“TAKE THOR OFF OF HIS LEAD,” AXEL COMMANDED ME AS SOON AS WE WERE OUTSIDE. WITH ALL THE ACTIVITY SURROUNDING THE BUILDING I THOUGHT IT WAS A TERRIBLE idea, a dangerous one for Thor. But we were all under his power, and so I did as I was told.

“Let’s run!” he said to Thor, and set off down the sidewalk, looking over his shoulder several times to see if Thor was following him. He wasn’t; he was too excited by the new environment to do anything but sniff and mark his territory. One of the guards said something to Axel that he answered in a sharp, dismissive way. I got the feeling Axel was making their job of guarding him much harder. The curious stares of several soldiers who were outside shoveling snow and tending vehicles confirmed this for me.

Axel bent down and called, “Here, Thor, here, boy.” This time the puppy ran to him. I was relieved; I didn’t trust Axel not to hurt the dogs if they did something to displease him. “Take off Zasha’s lead. Call her and see if she’ll come to you.”

I did as Axel requested. Zasha immediately stood on her hind legs and put her front paws on my leg, begging me to pick her up. I brushed them off gently and ran about twenty feet before turning around and calling, “Here, Zasha!” But there was no need. She was at my feet, having followed me from the moment I ran from her.

Axel noticed. “She likes you. Don’t forget what I said: You are not their master.”

“Yes, sir. I think she followed me because she’s cold, that’s all.”

“She’s about to get a lot colder. We need to start their conditioning. Make them stronger. Tougher.” He ran ahead of me, Thor following in his footsteps.

“I’m not sure I understand,” I cried as I rushed after them, making sure Zasha was at my heels.

“You told me you and your friend went sledding somewhere near here.”

“Did I?” I answered weakly.

“Show me that place. It will do them good to climb up and down a hill.”

My mind was screaming inside of me, No! No! Don’t take him there. Don’t take him anywhere near Petr’s house or the tunnels! What I said was, “We don’t have a sled.”

“We’re not going to be sledding, you idiot. These are dogs. You’re going to lead us to that area.” We’d already left the main square behind, and were half walking, half running in the direction of the forest to the south.

This was terrible. Petr, Yeshka, and Josef were all at Petr’s cabin. Polina had called it a safe house. For all I knew, other partisans were there, too. “It’s quite a distance from here,” I said. “Maybe too far for the puppies.”

I started to pick up Zasha, but Axel snapped “no” just as my fingers touched her fur. “That’s the whole point — to make them strong. Muscular. Hardened to the elements.”

“Yes, sir.” We walked in silence for the next few minutes. I tried to walk at a pace that wouldn’t be too hard on the dogs. They were already showing signs of tiring with the effort of walking in the snow. Axel either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“Tell me, Ivan. How would you begin their training?” Surprise and fear hit me simultaneously. If Axel knew I had only taught some simple tricks to dogs in our apartment building and was unqualified in any other way, I dreaded what he might do. I regained my footing by reminding myself I was a performer, only now without an instrument in my hands, and assumed an attitude of confidence and knowledge.

“Well, sir, training a dog is like building a wall — you do it methodically, brick by brick. Training is serious business. Routine is most important. I think you made a wise decision in creating their own quiet room for them.” He looked pleased to hear his wisdom praised. “May I say something else, sir?”

“If it’s reasonably intelligent.”

I breathed deeply as I prepared to deceive him. “You may remember that I have trained many dogs, and … and in my opinion, the trainer I saw today was doing everything wrong.”

“Oh, really?”

His sarcasm wasn’t followed by an order to stop talking, so I rushed on. “Yes, that kind of cruelty will only hurt and confuse them. They may obey under the threat of pain, but they will never be loyal, never love you. They may even try their best to get away from you.”

He stiffened and said curtly, “I’ve always had kennel men train my dogs. I never inquired about their methods as long as they did their job.”

