Marcus nodded. Though he’d always considered this spot his private retreat, it was nice to have his brothers paying attention to him for once. They usually didn’t want anything to do with him. “I miss her smile,” Marcus murmured.

Dec and Ian nodded, and they all sat silently, staring down into the barn. “I know a secret,” Marcus ventured.

Dec turned to look at him. “You do not.”

“I do, I do,” Marcus insisted. “I found a treasure map.”

“You’re full of shite!” Ian declared. “Where?”

Marcus hesitated. He’d hoped to find the treasure himself. He’d been studying the map for months and couldn’t figure it out, so he’d already resigned himself to asking for help. Between the three of them, they could figure it out.

“If we find the treasure, we split it three ways,” Marcus said. He spit on his palm and held it out. “Swear.”

Dec quickly shook his brother’s hand. “I swear on my mother’s-” He stopped suddenly. “I swear,” he murmured.

Ian wasn’t so quick to join in the deal. Finally he shrugged and added his promise. With that, Marcus scrambled to his feet and crossed the plank floor to the far wall. Ian and Declan followed him and waited as he brushed aside a small pile of hay.

“Here,” Marcus said, pointing to a cubbyhole in the stone wall. Tucked inside was a yellowed piece of paper, rolled tightly and secured with a leather string. From the string dangled a small gold medallion with an odd inscription embossed into it.

“What’s that?” Dec asked.

Marcus held up the medallion. “It’s very old. I think it’s a charm, like for luck. Or maybe it’s magic.” He unwound the medallion from the paper and showed it to his brothers, then smoothed the map out on the floor so they could all read it.

The two older boys bent down to study the pencil drawing. Dec reached out and touched a mark on the map. “X marks the spot,” he said, his voice filled with disbelief. “Do you think it’s pirates?”