44_Undefeated

" Brody is amazing! ” Markos exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat. “ He’s become a really good wrestler. ” Julia nodded. Brody was wrestling with Demeter’s champion. “ He’s pretty good at all of the events, ” she admitted. Then she glanced at Heracles, who was standing on the sideline with the other athletes. “ He’s definitely not as good as Heracles, though. ” “ Nobody is as good as Heracles, ” Markos replied. He looked around and then lowered his voice. “ But that’s no surprise. After all, Heracles is half god. ”

“ Yes, ” Iphicles muttered. “ And if the other gods knew the truth about him, they’d—” “ But they don’t know the truth, ” Julia reminded him quickly. “ And we’d better hope they never find out—for Heracles’ sake. ” “ Right, ” Markos agreed. Julia glanced uneasily toward Hera, who was seated in her golden chair with the other gods. Did Hera already know that Heracles was Zeus’ son? Was that why she hated Heracles so much? A roar went up from the crowd as Brody threw down his opponent again and won. Agon stepped forward and declared him the winner of the round.

Next Heracles stepped up, along with Athena’s champion. The two of them shook hands before getting into position. “ We got lucky with Heracles’ opponent, ” Julia said. “ He’s Athena’s champion, and Athena is the only god who’s playing fair. ” “ But that won’t stop the other gods from interfering. ” Markos looked glum. “ I know, ” Julia said. She watched as the match began. Heracles quickly overpowered the other athlete.

Just as Heracles was about to toss him again, Julia saw Artemis step up to the sidelines and point her bow. “ Here it comes! ” Julia thought. “ Be ready, Heracles! ” Suddenly Athena’s champion changed shape, growing larger and becoming very hairy and muscular. A second later Heracles was wrestling a huge bear! The bear roared and slashed at Heracles with its sharp claws. Heracles had already ducked low, dodging the bear’s swipes in the nick of time.

Athena’s eyes flashed with anger. “ What is this foolishness?” she cried, striding toward Artemis. “ How dare you tamper with my champion? Outrageous! ” She pointed her spear, and the bear instantly changed back into her mortal champion. “ Wh-what happened?” the athlete gasped. “ Never mind. ” Athena glared at Artemis, who smirked in return. “ Take a moment to recover. Then the match will continue. ” “ Yes, yes, ” Zeus said mildly. “ Enough of this nonsense. ” “ Huh . . . , ” thought Julia. “ That was a pretty dangerous prank! ” she said to Markos.

“ But Zeus doesn’t sound very mad. He sounds amused instead. ” “ He probably is, ” Markos said. “ The Games are always like this, Julia. ” ” The gods constantly play pranks and make mischief. Zeus doesn’t really care because Heracles just keeps winning. ” “ Everyone is already acting as if my brother is the greatest champion of all time, ” Iphicles muttered. “ He is a great athlete, ” Markos said. Julia was surprised by Iphicles’ comment. Maybe he got a little jealous of Heracles sometimes, she thought.