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

Zach couldn’t help but think that to watch the Seek-Wasp was like being on one of those 3-D rides in theme parks. To watch it felt like he was racing just above the rough and craggy terrain of Endra, right behind its fluttering tail. Zach glanced at William who was transfixed by the thing. He was so immersed in its journey across Endra, he swayed from left to right on the spot, his eyes burning fiercely behind his glasses. Zach looked up at the Seek-Wasp and immediately ducked, as it appeared to swoop beneath the arms of trees that sprawled across a giant forest. 
    The Seek-Wasp’s wings fluttered so quickly, they were just a blur on either side of its black and yellow striped body. It tore through the holographic image of the forest, and it felt to the others like they were following it. It zoomed out of the forest, over mountaintops, and the vast blackness of the Onyx Sea. It reached the desert again, and here it hovered momentarily, before racing through the sky until it came to hover above an old stone building set on the edges of the desert.
    “Cribbot…zzzz…residence…zzzz…located…zzzz,” the Seek-Wasp said in a buzzy sounding voice.
    Without saying another word, Faraday snapped the compass-looking contraption closed. The green holographic image of the old building disappeared. The Seek-Wasp remained and hovered just inches above Faraday’s head, buzzing excitedly, desperate to guide him to the building.
    “Thiz way! Thiz way!” it beckoned.
    Zach glanced over at Faraday and said, “Did that wasp just speak?”
    “Yes,” he replied flatly, not even drawing a breath.
    “I didn’t think insects – or birds – could speak,” Zach breathed.
    “It’s a machine,” Faraday said.
    Neanna threw her sling of inferno berries over her shoulder, and Zach could sense she was keen to get to shelter before daybreak.
    “Let’s get moving,” she said, and the Seek-Wasp fluttered away into the night .
     
    They followed the Seek-Wasp for an hour or more across the flat, dry land. Every so often, the tiny winged creature would swoop above their heads and buzz excitedly.
    “Thiz way! Thiz way!” it would buzz. Then it would be gone again, racing away into the distance for them to follow.
    It wasn’t until Zach’s legs began to ache and each step became more sluggish, that he looked down and noticed that they had all been walking for some time in what appeared to be about a foot of snow. He glanced back over his shoulder, and could see their footprints fading away into the distance.
    “Snow?” Zach whispered aloud, bending down and taking a handful. It felt soft and crunchy like snow, but it wasn’t cold, it was warm.
    Warm snow? Zach wondered. But that would be impossible, right?
    “It’s not snow,” Neanna said, suddenly blinking beside him. “It’s the ash I was telling you about.”
    “Ash?” Zach said curiously, letting it sprinkle through his fingers.
    “It’s what’s left of Clockwork City,” Faraday said. “The city was burnt down when…”
    “The volcano last erupted,” Neanna cut in, wanting to finish the story herself.
    “Wrong,” Faraday said. “Throat set the city ablaze, killing everyone in it, and leaving those dead peacekeepers to patrol is borders.”
    “But why destroy it?” Zach asked.
    “Because of the box that you seek,” Faraday reminded him. “He couldn’t risk it being taken – stolen away. So he destroyed everyone and everything for a hundred miles or more. That box hangs alone, suspended in the searing draughts of air that surge from deep within the volcano.”
    “So how are we ever gonna get up there and take it down?” William barked, his fingers reaching inside his shirt and gently touching the key hung about his neck.
    Faraday stared back at him.
    “We’ll find a way,” Zach said, walking away into the ash. He whispered to himself, “There is always a way.”

Chapter Seventeen
     
    Throat skulked across the upper chamber of the Splinter. His