Whilst people outside the community considered Meyerism to be a cult, the Zealots actually were a cult. Probably. They were definitely an offshoot of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, who were also almost definitely a cult. The main compound for the MMA was somewhere called Kamar-Taj in Nepal, if Cal remembered correctly, although they had property in Hong Kong, London and New York as well. They were headed by someone called the Ancient One and that was all anybody knew. And then there were the Zealots. In Calâs opinion, it was an appalling name for something, cult or not. He didnât know much about them, to be honest, other than that they were very secretive and rich as Croesus. Oh, and rumour had it that their leader - Kaecilius - had once been a Danish prince.
Unfortunately for Cal, he didnât manage to find a way to pay back the money by the imposed deadline, not even close. Neither had Sarah, who had unbent enough to help try and find a solution. Instead, when their representative arrived at the compound, they had nowhere near the required amount and, instead, a crowd had gathered to witness Calâs failure. A crowd that included a rather smug Eddie. Swallowing his pride, and feeling a red flush of shame spread to his ears, Cal stepped forward.
âIâm sorry, we donât have the money. If you could just give me a bit longerâŠâ
âExtending the time-frame is not an option. If you donât have the money, then we will take something else as collateral until you do have the money.â
âWhat might that be?â Calâs mind flipped through the possible things that could be offered as collateral in lieu of money and came up incredibly short. The movement had nothing, and he had never been one for personal items and definitely nothing of value. A single word from the Zealot had Calâs immediate attention.
âYou.â
CollateralÂ
My rec for @freshmeatfriday is this lovely StrangePath ongoing by the brilliant @vix-spes
