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         They group got two suites that were

connected. The plan was to have the males in one room and the girls in the

other. That was the plan. Edward's plan at least. Funny how life happenes.

Maggie was full of questions for the

master, and he in turn was curious too, but he was also tired. Apparently being

frozen for a few centuries didn't constitute proper rest.  Edward too felt the need to rest. He knew he

could call on his inner ability to drive it away, but for some reason he didn't

feel like bothering. Sometimes it was just good to be unconscious and not

thinking too much.

He handed his ring over to Corinne so

that Maggie and the twins could carry on a conversation. Corrine handed it

back. Maggie smiled. "We'll just turn into our feral selves and talk. No need

for a ring for that, now is there?"

"No, I guess not. Have fun and don't

stay up too late."

He crawled under the covers and went to

sleep. Come morning he walked into the adjoining room to find three wolves

curled up next to each other, still snoozing peacefully. He fingered his ring

and transformed to his most compatible form. His nose caught their scents,

including Corinne's. He had noticed it before, and it was filling his nose

again.

It made him wonder. Verona had taken

decades to get into heat. Corrine was not nearly so old. Why was she approaching

it already? He was going to have to ask Leonardo why there was some much

disparity in their forms and abilities.

He purposely stuck his nose in

Maggie's crotch and inhaled deeply. When she didn't move, he got his tongue out

and licked. One eye opened up. "I'm sleepy. Go away."

"I was only being a pest, but since

when would you turn down an offer of sex?"

"When we have guests. I was also up

late talking. Maybe later."

He laughed internally and

transformed again, heading to the shower. He was happily scrubbing up when he

heard someone enter. "Mags?"

The male voice was not hers by any

degree. "Sorry no. It's just me." It was the master.

"Uh; oh. Hi."

"Hello to you as well. I see you have

a device for cleaning yourself. Hot running water. Better than the Romans had

it! And better than we had it. I devised a tub that had a fire under it, much

like the Roman bathes, but the foolish boy who was in my household used to over

stoke the damn thing. I finally moved him to the kitchen staff since he seemed

to be interested in stewing meat rather than pleasing it."

Edward coughed a little. He had a

question sitting on his tongue and didn't know how to broach it. But since Leonardo

seemed to be willing to answer questions, he decided to go for it.

"Leonardo?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly my boy. Knowledge is

best spread by asking for the information you seek."

"There has been a debate over the

years about your, uhhhh, sexual preferences."

"Really. Why should anyone care? I

invented machines, I painted and I sculpted, and all people wonder is what I

did in bed?"

"Well, it's not the only thing. It's

just that people wondered, since you didn't leave any children behind."

"Edward, it's hard to sire children

when you are stricken with the disease that withers your plums in their sack.

If it had happened after my transformation, perhaps I would have been able to

reverse it. But being one of the kind isn't a cure-all for the problems that befall

you in life. And leaning on it like it's a crutch will not get you where you

want to go. Only in being true to yourself will you achieve that."

"I get that. But you didn't answer

my question."

"You call that a question?" He

sighed. "I was partial to neither sex, and willing to enjoy both. Does that

surprise you?"

"Uhm, I guess not. It's just with

the church's teachings and all..."

"Teachings? What about practice?

You'd never find me castrating choir boys so that they would keep their sweet

voices, and then using them for my pleasure at night. Shall I tell you the

stories surrounding the cardinals and the clerics?"

"No, that's ok. But if you have

time, you might want to write a book on it. It'll probably become a best

seller."

"Might I ask you a question in return?"

Edward felt a chill down his spine.

"Sure."

"Why do you care about what someone

does in the company of another willing person?"

"I don't."

"But of course you do. You asked.

Do you think I am such an old fool that I don't recognize a couple when I see

them?"

"Couple?"

"You and the girl. I know love when

I see it. She's far above you Edward, for all her youth. You will have to watch

that one. Never give her reason to hate you, because she has power. If she ever

discovers how much she has, she will be dangerous. And it is power like that my

friend, which made Pope Alexander cautious. If her heredity goes back to the

land she claims it is derived from, then she comes from a branch of the kind

that is more feral and wild than anything you can understand."

"I don't know. My own past is

littered with some pretty colorful characters. Things that happened after you

went underground."

"Yes. I need to catch up on all

that has happened since my interment. I would like to see this inter-net thing

she spoke of."

"Can I finish my shower?"

"Oh, of course. By all means. I originally

came in to relieve myself. This toi-let system is incredible. And no lingering

smell. Find a religious man who can pray it away and I'll give you three gold

coins!"

Edward finished, and then

instructed Leonardo how to use the water control. He was in there a good half

hour before he stepped out, hair and beard sill dripping, a fluffy towel

wrapped around his waist. He looked comical.

"That was most enjoyable. I could

stand under that all day. But we have things to do, you and I. Show me this

inter-net."

Edward set him down in front of the

computer the hotel furnished with their room. Leonardo watched Edward as he navigated

through several internet sites. He caught on quickly.

"Ok. So this key-board allows one

to type words. And this small oval device moves the arrow under the glass

plate. Very ingenious. It is helpful that it is in French. Reading other

languages does not work with the ring. That is a skill you must learn on your

own. There are terms here I do not understand, but I think I will get the idea

with practice."

