Everyone had been squabbling and talking in circles for a bit, when, all of a sudden, the Kindling Grove knobhead marched into the middle of the circle and started yelling at the Iridescences.  Jeanette wasn’t complaining.  This way, nobody was trying to kick Falada to bits.

“A human being- a man just like me- was turned, against his will, into an insect.”  The Kindling Grove guy spat most of the words, as if they had a bad taste to them.  “Plucked from the world, mutilated, and locked away.  And by a family that dares to call itself noble.”  At this point, Jeanette was almost certain that he actually spat.  “The Iridescence family needs to answer for this, in your way or in my way.”

One of the Iridescence sisters- the one whose head looked like a big purple wheel of cheese- rolled her eyes.  “The moth told you that, did he?  And you believed him?”

Jeanette looked over at the side of the house, where the Kindling Grove guy had come from.  Was Kai still there, or had he flown off?  Should she go over and talk to him?  What would she do with Falada if she did?

The Finery family ignored this.  “Mr Tavin, is Kai Domino in Dovecote Gardens at the moment?  Could we speak to him?”

“No!” snapped Pin Iridescence, “Because he doesn’t exist!  How many times do we have to tell you that?”

Her cheese-faced sister waved a hand at Jeanette, who jumped a bit.  “Apparently he’s her brother, though!”

The guy from Kindling Grove shook his head.  “Kai Domino is as real as the moon in the sky.  And after seeing your behaviour, I consider her family to be a lot nobler than yours.”

Jeanette smiled weakly.  She didn’t know what Kai had told him to make him change his mind like that, but it must have been mind-blowing.

Inger took charge.  “Finery family, is there any chance that Dol and Bo might be a danger to Colwyn, when they reach the house?”

“Look, we still don’t know where Colwyn actually is…”

“He just told you!” snapped the dragon… and when a dragon snapped, you really paid attention.

The Finerys glanced at Falada, still held awkwardly under Jeanette’s arm.  “He’s not even speaking anymore…”

Just then, Eg Iridescence did something that was almost impressive.  He was still held tight in the dragon’s claws, and he was hoarse from screaming and thrashing about for the last quarter of an hour, but he thought quickly and said, “That wicker horse thing is just a trick!  I’ve seen it done before!”

Pin quickly took up the thread.  “We’ve all seen it before!”

“Yeah!” added their brother.

Jeanette looked down at Falada.  Colwyn still wasn’t saying anything.  She wasn’t going to be able to stop herself from imagining all the ways in which things could have gone wrong for much longer.

The Finery family shook their head, and looked up at the dragon.  “I’m sorry, but, under the circumstances, I don’t know if I can let you continue restraining an Opal Hill citizen.”

“He kicked the horse’s head!” the dragon rumbled.

“Well, we don’t actually know it was Colwyn…”

“Are you planning to find out?” asked Inger.

Eg Iridescence was still thinking quickly.  “I only kicked it because I knew it was a trick!  If you’d let me kick it, that would have proved it!”

“Yeah!” said his brother.  That seemed to be his main function.

The Finery family craned their head up at the dragon.  “I really can’t allow you to restrain him any longer.”

“I’m not asking you to allow me.”

Inger caught his eye, and made some frantic gestures along the lines of “be diplomatic.”  The dragon looked a bit put-upon, but nodded and cleared his throat.

“I have a proposal to make,” he announced, “If you’re not going to arrest Eg Iridescence, I will stay here and keep an eye on him and the house.”  He looked over at Jeanette.  “Colwyn’s niece can go to Underwood Hills with my colleague and try to talk some sense into her father.”

Everybody went quiet as they considered this.

(To be continued)