Unbeknownst to each of them, both Suzan, Ezra and Basil each left their homes that night. Each hoping the other hadn't done the same.

Light droplets of rain started to patter on the wooden box clasped between Suzan's arms. Clouds the colour of soot covered the entirety of the sky, blotting out every scrap of light. She stumbled along through the garden. She still wasn't certain if she should kill or frighten Mr Snotem. She was certain that she would need the cockatrice either way. Her only problem now was finding her victim.

Crouching behind a hedge, she finally found him and the slim man stood by the headpiece of Augustus Du Shadow.

"There's no way in." The slim man said, a jerry can in each hand.

"Then break in." said Mr Snotem.

"The widows are barred. They've had troubles with break ins before."

"They're not all barred, you idiot." Mr Snotem angrily slapped the man round the head.

The slim man cautiously looked up at him, like a dog looking up at its owner.

"We shouldn't do this." He said quietly.

Mr Snotem slapped him again. "So far you are not redeeming yourself. Do you want to be sacked?"

"No Mr Snotem." The man lowered his head in obedience.

"Then start setting fire to the garden while I find a way into the house."

At this point, Suzan stepped out from behind the hedge. Neither of them noticed her, the night too deep for the eyes to penetrate very far.

"Stop." She said, rather feebly.

Mr Snotem looked around. "Who said that?"

"I did" Suzan said, stepping closer so they could see her. "I said stop."

He peered into the darkness, picking out the shape of Suzan Lumpton emerging from the garden.

"No" he said, and shoved the slim man further into the garden. "Get going."

The slim man fumbled with the lid of a jerry can.

Suzan steadied her breathing and held out the box in front of her. The rain was starting to come down harder now. She took no notice. The task at hand was far more important.

"If you don't stop, I'll set this cockatrice on you." She said, her voice ringing loud and clear.

"A what?" Mr Snotem laughed. "Stop fooling around girl. No pet in a box is going to stop me."

"Why take revenge in the first place?"

Suzan couldn't see his face clearly, but she could easily imagine him scowling with evil, red eyes.

"This house rightly belongs to my family. It's ours! This land should belong to me. If I can't have this house, no one can." He growled.

"Well, I'm warning you." She said, stepping closer. In the corner of her eye she could just make out the slim man spreading around the contents of the jerry can, spreading it over the lawn and flowerbeds. To the other side, she thought she saw through one of the windows a figure, in the depths of the house. Coming towards them. If it was anyone, she suspected it would be Victor.

Mr Snotem saw her head turn towards the window and looked himself. Seeing nothing, he grunted and rapidly closed the gap between them. She yelped when he yanked the box out of her hands and he threw it to the ground. It fell with a thud and a squawk, landing on its side.

Water thudded onto the wood, little rivulets of water seeping under the tape holding the lid closed. Noises came from within the box. The cockatrice was trying to get out.

Mr Snotem looked down at it. "Whatever you have in there isn't going to help you now."

He was close enough for Suzan to clearly see his eyes. Evil and malevolence staring down at her from between the heavy droplets that poured down his face. She started to shiver. This had got out of hand. She had not thought this through. Over the driving rain she thought she heard hoofbeats. She dismissed it, she was going mad. What had she been thinking?

Mr Snotem curled up his fist and punched her across the face. She fell back, landing onto the solid stones of the patio. A sharp pain pierced the back of her head as it slammed backwards.

The face above her looked contorted with an expression she had never seen before. The face neared as he knelt down next to her, fist raised and ready to strike again.

"Suzan!"

A large horse came skidding to stop by the patio, a figure leapt from the saddle and ran full pelt towards them. Mr Snotem was just looking up at the newcomer when the black cloaked figure barrelled into him, knocking him over and away from Suzan.

Suzan couldn't believe her eyes. Her head was spinning, her thoughts tumbling in a haze yet there was no denying who it was. The Mist of Moningsbury had arrived.

The Mist had first gone to Mr Snotem's house, hoping he had not yet left. But he had, and so he left for the garden. On seeing Suzan on the ground, all thoughts of caution left him. He urged Exeter to a gallop as fast as she could across the lawn before throwing himself at Suzan's attacker.

Mr Snotem rolled over, putting his hand inside his jacket. The Mist took the opportunity to punch him in the face. Unphased, Mr Snotem withdrew his hand, revealing a long knife.

The Mist looked down at the blade, "That's illegal." He said conversationally.

Mr Snotem looked up at him, his lips turned up in a smile. "Trying to play the hero, are we? Last I checked, vigilantes were unacceptable too." He lunged towards The Mist with his knife, who dodged and leapt up to draw his sword. Mr Snotem lashed out with his free hand and grasped his wrist, swiping at him with the knife.

