Lavender still had his arm linked in mine. Liv spoke from behind us. “Isn’t this exciting! I can’t believe we’re here.”
I smiled, and the warm buzz of happiness filled my insides. We really were here, and so was Mum. She was walking at the front of our group, next to Angelica. It was still hard to believe she was alive. “I know. It’s so old and so very different to the UK.” And I never thought I’d get here. As much as I’d believed we’d eventually beat Dana and her father, I also believed I’d die doing it… or at least one of us would. How were we all still alive?
We turned a corner into another shadowed alleyway, shops and restaurants on both sides. It was beginning to feel like an ancient, endless shopping district. Still, the old, and yes, still-crooked buildings, were totally charming. We rounded another corner, a steady stream of people coming the other way. Such a hub of activity.
A tall archway, part of a dirty, rendered building, stood in front of us, a blue clock with golden stars set into it above a first-floor window. Dirty sounded as if I was being rude, but they probably left it like that on purpose. It gave the place atmosphere—some would call it patina. In Sydney, we’d call it neglect, but this wasn’t Sydney, and I loved it. “Oh, is that a twenty-four-hour clock?” There were definitely twenty-four roman numerals around the blue disk instead of twelve.
Angelica looked up. “Yes, dear. There’s a bigger one on the other side of the tower. It was built at the very end of the fifteenth century. Pretty, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
We walked under the arch and into the famed Saint Mark’s Square. There was so much to take in. The great open expanse was hemmed in on most sides by grand buildings with archways framing covered walkways. Crowds had half-filled the square, pigeons taking up the rest of the available ground space, and that wasn’t enough. Pigeons sat on some people’s heads and shoulders. Holy moly. As cute as it was, Will’s earlier comment about lice had me scratching the back of my neck. “Ew, is that sanitary?”
“What, lovie?” Lavender asked.
“The pigeons crawling all over people.”
He chuckled. “That’s just part of Venice’s charm. I have to say, out of everything you could be looking at, that’s got your attention?”
“Um… yes?” I was hopeless.
“Instead of worrying about those flying rats, why don’t you check out Saint Mark’s Basilica?” He nodded at a striking building to our left. Wow. The large stone building had massive archways, some inset with artwork of people in flowy robes. Lots of pointy bits graced the top of the building—yes, my descriptive powers would probably embarrass a five-year-old. The humungous domes added even more grandeur, and then there was the golden lion sculpture in the middle above what I guessed was the main entry. Oh, and let’s not forget the angels above that. Talk about building something to impress the masses. I couldn’t wait to come back at sunset and take some photos. The diffused golden light would make for some incredible shots.
The sharp sound of flapping surrounded us as a flock of pigeons took off. Small grey and white feathers floated around us. I sucked in a quick breath, and my mouth fell open. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Lavender….”
“Yes, lovie.”
“Please look at my head and tell me there’s no bird poo on it.” After a long moment of silence, I opened my eyes and looked at him. “Well, is there?” If there was, I did not want to feel for it and get crap all over my hand.
I needn’t have asked though. A young couple standing near us were staring at me and laughing. Yeah, very funny. I looked at them with my other sight. Non-witches. So I couldn’t even magic it away. Damn it!
“Sorry, honey. They got you.”
“Damn birds.” I sighed. “I’m going to go back to the hotel to magic it off. Will you wait for me?”
“Of course. But you know that it’s good luck.”
I raised my brow and folded my arms in front of my chest. “I can’t believe you said that. Yes, that’s the consolation prize because who wouldn’t be happy at getting shat on. Seriously, Lav? It’s not like I just won a million dollars. I have bird crap in my hair. I’m pretty sure you and everyone else here who didn’t get pooed on are the lucky ones.”
Will, who’d stopped behind us while chatting to Beren, came to stand in front of me. “What’s wro—” His gaze made it to the top of my head. “Oh.” He was normally a master at the poker face, but his ability must have been on holiday as well. He scrunched his face in an “ew” way. “You have some on your shoulder too.”
“Of course I do.” The people who’d been laughing had shuffled over a few steps so they could still see me past Will. They were still snickering. Poo heads. Oh, no, that would be me. Damn. If only I could talk to animals, I’d be requesting a special pigeon delivery on their heads too. Where was Millicent when I needed her? Unfortunately, she and James couldn’t make it. One of Millicent’s best friends was getting married this coming weekend, and she was the maid of honour, plus, the PIB had been so short-staffed. James had wanted to stay at work and make sure the case against the remaining RP members was built with precision. And, not that I knew for sure, but I would bet that Angelica had wanted him there to be her eyes and ears as well. Anyway, no Millicent meant no revenge bird poo, so I glared at them instead because smiting was frowned upon.
Will stared at me, then turned his head to see what I was glaring at. He looked back at me.