“I think I could train them — and quickly — if you’d give me that opportunity. I’m already sleeping in their quarters. I’ll feed them, walk them, clean up their messes, train them. You’ll see them every day, but with none of the … unpleasantness animals can bring with them.”

“So.” He sort of laughed. “You will be the nanny, they will be the children. You will bring them to their father for his pleasure — clean, fed, and well behaved. When I am done, you will take them back to the nursery, like good children! Hmmm … possible.” Then the harsh, threatening tone returned as strong as ever. “But only for a short time! When they are fully trained, they will stay with me. That’s when I will introduce them to the combat specialist who will turn them into proper German soldiers.”

“Of course, sir,” I answered deferentially, but suddenly knowing that no matter what, I was going to rescue those dogs, whether Petr would help me or not. We marched on for another fifteen minutes until we reached the place where Polina and I had gone sledding.

“Beautiful!” Axel exclaimed as he stood at the top of the hill. “And look — a little stream. Perfect.” The bodyguards looked less than charmed and never stopped scrutinizing the landscape, as if expecting to see sharpshooters in the trees.

“Thor and I will race you and Zasha to the stream. Go!” Axel skillfully managed the first steep fifteen feet of the hill without falling. Thor rolled, and ran, and rolled some more, but seemed to relish the adventure. One of the guards muttered something under his breath that I knew was a complaint about Axel; I pretended I hadn’t heard it.

Zasha huddled next to me, shivering. “I’m sorry, girl. We’ve got to do it. Come on.” I carefully maneuvered down the first five feet or so of the hill and waited for her to follow. She looked to each side of her, obviously reluctant to join in our supposed adventure. “Please, girl. Don’t give him an excuse to hurt us.” Zasha took a tentative step, and once she made it down to where I stood, we were able to get down the long slope without a problem. Both bodyguards followed, muttering what I think would be understood as curse words in any language.

Thor looked like he was enjoying himself. He was curious about the stream, running alongside it, stopping to smell it here and there, twice skittering out onto the ice. It appeared to be frozen in most places, but not all. There were darker patches near the middle where it still ran. I worried that Thor would fall through the ice if he wasn’t careful, but something else was bothering me more. Thor was heading in the direction of Petr’s cottage.

“Wait up, Thor!” Axel cried with a laugh, running after him. “Ivan, hurry!”

I waved to let him know I understood. Thor ran farther and farther west toward Petr’s, with Axel not far behind. I racked my brain for some way of bringing them back toward us. I thought of pretending I’d sprained my ankle, but Axel wouldn’t care; nothing was going to interfere with his fun. I picked up a handful of snow thinking I’d lob a snowball at Thor, make him remember me and Zasha and want to play with us. But he was too far away now, and if I hit Axel by accident, I’d be in serious trouble.

“Will you hurry up?” Axel yelled. We ran as well as we could in the snow.

I was breathless by the time I reached his side. “Maybe we should turn back, sir. The dogs are still so young.”

“Nonsense. Look at Thor. As curious as a cat, strong as a tiger.” He looked at Zasha and whisked her off the ground almost before I knew what he was doing. “And you, my pretty … what are you made of?” He tossed her in the snow in front of him and began to chase her. I followed them.

Her instincts took over, and she ran. At first she followed the same path as Thor, but as we came within twenty yards of where the stream angled to the south, she charged over it. Axel stopped. “Go get her.”

“Zasha, no!” I ran after her, jumping easily across the three-foot-wide stream. Now she seemed like she thought it was a game and ran in an arc back toward the creek, but not so close that I could catch her.

She made it easily across the ice, closer now to where the stream turned south. It was wider there, the jump more difficult; I didn’t trust the ice to hold my weight. “Zasha, please,” I called, dropping to my knee and extending my open arms to her. But my pleas meant nothing compared to the fun she was having running back and forth, and she paid no attention to me.

“Get control of the dog,” Axel yelled at me. Zasha made another run across the creek. I rushed after her. This time the water was too wide to jump. The ice must have been as thin as a frost covering, because it cracked almost immediately when Zasha’s paws touched it.

