a group of advisers, usually a secret group who are involved in a plot... an entourage of penniless, ignorant, intriguing ministers watched over by camarillas of officers...

(n) a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue

A clique; the confidants or private advisers of the sovereign. It literally means a small private chamber, and is in Spain applied to the room in which boys are flogged.

A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade. Childe

A secret, usually sinister, group of conspiring advisors close to the leadership; a cabal * "The same lack of accountability has been even more disastrous for the two state-owned banks, which exist [..]