Return of the Errant Weres
#93 of The Moonrise Chronicles
Back in
Pittsburgh, there was a funerary atmosphere to the house. Billy felt terrible
for buying her those chemicals, Maggie's mother and grandmother were
inconsolable, and everyone else was very subdued. Even Leo was moping, for he
knew better of the situation and had to keep it secret. That made him very
uncomfortable. And now with Edward gone, which wasn't in the original plan, he
was thinking that he either had to wait this out or demand to leave
immediately.
He was
a wiser man than most, so he stayed right where he was. But oh, when this mess
was sorted out, he was going to be wishing he was elsewhere. This girl was
quite bright, but there were times when her plans didn't take into account anyone
else's feelings. That made her very good at what she was doing. Emotions often
led plans astray, else-wise he, Leonardo, would not be here now.
He
paced the floor of this house, preoccupied both by the situation and the
general appearance of the objects around him. He was very curious about all of
the changes to the world, and that included all of this wonderful technology
that he could never have imagined in his younger days. Even here in this simple
house, there was an amazing array of devices, from something that heated food
instantly to the boxes with the moving pictures, much like his phone device the
pope had acquired for him and the thing they called a lap-top. He was never
going to get used to having such things, but they were damned convenient. And
the fling ship, the thing they called variously a jet or an airplane. Who could
have imagined it?
He had
of course, but never to the extent that these enormous metal beasts roared
through the clouds like dragons.
He shook his head. Five hundred
years had created quite the gap between his time and the present, but it was
nice to know that everyone seemed to remember him, even if it was mostly for a
single painting, of which he had actually done two. Oh well, such was fame.
He
would never have thought that the world was round, nor that he would be halfway
around it helping out weres descended from families barely in their infancy in
his day. But it was a great time to be alive, even with all of the turmoil he
sensed was going on in the world. Maybe this was his time to shine, and this
Edward and his young girl; maybe they too had something to do in their future.
They had already beaten the odds and were still going strong. He had no idea
where they were right now but he hoped they were going strong. Edward was a bit
dim at times, and she was a bit too bright, and when those traits clashed,
there was bound to be problems.
He
smiled inwardly. In other words, they would make the typical couple if they
could just get connected on the right level.
He
hoped that Edward figured things out, but he didn't have high hopes for him.
The young man was very reckless, and his inexperience in handing his abilities
was plainly evident. Then again, that wasn't all bad. Take for example the
strange winged forms they had encountered. Leonardo knew the legends, though
even in his own day they were just that; mere legends of winged weres able to
fly. They were the whole reason some cultures believed in demons, for when
angered or ravenous, this form of werewolf was a terror to behold. The recent battle,
such as it was, had not been anything close to what it could have been. For
that, everyone had better thank the girl when she returned. Her clever ploy had
worked, but for it to be truly effective, they were going to have to leave the
area before someone caught her scent.
He
shook his head. He was too old to be partaking in fights, much less ones he
wasn't likely to win. But he owed these two his present situation with the pope
and he was an honorable man. He had brought the armor and made sure Edward's
seed in the woman named Verona was safe. It was just possible that this child
could be even greater yet than any of them.
He
stepped outside and looked to the sky. The weather was still bordering on
inclement, but there were little rays of sunlight peeking through the dense
gray clouds. The weather didn't bother him as much as the feeling there was
still a chance of those creatures having followed them back here to this city.
He searched the clouds and shivered.
Returning
to the interior of the house and despite his emotional turmoil, he decided to
be like everyone else and to bunk down for the night. Beds and couches were
soon occupied, and while it took longer for some, eventually everyone fell into
the expert hands of the sandman.
Come
morning, there was the smell of coffee and bacon, biscuits and gravy, and a few
things that were unrecognizable to the old nose of the master. There was a
slight haze in the air from the frying pan, and despite the temping smell no
one could manage to move a muscle. It was like they were paralyzed by some drug.
Fear crept into Leo's mind as he wrestled with what was causing his lethargy.
All at
once it let up, and he flew off the couch to stare into the cooking room. There
was the girl and her partner, happily preparing food and pulling down dishes.
He shook his head and then growled at them.
"It's
not nice to use your powers to no good end!"
Maggie
was all grins. "I didn't want anyone up and spoiling things before the food was
done. Since you were the closest to the kitchen, I figured I wasn't too worried
about you."
