Chapter 06

Friday

Everyone is woken up for an enjoyable breakfast at 6:30 a.m. After breakfast the girls wash up and change into culottes - a one piece cross between a skirt and shorts that works like shorts and looks like a skirt. They go to the barn to select horses and saddles for use over the weekend. With all of the horses saddled and settled to their riders by 9:30 a.m. the girls go back for packed lunches, drinks, and fishing lines. They’re going to the river to spend most of the day trying to catch fish for dinner. With the saddle bags packed they’re ready to leave. Then Grace dashes into the bunkhouse to soon return with a hunting bow, a quiver of arrows, a large hunting knife, and a small backpack. They all stare at her. Smiling at them she says, “I like archery and hunting with a bow is good training. I intend to join the Guards when I’m old enough.” Shaking their heads at her behaviour they leave as a tight group while chatting as they take their time over the ride.

Down by the river the horses are hobbled and are left to graze in a field beside the river. The girls sit on the river bank with lines in the water as they chat. They’re making too much noise to have any hope of catching fish while enjoying the time sitting in the sun on the grassy river bank while chatting with friends as a group.

After an hour Grace takes her bow and goes up along the river bank to go hunting. Vicky joins her, ‘to see she doesn’t fall in.’ After a few minutes the girls hear some splashing upstream and they joke about Grace having fallen in. Fifty minutes later Grace and Vicky return with three dead wild fowls plus twelve large fish on a string. Grace shot them all with the bow, and in such a short time as well.

They’re surprised at her skill with the bow to be able to shoot both fish and fowl so easily. Everyone is hungry, so they decide to have lunch now. It’s very quiet while they eat their fruit and sandwiches. As they finish lunch the quiet is broken by two voices on the other side of the river yelling directions to each other. Deanna motions everyone to be quiet while she heads toward a crossing ten metres downstream from them. Grace follows her after picking up her backpack, knife, and bow. She signals for Isobelle to join them. Vicky and another of the older girls follow them as well.

The small group quietly crosses the river then they’re very quiet while they make their way through the dense riverbank foliage. Reaching the edge of the under-brush they’re careful when they look out into the field beyond the river which is also part of the Chektar Farm. Two late teen boys are on horses and they’re chasing down a fair sized calf. While the girls are watching the boys finally rope it, one jumps down to throw it on its side and tie its legs together while he says, “Hurry up and get that carrier set up so we can get out of here with our prize.” His mate dismounts and starts undoing a large pack strapped to the back of his horse.

Deanna swears under her breath and says, “No wonder the calf numbers are down. I wonder how long they’ve been stealing our cattle?”

After opening her backpack Grace hands Isobelle and Vicky a pistol each before she buckles on a belt which has a pistol in a holster on one side with her knife and sheath on the other side. Removing a camera from the pack she takes some photos of the boys at work. Both Deanna and the other girl are watching her with wide open eyes. Grace smiles and winks at them, then she takes a photo of them and their expressions.

Both boys are soon away from their horses while they drag their prize to the make shift sled they’d made behind one horse. It looks a bit like a travois and it connects to the horse in the same manner. Grace steps out of the brush while saying, “Come on.” After taking careful aim she places an arrow between the boys and the horses, but in a spot where they can’t miss seeing its arrival. Both jump at its sudden appearance. Looking around they see a group of young girls walking out of the brush, two with pistols in their hands while another points a bow at them. Thinking the girls will be a push over one of the boys starts toward the girls. He stops when an arrow slams into the ground just in front of his foot. The archer says, “The next one will take your balls off.” Both boys gulp because they aren’t real sure how serious the archer is, but they don’t want to find out since it’s clear she’s a good shot. Following Grace’s orders they drop their pants to around their knees, kneel down, and lean back over their ankles. With Isobelle and Vicky keeping the boys covered Grace hands Deanna the bow to hold while she unties the calf and uses the ropes to tie the boys’ hands behind their backs. She makes them walk on their knees to the sled and ties them to it. Grace recovers and cleans her arrows before putting them back in the quiver. Deanna and Grace lead the horses while they drag the boys on the sled back through the river over to where the girls’ horses are eating the grass while resting. The other girls hand their borrowed weapons back to Grace, and she puts them back in her pack.

While Isobelle, Deanna, and Grace keep an eye on their prisoners the others go to the river and break up their little camp. Soon all is ready for the group to ride back to the farmhouse. Just before they mount up Grace calls on them to form a circle around the boys.

