A magical talent show, a ghostly messenger and a devious murder. Elsie's problems are piling up faster than the 'treasures' in Zippy's hoard… On the night of the Obsidian Moon, everyone in town's on edge. It's the one night of the year when ghosts can cross into the mortal realm-and believe me, they can hold a grudge. But when a dead body washes up in the pond, the cause of death is ghastly rather than ghostly. The victim is someone from Colt Ridgeback's past… and part of the reason he lives in his mountain cabin, isolated from the warmth of the town. When he's named as a suspect, Elsie knows she has to clear his name-and bring him back into the fold. But not even a murder is going to stop Professor Hissington's Dragonsoul Academy's Annual Talent Show. Elsie doesn't have a talent (unless slamming an entire dozen hazelnut cream donuts counts? If so, just give her the trophy already) but she has a magic wand, the power of the All-Flame and a dragon familiar. But a gathering of all the young dragonmancers together with their familiars is risky business. It's the kind of event that draws the eyes of the Obsidian Covenant… Elsie's also drawn the attention of someone-or something-else. A mysterious woman seems to know an awful lot about Elsie's past, her family and her future. She conjures up a frightening vision, and Elsie doesn't know whether the images can be trusted, or if it's all a trap. Can Elsie clear Colt's name (and unburden his guilty heart), perform in the talent show and decipher the clues about her birth family? Or is this the time when everything is going to crash and burn…
