Persephone groaned and fanned her hand in front of her naturally pale face, causing the bangs of her curly red hair to flutter. It smelled like swamp gas, wet dog, and cow patties all rolled into one. Just then the wind changed direction, and she got a whiff of the creature. Over there!” Artemis called softly as the others drew up beside her. She slowed, motioning silently to her friends to alert them that something was up. The gray-green leaves of a nearby grove of olive trees rustled, disturbing finches and warblers, which flew away in a great flutter of wings. Another A would be the perfect gift to herself.Īs she entered a clearing, Artemis heard a snuffling sound. Artemis had never ever gotten less than an A in the Beast-ology games, and she didn’t want this to be an exception. Getting only two was a B, one a C, and coming up empty meant having to repeat the test until they got it right. How lucky that she and her best friends were in the same class and that they’d all been assigned to this section of the woods!ĭefeating three beasts today would mean an A for each of the four girls. Here in this forest, for an entire hour, they played games of skill that Professor Ladon had created to test them. The first Friday of every month, all the goddessgirls and godboys in their Beast-ology class left Mount Olympus Academy and came down to Earth. Something very important hung in the balance. Winning this one final battle of good versus evil was critical. Now they had only ten minutes left to find the third beast they were tracking.

Armed with magic-tipped arrows, the goddessgirls had already defeated a she-dragon called Echidna and bested a goat-headed Chimera. They had come here this afternoon for one purpose: to duel with some of the slimiest, smelliest beasts ever to roam the Earth. All four goddessgirls wore ankle-length flowing gowns called chitons, and their skirts whipped in the breeze as they zipped through the forest of olive, fig, and pomegranate trees, their feet never quite touching the ground. And following her were Aphrodite and Persephone. She could pull one out and have it nocked and aimed in a split second, as soon as it was needed.īehind her, Artemis heard Athena whizzing along in winged sandals as well. A tooled leather quiver of arrows was slung across her back.

Her favorite bow-its limbs made of curved, polished olive wood-was at the ready. Her keen dark eyes searched the dense woods. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she singsonged under her breath.ĭodging tree trunks and ducking under low-hanging vines, she listened carefully for any unusual sounds. ON SILVER-WINGED MAGIC SANDALS, Artemis zoomed through the Forest of the Beasts, her feet gliding just inches above the mossy forest floor.

Artemis the brave book 4 joan holub