Rio’s nod was barely perceptible. Conner put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and bowed his head, looking for a little help. He didn’t want to come back to a dead body.

Shifting, he slunk low to the ground and bellied his way through the thick brush. He crept slowly. Patience on the hunt was essential. He couldn’t think about Rio or Isabeau. He had to turn his instincts completely over to his leopard.

He circled the area around Rio, stealthy and silent on his cushioned paws. The man would have to be protected. Ottila would certainly try to kill him, to make certain there would be no interference during his challenge for Isabeau. Conner had to be able to see Rio at all times, and to be able to get to him quickly.

His cat found a tree with a multitude of sweeping branches and went up. He was up against an enemy who was cunning and quick, one determined and very familiar with the territory. He was hunting in Ottila’s backyard. But, Conner decided, Ottila had no idea Conner had been born and raised in the Panama rain forest and he also was familiar with it. Granted, he’d been away five years, but he wasn’t one to forget.

He curled up on a branch and went still, relying on his heavy coat to camouflage him, fade him into the background. Now it was a waiting game. Ottila would feel the pressure more than Conner. He would think that Elijah and the others might backtrack and come looking for them if they took too long to catch up. Ottila had no idea orders were to see to the safety of the children before anything else. No, the leopard would come with his evil intentions and he would be forced to make the first offensive move. A game of chess then. The stakes were life for Rio and Conner and Isabeau, or death for them all. Ottila had a battle on his hands.

Conner had spent hundreds of hours as a sniper, locked into a position simply waiting for that perfect target. He felt the familiar calm that always seeped into his veins. Ice water, Rio called it, but it flowed through him bringing peace. He became aware of every nuance of the rain forest. The birds, the constant calls back and forth, the monkeys, all frightened and fleeing the heat and flames of the fire. The wind was carrying the fire toward the east, away from them now, but the smoke had settled in the trees like a gray, choking blanket.