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‘No!’ I shrieked

Both the Ipsissilanced up They saw us – but they also carried on walking No, no, no, no, no! Round the corner of the building and out of their sight – but visible to me – was a ladder If the pair of theht underneath it If there is an omen that is destined to screw up your day, your week, yourunder a ladder

Freaking out in a manner most unusual for me, I flapped my arms Winter stopped and stared at me, mystified But then he’d never understood superstitions and the power they really held

Realising that so, the Ipsissimus did exactly the opposite to what I wanted and sped up to find out what the problem was Time slowed around me, like in a Hollywoodmyself to breathe, I lifted both hands and concentrated This needed to be one of the fastest spells I’d ever cast but I couldn’t afford for it to be sloppy

‘Ivy?’ Winter began

From behind, Brutus let out a yowl and barrelled towards the two er As I flicked out a double-handed rune, Brutus bounded towards the ladder Almost simultaneously, my spell toppled it as Brutus also s object hit the path Praise be – that was a close-run thing I doubled over, breathing hard

Maidmont spotted the ladder and started to hyperventilate whilst the Ipsissimus definitely appeared concerned Winter just looked a bit puzzled ‘What’s wrong? Is someone there? Is there a problem?’ he asked

Jeez I gasped, trying to catch my breath ‘Ladder,’ I wheezed

‘Huh?’ There was a pause ‘Oh’

I twisted my head towards hi in amusement and exasperation ‘It’s just a superstition’

Istill wasn’t back to normal ‘It’s not just a superstition, Rafe!’ I shook ed over to Maidive myself an aneurysm

‘How can you let ladders onto this ca the Ipsissi around like this?’ I swunga ninja assassin to appear at any second

Ipsissis didn’t look particularly happy but he wasn’t panicking either ‘There are renovations taking place We’ve recruited a non-witch construction firm One of them must have left the ladder here by accident I’ll have words with theain’

I was te at him to press home the potential consequences of such death traps in the Order headquarters Given the circumstances of our visit, however, there were probably s to talk about Brutus, almost as shaken as I was, leapt into my arms I stroked him, as much to calm myself as to calm my cat

‘We need to talk about Blackbeard,’ Winter said ‘There have been soation’

The Ipsissimus nodded ‘Excellent We have soh I’m not sure how helpful it will be We should move inside for some privacy’ He looked around ‘And so that we’re not in any further danger fro us to eternity’

Maid for the hills I didn’t blayback to the same place Instead, I stroked Brutus a bit more and remembered to breathe

‘Sure,’ I said, the epitome of casual behaviour In fact, if anyone looked up ‘relaxed’ in the dictionary, ht there Nobody would be able to tell that I was actually quaking in my boots ‘That sounds fabulous’

Winter patted my hand ‘Don’t worry,’ he said ‘The nasty ladder has fallen down and can’t hurt you any more We’re all perfectly safe You don’t have to panic’

Darn it

Rather than take us up to his office, the Ipsissiround floor of his building No wonder renovations were underway around the Order; ere in the rooot It was cramped and, quite possibly, dustier than the top shelf in my bedroom that I couldn’t see over so I never cleaned it One side of the room was crammed full of books, most of which probably hadn’t been opened in decades The other side was filled with the strangest examples of taxidermy I’d ever seen

‘Is that a stuffed deer?’ I asked

The Ipsissimus didn’t look up ‘Yes’