Sinbad and The Eye of the Tiger (26 page)

Melanthius stared at the cage, which was hidden within a yellow-green vapor. Only the barest outline of the outer bars could be seen. Melanthius stopped moving his lips and signaled to Sinbad.

The sea captain heaved again on the chains. They rattled and the cage swung back to the edge of the pool. It was filled with the thick yellow-green vapor, leaking out through the openings between the bejeweled bars. Melanthius took a step toward it and stopped.

The cage door was slowly opening . . .

The strange vapor was drifting away . . .

Farah uttered a cry and started up the steps, tears streaming from her eyes.

The cage door swung wide and the vapors cleared. The sailors blinked and their mouths sagged open. On the platform stood a handsome and bewildered young man, swaying slightly.

“Kassim!” Princess Farah cried as she climbed.

Farah embraced her brother, then touched his cheek tenderly. “Kassim . . . Kassim . . .”

The young man blinked and semed to focus for the first time. “Farah . . . sister . . . my Farah . . .”

They embraced tightly and Melanthius permitted himself to smile in triumphant joy at Sinbad, beaming with unashamed pride and emotion. Sinbad crossed to the old scholar and put his arm around him in a congratulatory hug.

Kassim crossed quickly to Sinbad, trailed by a brightly smiling—and very tearful—Farah. The young prince clasped Sinbad’s hand. “My friend . . .” he said huskily.

Sinbad grinned. “Master Melanthius was responsible for it all,” he said, indicating the old Greek.

Kassim made a slight bow of thanks to them both. “How will I ever be able to thank you?” he said, looking from one to the other.

Sinbad shrugged and slapped the prince on his arm. “I’ve repaid an old debt . . . a life for a life . . .”

Kassim turned again to Farah to embrace her, but his eyes fell on Dione. A shadow of puzzlement crossed his face, then he smiled. “Dione . . .” He went quickly down the steps and embraced her.

They all started down the steps, but stopped with surprise as a peal of thunder sounded, booming through the passage. The blue-white lighting flashes were closer and closer to the following thunderclaps. Ice snapped and tinkled and fell like broken glass, splashing into the water spread across the ancient stone floor.

Melanthius suddenly turned sharply and looked down at the pool as he detected a change in the rhythm. The whirlpool was slowing, eddying and moving sluggishly. The old man looked up to see the column of light coming down from the apex flickering and diminishing in brilliance.

“Not a moment too soon,” he said to Sinbad. “The power of the Shrine is failing.”

Sinbad frowned and jerked a thumb toward the exterior. “And outside in the Valley?”

“The beginning of the end,” the old man muttered gloomily. He started down the stairs, holding up his robe awkwardly. “The end of Hyperborea,” he cried out bitterly. “The triumphant legacy of a dead civilization lost forever because of a malicious woman’s greed and ambition . . . because of
her!”
His hand thrust out from the folds of his robe to point an accusing finger at Zenobia.

But she did not seem to hear. Her face was turned away and none saw the savage yellow eyes, burning, staring, demanding . . .

Melanthius and Sinbad, just behind Farah, Kassim, and Dione, started toward the exit. They did not notice that the eyes of the saber-toothed tiger flicked open. If they had seen this, and seen Zenobia’s transformed orbs, they would have shuddered at the uncanny resemblance.

But none saw the evil and savage eyes, none the ice melting swiftly around the tiger. They were concerned with the falling icicles, with the deafening thunder, with the water on the floor, with getting out.

As Farah and Kassim reached the sailors there was a gigantic cracking and they turned to see the ice splitting away from the great tawny figure of the entombed tiger. The creature wrenched and twisted itself, cracking more ice, sending it flying, splashing into the melted ice shards upon the floor.

“It’s moving!” Melanthius cried over Dione’s scream.

“It’s coming alive!” Hassan yelled.

“Run!” Sinbad commanded. He swung toward Zenobia, to take her with them, and stopped in startled surprise.

The witch was changing.

She was becoming smoky . . . thinning . . .

The image of the sorceress was quickly only a silhouette of smoke. It drifted up and hovered ominously. Sinbad and his friends, open-mouthed, backed slowly away.

The smoke curved and turned even as the tiger shook loose the last shards of ice and stepped stiff-legged onto the wet floor. The smoke drifted down, melting into the raging animal. The great tiger quivered, then let out a ferocious roar that brought down still more swords of ice. It seemed to gain strength as the drifting mist that had been Zenobia metamorphosed into the great tawny body.

