Maddy heard the strange sound before she realised it wasn't the house settling; sitting up on the camping stretcher she had found in the basement, she listened. There it was again. Unsure of what she should do or who was moving around upstairs, she slowly rose and moved to the stairs leading into the main house.

Pushing open the basement door, she slipped into the shadows and waited. The noise was coming from the kitchen. Every horror movie she had seen in her short time away from the Cove came to mind, and her heart rate kicked up to a pounding beat against her ribs. Moving across the entrance hall, Maddy stopped in the kitchen doorway and looked around the moonlit room. The noise came again from the pantry. Blowing out a breath through dry lips, she tried to calm her heart rate, hoping it would not jump out of her chest. Easing against the wall and using it to approach the pantry, she noticed a flashlight scanning the walls, the shadowy form following it as it moved around the panty.

What was the person looking for?

Who was the person in the pantry?

Why were they here at ... she looked at the luminous hands of the kitchen clock ... two in the morning?

Turning back toward the pantry, she came face to face with the intruder and expelled a blood-curdling scream as her heart slammed against her chest. Quickly moving across the kitchen toward the doorway, she heard footsteps pounding after her and the skimming grasp of hands reaching for her. Making it to the entrance hall, she felt the tug on her hair and screamed in sheer terror once more. She was going to die, and there was no one here to help her.

Maddy's flight was halted suddenly as she was hauled by her hair against the solid form of a man.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Jeffery's harsh whisper came hot against her ear.

Another panicked scream came again before she was flung to the carpeted floor; scrambling away, Maddy gasped for air. She didn't want to die. Not here, not now. Suddenly, she was on her back, her hands and feet connecting with anything fleshy to keep him away from her.

"No, leave me alone," Maddy screamed, slapping and kicking as hard as she could; a few grunts were heard, along with a few curses. Feeling fresh air around her, she scrambled away, finding her feet and heading for the stairs, hoping to get to one of the many hiding places the house held. Maddy reached the bottom of the stairs before suddenly being shoved from behind. She slammed into the wall, losing the small amount of air in her lungs and feeling dazed from the connection of her forehead against the wall.

"Now I have you," Jeffery snarled, flipping her around and wrapping his hands around her throat, "you'll be dead soon, and this house will be mine."

Maddy pulled at his big hands, but they wouldn't move. The hot breath fanned against her cheek as he exerted more force. Swiping at the face above her, she connected her nails to his cheek and clawed as deeply as she could. He swore at her, calling her foul names that greedy men would call others when they wanted their way; it gave her the space she needed, lifting her knee as forcefully and high as she could, feeling the connection with his groin and the resounding crunch filled the sudden silence before Jeffery gasped crumpling to his knees. Gasping for air, she startled as the light suddenly flickered to life, and three forms appeared above her.

"Maddy, are you okay?" Ben asked, coming quickly toward her, pointing at the writhing form as the others followed him down the stairs, "secure him." Slowly helping her to stand to her full height, he inspected her throat, "We will need to take pictures of that."

"Why?" Maddy croaked, her hand wrapped in Ben's.

"To have the proof and the evidence that they mean to end the line," Ben said, "it is proof of the feud that started many years before over nothing more than a true love being found and the following of someone's heart."

Maddy started at Ben, "You're kidding?"

Ben shook his head, "All research and evidence found so far points to that being the cause," he shook his head, "but not for the continuing vendettas, bad alliances and decisions made after that."

Maddy nodded, looking over his shoulder, "He was in the pantry..." she whispered, "... looking for something."

Nodding, Ben helped Maddy to a chair at the table in the kitchen. The others dragged a restrained Jeffery into the space, seating him against the wall Maddy had initially used to spy on him and flicked at the light switch, flooding the room with brightness.

"Looks like you put up a good fight," Ben said, smiling, "good for you."

"I thought I was going to die," Maddy whispered, "I was desperate."

Maddy stared across the space at the bruised and battered Jeffery, unable to understand why he was so adamant this house would be his.

"Who told you this house would be yours?" Maddy asked him.

Jeffery glared at her, hate sparkling in his eye and reaching like searching vines across the space toward her, "People who have more power than you'll ever know and a far-reaching ability to make anything they could wish for happen."

Maddy felt her blood run cold. She had met people like that when she studied away from the Cove, "You mean people like the Channings and everyone associated with them in their Secret Society?"

Jeffery jerked at the mention of both, drawing the attention of the others and a small smile to Maddy's lips. He didn't need to speak to tell them what they wanted to know.

"What were you looking for, Jeffery? The Magi's Coronet?" Maddy asked.

"What do you know of it?" Jeffry snarled.

"Enough to know you'll never find it," Maddy said, her words slamming into him as though she had physically slapped him, "also that you know nothing more than you have been fed."

"What do you mean? You're just a woman ... what do you know?" Jeffry jeered, yet suspicion filled his expression even as he uttered the words.

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Maddy shook her head as a sudden realisation came to her: he was nothing more than a scapegoat, a distraction for them and whatever information he thought he was feeding them was probably slightly helpful in whatever they were doing but not really enough to be of value in their bigger scheme of things.

"Tell me what you mean," Jeffery bellowed, "now."

Ben came swiftly to his feet as he finished taking the pictures of Maddy's neck and wounded hands and feet. Taking a warning step toward Jeffry, he paused as he felt Maddy's cold hand slip into his, preventing him from progressing across the room. Looking down at her pale face and the look of residual terror in her eyes, he wrapped his hand around her icy hand, stepping closer to her protectively.

"I suggest you speak more respectfully to her," Ben said, his accented voice holding a warning Jeffery couldn't misunderstand.

"Or what?" Jeffery sneered, "You'll dispatch of me in some way."

