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                Her

dress spilt into its component pieces as Maggie morphed into the deadliest

thing her psyche could come up with. She raced to the man grasping the sword,

who let go of it, leaving it behind as the impaled man dropped to the ground.

In the hands of this attacker sprung forth two daggers. His black cloak slipped

aside, revealing the highly polished armor underneath.

                Maggie

was blinded by rage, but she still had her uncanny senses. She figured that

silver was involved, and while in mid leap, she tucked and rolled to land on

the other side of him. Her nose came away with a scent she had hoped not to

encounter again. Cardinal Medici.

                "Hello

little bitch. I suppose you thought you were so smart, revealing my league to

the pope. It hardly matters. We haven't found another ring for decades before

Bernard found you and yours. It seems to me that I have been wasting my time

sitting down in my safe little chambers waiting for something to happen. So I

thank you for ridding me of my slothfulness."

                Maggie

was too angry to speak. The rage was building inside her second by second. She

was no fool, however, and she knew quite well she was no match for his armor

and weapons. He might look old, but she instinctively knew that he was

dangerous. And she could also see a ring on his finger. It was obviously why he

could wear the silver armor.

                She

took to pacing around him, moving ever faster. With each circuit she grew

smaller, allowing her to be more mobile and agile. Her pace quickened until she

could tell he was dizzy from trying to keep his back from being exposed. She

suddenly slammed on the brakes and leaped at his head, raking his face with her

claws.

                He

screeched. "You little bitch!" But within seconds his face was healing.

                "I will

kill you painfully for that indignity. Once I have your ring, I'll fill you

full of silver and watch you burn!"

                She

spread her front paws. "I have on no ring you sniveling little boy-banger. If

you're going to make a threat, have the balls to back it up."

                He

looked carefully and stopped. "No ring? What have you done with the ring? This

man doesn't wear it. And where are my boxes?"

                "Go to

hell you fucking asshole!" she growled back.

                "I very

likely will, in the end. But if I have more of the rings, you little whore,

then I can postpone that day for many, many years. Now tell me where they are

at, or I will kill this putrid man you have the nerve to call your father."

                That

made her pause. Kill him? She looked down. Indeed, if the sword had been

silver, he would have turned into a crisp by now. But he looked very much dead.

As she focused on this body, she sensed no odor of blood in the air. So he was,

at this exact moment, neither dead nor alive, but at least not destroyed. Yet,

without his ring on, he was very much incapacitated. It was probably impossible

to heal with that thing skewering him as it was.

                She

would have to try and lead the cardinal far enough away to dash back and yank

it out. She felt like she could take this guy, but she was wisely assessing the

situation second by second, and she knew that right now, the more help she had on

her side the merrier. She simply had no way of getting their attention right

now.

                That

thought and that thought alone only steeled her resolve. It was her fault in

assuming the cardinal was going to be put out of commission by a mere

bureaucracy. She should never have made such a foolish assumption. He was a

werewolf after all, and quite capable of trailing them wherever they went. It

was quite possible, in fact, that he had only just arrived, coinciding with

their return from downriver. The chances were pretty good he didn't even know

there was help to be had.

                So then

it was going to come down to making a lot of racket. If she could get this

battle heated up and noisy, maybe someone, anyone might give notice. The

problem was, the parking lot was close to the river, and away from the shops.

What could she do to get people to notice?

                Noise.

                She

bulked up a little more and ran straight for the cars. One after another, she

dived onto their hoods, shaking them until the alarms went off. She spared the

poor little Alfa, knowing full well it didn't have one. And if Edward survived,

he might appreciate her gesture.  Soon

the entire lot was blaring and lights blinking, turning it into an impromptu

flash mob.

                The

lights were blazing off of the fortress walls, and the echoing blare of a

multitude of horns provided the cacophony she needed. It was, at present,

enough to at least distract the cardinal with the barrage of sound and light.

To her, this noise was just a rave party.

                Sure

enough, the disturbance attracted attention. Not a single person who arrived could

make out exactly what was going on exactly. From all appearances, there was a

medieval knight locked in battle with a horrific wolf. But everyone knew the

reenacting was over for the day. So why the hell was this going on and why now,

so late in the day?

                That

was when three more wolves appeared from the direction of the city, and people,

leastwise those wise enough, fled back the way they had come. Whatever was

going on, they wanted no part in it. That left a few fools and the perpetually

ignorant remaining on the scene. In this case luck favored the foolish, and

they were granted a sight unlike any ever witnessed for hundreds of years.

