The Sapphire Stratagem

After Razor clan's destruction, the remaining members join the Drops clan, keeping alive the hope that they might survive the ascendant Alliance. The newest clan in the Undercity has all the advantages—warriors, weapons, and a cunning maetrie leader that has outmaneuvered them at every turn.

The leaders of Drops clan believes they have one shot to end the upstart clan's hold on the Undercity.

A strike, right into the heart of the enemy, could put an end to the Alliance. But achieving that goal will require them to overcome not only magical fortifications, but each other, as old enmities bubble to the surface under the stress of achieving something most think impossible. If Kuma, Pandora, and the other young waku can't come together as a team, then they'll lose the Undercity—and their clans—forever.

Chapter One

The first thing Olek Koval noticed when he entered the room was that the round table had been replaced with a rectangular gray marble slab. The other heads of the alliance clans sat at one end, staring into their cups, not a greeting amongst them. The second thing he noticed was the enormous painting on the wall of an idyllic olden town that reminded him of the Black Forest.
"Whose fucking funeral did I walk into?" asked Olek, chuckling as he tugged on his black leather jacket.
No one spoke or met his gaze. He frowned and started heading towards the empty chairs at the end, but Lionel Diaz, the leader of Demon Dogs, pulled out a chair next to him. The grave expression on the man's face put a hitch in his step. Olek took the offered seat even if he didn't understand.
"What happened to table?" he asked as he leaned back and crossed his legs, wishing he had a cigarette, but the others always complained about the smoke.
"It's been replaced," said Min Li, head of the Blue Daggers. She had a round, pleasant face. Almost kind if you didn't know better, but he'd seen what she did to those that got in her way, which made him confused about how tense she was, as if there was a gun to her head.
Olek drummed his fingers on the marble. "I liked the round one. It like that old story of the knights and their stupid quests."
He studied their body language. They looked like a group of students who'd been caught cheating and were waiting for the principal to deliver the punishment, which didn't make any sense to Olek, since they were the heads of alliance clans, not weak-kneed schoolchildren.
Olek leaned over and asked Lionel in a quieter voice, "What I miss?"
The curly-haired Spaniard frowned, so Olek added, "I was at my daughter's wedding in Prague. I know about Razor clan. I thought everyone would be happy." He frowned and counted the number at the table, wondering who the final three chairs were meant for. "Who missing? Everyone here, right?"
The sound of a door opening, followed by multiple footsteps, had everyone sitting at attention. Olek glanced around wondering if they'd been drugged, or replaced with doppelgangers. The newcomers entered behind him, and as he started to spin around, Lionel tugged on his jacket, keeping him facing forward.
The first figure was familiar. Olek knew Gregor Anderson by reputation as head of the Black Crows, who until recently had been allied with Razor clan. What he didn't understand was why he was in their territory, or taking a spot at the alliance table.
The other two weren't known to Olek, or even human. Their chalky-gray skin and pinched, sour expressions marked them as maetrie, or city elves. He caught a whiff of coal smoke that was covered up by the heavy cologne on Gregor. The first maetrie was broad-shouldered and wearing runed body armor with handguns on each hip. He carried a sheathed sword in his hand rather than having it strapped to his body, which was unusual. The second looked like he'd just come from a corporate board meeting, dressed in an expensive black suit with a striped shirt beneath.
A few seconds after Olek laid eyes upon the maetrie, he felt a wave of euphoria followed by the desire to throw himself at their feet. To combat the aura of the maetrie, Olek pinched his leg using the strength of his topaz, which burst blood vessels and would leave a bruise, but the pain washed away the worst of his subservient feelings.
He understood why his fellow alliance leaders looked like whipped dogs. Money had been flowing into their coffers from an unknown source, and now he saw the reason. What he didn't understand was how this maetrie had already cowed the others, even before he'd arrived.
"Not to be rude," said Olek, leaning on his forearm with a pleasant smile on his lips. He'd always believed that even the harshest words should be delivered with the kindest expressions. "But who the fuck are you?"
The bigger maetrie's hand twitched towards his weapon, but the other one gave a tight shake of the head.
"Olek Koval. I'm sorry we haven't had the pleasure of an introduction since you haven't been in the Undercity as of late. I hope your daughter had a wonderful wedding. I sent along a gift, which I believe she will quite enjoy."
A stone formed in his stomach. Olek's knuckles cracked as he squeezed his hand into a fist.
"I mean no threat," said the maetrie, holding up a hand. "I sent her a jeweled necklace from the Eternal City. A unique piece that she will treasure forever."
"Thank you," said Olek, doubt creeping into his voice, but he didn't unclench his fist.
"My apologies that we didn't have a chance to meet earlier, but I wanted to keep my presence, shall we say, hidden until the proper moment. Events with Razor clan progressed faster than intended due to some unforeseen betrayals, forcing my hand."
His smile might have been considered generous if he were human, but on the gaunt cheeks of the maetrie, it appeared ghoulish.
"My name is Dominion Thule. While you were absent, the alliance clans anointed me their leader, which I gratefully accepted," he said, holding a hand over his heart.
"We didn't have a leader before," said Olek.