Edward went to the other room and

called room service, calling up for food for five.  It was over an hour later before it arrived,

being pushed in on four carts. He had pots of coffee, breads, meats, pastries,

and even two bottles of wine. Add to that the fruits and vegetables and it was

veritable medieval feast.

He went to wake everyone up, and

was rather shocked to see everyone in a state of undress. "Is this advisable?"

Maggie shushed him. "Leo says that

there is nothing wrong with the body that it must be covered up like a bad

piece of art."

The master was still typing away on

the computer, and Maggie was directing him here and there, as he searched fro

information. Edward couldn't help but tease him.

"So did you look yourself up?"

"Son, why would I do that? I

already know about myself and my life. If some biographer or historian got it

wrong, who am I to worry? I'm dead, remember?"

He had a point.

They broke things off and ate; naked.

Edward was fully dressed and he wasn't about to strip back down again. He was

still modest, and even if he was presently outvoted, he was still going to maintain

a certain degree of decorum. But he couldn't help but keep his eye on the

twins. Corinne was a fine looking girl, with excellent firm breasts and a very

nice backside.

Her brother, when looked at with a dispassionate

eye, was an equal to her in many ways. Edward shook his head, trying to remove

where his thoughts were going. Leo might have been bisexual, but that didn't mean

everyone was; or had to be. Still...

Maggie spoke up and broke his train

of thought. "I don't think we can all go to Russia. We don't have passports,

even if we get a car that can hold all of us. We certainly aren't going to get

there in that boat, no matter how cool it is. So I think we'll need to

concentrate on what we're going to do with Leo and the twins."

The master spoke around a mouth

full of food. He was enjoying the new things he had never been able to experience

in his own time, like bananas and tomatoes.  "Do with me? What makes you think I need your

help?"

"Because you're out of place?"

"My dear girl," he exclaimed as he

wiped his chin, "I am not out of place; I am out of time. If you think I am so

obtuse that I cannot fit into your century, then you know very little of me. I

have a feeling that a haircut and a trim of my beard and I'll look like any

other old man. A few new clothes and I'll be indistinguishable from any other

human, even if my height is less than typical."

It was arranged that Edward and Maggie

would go do some clothes shopping again. When they returned, they had a few

pairs of pants for the master, who was mildly amused by them. "I am not used to

something so confining, but I will make it work." A crisp white shirt and a

jacket over that and he looked pretty sharp. A trip to the barber brought his

considerable hair and whiskers down to an acceptable level. He cut quite the

sharp figure.

The twins were presented with stylish

outfits, and they both pounced on Edward in thanks for their new freedom. They

no longer had to pretend to be mere dogs. Of course, Corinne whispered in his

ear (thanks to Maggie's ring) that if he wanted to lead her around on a leash,

she'd be more than glad to follow. He got her insinuation right away, and was

troubling when he considered taking her up on it. He blamed it on the proximity

of her body and her smell, which seemed to be coming off her human form now,

nearly as strongly as her feral form. This was not going to bode well in the

future if they maintained close contact. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and

gently pushed her away.

Maggie gave him a wink. That made

it worse. He didn't need to have someone pushing him into these situations.

Even if he did bed her, what would the outcome be? Another child? And then what?

He would, in all good conscience, have to take her back to the states. And then

probably her brother too. And like Mags said, what of Leonardo?"

In his agitation, he began

sprouting hair. The master commented on it. "Edward, my son, what troubles you

so?"

His fist slammed down on the cart, disrupting

their eating and sending utensils flying. "This is all too much. It was bad

enough finding Maggie and learning that she was a werewolf. But then I found

out I was one too. And then this damn magic ring. And now you, and the twins,

and everything!"

"I fail to see any difficulty in

your concerns outside of the fact that the rings are not magic."

Edward was thrown off. "What?" The

hair receded.

"Son, you are as bad as the fools

from my time who thought a perfromer's slight of hand was magical. Religion is

based off of the concept. Turning bread and wine into flesh and blood? No, the rings'

power is scientific and therefore quantifiable."

"No magic?"

"No magic. However they do what they

do, they do it in a way that can be explained. Just because I did not have the

means of figuring it out, doesn't mean there is no logical explanation. Take

your inter-net for example. Can you explain to me how a system of machines

circumventing the earth works? I mean, how does one machine find another machine?

There has to be hundreds of them strung around the globe."

Maggie giggled. "More like

millions."

"Millions? Good lord. That makes it

even more incredible. But do you call it magic?"

"No. I guess not."

"Right. So if you have no present destination,

then I think we can stay here for a few days. I feel the need to continue to

catch up on all of the things I have missed. Maggie here has shown me a place

where all of the inventions of your land are gather together in one place. It

is in your language so I can't read the descriptions, but I think I can figure

out the drawings." He turned and was immediately glued to the screen.

Edward looked at Maggie. "What site

did you link him to?"

"The United States Patent Office.

It seemed like a place he might like. I think it's as interesting to him as porn

is to most other old guys. I think he'll be entertained for the next week, if

we let him. Which means you have me and Corinne and Emile to entertain. And

yes, I did over hear Leo when you two were in the bathroom. I can guarantee you

that everyone here is willing."

She raised an eyebrow. Corinne and

Emile smiled shyly.