26. Saturn Ring
One by one, the stalwarts of the Southern clan assembled in the ring. Jerassand sat kneeling on the ground, taxed completely from his encounter with Nietz, Krsna and Leibniz. Sive sat on one of the benches, like a king waiting for his subjects.
"Lord Sive", the head of the Southern clan, Mark Eisensteiger bowed before him. He was a man in his early fifties. He could be from anywhere — nobody could guess his ethnicity by looking at him.
"Mark, dear old friend, I'm sorry for asking you over at such a short notice, but what to do? Our friend here, Jerassand, made a claim so stupendous that I just had to confirm with you."
"What is it, my Lord?" A strain of hesitation shadowed Mark's face.
"Well, if you didn't know, JS here and we —Kris and I— had an agreement. That we'd make him the head of a clan if he'd recruit twenty vampires for his cause. In the meantime, there came this contest, which we were aware of too, and JS was to face Nietz, here. But I think JS got our rules and the rules of the contest mixed up. We feel that it's only fair to contest when he has himself recruited 20 people. Then only can he be made head, no? Now, it seems that he's joined your clan. That's not enough, is it? But JS just doesn't understand."
" Right... " Mark replied in a noncommittal tone.
"Or...Have you decided to forfeit your headship? Will JS now lead your clan? Did we miss something?" Sive sounded positively inquisitive.
The crowd started murmuring. It meant that this was news to them. The head, clearly, have not discussed JS's inclusion in detail.
"Quiet.. Everyone!" Mark shouted in a composed manner. JS smirked at his reaction. "Dear Lord, as you may know, we don't discuss our issues with outsiders. Not even gods." Mark continued.
"But we're insiders. We need to know. What's happening?" A man stepped forth from the crowd.
"Yes, we need to know."
"We need to know!"
More shouts emerged from the crowd.
Mark was sweating profusely now.
"Quiet. We haven't promised Mr. Jerassand anything of that sort. He's as much a member as any of you are. So please stay calm. We will discuss this in detail later tonight." This was Mark's sorry-attempt at easing the crowd's worries. The murmurs grew and JS's face grew darker as each moment passed.
" What's wrong if I became your leader? " Jerassand's voice was like a thousand year old snake's venom; the words seared through everything it fell upon. People moved on their spots uneasily.
"JS, please, stop. Do not incite the crowd, I beg you." Mark tried his best to reason with the beast.
"And you... I'm like everybody else? ME? I'M JERASSAND! THE ONLY ONE KRSNA IS SCARED OF.. Isn't that why you sent another person to kill me, you puerile god?!"
Krsna stood there unaffected. He knew it was better to just listen as there was no scope of a conversation with JS. He had learnt that thousands of years ago.
Sive stepped in as JS ran at Krsna, roaring in anger. Leibniz and Nietz held him back even before he reached Sive. Gunny and Pama appeared at Sive's side.
"Is this the man of potential you're vouching for? How incredibly pathetic! Do you not have stronger warrior amongst you guys? Disappointing, I must say. After all, aren't you the famous Southern clan? What happened to your illustrious heritage?"
People started shouting at this point. Sive was right, they thought. They agreed with him.
"Send me to the ring. I'd not let our name be soiled by the likes of Jerassand", one man shouted.
"Don't you know what kind of a monster he is, Chief? What were you thinking?," shouted another.
Mark Eisensteiger was deep in thought. He couldn't possibly reveal his pact with JS, nor could he go against the will of his clan. He stood there, mum like a puppet.
"The Spar of the Clans stands cancelled on this moment."
A solemn voice rose from amidst the crowd.
--------------------------
Mira reached the location as per the navigator of the Buddy Tracker app. She stealthily got out of the car and walked in the shadows of the trees. She could see the legs of a hundred benches inside the football ground. She quietly creeped underneath and crawled forward enough to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Her widened with amusement as she heard every word spoken within what they were calling 'the ring'.
"I knew it", Mira smirked to herself.
A cold wind swept across her face, she turned to her right and into the crowd. Behind them stood five men —one leading the other four. Colour drained off from her face.
"How could he?" Mira whispered under her breath, gritting her teeth.
-------------------------
The crowd split in the middle to make way for the owner of the voice. A handsome man in his late forties walked in, but his voice was a thousand years old. Following him were the four senior members of the Moroislav Ignóbilis — the ancient order of vampires.
Everybody except for Sive and Krsna bowed before them.
"Welcome, Count Midrak. We are honoured by your grace and presence." Sive bowed after saying this.
"We're indeed indebted to you for stepping in today as it was crucial for us to punish the defaulter present here." Krsna bowed too.
"By all means, dear Lords, it is more of my business than yours to interfere, here. I understand that the defaulter came from your world, but he belongs to our 'familie'." He spoke with a heavy slavic accent, without losing eye contact with Sive and Krsna. They merely bowed in response. "He has, after all, broken several codes of conduct. However, in the light of the current situation, I find it highly distasteful to deal with vermin like him. Therefore, you can have your way with him. The rest of you, disperse."
He quietly uttered these words and withdrew from the midst of the crowd to disappear into thin air along with his men.
"I know that guy.. The guy with Midrak", Krsna remembered.
"Who?", Sive asked.
"The one on the right."
"Ah, Calibus."
"The satyr?!"
"Yep."
Krsna's lips drew a thin line. Mira must never find out, he thought to himself.