As a Wizard Elder of the Castro Family, Rodman had not quite reached the Demigod level, but he was very close. He had already touched upon the secrets of Demigods, and that very contact had made him somewhat unstable. A trace of corruption had already appeared in his mind.
The God of Communication had tried to strike a bargain: if Rodman freed him, he would cleanse the corruption from Rodman's mind in exchange. He could not actually cleanse that corruption, but he had chosen to lie.
Rodman had refused.
Rodman would never agree to such a bargain. He did not know whether the God of Communication could do it, but he knew that freeing him would expose the Castro Family to more than a curse-it might even bring about their destruction. He wanted only the God of Communication's power. He believed that once he possessed enough power, he could resist those foul wills himself and drive them out of his mind. Thus, Rodman simply ignored the God of Communication's proposed bargain.
When the God of Communication refused his terms, Rodman tortured him day after day.
For four hundred years, the God of Communication had endured that torture. But he knew it could not last much longer. Gods had infinite lifespans, while humans had finite ones. Extraordinaries could live a few centuries longer than ordinary humans, and living for a thousand years was no problem for a Demigod-level Extraordinary-provided, of course, that they were not killed.
The God of Communication could already sense the dwindling life force in Rodman's body. If this Wizard failed to become a Demigod, he would reach the end of his natural lifespan within the next few years.
Two days later, Bruce returned to Walkervis with Dusk and the other two.
Apartment B, fifth floor, 12