Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

said, flexing his hands. “He was slower.”
    James Beren of the Ash Guild was the last to arrive. All the leaders had been allowed to bring one trusted member, and Veliana was his. She glared at Kadish but wisely held her tongue.
    “Where’s the Wolf?” Kadish asked as they stood about the fountain, looking nothing more than a group of old friends gathering before joining the festivities. So far the only significant player in the underworld yet to arrive was Cynric, master of the Wolf Guild.
    “He and his men are already scattered about the Kensgold,” Thren explained. He kept his back to the fountain and the guildmasters to his front. “I will go to them with the real plan after discussing it with you all.”
    “Real plan?” Kadish asked. “What do you mean, real plan?”
    Thren shrugged.
    “Do you think I would propose a plan so simple, or trust you and your ilk to keep it from leaking to the Trifect?”
    James stepped forward, unable to hide his anger. “You sicced your pets on me just so I would agree to a
false
plan, a suicidal assault on their camp amid the Kensgold that every one of us here knew would fail? Even you knew how stupid it was, yet we were made to suffer for refusing it?”
    The other members grumbled, none of them happy with being taken for fools. Thren silenced them by putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
    “Enough,” he said. “What is done is done. No matter how hard I might try, I knew the plan would reach the Trifect. That was the point. We will not launch an assault on the Kensgold, especially not with them outside the city. Without our walls, our shadows, our poison, we are nothing but an outnumbered army of children.”
    “Your Spiders may be children, but my Hawks spill blood like men,” Kadish said.
    “So what’s the real plan?” asked Gart. “I still get to break necks?”
    “Their mansions are empty,” Thren said, a smile growing on his face. “They’ve taken the vast bulk of their mercenaries and helpers. Now is when we strike. We will split up, half assaulting the Conningtons’ estate, the other half the Gemcrofts’. Kill everyone inside, and I mean
everyone
. Then we set our traps. When the Trifect return we assault them from the windows and rooftops of their own homes. We’ll kill their family, their friends. When it is time to run, we burn their mansions to the ground. They will suffer tonight, and suffer greatly. If we are lucky, we might kill Leon or Maynard during the assault.”
    Thren looked to every single pair of eyes, judging their commitment. Despite their anger at being deceived, the simple but brutal plan seemed to excite their bloodlust. Five years was a long time. Suddenly an end seemed in sight.
    “Who goes where?” Kadish finally asked.
    “The Hawks and the Ash will take out the Gemcrofts. The Serpents and the Shadows will go for the Conningtons.”
    “And who will you go for?” James asked.
    “My men will be split among each of you,” Thren said. “That way I show no preference and therefore no risk of betrayal. As for who I go with … that is my own damn business.”
    “You can’t make us go with the Hawks,” Veliana insisted, her outburst earning her a glare from both James and Kadish.
    “Come now, your lovely presence will make the proceedings all the more exciting,” Kadish said.
    “No arguing,” Thren said. “No squabbles. No betrayals. We end this tonight. Understood?”
    They all reluctantly agreed.
    “I get to crush Connington blood,” Gart said. He seemed tremendously happy.
    “Wait until the sun has dipped below the walls,” Thren ordered. “Move in concert, and keep it quiet. Once set up, things will take time. Kill any who might return early, and wait for the main force before you act. And no matter what, make sure the homes burn.”
    They all scattered in various directions. Just as they were the last to arrive, James and Veliana were the last to leave.
    “His men are split and he hides his own destination,” Veliana said to her guildmaster. “There is no way to betray him without betraying other guilds as well. Now we play along or make enemies of every living man and woman within Veldaren.”
    “Never said he was a fool,” James said. “And you’re right. The ambush we prepared was for him outside the city. We have nothing prepared, and cannot prepare with him hiding his location. It seems we were fooled, when we had no right to be. I knew that plan was too simple and stupid for someone