As soon as Hermes had disappeared into the house, Julia whirled to face Markos.
"Why did Hermes laugh at the idea of my coming to the banquet?" she demanded.
Markos looked surprised. "Females are never allowed at that sort of banquet.
And I think only unmarried females are allowed at the Games."
"What?" Julia frowned. She was getting tired of hearing about all the stuff that girls and women weren't allowed to do in ancient Greece.
"But Hera will be at both events, won't she?" Julia argued. "She's female!"
"She's a goddess," Markos replied. "That's different. All the goddesses will be there with their champions, of course."
Julia glanced at Brody. He didn't look upset at all.
"Aargh!" Julia exclaimed, stomping away from the courtyard.
"Hey!" Brody called after her. "Where are you going?"
Julia didn't answer him or slow down.
Right now she wished the boys would just ignore her, like everyone else in ancient Greece seemed to do.
But footsteps soon pounded behind her. A moment later Brody and Markos reached her.
"Are you all right?" Markos asked.
"She's just upset because of the whole girl thing," Brody told him.
"In our world girls can do all the same stuff boys can do." He paused.
"Well, most stuff, anyway. They don't usually play football."
Julia rolled her eyes, but she didn't respond.
She was staring up at the Temple of Caerus.
The moon had just risen, and the temple looked beautiful perched on the hillside in the silvery light. For a second she almost smiled.
Then she remembered that their only way home lay inside that temple. "Let's go up there," she said.
"To the temple?" Brody said. "Why?"
Markos looked worried. "You're not going to try to sneak through the rift again, are you?"
"We wouldn't do that," Julia said. "We know that would make Hermes punish your family."
"Yeah," Brody added. "Besides, dinner will be ready soon at your house, and I'm hungry."
"It will only take a few minutes," Julia said.
"I want to try to peek in, to make sure the rift is still open."
"Why wouldn't it be open?" Brody asked with a shrug.
"Hermes said it would stay that way until after the Olympics, at least."
Julia corrected him. "He said it probably would. Anyway I just want to see it."
She bit her lip, not wanting to admit that she was homesick.
Being in ancient Greece was fun and sometimes interesting.
But at other times it felt dangerous and hard; there were so many things she couldn't do.
"I wonder what our parents are thinking," she said to Brody.
"Do you think they called the police when we went missing?"
He looked startled. "I never really thought about that.
They probably did. They must be super worried about us, right?"
Julia nodded, glancing at the temple again.
"At least we'll be home soon. The Games are only three days away."
"Right." Brody stared at the temple. "Maybe it's not a bad idea to try to get a peek at the rift."
Julia smiled at him. He smiled back. Then he turned away and charged up the path.
"Be careful, Brody!" Markos called. "We don't want the guard to see us, or he might tell Hermes we were looking around the temple."
"Oh. Good point." Brody slowed down, and soon the three of them were sneaking toward one side of the temple.
The guard was standing on the steps.
"Too bad the temple doesn't have more windows," Brody whispered.
"I don't think we'll be able to see the rift from out here."
Julia realized he was right. "Oh well," she said.
"I guess we'll have to hope it stays open until . . ." She stopped herself. "Did you hear something?"
The sound of voices was drifting toward them from the path below.
Markos' face went pale. "That sounds like Hermes and Caerus," he whispered. "What are they doing here?"
"I guess dinner isn't ready yet," Brody commented, rubbing his stomach. "Maybe they're out for a walk too."
"We can't let them catch us here!" Markos darted away from the temple.
Brody followed. But Julia's chiton caught on a branch.
By the time she pulled it loose, Hermes and Caerus had come into sight.
Julia ducked behind a tree. She would have to meet up with the boys later.
Just then she heard Hermes mention Brody's name.
". . . and the boy is making progress," Hermes was saying.
"I truly believe he could beat even the mighty Heracles at boxing, or possibly in one of the shorter footraces."
"Yes." Caerus sounded amused. "Especially if some disaster happens to befall Heracles while he's running."
Julia winced. It sounded as if the gods were still planning to sabotage Heracles—even during the Games!
"I can't wait to see Zeus' face when his hero fails to win," Hermes said with glee.
"I plan to enjoy the victory tour—and to make sure Zeus hears all about it!"
"I'm sure that will be enjoyable indeed," Caerus agreed.
"But what will you do with your mortal champion if the rift closes before he can return to his own time?"
Julia almost gasped. She clapped her hand over her mouth just in time.
Then she leaned forward, listening more intently than ever.
"What do you mean?" Hermes asked. "The boy can return home if he wishes, as long as he does it after I've had my fun at Zeus' expense."
"But the rift is unstable, remember?" Caerus said.
"I can't guarantee how much longer it will stay open.
If the boy ends up trapped here, he might tell someone he isn't really from Greece and thus isn't qualified for the Games."
"Yes, I suppose that could be a problem." Hermes didn't sound very worried.
"If it happens, I'll deal with it somehow. But first, let's make sure he wins."