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“It was one of the very first magical talismans I made after beginning my path following necromancy. It is designed to weaken the barrier between our world and that of the spirits. I used to rely on it for my power, before I grew long past the need for trinkets.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all impressed by your giant necromancy dick,” Harry complained from the back of the line. “Can’t you just say ‘I used to use it, now I don’t need it’? Get over yourself, will you?”

Gideon growled before letting it turn into a sigh. “This is why I wished to leave him in the car.”

“If Rinaldo shows up, we’re going to need the help,” she answered without looking behind her. “And you know it.”

Harry let out a loud raspberry.

“Truly? Are we going to be children now?”

“Yeah. Think so.”

She glanced back just in time to see Harry shove Gideon’s shoulder hard, sending the other man pitching forward. The necromancer whirled on the other man, fist raised, poised to strike. Harry was already reeling back his own punch.

“Knock it off!” Bribed security guards be damned, she was done with it. Both men froze. She walked up to Harry and shoved him, and then, turning on Gideon, did the same thing, forcing the two men apart. She was certain it was more because they let her than any real strength on her part. “Both of you. I swear to fuck I’ve had it. Gideon, get your panties out of a twist. Harry, stop being such a toddler and goading him all the time. If you two can’t chill, you can both wait out in the goddamn car, and I’ll do this shit on my own!”

Algernon climbed out of her hoodie to perch on her shoulder, clearly curious about the ruckus.

“Sorry, Mags…” Harry shoved his hands in his pockets.

Gideon nodded once. He didn’t seem as cowed as the other man. Instead, he was watching her with a strange glint in his eyes. Excitement? Pride? She couldn’t tell what it was, and she didn’t want to deal with it. Turning back to the path, she muttered to herself about melodrama.

It was tucked into the corner of two brick buildings that she found the way in. Someone had carefully pried one of the wooden boards off a basement window. Then, without damaging any of the glass or woodwork, removed the window itself and set it aside. “Huh.” It was impressive, to say the least. Hoodlums with class.

“There is an entire movement dedicated to the exploration of these old buildings. I suspect this is their doing.” Gideon leaned his cane against the building then moved to climb through the basement window.

“You’re gonna muss your suit,” she said with a smirk.

“It’s an illusion, remember?” He hopped inside. By how low he now was, the small basement window was fairly high up on the wall in the basement.

“Yeah, about that. You’re just walking around naked?”

He chuckled. “No more than Harry is.” He reached out for her. “Come, now. Let’s not linger longer than we need to.”

“I’m not naked.” Harry grumbled. “I don’t have flesh.”

She put her hand in Gideon’s and let him help her climb through the window and hop down inside. It was pitch black. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out a flashlight and, flicking it on, took a quick look around. It was like any old dusty basement, with maybe a bit more dust and detritus on the floor than usual. Pipes and wires were close overhead, covered in the work of living and dead spiders alike. “Are skeletons naked? That’s a good question.”

“Technically, yes.” The necromancer went to help Harry inside, only to get his hand swatted out of the way for his trouble. With a shrug, he stepped away from the window and brought out his own flashlight. “As the definition of nudity is to be without clothing.”

“Right, that’s the definition. But what about the spirit of the word?”

“How so?”

“I wouldn’t look at a skeleton on a hook as a class demonstration and call it naked. A femur isn’t naked.” They started down the hall, Gideon in the lead, her in the middle, and Harry at the back.

“Ah, you’re conflating two concepts, however. The former is a better argument than the latter. The latter you can argue that its lack of inherit nudity is due to it being a portion of a human and not the whole. We are considering a whole human. Mannequins are described as being naked.”

“Yup, but a mannequin isn’t a skeleton. Mannequins look more human than skeletons. I’m suggesting, I guess, that skeletons aren’t naked because something being naked is only attributed to people when they look human.”

“Trees can be described as naked. Bushes. A room that is sans carpets or drapes.”

“Oh, my god I wish I had stayed in the car.” Harry groaned. “You two are the worst people to be stuck to as a third wheel.”

Laughing, she ducked under a particularly low-hanging pipe as they made their way through the dusty, abandoned basement. “Gideon, keep your mouth shut.”

“I wasn’t going to say a word.” His playful tone hinted that he might not have intended to, but he certainly wanted to.