The three men all reacted differently to my revelation.
Mysir Mustache scratched his head. “That could explain why sis been acting loony.”
“Enzo, shut up! Who is this wench?,” growled the man, shaking me.
“I don’t know, Jean.” Mysir Mustache, now identified as Enzo, said.
“Gentlemen, I am here only for the tiara. You promised me the tiara. I wish to take it away now.” This was from the Perino delegate, who we all ignored.
I identified myself. “As an official representative of King Guénard, it would be best for everyone concerned if you turn it over to me.”
“Certainly, madame,” said Enzo, giving me a wide, sweeping bow full of theatric mockery. “We’ll just hand it over.”
He gave a loud laugh, slapping his thigh, as if he had made a tremendous joke. The rest of us did not join in with his laughter.
Jean snarled. “We aren’t letting it go without being paid. I don’t care if it is the king or Perino who hands us the cash, but we went through too much trouble for it not to get the money Monet promised us.”
“You promised me first chance at purchasing the tiara. We are the rightful owners of it,” said the Perino ambassador in a prim, yet strident voice.
“Ownership? We own it,” snapped Jean.
I said soothingly, “I’m sure I could persuade King Guénard to give all of you a finder’s reward, no questions asked.”
At the mention of a reward, he dropped his hold on me. Before anyone could stop me, I quickly picked up my gun and put it back in my pocket, immediately feeling better. While I hoped to win this battle with words, not a firearm, doubtless having one would put me in a better negotiating position.
“I know that Giles Monet stole the tiara from the king’s palace and that Gabrielle is his lover. But this plot to sell it to the Perino delegation and bypass the king is not a good idea. That is a treasonous act against the Crown, the penalty being to be drawn and quartered.”
At my statement Jean and Enzos’ faces showed dismay while the diplomat from Perino edged towards the door, silently slipping away. Wise man.
“That was Giles’ plan, but we had nothing to do with it,” whined Enzo.
He was a thin man, like one of those stick insects, but with poor posture and a face as pale as a ground worm. Enzo bore little resemblance to the girl he called sister, making me wonder if they had different parents, or if the word was slang for some sort of other relationship.
Out loud, I outlined my theory.
“The dragon ghost in the tiara beguiled Giles Monet to take it, but the voices in his head frightened him and he used zhimo to stop hearing them. Somewhere along the line, you two discovered what he had stolen. Or were you in it from the beginning? Regardless, what none of you had planned was Gabby putting the thing on her head.”
“How did you—?” asked Enzo in astonishment.
“Who cares? She knows too much and could get us all killed!” snapped Jean, lunging towards me. I stopped him by pulling out my gun, but before we could discover the winner, the dance girl stood up from her crouch and said in a creepy, Uncanny voice, “Don’t you dare harm her! She’s mine.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up as the room temperature dropped by a good twenty degrees. Unfortunately, my fur stole lay on the ground where it had fallen when I had been so rudely grabbed.
“Gabby!” cried Enzo.
I shook my head as he stepped towards her. “Don’t touch her. That would be dangerous.”
The tiara on Gabrielle’s head started glowing and emitting an eerie whine.
Enzo asked in a frightened voice, “What’s happening?”
Take me, release me, take me, free me…
The chant was rolling around in my head, trying to find a hold on me. I cleared my throat, trying to focus my thoughts, using words. “Those aren’t rubies in the tiara, but three drops of dragon blood. It’s a common mistake because dried dragon’s blood is as hard as rubies, but what gives it away is the unusual size. And rubies don’t have that gold striation nor do they pulse like a beating heart.”
Gabrielle’s eyes were shining red as the creature in the tiara whispered into my brain: “You are intelligent. Help me.”
“Save my sister from that thing!” Enzo begged me. "She's not talked sense since she put it on her head, and I can't get it off of her."
The dragon in the tiara must have taken that as a threat, for Enzo suddenly crumpled to the ground. Startled, my hand went into my pocket, finding the handle of my gun. Seeing his partner go down, Jean showed some intelligence. He bolted, slamming the door and locking it behind him. Unfortunately, that meant I was alone with Enzo, a mad girl, and a ghost dragon.
“Help me. Free me.”
The creature came closer, and I moved away. In trying to keep something between us, I bumped into stacks of costumes and props that fell, scattering across the floor. When I stepped over Enzo, he suddenly became animated and grabbed my ankle.
The same voice that Gabrielle used now issued from her brother. “Why do you flee from me? I can give you everything you want. Wealth. Love. Vengeance.”
I'd never seen a spirit control more than one person at the same time. This couldn't be good. A kick of my heel into Enzo's face got him to release me, and I scrambled to my feet.
"Where did you come from?" I asked. I had never communicated with a ghost animal, let alone one that was a dragon, but surely it would want to talk? Explaining their point of view seemed to be a universal thing amongst the dead.
"From the tiara, of course," said Gabby.
"By way of Perino," said Enzo.
"Don't you want to go back to Perino? Your home? I can get you there."
"I want to be free of this prison. That is all I want."
They cornered me: Enzo took one hand, Gabby the other. The grip was so tight that my hand became numb and dropped my gun. Their hands were hot, like someone with a high fever; the ghost dragon was drawing off their life force at a rapid rate: Gabrielle’s skin looked almost translucent and Enzo's eyes now held nothing but madness.
“I want my freedom,” repeated Enzo.
“Explain the problem to me,” I said, keeping hysteria out of my voice with effort. “Maybe I can figure out a solution.”
There was a pounding at the door, and I heard Jacques and Archambeau shouting my name. It would be best if they didn’t come in here and give the thing more food, more power to feed off of.
"It's easier if you join us," said the creature, controlling Enzo.
“Take me. Put me on your head.” Gabrielle dropped my hand and started dancing in a circle, her hands going to her head to touch the tiara. “Free, free, free me!”
“I promise to help you, but first you must release these two, and agree to stop possessing people. How can I trust you if you keep grabbing people?”
“I agree to nothing until you put me on your head!” shouted Enzo. He was so close to my face that spittle hit my cheek, and his grip on my wrist was bruising.
The door was starting to splinter in its frame as it was being battered from outside. There was only one way to protect Jacques and Archambeau.
"Fine. Give it to me," I told Gabby.
She gave a wild laugh and took it off her head and handed it to me. The tiara felt warm, like a living creature, and it squirmed in my hand like a snake. I brought it over my head as the door jamb broke, revealing Jacques and Archambeau.
“Don’t, Elinor!” yelled the duke.
“Throw it away!” shouted Jacques.
I did neither. I took the creature and settled it down on my head.
The thing laughed in my mind.
"Now we can have a good long chat."