01 Babylon Rising Read Free Page B

again, but looked frustrated and confused by this bouncing prey.
    Between the wooden floor, which was slippery to its backclaws, and the netting, which was tangling his front claws, the lion writhed and roared in frustration. Murphy kept bouncing as far from the lion as he could get each time because he knew that the moment the lion connected with him, even with a glancing blow, it could be his last moment on earth.
    “Murphy, stop playing popcorn and come down and give the pussycat a chance to really play with you.”
    I’ll come down
, Murphy thought,
but not the way you’re thinking
. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his army knife. He did not wish to intentionally take another creature’s life, even though the beast had four paws full of blades to his one. Instead, as the lion clawed and tried to jump up toward him, Murphy stumbled to one of the poles in four bounds. There he slashed the rope holding the netting to the pole.
    “Murphy, that’s not fair,” Methuselah screamed.
    “Don’t talk to me about fair, you maniac.”
    Murphy was bounding to the next pole. The lion swung furiously but seemed to be tiring, much like a heavyweight boxer in a middle round. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking, Murphy realized, but the lion definitely looked confused by Murphy’s rapid movements.
    As the second side of the netting fell away from Murphy’s knife, the lion realized too late that he should have moved out from under it. Its two front paws were now hopelessly tangled in the heavy rope. Murphy slid more than jumped to the floor, careful to stay out of range of the lion’s claws.
    Or so he thought, until an intense pain seared his left shoulder when a back claw struck him as it jerked free from the ropes. Murphy forced himself to run toward one of the two remaining ropes holding the netting, able to run faster on thefloor. Best case, he had maybe another ten seconds before the lion pulled himself free of the ropes that had already fallen around him.
    The pain in his shoulder told him he would have to lift himself back up with only his right arm, and he was grateful for the hundreds of pull-ups he forced himself to do in the gym each week. He raised himself up and swung around, then bounced again to grab the pole and slashed the third thong just as the lion was twisting away from the heap of ropes it had torn away from its body.
    Now with this new batch of netting entrapping him, the lion momentarily collapsed on the floor. It roared through ragged, heaving breaths, still trying to slash free with its claws. Murphy rolled to the floor but made sure to stay completely out of the range of the lion.
    “Aw, Murphy, you spoiled everything.” Methuselah was fairly sputtering. “But you got fight in you, boy. For a useless Bible teacher, you got moxie, I’ll give you that.”
    Murphy was breathing almost as rapidly as the lion. He managed to gasp, “How about giving me my artifact instead?”
    “Well, you earned it, I guess. Only it’s not going to be what you think.”
    Murphy straightened and looked up at the platform. “What are you trying to pull here, Methuselah?”
    “Shut up and listen. It’s right there in front of you. You just have to grab it.”
    “Grab what? Where?” Murphy was getting a bad feeling.
    “Oh, your body’s still prime, Murphy, but I swear all those digs have turned your brain to dust. Look at the lion’sneck.” Sure enough, Murphy noticed for the first time that there was a thin leather strip tied around the lion’s neck. Attached to the strip was a red tube approximately the size and shape of a very large cigar holder.
    “Oh, no, Methuselah. You think I’m going to fight this lion again just to get at that thing around his neck? That’s too crazy even by your standards.” Murphy paused, sensing his opportunity slipping away. “Besides, what’s in the tube?”
    Methuselah started his cackling laugh again. “Oh, Murphy, I’ve put the fever in you good tonight. You