Into Oblivion (Book 4) by Shawn E. Crapo Page A

moment, the giant orb stopped spinning, and a loud, metallic bang resonated throughout the vault.
    “Jump through!” the Dragon shouted.
    Khalid leaped with all his might. Behind him, the Dragon shifted forward, passing right through the priest and appearing before him. Khalid slammed into him, bouncing off and hitting the floor on the other side of the portal. The outer orb began spinning again.
    Outside, the two could hear the flying creatures slamming into the outer orb. Apparently, some of them were hungry enough to brave the mysterious structure.
    Khalid sat dazed, rubbing his head.
    “Sorry about that,” the Dragon said, helping Khalid to his feet. “We’re inside the main vault. Look.”
    Khalid turned to look at the inside of the giant orb. Several other orbs were suspended in the center, arranged concentrically; one inside the other. There appeared to be dozens of them.
    “These are all the inner layers of the Earth,” Dagda explained. “We will seek out the proper portals and arrange them in the correct order. When the orbs are aligned correctly, a pathway inside will be cleared, and we can enter the gateway. It will be instructed to transport us to the proper layer if the orbs are arranged the right way.”
    “Isn’t there an easier way to do this?” Khalid said.
    “Of course, but in my imprisoned state, I cannot travel inter-dimensionally. I have to use the existing portals; ones I can physically go through.”
    “I see,” Khalid said. “That is very inconvenient.”
    “I agree, but this is how we must go about it. For now, we will rest. It will be some time before the layers arrange themselves in the proper manner. We don’t want to end up in the wrong layer.”
    Khalid nodded. That was logical.

Chapter Seven
     
    The banshee’s wails echoed through the forest near Aeli’s tower. Though the Druid knew the sound, she wondered how the creature had managed to regenerate. As far as she knew, the banshee had been destroyed over a year ago. Even when the banshee had regenerated enough strength to project her presence, Farouk’s friend, the black Defiler, had fed upon her energy. There was no reason, other than time, that the dreaded spirit should have returned.
    Fearing the unearthly sound would frighten the young Jodocus, Aeli shut the windows tight. However, the expression on the young boy’s face told her that he had heard it. He did not appear frightened as she would have expected, but intrigued. An uncommon characteristic, she thought.
    “Mama,” Jodocus said. “Why does the lady cry?”
    Aeli sat next to the boy, putting her arm around him to comfort him. “I don’t know, Jodocus,” she said. “Perhaps she is sad.”
    Jodocus felt her pain, and it was echoed on his own face. “She’s lonely,” he said. “Lonely like her father.”
    “Her father?” Aeli repeated.
    “The sad one.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Jodocus looked up into her eyes, his expression of sorrow obvious. “The man who walks the forest. There but not there.”
    She knew he meant the presence that they all had felt nearby. The presence that prompted Farouk to cross dimensions. Apparently, the two were related.
    “The banshee’s father is the presence?” she asked.
    Jodocus nodded, smiling. “He misses her,” he replied. “But he’s afraid of her.”
    Aeli knelt in front of Jodocus, looking into his eyes. She could see what he was thinking; that there was a reason the banshee was alive again.
    “Why is the banshee here?”
    “She was the enemy of the Lifegiver,” Jodocus said. “She tried to bring life back to her world, and she became lost. Stuck.”
    “Stuck?” Aeli said. “Here, in this world?”
    “Yes, mama,” he replied. “We have to help her. We have to bring life back to her world.”
    “And how do we do this?”
    “She came here to find the Other .”
    Aeli sat back, feeling the boy’s thoughts enter her mind. He seemed to be showing her something, though she did not understand what