Indiana Jones & the Peril at Delphi

pulled Panos to his feet.

'Hi there.'

The man looked surprised. He shook his head. 'No English.'

Indy poked him in the chest. 'I know you,' he said as the music started up again. 'We were playing tag at the Acropolis just the other day.'

Doumas grabbed Indy by the shoulder. 'Jones, what the hell are you doing?' he shouted over the music.

He jabbed an elbow into Doumas's gut, and shrugged out of his grip. 'You were chasing me and my friend. Why?' He spoke slowly and loudly, but Panos just shook his head again and tried to wrench his arm free.

'Indy, watch out,' Nikos yelled, but it was too late. Indy saw a blur out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't Doumas, but someone else, younger, slender—and in that instant the newcomer's fist slammed solidly into Indy's jaw.

He staggered back, crashing through a new circle of stomping dancers. Someone caught him under the arms; he was turned around and pushed away. Voices shouted in Greek, and the wailing askomandra wrapped around him. Fragments of faces leered. Eyes and noses shifted posi tions like a cubist portrait.

Then he saw the man again, a younger version of Panos. The stranger pulled back his arm for another punch, but this time Indy reacted faster, and crashed his fist into the man's nose.

Nikos suddenly was at his side. 'Come, fast, we must go.'

Indy was almost out the door when the skin rose on the back of his neck as he heard a commotion behind him. He turned to see the man he'd struck charging toward him, a knife raised above his head. The man slashed as Indy raised his forearm, but his blow fell short as Doumas's meaty arms wrapped around the assailant. He was lifted off his feet, spun around, and pulled away.

Indy looked around, and saw everyone in the taverna

staring at him. He smiled weakly. 'I think it's past my bedtime.' He backed out the door, and felt his jaw.

Nikos hurried to his side as he walked away. 'Are you all right, Indy?'

'Think so. Are the tavernas in Athens this much fun, kid?'

'Jones,' a deep voice called out. Indy turned and saw Doumas standing at the door of the taverna. His face was red and sweaty, and he was jabbing a finger at him. 'You don't belong here. If you want to see Paris again, stay out of Greek business.'

Indy unlocked the door of his hotel room, opened it a few inches, and laid his books on the floor. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure Nikos hadn't followed him. Then, instead of going inside, he slammed the door shut, and moved down the hallway to the back stairs. Outside, he walked around the side to the hotel stable and mounted one of the camp's horses.

He had to get to the ruins as quickly as possible. Delphi was a trap. Doumas must be part of the conspiracy against Dorian and her father, and he had to tell her. They had to get away from here, and there was no time to waste.

He couldn't take the road through the village; he would have to pass by the taverna and Doumas or one of the others might see him. He directed the horse around the back of the stable to a narrow trail that led through the woods. He'd only taken the winding path once, and that had been during the day with Nikos.

He knew he would have to rely on the horse's own savvy to find its way back home.

As Indy cantered along, the darkness closed around him like a blindfold. He could see no more than a couple of feet ahead of the horse. The trail rose steeply, then fell, and rose again. He rocked back in the saddle, gripping the reins, and slowed the horse to a trot.

'Easy, boy. Just follow the road.'

Suddenly, the trail plunged downward, and the horse skidded sideways and whinnied. 'Whoa, whoa,'

Indy yelled, pulling in the reins.

This was a mistake, a big mistake, he told himself. But he wasn't turning back now. He'd make it.

Somehow. As if in response to his thoughts, the horse abruptly stopped. 'What's wrong, boy?'

Then Indy saw that the path divided, and the horse was waiting for directions. 'Hey, I don't know. Just head for camp. You know, your stable.'

The horse blew out its nose, shook its head, and pawed the ground. But it didn't move either way. Just then Indy heard a noise behind him. He turned his head and listened. There it was again. The sound of a horse moving toward them on the trail.

Christ. They were following him. Move.

He jerked the head of the horse to the left, touched its sides, and shook the rein. The horse broke into a trot, and climbed the incline. They must have seen him leaving the hotel and realized what he was doing.

This was definitely no place for a confrontation, and it was probably just what they wanted. No witnesses.

Real pretty. Boy, am I a sucker, he thought as he heard his pursuers closing in on him.

Maybe he should get off the horse, and send it down the trail. They'd chase the horse, and he could get away. Good idea, he told himself, but just as he was about to dis mount, the reins slipped from his hands. He fumbled for them in the darkness, but couldn't find them.

'Hell with it,' he said aloud, and started to dismount the moving horse. But at that moment, the path rose, and a thick branch caught him squarely across the forehead, knocking him out of the saddle. He tumbled through the darkness and crashed with a thud to the ground.

He gasped for breath; heard hoofbeats. He rolled onto

his stomach, then stumbled to his feet. He wobbled one step, another, then dropped to his knees. He tried to rise again, but fell backwards. Far overhead, constellations spun in tight, mad circles. He closed his eyes, shutting it all out, and lost consciousness.

A voice. 'Indy, are you all right?'

He blinked his eyes open and saw Nikos. 'Where'd they go? They were after me, and—'

'It was me. I was trying to catch up to you. I almost rode right over you.'

'I feel like you did.'

'Can you walk?'

He sat up and rubbed his head. 'Who knows. Don't think I broke anything.'

Nikos helped him to his feet. 'Why were you going back to the ruins at night?'

'I've got to talk to Dr. Belecamus. Where's the horse?'

'Over here,' Nikos said, motioning down the trail. 'But you turned the wrong way. You won't get to the ruins on this path.'

'Show me the way.' Indy brushed himself off and walked over to the horse.

'Indy, I think you should watch out for Dr. Belecamus.'

'Watch out for her? Why?'

'Because of who she is. You don't know everything about her.'

'You're right, I don't.' He recalled what Dorian had said about the villagers' attitude toward her. 'Let's talk about it sometime. Right now though I've got to get to the ruins.'

He untied the horse from a tree, and slung his leg over the saddle.

'Listen to me.' Nikos hurried after him. 'It is danger ous for you to be close to her.'

Indy turned and stared down at him. 'What are you talking about?'

Nikos moved nearer and gripped the reins of Indy's

horse. 'The Oracle is coming back, and they say Dr. Belecamus is Pythia.'

'Who says that?'

'Those men in the taverna. Panos, his son, Grigoris, also Doumas, I think. They are all in the Order.'

Indy shook his head. 'What order?'

'The Order of Pythia. They are the keepers of the old knowledge.'

'And why do they think Belecamus is Pythia?'

'The old man in the taverna, the Crazy One, is the oldest member of the Order, and many years ago he predicted that Pythia would return. He said it would happen after the earth shook and before the king arrived.'

'Swell. But that doesn't answer my question. Why is Belecamus the new Pythia?'