                Two of wolves

were nearly identical, but the third newcomer was all gray and much more

massive. His eyes were glowing like smoldering coals, much like Maggie's were

at this exact moment.  He stopped just

short of the cardinal, glancing at the lifeless form of Edward's body. With the

cardinal distracted, Maggie made a swipe to remove the sword, but Leonardo

kicked her away. His voice was like molten iron they way it flowed out of his

mouth.

                "Don't

you dare touch it!"

                In her

heart, her anger knew no bounds at his words, but since it was the master who

bid her to stop, she acquiesced. But he had better have a damn good reason! She

returned her attention to the cardinal.

                He had

dropped his cloak, showing off his armor and weapons. Leonardo sunk his teeth

into Maggie's tail and dragged her back. "Don't get near him. Without a ring you'll

be dead before the moon rises. "  

                She

suffered through his restraint about as well as could be expected. She snapped

at him and turned to pace around the cardinal. The twins took up a similar stance,

carefully keeping their distance and not getting too close to him. They had

little experience with silver, or attacking something that was bigger and more

powerful than they were. But like Maggie, they were very much put out by the

body laying there, impaled by a sword. They had killed before but never out of

anger, or hatred, or spite; they had only ever killed to survive. They were

going to learn that survival took many forms.

                Cardinal

Medici was sizing up his new adversaries. "So you have managed to find some

allies I see. How fortuitous for you. Two of them appear to be nearly as young

and stupid as yourself, and the old one has at least the semblance of wisdom on

his side. Perhaps he could be persuaded to see on the side of reason?" It was a

question directed at the old master.

                "I am

always one to side with reason. What have you to say to me that might convince

me that you are nothing more than a murderous rogue?" asked the master, quite

hotly.

                "I am

Cardinal Antonia Alessandro Medici. I, by right of my family name, claim the

rings that were made by Leonardo da Vinci as my own."

                "Do you

now, upstart? What makes you think you have the claim over any ring but one?"

                "Because

my family commissioned them, that's why!"

                Leonardo

transformed back to his human looking self. His beard and hair had grown back

because of his abrupt transformation. Despite being nude, he still cut a

commanding figure. "The Medici family commissioned one ring. I made ten. Since

you have one on your finger, I see no reason why you would need more."

                "You

act as if...you....know...personally..." The cardinal paused. "You can't possibly be..."

                "I am

who I am, regardless of your weak-minded assessment. And I know that you wear

one ring of ten, and that wearing anymore than that will do you no good. You

can either be satisfied with what you have, or you can persist and risk losing

everything. I have seen greed eat up men greater than you could ever dream of

becoming."

                But the

cardinal was now intensely scrutinizing the old man. "We are in Amboise. That

can be no coincidence. But it is impossible. You died five centuries ago!"

                "I was

merely laid to rest, and I rested for a good long time. I thought that maybe I

was awakened to no good purpose, but I am beginning to see that maybe the fates

have something more in store for me than I was first able to comprehend. Yes, I

am Leonardo, of the village of Vinci. And yes, I am personally acquainted with

the rings because I helped to make them. And when I tell you that you have

rights to only one, I think I know what I am saying."

                The

cardinal let down his guard momentarily. But he was still watching the youngsters

as they paced him, a few yards out. He focused on the old man's hands. He let

out a cry when he saw the ring there. "So you intend to take the rings for

yourself then! I see where the missing ring has gone! You have stolen it!"

                "You

are a fool and no credit to your name. I cannot steal what is already mine. And

if I wanted more, al I would have to do is ask."

                "Ask?

You mean this fool gave you his ring?"

                Leonardo

was getting exasperated. "He did and yet I gave it back. As I did with the

young lady's ring."

                "Wait.

What? Two rings?" He eyes narrowed. "You opened one of my boxes didn't you?"

                Maggie

sat down and did a little dog laugh, with her tongue hanging out. It made him

furious.

                He

whipped around to Leonardo. "You opened the boxes?"

                "I

opened one. It was empty. Of the other boxes, they opened one and the other

cannot be opened except under very special circumstances. I assume your ring

was in the empty one?"

                The

cardinal was absorbing all this as best he could. "No. Mine was...never mind

where mine came from. One box was empty. Then the chance of getting all ten is

nearly impossible."

