Saturday, September 5, 2020

Page 2573

Ever since Dunstan manhandled Jonah and threatened to kill him--his own cousin--all of the other Rofals were clearly wary of him. When he entered a room, they typically left.

Apart, perhaps, from one: Grandma Rofal, Damian's wife. She didn't seem too bothered by Dunstan's presence at all.

And Cisco was left to wonder why that might be. She wasn't even hesitant around him. She just said whatever she felt like, even if it meant insulting someone, Dunstan included. And Cisco could tell that she managed to get under his skin a few times, too.

Maybe she just didn't think that Dunstan would hurt an old lady like her. If so, she was probably right. And if not, well. Maybe she just wasn't really thinking about the potential consequences of her actions. That would make a worrying amount of sense, too. As much of a lunatic as her husband was, she definitely wasn't totally sane, either.

But of course, if anyone laid a hand on her, Cisco could only imagine what Damian would do.

If it wasn't clear enough to him before, it was certainly clear to him now. Damian was no normal servant. That old man had real strength. More than Cisco had ever personally seen. The noticeable field density of the man's soul already made that point obvious, but the occasional sparring sessions that he held with everyone had really nailed that point home.

Damian had been training everyone in the usage of these rings that he'd gifted them. The red shadows that could be summoned out of them were incredibly malleable, and Cisco could see incremental improvement from everyone across the board. They could make the shadows move faster and create more sophisticated shapes. And Damian promised to take them to still further heights.

Perhaps that was another reason why the old man's "bonding" strategy seemed to be working. These Rofals clearly enjoyed what the shadows allowed them to do. And the prospect that they might become yet more powerful? Music to their ears, no doubt.

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