The Hound Of Rowan Part 17

Connor hurried inside and Max shut the door, making double sure it was locked tight.

The minutes and hours ticked by at a crawl. Unable to concentrate, Max tossed his sketchbook aside as David and Connor played cards downstairs. Hearing m.u.f.fled sounds from the hallway, Max got up from his bed to investigate. Connor and David stood on the stairs to the lower level, wrapped in blankets and looking frightened, as Max listened at the door. Hearing footsteps and whispers outside, Max turned to them and put his finger to his lips. Holding his breath, he silently turned the k.n.o.b and peeked out into the hallway.

A small group of First and Second Years were pressed against the window at the end of the hall. Max beckoned to David and Connor, and the three of them joined the group. Rolf stepped aside to let Max peer out the window; he leaned forward to press his forehead against the cold gla.s.s.

Lanterns bobbed about the dark grounds in pairs as the faculty combed the orchard, lawns, and gardens. Away in the woods, Max saw more lanterns peeking from among the trees. He whispered to a Second Year standing next to him.

"Have you guys seen anything?"

The Second Year shook his head and motioned for quiet. Suddenly, someone at the end gasped, "Something's happening!" "Something's happening!"

Max was smooshed against the window as the crowd surged forward. Below, the lanterns bobbed wildly, rapidly converging at a point near the orchard's edge. A huge plume of flame erupted at the spot. Max and the other boys gave out a yell.

Something monstrous and wolf-shaped was illuminated by the sudden burst of light. It took several hunched, uneven steps on its hind legs before dropping to all fours and racing across the lawn toward the forest and the road.

"Get back in your rooms!"

Max whirled to see the two Sixth Years hurrying angrily down the hall. The boys scattered to their rooms in a sudden flurry of shuffling feet and slamming doors. Max and David ran down the steps to their bedroom's lower level. Connor flew in a moment later, locking the door behind him, his eyes wide.

"Did you guys see it? I saw it!"

"I'm not ever leaving this room," whispered David.

The three sat in silence for several minutes. Max s.h.i.+vered, replaying the image of the terrifying shape lowering itself to the gra.s.s and galloping across the grounds. He looked up at the sky dome, watching Scorpio twinkle into view.

"What do you think that was?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," said David, rubbing his temples. "I don't want to know."

"Maybe it was a werewolf," volunteered Connor. "Like in the movies."

"That didn't look like any werewolf I ever saw in the movies," quavered Max. "It was a lot worse. And it looked bigger...."

A loud knock on the door woke Max from his sleep. Blinking, he looked around the room. Connor was asleep on one of the couches. David was huddled near the fireplace, a shapeless lump underneath his blanket. There were three more knocks, quick and decisive. Max lurched to his feet and climbed the stairs, halting at the door.

"Who is it?" he ventured, his voice slow and wary.

"It's Joseph Vincenti, Max. The danger has pa.s.sed. Ms. Richter would like everyone to come to the orchard. It's chilly, so bring a jacket or a robe."

Mr. Vincenti moved down the hall, rapping on the next door. Within a few minutes, Max had woken Connor and David. The three boys shuffled sleepily with the other Apprentices out the back doors to the orchard, where the sky was a pale wash of blue in antic.i.p.ation of the sunrise.

Ms. Richter stood near the first row of trees, flanked by the faculty and a dozen other adults. The hushed conversations ceased immediately as Ms. Richter's voice filled the morning air.

"Students, we have had a loss. Another golden apple graces this orchard-all too prematurely, I'm afraid."

Max watched as several older students began whispering and scanning over the faculty with worried expressions. The Director shook her head.

"No," she said. "Our loss did not occur on this campus. We lost a member of our Recruiting staff: Miss Isabelle May, whom many of you undoubtedly met during your tests for admittance here."

There was stunned silence among the students. With a solemn face, Ms. Richter continued.

"We do not, as of yet, know what happened to Miss May. Our last communication with her was one week ago, despite our best efforts to contact her since. We have been monitoring her Cla.s.s Tree anxiously throughout. Mr. Morrow made the unfortunate discovery before dinner last night. Miss May's apple has turned to gold."