                "Like I

said, having more than one ring would not really help you."

                Maggie

sensed a lie. But what did it matter, if all the rings weren't able to be found

to be brought together?

                "I do

not believe you old man, even if you do happen to be Leonardo da Vinci. The

family secret says that they will make one of the Kind invincible for

eternity!"

                The

master laughed. "And how would anyone know? No one has ever had all the rings

together long enough to test that hypothesis out. Eternity is a long, long

time.  And no one, not you and not I have

any right living that long."

                The

cardinal began sprouting hairs, where his skin was visible. "Just look at you,

you old fool. Look how long you have lived with only the one!"

                The

master sighed. "I survived this long because of my inventive foolishness. I

extended my life without actually living it. Being frozen in time doesn't

constitute living, my overzealous friend."

                "Regardless

of your method, I have to assume that you did it with the use of a ring."

                "In

part, yes. But not in its entirety. Part of it was how I put my mind to use.

There is much to be said for creativity."

                "Bah! I

crave power and longevity, not creativity. What use is that?"

                Maggie

stopped and stared at him, with a look of near pity in her eyes. "The master is

remembered to this day for being the most creative person ever. Few today can

compare to his brilliance. No one ever says, what a power mad fiend he was."

                "Shut

up girl. You are nothing but a syphilitic blight on the face of this planet!"

                Her

pity dissolved into the ether. "I will be a blight on your life, what little of

it you have left."

                This

whole time she had been sizing him up. She had also been quietly warning the

twins to stay back. While she was younger than they were, she was also a little

more hardened to field combat. After telling them to keep their distance, she

resumed her position near the cardinal. He hadn't missed her return, keeping

his focus between her and the old man.

                He knew

which of the two was more dangerous.

                "I will

have my rings! If I must kill you all, then so be it! I have killed for less

reason than the lofty goal of obtaining my ultimate dream, so killing you will

be no crime, as I see it."

                Maggie ran

circles around him again, avoiding running into the master as she dashed faster

and faster. Then, like before, she stopped and his time darted forward, not

high, but low. Leonardo tried to yell for her to stop, but he was too late. A

dagger came down and slammed into her shoulder. Her momentum carried her a few

yards away, where she came to a stop.

                But she

wasn't down. Her arm twisted around unnaturally as she reached for the dagger.

She drew it out and licked the blade before throwing the knife over the wall.

She geared up for another pass. Again, the cardinal stabbed at her, and it seemed

that she wasn't as fast this time around. The other dagger sunk into her other

shoulder. She rolled to a stop a few feet away and was motionless.

                That

left the twins, who were still wisely lurking back in the dark, and Leonardo

who was trying desperately to defuse the situation. He knew more about the crux

of this situation, including details on the weapons and armor being worn by

this man calling himself Medici. With Edward down, and now Maggie, Leonardo's

only defense lay in his ring. And in his words.

                "My friend,

this is pointless! Having all the rings is a fool's dream. There was a reason I

sent them to the four corners of the earth when I did."

                "Yes,

because you didn't want anyone to possess their full power!"

                "No,

because I didn't want anyone to feel like they should even try. What one rings

does ten rings does only just as well."

                "You

lie! I have a note written by Cecilia Gallerani that states that the rings

multiply the effects and that wearing all ten granted the wearer full invincibility!"

                Leonardo

swore under his breath. "Did she write such a thing? And how would she have

ever known? She was not of the Kind."

                "But

she knew, did she not?"

                The

master sighed, remembering her lovely face, and shoulders; her breasts and her...

"Yes, we knew each other well. But as for the rings, I do not know how she

would ever have come to write such a thing."

                "But

you do not deny that what she says is true, now do you?"

                "What

would be the point? I have told you they do not. But without having all of them

gathered together to test my words, you will never know for certain. Thus we

are at an impasse."

                "Correct.

And since I see you have on a ring, I feel that I must relieve you of it. I will

find my boxes soon enough, and whether they contain rings or not, I will keep

them for my own."

                The master

sighed. His eyes lit up momentarily. He pulled off his ring. "If you think that

this that important to you, then here, take it." Leonardo flipped it through

the air. The cardinal stretched out his hand to grab it. At the same instant, a

set of jaws came down on his wrist, severing the hand from the arm. Blood

spurted everywhere as his screams filled the night air.