XIII

Connor stared in amazement at his mentor and friend Don Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez. The other people left the fallen person and joined the Spaniard. To his right, a tough face that seemed to be in undisturbed peace regarded them silently, as its owner wore a priest robe.

"Darius..." Duncan sighed.

"You look well, MacLeod." Ramirez walked towards his former student.

"So do you." Connor moved forward too. The Spaniard suddenly drew his sword (the same katana Connor had) and lunged, but the Highlander avoided his blow and his blade touched softly Ramirez' neck before being retreated. "Never overextend your thrust." he mocked, being grinned back.

"Who are these?" Rachel asked.

Ramirez stood up and approached Rachel. He held her hand and kissed it chivalrously. "I am Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez, chief metallurgist of your majesty Charles V of Spain. At your service, madam."

"I am..."

"She's my adoptive daughter, you Spanish peacock. So behave."

"Oh!" Ramirez feigned repentance. "I recognised that particular spark of you."

"And they are...?"

Her eyes regarded the other nine characters that were there. There was this man that looked so peaceful yet violent, the one Duncan had called Darius. Then there was a man who nodded knowingly at Rachel. She smiled back. Sean Burns was there too. There was a blond man who was neatly dressed, there was a well-built man that seemed keen on weight-lifting, there was an Asian man wearing white clothes who bowed respectfully. And there was also a bald hulkish figure that glared at them. Rachel felt a chill on her back, recognising the face from a newspaper picture that was fifteen years old. She caught a glimpse of Connor acknowledging this stranger with a grinning nod.

"Rachel, Duncan... these are Iman Fasil..." the blond one made a reverence "... Oshta Vasilek..." the well built man raised a hand "... Nakano..." the Asian bowed again "...and the Kurgan." A vicious smile returned the salute.

"Connor... is it safe with him...?" Duncan queried with concern.

"I am out of the Game, excuse of a warrior!" Kurgan bellowed. "I would be able to crush your skull with only a flick of my wrist, but..." he silenced and looked away.

"The Rules." Nakano spoke. "That would break the Rules."

"The motives of your presence are known to us." Vasilek carried on.

"The balance of the Game must be restored." Sean added.

"But the re-entry of this immortal has jailed you all." Darius spoke softly, pointing at the fallen body. This person was beginning to stand up.

"And now he must pay!" Fasil said curtly.

"Easy!" Ramirez calmed him. "Let's welcome our guests first." No sooner did he speak than the whole landscape seemed to blur and vanish.

-----

Next thing the newcomers knew was that they were sitting at a table full of different kinds of foods. Meat, salad, pasta, wine; a feast to please a hundred eaters. The walls around them were golden, and they shone flawlessly. The seats and the table were made of a perfectly cut wood.

"Ramirez..." Duncan asked, having been the first one to react. "What is this place?"

"A part of all the quickenings of the dead immortals come here. A web of power all around. Those who come here are granted a minute part of it, but only once."

"And why can't we leave?"

"Because, Highlander..." this time Nakano spoke "... your friend knew of the consequences of his returning here. Now you must pay as he shall."

"Will you kill him?"

"Yes!" Kurgan yelled.

"And who will get the quickening?" Connor queried.

"No one. We are our quickenings only. We have no bodies to welcome it. The power joins the power existing herein." Fasil said curtly.

"What about Kell?"

"His violation of the Rules shall be punished eventually. If not by you, by some another." Sean spoke with his usual calm.

"So you will simply lock us here for eternity?"

"Indeed, Highlander." Ramirez spoke charmingly.

"But that would interfere with the Game." Duncan broke in, standing up.

"Your being here constitutes an attempt to gain an advantage... in a way it's a breaking of the Rules too, young Highlander."

"But Ramirez..." Connor stood up too, staring in the eyes of the Spanish peacock. "The only way to restore the balance is to break the Rules to remove from the Game the one that has unbalanced it by..."

"Breaking the Rules!" Kurgan shrieked, nodding in complicity at Connor. The Highlander found it strange that his thoughts were akin to the ones of the mythical savage. "MacLeod's right."

"Don't argue, Kurgan. This is not something we can decide on. And you know it." Ramirez chilled him out and the Russian looked away as he devoured a chicken leg.

"Fine then." Rachel suddenly said. "I want to see Oliver."

"What for, daughter of the Highlander?" Nakano inquired.

There was no reply.

"What for, young lady?" Ramirez tried, getting the same result as the Asian sorcerer.

"Rachel..." Sean tried. "Why you want to see him?"

Silence. Fasil was about to speak when Vasilek motioned at him to silence.

"She won't speak. Lead her to him."