Drawing her hunting knife Grace waves it in front of the boys’ eyes as she asks, “How many of the Chektar cattle have you rustled?” One boy starts sweating and the other replies this is the first. Resting the knife against the skin near the throat of the talker Grace continues, “My grandmother is a truth sayer, so have been many other women in my clan. I’m a truth sayer too. I know you just lied. From now on, when you lie I’ll cut you.” All of the girls stare at Grace except Isobelle, Vicki, and Phyllis as they are familiar with their clan’s abundance of truth sayers.

She says, “This is Amiri tribal land, I’m of the Amiri and a truth sayer. It’s my right and duty to determine your guilt. Lies will make your punishment worse. Now answer my questions truthfully. How many cattle have you rustled from this farm?”

The boy who answered says, “I told you...” He stops when the knife point digs into his chest near the collar bone. After gulping hard he says, “Thirty head.”

Grace smiles, “Who else have you rustled from? Who do you sell to?”

After gulping he says, “No others yet. We only started a year ago and we sell to the Carmel Butchery.”

“Apart from the theft of cattle, what other crimes have you done?”

The boy says, “Non...” And stops when the knife draws blood with a small scratch across the front of his visible chest. While crying he says, “We drugged and raped Jocelyn Shedway six months ago, that’s all.”

While stepping back Grace says, “Right, time to go to the farm.”

They mount up and lead the two extra horses back to the farm. All of the girls in the other groups are looking at Grace with very shocked expressions. All of the way back to the farmhouse they stare at her. It’s clear she’s an unusual girl. At the farmhouse Grace instructs Isobelle and Vicki to keep an eye on their prisoners while she walks into the house. Mrs Chektar looks up because she isn’t expecting the girls back for another two or three hours.

After crossing the family room Grace picks up the phone and she punches in a number. She waits for an answer, then says, “Chief Elder Ebber, please.” Pauses, then continues, “Chief Elder, you’re needed at the Main Chektar Farm, please bring the Guardian, the Amur Elder, and the Council Truth Sayer. We’ve caught two rustlers, they’ve admitted to rustling thirty head of cattle plus the drugged rape of Jocelyn Shedway. This was admitted under duress, but in front of a member of the Amir senior line. Their capture and interrogation took place on the Chektar Farm land. It’d be nice if you can come over to take them into official custody, please.” Another pause, “Thank you, Chief Elder, I’ll see you then.”

Turning to Mrs Chektar she says, “We’ve two rustlers outside, caught in the act. The Chief Elder will be here in about ninety minutes to take them off our hands. You may wish to prepare something nice for his visit as it’ll be about afternoon tea time when he gets here.”

Mrs Chektar and Grace go outside to find Mr Chektar and one of his farm hands taking charge. They’re about to untie the boys when Grace says, “Hold, they’re my prisoners captured in the act of raid, the Chief Elder is on his way to adjudicate and take them.” Everyone is stunned by this because no one’s claimed the right of ‘Captured in Raid’ for over sixty years. But it’s still a part of the tribal laws. It’s used where a member of another tribe is caught stealing on your tribal land. Mr Chektar leaves the boys tied up as he directs something be placed over them to shade them. His concern for them suddenly drops when he’s told how many of his cattle they’ve stolen.

Mrs Chektar is pleased to see the fish and wild fowl they’ve got for the table. She takes them inside and she starts preparing an afternoon tea for the expected guests. Leaving a farm hand to keep an eye on the boys Mr Chektar helps the girls take the horses to the barn to remove the saddles then rub the horses down before feeding them and bedding them down for the day.

At 3:05 p.m. the Chief Elder of the Amiri arrives at the farm with a small group. Mrs Chektar offers them hospitality. Over a very tasty afternoon tea they’re told the events of the day. The Chief Elder is surprised by the ‘Captured in Raid’ claim as it has higher penalties than the normal rustling charge does.

After his afternoon tea the Chief Elder questions the boys with the truth sayer at his side. They tell the truth and confirm the charges. The Chief Elder asks Grace how she wishes her prisoners be dealt with.

She says, “They’re to receive the usual punishments for their crimes, and they’re to pay compensation to their victims. If they can’t pay the full compensation and their family nor clan refuses to support them then they’re to serve as slaves until the compensation has been worked off, as per the debt laws.”

