Switchers by Kate Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

already told you that.’
    ‘Then who does live here?’
    ‘No one. Some old tramps use it sometimes, when they can’t get into the hostel.’
    The cold was beginning to hurt. Kevin didn’t seem to be aware of how bad it was. By the flickering light of the candle, she could see him looking from one corner of the room to another with that familiar nervousness. She was suddenly close to tears.
    ‘What are we doing here?’ she said. ‘I don’t understand any of this. How am I supposed to help you?’
    Kevin shrugged. ‘I’m not even sure myself, yet,’ he said, ‘but I know it’s important. There’s a rumour going around. The rats want to bring me somewhere.’
    ‘Rats!’
    ‘Yes. You got something against rats?’
    Tess had. A rat was one of the things that she had never been and had no desire to be. But before she could say anything, Kevin went on.
    ‘A rat is about the best thing to be in a city like this. They have the run of the place, you know? They never go hungry.’ He smiled at the distaste clearly evident on her face. ‘They have a lot of fun, too. More often than not I’m a rat.’
    He watched closely for her reaction. Tess tried not to show it. The idea filled her with unease. For although she had spent a lot of her time being all kinds of other creatures, she had never considered herself to be anything other than human. But if Kevin spent most of his time being a rat, then what did that make him? It made sense of the way he behaved when he was human, though; his nervousness, the sense that she had when she was with him of there always being an enemy somewhere close at hand.
    ‘Never been a rat, huh?’ he said.
    ‘No.’
    ‘Don’t worry. You’ll enjoy it. But there’s quite a stir going on about this cold weather. At least, I think that’s what it’s about. Everybody’s suffering, you know, not just the people. That’s why I came looking for you. They want me to meet somebody. I don’t know who it is, but it’s a long way.’
    As Tess watched him, the tense expression left his face, and there was a momentary confusion in his eyes as he said: ‘I didn’t want to go there on my own.’
    There were suddenly too many questions. There was too much to share with this strange boy, and possibly too much to cope with. And it was too cold to face any of it.
    ‘I have to go home,’ said Tess. ‘I have to get warm and think it over.’
    ‘But there’s no time to think it over. This thing is important, Tess. This weather’s getting worse all the time.’
    ‘Do you think I don’t know that? Don’t you realise I’m getting frostbite standing here?’
    Kevin bit his lip. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t thinking.’ He began to take off his coat.
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Tess. ‘What difference does it make if you freeze instead of me? The point is, the whole thing sounds ridiculous to me. How can we possibly have any effect on the weather, whatever we do?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Kevin, zipping up his parka again, ‘but I do know this. Most of my life I’ve been going in and out of the animal world, and never before did they take any particular notice of me. But now they have. They know that I’m different and they’re asking me for something.’
    ‘I’m totally confused, Kevin,’ said Tess, ‘and I’m too cold to think straight. I have to go home.’
    ‘But we can go straight away,’ he said. ‘Come on. You won’t be cold once we get moving.’ As he spoke, he was pointing towards a large hole in the skirting beside the fireplace.
    ‘As a rat?’ said Tess.
    ‘Of course.’
    Tess shook her head, and at the same moment changed back into an owl. She hopped out of the window and flew straight up and away towards the park. Gradually the activity warmed her and she began to feel better. The whole idea was crazy. All she wanted to do was to curl up in her own bed and forget all about it. But she was not allowed to. As she landed lightly on the edge of