"I am Brimstone," Rose says. Betty called him savior; Rose declared himself strongest. The reaction in the bartender is immediate and confirms both stories. He looked at ease for most of our conversation, but Rose's name takes so much tension out of him he looks fit to crumple. It's the bone-deep weariness of the losing side of a war, of a rebellion forced underground by powers outside of their control. He looks at Rose now like Rose is the moon and stars in his sky, a constellation upon which he will hang every fierce wish and whispered prayer.
