Book, or Book's ghost, or the illusion of Book -- River wasn't certain -- led River through an older section of the Abbey, one that was being remodeled. It was hung with plastic curtains to keep the dust from spreading, but there was still a fine layer of dust on the floor. River glanced back, and saw that her shaky, shuffling steps had left a clear trail. She turned back, wanting to point out to her companion that they could easily be followed, but he had stopped, and his attention was on a blank section of the Abbey's outer wall.

Book gestured with one hand.

A faint shimmer, and the holograph faded, revealing a wooden door.

Book swung the door open, and River followed him through into an alley alongside the Abbey, forgetting about the shuffling trail of footprints.

Behind them, the holo shimmered back into place, leaving the visual and tactile impression of a stone wall.

River glanced along the alley, and was surprised to discover that she knew where she was.

Book started down the alley to their left, but River went right, and their shoulders caught. Their eyes met; Book looked uncertain. River was not. He turned, and went where she led.

What she led him to looked like a dead end. But the abbey's holograph wasn't the only illusion in the alley. What looked like a blank brick corner stacked with trash bins actually hid a narrow opening into a mazelike passage that sloped gradually down into dimness. River followed it with easy certainty until a figure, easily the size of Jayne, loomed out of the low light ahead.

"You lost, miss?" The figure was definitely positioned to block their path, and trying to be intimidating. River was, in fact, intimidated; between her unreliable senses and her shaky arms and legs, she had no idea whether she could protect herself from this brute.

"Come to visit an old friend," she said, in a fair mimic of Badger's cockney accent.

She couldn't quite make out the man's shadowed face, but she sensed surprise from him. With a lift of his chin,