“A man’s hair shouldn’t be that long,” Sanguine said. “Too easy to pull in a life-or-death struggle. He ain’t being practical, that’s what it is. He’s too concerned with lookin’ good, not near enough concerned with doing his damn job. That’s why he’s got a haircut like that. And what’s he doing smiling, anyhow? The guys down there are a bunch of goons with guns, why do they need his smiles? He’s eager to please, that’s his problem. He wants everyone to like him. That’s a sign of a weak mind.”

“And you got all that from a haircut and a smile?” Tanith asked. “Your skills are impressive, Billy-Ray.”

“More skills than him, I’ll tell you that much. Main problem with Necromancers is that all their power is kept in a single object. You take that object away from them, they can’t do nothing. With Valkyrie, it’s a ring. Solomon Wreath, a cane. I don’t know what this guy’s special object is, but—”

“A wand,” said Tanith.

Sanguine turned his head to her. “I’m sorry?”

“He keeps his magic in a wand,” she said.

Sanguine took a moment, finding it hard to process the information. “He... this guy uses a wand? For real? He actually uses a wand? Like a wizard?”

“Yes.”

“A sorcerer, a proper, real-life mage... one of us... waves a magic wand?”

She grinned. “You find something unusual about that?”

“I... I don’t know where to start... How have they let him do that? Don’t the other Necromancers have any sense of pride? What’s he gonna do next, fly around on a broomstick? This ain’t Harry Potter. We ain’t witches and wizards. We are serious people with serious jobs and this guy—”

“Calm down, Billy-Ray,” Tanith said, struggling to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“It’s a stereotype,” he hissed. “It’s a damn stereotype and it’s harmful. If this catches on, we’ll have all sorts of sorcerers running around, waving wands and chanting spells. Do you know how ridiculous we’d look?”

Tanith shrugged. “I liked Harry Potter.”

“This ain’t about Harry Potter!”

“You liked Harry Potter as well.”

“They’re good books,” he snapped, “but I do not agree with this wand business. All those guys down there, criminals and mobsters and gangsters, and who are they taking orders from? A wizard with a wand. How can they take him seriously? How are they going to take us seriously when we attack?”

“Hopefully they won’t,” said Tanith. “If they’re waiting for us to wave our wands, maybe they won’t shoot, and then we can kill them more easily.”