The Hound of Rowan
Page 34
Max shook her hand, glancing up at the fathomless silver eyes. He walked over to his award. The gauntlet’s dented plates and rivets gleamed inside the lighted case. More cheers erupted, and he looked down to see his name written in flame.
Max found it almost impossible to concentrate for the remainder of the awards ceremony. He felt very small and exposed, doing his best to clap dutifully for the remaining winners. As Ms. Richter brought the ceremony to a close, Max looked for Ronin but he was already gone.
Two days later, most of the students had left and the Sanctuary was quiet. Under a hot afternoon sun, Max caught his father’s throw and tried to herd the goslings away from the wrapped sandwich he had left lying on the grass.
“There you are!” a familiar voice called out. “Come here, my darlings! Mother’s all soft and gorgeous again!” Max looked up to see Hannah waddling toward them from the hedge tunnel. Walking behind her was Julie Teller.
The goslings abandoned Max’s sandwich and went off honking toward their mother. Julie stepped gingerly around them, looking very pretty in a blue summer dress.
Max glanced at his father, relieved to see him nibbling on his sandwich and chatting amiably with Frigga and Helga as the sisters basked on the banks of the pond.
“Hi!” said Julie, coming to a stop.
“Hey.” He grinned, shielding his eyes from the sun. “Are you leaving today?”
“Yeah. I wanted to come say good-bye for the summer.” She looked down at her shoes. “I have something for you.”
Max fumbled for words as she handed him a little unsealed envelope of pretty stationery. “Uh, thanks,” he finally said, turning the envelope over in his hands.
“I read it during Humanities—in Morrow’s favorite book, of all things! It made me think of you.”
Max flipped open the envelope.
“Oh God!” she laughed, covering her mouth. “Don’t read it now!”
“Sorry!” Max exclaimed, snatching his hand away from the letter.
“Well, have a good summer, Max. You can write me if you like. My address is on the back, and it would be nice to hear from you.”
Blushing furiously, Julie leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. A second later, she was gone, walking quickly back over the grass toward the Sanctuary tunnel. Max watched her go; her figure grew smaller with every step until she disappeared into the dark green foliage.
He dropped his ball and glove on the ground. Reaching inside the envelope, he retrieved a folded sheet of stationery. The words were written in careful, graceful script:
Give not thyself up, then, to fire, lest it invert thee, deaden thee; as for a time it did me. There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than the other birds upon the plain, even though they soar.
—Herman Melville,
Moby-Dick
Max read the note several times before folding the paper again, careful to keep its original crease. Placing it in his back pocket, he breathed in deep and watched a flight of black swans streak across a sky the color of marigolds. Frigga and Helga slid silently back into the water, leaving father and son alone in the Sanctuary. Mr. McDaniels was smiling now. He pounded his mitt as he took up a spot near a tall backstop of hay bales. Max reached for his glove. His first throw was high.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deepest thanks to the family, friends, and students who have inspired my creative endeavors and encouraged me when things were hard. Special mention goes to those who have commented specifically on the manuscript and illustrations, including: John Neff, Victoria Neff, Matt Markovich, Chris Casgar, Jacquie Duncan, Josh Richards, and Gerald Zimmerman. For their wit and wisdom throughout, my deepest gratitude to my editors, Nick Eliopulos and Jim Thomas, and my agents, Tracey and Josh Adams. For her beautiful sense of design, I’d like to thank Joanne Yates Russell, and for his inspired cover illustration, Corey Godbey.
While there are many wonderful tales of Cúchulain and his heroic feats, I’m especially indebted to the work of Thomas Kinsella, whose translation of the Táin Bó Cuailnge captured my imagination and served as the backdrop for my synopsis of the stories of both Cúchulain and the Cattle Raid. Finally, I’d like to thank my mother, Terry Neff Zimmerman. Without her tireless support and brilliant feedback, Max might never have made the leap from thought to page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from the Chicago area, Henry H. Neff teaches history and fine arts at a San Francisco high school. The Hound of Rowan is his first novel. You can visit the author at www.henryhneff.com.
THE TAPESTRY
BOOK 2
THE SECOND SIEGE
Available September 2008
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text, map, and illustrations copyright © 2007 by Henry H. Neff
Jacket illustration copyright © 2007 by Cory Godbey / Jacket design by Joanne Yates Russell
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.randomhouse.com/kids
www.rowanacademy.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Neff, Henry H.
The hound of Rowan / Henry H. Neff.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(The tapestry; bk. 1)
SUMMARY: After glimpsing a hint of his destiny in a mysterious tapestry, twelve-year-old Max McDaniels becomes a student at Rowan Academy, where he trains in “mystics and combat” in preparation for war with an ancient enemy that has been kidnapping children like him.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89077-2
[1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Schools—Fiction. 3. Kidnapping—Fiction. 4. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 5. Art—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.N388Hou 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2006020970
v1.0