weâre on the roof, and then we can â GAH!â
Aisling shrieked at the same time as Julie, for the window behind them had opened. Aisling twisted her neck round, her heart pounding in her throat, and exhaled sharply when she saw who it was: not one of the three men, but the wizened old face (she couldnât tell if it was male or female) that had opened the door for them.
She shifted around to face it properly and her stomach lurched: it was just a face, or perhaps a head, with a shock of white hair with one red streak, floating in the air with no body attached. âWhat are yous two up to?â said the face.
âUm,â said Julie, her face completely blank.
âEr,â said Aisling, her mind racing to come up with an excuse.
âAre yous trying to get out of paying the rent?â the face went on, âbecause I wouldnât advise that. No, I wouldnât advise that at all.â
âWeâre not ââ
âRent?â said Aisling. âWe havenât even been here a whole night! I hardly think you can charge us rent for that.â
âWhen you have a house with a lock on the door, you can charge me rent when I come and visit,â said the face, âbut this is my house, and it runs by my rules.â
âCharming,â muttered Aisling. She looked at Julie and shrugged, mouthing, Any ideas?
âWhat kind of rent do you want us to pay?â said Julie. âWe have to get out of here quickly.â
The face eyed them both. âWould yous be on the run from the guards, by any chance?â
Julie glanced at Aisling, and Aisling nodded. âYou could say that,â she said. âWeâre not from here, and we donât really understand whatâs going on, but we donât want to be locked away.â
The face grinned, which was a most uncanny sight: all of the wrinkles rearranged themselves in a different pattern, and the eyes grew bright and almost mischievous. âForeigners!â it said, chuckling. âDoesnât that beat the band? Well, then, in that case you can pay your rent now: swear an oath to me that youâll leave the City with a better ruler than it had when you came here.â
Aisling and Julie exchanged dubious looks. âIâm not sure thatâs the kind of thing we can promise to do,â Aisling began. âI mean, with the best will in the world, humanitarian interventions have a way of backfiring.â
âYeah,â said Julie, âand itâs not like we know whoâd be the best ruler for this place. Weâre not even from here.â
âThereâs things a foreigner can do in the City that none of us that are from here can do. And yous donât need to promise to give the City the best ruler it can have. Only to leave it with a better one than it has now.â
âWhat do you think?â Julie murmured.
Aisling glanced around, avoiding looking straight down. âI donât think we have a choice, frankly. And this isnât a promise to actually do anything, so I think weâll be all right.â
âDonât have a choice? Itâs a floating head. What can it do to us?â
âItâs a disembodied head that is floating in mid-air . What canât it do?â
âGood point.â Julie turned back to the head. âSo, we have to promise to ââ
âLeave the City of the Three Castles with a better ruler than it had when yous came.â
âFair enough,â said Julie, raising her right hand as if she were in court. âI swear that I will leave the City of the Three Castles with a better ruler than it had when I arrived.â She nudged Aisling to do the same, and Aisling repeated the words. As she said them, she felt a strange tightness settle down over her head, and then over the rest of her body. It vanished as suddenly as it had come, but she had an uneasy feeling that she had done more than say some words and
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