Free Wild Blood by Kate Thompson Page B

pointed in the direction of the mountain, though all that could be seen was the wall of the kitchen.
    ‘Yes,’ said Brian. ‘We’re going to play around up there while they walk the boundaries.’
    ‘But,’ said Tess. ‘Wait a minute. You mean that’s the land that your dad was talking about?’
    Orla nodded, a little sadly. ‘Want to come?’ she asked.
    Tess didn’t answer the question. She was still finding it difficult to believe what she was hearing. ‘You’re telling me your dad owns that wild land up there under the mountain. And he’s selling it?’
    Brian nodded. ‘There’s no point in trying to make him change his mind,’ he said. ‘He hates the place. He’s been trying to sell it since he inherited the farm. He says he’ll take us all on holiday with the money.’
    Tess thought back to her experiences of the place. Despite her fear of it, the thought of those wild and beautiful woods being bulldozed and turned into a holiday village filled her with horror.
    ‘But all the wild creatures who live there …’ she began, then stopped, remembering the rats and the promises that Kevin had made to them about their new home. Her cousins were staring at her, waiting for her to finish. When she said no more, Brian said, ‘Come with us, Tess. Please.’
    Tess climbed into the back of the pick-up with the others, and they set out along the much longer road route to the crag. Behind them the developer and the surveyor followed in their smart, black car. From the mood of her cousins, Tess couldn’t be sure whether it was a tragic occasion or a joyful one. It seemed to be both; their excitement at going to the crag counterbalancing their sorrow at having to part with it. Orla was still wheezing slightly but her cheeks, for a change, had a bit of colour. Little Colm spent the whole journey jumping around. Occasionally his red wellies missed their aim on the metal floor and landed on someone’s toe, but no amount of complaining could persuade him to sit down.
    Tess craned her neck and looked out through the front windscreen, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kevin, but there was no sign of him. She tried to imagine how he must be feeling; how full of anger and bitterness, and she wished that she had decided to go and look for him instead of coming on this family outing. Apart from the irritation of her cousins’ manic mood, she was wasting precious Switching time. Like a dark cloak her worries began to close in again and she concentrated on the road ahead.
    They were just turning down the stony track that led from the back road to the land around the crag. Behind them the developer followed a bit more slowly, mindful of his suspension. On either side of the track tall hedges of hazel grew up, obscuring the view of the surrounding wilderness and creating a closed-in, tunnel-like effect. The bumpy ride meant that Colm’s balance went haywire, but he still couldn’t be persuaded to sit still and he ended up pitching wildly from one lap to the next. By the time they finally came to a halt, Tess was suffering from a combination of cabin fever, claustrophobia and bruising. She couldn’t wait to get out.
    But after the noisy ride, the atmosphere of the crag was uncannily silent. It was a silence that seemed to demand respect, and there was no one in the party who was not sensitive enough to become quiet in response. It was almost as though someone or something was present in their midst, and it made Tess uncomfortable. She looked around at the other members of the party. Her cousins looked thrilled, their eyes bright with excitement. The businessmen looked bewildered, as though they had expected something entirely different. But it was Uncle Maurice’s reaction that made a shiver run down Tess’s spine. He was standing beside the pick-up, still holding on to the handle of the door as though he wanted to be ready to get back into it in a hurry. The apprehension on his face was almost painful until he noticed Tess