Augustine inhaled slowly, as though weighing the consequences of what he was about to say. When he finally spoke, his voice carried quiet certainty.
"Damon Locke."
The name stirred something faint at the back of Seraphine's mind. Familiar, but distant, like a face glimpsed once in a crowded room.
She did not react immediately, not with Marshall still standing there. He didn't belong to their world, and instinct warned her to be careful with what she revealed.
"Damon?" Marshall echoed, suspicion sharpening his tone. "How can he help?" He sounded genuinely interested and as if Augustine perceived it, he paused, turned, and looked at Marshall as though the question itself insulted his intelligence. "I'll take my leave now," he said curtly.
Seraphine and Corvine followed him without hesitation. Behind them, Marshall's voice carried casually through the room. "Sure. Prepare the bill for the lawsuit."