Several older students hugged one another. Max saw Lucia wipe tears from her eyes; he guessed that it had been Miss May who had recruited her.

Ms. Richter raised her arms for quiet.

"Shortly after we lost Isabelle, something triggered the defenses of this campus. While I apologize for actions that might have confused or frightened you, they were necessary precautions. For the first time in Rowan's history, this campus has been penetrated by agents of the Enemy."

The student body erupted in sideways looks and whispers.

"They are gone now," Ms. Richter a.s.sured them, her voice silencing the students, "and you may rest a.s.sured that all our resources will be mustered to determine exactly what has happened and what steps are necessary to ensure your safety. Until that time, no student is to leave this campus for any reason whatsoever. Failure to mind this rule will result in expulsion. Is this clear?"

Max found himself nodding and saying "Yes, Director" along with everyone else. Rubbing his arms, he realized he had forgotten to bring a jacket, and the early-morning air was unseasonably cool.

An older girl raised her hand.

"How could they be here?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Rowan is supposed to be hidden hidden from the Enemy! What does this mean?" from the Enemy! What does this mean?"

Ms. Richter's glance was stern, her voice sharp.

"It means we have entered a time of danger."

10.

THE COURSE.

In the weeks that followed, all students had to travel in pairs, and Rowan Towns.h.i.+p was off-limits. Faculty and older students volunteered for evening patrols and as security escorts for the younger students. Most notable were the strange adults that had arrived on campus. They flitted through the woods, appeared suddenly in corridors, and stood watch throughout the campus. The students were a.s.sured that these individuals were present for their safety but that they were not to be approached or bothered. Among them was one particularly alarming man with a badly burned face. It soon became something of a dare to cross his path at night as he walked quietly across the grounds in his black knit cap and peacoat, swinging a shuttered lantern. His name was Cooper, and Max was afraid of him.

After two tense weeks, Max was working alongside his study group in a small room off the Bacon Library. Despite recent events, the faculty had decided to keep the midterm schedule, and Max needed to score well on several of the exams. He took a handful of popcorn from Cynthia, then grumbled at his math notebook; only half of his responses matched those in the answer key.

Max yawned. It was getting late and he still had to feed Nick. As he gathered his things and zipped up his fleece, David peeked up from reading a book on the couch.

"Are you going to the Sanctuary?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Max, stretching. "Want to come?"

"Nope. I'm going to bed. You should get an escort to go with you, though."

David returned to his book. Sarah looked up suddenly.

"I'll go with you, if you want. Just let me get my coat," she said, snapping her book shut.

Lucia grinned and tossed a popcorn kernel at Cynthia, who glanced sideways from her book. Max looked at Connor, who merely raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, sure," said Max. "Thanks, Sarah."

Sarah smiled and left the room. Max turned to the others.

"What are all of you smiling about?" he asked, glancing from face to face.

"C'mon, Max," scoffed Connor. "She likes you."

"No, she doesn't," Max protested.

"Sure," giggled Cynthia. "That's why she always always picks you in Games and sits next to you in every cla.s.s. Believe me-she's not trying to copy picks you in Games and sits next to you in every cla.s.s. Believe me-she's not trying to copy your your homework!" homework!"

Max glared at her.

"Sorry," pleaded Cynthia, laughing again and feigning interest in her reading.

Lucia put down her pen and snorted. Her English had improved tremendously, but now she spoke so rapidly that Max had trouble understanding her. He heard something about him being a baby and Sarah being beautiful and smart, but it was the word "festival" that caught his attention.

"What did you say about the festival?"

Lucia narrowed her eyes.

"I said she is too good for you and that you are very lucky to go to the Halloween festival with her!"

Max shot a terrified glance over his shoulder at the door.

"What are you talking about?" he hissed. "Sarah's going to ask me to be her date for Halloween ask me to be her date for Halloween?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Cynthia chimed in. "Sarah's far too old-fas.h.i.+oned for that."

Max exhaled.

"She'll simply let you know that she wants you you to ask to ask her, her," Cynthia added, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"But-" Max halted in mid-sentence as Sarah reentered the room, wearing a hooded windbreaker.

