IT WAS NO USE, CORBIN quickly realized, the cat was coming on too fast, too powerfully; indeed, it had collapsed the fence almost entirely when he turned and ran for the safety of the service buildings—having it in his mind to ascend the ladder behind the Gingerbread House and fire at the thing from the relative safety of its roof—but even that seemed too much to hope as the great beast bore down upon him, its padded paws thudding against the pavement, its hot breath painting his backside, its jagged growls seeming to split the air like thunder.
But he did make it, although he might not have, had one of the Sisters not emerged from the infirmary building at the precise instant the cat was passing—only to be snatched up in its jaws and shook like a ragdoll until the animal pinned her benea
