As she’d hoped, the Jinn turned all his attention on her and did not notice Prince Ahmad. Estanash had eyes with the vertical pupils of a cat, bright yellow and gleaming with the light of evil. “Who art thou, foolish mortal, to dare invade my cave?”
“I am Selima, daughter of Jafar al-Sharif, the greatest wizard of our age, and I am come to kill thee.”
Estanash laughed, a deep, thunderous tone that rumbled through the cavern and shook the very walls. Then the Jinn rose and Selima’s eyes widened. It had been hard to judge his height when he was lying down, but standing his head nearly touched the high ceiling of this cave. The fat of his belly and his ponderous breasts hung flabbily, but his apelike hairless arms gave him a broad reach.
“Daughter of a wizard?” the Jinn laughed, and his br