The Amur Elder is the Chief Elder’s adviser of law and wisdom, he’s also the tribe’s judicial review officer. He faces Grace while saying, “That’s a very wise, just, and an appropriate method of dealing with these criminals. It will be so.” He’s turning away when he suddenly turns back to peer at Grace. He recognises the face of a very young male member of the tribe behind the curls. With a very wide grin he nods to Grace before he goes to the mini-bus they came in. The Chief Elder nods at the Guardian, who just motions his assistants to take the boys onto the mini-bus. In a moment all of them are aboard and the bus is driving down the road.

The girls go off for a shower and change. There’s much splashing and screaming in the showers when they play while taking a long time getting washed. By the time they’re dressed again it’s time to help with dinner. Groups One and Two will help with dinner, Groups Three and Four will help with the after dinner clean up. Dinner is followed by a movie, a supper of tinned fruit with ice-cream readied by Group Two, a second movie, and off to bed. In the bunkhouse the girls spend a long time chatting about the events of the day and Grace’s assertiveness.

Saturday

It’s a cold wet day so Mrs Chektar doesn’t wake them for breakfast until 8:00 a.m. They shower and dress warm. After breakfast they sit around the family room chatting. Mrs Chektar adjusts the plans for them to have the birthday party today instead of tomorrow. That way they can spend tomorrow outside if the weather is good. They spend the morning discussing what to do tomorrow, if it’s good weather. They decide to spend the day swimming in ‘The Pond’ without swimsuits.

The Pond is a circular body of water about twenty-five metres in diameter created by a thermal spring in a glade at the edge of the forest at the apex of the fold. The water is about twenty-eight degrees Celsius, making the water nice and warm all year round. The glade is an oval shape of about three hundred metres wide by four hundred and fifty metres long. It’s covered by half metre high grass with The Pond in the middle. The glade is surrounded by thick jungle forest, except for the one hundred and twenty metre long by eighteen metre wide access path from the plain. Being a ninety minute ride from the farmhouse it’ll be an all-day activity. Many generations of the Chektar family have been swimming there without any trouble. Grace knows this, yet she feels troubled by the plan. Something seems not right to her, so she worries about the trip and the long distance to get help if any trouble develops out there. Planning is one of her strong points, so she makes plans to relieve her concerns about the trip.

When Mrs Chektar starts to prepare for lunch and the birthday party to follow lunch Grace leaves the house to speak to Mr Chektar. Finding him in the barn she asks for one of his farm hands, Jenny Chesway, to join them on their trip to The Pond. He’s fast to agree because he doesn’t like the group of children going that far away without an adult to help with any problems. Thus he really likes the idea of twenty-eight year old Jen Chesway going with them. She was medically retired from the Guards as unfit for regular combat duty at twenty-three years of age following combat wounds on her first active combat deployment in action against brigands.

After Mr Chektar gives them approval to leave to discuss the trip Grace and Jen leave the barn. On the way to the farmhouse Grace quietly asks, “How ready is the Falcon’s blade?”

Stopping suddenly Jen turns to look closely at Grace because that’s a phrase known only to a select group, and it’s used to alert a retired Guard of the need of their services. No child should know it, not at all. Staring at Grace she says, “The sword is sharp, the focus is not.” Thus indicating she’s fit and ready to serve, but has an eyesight problem; the reason for her retirement after suffering a severe head wound and concussion.

Turning to her Grace asks, “How close does something have to be to hit it accurately with a rifle?”

“Marksmanship quality up to twenty-five metres, beyond that’s very doubtful because I can’t focus or sight properly on anything at those longer distances. It’s no problem for most day to day things.”

Turning to walk to the garaged vehicles in a barn without a front Grace says, “Good enough for close support and backup, if it’s needed.”

When they near the mini-bus the girls arrived in its driver walks out of the shadows while asking, “Anything I can do for you ladies?”

Looking at him Grace says, “Yes, Peters, please unlock the bus so I can open the crib.”

After squinting at her with a confused expression he unlocks the bus while he wonders how she knows about the ‘crib,’ a hidden weapons and equipment cache in the bus. All of the Amir Clan vehicles have caches of weapons and equipment hidden in them for use in emergencies.

With the bus door open Grace reaches to a spot at the back of the front seat and activates a hidden switch to open a keypad. She enters a code into the pad, and a section of the floor pops open. Reaching into the store she removes a Styr rifle, a pack with twenty loaded magazines for the rifle, two holstered pistols with extra magazines on them, five squad communicators, and a miniaturised satellite relay. She checks all of the equipment over in a professional manner before closing the hidden compartment then the keypad panel. The two adults watch with very wide eyes, as they both know they couldn’t have done a better job of checking the equipment properly.

