Artemis the Hero by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

Author:Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2022-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

9 Shoot!

ONCE ALPHEUS HAD RETURNED HER silver arrow, she laid it on the ground like it was a starting line in a race.

“This will be my shooting line, okay?” she said to him.

“It’s perfect,” he replied. Then he sighed happily. “Just like you.”

She rolled her eyes. What was it with this fickle guy? Like a river, his affections seemed to flow easily from girl to girl. After pulling another arrow from her quiver, she picked up her bow.

Stepping up to the arrow that was her shooting line, Artemis fitted the notched end of the second arrow into her bowstring. Before pulling back on the string, however, she checked to make sure that her deer, and any other animals that might be around, were far from the flight path her arrow would take. As any good archer knew, it was important to consider safety first. Even though her magic arrows could do no real harm, she didn’t want to scare an animal!

By now her deer had moved several yards behind her to graze on a lush patch of grass. Not spying any other animals—including birds—in the area, she eyed the end of the willow branch sticking out over the river.

Ready… aim…

She released her arrow. Zzzing! It shot straight and true, just as she’d trained it to do.

But a mere second before it could reach the branch, Alpheus threw both his arms high. In response, the water in the river below the branch rose straight up in a column. Thwack! Whiplike, the column of water lashed out to strike her arrow full force. The arrow was dashed to the ground before it could hit its mark!

“Oops!” Alpheus snickered. “Looks like you missed!”

Artemis scowled at him. “You cheated!” she argued through clenched teeth.

He shrugged. “Pretty cool trick, though, huh?”

Artemis just glared at him, frustrated and shocked by his feat. Normally, raising such a large column of water and flicking it like a whip would be something only Poseidon could do. Because he was the godboy of the sea! As far as she knew, river gods didn’t—or shouldn’t—possess that kind of power.

“It’s a new ability. Super handy. Sort of came to me out of nowhere yesterday,” he went on. “Helped me shift those trees that had fallen over from the windstorm.”

Arethusa’s magic cup must’ve given him the ability to do what he just did! Artemis thought. She crossed her fingers that he wouldn’t realize this anytime soon. Otherwise there was no way he’d ever give the cup back. What if his powers continued to increase? Might he one day use them to challenge Poseidon’s right to rule the sea? That would upset the current balance of power. Which would not be a good thing. In fact, it was the kind of thing that would make Zeus furious. At her and the nymphs!

“You’re not mad, are you?” Alpheus asked. “Because you look mad.” He shrugged. “All’s fair in love and war, right?”

Grrr, thought Artemis. She felt like punching him in the face. Still, violence rarely fixed anything.

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