His mark feels like a beacon he can nearly see, a cold point at the edge of his brain oriented in the correct direction. Armand doesn't think to describe this as Daniel keeps pace with him—either it will make sense or it doesn't, or Daniel will have his own way of going about things.

"A peeling back, a luring out." Armand can do both. He prefers the latter when it comes to these kinds of victims, letting them along a path which leads back to himself. His petty cryptofascists are more fun beneath a scalpel.

This, also, he doesn't say. Instead, "Do they appear more human to you, or less? Your puzzles."