Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

them. A few of her guildmembers had rushed ahead of her, and she watched one scream as flame burst upward from a sudden tear in the ground. The force blew him all the way back against the gate. His head snapped violently against the bars. Kayla forced herself to look away. She heard similar explosions of noise and force from other parts of the estate. It seemed the devilish traps completely surrounded the building.
    When they were halfway to the front doors, windows on all floors were flung open. Guards with bows and crossbows leaned out, unleashing a deadly barrage. The thieves rolled and ducked, some inadvertently setting off more of the explosions. Smoke billowed to the sky. Kayla flung a dagger, wounding one guard in the shoulder. She saved the rest. The distance was too great.
    A stone portico protected them from arrows at the main door. Kayla moved aside as two Spiders knelt underneath it and pulled out their lock-picking instruments.
    “They’ll have it barred,” Veliana shouted.
    “One thing at a time,” Kayla yelled back.
    The rest of the Spider Guild collected underneath the covering, a few stepping out to hurl daggers or fire crossbows. Veliana watched for a moment, then grabbed Kayla’s arm.
    “Move out, now!” she shouted. “Go through the windows.”
    “What?” asked Kayla.
    “The locks! If the same trap was on the lock…”
    It was too late. The doors exploded outward, fire trailing after the shock wave. Kayla rolled along the ground, lucky to have been far enough to the side. Lying on her stomach, she looked up through the smoke and debris to see a great pile of corpses spread out along the steps leading to the door. Fellow members of her guild lay twisted and burned, some with bones poking out from their skin, others still alive and sobbing in pain.
    Of her initial forty, only fifteen remained alive and able to fight.
    “Shit,” Veliana said beside her, resting on her hands and knees. “Hope the others are doing better.”
    Kayla accepted Veliana’s help up. They rushed the doors, which were now wide open. Soldiers with spears braced before the entrance. Compared to the traps, though, they were a welcome relief. Kayla hurled her daggers while two others fired crossbows. The rest of the Spiders dashed between the spears, lashing out with their blades. Only six men had come to guard the front, far too few to hold them off. Once they had broken through, the rest of the guild flooded inside. Kayla stopped at the inner foyer, slumping against a side wall and closing her eyes for a moment.
    “We can’t hide this,” Veliana said, having remained at her side.
    “We follow our orders,” Kayla said, her eyes still closed.
    “Forget your orders. Maynard won’t fall for this trap. His yard is wrecked, his doors broken. Fuck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they can see this smoke all the way from the Kensgold.”
    “We need to find out how the others fared,” Kayla said, pushing herself off the wall. “And no matter what, we need to prepare this place for burning.”
    Screams filled the halls as the Spiders pushed deeper into the mansion. On the far sides, the Hawks and Ashes were certainly doing the same. The two women explored the estate. The occasional body of a guard lay in their path, but more often it was that of a young girl or boy wearing plain clothes. Simple servants, Kayla noted. She tried to steel herself against what she saw. She had known this would happen, she had warned herself plenty, but the carnage was horrific.
    They stepped into a bedroom to find two Hawks standing over a young girl who couldn’t be any older than twelve. Her clothes were torn, her face bruised. Veliana inhaled sharply.
    “Vick?” she hissed, unheard by either. The other man pulled down his pants, and Kayla flung a dagger deep into his back.
    “What the
fuck
?” shouted Vick. Kayla twirled another dagger in her hand, her eyes wide with anger.
    “Clean and quick,” she said. “I made that damn clear before.”
    “That what you want?” said the Hawk. “Fine. Come here, bitch.”
    He grabbed the girl, flung her down onto her knees, and then slashed open her throat. The girl cried and gagged as her blood spilled across her dress. Letting go of her hair, Vick laughed as she dropped dead to the carpet.
    “Hope you’re happy,” he said. “She might have had a few more minutes of fun before we did her in.”
    The dagger stopped its twirl in Kayla’s hand. The two stared at one another. Veliana