Suzan sat up from where she fell on the ground. Her head was throbbing and it took her a moment to notice Victor kneeling next to her, trying to talk to her.

"Suzan?" he asked.

She noticed his clothes remained dry despite the deluge of rain.

"Suzan?" he asked again.

"Victor." She replied, finally comprehending.

"You should go." He urged.

She looked at him blankly.

"Go" he said, louder this time. "Run!"

She nodded groggily, getting to her feet.

"Run" he said again, even pointing.

She looked at Mr Snotem and The Mist. The businessman was starting to overpower the cloaked figure due to sheer size. The Mist had not managed to draw his sword and they were back on the ground, wrestling through the wet and mud. He was barely keeping the hand with the knife at bay.

"Go on Suzan." Victor yelled, his voice snapping her away from the fight. Frightened, she sprinted away.

Once he was certain she had gone, Victor approached the bodies on the ground. "Let me posses him." He called out.

"Bit difficult." The Mist replied.

"Thinking of giving up?" Mr Snotem teased, unaware of Victor's presence. He slammed the side of The Mist's head onto the ground. The Mist's eyes widened in fear, looking at something across the lawn.

"Cockatri-"

His hand was clasped around the hand with the knife in, but Mr Snotem's other hand now pressed down on his throat.

"Bird" he choked out through grated teeth.

Confused, Victor looked behind him. A small feathered head was poking out from behind the fallen box.

"This is perfect." Victor said, "We can kill him."

"No" The Mist wheezed.

Mr Snotem laughed, a harsh noise cutting through the rain.

Victor suddenly realised that it wasn't only Mr Snotem who might die at the breath of the creature.

He went over to the cockatrice. It stretched out its little leathery wings, its feathered head darting from side to side, looking around. Victor bent down and tried to grab it. His hands grasped nothing and a cold shiver ran up his arms. He tried poking it. No reaction.

Curiously, the cockatrice started to wander.

Victor looked around, unsure what to do when he spotted the slim man. Both jerry cans had been emptied and he was no fumbling with a lighter that was stubbornly refusing to spark. Victor hurried over to the man. He too was unaware that Victor was there, and kept glancing between the fight and the lighter, his face constantly switching between worry and fear and desperation. He feared that Mr Snotem might win and then come after him for not starting the fire as he was told.

Victor stood square on in front of him. Carefully, he raised his fingers to the man's eyes.

Then, the last person to arrive made his entrance. He snuck cautiously around the corner of the house, fully expecting Suzan to have caused the commotion he could hear. When he saw what was there instead, he said "Oh my..."

For some reason (for who can say why this creature did anything?), the cockatrice spun round on hearing the newcomer's voice. It locked its beady little black eyes on him.

The slim man, feeling a bit nauseous, started towards it. The cockatrice started towards the newcomer. The slim man broke into a run.

The newcomer could see that something was coming towards him. What it was, he couldn't see. He took a few paces backwards.

Little legs sloshed through the mud at a run, wings started to flap. The little beak opened to suck in a breath.

The slim man leapt on top of the cockatrice. Angry at being barred from its chosen victim, the cockatrice struggled underneath him. Try as he might, the slim man could not hold on. The wings beat at his face and small claws raked at his arms. The cockatrice broke free.

The slim man jumped to his feet and stood protectively in front of the newcomer. The cockatrice didn't even glance at its attacker. Something else had caught its attention now.

The large figure of Mr Snotem now stood, looming like a mountain over The Mist who was on his back, clutching his stomach and desperately trying to crawl away. Mr Snotem slowly followed him.

"I don't know who you are and I don't care." He said, "But no one. No one. Interrupts my business. Especially this one. I can't have witnesses. I'll find the girl, but first." He grinned wickedly, "First I'm going to deal with you." There was a relish in his eyes.

The Mist let go of his stomach and, with a grunt, managed to draw his sword. He was too slow. Mr Snotem stamped on it, holding it to the ground with his foot.

The cockatrice ran. It beat its wings and flew towards Mr Snotem, sucking in its breath in preparation. The slim man made a half hearted attempt to go after it. Half hearted because he saw it was already too late.

The Mist heard the wingbeats coming towards him from behind. He was already filled to the brim with fear. That fear worsened tenfold in the panic that he now faced a death even worse than the one Mr Snotem promised. Surprising even himself with his quickness, he whipped out the pistol form his belt. He saw the dark shape of the creature overhead. He aimed up. He shot.

Bang!

The sound rang through the garden, echoing along the walls of the house.