Wormwood Gate by Katherine Farmar Read Free Book Online

turned the television off, and then bowed properly to her, and to Aisling, who was on the other side of the room, scrutinising the dresser. ‘Very pleased to meet you. How may we call you?’
    â€˜I’m Julie,’ said Julie, ‘and this is my – this is Aisling.’
    The man with the moustache stood up, nodding, and bowed to them both. ‘Tis an honour, indeed. You can call me Jo Maxi. This telly addict here’s called Prawo Jazdy. Mr Unpronounceable can introduce himself.’
    The black man stood up, gave a bow that was by far the most graceful of the three, and said, ‘You can call me Abayomiolorunkoje. That means “People wanted to humiliate me, but God would not let them”.’
    â€˜I see,’ said Julie, though she didn’t; not really.
    â€˜I was rude, I know, but you must forgive,’ said Prawo Jazdy, gesturing to the television. ‘Is only programme about this city. Is not very good, but is all we have.’
    â€˜And he won’t let us say a word while he’s watching it,’ said Jo Maxi, clapping Prawo Jazdy on the shoulder, ‘not even to introduce ourselves to a guest. So don’t think we’re always like that. Now, is there anything we can do for yous?’
    â€˜Your name’s not really Jo Maxi, is it?’ said Aisling, as she sat down at the kitchen table.
    The three men looked at each other with baffled expressions. ‘Of course not,’ said Jo Maxi. ‘Sure, Aisling’s not your real name either, is it?’
    â€˜Of course it –’
    â€˜What if it was?’ said Julie, interrupting Aisling. ‘Is there some problem with using real names?’
    The three men still looked baffled. Abayomiolorunkoje was the first to recover.
    â€˜Names are powerful things,’ he said. ‘There is magic in names. Give someone your true name and you give them power over you. Only the very powerful and the very foolish give out their true names to anyone who asks.’
    No prizes for guessing which category we’re in , Julie thought grimly.
    â€˜Well, anyway,’ said Aisling, smiling sweetly, ‘maybe you can explain some things to us. We’re new here, you see, and to be honest, we’re finding this city a bit hard to understand.’
    â€˜You are not only ones!’ said Prawo Jazdy, sitting down at the other end of the table. ‘I’ve lived here five years now and I am still confused.’
    Behind his back, Jo Maxi tapped his temple with a knowing expression aimed at Aisling, which prompted a disapproving look from Abayomiolorunkoje. For a disconcerting second, Julie thought there was something odd about his eyes, the way they glittered and refracted the light, almost like a fly’s eyes.
    â€˜What do yous want to know?’ said Jo Maxi, sitting down next to Prawo Jazdy.
    â€˜Well …’ said Julie slowly.
    â€˜The queen,’ said Aisling. ‘We’ve heard that she’s closed the gates and brought in a curfew. Why?’
    Abayomiolorunkoje looked around the room fearfully, then sat down at the table on Jo Maxi’s other side. Julie thought that made it look like Aisling was being interviewed for a job or interrogated by the police, and she didn’t like that, so she walked over to the other end of the table and sat down next to her. Aisling gave her a brief grateful look before leaning forward towards the men and saying, ‘Well. Why? What’s going on? Why is the city so quiet? Why is the queen shutting things down? Who is the queen, anyway?’
    Jo Maxi took a deep breath. ‘This place has always had three queens – three queens for three castles, you see? The Queen-that-was, the Queen-that-is and the Queen-that-will-be. They turn and turn about and every one of them gets a go at being the Queen-that-is. The Queen-that-is dies, you see, and becomes the Queen-that-was, and the Queen-that-will-be becomes the Queen-that-is, and