Back in the Palace of Justice, where Gideon lived, Gideon had his own prayer. He delivered it to a cross, which was hung over a fireplace:
Beata Maria
You know I am a righteous man
Of my virtue I am justly proud
Beata Maria
You know I'm so much purer than
The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd
Then tell me, Maria
Why I see her dancing there
Why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul
I feel her, I see her
The sun caught in her auburn hair
Is blazing in me out of all control
Sure enough, through his own hallucination, he saw a fiery image of Mabel dancing in the fireplace.
Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning
Desire
Is turning me to sin
Gideon took out the rainbow scarf Mabel had teased him with earlier, rubbed it against his face, and then twisted it around his hands before collapsing in prayer. Instantly he hallucinated giant red-robed beings surrounding him. Gideon saw the beings and freaked out internally.
It's not my fault
RED-ROBES:
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
GIDEON:
I'm not to blame
RED-ROBES:
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
GIDEON:
It is the gypsy girl
The witch who sent this flame
RED-ROBES:
Mea maxima culpa (Through my most grievous fault)
GIDEON:
It's not my fault
RED-ROBES:
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
GIDEON:
It is God's plan
RED-ROBES:
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
GIDEON:
He made the devil so much
Stronger than a man
He then hallucinated the beings turning into fiery liquid and pouring into the fireplace.
GIDEON:
Protect me, Maria
Don't let this siren cast her spell
Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone
Destroy Mabel
And let her taste the fires of hell
Or else let her be mine and mine alone
He now hallucinated fiery-Mabel burning until she had disappeared, and then hallucinated a smoky Mabel coming out of the fireplace to embrace him. He embraced smoky-Mabel, and she disappeared.
"Minister Gideon, the gypsy has escaped." A soldier burst through the door.
"What?" Gideon couldn't believe it.
"She's no longer in the cathedral. She's gone."
"But how?" Gideon frowned with confusion and then just frowned. "Never mind. Get out, you idiot. I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"
He went back to singing:
Hellfire
Dark fire
Now gypsy, it's your turn
Choose me or
Your pyre
Be mine or you will burn
He tossed the rainbow scarf into the fireplace and watched it burn away. He then hallucinated shadows of robed beings going up the wall.
God have mercy on her
God have mercy on me
But she will be mine
Or she will burn!
He collapsed onto the ground.
