Chapter 65

I think all the air left my lungs when she mentioned the possibility of explosive charges in Mirko’s body. The world began to spin around me, and I had to rest my face in the snow for a moment to recover from the nausea that panic caused me. Mirko, flying into pieces. I bet that would have been magnificent revenge on the part of those heartless felines. No, no, no! I didn’t want to think about that. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to clear my mind; but my eyes were already full of tears and my face was freezing. That situation was beyond my control and knowledge.

“What are we going to do, Nika?” I moaned, disoriented.

“Wait,” she told me, as if nothing had happened. I was immediately furious, but what Nika said next (along with her smug smile) calmed me down again. “Oh, very good. There’s Ivan. And there’s Rex. I think Rex has already seen the panther, or at least smelled it. It’s getting closer. And you know what the best part is, Johanna?”

Nika turned to look