Silently, Burke crossed the threshold.
Here the acrid smell was almost overpowering; and though the room itself was unoccupied, a strange, pulsating aura of evil seemed to flow through it in great waves.
Burke tip-toed to the shining, blue-white tank; peered down into it.
It held clear liquid only. But the stink of the stuff made Burke choke and gasp. His eyes burned. He stumbled backward, fighting for breath.
In the same instant, cloth rustled behind him.
Burke whirled.
A tapestry had been flung back, revealing a previously-hidden door. Framed in it, well over seven feet tall, stood a creature Burke couldn't believe even now, as he stared at it.
The thing was a man, at first glance—a giant of a man, mightily muscled. He wore nothing save the traditional Minoan loin-band.
But it was the creature's head that held Burke; froze him.