"Which is why you failed to dislodge either Razor or Drops from their lofty positions. My guidance, even from afar, did more to improve the prospects of your clans than the muddled response that you'd assembled thus far."
"I didn't vote for you," said Olek.
"I'm sure you would have given the opportunity," said Dominion with a faint smile.
Olek glanced to his fellow clan leaders. "Is this true?"
The few that dared to look up gave him a tight nod before returning to their head bowed positions. Olek wished he hadn't been at his daughter's wedding during this critical time. He'd missed too much and now he was playing from behind and without important information.
"What's the plan?" he asked, meeting Dominion's gaze, which took all of his self-control.
The corner of the maetrie's eyes creased while his mouth stayed a thin line.
"Razor is eliminated, but unfortunately, Drops remains. Our first task is to deal with this final holdout."
Olek gestured wildly. "Shouldn't be too hard between alliance and the Crows. The biggest worry we had before was that whoever acted first would get wiped out by the last."
"I do hope that it's as easy as you say," said Dominion coolly. "But the strength of Razor joined with the Drops. We may have the numbers but their warriors are worth five times ours. Even with my additional support." He nodded to the big armored maetrie at his side. "We cannot make a frontal attack on the Drops."
"You want to have the entire Undercity under your control," said Olek.
"You are perceptive," said Dominion with an amused eyebrow raise.
"Why you?" Olek checked back with his fellow alliance leaders. "Why were you elected leader when we never had one before?"
"Because despite your petty stratagems, your scheming and backstabbing, you humans have barely scratched the surface of what the maetrie carry out every day in the Eternal City. I promise you, Olek Koval, that with me you'll be richer than you ever were before once we have control of the Undercity and, with it, the faez crystal trade."
"And then?"
"That's for me to decide."
Olek nodded, even if he didn't entirely understand.
"But that's not why I called you all here," said Dominion, leaning back in his chair with his hands flat on the marble. He studied each person at the table in turn. When Dominion's gaze settled on Olek, he felt himself wanting to crawl beneath the table.
"I should be discussing our strategy, but recent events from individuals in this room have distracted me. I could be telling you about the trap I've laid for the Drops, one that is currently in motion, but instead I'm forced to discuss the importance of honesty. I know that sounds rich after my little speech about the machinations of the maetrie, but there's scheming to take down your enemies, whoever they might be, and then there's foolish defiance, or petty grabs for insignificant baubles when larger treasures could be enjoyed."
Dominion stared right at Olek, which had him leaning back in his chair as if he couldn't get far enough away. He wanted to reach for the gun in his jacket pocket, but the hulking maetrie at Dominion's side told him he'd never reach it.
"Olek. I understand your arrogance. Maybe even respect it. You don't know me, nor my reputation," said Dominion as if they were discussing how to have their steaks cooked. "But I can tell you that I will not allow it to continue for the sake of this new organization. If you display such wanton petulance on a regular basis then all respect for each other will turn to ash."
The maetrie nodded towards his bodyguard, who pulled a hammer from the back of his black pants and slid it across the marble table. It stopped right before Olek. The tool wasn't the claw hammer of basic home maintenance, but a heavier one used for driving stakes into the ground.
"As a token of your regret and newfound fealty to me, you'll pick up that hammer and use it in one of two ways. You can either turn to Lionel, who has been stealing from me and our organization, and put that hammer through his face using the strength of your topaz, or you can take it and smash the smallest finger on your hand until it is nothing but pulp."
"What?"
The words slipped out of Olek's mouth at the same time Lionel tried to leave his seat, but the maetrie bodyguard pointed the sheathed weapon at the Spaniard's chest.
"You'll decide now or I'll decide for you," said Dominion.
Olek reached for the hammer as Lionel said, "I won't do it again. We always take a little from each other when we're transporting goods. It wasn’t much."
He looked to his fellow clan leaders for support. Olek held the hammer in his fist. No one spoke nor moved to stop him. While he knew that Lionel would stab him in the back if given an opportunity, even as their alliance had prospered because they'd set aside their disagreements to focus on the bigger fish in the Undercity, Olek didn't like being used as a tool. The reason he'd fought his way to the top of his clan had been so he never had to take orders from another person.
"I don't—"
What happened next was so fast Olek barely had time to process it before it was too late. Two things happened at once: the first was the hulking maetrie pulled the sword from the sheath in a quick motion, and the second was, while steel was still ringing through the air, Dominion leapt upon the marble table and accepted the blade. Olek barely had the time to flinch as blood splattered across his face. He turned to find Lionel's head sliding from his body, the thump on the carpet like a coconut falling from a tree.
With his legs spread and still wielding the sword, Dominion looked down upon Olek and said, "The choice has been made for you."
Olek glanced briefly to his fellow alliance members before shaking his head and uttering a curse.
"Fuck."
Olek slammed the hammer on his left pinky with the force of his topaz, the impact shattering the bone and turning the flesh to pulp. He grimaced away the pain as Dominion returned to his place at the head of the table, leaving the bloody sword in his fist.