Dangers and Threats

Julia frowned at Brody. Heracles was definitely intimidating as an athlete. But Heracles was a kid, just like them. And he seemed like a nice guy. “ Maybe we should talk to Hermes about a strategy, ” she suggested. “ Now that he’s seen Heracles, he must realize that no mortal will ever beat him. Maybe he’ll even let us go home before the Games. ” “ Never, ” Markos stated. “ The gods don’t give up easily. Especially when it comes to the Games. ” “ Well, I don’t give up either. ” Brody declared suddenly. He puffed out his chest.

“ I’m going to beat Heracles, even if I have to train nonstop between now and the Games. ” Julia stared at him. “ Are you crazy? A minute ago you were worried about competing against him. And you saw what Heracles did! ” she added. “ He outran a horse! And picked up a giant ram! ” Brody looked stubborn. “ I don’t have a choice, Julia. And if I keep up the training, I can do it. ” Julia shook her head. “ This doesn’t seem like a real plan, Brody. ” “ Yeah, well, until you come up with something better, this is what I’m going to do, ” he shot back.

Julia stomped off to get away from Brody for a few minutes. This situation was bad, and he didn’t even seem to realize it. All this time she’d been hoping Brody could actually win at the Games. But now that he was competing against Heracles, she was sure Brody—along with all the other athletes—was going to lose. Unless the gods managed to sabotage Heracles. Then Brody might have a chance. As she walked around, she could hear people talking about Heracles. Everyone still seemed dazzled by Zeus’ amazing hero. Then there was a commotion somewhere near the dais. Julia looked over there just in time to see Heracles lift Zeus by one ankle!

The king of the gods waved as the crowd cheered. “ Behold the greatest mortal athlete of all time! ” Zeus called out. Suddenly someone grabbed Julia’s arm. “ Let go, ” she snapped, yanking it back. She turned around, expecting to see Brody. Instead Aphrodite was standing there! Julia gasped. “ I—I’m sorry, ” she babbled. “ I thought my friends were . . . ” She was afraid that the goddess would be angry at the way Julia had spoken to her. But Aphrodite just looked excited. She was staring at Heracles.

“ Do you see Zeus’ hero, mortal girl?” the goddess said. “ I’ve never seen a mortal so handsome! ” “ Um . . . ” Julia wasn’t sure what to say to that. “ He’s handsome, I guess. ” Luckily Aphrodite didn’t seem to care about Julia’s reply. She grabbed a passing woman. “ Isn’t this exciting?” Aphrodite said. “ The Games should be quite interesting this year. Don’t you agree, mortal woman?”

Julia slipped out of Aphrodite’s view, relieved that she hadn’t accidentally offended the goddess. After Aphrodite’s trick with the poisoned chiton, Julia didn’t want to take any chances. Hera and Aphrodite made her especially nervous. A moment later she saw Brody and Markos coming toward her. “ You missed it! ” Brody said. “ We just heard Ares and Dionysus talking about Heracles. ” “ Oh?” Julia glanced at the dais. Heracles had lowered Zeus to the ground. Now the hero was doing a one-handed handstand while he used his feet to balance a nervous-looking goat.