Grace turns to Jen, hands her the rifle, a squad radio, the spare rifle ammo, and says, “Pack this with your gear and bring it with you in the morning. Hopefully it won’t be needed, but I’ll feel safer with both you and it there. Bring a towel, swimsuit is optional. I may be jumping at shadows, but with a daughter of the King at risk I’ll jump at all the shadows in the world.” Both Jen and the driver are surprised at this. The driver is a security guard and driver for the Amir Clan, the King’s clan, but he doesn’t know who is or isn’t of Royal blood, and this is his first indication of a Royal heir in this party. Although that’s always on the cards for any clan trip.

Jen takes the items, stands to attention, and says, “Yes, Ma’am.” Thus she acknowledges Grace as the field commander.

Nodding to the driver Grace says, “Thank you, Peters.” She turns to looks at Jen, “See you later, don’t lose that lot or I’ll have to pay for it. And I don’t get paid all that much.” They all laugh at that. After wrapping up the other pistols and radio gear in a plastic bag from the bus to hide them and keep them dry from the rain Grace goes to the farmhouse.

Entering the main house Grace signals for Vicky and Isobelle to join her in the bunkhouse. Once alone she hands them each a pistol belt and a squad radio while saying, “Make sure you’ve got these with you tomorrow. I like to take out insurance, OK!” Although they’re concerned they both nod their agreement.

Going back into the main house she gets Phyllis aside and says, “Please come into the bunkhouse because I need to speak to you for a moment, in private.” When Phyllis starts to turn away she continues with, “The Falcon sees all.” Stunned by this clan warning code Phyllis immediately follows Grace.

In the bunkhouse Grace hands Phyllis a pistol with belt from her locker plus one of the squad radios, “Bring these with you tomorrow. They’re insurance in case there’s trouble.” Phyllis nods yes despite her surprise at being handed this equipment, this is because she knows the clan has well-trained security people of all ages. Phyllis safely stores them in her locker. They both return to the main house for lunch.

The party after lunch is a great success. Deanna gets buried in a large pile of typical teenage girl gifts of clothes, music, DVDs, etc. She’s especially pleased by the latest CD set of her favourite performer from Isobelle because the set sold out within hours of being available for sale in Carmel. She’d been upset at missing out on buying a copy. Although she loves it she wonders how Isobelle was able to get a copy, so she asks her. Isobelle replies, “I knew you wanted it, but I couldn’t find a copy. In desperation I asked Gordie if he knew where I could get a copy. I don’t know where he got it. However, five days later he handed it to me with a bill for it.”

Deanna says, “I must remember to thank him the next time I see him.”

It’s red faces all round when Deanna opens Grace’s present. It’s a set of very sophisticated silk lingerie. Mrs Chektar looks at Grace as she says, “I think this is a bit sophisticated, don’t you? This is normally the sort of thing her boyfriend or best friend will give her in several years’ time. What made you pick this?”

A blushing Grace replies, “I didn’t know what to get Deanna so I asked Isobelle’s sister, Francine. She said a girl of Deanna’s age would appreciate something like this, but probably wouldn’t think to get it for herself. If she’s not ready to wear them yet she soon will be. Francine knows Deanna and has an excellent fashion sense. She chose these items to suit Deanna from a top fashion shop in Carmel. She has the receipts in case the sizes aren’t right and they need to be exchanged.”

Mrs Chektar slowly nods while saying, “Hmm, well, you best not show us how these fit while the men are in the house.” Deanna giggles, blushes, and puts them with the other clothes.

The rest of the day is spent playing party games and watching films. That night, when Deanna puts on a fashion show of the new clothes in the bunkhouse, the girls ooh and ah over her new lingerie. Most are envious of it and they wish they had some like it.

Sunday

Mrs Chektar wakes everyone at 6:30 a.m. to a beautiful sunny day. All of them are soon washed, dressed, and at breakfast. Down to the barn to saddle the horses. Back to pack saddle bags with gear for the day, which is mostly their lunch, snacks, and drinks. Grace checks Isobelle, Vicki, and Phyllis have their radios and pistols with them. She packs her own radio, satellite radio, and pistol in her bag then slings her bow and quiver over her shoulder. The quiver is full of arrows with deadly looking hunting arrowheads she put on this morning. Everyone is happy and ready to go at 9:00 a.m. when Jen rides up. All of the girls eye the rifle slung across her chest in a quick access position. Mr Chektar is surprised to see she has a military issue rifle. He gives Grace a very close stare as he knows Jen didn’t have the rifle before yesterday, but he says nothing while he wonders how Grace got hold of it since they spoke yesterday. He also wonders about why she got it and gave it to Jen. However, he’s happy she has it along. They already have a good first aid kit on hand and packed on one of the horses.