Even
so, there were noises erupting from around the house as the others recovered
from their own paralysis. There was soon a crowd of sleepy eyed watchers,
mouths hanging ajar, staring at the little girl who was dead. They nearly went
on the defensive when Billy let out a yell and scooped Maggie off the floor and
twirled her in the air, coming close to striking her head on the light fixture.
"You
little sneak. You did it again!"
"Oh put
me down! What else was I supposed to do? You guys would have fought tooth and
nail and for what? Grandma almost died as it is. And someone on father's side
did die. So I stepped in and handled it my way. And before you go telling me
what you think of it, just don't. I swear to god if you do I'll walk out that
door and you'll never see me again!"
"Mags!"
Edward's tone was severe.
"Oh
fine! Sorry. But really, it was the only thing I could think of to make this
end well."
The
ones who knew about her first trick were stunned that they had not seen it
coming. But it made sense. If she was assumed to be dead, nothing was going to
matter to Leeds, and a pointless battle was therefore averted.
Kathryn
came over and pulled her from Billy's embrace. "Such a child I have raised!"
"Hmph!
It would have been nice to know a little more about my background you know.
Like, am I going to sprout wings one of these days?"
"I
don't know pumpkin, but I hope not."
"Why
not? I think it would be totally cool!"
At this
point the entire household erupted into a flurry of overlapping questions as
they realized that she was really still alive, as it was taking a moment or two
to sink in. Edward sidled over to the master.
"I
assume then that you kept her secret to yourself."
"What
choice did I have? She is right you know."
"Oh, I
know she is.
Leo
looked at him and smiled. "Then it seems you are capable of learning after
all."
"Very
funny old man. I told her this metal in my head was a curse."
The
master's face grew serous under his beard. "Curse? A curse is merely how people
view a situation. They can neither be laid nor lifted except by the individual
who feels they are under one."
"But
this metal..."
"Is
nothing but metal. So it has enhanced you beyond reason, and yet you still
remain in control of it. Intelligence is a curse when one knows not how to
manage it and stupidity is therefore a boon to those who cannot handle the
truth. Do you know how many stupid cardinals there were in the Vatican in my
day, because they had the fervor of the religion, but none of the sense of how
to guide the people? It's still that bad today. The present pope at least has a
good measure of intelligence and religious belief to clean out the larder and
restock it with something fresh."
"Yes,
he does seem unusual for a pope. Speaking of which, do you think he would do a
wedding?"
"Really?
You two have gotten down to being that serious have you? That is good. I always
wished that I had found someone that I could have coupled with, but the
politics of the days were nearly as bad as they are now."
"I'll
believe you. But as for my question?"
"I
think he would kiss the devil himself to help you two. And that's going far
since I don't think either of you are Catholic."
"No,
but for Maggie, I might even go that far."
"I
wouldn't worry about it. From what I understand in your country, a marriage is
a matter for the government, not the church. You will need to get a license
before you can wed."
That
gave Edward pause for thought. How were they going to get a license? She was
too young, and by that reasoning he was too old. That was humorous because she
had been a werewolf a bit longer than he had, and yet he was the adult. These
were things you couldn't really discuss in front of a clerk in the halls of
records though. They would have the guys with the strait jackets down there in
no time.
Maggie
came along just then and Leo stuck out his hand in congratulations. "Well done!
I think you two will make a remarkable couple."
She
whipped around to Edward. "Opened your big mouth did you?"
"Hey! I
asked him if he thought that the pope would do it. I hardly want us to get our
hopes up and then have them come crashing down again."
"He'll
do it."
"Yeah,
that's what Leo said. But he did mention that we need to get a license to make
if official, and I don't know how or where we could do that. After all, you're
too young."
She
smiled and turned to the master."You might want to put your hands over your
ears for this one."
"I
believe I already know. You speak your mind as you see fit."
She
turned to Edward. "Remember me having my mind blanked?"
"Yes. I
know how to do that."
"Yes
you do," she growled. "Well, it can do all sorts of things, like inhibit things
that come naturally to you."
He was
suddenly excited. "Do you mean like blocking my ability to see into the
future?"
"I
wasn't thinking along those lines, but yes, if you want to go that way, then
sure. I was talking about myself."
"I
guess I'm lost then."
