Free Artemis the Brave by Suzanne Williams, Joan Holub Page A

dead,” she said, giving Artemis the same answer.
    Artemis shot her a quick grin, glad that Aphrodite didn’t seem mad anymore. “I’m off!” She ran for the door, her dogs at her heels.
    “I’ll change and be right behind you to watch from the stands,” promised Aphrodite.
    “Thanks!” Artemis and her hounds flew down the hall, the stairs, and across the school courtyard. Before she knew it, she was on the archery field behind the gymnasium. Zeus, who was going to judge the contest, was already there, along with ten teams of competitors and an audience of onlookers.
    “You came,” said Apollo, looking relieved when he saw her.
    “Of course. I’m your teammate,” said Artemis. “I told you I’d be here!”
    “I never know with you these days,” said Apollo. “And you missed the practice session already. The contest is about to begin.”
    Artemis winced at his criticism. She knew she’d let him down recently, but she was determined to make it up to him. As they watched, the first two archers stepped up to the shooting line. Then another team, and another. They were all good, but she and Apollo were better. After the round was nearly over, their turn came. They stepped up to the firing line. It was time to strut their stuff.
    “Hey, Artie,” someone called.
    Artemis looked up. “Orion? What are you doing here?”
    “Same as you. Competing.” He raised his bow. A quiver was slung over one of his shoulders.
    “By yourself?” asked Artemis.
    He smiled. “Sure, why not? The rules don’t say you have to be a team. I’ll just shoot twice as much.”
    “Mr. Big Shot, as usual,” Apollo scoffed, but only loud enough for her to hear. “Is he going to be competition for us?”
    Laughter bubbled from Artemis. She put a hand over her mouth, trying to suppress it. “Um, no.” She liked Orion, but he was a terrible archer. Why had he even bothered to enter this contest? And why hadn’t he told her he’d be entering? When Zeus saw how bad he was, he might lose the part. She’d hate for him to be embarrassed like that.
    “Artemis? Apollo?” Principal Zeus prompted. “You’re up.”
    Eager to show up Orion and win the competition, Apollo went first. His golden arrow zoomed straight, singing a phrase from one of his band’s songs:
Nature’s music I inspire,
with my gold, harmonious lyre.
    Zzzing! “Bull’s-eye!” called Zeus.
    “Good work,” Artemis murmured as she took his place, preparing to shoot.
    “Artemis!” voices called out to her. She glanced to one side and saw that Aphrodite, Persephone, and Athena had come to cheer her and Apollo on. Hades, Poseidon, and Dionysus were in the stands as well.
    Nodding at them, she then turned her attention to the contest and pulled out her first arrow. In the sunlight, she noticed something odd. It seemed a little too glittery. And it was gold, not silver.
    “What’s up?” asked Apollo, glancing at the arrow. “I thought you were going to use the silver arrows you got for your birthday.”
    “I was,” said Artemis. “I don’t know where this one came from, but it’s not mine.”
    “Next!” Zeus boomed, sounding impatient. Artemis had little choice but to use the only arrows she had. She stepped up to the line, took careful aim, and released her bowstring.
    Zzzing! Her arrow flew toward the center of the target. But a few feet short of its destination, it began to wobble. Then it fell, poking point-first into the ground. It hadn’t even managed to reach the target! Artemis just stood there, staring in shock. That had never, ever happened to her before.
    “Guess that’s why they named you Artie-miss,” Orion called out. In the audience, his admirers laughed at his joke, and his smile widened.
    “What happened?” Apollo asked her.
    “I don’t know.” Humiliated, Artemis could only stare at the target, replaying her misguided shot in her mind over and over again.
    “You should have spent more time on the practice field,” Apollo