The tiger roared again, seeming to gain still more strength. Its eyes swept the chamber and fastened on the huddle of humans. The eyes of the tiger flamed and the humans backed away.

The beast came at them, padding through the thin pools of water, ignoring the thunder, ignoring the falling ice crystals, focusing only upon Sinbad and his group. The great jungle beast stepped over the body of Rafi, now almost floating in the ice water, the center of a growing pink pool.

Farah’s scream rose above the wind that was moaning through the chamber, gouting dust and sand into the vast room. The scream echoed through the passageway and was heard by Trog outside. The great beast-man hesitated, then overcame his fear of the pyramid and climbed over the rubble into the passage, taking the Minaton’s iron bar with him.

Sinbad thrust back the two women, Melanthius, and the still shaky Kassim. The spears and swords of his two men came down, pointing at the immense tiger. They backed away slowly, watching the stalking tiger closely, moving back up the steps to the passage by which they had gained entrance to the Shrine.

A cluster of icicles fell upon the tiger, an encrustation of ice that would have sliced a man to bloody lumps, but the great animal only roared out a defiant snarl as he shrugged off the ice knives. But then the tiger stopped, its ears laying back flat and its tawny body crouching instinctively.

Sinbad turned to see what new danger lay behind them and saw the great hairy figure of Trog stepping into the chamber. The beast-man lumbered down the steps, hefting the Minaton’s thick iron bar.

The tiger faced his new adversary with a roar, but Trog never stopped. Sinbad and his group made way for the lumbering giant and Trog went through them, directly at the tiger. He slammed the butt of the iron bar upon the stone slabs of the floor and the sound clanged throughout the chamber like a great bell.

More icicles fell and some of them struck Trog on the back but he ignored them as he prepared to do battle with the snarling tiger. The tiger’s roar blended into an even greater peal of thunder, which was almost physical as it boomed throughout the chamber. A section of the ice cover fell, exposing the stones of the pyramid, and made a great splash on the other side of the platform. More individual icicles fell, and Trog uttered a growl at the tail-swishing tiger.

“Back . . .” Sinbad ordered, and his people moved up the steps slowly.

The tiger crouched for a spring and Trog moved in on the sword-mouthed fighter. The tiger sprang, all teeth and slashing claws, and the two great beasts smashed together. They fell into the water and rolled about in savage combat, their grunts and roars filling the ancient chamber.

“We must help Trog,” Sinbad said. To Melanthius and Kassim he gave a brusque order. “Take the princess and Dione back to the Gate.”

Kassim pulled at his arm. “We shall not leave you.” He reached toward Sinbad’s waist. “Give me your dagger . . .”

“You are too weak, my lord,” he said gently. Then his voice roared with the command voice of an officer used to obedience. “Back to the Gate!”

“Sinbad . . .” Farah’s voice was muffled by the tiger’s roar.

“Do as I say!” he commanded, his eyes already planning an attack. “And if I do not join you within the hour, then set out for the ship at once.” The tiger and Trog both roared defiance at the other and splashed water toward the group with their shifting feet. “Then Charak . . . before the seventh moon is full!”

Kassim let his hand drop. “You are right . . . I must think of Charak . . .”

Melanthius took Farah’s arm and his voice was grim. “Come, Princess . . . Dione . . .”

Farah reached out for the sea captain, her emotions suddenly showing raw and trembling. “Sinbad! Sinbad!”

“Do as I say!” Sinbad ordered, with steel in his voice and steel in his hand.

Melanthius put his arm around the two women and spoke grimly. “Aye-aye, Captain Sinbad . . .” He turned Farah and Dione toward the arch. Kassim hesitated, then followed, his bewildered gaze sweeping over the vast dripping chamber.

“Farah . . . what is this place?”

“I will explain,” Melanthius said.
"As
we go to the Gate . . .”

Motioning to Hassan and Maroof, Sinbad went gingerly down the steps, circling the colossal combatants, hoping to help Trog. The tiger broke from Trog, snarling and spitting, and saw the new menace starting to surround him. As he turned toward the nearest human, Hassan, Sinbad saw his chance and rushed in, lunging at the great tiger’s head with his sword. But the beast saw the movement and turned swiftly and with one swipe of his paw sent Sinbad reeling.

