"My baby!" Artemis leaped toward the dog. "He's been poisoned!"
"Poisoned?" several voices murmured. All around the room, gods snatched the goblets out of their champions' hands.
"Whew . . . ." Julia let out a long breath. That had been a close call!
Then she noticed Hera glaring at her and stalking closer.
Did Hera recognize Julia in her disguise? Julia hoped not.
She looked around for an escape route, but she was surrounded by gods and people. She couldn't even see the door.
Artemis was muttering over her dog and waving her hand in circles over its head.
After a moment the animal's tail twitched, and a few seconds later it sat up and whimpered.
"Poor baby," Artemis said, rubbing its sleek head.
She shot an angry look at Hera. "You're lucky I was able to revive him!
I'm sure I'm not the only one who is growing weary of your ridiculous tricks and magical poisons."
Hera ignored her. Her steely gaze was still on Julia.
Julia gulped. "I've got to get out of here," she whispered to Brody and the others.
Brody looked too stunned to respond, and Julia thought that Markos and Iphicles had not yet figured out her identity.
But Heracles nodded. "I'll distract Hera," he whispered. "You go that way."
He pointed, and Julia finally spotted a doorway nearby.
She barely had time to nod before Heracles leaped forward to intercept Hera.
"Beloved queen of the gods," he exclaimed loudly.
"I cannot imagine who dared to tamper with the drinks at your gathering!"
"You can't?" Ares called out with a snort. "Because I can!"
Hera whirled around to glare at Ares. "Silence!" she snapped.
Meanwhile Julia darted toward the door that Heracles had indicated.
It led into a storage room. A few servants glanced at Julia as she raced across the storage room and finally out the back door.
Once she was safely outside, Julia collapsed against the back wall of the house, shaking with relief.
"Wow, that really was close," she murmured.
She still could hardly believe her plan had succeeded.
When the guard had commented again about her water jar, she'd had the idea to bribe him.
She'd lured him away from his post, and then offered to trade the jar for his clothes.
After trading her girl's chiton for the guard's chiton, she'd asked to borrow his knife.
She'd paused only for a second before chopping off a lot of her hair.
The guard loved his new water jar so much, he agreed to keep quiet while Julia sneaked into the house with a group of servants carrying in more food.
Once she was inside, Julia had followed the party sounds to the right room, only to find Brody with the cup already to his lips . . .
Julia shuddered, remembering that awful moment.
She'd arrived in the nick of time.
"What would I do if something happened to Brody?" she thought suddenly. "I'd probably never get home."
But that wasn't the only reason she was glad Brody was okay.
It wasn't even the most important reason.
Brody was actually starting to feel like . . . a friend.
It was a weird thought. But Julia didn't have much time to ponder it.
The door flew open, and Brody and Markos rushed out.
"Julia!" Markos exclaimed. "Is that really you?"
"It's me." Julia touched her short hair.
"This was the only way I could think of to get inside and warn you about the poison."
"But how did you find out about that?" Brody asked.
Julia told them about running into Lethe.
Just as she finished telling the story, the door opened again.
This time it was Heracles and Iphicles.
"Good, you're still here!" Heracles said. "Julia, I wish to thank you for saving my life—again."
"And mine too," Brody added. "What you did, Julia, was really cool."
Iphicles glanced at the open door, looking nervous.
"We should go back in, brother," he said to Heracles. "Zeus will be looking for you."
"I suppose you're right." Heracles smiled at Julia and then bowed. "Again, many thanks to you."
"You're welcome." Julia watched Heracles hurry back inside, followed by his brother.
"Heracles is actually a pretty cool guy, isn't he?" Brody said.
"Indeed," Markos agreed. "It's too bad he'll likely end up in Tartarus."
"Don't say that," Julia said quickly. "Zeus will be at the Games, protecting him."
"You've seen how easily the gods get distracted," Markos said quietly.
"Zeus could take his eyes off Heracles, and the other gods will seize the opportunity."
"Yeah," Brody agreed. "Heracles is in real danger."
Julia knew the boys were right. "So what can we do? We need to help him if we can."
"There's just one way to keep Heracles out of Tartarus.
We need to make sure he wins everything." Brody took a deep breath.
"Even if that means not doing my best."
Julia was surprised. Brody was competitive—he hated to lose.
"You'd do that, Brody?" she asked. "But that's very risky.
If you don't win, Hermes might not let us leave—especially if he suspects you lost on purpose."
"Oh no, you don't!" Hermes' angry voice rang out. "You're not losing anything, mortal!"
Julia slumped against the wall. She and the boys had been so busy talking, they hadn't noticed Hermes standing in the doorway.
"I came out here to make sure you were not injured by Hera's trickery," Hermes went on.
His expression was dark and stormy. "And what do I hear but my own champion threatening to humiliate me at the Games!"
"No, it's not like that," Brody protested. "Listen, dude—"
Hermes cut him off. "No, you listen to me.
You will not betray me again, do you understand?
Because if you don't do your very best in every contest, you and your friends will soon be joining Heracles in Tartarus!"