them. She must have known they were dangerous, though; that was why she was armed. But why had she brought them here, why now?
He climbed the mound, Grigoris at his side, knowing there was nothing he could do about them right now. They were here; so be it. But in a matter of seconds Belecamus would catapult into trance, and then he would take charge.
The moment he accepted the outsiders, their presence suddenly made surprising sense. He knew why they were here, and what Pythia would tell them. He was in tune with her. He knew her words even before they were spoken. That was the way of the oracle priest.
Jones looked startled when he saw them, but he sounded almost relieved. 'You guys! Dorian, what are they doing here?'
'What do you think? The vapors are rising,' Pythia responded.
It was time, and Pythia dropped down onto one knee. It was impossible to distinguish fog from vapors, but Pythia inhaled deeply. Her head was bent low, and her hair had fallen over her face. Then the haze thickened and she was no longer visible.
Panos waded into the vapors, Grigoris at his heels. Pythia stood up, rocked from side to side. He looked at her hands and saw that she no longer held the gun. Her head lolled forward, then she raised it up. Her eyes, which had bulged when the king stood here, were now mere slits. There was something different about her. It was as if she were concealing something. She looked at him, then cocked her head, peering at the other men. Finally, her gaze settled on Jones. She smiled, an odd, crooked smile, then stepped forward and embraced him.
Jones don't return the embrace. His body was rigid. She muttered something under her breath which Panos couldn't hear. It didn't matter; he knew what she was saying.
'Pythia says you are to leave today for your homelands and tell all those you know about the return of Pythia. Many wonders will soon be taking place here, and the world must know about it.'
Pythia laughed, a disturbing cackling sound, and stepped back from Jones.
'Like what?' Jones asked. 'What sort of wonders?' 'Guidance concerning the future. Those who know what to expect will be far stronger than those who do not.'
'Nobody believes in that stuff anymore,' the tall, red-haired man said.
'You are a fool if you don't believe,' Grigoris said, and stepped forward as if to challenge him.
'What wonderful things does Pythia foresee?' Jones challenged as he stared intently at her. 'Tell me something.' 'It is a great gift she offers the world, which must be used wisely,' Panos said. 'Not for your entertainment.' Pythia giggled again, and grinned. Jones looked doubtful, and Panos was about to admon-ish him when he heard a voice from outside the vapors. 'Dorian, where are you?'
It was Mandraki. 'Ignore him,' Panos said.
'It's a trick,' said one of the outsiders.
'I'll take care of it,' Grigoris said.
'Wait!' Panos shouted, but Grigoris ignored him.
An instant later, Panos heard the report of a gun, and a cry from his son. 'No! No!' He rushed from the vapors; Grigoris was lying on his face halfway down the mound.
Panos stumbled down the slope, and dropped to his knees by Grigoris's side. His son's head was tilted in an odd way. He turned him over. His face was a shattered mass of blood, chips of bone, and brain.
Panos jerked his head back in horror. 'You. . . you!'
He stared into the icy eyes of Colonel Mandraki, who stood at the bottom of the mound amid the clearing fog, a rifle in his hand and an ammunition belt strapped from shoulder to waist.
'You killed my son.'
A shell clicked into the firing chamber.
He pulled the trigger.
At the sound of the first shot, Indy ducked to the ground. Conrad and Shannon did the same. But Dorian remained standing.
Why hadn't they run from the mound while they had a chance? Dorian's gun had disappeared from her hand, and she was cackling like an old witch. What the hell was this effect the vapors had on her? But they'd stood there and watched and listened to Panos's prattle, and now Mandraki was here.
Another gunshot exploded. Christ. What was going on out there? Indy didn't really want to know. He wanted to be as far from here as possible. But now they were trapped between Mandraki and the crevice.
Either direc tion was certain death.
'Dorian, come out of there,' Mandraki bellowed.
Shannon was at his side. 'We've had it, Indy. Soon as the vapors are gone, it's over.'
'Dorian,' Mandraki called again.
Their only other option was to walk around the crevice
and drop into the gully, but that was no good either. They'd be trapped, as good as dead.
Dorian took a step forward. The vapors were starting to thin, and Indy could vaguely make out Mandraki's form.
'Dorian, where are you?' Mandraki demanded. 'Do you have all three of them?'
She remained silent. Was she still Pythia, or somewhere in between? Then Indy saw her pull the revolver from the folds of a cloth belt. She raised the muzzle to her head. God, she was going to kill herself. 'Alex,'
she shouted. 'Watch out!'
Then she lowered the gun, aimed, and fired.
Mandraki took a faltering step back. His rifle clattered to the ground. He rocked on his heels, clutching his chest. Then he crumpled over, joining the carnage.
21
Parisian Pals
'I killed him in self-defense,' she said quietly. 'He was going to kill all of us.'
Indy stared at the bodies sprawled across the mound. 'Why would he want to kill you?'
'Plenty of reasons. Jealousy mainly. Panos told him about us. But he was angry that the king got away and he blamed me.'
He watched her closely. There was no sign of any trance-induced aberrations in her features. She was calm, and actually looked relieved after killing her long-standing lover. The gun dangled loosely in her hand. He hoped she was going to drop it, because he was going to pounce on it when she did.
His eyes slid to Shannon and Conrad who were standing to one side of him. They were as nervous now as when he'd arrived.
Dorian sensed their unease. 'Don't look at me like I'm some kind of madwoman. You're all alive because of me.'
'What are you going to do now?' Conrad asked, taking a step closer to her.
She smiled amiably. 'I know exactly what I'm going to do, and you three are going to help me.'
Conrad moved another pace closer, and held out his
hand. 'That's good, Dorian. I'll take the gun. You don't need it anymore.'
Her body tensed and she pointed the revolver at Conrad. 'Don't patronize me, Professor. I know what I'm doing. Sit down, all three of you. I'm going to give you a little history lesson about Delphi. You like history, don't you, Professor?'
She grinned at him, and for an instant Indy recognized the expression he'd seen on her face when she was Pythia. He wondered about that, and sat down with the others as she'd ordered.
'In ancient times, Delphi was like a magnet that drew people from around the Mediterranean,' she began.
This was madness. Three bodies were lying behind her, and she was lecturing as if she were in class at the Sorbonne. Indy was tempted to tell her to shut up, but he was certain she could shoot him with as much ease as she had killed Mandraki.
'It was not only the mephitic gases that were involved in Pythia's power, but also the Omphalos, a mysterious black cone-shaped stone.' Dorian looked over her audi ence. 'It's down there in the crevice within our reach. Indy found it, and I want it.'
