David Dalglish - Cloak and Spider

“Territory’s too new,” Grayson insisted, rubbing a hand over his shaved head. “This was Scorpion territory for years. Those who live here, they aren’t loyal to us, not yet. Too many are watching us from the cracks in their windows. I fear at least one will run to Carr, hoping to earn themselves a shiny copper.”

Thren paused at the end of the street, glanced back at the home his wife hid within.

“I know,” he said, turning away. “I’m expecting it.”

Grayson barred the way before he could take another step.

“No,” his friend said. “No, you won’t do this. I won’t allow it.”

“She’s not at risk,” Thren said.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Damn it,” Grayson said, shoving Thren back. “She’s my sister!”

Before he’d even taken a staggering step back, Thren had already drawn one of his short swords and pointed it at the enormous man.

“And my wife, or have you forgotten?” he asked, meeting Grayson’s hard stare. He let his voice drop. “Carr won’t dare harm a hair on her head, Grayson. Not while his own wife and son are in my custody. He’ll only want to take her to keep things even between us. If I can ambush him in the act, I can devastate his ranks, perhaps even capture the slimy bastard himself.”

Grayson’s hands flexed, hovering over his own swords before relaxing.

“How many men are watching the house?” he asked.

“A dozen, all my finest,” Thren said. “I’ll be here as well. The moment he makes his move, we’ll be on them. I promise.”

They resumed walking down the street, an act Thren knew he had to carry out before he could slink back through the darker streets to take up the watch with the rest of his men.

“You’re pushing against Carr too hard,” Grayson said. “You’re not giving him the respect he deserves.”

“I’m the best guildmaster Veldaren has ever known,” Thren said. “There is no one smarter, no one better, no one more ruthless than I.”

“And before you, Carr was the youngest, the fastest, the most ruthless.”

Thren chuckled. Of course he knew that. For a time the man known only as Carr had been the one they’d never dared cross, even as together Thren and Grayson hopped from guild to guild, establishing their reputation in Veldaren. But that was years ago, before he’d asked Marion to marry him, promising a life and wealth far beyond the petty riches they’d known. Before he’d overthrown Jorry the Swift and claimed the Spider Guild as his own.

The riches had followed, the years had passed, and slowly the Spider Guild had grown from just another guild to something all the others watched in fear as street after street switched from Viper, or Hawk, or Crow, to the circle and lines of the Spider.

“There’s a reason we’ve gone after Carr over the past year,” Thren said as they stepped out into Iron Road, a far more populated stretch linking several smithies and tinkers’ shops. “He’s the one everyone was afraid of. He’s the one all the other guilds must account for in their plans. This city will never view us as its rulers so long as Carr is alive. Street by street, deal by deal, we’ll crush him. No one’s dared challenge him, yet now I have his wife and son. He’ll act rash, he’ll act stupid, and he’ll act afraid.”

“So be it,” Grayson said. “But I’m going back into the house. I won’t let her stay there alone.”

“She’s not alone,” Thren said, pushing aside a cutpurse no older than seven who had been angling too close. The brat looked baffled that he’d been noticed, and he wisely rushed away. “Wallace and Michael are in there with her. I’ve had them hidden inside for days now, waiting for Marion.”

Grayson shook his head.

“You did all this, yet told me none of it? I’m starting to think my title as your right hand is just a way to keep me happy.”

Thren smacked him on the shoulder.

“When it comes to Marion, I play everything close to the chest,” he said. “Now gather up your best fighters. Make sure you bring Pennell with you. Come nightfall, I want you to assault their warehouse on Flintsteel Road. Brag long and loud about it too, especially near Pennell. He’s been selling information to Carr the past few weeks.”

Grayson froze in his tracks.

“Pennell?” he said. “That drunken idiot?”

“Watch him the next time he drinks,” Thren said. “More ends up on his shirt than in his mouth.”

The two passed through Iron, then onto the main road leading east to west through the heart of the walled city of Veldaren. With the traffic so much louder, especially due to the midday trading, the two could talk with ease.

“Why let Carr know about my attack on the warehouse?” Grayson asked.

“He’ll assume the attack is the reason why we’re hiding Marion,” Thren said.

“And if he sets up a trap for me at the warehouse?”

Thren laughed.

“Carr will have the entire building empty before you set foot near it, just to mock me. We’re playing a game, Grayson, and Carr is going to find out just how many moves behind me he actually is.”

The enormous man stopped at a stand selling fruit, bought himself a few apples, and then began eating one.

“We’re far enough,” he said, tossing one of the apples to Thren. “Here. In case you get hungry while waiting. I don’t like this, Thren, but I’m trusting you. Keep her safe, and I’ll do my best to play the distraction.”

Thren saluted with the apple.

“We can kill Carr at any time,” he told his most trusted friend. “But it’s not about the killing. It’s about the message you send. When I do take his life, I want all of Veldaren’s underworld to realize just how dangerous it is to cross paths with a Spider.”

With that, Thren pulled his gray cloak tighter around his shoulders, then let the hood fall over his features. Into the alley he went, away from the crowds, away from the noise, and into the shadows and darkness that he had known all his life. In a world of backroom deals, of men who bought herbs and powders with stolen coin and fled from encounters with whores with shame in their eyes, Thren felt himself their king. These pitiful creatures, slaves to addictions and lusts, would always come crawling to him to feed their needs. Without need of chains or collars, Thren enslaved them all, building an empire on the backs of the weak.

But there were pretenders to his throne, and Carr was the most prominent. The Scorpion Guild had to suffer an embarrassing collapse to trigger the cannibalization that Thren desired. Let the other guilds pick apart the remains, taking territory in a mad dash to capitalize on Carr’s death. And in the chaos, they wouldn’t realize that with a relentless creep, the Spiders were taking more of their own territory.

That’s how you build a web , he thought. One strand at a time.

Directly opposite the house Marion stayed in was a burned-out husk of a building. Thren himself had set fire to it when they moved on the territory. Over ten Scorpions had been hiding inside, waiting to ambush Thren’s guild once they let down their guard near the very end of their raid. Remembering their screams still put a smile on Thren’s face. With the building in ruins, it was easy work for Thren to crawl amid the ash on his belly, taking up vigil on Marion’s home without anyone from the street possibly seeing him. He stared through a slit barely wider than his thumb, but he could see enough.

Knowing the rest of his guild waited on the rooftops, Thren cleaned ash off his apple, took a bite, and then settled in.

When the sun set, a very faint light shone in the window facing the street. It was a single candle, lit by Michael to let the rest know all was well inside. Thren smiled at the candle, and he let his nerves calm. Wallace and Michael were eyeing the streets as well. Should they spot a member of the Scorpions, then out the candle would go. Occasionally Thren watched someone wander down the street, more often than not a member of his guild. The stars twinkled into existence, and the city took on a bluish hue as the moon shone bright above it.