Artemis the Brave by Suzanne Williams, Joan Holub Page A

As they coasted near the ground, a target rose to hover just beside the pool about twenty feet away from them.
    Orion said, “This is the practice area? We shoot at that target?”
    Nodding, Artemis guided him even lower. Then she reluctantly let his hand go, and they both touched down. They took off their sandals and pulled out their equipment. “Okay,” she said, all business now. “So we’re pretending you know nothing about archery?”
    At his nod, she patted the wooden parts of the bow, naming each in turn, “Lower limb, arrow rest, upper limb.” Then she picked up an arrow and showed him its feathered end. “See the nock?”
    He leaned closer, and her heart thumped a little faster. “That’s the little groove in the end,” he said.
    “Mm-hmm.” Quickly she showed him how to fit the groove over the bowstring and rest the arrow tip on her nonshooting hand. Standing behind the line painted on the ground, she held up her bow to demonstrate proper shooting technique. Slowly and carefully, she pulled back on the string, sighting along the arrow shaft toward the target. “Aim. Then . . . release!” When she loosened her fingers, the arrow flew toward the target.
    “Bull’s-eye!” shouted Orion. He sent her an admiring glance. “You’re good!”
    Smiling, she gave him her bow and watched him step up to the line. His form was better this time, but his wooden arrow missed the target by a mile. Although they practiced for another hour, she was a little worried about him. Eventually he was able to hit the target, but nowhere near a bull’s-eye. Not good enough to prove himself to Zeus. Though she didn’t say so, it looked to her like Dionysus was going to get the part after all. That was only fair. Both were great actors, but Dionysus’s archery skills made him the better choice.
    “It’s getting late. We’d better go,” she said finally.
    Orion nodded. “I’ll retrieve the arrows.” Again he forgot to wait for an all-clear signal. But since they were finished shooting, she didn’t scold him.
    While he was gone, Artemis located their winged sandals and sat under a tree to put hers on. A soft hissing sound reached her ears. She glanced up at the branches, thinking it was the wind moving through the leaves. But all was still. Then she heard a different sound.
    Click! Click! Click!
    “What was that?” she asked. When she turned to look Orion’s way, her heart began to race. Standing only five feet from him was a beast. One twice his size with crablike claws, eight legs, and a shiny black exoskeleton. A giant scorpion! She’d never seen one before, except in her class textscroll. Suddenly, she remembered that Professor Ladon sometimes tested new beasts on weekends. This one must have been sunning itself on a rock beside the pool the whole time they’d been practicing, just waiting for them to come close enough to strike.
    “Go away!” yelled Orion, waving his hands wildly.
    “That won’t help,” she called. “Stay calm.” To her surprise, his face was white and his entire body was quivering. Where was all his confidence now? The scorpion clicked closer to him, curling its tail—its venomous tail—high.
    Artemis leaped to her feet. Orion was a mortal. He could be killed! Oh, why had she brought him here? For a moment her mind locked up and she couldn’t think what to do. He had retrieved their six arrows, but they weren’t any good to him against the scorpion without a bow to shoot them.
    “Helllllp!” Orion ducked low, his hands covering his head, as the scorpion’s tail aimed for his neck.
    Looked like it was up to her to be brave for the both of them—even though she wasn’t feeling very brave at all. Grabbing her bow, Artemis raced toward the unfolding disaster, not sure what she would do when she got there. She reached Orion just as the scorpion struck. Raising her bow, she jammed it over the point of the beast’s sharp tail. Surprised, the arachnid forgot Orion for the moment and