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         Edward lifted up the metal bottom

and exposed the contents. Inside was a folded piece of leather, worked thin and

sewn like a little envelope. He pulled it out and opened it up. The contents

dropped into his hand.It was a lone ring, and not an

attractive one at that. It wasn't ugly; but it was silver in color and he

wondered immediately why it wasn't burning him. It felt cool, like all metal

did, leastwise before his transformation had soured him on silver.  To him, it looked more like a something made by

a modern craftsman. In days gone by it was all ornate gold and gemstones, not a

simple piece of polished...alloy?Maggie was the first to note that

it didn't burn. "I take it it's not silver."He held it up and looked through

it, seeing if there were any marks on it. It seemed to be seamless. It was

smooth inside and out. "I don't think so.""Put it on!""Here goes nothing!"He slipped it over his ring finger,

knowing full well his finger was too large to allow it to fully seat itself. It

slipped over his knuckle and landed just where it should.""What the hell?""What?""Didn't you see that? This ring

should never have fit, but it just did."Maggie touched it. "Do you feel any

different?""No, not really." He slipped the

ring off. It very distinctly shrunk back down to size. Maggie put it on. Again,

it changed, becoming smaller to fit her finger. Billy tried it next, but

nothing happened.  "Figures!"Everyone tried it on, and with the

exception of poor Billy, it changed to fit the wearer's finger. But outside of

this unnatural trick, it did nothing else. It was Maggie who put her mind to it.

She held the ring in her hand and thought and thought. Everyone waited

patiently while she pondered.All at once she flipped pages in

the book. "Can anyone read this?"Rey took the book from her. "This

is pointless Maggie dear. It has nothing to do with...""Read it!""Fine dear. No need to get snippy!"He cleared his throat and read ahead

to get an idea of the contents. He had read this page a long time ago, but it

was just as pointless as before as it was now.And

thus the Baetylus was carried to Pessinus, where it resided for many years. It

was later removed to Rome by Marcus Aurelius Antonius and worshiped there until

his death. The Baetylus  was then removed

by the kind for safekeeping. Except for one small fragment retained by the

Medici family, the stone has been ordered to be buried in an undisclosed

location."That's it. That's all it says.""What's a baetylus?""It's a rock superstitious people used

to worship.""A rock. What kind of rock?""I don't know dear. In some cases,

it was thought that they were meteorites."She pointed to the ancient illustration.

"Like this, falling from the sky?""Yes dear, just like that."And what's this supposed to be?""I assume that's the moon.""And where does it look like this

stone is falling from?""I guess you could say the moon.""Right. So, to someone out there, a

meteorite might very well have been considered to be from the moon. A

Moonstone.""I don't get..." Rey looked like he

had been stabbed through the heart with a dagger of silver. "Young lady, outside

of Billy here, you have got to have one of the brightest minds in the werewolf

collective."Edward shrugged. "I'd have to agree

because I didn't follow a damn thing you guys said."Billy caught on. "I get it. This

ring was made from a chunk of meteorite. And for some reason it can change to

fit the size of the wearer's finger. Weird. It's a neat trick and all, but

what's the point?"Rey closed the book. "A good

question. That it has power is obvious, but it has no practical value outside

of being sort of a parlor trick. And even then, it only works on those who can

change. It won't react for Billy. So what does it mean? Any werewolf can wear

it, but outside of that, it's useless."Maggie stomped her feet. "You old fogies

give up too easily. If people were willing to die to protect this ring, then

there is more to it than you seem to know. Why would a ring change size?

Obviously so that more than one person could wear it. Why?""We don't know dear, but something

tells me you're going to figure it out." It was Sophia and her smile was huge."A fairly normally person, no

offense intended," she nodded to Billy, "can wear it, but it won't accommodate

to fit his finger. Why?'"Go on...""Because as a human, or something

close enough to it, he doesn't need it.""Need it for what?""I don't know!" She put it on and

willed something to happen. Nothing did. In anger she smashed her hand down on

the table. Edward's small box of personal effects, which had been sitting there

as part of the explanation of events, went flying through the air. Maggie

realized her error and grabbed for it as the contents flew out in an arc. She

snatched a few items, and after the stuff finished scattering, helped to put it

away again.She dropped a few items into the

box and scrambled to gather more. Her father was sitting there dumbfounded. "Maggie?""What?""Did you see what you were just

holding?""No. Did I break something?""No. Pick up one of my dimes.""Why? Are you feeling sadistic?""No. You just dropped one of them

into the box.""No way!" She reached in, and

turning her head so that she didn't have to see her flesh burning, gingerly

grabbed one of the coins. Her eyes were pressed tightly closed. Then she

stopped and relaxed. "It doesn't burn!"Billy was wearing some of this

jewelry and she grabbed it and squeezed it in her hand. No reaction. "The ring!

It protects the one wearing it from harm! I can touch silver and I'm fine!"Marcus shook his head. "What a

waste!""Come again?"He looked up and realized how what

he said sounded to their ears. "Sorry. I was just thinking that if Jack and

Mary had this on, they'd still be alive today."Sophia hushed him. "Only one person

can wear it at a time. Would you wear it if you couldn't protect me at the same

time?""You have a point. If you died, I'd

rather die too.""Then leave it be. What has

happened; happened. We can't change it. 

