Read Online Laughing Wolf by Nicholas Maes - Free Book Online Page A

Without another word, he exited the cubicle and joined the general in his inspection of the TPM.
    Carolyn and Felix crossed the hall and, sure enough, found the professor seated in a cubicle. In front of him were two bundles of cloth. Surrounding him were several stacks of books, many of them with Latin titles. At the sight of these, Felix grinned: books always made him feel optimistic.
    And then there was the professor himself. He was peculiar-looking. He was bald and wrinkled and frail and stooped over: clearly he had rejected all revitalizing treatments. To judge by his vivid and lively expression, he had also turned his back on ERR. Finally, his glasses were so thick and clumsy — the frames kept slipping off the bridge of his nose — that they gave him a decidedly comical air. There was nothing comical about his gaze, however: his eyes radiated a vast intelligence.
    â€œAll right,” he began, motioning them to sit. “Our first task is to determine who you are. In the unlikely event you get stranded in the past, the ancients you encounter will ask where you’re from.”
    â€œ Tis pothen eis andron ,” Felix murmured.
    â€œPrecisely!” the professor declared with delight, “I didn’t know you were trained in Greek! My, my, you are full of surprises.”
    â€œWhat did you just say?” Carolyn demanded.
    â€œIt comes from a poem called The Odyssey ,” Felix said. “It means ‘Who are you and where do you come from?’”
    Chuckling still, the professor said the locals would ask about their Common Speak and why Carolyn didn’t know any Latin. They would inquire about their status too — were they peregrini (foreigners), slaves, or citizens? Finally, their relationship would stir their curiosity, as well as the fact that they were travelling solo.
    â€œWhat do you propose?” Felix asked.
    â€œFirst,” the professor said, “you are brother and sister.”
    â€œThey won’t believe it,” Carolyn snapped. “We don’t look at all alike.”
    The professor laughed. “That’s not quite true. Both of you are tall, fair-complexioned, and blue-eyed. The Romans will assume you’re from the north; indeed, you’ll claim to come from Prytan — that is, modern-day Britain — and say you are descended from a line of Druids.”
    â€œWhat’s a Druid?” Carolyn asked, with a touch of impatience.
    Felix told her Druids were leaders among the ancient Celts — he didn’t dare mention they were priests as well because Carolyn would resent this reference to religion.
    â€œYour father, Felix,” the professor pressed on, “has dispatched you to learn the Romans’ customs. You have spent three years with Sextus Pullius Aceticus who happens to live in Cisalpine Gaul — northern Italy, of course. This is where you learned your excellent Latin. Indeed, you have proven such an adept student that Aceticus has adopted you and rendered you a citizen.”
    â€œWhat about me?” Carolyn asked.
    â€œAh yes. Your father died recently — the Druid and not the general — and that is why you have joined your brother. In your father’s absence, he leads the family. And before returning to Prytan, to become head Druid, Felix has decided to take a tour of Rome. That’s not a bad biography, if I say so myself.”
    Felix was impressed. This story would account for their overall strangeness and grant them a certain freedom of movement. He was pleased, too, that his “adoptive father” was the author who had led them to the lupus ridens .
    â€œNow then,” the professor went on, pointing to the two bundles before him, “after consulting my books, I have created two tunics for you — with help from an automated loom, of course. You have also been given a toga virilis , Felix, which will mark you off as a Roman civis .”
    â€œDo I get a