Librarian Tools: Stories in the Protected Books World

I duck the second arrow, whizzing past my head. That was close.

“That’s Yaris!” Priscilla exclaims. She reaches down for the arrow lodged in a tree behind me. “She practices every day with her bow.”

“I can tell.” I can see Yaris, over a hundred meters away. I quickly notch and let loose. “Darn!” She dodges at the last second.

She sends one off to me. I easily move behind the tree.

Lucia kneels behind some bushes. She’s gathered the children behind a rock. “How do you dodge those?” I hear from behind me. Not a great time for warfare  lessons.

I shake my head, Well, why not now? “Easy. If we were closer, one of us could kill the other.” I try calculating the flight time. A little over one second, I think. “It’s a second of flight. And about two meters of rise and drop before impact.”