

"Now who's talking nonsense? I have hours worth of questions to ask you. And

there is a lot you can tell us that has apparently been lost to the ages. So do

us the favor of stifling your self-degradation. You are still one of the most

famous men..."

He coughed. "The kind, please."

"Fine. One of the smartest of the

kind to have ever lived. So clam up on the negativity!"

"Clam up?" He looked at her before

laughing. "Your words and mannerism amuse me. Yes, I believe you are correct

regardless of how you state it. I will travel with you and advise you as you

best need it. So where are you off to next?"

Edward looked at Maggie. "Are you

still going to try it?"

"I don't know. It seems like we can

have a lot of information here in front of us. Running off to Russia now seems

stupid."

Leonardo knit his bushy brows.

"Russia?"

Edward was stuck. How could he

explain Russia? It was a modern name, he was sure, and the whole concept of

communism and Stalin and Lenin, was going to be beyond his ability to explain. Even

things like the tsar and Bolsheviks would take a book to comprehend. And that

was about all he knew about Russian history.

Maggie smiled. "Maybe you knew of

it as Kievan

Rus?"

"Oh ho! The land of the Mongols! I

never did get to meet any of the kind from there. It was said they had powers

we did not. I would love to meet one of them, if they still exist in this

time."

Maggie did a little bow. "Then you have

met one I guess, though I was born outside of that place. I have it on good

authority that my ancestors came from there."

He returned her bow, rocking the boat

even more. "Then I am all the more please to make your acquaintance young

lady."

After that, they fell to talking about

other things. Eventually, Edward took the hand crank, and summoning his

strength, if not his form, he propelled them down the river until they got to

Tours. There, they docked the boat, amid many stares, and found a hotel with

suitable accommodations. After that, it was the matter of getting some food and

some rest. Things were only looking weirder for their future, and Edward wanted

to rest up before it did.