I'm guessing that all along this was meant to be for Edward here, and by

chance of by fate, it has finally come to him."Maggie handed the over to her

father. "But what for? Why would I ever need it?""Son, that remains to be seen.""OK, a better question. I get that

it protects from the one thing that can kill a werewolf outright, but who did this

belong to originally? And why did it come down through my family to me?"Maggie was grinning. "I think I get

part of it. I don't know who made the ring, but aren't the Medici's from

Italy?""Yes dear, that's right.""So doesn't it make sense that

someone from back then made it after, oh say; someone was holding that chunk of

rock and found that they were protected from the harms of silver?""Yes, I guess it does.""Then it somehow got passed down to

the Bourbon family. Why did it take three years to finally kill the Beast of Gévaudan?

Because as a werewolf she was wearing the ring! I'll bet that the guy who killed

her in the end had to get the ring off before he could finish the job."Reynaud was impressed. "It would

answer few questions. The ring would change with the changes in body size. And especially

if she was wearing as a feral, she would have been nearly invincible. So your

hypothesis has credence.""Ok. So then here's the million

dollar question? Why did someone want it to be so far away from France? It

seems like an awful lot of bother to hide it away."Marcus threw up his hands. "We

don't know. But if you think about it, it does make some sense. It could be

used as a weapon. A werewolf equipped with this ring would be invincible. No

one could stand up to him.""Or her."                Edward

raised his eyebrows. "Does someone suddenly have aspirations?"                She

giggled. "No. But you have to admit, this thing could come in handy. Can you

imagine being a werewolf loaded down in silver like Billy here, only in full

transformation? Now that would be bad ass!"                "That

may be, but I don't think that anyone is going to be doing anything with it for

now. It's nice that you figured it out sweetheart, but I think that maybe we

should put it back in the box and lock it away. I don't foresee a problem but

you just never know what might happen if it's out and about. So until there

happens to be need for this, I say it goes back into hiding."                Rey

seemed to agree. "I hate mysteries, but this one seems to be cleared up as much

as it's going to be. I agree with Edward. We need to find a place to hide it

again and separate the key as before."                Maggie

voiced a dissenting opinion. "That seems sort of stupid. What harm is there in

keeping it available?"                Edward

ruffled her hair. "Nothing dear. But since people died to keep it hidden, don't

you think that it would make sense to following their footsteps?"                "No.

But I'm sure I'll get outvoted."                Edward

took the ring and slid it into the leather pouch. He set it down on the table

and leaned back against the couch. "I think the bigger problem is figuring out

where to put it. We'll all have suggestions, but if one of us dies, and none of

the other's know where either the key or the box is, then we're back to square

one."                "I

think we'll be fine son.  We haven't had

a problem here in decades. Take it with you when you leave, and hide it

somewhere near you. While I doubt anyone would come looking for it anymore, you

never really know. If there are others out there that know of its existence,

then there is still some danger in having it around. But all life has an

element of danger to it, human or otherwise."                Maggie

picked up the pouch and rolled it around in her fingers. "I think that's a

better solution than hiding it outright. Then you'd never know where it was."                She set

the pouch into the hidden compartment and snapped the inside lid down before

closing it and locking it. She was just about to hand over the key when they

all heard a voice.                "Well

it's about time."                The

stranger standing there was packed to the gills with bright shiny metal. Both

of his pistols were museum antiques. And they were pointed right at the group.                No one

moved.  "I had given up hope of finding

any more werewolves. It seemed to me that they might have all been killed off.

The league has dwindled as the number of the kind has dwindled, but as long as

some of you remain, so shall we."                Edward

squinted at the man. He had never seen him before in his life. Billy hadn't

either but he knew the voice. "You. You're the guy from the diner!"                "Yes my

friend, that's right. If you're patient and wait long enough, the world in its

spinning brings you to where you need to be. I have waited a long time, and was

torn between here in the boondocks or searching the city of New York. Not as

much as a crumb for so long and then a plethora of choices. I took a lucky gamble

on this place since rumor had it there was once a community of your kind living

out here. So it seems that tale was true. So I must thank you for making my

task easier. I know every werewolf hunter there is, and you are not among them.

I am not so easily deceived."                "Who

are and what do you want?" Edward was feeling his rage starting to build.                 "I

haven't used a name in a very long time. I am; in dextera Dei."                Maggie growled. "What does

that mean?"Rey spoke out loud in a clear

voice. "The Right Hand of God.""Yes. And I shall relieve you of

Master Da Vinci's box. I have no desire to kill any of you. I am tired of

killing. But the Order has been given the duty of recovering the ring of the

Medici family and returning it to Rome.""And why would the pope want the

ring?"The man lowered his voice. "The

present pope knows nothing of the ring, nor did the pope before him, nor the

one before him. This papal bulla goes back to Alexander the Sixth and is

irrefutable until completed."Maggie was starting to sprout hair.

"So you've been killing people for centuries to fulfill the order of some old

religious guy who has been dead for centuries?""Little one, I do not argue with my

fate. I have a sacred duty. Now if you will please hand over the box, I can go

and you may live in peace." Edward was watching the man's arms. His

strength in holding up those ancient firearms was extraordinary. He wasn't

wavering in the least.  He reached down and picked up the

box, throwing it sharply at the man's head. At the same time, and unexpectedly,

Maggie dived at the man. He dropped one gun to grab the box, but his other hand

squeezed the trigger. The boom was deafening!When the smoke cleared, the front

window was broken out and there was no sign of the intruder. A gun was lying on

the floor, and next to it, Maggie. She wasn't moving.