Page 156 of White Wolf
Your Friend Philippe
Dr. Ingraham read the letter a second and third time, uncomprehending.
“What?” he said aloud.
The paper burst into flame.
“Ah!” Ingraham dropped it to his desk, but not before it singed his fingers. It landed on his blotter and curled up like an autumn leaf, the fire snuffing out almost as soon as it started, the letter crumbling to black ash. “What–”
The little vial of blood started to vibrate. Hard. It rattled against the desk. Jumped and shook. And it…yes, the contents seemed brighter. Like there was a light inside the tiny bottle. A light growing brighter, paler, expanding. It –
It shattered with a terrible booming sound, and the whole office was on fire.
Oh God, I’m burning alive, Dr. Ingraham thought, and he was.
33
WAR COMES TO STALINGRAD
The major general gave each of them a careful once-over, expression unreadable. He outright stared at the wolves. “I was radioed about this,” he said, finally, “but I don’t guess I really believed it. I’ll be damned.” He turned a shrewd glance to Nikita. “Why are the secret police handling this?”
Nikita shrugged. “I’m following orders, sir. I expect my superiors have their reasons.”
“Hmm. I was told there’d be nine of you.”
“One of our men is under the weather this morning,” Nikita lied.
Feliks politely mimed vomiting.
They’d decided that morning that introducing Rasputin to any military officer would be a terrible idea. Once whoever it was recovered from the sheer impossibility of it, he would find it impossible to believe that thestaretswas cooperating with the Soviets. Among his numerous faults, Rasputin was also a terrible liar. Their pass into Leningrad had read they were retrieving an “artifact.” Technically true. Even Stalin had no idea Rasputin was involved in all this.
The major general looked unconvinced. “You expect me to putwolveson the battlefield?”
“I can assure you they’re very obedient to Sasha’s commands,” Philippe said, smiling, and the major general relaxed a fraction. Magicked, just as Nikita had asked. “Sasha, would you demonstrate?”
The wolves sat in a semi-circle behind Sasha. He turned to glance down at the alpha female, and after a moment of eye contact, she snorted and walked to the far side of the office, the others following her. They sat down in a perfect line, gazes pinned on their human alpha.
“So they’re trained,” the major general said. “What good will they do against a German panzer division?”
“Well,” Nikita said, “I don’t figure that’s for us to know. Like I said, we’re just following orders.”
~*~
There wasn’t a word of a precedent for what they were. A Specialized Unit, the major general said, and handed over a small pile of paperwork, patches to sew onto their sleeves, and an arsenal of weaponry. They were to report directly to him, and it was clear he had no idea what to do with them. “Maybe you can make yourselves useful,” he said, doubtfully, and sent them on their way.
It was a hot, cloudless day outside, the sun bright overhead, filtering through the fine layer of dust that hugged the ground so that the air around them seemed golden. The base perched on a hill, the city spread out before them, a sea of flat rooftops, the river a glittering snake at its edge.
“What now, fearless leader?” Ivan asked.
Nikita groaned. “I don’t–”
“Wait,” Sasha said. They’d been walking slowly along the side of the road, and he pulled up suddenly, his wolves doing the same. All of them cocked their heads. Sasha’s mouth was open, eyes on the sky above them.
Despite the heat, a chill moved down Nikita’s back. “What?”
Sasha’s pupils shrank down to pinpricks. “I hear something. It’s…”
“Sasha?” Katya asked.