The group rides off with Deanna leading, Jen on the right flank, and Grace on the left flank, both flankers are near the rear of the group. They take a nice slow two hour ride to The Pond. They hobble the horses near a small group of large rocks at the right side of The Pond then the girls remove the saddles and saddle bags, pile them up, strip off, and dive into the water for a swim and some water games.

Jen, Isobelle, Vicki, and Phyllis make sure two of them are always at the water’s edge near the bags and weapons. Grace has her bow out and she’s walking in a large circle around The Pond. None of the girls notice the pistol belt or the radio on the belt because they’re under the light jacket Grace is wearing. Nor do they see the 500 mm hunting knife strapped to her leg in a quick release sheath that’s little more than a blade tip cup with a few magnets to hold the knife in place.

After an hour of swimming and splashing all of the girls get out for lunch. Sitting around in only a towel or less they’ve a good time chatting and eating while they take their time over lunch. Suddenly Grace’s head pops up and turns toward the forest downwind of them at the same time one of their horses whinnies and looks at the forest upwind of their position.

Drawing her bow while she stands up Grace says, “Carefully and slowly, everyone get dressed and calm the horses. Don’t mount them, just hold them and calm them.” The majority of the girls just stare at her, but Vicki, Isobelle, Deanna, and Jen are all watching the forest edge. Some of the girls start to speak.

Deanna slowly stands up while saying, “Be quiet and do as you’re told.” She trusts Grace’s instincts in an emergency, so do Isobelle and Vicki as they’ve all seen her at work before. Deanna starts getting dressed. The rest follow suit. When dressed Vicki, Isobelle, and Phyllis strap their pistol belts on and turn their squad radios on. Jen does the same with her radio before she slings the ammo belt over her shoulder, and she holds the rifle in a ready position. The girls stare at them.

While the others dress Grace goes to her pack to take out the satellite radio, sets it on the ground, and turns it on. Pressing a button for a GPS read she aligns it to a satellite and confirms it has a good link.

Uninvited Guests

All turn to look at her when she says, “Everyone stay here and calm the horses, don’t let them panic and run. Don’t think about riding out as you won’t make it. Vicki, Isobelle, take close cover this side of The Pond. Phyllis, watch the other side. Jen middle cover. I’m going out to about twenty-five metres or so to take distance and goat.” Isobelle starts to speak, but stops when Grace gives her a sharp and penetrating look as she says, “There are mountain lions in the forest edge, and they’re hungry. Stay calm and we can handle this.” Turning from the group she watches the forest downwind of their position while she activates her squad radio on a command frequency then says, “Clay Comm, urgent. Clay Comm, urgent.” Jen’s ears prick up at this, but she keeps her eyes on the assigned section of forest edge.

In Clay Comm Mandy Schmidt, an operator on radio listening watch, suddenly sits up straight and presses her headset against her left ear. The contact is in a girl’s voice, but the fact it’s coming in on a secure frequency with correct procedure and via satellite link on the restricted Satellite Tactical Network Four means it has her attention. Her supervisor sees her actions and sets her station to listen in. Mandy says, “This is Clay Comm on Sat Tac Net Four, go ahead.”

In a calm voice Grace says, “Clay Comm, Eggs Foxtrot Three, over.”

“Clay Comm copies, Eggs Foxtrot Three, switching, over.” Mandy punches a command into her radio to add encryption group F3 to all signals. Grace and her team members do the same on their radios.

“Clay Comm, Falcon Nine, declaring Buzzard alert, need immediate support flown in, giving GPS squeal now, over.” She presses a button on the satellite unit, and it sends a GPS location to Clay Comm. Having sent the location Grace starts walking out toward the forest edge while she continues on the radio, stopping about thirty metres out from the girls and horses. With her bow and arrows at the ready.

Mandy looks at her supervisor while she says, “Falcon Nine, Clay Comm copies, Buzzard alert, need immediate air lifted support. Wait.” The GPS location is showing on both of their stations.

Having heard the message Mandy’s supervisor waves while she picks up her phone to punch in four numbers, then without waiting for any answers she says, “Duty Officer, Ready Clay One, Ready Peri Two, Ready Peri Three, Listening Centre, Boots and Saddles. We’ve a Buzzard from Falcon Nine, Sat Tac Net Four using Eggs Foxtrot Three. Needs immediate air lifted support. GPS location follows.” She sends all of them the GPS location. Buzzard is a code alert for an immediate danger to a member of the Royal Family.

