Maggie stared at the key in her hand. The ornate gold handle glinted in the light as she sat in her room. Her grandfather had died a week earlier, found dead at his desk in the creepy old mansion. No one knew why he died. Yes, he was old, but he was fit and healthy for his age. Some people said he died foaming at the mouth. Food poisoning, some said. Spider-bite, others said. A few people said poisoned by an assassin, but no one listened to them. 

When John passed away, Maggie's only living relative died. Now all she had was her foster family and all her grandfather left her, a stupid key. He could have at least left her some money, maybe enough to pay for the private school all her primary school friends were going to. People said John was rich, owning his mansion, but no one ever saw the money.

Maggie's mother died in childbirth, and her father died in a car crash taking Maggie to the doctor when she was four. As a result, Maggie blamed herself for both their deaths. And now that her grandfather was dead too, not for the first time, Maggie felt alone.

The door to her room opened as a chubby eight year old came in. He was dressed in navy overalls and his messy black hair hung over his eyes.

"Watcha' got there?" Georgie snatched the key from her open hand. 

"Georgie give it back." Maggie took it from him easily despite his efforts to hold it above his head away from her. She was much taller than he was, that trick only worked with Georgie's younger sisters.

The moment she took it from him Georgie started wailing. "Muuuuuuuuuum!" He yelled.

As soon as he called, Georgie's mother came rushing in. "What did you do to him?" 

"I didn't do anything to him! He just took this and I got it back." 

Upon seeing it, Kate snatched it from her. "What is this?" Maggie's foster mother asked.

"It's mine! Give it back!"

Kate twirled the key in the light. "Where did you get this? Did you steal it?"

"No! Of course not. It's a gift from my grandfather!"

"Hmmm." Kate squinted at it. "The grandfather who died?" 

"That's the only grandfather I had."

"Don't sass me young lady."

Maggie refined herself from rolling her eyes.

"I should confiscate it from hurting your brother."

"He is  not my brother. And I didn't hurt him!"

Kate scowled, but tossed the key to her anyway. Maggie caught it and examined the gold metal for damage. 

"Georgie, come here." Kate held her hand out.

Georgie wiped his snotty nose on his sleeve and put his hand in his mother's and she lead him out of the room, murmuring to him.

Maggie sighed in frustration. She hated her foster family. A few times Maggie had considered messing up to be given to another family. But the Harrows might still keep her and just make her life worse. Making a decision, she slotted the end of the key onto the plain silver necklace she always wore. The cold metal against her chest was somehow comforting.

The doorbell ringing distracted her from her thoughts.

Maggie stood up from the floor and exited the room, curious to who it was. When she reached the front door, Kate was standing with the door open, talking harshly to the woman outside. Maggie saw her and called out.

"Martha!"

"Hello Maggie."

Martha was a frail woman in her late sixties, her brown hair greying at the roots and pulled up into a bun. She was dressed in a black dress with a white apron, like she was some old fashioned maid dumped in the twenty first century. Martha was Maggie's grandfather's maid, who stayed full time at the mansion. Maggie hugged her old friend. Maybe she wasn't totally alone.

"You have the key I see." Martha held the key that was on Maggie's necklace, smiling. "It suits you. Matches your hair."

Martha stroked Maggie's golden blond hair fondly.

"Well, I don't care who you are, I don't want you in my house." Kate snapped.

"I'm sorry miss. I was wondering if i could take Maggie out if that's okay?"

"That's fine thank-you." Maggie said before Kate could interrupt.

"Hold on, where are you going? I need to give permission-"

Kate was cut off as Maggie shut the door behind her. 

"Thanks for getting me out of there." Maggie said gratefully.

Martha gave her a puzzled look but didn't question her. The two walked down the stairs to the bottom of the apartment building, where they walked onto the street outside. A clutter of buildings lined the side of the street they were on, and opposite was a large public park, covered in trees. Martha's old car was parked on that side of the road.

Once they were on there way, Maggie spoke up.

"Where are we going?"

Martha was silent for a moment, her eyes on the road.

"When John died, he left his mansion to me. But I'm getting old, and I can't afford to keep it. The government is offering me a very good price, and.... I'm going to sell it. I know how much you love the mansion, so I wanted to take you there one last time."

Maggie was aghast. "What are they going to do with it?" 

"How would I know?" 

Maggie looked out the window again, distraught. Apart from the key, the mansion was all she had left of her grandfather. There was nothing she could do now, if everything was arranged, it was practically already the government's property.

They were silent for the rest of the car ride. The mansion was half an hour out of town, but the country roads leading out of the city were quiet and they arrived quickly. The old white car  pulled up the final stretch, where ornate black gates were left open. The car chugged up the hill and pulled to a stop at the turning circle outside the front door. The mansion stood as it always did, quietly on the hill, its grey stone covered in ivy. It was a graceful old building, no one knew how old it was. 

Some said the place was haunted. Maggie didn't believe it, but It looked like it  was haunted, too. It looked like a place with secrets.

Inside was so familiar to Maggie, she had come here for as long as she could remember. Maggie had often asked her grandfather why she couldn't live with him, but he said she wouldn't be safe, which Maggie didn't understand.

As they often did when she was in the mansion, her footsteps took her to John's office. The place was empty and abandoned, all that remained was the desk and the floor to ceiling wooden bookshelf, both covered with white cloths.

Behind the translucent cloth, Maggie noticed a few dark shapes. When she pulled the cloth away, a few books remained on the shelves. One at a time, Maggie removed them and placed them to the side. Atlas of the World, a Dictionary, and several others joined the growing pile. She had seen all the books there before, staying with the other old books that usually covered the shelves.Soon, there was only one book left, resting on one of the higher shelves. It had spiralling patterns of light and dark brown, and golden runes that Maggie didn't understand were printed in the spine. It looked really old. She reached up and pulled the book towards herself. A string was attached to the end of the book, receding into the wall. The string reached it's extent and clicked, and a grinding noise filled the office. A half circle around the bookshelf in the flagstones slowly started spinning. The wall and bookshelf turned 180 degrees, taking Maggie with it.