Maggie
was dressed in an old robe for the moment, so she didn't bother changing out of
it. She transformed into a werewolf, which wasn't strange at all, but when she
began to morph back, she didn't look the same. Edward recalled that their feral
and anthro forms could take on different appearances, but it never dawned on
him to adjust his physical appearance as a human. It made a certain amount of
sense to do so for an added bit of anonymity.
The
robe rode three inches higher on her legs now, and she had a more mature face.
She glanced around the room, got a sheepish grin and flash Edward with a quick
look at her chest. She had a nice little set of breasts riding on her ribcage
now.
"Mom
said the Kindred can change their human appearance with ease. I got my memories
back and I remembered that I used to play hide and go seek and cheat by
becoming someone else. It was part of the reason she took me out of school.
That, and the fact that I guess I'm actually over twenty years old."
Edward
hit the floor. "What?"
"I
don't know why that should be a shock to you. Look at Verona!"
She
heard her name called and came over. "What about me?"
"You're
older than you look, right?"
"Gee,
thanks for bringing that up."
"No! I
mean, you looked really young for a long time, right?"
"That's
not helping Maggie," she growled out.
"Oh
fuck you Verona. You know what I mean. How long did you look like a middle
schooler?"
"Oh!
Way too long. I had to wait years before anyone believed me for my real age,
and that's because I am always behind in my looks." It was then that she
noticed the girl had added a good six or seven
years to her appearance."
"How
did you do that?"
"Because
of my father's genes. This whole time, right up to a short time before the
battle I was under the impression that I was this little child. Once I found
out the truth, I found I was able to make adjustments to my form just like
this."
Edward's
eyes were wide. "Why didn't you show me this before?"
"There
hasn't been time, now has there you big idiot? I tried it out a few times
before I made it to where you guys had met up, but until now, there didn't seem
to be the time for it."
"So
that means you are both old enough and able to look the part?"
She
flashed him again, holding the robe open for a little while longer. It was
funny to see her actually embarrassed. That wasn't a common theme for her.
He
forgot that there were others around and slipped his hands inside her robe and
pulled it open. "And you can do this, and still change back to your younger
version?"
She was
red in the face. "The younger version is my real self silly. Physically, I am
about twelve or thirteen. Everyone had me convinced of it too. That was
grandma's doing, bless her cranky old heart. She stripped me of my identity
except for the basics, which allowed me to remember who I was, just not the
details of what I was. I rediscovered that on my own before I met you for the
first time. I think she would have liked me to still be ignorant of the facts,
but I'll let that pass as her being overprotective."
"And
you've know this for how long?"
"Not
long. But like I said, I was intending to stay away for a while and work out
the details of my life. But then you, you stupid idiot, you tracked me down. I
guess I'm not disappointed by it though."
Edward's
mind was racing. "You mean that we can get married without a lot of hassle?"
Verona
laughed. "Not likely. Being what we are makes everything a hassle if we try to
do it by the book. "
Maggie
was thinking too. "Does it really matter
if we have a piece of paper? I mean a ring doesn't really make a difference,
does it?"
"It
does in some instances," Edward said with a wry smile, "otherwise we wouldn't
be here, now would we?"
She
tapped her foot on the floor. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I was
talking about wedding bands."
Leonardo
stepped in. "I believe what the young lady is inquiring after is whether or not
a marriage is anymore more than a commitment between two people. The answer is
that it is not. We accept the limitations that our accepted social conformities
mean to us, but paper and metal a marriage do not make."
Maggie
gave him a hug. "Thanks Leo, but I think that I want a little social conformity.
I have a feeling the rest of my life is going to be one crazy ride."
The
master knit his brows together."Crazy ride?"
She
gave him the look. "Like it has been right up until this moment. There are so
many things out there just waiting for us to discover them. I can only imagine
the trouble we'll get into investigating them all!"
"Oh the
vibrancy of youth. More power to you girl, if that's what you want. My days of
such exuberance are behind me. I will gladly return to my new position and live
out my remaining days in obscurity. Dealing with the cardinal has been more
than enough excitement for my life, and to be honest with you, the thought of
tackling your kin made me queasy."
"Then
that's all the more reason to stay on my good side, isn't it, since I'm half
demon on my father's side."
He
grinned. "No, you are no demon. I would rather say you are an angel."
The
room got quite as her eyes glowed. "Do you really think so? I don't like false
flattery."
