Hermes stormed back into the banquet room.
"Oops," Brody said. "I guess my plan to lose during the Games isn't going to work."
He felt terrible. He'd wanted to find a way to help Heracles.
Instead Brody had just made things worse for everyone.
"What are we going to do now?" Julia asked.
Markos shook his head. "I don't know. Because if Brody proves to Hermes that he's doing his best by winning one or more events—"
"Then Heracles will end up in Tartarus," Julia finished grimly.
"There's still just one obvious solution," she added. "Heracles has to win everything."
"But Julia," Markos started to argue, "if Hermes thinks Brody isn't doing his best—"
"Hermes won't think that," Julia said. "Not if we can stop the other gods from sabotaging Heracles.
If Heracles gets to compete fairly, without any interference from the gods, nobody will be surprised if he wins every event."
"Hey!" Brody protested. "I might win something!"
Then he thought for a second, remembering some of the amazing things he'd seen Heracles do.
"Actually, never mind. I guess you're right."
"So if Brody comes in second in some of the games, Hermes will believe he's doing his best," Julia went on.
"That way Heracles will be safe from Tartarus, and Hermes probably won't even care if we go back through the rift right away."
"What if Zeus decides to kill me or make me his slave?" Brody said.
"That was part of the deal, remember?"
"Don't worry too much about that," Markos said. "I think Julia is right.
If Heracles wins all the events in the Games, Zeus will be busy bragging and strutting around.
He won't pay any attention to you."
"We need to talk to Heracles and Iphicles," Julia said.
"We have to tell them what's going on and ask Iphicles to help us." Then she looked at Markos.
"For now, I have another problem—I have to find another water jar so I can bring home some water."
Julia and Markos headed toward the fountain. Brody followed them, feeling uneasy.
What if Hermes decided Brody hadn't tried hard enough?
What if the messenger god refused to let them leave?
And how were they supposed to stop the other gods from interfering with Heracles during the Games?
Finally Brody decided to stop worrying about all that stuff.
Julia and Markos were smart—they'd figure everything out.
Brody just had to hold up his end of the deal.
That meant getting some sleep so he could train hard tomorrow!
"Your boxing technique could still use some work, boy," Hermes said the next morning. "Let's find you a sparring partner."
Brody glanced around the gymnasium. Almost all the gods he'd ever seen were there today, along with their champions.
Heracles was nearby, tossing a javelin under Zeus' watchful eye.
"Heracles doesn't look too busy," Brody said. "Should I ask him to spar with me?"
Hermes smiled with approval. "Trying to show me you're sorry by boxing with the toughest competitor out there, eh? I like it.
Go ahead—I'll be right there. I just need to discuss something with Caerus."
Brody hurried over to Zeus and bowed.
"Uh, hi, sir. I was wondering if your champion would spar with me for a while."
Zeus looked amused. "You're Hermes' champion, aren't you, my boy?" he said in his booming voice.
"You can certainly spar with my champion.
Perhaps it's good to experience some humiliation before the Games begin!"
"Yeah. I mean no!" Brody said, flustered for a moment. "Thanks, Zeus."
Soon Brody and Heracles were circling each other, taking jabs now and then.
Brody was pretty sure that Heracles was going easy on him, since only a couple of Heracles' punches hit their marks.
Zeus was watching them, so Brody didn't dare to speak to Heracles for a while.
Finally, though, Athena called to Zeus. The king of the gods went over to talk to her.
"Listen," Brody hissed at Heracles. "I need to tell you something."
As quickly as he could, he whispered everything he knew about the gods' plots against Heracles. Heracles listened, looking worried.
"I know the gods don't play fair, of course," he said when Brody finished.
"And I know that as Zeus' champion, I am a favorite target of the gods.
But I didn't realize it would be this bad."
Brody nodded and dodged a jab. "All the gods are after you," he said.
"Well, except for Zeus, of course. And maybe Athena. But we want to help you."
Now Heracles looked surprised. "How?" he asked.
Brody couldn't resist taking advantage of his opponent's distraction to land a punch on Heracles' shoulder.
The muscles there felt as hard as rocks, and Heracles hardly seemed to notice the punch.
"We have a plan," Brody said. "Well, Julia does. And she's good at that sort of thing."
Once again he spoke quickly, explaining what Julia had in mind.
"You and Julia have been good to me," Heracles said.
"I wish to do whatever I can to help you return to your own time."
One corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.
"And of course I wish to keep myself out of Tartarus." His smile faded.
"Plus, I have to think of my brother."
Brody nodded. "We're hoping Iphicles will help us too.
Julia and Markos are supposed to be talking to him right now."
"I'm sure he will help." Heracles still looked anxious.
"I worry about what could happen to him if I end up disgraced."
"What do you mean?" Brody asked, ducking to avoid another jab.
Heracles sighed. "Iphicles is a fine person," he said.
"But he can be a bit . . . gruff at times. And the gods take offense so easily."
He shook his head, replacing his worried expression with a determined one.
"In any case, my thanks to you and your friends, Brody.
I am with you. Just tell me what you need me to do."