The adventurer splashed into the water as he fell, then came up with his shirt ripped away and blood streaming from deep cuts across his chest. Sinbad writhed in pain, his colorful shirt hanging in ragged shreds from his broad shoulders.

Hassan and Maroof yelled as they charged in with their spears to cover their fallen leader. They thrust their points at the great beast, but the tiger swung his powerful claws and disemboweled Maroof and with the backhand knocked Hassan to the floor, unconscious. Trog lumbered over to stand by the swaying and wounded Sinbad. The caveman looked at Sinbad, then started forward to do combat with the saber-toothed beast by himself.

But in spite of his massive strength and his undaunted courage, he was no match for the tiger’s slashing teeth, savage claws, and the almost inhuman fighting instincts. The iron bar splashed to the floor and was lost. The troglodyte’s clumsy movements made him a victim to the more nimble tiger. The tiger sprang, bearing Trog down. They splashed and the saber-tooth’s jaws slashed at Trog. The beast-man could only fight with his bare hands. He tried to throttle the tiger, but the ripping rear legs were slowly shredding the hairy flesh off his legs and lower body.

Trog groaned in pain as the slashing claws made an ugly shambles of his body, shredding matted hair, sinew, flesh, and muscle. Trog groaned mightily, and the tiger broke loose from Trog’s stranglehold and plunged his great fangs into Trog’s throat. With a rip, a scream, a terrific wrenching of his body, Trog was killed, bloodily, and with great pain. He slumped down, dead, the rising waters almost closing over him.

The tiger roared in triumph, then turned toward Sinbad.

The sea captain turned, tripping, and fell into the water. There was something under his hand. He seized it and pulled it from the blood-stained water. It was the Minaton’s thick iron bar.

Resolutely, the bloody Sinbad advanced on the tiger. He stepped over the dead and mutilated body of Trog, hefting the pointed bar. The tiger shifted at once, crouching as if to spring as it sloshed through the water. Sinbad turned to ward it off and was cornered between two columns. Behind were the frozen bodies of the Arimaspi. The tiger slashed out suddenly and Sinbad barely managed to parry the hit with the iron bar.

The tiger’s claws scraped along the steel, almost knocking it from Sinbad’s grasp. The sailor saw a movement and realized Hassan was recovering from his near mortal blow. The tough sailor staggered to his feet almost behind the tiger, his sword still in his fist. He took in the situation at once, and, without thinking, Hassan threw his sword at the tiger.

The great saber-tooth had been about to leap at Sinbad but the sword stuck deep into his side. The beast roared in pain, his head up. Icicles fell in a rain of deadly diamonds and nearby a portion of the ice shroud fell from the ceiling in a ragged crash.

The tiger twisted around toward Hassan, eyes glaring, for the moment forgetting Sinbad. It slowly began to stalk toward the bloody sailor, and Hassan, weaponless, began to retreat.

Sinbad saw his chance and made a dash for the staircase, yelling wild shouts, hoping to distract the saber-tooth from Hassan and to gain a little height from which to fight the great animal.

But the tiger attacked Hassan first, mauling him badly, knocking the already hurt sailor back into the water. Sinbad leaped and swung the heavy iron bar into the tiger’s side. The prehistoric beast swiveled, roaring in pain and anger, and Sinbad once again splashed toward the stairs. Icicles fell about him and the thunder blended with the tiger’s scream.

Holding the iron bar, Sinbad slowly backed up the stairs of the whirlpool platform, watching the tiger come toward him. The beast was limping now, its head lowered, its eyes lambent and deadly. The tiger came close and Sinbad swung the iron bar at its face, missing the sensitive nose as the tiger snatched back its head. But the primitive killing machine was more careful now. It pawed viciously at the prodding iron spear as it moved along and up the steps, to gain altitude upon the wounded Sinbad.

Sinbad gained the wider step of the center level of the tiered platform, but a blow of the tiger almost caused him to lose the spear. He thrust it out quickly and backed up more steps. The tiger struck again and the blow knocked Sinbad tumbling back to the wider step below.

The tiger crouched for a killing leap but a chunk of the ice shroud fell, splashing partly into the sluggish whirlpool and partially right next to the angry beast. The tiger shied away, breaking his concentration on Sinbad. A single huge icicle plummeted down, smashing into a thousand glittering shards right next to the saber-tooth, and startled it again.