with George on the edge of the square where the road curved round past the town hall and that was why I noticed Miss Keyland, not joining in but walking past, in a hurry to get somewhere.
I called out her name.
“Oh … Holly!” She seemed out of breath. There were red pinpricks in her cheeks.
“Aren’t you staying?” I asked.
“No, dear. I’m just on my way to Miss Tristram.” Mary Tristram helped out at the school. She lived quite near us on the other side of the garage. “She’s not well.”
I glanced down. Miss Keyland was wearing heavy walking boots.
“I thought a walk might do her good,” she explained.
She hurried away and the next thing I knew, Jamie was at my side. “Holly, I need to talk,” he said.
George looked at him disdainfully. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He got up and walked in the direction of the band.
“George…!” I called after him, but he didn’t even turn round. “What is it?” I asked Jamie, not even trying to disguise my irritation.
“We have to go after her,” Jamie said. He was right next to me, talking in a low, urgent voice.
“Who?”
“Miss Keyland.”
“Why?”
“She’s made up her mind about me. She thinks it was a mistake not turning me in to the police. That’s what she’s going to do now. She’s going to claim the reward for herself.”
“No!” I shook my head. “I’ve known Miss Keyland all my life. She was my teacher … and my friend. She’d never do that.”
“I’m telling you. She’s on her way. We have to follow her. I can’t go on my own. I’ve never been outside the perimeter.”
“But how do you know she’s going to betray you? You can’t know that.”
“I do know, Holly. I read her thoughts.”
I still found it hard to believe. Jamie had told me about his powers and I’d had direct experience of them myself. But was it possible that dear old Miss Keyland could go against the wishes of the Council and put us all in danger? I thought about what she had just said – visiting a sick friend. I remembered the walking boots. “All right,” I said. “Let’s see where she goes.”
I glanced in the direction of George but he had already disappeared into the crowd. What would he think when he got back and found me gone? But there was no time to worry about that. Jamie was already moving away from the square, keeping his distance behind Miss Keyland. I caught up with him and we followed her up through the village, past the modern houses – including our own. The road climbed a hill then dipped down steeply. At this point, the white lines faded out and a short while later the tarmac itself became chopped up and disappeared into the mud and the grass. The very edge of the village was marked by a yellow bus, which had once ferried passengers to the surrounding towns but now sat rotting on its side, the glass windows shattered and all the upholstery and engine parts long gone. Miss Keyland walked past it without giving it so much as a glance. I felt sad, seeing it. My mother had taken me on that bus – quite a few times, actually – and although it had been years since it had run, seeing it made me think of her.
The forest began almost at once, which was just as well as it would have been impossible to track Miss Keyland across open fields. I knew now, if I had ever doubted it, that Jamie was right. She certainly wasn’t visiting any friends.
I had memories of the forest being a very beautiful place, full of bluebells in the spring, cool and scented in the summer, somehow welcoming even when the leaves had fallen and the snow had come. And you would have thought that, left on its own all these years, it would have grown into a perfect wildness, a haven for animals and birds. But that hadn’t happened. The forest was dark and comfortless. Weeds, thistles and briars had taken over. As I knew from hours spent hunting, any signs of life were becoming increasingly rare, as if all the foxes, deer and rabbits had been
I called out her name.
“Oh … Holly!” She seemed out of breath. There were red pinpricks in her cheeks.
“Aren’t you staying?” I asked.
“No, dear. I’m just on my way to Miss Tristram.” Mary Tristram helped out at the school. She lived quite near us on the other side of the garage. “She’s not well.”
I glanced down. Miss Keyland was wearing heavy walking boots.
“I thought a walk might do her good,” she explained.
She hurried away and the next thing I knew, Jamie was at my side. “Holly, I need to talk,” he said.
George looked at him disdainfully. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He got up and walked in the direction of the band.
“George…!” I called after him, but he didn’t even turn round. “What is it?” I asked Jamie, not even trying to disguise my irritation.
“We have to go after her,” Jamie said. He was right next to me, talking in a low, urgent voice.
“Who?”
“Miss Keyland.”
“Why?”
“She’s made up her mind about me. She thinks it was a mistake not turning me in to the police. That’s what she’s going to do now. She’s going to claim the reward for herself.”
“No!” I shook my head. “I’ve known Miss Keyland all my life. She was my teacher … and my friend. She’d never do that.”
“I’m telling you. She’s on her way. We have to follow her. I can’t go on my own. I’ve never been outside the perimeter.”
“But how do you know she’s going to betray you? You can’t know that.”
“I do know, Holly. I read her thoughts.”
I still found it hard to believe. Jamie had told me about his powers and I’d had direct experience of them myself. But was it possible that dear old Miss Keyland could go against the wishes of the Council and put us all in danger? I thought about what she had just said – visiting a sick friend. I remembered the walking boots. “All right,” I said. “Let’s see where she goes.”
I glanced in the direction of George but he had already disappeared into the crowd. What would he think when he got back and found me gone? But there was no time to worry about that. Jamie was already moving away from the square, keeping his distance behind Miss Keyland. I caught up with him and we followed her up through the village, past the modern houses – including our own. The road climbed a hill then dipped down steeply. At this point, the white lines faded out and a short while later the tarmac itself became chopped up and disappeared into the mud and the grass. The very edge of the village was marked by a yellow bus, which had once ferried passengers to the surrounding towns but now sat rotting on its side, the glass windows shattered and all the upholstery and engine parts long gone. Miss Keyland walked past it without giving it so much as a glance. I felt sad, seeing it. My mother had taken me on that bus – quite a few times, actually – and although it had been years since it had run, seeing it made me think of her.
The forest began almost at once, which was just as well as it would have been impossible to track Miss Keyland across open fields. I knew now, if I had ever doubted it, that Jamie was right. She certainly wasn’t visiting any friends.
I had memories of the forest being a very beautiful place, full of bluebells in the spring, cool and scented in the summer, somehow welcoming even when the leaves had fallen and the snow had come. And you would have thought that, left on its own all these years, it would have grown into a perfect wildness, a haven for animals and birds. But that hadn’t happened. The forest was dark and comfortless. Weeds, thistles and briars had taken over. As I knew from hours spent hunting, any signs of life were becoming increasingly rare, as if all the foxes, deer and rabbits had been
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