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

her? Neither the Delf nor Throat could travel through in their current condition. It might kill them, and even if they could pass through – what sort of beast would they turn into on the other side? But there was another who could help them. The child’s uncle, Fandel Black. From the doorways, Throat studied him and knew that he had a heart that longed for power – he lusted after it. And that was good. So Throat showed Fandel the doorways and what power lay behind them. Fandel’s sick heart fell in love with Endra. But he didn’t fall in love with its beauty – he fell in love with the idea that one day he might rule it alongside the other – Throat. But Fandel had been deceived. He was not Throat’s reflection. Throat didn’t have one – nor did his sister. Twins were a reflection of each other, were they not? How could they possibly have another? 
    But in his desire for power , Fandel readily believed Throat’s promises that one day he could be a king. All Fandel had to do was to kill his niece. A small sacrifice, Throat assured him, for the rewards he would receive. But what about Fandel’s brother? His brother’s wife and the other child – the boy, Zachary Black? Fandel had wondered. Throat had promised to deal with them and he had. The parents’ plane – a freak accident – blowing into smithereens as it touched down at Manchester Airport. And the boy? He was proving harder to dispose of – but the Delf knew in her heart that her brother would keep his promise. He always did. When she had begged him to send someone to fill her lonely nights, he had sent Fandel.
    The Delf remembered how disgusted Fandel had looked on arriving at her little shack beneath the granite tree. He had almost vomited into his hanky as he looked upon her bloated and maggot-infested face. He had heaved as she had belched and farted – but with a little magic, Fandel found it nearly impossible to leave her. He was starting to fall in love with her. But she hadn’t been able to snare him for more than a few months, as Throat had other plans for him. The time had come for Fandel to take the yellow spiked tablets back into Earth and feed them to sweet Anna Black.
    The Delf had cried black tears of anguish as Fandel had left that night, back through his doorway into Earth. And for the first time since looking beautiful, she’d had strange yearning feelings in her bloated belly. She had fallen in love with him. She liked his darkness, his cunning and cruelty. That’s why she yearned for him. The Delf knew that feeling wouldn’t pass until she had him completely. Throat had promised her that that day would come. Throat always kept his promises.
    With those feelings for Fandel Black newly awoken inside of her, she slowed Max to a gentle stop. The Delf farted as she climbed from the oversized dog. Taking her bag of potions, she sat in the dark on the desert floor. With her dirt-ridden fingers, she rummaged through her bag until she seized what it was she had been looking for. Taking a small wooden box, she opened it and looked down at the black dust inside. With her thumb and forefinger, she pinched some between her broken fingernails. Raising her hand in the air, she faced the wind and released the pinch of black dust. It shone like glitter in the air, but instead of blowing away on the wind, it hovered just above her head where the Delf had released it. It twinkled like a tiny cloud of glitter in the night.
    The Delf tilted her head back, her yellow eyes rolling back into their sockets. Her blistered lips began to open and close as she started to chant.
     
    Dust of night, Dust so bright
    Show me the soul, of the man I control
    Is he in danger? In Earth or in Endra?
    Dust blow away and create me a doorway!
     
    Over and over the Delf chanted the words, until the sparkling black dust above her formed a hole in the night. A bright white light shone out of it, illuminating her craggy face. The Delf rolled her eyes down and peered