Read The Raven Queen for Free Online Page B

room. She stood back and let them charge on ahead of her, whooping. Roisin rolled her eyes. ‘You’d swear they were never fed.’
    The kitchen was unbearably hot and steamy. Aunt Fionnula was opening a window for a bit of relief as Maddy walked in. She noticed that although the room was as steamy as a sauna, it didn’t wilt her aunt’s helmet of hair, not even a tiny bit. Aunt Fionnula snapped orders at Sean, Ronan and Paul as they crowded around her while she tried to serve up the sausages, mash and beans.
    â€˜DON’T touch the pot, it’s hot, keep your hands out of the beans, you haven’t even washed them, Sean, PUT THAT BREAD BACK, you do not need bread with your dinner!’
    She nodded her head absent-mindedly while Roisin, Danny and the monsters talked to her. She slid Maddy’s dinner over to her without so much as a look and Maddy silently picked up her fork and began to eat. She noticed Aunt Fionnula was preparing a tray for herself and Uncle Jack, which meant they were having a TV dinner.
    â€˜Eat everything up now and rinse off your plates in the sink, I’m not chiselling mash off all night,’ she said, before letting the kitchen door swing shut behind her as she tottered off down the hallway to the living room with the tray loaded with food and cutlery.
    The monsters went deadly quiet, watching her retreating back with sparkling eyes, cocking their heads for the sound of the living-room door shutting and the volume on the TV rising. And then the entertainment started.
    Ronan was first with a massive belch.
    â€˜Stop it, that’s disgusting!’ said Roisin, while Danny tried to hide a smile behind his hand. The monsters howled with laughter and began to belch together like a demented bullfrog chorus.
    â€˜Stop it right now or I am telling Mam!’ said Roisin, her voice rising.
    â€˜Look, Ro!’ said Sean, opening his mouth and sticking out a tongue loaded with chewed-up food.
    â€˜Sean, what has Mam said …’ Ro paused. ‘WHAT is that smell? Oh, Paul, you haven’t.’
    â€˜I haven’t!’ he said, shoving a sausage into his mouth.
    â€˜You have!’ asked Roisin. ‘That’s horrible. We’re eating!’
    â€˜The one who smelt it dealt it,’ sang Sean.
    â€˜The one who said the rhyme did the crime,’ said Danny, which had the monsters roaring with laughter again, food and spit spraying across the table.
    Roisin threw her fork down in disgust. ‘Honestly, it’s like trying to eat with chimpanzees.’
    While the monsters baited Roisin, Maddy looked at the glass in the kitchen door. The door to the living room stayed firmly closed and there was no sign of Aunt Fionnula or Uncle Jack coming to break up the party. Clearly her aunt and uncle were tired after working all day and in no mood to do any crowd control. It was now or never.
    She put her fork down. ‘I’m going outside. The smell in here is awful,’ she announced, getting up from her seat. She couldn’t help but flick a glance at Roisin and Danny, who both looked at her and away again quickly. It was too obvious and the monsters picked up on it.
    â€˜Why are you going outside?’ asked Ronan, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. ‘What’s so great about outside?’
    â€˜None of your business,’ said Maddy.
    â€˜I’m telling Mammy you didn’t eat your dinner,’ said Paul.
    â€˜Like I care,’ said Maddy, heading for the back door.
    â€˜I’m coming too,’ said Ronan, getting up from his seat and launching himself at the door. Maddy lunged ahead of him and managed to get through the door before he did, but she wasn’t quick enough to shut it on him. He jammed his body between the door and the kitchen wall, his fingers wrapped around the door frame and his arm up to stop Maddy from closing it on him.
    â€˜C’mere to me, you,’ said Danny as he walked up behind