The giant bellowed, but Tony sprinted even faster for hand-to-hand contact. And the djinn could not quite take it. Tony’s challenge had included so furious an insult to the entire djinn nation that it could not possibly be a bluff—and now his confident rush to close in on Es-Souk was daunting.
Es-Souk spurted upward into a whirlwind half a mile high. He materialized as a roc at the top of the column of misty whirling air. The rest of the whirlwind flashed upward to be absorbed in the bird’s body. It was an admirable technical solution of the problem of a quick take-off for so large a flying creature. Gigantic flappings of mighty pinions sent the roc soaring away. Es-Souk was uncertain. He did not quite know what to do. To cover his indecision, he suddenly swooped and made what looked like a dive-bomber plunge for Tony.
It was utterly horrible to watch. The monstrous creature, its incredibly curved beak gaping, plunged for him in ravening ferocity. Its claws were stretched to rend and tear. It was as perfectly calculated to inspire panic as any sight could possibly be.
Tony faced it. He had a phial of lasf in his handkerchief, now. In the handkerchief, too, were the small stones he’d pocketed. He held the cigarette lighter in his left hand. His right gripped that singularly innocuous bomb. At the last instant he’d squeeze, crush the phial between the stones, and hurl the dripping handkerchief—weighted by the stones—deep into the gaping throat. He didn’t know how quickly it would work, but—
The roc zoomed just as Tony was sending the message to his fingers to tense and smash the lasf -phial. The great wings beat horrifically. Sand rose in clouds about Tony, blinding him. He found himself almost buried to his knees as the sand settled about him.
The roc was flapping into the sky again. Nasim ran up to Tony, beaming and offering him the coat.
“You’re wonderful!” she said adoringly. “What are you going to do next? And what do you want me to do?” He said indignantly:
“You shouldn’t mix into a private fight like this, Nasim!”
“Oh, do let me help!” she pleaded.
“Hell!” said Tony. “Put on something! Put on the coat! How do you expect me to keep my mind on fighting?”