"Are you ready?" she asked, walking past and waiting by the door. David rested his book on his face as Connor chuckled. Max followed her down the hall, wiping his palms hard against his fleece.

Except for a brief stretch of Indian summer, the days had been getting steadily cooler. Sarah walked the path next to Max, fiddling with a series of beaded bracelets.

"So," she said, "I've never really seen Nick up close before. What's he like?"

"Oh, he's okay," replied Max quickly. "He eats a ton, though, and he likes to attack me."

"Really?" She laughed.

"He also gets pretty angry if I show up late," added Max. "He's already shredded a couple sweaters."

"Are you late tonight?" asked Sarah, with a playful note in her voice.

Max gave a sheepish nod as they hurried up the main path through the wood.

Just then, a dark figure rose up from the nearby underbrush, s.h.i.+ning a lantern on their faces.

Max took a step backward. It was Cooper, dressed all in black with a stocking cap pulled low. Max stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the taut, s.h.i.+ny scars that disfigured half the man's face.

Sarah was furious.

"How dare you come popping out of the dark like that?" she said, her voice sharp.

Cooper said nothing; he merely gazed impa.s.sively at them.

"Well?" she demanded. "Are you going to be a gentleman and apologize for frightening us?"

"Sarah," Max whispered, "don't make him angry!"

Slowly, Cooper's ruined features contorted into a sort of smirk. He doffed his stocking cap politely, revealing a head that had also been badly burnt. The scalp was left with only a few straw-colored patches of hair like ragged shoots of pale wheat. He shuttered the lantern and made his way quietly through the underbrush toward one of the shaded side paths.

Max and Sarah continued toward the Sanctuary. Max did not speak until they had shut its heavy door behind them.

"That guy seriously creeps me out."

"Well, of course he does!" shot Sarah. "Sneaking up on students at night! I should say something to Miss Boon."

"Yeah, but his face face-"

"-gives him no right to frighten people! I'm sorry he was burned, but life goes on."

Sarah regained her composure and lingered near the opening. Her long neck and profile made a very regal silhouette against the intertwining branches. She turned to him, her eyes as dark and glittering as a doe's.

"You know, Max, I never thanked you for getting me out of the water that night when we were on the Kestrel. Kestrel."

"Oh," said Max. "It was no big thing. Anyway, you just saved me from the bogeyman, so we're even!"

He tried a weak laugh while Sarah adjusted her bracelet.

"Well," she said. "Thank you."

Leaning forward, she gave him a soft little kiss on the cheek. Max simply stood there, registering briefly that she smelled like perfumed soap. Stepping back, Sarah smiled at him before stepping out into the clearing. He lagged behind, conscious of his reddening cheeks and thankful for the darkness.

Nick was already pacing about his stall, gnawing at the base of its small tree. Sarah helped deflect his anger; the prospect of having someone new to chase seemed sufficient to appease him. Sarah laughed as she tried to outdistance Nick, who would crouch low, flicking his tail from side to side, before suddenly bolting after her. She shrieked as he quickly closed the gap, his pelt glinting red as he streaked across the clearing. Meanwhile, Max cleaned out Nick's stall and loaded up the wheelbarrow with his dinner.

Setting the crates near the lagoon, Max called Nick, who abandoned an opportunity to ambush Sarah and came hurtling out of the darkness. Sarah came trotting back, holding her side and panting.

"Oh, I love Nick!" she exclaimed. "He's adorable!"

"Hmmm. See if you find this this adorable," Max said, opening a crate teeming with foot-long rats. The rats scattered in every direction and Nick was after them. His tail fluttered and his claws were a blur as he chased them down and eviscerated each with a swipe of his paws or a violent shake of his head. Sarah groaned as half a rat landed near her shoe. Nick trotted over and nuzzled it closer to her with his b.l.o.o.d.y snout. adorable," Max said, opening a crate teeming with foot-long rats. The rats scattered in every direction and Nick was after them. His tail fluttered and his claws were a blur as he chased them down and eviscerated each with a swipe of his paws or a violent shake of his head. Sarah groaned as half a rat landed near her shoe. Nick trotted over and nuzzled it closer to her with his b.l.o.o.d.y snout.