Vimes pulled off his jacket. 'Hang on to this. I'll see if I can climb up...'he muttered.
'It won't work!' said Angua. The thing's shaky enough as it is!'
'I can feel my hands slipping, sir.'
'Good grief, why didn't you call out earlier?'
'Everyone seemed to be busy, sir.'
'Turn around, sir,' said Angua, undoing the buckles of her breastplate. 'Right now, please! And shut your eyes!'
'Why, what... ?'
'Rrright nowwww, sirrrrr!'
'Oh...yes...'
Vimes heard Angua back away from the candle machine, her footsteps punctuated by the clang of falling armour. Then she started running and the footsteps changed while she was running and then...
He opened his eyes.
The wolf sailed upwards in slow motion, caught the dwarfs shoulder in its jaws as Cheri's grip gave way, and then arced its body so that wolf and dwarf hit the floor on the far side of the vat.
Angua rolled, whimpering.
Cheri scrambled to her feet. 'It's a werewolf!'
Angua rolled back and forth, pawing at her mouth.
'What's happened to it?' said Cheri, her panic receding a little. 'It looks... hurt. Where's Angua? Oh...'
Vimes glanced at the dwarfs torn leather shirt. 'You wear chain mail under your clothes?' he said.
'Oh... it's my silver vest... but she knew about it. I told her...'
Vimes grabbed Angua's collar. She moved to bite him, and then caught his eye and turned her head away.
'She only bit the silver,' said Cheri, distractedly.
Angua pulled herself on to her feet, glared at them, and slunk off behind some crates. They heard her whimpering which, by degrees, became a voice.
'Blasted blasted dwarfs and their blasted vests...'
'You all right, Constable?' said Vimes.
'Damn silver underwear... Can you throw me my clothes, please?'
Vimes bundled up Angua's uniform and, eyes closed for decency's sake, handed it around the crates.
'No one told me she was a were - ' Cheri moaned.
'Look at it like this, Corporal,' said Vimes, as patiently as he could. 'If she hadn't been a werewolf you would by now be the world's largest novelty candle, all right?'
Angua walked from behind the crates, rubbing her mouth. The skin around it looked too pink...
'It burned you?' said Cheri.
'It'll heal,' said Angua.