The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't

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The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't by Gail Carriger

Alessandro Tarabotti and his valet Floote are traipsing around Luxor, Floote carrying a dead cat in a jar, Alessandro with a dirty scamp of a kid in his grasp, when a man wearing a limp cravat comes yoo-hooing at Alessandro, calling him Sandy Dandy the Italian. No thank you to all of that. The kid scampers away as the yoo-hooer arrives and thankfully has the good graces to introduce himself as Alessandro has no idea who he is. Was he involved in werewolves? Was he sent to kill someone in his family? No, apparently Alessandro knows the man, Baronet Percival Phinkerlington's brother, Eustace. They met at Oxford when Alessandro played cricket with him, and played with him in other ways, too. Wink Now Alessandro is introduced to Letitia Phinkerlington, their sister, who blushes quite a bit meeting the handsome Italian, though she is also understandably disgusted by the cat in Floote’s jar. Alessandro sends Floote away to find the boy they lost as the baronet invites him to dinner that evening. 

When Alessandro finds Floote again, he's in the middle of a very colorful fray, fighting off three attackers whilst still holding the jar of cat. Alessandro removes his jacket that conceals his wooden and silver weapons as he won't be needing them during the day and joins in the fight. Two of the attackers run away while Alessandro tackles the third and pins him down. Unfortunately, the attacker won't say who sent them and is also able to escape, but Alessandro lets him go. He thought carrying a dead cat in a jar would be a good way to get into Egypt, but mostly, people take dead and mummified, not pickled, animals away from Egypt, so this is just making them easy targets. Alessandro suggests that Floote tends to the cat, which they did intend to do something with as it belongs to Alessandro's aunt.

Alessandro meets up with the Phinkerlington siblings for dinner and learns that the older brother that Alessandro used to know, Eustace, has given up his title and has turned claviger, hoping to become a werewolf. Percival makes a jab at Eustace never being one to provide grandchildren anyway which makes Alessandro remember why he used to know Eustace. Wink Alessandro notices a soldier-type staring at him, a man with blond hair, and then the soldier leaves, so Alessandro suggests he and Percival take a walk. 

The walk, which was really just to follow the military man, does no good as Alessandro can't spot him anywhere. He and Percival discuss the supernatural, who Percival seems to be fine with as long as they leave him be, since he's British. Alessandro must be against them because he's Italian. Percival mentions bringing Letitia to Egypt because there are no supernaturals on account of the plague and says she's mentally unwell. It's then that they hear a wolf howl and notice that the moon is full. But there aren't supposed to be supernaturals in Egypt.

Back in his hotel room, Alessandro receives a note apologizing for the trouble in the morning with the kid running away, apparently he was afraid of the cat, which has been replaced with a mummified artifact. Floote has learned that no one knows how to mummify anymore, so he had to replace the cat in the jar with this one. In addition to the letter, there is also a map showing Alessandro where he needs to go. Floote provides a nice array of weaponry for Alessandro to choose from and helps him into his evening jacket so he can depart. Before leaving, Alessandro tells Floote to leave behind no record and no witnesses if he does not come back.

Alessandro follows his map out into the desert to an ancient tomb, though all along the way, he feels as if someone is following him. He also feels more and more repulsed or repelled by something the closer he gets to the tomb. When he arrives, he is greeted by an archaeologist who shows him an open sarcophagus containing a partially unwrapped mummy. The mummy is no ordinary preserved human, but instead is a man with a canine-looking head. A werewolf? Partially transformed?

Yes, indeed. Or at least, that’s what the blond soldier says when he steps out of the shadows. He was the one following Alessandro, but he was following him from a hot air balloon from above, which is why he remained unseen. He claims he is there because he is a werewolf, currently mortal because of the godbreaker plague, and that the mummy belongs to the wolves to study and to learn from, but Alessandro, being a Templar, is there to destroy it so the archaeologist can’t use it as some sort of pro-supernatural propaganda. There is a fight wherein Alessandro sets everything on fire and kills the archaeologist, after all, there can be no evidence left behind, especially what he’s just discovered.

Unfortunately, the not-currently-a-werewolf soldier is able to escape back to his hot air balloon, which is piloted by Percival Phinkerlington! Alessandro, being the excellent cricket player he is, chooses a nice sharp rock from the ground and throws it into the balloon, causing it to crash violently. The not-currently-a-werewolf dies in the accident but somehow, Percival survives. Until Alessandro gets there anyway. Before shooting Percival, Alessandro agrees to see that his sister Letitcia makes it safely back home to England. Wink Oh but wait. What is it that Alessandro discovered? That the supposed werewolf mummy isn’t a werewolf at all, but some other sort of shapeshifting person, a jackal perhaps? A curious case indeed!