Wamphyri! Brian Lumley

They climbed spiralling stone stairs in one of the Château’s towers, and arrived at Gerenko’s office. Before Gerenko it had housed Gregor Borowitz, and it was now Felix Krakovitch’s seat of control; but Krakovitch was temporarily absent, and both Ivan Gerenko and Yuri Andropov intended that his absence should become permanent. This, too, puzzled Dolgikh.

‘In my time,’ he said, taking a seat opposite Gerenko’s desk, ‘I’ve been quite close to Comrade Andropov — or as close as a man can get. I’ve watched him rise, followed his rising star, you might say. In my experience, since the early days of E-Branch, there has been friction between the KGB and you espers. Yet now, with you, things are changing. What has Andropov got on you, Ivan?’

Gerenko’s grin was that of a weasel. ‘He has nothing on me,’ he answered. ‘But he does have something for me. You see, I have been cheated, Theo. Nature has robbed me. I would like to be a man of heroic proportions

– perhaps a man like you. But I’m stuck in this feeble shell. Women are not interested in me; men, while they cannot hurt me, consider me a freak. Only my mind has value, and my talent. The first has been useful to Felix Krakovitch: I’ve taken a great deal of the branch’s burden off his shoulders. And the second is a subject for intense study by the parapsychologists here — they would all like

to have my, shall we say, guardian angel? Why, an army of men with my talent would be quite invulnerable!

‘So you see how important I am. And yet what am I but a shrunken little man, whose lifespan is destined to be short? And so while I live I want power. I want to be great, for however short a span. And because it will be short, I want it now.’

‘And with Krakovitch gone, you’ll be the boss here.’ Dolgikh nodded.

Gerenko smiled his withered smile. ‘That for a start. But then comes the integration of E-Branch and the KGB. Brezhnev would be against it, of course, but alas the Party Leader is rapidly becoming a mumbling, crumbling cretin. He can’t last long. And Andropov, because he is strong, has many enemies. How long will he last, do you think? Which means that eventually, possibly, even probably —‘

‘You’ll have it all!’ Dolgikh could see the logic -of it. ‘But by then, surely, you too will have made enemies. Leaders always climb to the top over the bodies of dead leaders.’

‘Ah!’ Gerenko’s smile was sly, cold, and not entirely sane. ‘But this time it will be different. What do I care for enemies? Sticks and stones will not break my bones! And I shall weed them out, one by one, until there are no more. And I shall die small and wrinkled, but also great and very powerful. So whatever you do, Theo Dolgikh, make sure you’re my friend, not my enemy. .

Dolgikh said nothing for a moment but let all that Gerenko had said sink in. The man was obviously a megalomaniac! Tactfully, Dolgikh changed the subject. ‘You said there’d likely be more work for me. What sort of work?’

‘As soon as we are sure that we can learn everything we desire to know from Alec Kyle, then Krakovitch, his man Gulharov, and the other British agent, Quint, will become quite expendable. At the moment, when Krakovitch wants something done, he speaks to me and I in turn pass on his request to Brezhnev. Not directly to Brezhnev but through one of his men — a mere lackey, but a powerful lackey. The Party Leader is keen on E-Branch and so Krakovitch usually gets what he wants. Witness this unheard of liaison between British and Soviet espers!

‘But of course I’m also working for Andropov. He, too, knows everything that is happening. And he has already instructed me that when the time comes you are the tool I shall throw-into Krakovitch’s machinery. E-Branch has been soundly beaten, almost destroyed, by INTESP once before. Brezhnev wants to know how and why, and so does Andropov. We had a mighty weapon in Boris Dragosani, but their weapon, a youth called Harry Keogh, was mightier. What gave him his power? What were his powers? And right now: we know that with the aid of INTESP Krakovitch has destroyed something in Romania. I have been through Krakovitch’s files and I think I know what he destroyed: the same thing which gave Dragosani his powers! Krakovitch sees it as a great evil, but I see it only as another tool. A powerful weapon. That is why the British are so eager to help Krakovitch:

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