"Yes for
you are like a work from the hand of Josse Lieferinxe himself. An angel is not
a matter of outward appearance only, and you have more than a sufficient supply
of that. It is the pure heart within that makes all the difference."
Billy
had moved next to Edward."Listen up buddy, for this is here the learning
starts. Women love this sentimental stuff."
"Not
Mags."
Her
eyes returned to normal except for a single tear. "After all I've done, you can
still say that?"
Leo
face was set, but his countenance was one of gentle compassion. "What you have
done, you have done for the right reasons. Is not that a sign of a good and
strong heart?"
She
grew a little taller. "Do you really think so? I've done some terrible things."
"Child,
many have done terrible deeds for matters they felt were important. Little
Joan, known as the Maid of Orleans, went into battle at around your age."
"You
mean Joan of Arc?"
"Yes,
she was known as that also. She was a very sweet and forward girl, just like
you."
"And
look what it got her. She was burned at the stake."
"Yes she
was, but it thankfully left no permanent scars."
Edward
did a double take, but Maggie spit it out first. "She was a werewolf?"
"Well
yes. All the best people are. Sometimes they don't know it, but our society,
and by that I mean your society would
never have gotten to where it is at without the blood of the Kind running
through the veins of so many."
"But
she was burned before you were born wasn't she?"
"Yes,
and so she was my elder by many years, but she was beautiful right to the end.
We had met on several occasions, but she refused to allow me to paint her. She
was always afraid someone would recognize her. It was a silly fear, but when
you have suffered flames as she did, once is more than enough."
Maggie
was jumping up and down. "Did you? You know..."
Leo
looked ashamed. "She is considered a saint today my child. No one needs to know
the facts. Much of what everyone believes is false in one form or another."
"Amen
to that." Billy was cutting in, because everyone else was just listening to
what was going on without commenting. "I'm not sure how much reality I want to
have sifting into my poor head at the moment. I like adventure well enough, but
this is getting to be a little crazy. I was never good at history. Too many
dates to remember, and names, and places too. I'm more of a person of action."
"Oh now
Billy, don't tell me you've lost your taste for the wild side of life!" The
girl was giving him a mischievous smile.
"No,
but I think I have another one awaiting me elsewhere little one. I made it my
job to find more of those like my family, even if I wasn't one of them. And I
did that, or rather, you found us. Now I think it's time to do something
different."
She
realized that he was serious. "Like what?"
He
looked over to her great aunt. "Like go to Russia and live in the wilds. Don't
you think that would suit me?"
She
remembered all the werewolf females that were patrolling the area that Maria
had made her own. "I think it would suit you just fine Billy."
"Yeah,
me too. The ole U.S. of A. is a great place to live, but I want something a bit
more challenging. I can't think of a better place than Russia."
"Do you
plan on staying there?"
"I
doubt it. Alexei has promised to make arrangements to fly us back and forth."
Maggie
looked to her great uncle. "Is that so? And what of you and Verona?"
"I have
a place in St Petersburg, and she has her place in New York. I think we could
be quite comfortable living back and forth until the child is born. Then we'll
need to settle down to one for a while until our life adjusts." The elders
snorted, knowing that your life never adjusted once you had kids.
Edward
was listening, hardly believing his ears. At this point, matters of the heart
as well as matter of equal importance, seemed to be coming together into
something good. He was tempted to look to the future, but he blocked his mind
from following that idea. If this was going to work, then perhaps it was best
to let it do it on its own. His interference hardly had the beneficial effect
he had thought it might provide. He would be better off picking the next
lottery numbers than trying to predict the outcomes of so many lives. He found
that he had all he could handle with Maggie, and now that they could be
together, there was little else that he wanted in his life.
He
smiled and looked around the room. This whole time he had been wrapped up in
what the future would hold and was missing the amazing things in the here and
now.
Maggie
saw the look on his face and knew he was finally getting it. He was smart
enough, though not yet wise, and he had a good heart that just needed
tempering. He would do just fine. When his eyes came back to her, she slipped
open the robe again and gave him her best bedroom eyes.
She
noticed the flush rise in his cheeks.
Apparently she had the goods he was looking for. That was a good thing
to know. She already knew it of course, but it was always good to hold a man in
thrall and she him react in a positive way.
But always let them think it was
their idea and their idea alone. There was no use in letting them think
otherwise.