The Blue Sapphire

Suddenly Nika, Rose's large black dog, stopped and bared her teeth at the line of trees to their left. The hair starting at her neck and down the top of her back was standing straight up. Kenrick and Fergus both pulled their swords out of their scabbards and moved to stand next to Nika, in front of the other children. Something was in the trees, and judging by Nika’s reaction, it wasn’t a friend.
All at once, a group of about ten men ran out of the trees and headed at a dead run toward them. They were not from the glen and were all strangers to them. Braced for the attack, Kenrick yelled for the children to move back. An Arrow came whizzing past him and struck the foremost man in the neck, he dropped instantly. Heather, who regularly wore her bow and quiver of arrows even to the table for meals, had killed the first attacker. Without hesitating, she notched another arrow in her bow and let it fly.
This one struck a second raider dead center of his left eye. Lily, Rose, Brice and Griffin had pulled their dirks out and were standing ready on each side of her. They knew she would not have time to pull out her knife. Tara, the falcon, was flying just overhead. She was diving and trying claw or bite any attacker she could reach.