Now Kelly was starting to get annoyed. “Listen up,” she snapped. “I didn’t ask you to come in here with your pissy attitude. Yes, I said pissy,” she continued when Evangeline’s eyes widened in surprise. “My father was the president of an investment firm, and he was also a thief who stole millions from the firm, and when the police started investigating it, everybody lied to me about it for months. All these whispers and tiptoeing around, and my father had disappeared, and I had to find out by seeing it on the evening news when a warrant was issued for his arrest. My friends stopped being my friends and started putting bags of dog crap in my locker at school. So yes, I do know how you feel. But I didn’t go around taking out my problems on everybody else. Get over yourself.”
Evangeline’s eyes opened even wider, and Kelly shook her head, leaning back in her chair.
“Sorry,” she sighed. She shouldn’t be yelling at a teenager. Or swearing at her, although she was sure Evangeline heard far worse on whatever TV shows she watched and websites she visited.
“No, you’re right,” Evangeline said quietly. “I shouldn’t be mean to you. None of this is your fault. It’s Uncle Calder’s fault.”
“Calder?” Kelly said in surprise. “What did he do?”
“I’m not allowed to tell you.” She glanced at Kelly. “The Dragonsblood Ruby has powers. What does it do?”
“I wouldn’t be able to tell you that unless I handled it.”
“But it does have powers.” Evangeline was watching her carefully.
“It is rumored to be an extremely powerful jewel, but it’s never been examined by a professional empath,” she said. “The family who owns it purchased it for its beauty, not its abilities. I wouldn’t know if the rumors are true without touching it.”
The fact that Evangeline was asking her about it made Kelly think that it was somewhere on the premises.
“How can you tell when a jewel has powers? Just in general?” Evangeline asked. “Can you feel it, like it’s something that’s alive?”
As she spoke, she stroked her bracelet, which had round lozenges of rose quartz set in gold. It was a gem that was called the “mothering stone”; mothers imbued it with their love and gave it to their children so they would always feel that love.
Kelly tried to remember if she’d ever seen Evangeline’s mother. Was she dead? That might explain a lot of Evangeline’s attitude.
“Dragons aren’t able to be gem empaths, I’m afraid,” Kelly said. At least, she’d never heard of such a thing, and she was an expert in the field; she was pretty sure she’d know.
“But what does it feel like?” Evangeline persisted.
“Different gems have different powers and properties – just like different metals have different types of conductivity. Gems have their own energy. In their own way, they’re a kind of living being. I can communicate with some of them. Some of them, I can even tell them what to do.”
“How?”
Well, that particular knowledge wasn’t a secret; Evangeline could find that out herself online. “I hold the jewel close to me and I let my energy mingle with it. Once I understand the gem’s powers, I concentrate really hard and I visualize what I want the jewel to do.”
Evangeline shrugged, looking out the window into the distance. “Interesting,” she said finally, and then shrugged again and glanced back at Kelly. “Thanks,” she said flatly, and left the room. Kelly was left with an uneasy feeling about the conversation, and she debated telling Gabriel about it, but finally decided not to for the time being.
The door opened again, and this time it was Tabitha.
“We’re going shopping,” she announced. “I have an appointment for you to be fitted at Birdie’s Bridal Creations.”
Kelly stood up. What the heck – she’d play along with the insanity. And maybe she could get Tabitha to slip up and reveal where the ruby was.
“Who’s we?” she said. “Should I go get my sister?”
“That wet blanket?” Tabitha snorted. “Certainly not. Anyway, she’s busy trying to search the castle without us noticing, and making Winthrop’s hair go gray. That’s fine with me. Keeps her from ruining our fun.”
Kelly shrugged and followed Tabitha downstairs. Gabriel met them at the front door, looking thoroughly rattled. His hair was mussed and he was out of breath, as if he’d just run at top speed to intercept them.
“So, we’re going shopping?” he said, moving to block their exit.
“You’re not invited,” Tabitha informed him loftily.
“Mother.” He gave her a severe look, brows drawn together. “Of course I’m coming.”
“Oh no,” Kelly said, with a malicious smile. She was enjoying seeing the normally unflappable Gabriel looking thoroughly rattled for once. “I simply must take this opportunity to get to know my new mother-in-law better.”
Gabriel fixed his mother with a ferocious glare. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