Ben cocked his head, staring at Jeffery before looking at the others, "Did you find what he was looking for?"

Avidan strode into the kitchen, holding a small strong box, and placed it on the kitchen counter, "Looks like he was looking for this," he said, pulling on surgical gloves, "he was cutting a hole in the wall near the bottom back corner."

"You have a pair of gloves on you?" Ben asked, looking at the other two men who stood at the pantry's entrance; they shrugged unknowingly.

"Of course I do," Avidan said, smiling, "life is unpredictable, and one never knows when you'll need them."

"How many unpredictable moments do you have to experience in life that you carry those around?" Maddy asked in surprise.

"So far," he said, looking at her, she nodded, making him frown thoughtfully, "too many to count."

"Huh, that many ..." Maddy said, shaking her head, "... then I guess it would be normal for you to have those on your person."

He smiled at her before lifting the box and looking at it closely, "It surprises me that you fixate on me carrying a pair of gloves and not that he knew where to find this."

"Someone like Jeffery knowing how to find things has become ..." Maddy sighed, waving her free hand in the air, "... shall we say ... common?"

Ben grinned at her, "That word will work."

"Well, it seems he either got into this or tried to open it …" Pulling at the lid, Avidan started as it popped open, "… or there is a third option; he got it unlocked but was interrupted."

"What's inside?" Maddy asked, curiosity drawing her toward the counter; standing, she slowly moved toward where the others gathered.

Avidan lifted a small object from the cushioned centre, "Anyone know what this is? "

"The Magi's Coronet," Jeffery spat, "if you had obeyed the curfew …" he glared at Maddy, "… I would own everything now."

Maddy stared at the small object. It looked like the Magi's Coronet, but something felt off, "I'm not an expert, but I don't think it is."

"I'm telling you it is," Jeffery said, "I was shown a picture of the Magi's Coronet … that is it."

Maddy frowned at him," Do you know what a coronet is?"

Jeffery nodded, "Of course I do."

"Do you think this can fit on your head?" Maddy asked, pointing to where the object lay against Avidan's palm. Jeffery huffed a frustrated breath and looked away, "I didn't think so."

"He does have one thing right," Ben said, "it is a small coronet … it could be the Magi's Coronet."

"Except it's not," the words carried to them from the entrance hall as they suddenly heard breathless footsteps approaching them.

The small group turned to find Sage and Matthew standing in the doorway. Maddy moved toward them, hugging her father before moving to embrace Sage.

"Where have you two been?" Maddy whispered hoarsely, "I've been so worried."

"Long story," Sage said, narrowing her eyes on Maddy and taking in all the bruises on her face and hands. "What happened to you?"

Maddy pointed at Jeffery, glaring at them, "I found him in the pantry, and he attacked me."

Sage's hand sprang out, connecting with Matthew's chest, stopping him from moving any further, "He's not worth it. If he works for who I think he does …" she shook her head, "… nothing we do will be as bad as what they will do."

Matthew looked at her, "You read the journals while we were ... navigating the scenic route."

Sage nodded, "I did ... all of them … we have everything we need to move, and we can do it tonight ... actually, it will have to be tonight."

"Why tonight?" Avidan asked.

"It is the only chance we will have," Sage said, "the warnings are clear when dawn breaks, they will know, and now that we have the spy, they'll send others … a lot more than we can deal with."

"What do we do?" Maddy asked.

"Put him somewhere he cannot be seen or heard and cannot escape," Sage pointed at Jeffery, "and then we get to work."

"I know the perfect place," Maddy smiled, "it is what was devised to dispose of Charlotte."

"Which one?" Sage asked.

"The first one," Maddy said, "and it's just what he deserves."

"Will he be alive at the end?" Sage asked.

"Probably, which is more than he deserves, but he will be out of the way …" Maddy said, "… and earshot."

"Tell them where it is, and then come and join us," Sage said, meeting Maddy's gaze, but the other woman glanced away, "What is it?"

"I'll have to go with them," Maddy said, "otherwise they may ... be killed."

Sage stared at Maddy, whose eyebrows rose expressively, "Oh ... then please be careful …" she looked at each of them, "… tonight is the most treacherous of all."

Avidan narrowed his gaze before nodding, "Understood."

"Ben, you go with Sage, Matthew and I," Avidan said before pointing at the other two men, "you two take … Jeffery and put him where Maddy shows you. Tonight is the night to shoot to kill."

"Where we're going that may be safest," Maddy said, waving at them to follow her, "let's go. We need to be quick about this."

Watching them leave, Sage looked at the men around her, "After what you see and hear tonight, we must work quickly and get everything and everyone into place before sunrise."

"Why?" Avidan asked.

"The Magi's Coronet will be retrieved by then, and we'll understand what all of this has been over," Sage whispered, "I could hardly believe it myself, and I'm only going to go through it once …" she sighed, "… that is all the time we have to get it right, and we have to get it achieved correctly the first time."

"Doesn't sound dangerous at all," Mathew said, shaking his head, "do we need to involve Maddy?"

Sage's gaze snapped to Matthew's, "Is that concern or fear talking?"

"A bit of both," Matthew said, shaking his head, "I've been living this for so long. I've seen what it does to people."

"What does to people?" Sage asked.

"The hunt for the Coronet," Matthew sighed, "so many people have appeared over the years looking for the coronet only to lose their minds and either be taken back to wherever they came from as broken people, or they die trying."

"They didn't have what we do," Sage said, gently laying her hand on his arm, "Maddy is necessary, and she will be fine."

Nodding, Matthew sighed, "Fair enough, what now?"

"The library," Sage said, "we need to put a lot into place before our predawn expedition."