Plans and Gossip

Wow, today’s training was intense. ” Brody collapsed onto a bench in Markos’ courtyard that evening. Every muscle in his body ached. “ You did well, Brody. ” Markos sat beside him. “ Hermes seemed pleased with your speed by the end of the session. And your long jump was much improved. ” “ But not improved enough, ” Julia said. “ Did you see Athena’s champion? He jumped much farther than you, Brody. ” “ Julia! ” At that moment Markos’ older sister hurried toward Julia. “ We need your help in the kitchen. The men are hungry. ”

“ That’s right. ” Brody smirked at Julia. “ We’re hungry. Go cook our food, woman. ” Julia gritted her teeth. “ I’m busy, ” she told Helene. “ I’ll be there in a minute. ” Helene frowned. “ Please hurry. We’re expecting Hermes and Caerus for dinner again, and Father wants them to be pleased with our hospitality. ” “ You should go to the kitchen, ” Markos said to Julia as Helene disappeared. “ Hermes will be angry if you are not following the customs here. ” “ I’m going, ” Julia retorted. “ But first we should talk about what to do. ”

“ What do you mean?” Brody asked. “ We already know what we’re going to do. I’m going to keep training until I’m stronger and faster than I already am. Then, after I win the Olympics, we’ll go on my victory tour before going home. ” “ Forget your victory tour, ” Julia said. “ The passage could close at any moment, remember? We need to get home as soon as we can. ” Brody shrugged. Julia worried too much. Hermes was a god, which meant Hermes could do anything. That probably included opening a new passage if the first one closed.

Still, Brody was too tired to argue with Julia about it right now. “ Okay, ” he agreed. “ So the plan is, I win the Olympics, and then we go home. Is that better?” “ Yes, ” she replied. “ Julia! ” Helene yelled again. Julia sighed loudly. “ Coming! ” she yelled back. Then she stomped off into the house. “ She might be right, you know, ” Markos said after Julia was gone. “ Once the Games are over, you should take the first opportunity to return home. ” “ Why?” Brody stretched and yawned. He wondered what was for dinner.

“ Because . . . ” Markos hesitated, glancing around carefully, and then lowered his voice. “ The gods can’t be trusted. If you delay, Hermes might forget his promise to let you go. ” “ Really?” Brody blinked in surprise. “ But don’t worry too much, ” Markos said. “ If you bring glory to Hermes through your performance in the Games, he might not forget. In fact, if you beat Zeus’ champion, Hermes will probably let you do anything you want, including leave. ” Brody relaxed again. “ Then I’ll just have to win, ” he said. “ No problem. ”

Over the next couple of days, Brody did his best to put the plan into action. He trained as hard as he could, doing everything Hermes asked him to do. Hermes was still focused on the running races in the Games, though he also made Brody practice wrestling and javelin throwing. Then one day Hermes told Brody it was time to practice throwing the discus. Brody had never done that before. “ I’m really good at throwing a football, ” he told himself. “ It’s probably the same thing. ”