Switchers by Kate Thompson Read Free Book Online

speeding towards the centre of the city, high above the houses and offices. It was a young owl, healthy and strong, and singularly delighted by the power of flight.
    Tess knew Connolly Station well. Although they had lived in Dublin for less than three months, they had often visited the city in the past to do some special shopping or to go to a show or a play, and as often as not they had come by train.
    It was easy enough for her to find the station from above. The city was spread out like a map beneath her, and once she had found the railway lines where they crossed the North Strand, she could not go wrong. The difficulty would be finding somewhere to land and change her shape without being seen. But her attention was drawn from the problem as she flew down over the station, because she was joined by another owl. It swept in from somewhere above and behind her, and as it drew level it bumped into her and knocked her off balance, so that she fluttered wildly in the air for a moment or two. As soon as she was steady again, the other owl returned to fly beside her. Tess was afraid that she had broken some territorial rule and offended the other bird. It would not be a problem if it allowed her to fly away, but she was afraid that if it continued to be aggressive she would either fall or be forced too far away from the station to get to Kevin on time.
    But it didn’t collide with her again. Instead it flew alongside for a while, then moved a little ahead and veered across her so that she had to swing to her right. As soon as she did so, it dropped back beside her and turned its head carefully to look at her. It was then that Tess realised it was Kevin, and if an owl could have smiled, she would have done. Instead, she nodded her head in recognition, and he blinked three times, then flew on ahead. She followed as he swept over Busaras and the Custom House, then swung away from the river and back towards the north side. They followed streets which became darker and narrower until they came to a few blocks of dilapidated flats built around dark, rectangular courtyards. Above the first of these they flew in diminishing circles until they were sure that no one was around, then Kevin dropped into the courtyard and swooped straight in through an open window on the second floor. It was a lovely piece of flying. Feeling slightly reckless, Tess let go and followed.
    By the time she had got her bearings in the room, Kevin had already turned back into human shape. Tess followed suit. As an owl, with her good night eyes, she had seen him quite clearly, but for a girl, the dark in the room was almost impenetrable. For a moment or two, she was quite unnerved. The place smelled bad, of mouldy mattresses and soot and stale beer. But there was something even worse.
    ‘Kevin?’ she said.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Can you see me?’
    ‘Not really, no.’
    ‘I’m in my pyjamas.’
    She heard his laugh ring out around the room. It was hard and scornful, and it hurt.
    ‘Shut up,’ she said. ‘I didn’t have to come here, you know. You don’t know what it cost me to get here.’
    ‘What did it cost you?’
    But she didn’t tell him, because then he would know that it mattered to her not to let him down. Instead she said, as unkindly as she could: ‘Is this where you live, then? Is this your house?’
    He struck a match and lit a candle and a cigarette from it. ‘I don’t live anywhere,’ he said.
    ‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Tess. ‘Everyone lives somewhere.’
    ‘Who’s everyone?’ he said.
    Tess shivered. In the candlelight she could see the stained mattress in one corner, surrounded by a jumble of newspapers and empty tins and bottles. There was an untidy heap of dark blankets in another corner, but Tess would not have touched them, let alone put one around her shoulders.
    ‘Do you live here?’ she asked. ‘Seriously?’
    ‘Of course not!’ Kevin sounded bitter. ‘What do you think I am?’
    ‘Where do you live, then?’
    ‘I