The Shadow Master by Craig Cormick - sample chapters

not support one or other of the Houses. Generally it was due to patronage, and so it was seen as mutual support, and that clearly argued for the Medici men to come to the aid of those civilians defending the Medici name. But sometimes family members were in conflict with each other over which house to support and sometimes people had switched allegiances as patronage offers grew or waned, and were one year Medici supporters and the next were in favour of the Lorraines, and they would side with whoever came out in front in this current war of the Houses.

Others may simply have been incensed at the brutality of the murder of Giuliano Medici, who was well-loved, and even if they were Lorraine men at heart, they were willing to stand up against the Lorraine supporters over it. It made deciding what action to take difficult for the Medici militia. Cosimo Medici would not thank them for escalating civic unrest, but he would surely understand if they were defending the lives of staunch Medici supporters. Surely.

For it was an insult to their honour to see shopkeepers and craftsmen who had taken up cudgels and knives, fighting Lorraine men in the streets to avenge the murder of Giuliano while they simply marched past. And after bypassing the next tussle they came across, and lending a show of force to chase the enemy away at the one after, they drew their swords and attacked the Lorraine men at the subsequent melee, and then cheered with the Medici citizens as the cowards fled into dark alleys.

The streets of the Walled City were like a maze in many ways, with streets that wound back upon themselves, or branched off suddenly into thin alleys and dark stairways, and then came out on sunny plazas before disappearing