Above the Vaulted Sky - Page 252

I burst into the square and into the mass of people crowded to watch the children sing.

            It’s truly like a gig, with excited people squashed together in a space too small for them. I never realise how many people were here. In the moments when we arrived there was space to move, and a ring in the middle of a new townsperson to escape the doldrums. The population seems to have doubled. There’s excitement and nudges and chatting. I’m now dreading what Teague’s going to do more and it’ll all be my fault.

            I stretch onto my tiptoes and scan the heads around me.

            There, about twenty yards in front of me is a bobbing head of wild hair that can only be him.

            I prise the two people in front of me apart and squeeze into the gap. After the third time of doing this people start to get annoyed. They refuse and push back. There’s tutting aplenty and more often than not, I’m confronted by a steadfast wall of people.

            I change tact. I skirt to the side of the square and try and squeeze around the edge.

            After a few more minutes I’ve lost Teague completely.

            I press my hands to my temples.

            ‘Easton!’

            I turn and am overjoyed to find Yates parting the crowd to find me.