Mandy hears this and says, “Falcon Nine, Clay Comm. Duty Officer and Readies notified. Expect them to join Sat Tac Net Four shortly. Over.”

Before Grace can respond a new voice says, “Falcon Nine, Clay DO, two Peri gunships en route your position, Clay One Echo Three ready to embark and head your position, Peri Three Charlie en route to provide lift. Sit. rep. please? Over.” Claymore Duty Officer (Clay DO) wants a situation report (sit rep) and also confirms the support which is in transit. They don’t call them ready rooms and ready teams for nothing. They stand and sit around waiting to move out in seconds; which they do when they get an alert.

Grace says, “Clay DO, Falcon Nine. Sit rep. Group of sixteen children and one woman with horses. Group includes two Falcon fledglings. Lightly armed. Swimming at a previously safe swimming hole near the forest edge. A pride of mountain lions has taken up positions around the swimming hole. They’re hungry, and I think they’ve got cubs. Some are trying to spook the horses to where others wait near the passage to the plain. Contact Forestry and Wildlife to get some capture teams out here a.s.a.p., and to find out how a pride can get this far out of their range without them knowing about it. I’ve to go out and play goat. Please expedite support, and don’t contact me on this channel unless absolutely necessary because I need to concentrate closely on what’s happening here, over.”

“Falcon Nine, Clay DO copies, Puff support fifteen away, ground support forty away, out.”

Standing there and staring at the forest Grace is very happy she has one special advantage in this game as the general location of the mountain lions is known to her. Being an empath she can sense their emotions, plus she can tell the direction and rough distance as well. Thus she knows there are twelve lions and six cubs in the forest edge, most downwind of the girls, with two upwind. Because of this knowledge she can place herself between the girls and the greatest danger.

Clicking the radio to the squad frequency she says, “Phyllis, watch the forest edge on the other side of The Pond. Isobelle, Vicki, Jen watch this edge with me because this is where most of them are. Help is on the way. Don’t fire, repeat, don’t fire, unless one gets past me, then take it out however you can, regardless of my position. Got it, everyone?”

They all reply, “Yes.”

Many of the girls are very surprised Grace is taking charge, but they’re prepared to accept her being in control because Deanna and Jen are accepting her leadership and orders.

Dance Time

Grace is standing between the main group of lions and the girls; she’s about thirty metres out and watching the forest for about ten minutes. Two lions suddenly break cover, one on Grace’s left and one straight in front. Dropping to a knee to be on the same eye level as the lions Grace takes aim directly at the eyes of the lion in front and looses an arrow. These are hunting arrows: aluminium shafts with tri-blade titanium tips screwed on, they’re tough and vicious. It hits the lion between the eyes and punches through the skull. The lion drops and rolls over as it’s already dead. After seeing the arrow strike home she turns to the left to track the lion going for the girls. Grace is quick to draw and nock another arrow while watching the first one strike home, then she looses the new arrow as soon as she gains target acquisition on the second lion with a suitable lead on the lion’s advance. This arrow punches in one side of the lion’s head and out the other, so it drops and rolls. Dead before it hits the ground with the arrow through its brain. Then four more lions break cover directly in front of Grace. She looses an arrow straight into the face of one, but it swerves. It takes the arrow in the shoulder, this causes it to stumble. Drawing and loosing another arrow at the closest lion she gets it in the eye, and it punches through to the brain to kill the lion. The third lion of this group is almost on her when she looses an arrow into its chest. It buries itself to the fletches (the feathers at the end of the arrow), and the lion stumbles and falls over, pawing the ground while it dies. Holding her bow in her left hand she grabs the hunting knife from its quick release sheath with her right hand. Grace dives forward and under the fourth lion when it leaps at her. Swinging her arm up and forward at full stretch she buries the long knife to the hilt in the lion’s chest to pierce its heart at the same time the lion swipes its front claws down to rake her back. Both Grace and the lion scream with the pain of their injuries. The lion hits the ground behind her to roll over and die. Getting back up onto her knees Grace has just enough time to draw and loose another arrow into the chest of the first lion she wounded in the shoulder because it’s back on its feet and charging again. The arrow kills it by piercing the heart. Its forward momentum carries it to within a metre of Grace before it collapses and dies. At the moment she hardly notices the throbbing of her back injury from the lion’s claws due to the adrenaline in her system.