Ben's body tensed and his senses sharpened.
He heard boots scraping over stone.
Shadows stepped out from the rocks ahead, armored warriors wearing the Gravenhold sigil.
Six of them.
Then he counted again.
Eight.
"Ambush!" Kaela shouted, already lifting her weapon.
Ben moved first.
His dagger slid into his hand in one smooth motion, then he vanished.
He reappeared behind the first Gravenhold soldier.
His dagger cut across the man's throat with precise force.
Before the body hit the ground, Ben spun low, swept another soldier's legs, and drove his blade up under the man's chin.
The third soldier was only starting to turn when Ben threw his dagger in a spinning arc.
It buried itself in the man's eye with a wet crunch.
Ben caught the falling weapon from the second corpse and hurled it into a fourth attacker's chest like a javelin.
Chaos broke out as the rest of the Nephirid joined the fight.
A fifth soldier tried to flank Ben.
