Something was going quite wrong with Tobble. His mouth moved without making sounds. His cheeks quivered. His tails windmilled like some demented spaniel. His chest heaved as if each breath was an effort. Tears spilled from his eyes.
“Does anyone here dispute this wobbyk’s steadfastness, honesty, kindness, or courage?” Khara asked. “Or do you find him worthy?”
“Most worthy,” Gambler said.
“That’s a whole lot of brave in a small package,” Renzo said.
Tobble turned to me, and I suddenly found it difficult to speak. I wrapped my arms around him. “More than worthy,” I said in a choked voice. “More than brave, more than loyal. You are my brother, Tobble.”
There wasn’t much to the ceremony. Wobbyks are not great ones for show. Tobble had to recite a poem and sing a song, and for reasons that baffled everyone (including Tobble), we had to locate a centipede for him to eat.
After that, Tobble formally requested that Khara and Renzo and I braid his three tails into one. Gambler observed, felivet claws not being particularly useful for braiding.
When all was done, Tobble was still Tobble. Nonetheless, he did seem to stand a good two inches taller and carry himself with greater dignity. Unfortunately, he kept turning around to marvel at his unified tail and more than once tripped as a result.
We headed back down the peninsula, feeling, if not joyful, at least no longer hopeless.
The island existed. I might have seen a dairne. There was a possibility that I was not an endling.
We knew that Luca had not given up and would come after us.
We knew that by now the Murdano would have realized that he’d been betrayed thanks to my lies, and that he would come after us, too.
We knew that ahead lay terrible, steep mountains, relentless cold, and hideous fell beasts.
But I was beginning to understand that what had started as a simple quest to find others of my kind had changed. I was now part of something larger than my needs, perhaps larger even than the survival of my species. The Murdano was not just the enemy of the dairnes. He was the enemy of all living things who would not bend their knees to him.
Great forces were arrayed against us. Neither Luca nor the Murdano would ever stop hunting us. Their control rested on lies, and they knew that if I found more dairnes and could bring them out of exile, we, the not-quite-extinct, might shake the foundations of their power.
We came clear of the forest and looked up at the awe-inspiring, snowcapped peaks before us. Pain and danger and death were in those mountains. But beyond them might be the one thing that even heroes need in order to go forward: hope.
I glanced north, the direction the moving island had been heading. I couldn’t see it anymore, of course. But I knew it was there.
As I turned back, something caught my eye. A glimmer of color high above us.
I looked up to see a butterbat.
Just one. No more.
Lost, perhaps, on its own great journey.
Or perhaps not.
Khara nodded at me. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“Well, I’ve never really seen snow before,” I said. “Let’s go take a look.”
With that, we set off. Renzo, the thief with honor, and his dog, Dog. Gambler, the principled felivet. Tobble, the worthy wobbyk. Vallino, the tireless steed. Khara, the heir of the Donatis, wielder of the Light of Nedarra.
My friends. My companions.
My family.
Acknowledgments
My heartfelt thanks to Tara Weikum, Vice President & Editorial Director, for her brilliant insights, patience, and good humor, along with the many fine folks at HarperCollins who’ve helped bring this story to life:
Chris Hernandez, Editor
Sarah Homer, Editorial Assistant
Ro Romanello, Associate Director of Publicity
Ann Dye, Marketing Director
Renée Cafiero, Senior Production Editor
Barb Fitzsimmons, Creative Director
Alison Donalty, Executive Art Director
Jenna Stempell-Lobell, Senior Designer
Kate Jackson, Editor-in-Chief
Suzanne Murphy, President and Publisher
Patty Rosati, Director of School & Library Marketing
Andrea Pappenheimer and the Sales team
About the Author
KATHERINE APPLEGATE is the author of The One and Only Ivan, winner of the Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her other books include the acclaimed Wishtree, Crenshaw, Home of the Brave, and the Roscoe Riley Rules series. She lives in California with her family.
www.endlingbooks.com
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan
Wishtree
Crenshaw
Home of the Brave
The Roscoe Riley Rules series
#1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs
#2: Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear
#3: Don’t Swap Your Sweater for a Dog
#4: Never Swim in Applesauce
#5: Don’t Tap-Dance on Your Teacher
#6: Never Walk in Shoes that Talk
#7: Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin
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Copyright
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Copyright © 1962 by Rachel L. Carson, renewed 1990 by Roger Christie
Reprinted by permission of Frances Collin, Trustee
ENDLING #1: THE LAST. Text copyright © 2018 by Katherine Applegate. Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Max Kostenko. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art by Max Kostenko
Cover design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell
Digital Edition MAY 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-233555-5
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-233552-4 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-285247-2 (special edition)
1819202122CG/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Katherine Applegate, The Last
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