She looked shocked and struggled to get her balance, to get back on top of the ice and out of the water that was quickly engulfing her. She cried out in fear.

“Zasha!” I slammed my feet down through the ice and cold water until I reached her. The stream was just eight or ten inches deep. I was protected by my galoshes, but Zasha was already soaked up to her neck. She lashed out with her front paws, reaching for the bank, succeeding only in splashing freezing water on her face and head.

I grabbed her by her sides, lifting her up and out of the water as I stepped back on solid ground. She was soaked; there was no way I could set her down in the snow.

“Look what you’ve done!” Axel scolded me as he reached us. “If anything happens to that dog, you will pay dearly.”

I held her at arm’s length as the water dripped onto the ground and she tried to shake it from her.

“I’m so sorry. I …” And then I did the only thing I could think of — I unbuttoned my coat, held her cold, wet body against my warm chest, and buttoned my coat back up. Within seconds it felt like it was me who’d fallen through the ice.

Axel was furious. I think if Zasha hadn’t been so close to my face, he would have hit me. Instead, he shoved me with broad hands that felt like bricks against both of my shoulders. I cried out as I fell down in the snow. Pain shot up my back as I landed, but I managed to hold on to Zasha and keep her safe in my coat.

“Good. I hope it hurts. It’s going to hurt a lot more if that dog catches a cold. And if she dies from that cold …” His face was distorted with rage. “Take her back. Now! And if you think your stupidity is going to ruin Thor’s exercise, you are mistaken.”

“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry,” he spat. “Get out of my sight.”

I struggled to get up and headed back up the hill as fast as I could. The only good thing about Zasha’s accident was that it kept Axel from continuing in the direction of Petr’s house.

But if Zasha wasn’t dried and warmed soon, she would catch a cold or even pneumonia. My life wouldn’t be worth much if that happened. There was only one way we’d both have a fighting chance; we’d have to stop at Galina’s, dry Zasha, and change my clothes. If it was done quickly and we made it back to headquarters before Axel arrived, he probably wouldn’t punish me for doing it without his permission. Remembering the whipping of the man outside his window, I prayed he wouldn’t.

I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my coat, just enough so that Zasha could see where she was and what was going on around her. She squirmed and repositioned herself. I held the bottom of my coat tightly against her so she wouldn’t fall to the ground.

“I’m sorry, girl. You’ll be warm soon, I promise.” She trembled, but made no sound. We were on flat ground now. I trudged through the foot-high powdery snow as quickly as I was able. My chest felt bitterly cold. The water had dripped down onto and even into my pants, making every part of me ice-cold except my feet. Between Zasha’s weight, the cold, the wetness, and keeping her from falling out of my coat and into the snow, my shoulders became more hunched, my posture worse, my walk stiff and awkward. I kept my focus on putting one foot in front of the other, head down, knowing that just a little farther there was help and warmth for us both. Maybe that’s why it took me a moment to realize someone was calling, “Ivan! Ivan!”

I wanted to cry with relief when I saw it was Auntie rushing toward me, with Galina not far behind. Neither of them had coats or hats on; they must have seen me from the window and realized something was wrong.

“What happened?” Auntie cried as she neared me. Then I heard her gasp — she must have seen Zasha. “We’re wet, Auntie, and very cold. Help us get in the house.” Until I saw her and Galina, I hadn’t realized how desperate I felt. Auntie was at my side, slipping her arm around me, bustling me toward the house. Galina supported my other arm, after a squeal of joy when she saw Zasha’s head peeping out from my coat.

“Where is Major Recht?” Auntie asked quietly as we started up the back steps. “Does he know about this?” There was an edge of fear in her voice.

“Yes, but he doesn’t know I’m here. We have to hurry.” Auntie closed the door behind us, but not without a backward glance to make sure no one was following or had seen us.