Brody puffed out his chest as the crowd cheered. This was it. He was about to compete in the Olympic Games with all the best athletes in ancient Greece!
The athletes gathered in front of the gods. Brody glanced at Heracles, who stood beside him. Heracles looked calm and ready.
A minor god named Agon stepped forward. "Let the Olympic Games officially begin!" he called. "We shall start as usual with—"
"Hold on, Agon!" Zeus suddenly interrupted him. "I've decided that there will be a change in the order of events today. We shall begin with the chariot race."
"What?" Ares frowned. "Why?"
"Why not?" Zeus answered with a shrug. "If your athletes are prepared, they will easily adjust to the change."
Brody felt a sudden pang of worry. "Did you know about this?" he whispered to Heracles.
"No," Heracles said. "But I'm not surprised by it. Zeus knows all the other gods want to sabotage me. He's probably trying to foil their pranks by changing the order of events."
"Yeah," Brody replied. "I just wish we were following the right order."
"These Games will probably be unlike any other contest you've known, Brody," Heracles went on. "We can expect a lot of mischief and interference from the gods today."
"Isn't that called cheating?" asked Brody.
Heracles shook his head. "No. It's just part of the Games."
Brody shot a look at Ares. The war god had reacted pretty strongly to Zeus' announcement. Did that mean he had something planned?
By now everyone was hurrying through the exit. Brody followed the crowd to the hippodrome, where servants were holding teams of horses.
"Over here, Brody," Hermes called.
Brody hurried toward the god and climbed into his chariot. The horses pulling the chariot snorted and pawed at the ground.
Iphicles was helping Heracles, because Zeus seemed too busy bragging again to pay much attention to his champion. But as soon as Heracles was in his chariot, Iphicles left his brother and hurried over to Brody.
Hermes was fussing with the horses' bridles and didn't seem to notice when Iphicles approached.
"Don't pull on the reins too much," Iphicles told Brody quietly. "Try to fall in behind one of the faster teams and just let your horses chase the other chariot. That way you'll only have to steer at the end of the race, when you're trying to get to the front."
"Thanks," Brody said with a nod. He remembered hearing that Iphicles was good with horses, so he trusted Iphicles' advice.
Hermes led the team of horses to the starting line.
"Champions, get ready!" Agon yelled.
A trumpet blared, and then all the horses sprang forward at once. Brody's team was so eager that they almost pulled the reins out of his hands.
Poseidon's champion was in the lead, followed by Heracles' team. Remembering Iphicles' tip, Brody pulled on one rein to steer his horses over behind those two teams. Then he loosened his grip again.
Brody's horses surged forward, chasing Heracles' chariot. All Brody had to do was stand there.
"This is easy," he thought. He just needed to come in second or third place. That would keep Heracles safe, and probably satisfy Hermes.
Just then a loud gasp rose from the crowd.
Brody looked up. "Uh-oh," he muttered.
A pack of wild boars had appeared out of nowhere! The huge, shaggy beasts were running onto the track, heading straight toward Heracles' horses!
The horses snorted with fear and started to bolt to one side. Heracles calmly lifted his long whip and cracked it at the boars.
The boars squealed and changed course, veering off into the crowd. People screamed and scattered as the huge animals stampeded.
Brody turned his attention back to his own horses. They were quickly falling behind Heracles' team.
The boars had probably spooked Heracles' horses, Brody realized. They looked terrified now and were racing for their lives. They swiftly passed Poseidon's team, and then, seconds later, they crossed the finish line.
Zeus beamed with pride. "Well done, my champion!" he thundered.
Poseidon's team finished second and Brody came in third. As Brody halted his team, Iphicles jumped out to grab one of the horses by its bridle.
"Thanks, dude," Brody said breathlessly. He looked out at the spectators. By now the boars had disappeared. Julia and Markos waved from their seats, and Brody waved back.
Then he looked over at the gods, wondering if Hermes was pleased by the results of the race.
But Hermes wasn't even looking Brody's way. Instead he was watching Zeus strut around with his champion. Only Athena walked over to congratulate Zeus. The rest of the gods looked disgruntled, especially Hera. She was scowling at Heracles so darkly that Brody shivered.
Finally Hermes noticed Brody and headed over. "Nice driving, my boy," the god said. "If Ares hadn't distracted your team with that silly boar prank, you might have won or come in second."
"Thanks," Brody said. "Do you know which event is next?"
Hermes shot Zeus an annoyed look. "Well, if Zeus doesn't decide to change the order again, the pentathlon will be next. You'll need to watch out for Hephaestus' champion in the wrestling, especially his powerful body hold. And of course, Ares' mortal is quite good at the discus . . ." Hermes went on to give Brody advice on all five parts of the pentathlon.
Brody listened carefully and then nodded. "Okay, got it. But what about Heracles? I don't think I can beat him."
Hermes smirked. "Don't worry about him. From what I've heard, he won't be a factor."
Glancing at Heracles, Brody shivered again. Brody had figured it was his job to compete in the Games, and it was mainly Julia's job to figure out the gods' pranks and stop them. But Hermes' expression suddenly made Brody nervous. He hoped Heracles was prepared for whatever was coming next.
"Back to the stadium, champions!" Zeus called out. "It's time for the pentathlon!"