"Whoa!" Brody said as gasps and exclamations rang out from all around.
Heracles was staring straight ahead, his expression stony.
Nearby, Iphicles was hiding his face in his hands and shaking his head.
"This is bad," Julia muttered. "This is really bad!"
"I know," Brody agreed. "The gods' bet makes the Olympics seem like a football game that nobody can win.
If I beat Heracles at even one event, he'll end up in that terrible Tartarus place."
Julia nodded. "If that happens, he might never become the great hero he's supposed to be!"
"But if Heracles wins everything, Zeus might kill me or make me his slave," Brody reminded her.
"I don't like the sound of that, either."
"Neither do I. So what are we going to do?" Julia said. "We need a plan."
"There's nothing we can do," Markos said. "Now that the stakes are higher, the other gods will work even harder to defeat Heracles.
We won't be able to stop them, and we will surely suffer if we try."
"But Heracles is our friend now," Julia argued. "We can't just—"
She stopped herself as Hermes flew over.
The wings on his sandals were fluttering so fast that Brody could hardly see them.
"Come, boy." Hermes' eyes flashed with excitement.
"This bet makes things much more interesting, does it not?
The champion who beats Heracles and sends him to Tartarus will become a legend.
And I wish that person to be my champion! Let's get back to training!"
Over the next couple of days, Brody's life got even busier than it had been before.
Hermes made him train for hours each day. In the evenings the messenger god lectured Brody on strategies to beat Heracles.
It was pretty boring. Besides that, it left Brody no time to talk privately with Julia and Markos.
One morning at breakfast, Julia set a platter of barley cakes in front of Brody.
Brody quickly looked around the table. Hermes had arrived, but he was busy talking to Caerus.
"Listen," Brody whispered to Julia. "What are we going to do about Heracles?"
"I don't know," Julia whispered back. She pretended to be serving more food so she could stand there for a minute.
"But Markos and I are thinking about a plan."
"You'd better think fast," Brody said. "The Olympics are only three days away!"
"Hurry and eat, my champion," Hermes called suddenly. "We have much work to do today."
Brody started eating as Julia moved away. He knew he'd better eat fast.
Hermes was impatient, and yesterday he hadn't even let Brody stop for lunch.
Training for the Olympics was hard enough without trying to do it on an empty stomach!
By the time Brody returned to Markos' house that evening, he was exhausted.
Hermes had made him practice every single event of the Games.
Brody's cheek was bruised where Athena's champion had hit him during their boxing match.
His leg throbbed where one of the chariot horses had kicked him.
Every muscle in his body ached from running and wrestling and throwing things.
"I hope dinner is ready soon," he said, collapsing onto a bench in the courtyard.
"I want to go to sleep before Hermes shows up again. He'll probably spend hours telling me about all the ways I can beat Heracles."
"I'm glad Hermes let us walk home from the gymnasium by ourselves tonight," Julia said, glancing from Brody to Markos.
"He's been hanging around so much that we've barely had a chance to talk.
We still need to figure out what we're going to do about Hera's bet."
Brody didn't respond. He was sniffing the air.
"Do you guys smell something weird?" he asked. "It definitely doesn't smell like dinner."
Julia pointed a short distance away. "Look!"
A thick cloud of white smoke was pouring into the courtyard.
Markos coughed. "It smells like incense. But where is it coming from?"
Brody coughed too. The smoke was twirling around him now, making it hard to breathe. His lungs burned.
"Let's get out of here!" He choked out the words.
Suddenly the smoke disappeared, leaving Hermes in its place.
"I have important news, my champion!" Hermes declared.
"I should have guessed the smoke was from Hermes," Markos muttered, his voice slightly hoarse. "He has a special love for incense."
Hermes waved a hand to silence Markos.
"Did you not hear me? I have news!
Hera has just announced that she'll host a banquet to honor all the athletes and their sponsors."
"A banquet?" Brody's stomach grumbled. A big meal sounded pretty good just then. "Is it tonight?"
Hermes chuckled. "I see that my champion is as eager to celebrate as I am."
He clapped Brody on the back. "The banquet is tomorrow evening."
"Why is Hera hosting a banquet?" Julia asked.
"Does that always happen before the Olympic Games?"
"No, this is the first time. I suspect she's trying to make Zeus look bad for not thinking of it first." Hermes smirked.
"But that won't stop everyone—even Zeus—from attending and having a splendid time."
Markos bowed to Hermes. "I am certain that you and Brody will enjoy the festivities, Hermes."
"I'm certain of that too," Hermes said with a smile.
"But you'll be able to see for yourself, my boy.
As Brody's companion, you shall attend as well."
"Really?" Markos' eyes lit up.
"Cool." Brody grinned at Markos. "This banquet sounds like fun."
"What about me?" Julia asked. "Can I come too?"
"You?" Hermes laughed. "Don't be silly. Of course not!"
Brody was surprised. "Why can't she come?"
"Oh, you mortals!" Hermes kept chuckling. "Excuse me, I want to see if dinner is ready.
Preparing my champion for Olympic glory is hungry work."