Read Shifting (Swans Landing) for Free Online Page A

boundaries around here,” I said.
    Mara wrinkled her nose. “Are you actually defending her? Elizabeth Connors, the girl who has made your best friend miserable?”
    My gaze darted toward the beach, where I could still see four dark specks growing smaller in the distance. Then I shook my head. “No, of course not. Elizabeth’s not my problem.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    My body ached with the need to stay close to the water. Reed had already left for school ahead of me, eager to find his place among the soccer team before the first bell. I was lagging so far behind that even Mara had gone on without me. I was a good student, not a genius or anything, but I made good grades in all my classes. The problem was that sitting in those classrooms all day felt so stifling. Some days, especially near the new moon when the pull of the water was the strongest, I felt like I’d suffocate if I had to sit inside the concrete walls.
    My feet had turned off the path before I realized where I was going. If I was lucky, Reed wouldn’t find out I wasn’t in school. He’d tell our parents for sure, unless I could bribe him before he had a chance. I needed a day to clear my head. One last day on my own before tourist season started and I had to be even more careful.
    The silence and stillness that hung over the island among the gray clouds made it almost impossible to imagine tourists coming this year. Already I’d heard people talk about how their businesses might not survive if the tourists didn’t come soon. Something felt different, something other than the weather, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
    I emerged from the narrow path on the other side of the maritime forest to the little strip of beach where the ocean and sound met at the tip of the island. The water churned and the wind blasted across the sand. I sat down just out of reach of the foamy water that rushed onshore. Seagulls squawked overhead, swooping low to see if I had any food and then soaring away when they realized I wasn’t going to feed them. I closed my eyes and breathed the salt that hung thick in the air.
    A chill crept over me, but I pulled my shirt off to absorb what little sun broke through the clouds. I scanned the horizon as far as I could see into the fog as I sat in the sand, digging my fingers into the golden grains. There was nothing on the water. Ships only passed by far out to sea, rarely ever stopping at this island. The only people who really used this beach were the finfolk, once a month during song night.
    I stared at the rippling water as hard as I could, looking for signs of life. But there was nothing other than the birds swooping over the water in search of fish.
    “Where are you, Sailor?” I asked aloud. “Are you even still alive?”
    Only the sound of the waves crashing toward shore and the calls of the birds answered me.
    After a while, I got up and slipped out of my jeans. I tossed my boxers onto the sand and then made my way into the water. It was still cold enough to shock me a little as the water hit my legs, but I pushed myself farther.
    Only a short distance in, the change overtook me and I let myself slip fully underwater. The cracking and popping of my bones felt in a way like some kind of bittersweet release. I didn’t know how something could be so painful and pleasant at the same time. Despite the few minutes of agony, my body still craved this change.
    I swam for a while, diving as far down into the water as I could and fighting against the rough current that tried to push me back toward shore. I dared a few flips, breaking the surface and arcing through the air before diving back down.
    When I turned back toward the shore, shaking water from my eyes, I caught sight of a figure standing on the beach. Brown hair whipped around her head in a dark halo. She held one hand to her forehead to shield her eyes as she looked toward me.
    For a moment, I let myself think it was someone else