The League of Doorways (A Book of Vampires, Werewolves & Black Magic) (The Doorways Trilogy - Book Two) by Tim O'Rourke Read Free Book Online Page B

box.”
    “What’s inside this box?” Anna asked, looking at Tanner.
    “It contains the Heart of Endra,” Tanner explained as he tried to focus on the pain which made his left shoulder blade and arm feel as if they were on fire.
    “And what is Endra?” Anna asked him, her brow furrowing.
    “The world in which you now find yourself in,” Tanner said through gritted teeth. But before he had a chance to continue, the hatch above them slid back and Julio’s decomposing face appeared in the square of light.

Chapter Eight
     
    Willow Weaver followed the man through the woods as he strode ahead. She could have easily kept up with him, but she hung back deliberately, just in case she was being led into a trap. How had he known that she was a Noxas? Had he had dealings with her kind before? She guessed that he had, as there was a smell about him that reminded her of home. But that didn’t mean he was a friend. Maybe in this world, it was his job to round up those who had come through the doorways from Endra. He said that if Willow had wanted to live then she should follow him – but how long did he intend on letting her stay alive ?
    So , fearing that she might be led into some kind of trap, Willow hung back, her blood-red eyes looking and her nose sniffing the route that he cut through the woods for any sign of a trap. The man wore a hat which covered most of his face in shadow. He was tall and wore a knee-length coat and boots. His hands were gloved and they brushed against his thighs as he headed deeper into the woods.
    The man didn’t speak until they came to a small hollow. Tree roots sprouted up out of the ground like long broken fingers clutching at the air. A fine mist filled the hollow, and the man climbed in. The mist rose up and circled his waist.
    “Come on down,” he called out to Willow, who stood on all fours at the edge of the hollow and peered down at him. Sensing the giant wolf’s hesitation, he waved at her and said, “You have nothing to fear , Noxas. I am like you.”
    It was then that Willow realised that he hadn’t been waving at her at all. The man had been stirring the mist up all around him. He disappeared behind it like a magician performing a cheap trick. Willow tried to stare through the mist, but he had momentarily disappeared from her view. Then the mist settled again, like early morning fog covering a mountain lake. Although the man standing before her looked different without his hat an gloves, Willow knew it was him. He smelt the same, and that smell of home was stronger than before. The man’s hair was loose, and not only did it hang around his shoulders, thick lengths of hair hung from his cheeks and beneath his chin and his hands, which she could now see were claws.
    “You are a Noxas,” Willow howled softly at him.
    “Yes, I am,” he smiled, revealing a set of sharpened teeth. And his grin looked suddenly wild and crazy, just like the glint in his yellow eyes.
    “Who are you?” Willow asked.
    “I’m Wally Willabee,” he grinned insanely. “But you can call me Wally.”
    “I’ve been sent to find you,” Willow woofed at him.
    “Why would anyone want to find me?” he asked, his eyes spinning brightly.
    “Because you lead the League of Doorways,” Willow told him.
    “The League of Doorways?” Wally mused thoughtfully, that smile never leaving his lips. “And even if such a thing existed, what do you want from the League of Doorways?”
    “Help,” Willow howled.
    “Help with what?” Wally asked, and Willow noticed his smile falter just slightly.
    “The Queen of Endra lay dying , Wally Willabee, and our number is too small to offer a decent resistance,” Willow explained. “Wilberforce has sent me to bring you home...”
    “To do what , exactly?” Wally asked, and now his smile had faded.
    “To help defeat a sorcerer named Throat who threatens to destroy our world...” but before Willow had a chance to finish, Wally had cut in.
    “I don’t live in