Brody peeled off the rest of his armor as the horses galloped toward the Temple of Caerus.
"Did you bring our regular clothes?" he asked Julia.
Then he blinked, realizing she'd already changed.
She handed over his clothes. "Hurry," she said, glancing back over her shoulder.
"It won't take long for the gods to catch up to us."
"Only if they figure out where you're going," Heracles said.
"Do you think they will?" Brody asked.
Julia shrugged. "Hermes or Caerus will certainly figure it out. But will they tell Zeus and Hera?"
"I doubt it," Heracles said. "Hermes and Caerus won't wish to help Zeus or Hera under the circumstances."
Brody hoped Heracles was right.
Soon Iphicles pulled sharply on the reins, and the chariot skidded to a stop at the bottom of the temple's steps.
"Thanks for the ride," Julia called as she and Brody climbed out.
She looked at Heracles."Is it safe for you two to return to the Games?"
"I think you'll be fine once we're gone," Brody said.
"Zeus will protect you from Hera, Heracles.
And he probably wants to crown you with that olive wreath!"
"The festivities can wait." Heracles climbed out too.
"I want to make sure you two get home safely.
How will you get past the temple guard?"
"We'll be fine," Brody said.
"I insist," Heracles said firmly. "Come on, Iphicles."
"If you say so, brother." Iphicles got out of the chariot and tied the horses to a tree.
There was no guard outside the temple.
"Good!" Brody said. "Modern times, here we come!"
He charged through the temple's outer room and through the entrance to the inner room. The passage was still open.
"Whew!" Brody exclaimed. "Hurry up, Julia. We don't want to—"
A sudden flash of bright light interrupted him.
Brody shaded his eyes and coughed at the smoke that suddenly filled the chamber.
When the smoke cleared, Hera stood between Brody and the rift.
"Oh, good," she said with a sneer. "I was hoping I wasn't too late to see you off, mortals."
Julia ran in with Heracles and his brother.
"Hera, leave them alone!" Heracles called. "They've done nothing."
Hera ignored him. "Come here, mortal," she said, reaching for Iphicles and pulling him toward her.
Brody expected Iphicles to struggle to free himself.
But Iphicles just stood there as Hera stroked his hair.
"You have my thanks, mortal boy," the goddess purred.
"Without your information I might not have learned all of your friends' secrets until it was too late."
"Huh?" Brody said, not understanding what she meant.
But Julia was scowling. "I hate to tell you this, Brody," she exclaimed, "but Iphicles betrayed us!"
"Don't flatter yourself," Iphicles snapped. "It wasn't you two I was after." He glared at Heracles.
Now Brody was starting to follow along.
"Wait . . . you betrayed your own brother, Iphicles?" he blurted out. "That's low!"
Hera chuckled. "It's all a matter of perspective, mortal.
I consider Iphicles a hero. He informed me about where I might have a moment alone with my husband's mortal champion.
I couldn't rely on the other gods to destroy Heracles."
Brody shuddered. Once again Hera had put extra emphasis on the word "mortal."
Brody guessed that meant she knew that Heracles was half god.
Julia was still glaring at Iphicles. "How could you do this?" she said. "Heracles is your own brother."
Iphicles shrugged. "It was easy for me to do it.
I've been hearing about the wonderful Alcides for my whole life.
What about me? Nobody ever pays the slightest attention to me."
"That's no reason to betray him to Hera!" Brody retorted.
Heracles hadn't said a word yet. He stared at his brother with hurt in his eyes. Then his expression darkened.
"If you had a problem with me, brother, you should have said so," he said.
"Now you've put our friends in danger."
"They're your friends, Heracles, not mine," Iphicles said. "I don't have any friends."
"Say good-bye to them, Heracles," Hera spoke up.
"Well, unless you wish me to send them to somewhere like Tartarus along with you."
Brody's heart pounded. He didn't want to go to Tartarus!
He didn't want Heracles to go there either.
"Wait a minute!" Julia blurted out. "You can't send Heracles to Tartarus."
Sparks shot out of Hera's eyes as she glared at Julia.
"Who are you to tell me what I can or cannot do?"
"You made a bet," Julia said, her voice shaking.
"According to the bet, you were only allowed to send Heracles to Tartarus if he lost at least one event at the Games. And he won them all."
Brody was impressed. Julia was standing up to Hera—and Hera was scary!
Hera stared down at Julia. "You're right, my fellow gods were not able to stop Zeus' mighty hero in the Games.
Unfortunately, that means he's safe from Tartarus."
"Whew!" Brody thought.
But Hera wasn't finished. "That doesn't mean he's completely safe, however." She sneered.
"I can toss him somewhere much worse than Tartarus—like into the terrible future world beyond this rift."
She pointed a long, thin finger at the time passage.
Brody gasped. "But if you throw him through there, the rift will close!" he blurted out.
"Yes, that's what my young mortal friend tells me." Hera patted Iphicles again.
"It means that I won't be bothered by the mighty Heracles ever again." She let out a terrible cackle.
"And he will surely suffer in that new place—because he'll know that his mortal friends are trapped here in Olympia forever!"
"No!" Heracles cried. He leaped forward and grabbed at Hera.
But the goddess was too quick for him.
Tilting her staff forward, she shot out a bolt of energy.
It struck Heracles in the chest and sent him hurtling backward.
Heracles flew through the rift, and it closed with a snap!