VIDIA AND WISP flew through the forest until they came to a clearing. A pack of boys dressed in dirty fur suits stood in the middle of it. They all held bows and arrows.

“Ready!” shouted the Lost Boy named Slightly. The boys raised their bows to their shoulders.

“Aim!” shouted Slightly. “Fire!”

A volley of arrows flew through the air. Vidia saw that the boys weren’t hunting. They were shooting at a target painted onto a tree trunk.

With a thunk, one arrow hit the bull’s-eye. The rest landed all over the tree. One flew into the bushes.

“I win!” squealed Slightly.

“You do not! I win,” said Nibs. He jabbed his thumb at his chest. “Was my arrow that hit the bull’s-eye.”

“Was not. Was mine!” Slightly ran over and yanked the arrow from the target. “See? It’s got red-tailed hawk feathers on it.”

“Those aren’t from a hawk. They’re chicken feathers,” said Cubby.

Vidia rolled her eyes. She had no use for the Lost Boys—or any Clumsies, for that matter. “Now you’ve seen them,” she said to Wisp. “Can we go?”

“Wait! What are those?” Wisp asked, pointing.

“Arrows, of course,” Vidia said. Sometimes she forgot how little Wisp knew.

“Arrows,” Wisp murmured, her eyes widening.

Down on the ground, the boys were still arguing. “It could’ve been my arrow,” said one of the twins. “See, mine have red feathers, too.”

“Hey, that’s mine!” cried his brother. “You stole that from me!” He tried to grab the arrow out of his twin’s hand.

Before long, the two were rolling in the dirt.

“Maybe we should all go again,” Cubby suggested. “Since we don’t know whose arrow it is, I mean.”

“Good idea! Let’s go again!” the boys cried.

Wisp turned to Vidia. “Let’s find out if we can fly faster than an arrow!” she said.

Vidia gave her a wry smile. “You think they won’t notice if we line up alongside their arrows? ‘Oh, don’t mind us,’” she said, pretending to talk to a Lost Boy. “‘We’re just having a race.’”

Wisp shook her head. “No, we’ll fly from here to that rock.” She pointed a path directly across the target. “We’ll leave at the same time as the arrows.”

Vidia stopped smiling. “But we could get hit,” she said.

“Not if we fly faster than the arrows.” Wisp looked at Vidia and added, “You aren’t afraid, are you?” She didn’t say it in a mean way. She said it as if it was the first time such a thing had ever occurred to her.

“Of course not!” Vidia scoffed. Her? Afraid? She was the fastest, bravest fairy in Pixie Hollow!

“I didn’t think so,” Wisp said cheerfully. “You and I are just alike. We’re not afraid of anything.”

“Ready?” shouted Slightly.

The fairies crouched into starting positions. Vidia’s mouth felt dry. She glanced over at the Lost Boys. They were fitting arrows to their bows.

“Aim,” said Slightly. The boys raised their bows to their shoulders. Vidia focused on the rock ahead. Pretend it’s just a normal race,she told herself.

“Fire!”

The arrows flew from the bows. At the same moment, the fairies shot through the air. Vidia didn’t once look at the arrows. All she thought about was reaching the other side.

It was over in a split second. Vidia landed on the rock. “Ha! Faster than an arrow!” she cried triumphantly.

There was no answer.

“Wisp?” said Vidia. She turned to look behind her. Wisp wasn’t there.

Vidia whipped around to look at the tree. Her insides went cold. Wisp was pinned to one of the target’s red rings. The shaft of an arrow jutted straight out of her side.

The Lost Boys spotted Wisp at the same moment. “Look, I shot a fairy!” Slightly cried. “Wait till I tell Peter!”

“No, I shot it. It’s mine!” said Nibs.

“Is not!”

“Is so!”

Vidia flew closer. She could hardly bear to look at Wisp.

But then, to her amazement, Wisp wriggled! She tugged at her clothes. The arrow had only pierced Wisp’s dress!

Vidia glanced over at the Lost Boys. She wanted to help Wisp. But she didn’t want the boys to catch her.

As Vidia hovered, Wisp gave her dress a fierce yank. The fabric ripped, and Wisp pulled free.

“Look, the fairy! It’s getting away!”

The Lost Boys all tried to grab her. But Wisp darted through their hands. She stuck out her tongue, turned a somersault in the air, and flew away laughing.

“You’re right,” she said as she and Vidia flew off. “Those Lost Boys are the slowest, clumsiest creatures I’ve ever seen.” She fingered the hole in her dress and added, “But they gave us a great race.”

Wisp flew ahead. Shaking her head, Vidia followed.