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

tiger-bikes and their riders in two.
    “Brace yourselves!” William howled as the shockwave raced outwards behind the beet-wagon. The back of the vehicle lifted up off the ground, the beetle’s legs kicking out wildly. It made a screeching noise as it hit the ground again in a cloud of dust, and continued to race forward.
    “See, that wasn’t so bad!” William barked in triumph. 
    Before Zach had the chance to say anything, Faraday looked sideways at him and said, “Take the wheel.”
    “What!” Zach shouted over the roar of another tiger-bike which raced alongside the beetle. 
    “Take the wheel,” Faraday ordered again.
    “But I can’t drive!” Zach insisted, leaning over him and gripping the wheel. Immediately a humming sensation crawled up Zach’s arms and exploded across his chest as he took control of the beetle. It was then he truly realised that the car wasn’t just a machine – it was a living thing. Then, Zach saw Faraday do something so peculiar, that he momentarily lost control of the beetle. It scuttled left then right.
    “Don’t watch me! Watch where you’re heading,” Faraday said, pulling at the tips of his fingers on his right hand, as if removing a pair of gloves. As he pulled at his pearly-looking skin, it began to come free, revealing his mechanical arms hidden underneath. Once he had removed the skin on his right arm, he pulled the skin from his left. From the corner of his eye, Zach watched as Faraday laid the flesh from his arms across the top of the dashboard, like a pair of baggy rubber gloves. Then the air was filled with a whizzing sound, as his arms transformed into an array of tools, knives, and odd-looking gadgets. To look at his arms reminded Zach of the Swiss army knife his dad would carry with him. But whereas his dad’s knife had five or six tools, Faraday’s arms appeared to have hundreds – no thousands ! 
    Faraday pushed back the beetle’s shell and stood up. Where he once had fingers, he now had ten rotating blades which he slashed through the air. Then as quick as Neanna had blinked away, Faraday was gone. He sprang from the beetle, his arms rotating so quickly on either side of him, they seemed to propel him through the air.
    The riders on their tiger-bikes released a torrent of stakes at him, but he just batted them away with his arms as he twisted through the air. Just as Neanna had done, Faraday landed on one of the tiger-bikes just behind its rider. In one swift movement of his mechanical arms, Faraday had sliced the head from the rider and it went spinning away. A deafening thud was heard as the rider’s head bounced off the bonnet of the beet-wagon.
    Neanna raced alongside him, both of their tiger-bikes bounding forwards. Attached to the side of her bike was one of those sidecars which Zach had seen earlier. He watched as the top slid back and one of those dead peacekeepers climbed out.
    “Hey, Neanna!” Zach tried to warn her.
    Neanna was so focused on the other tiger-bikes which leapt and bounded all around them, she failed to see the dead peacekeeper reach for her. With one hand gripping the wheel, Zach took one of his crossbows from its holster and took aim. The beetle scuttled left and right as he tried to keep it steady and fire off his shot. With his finger hovering over the trigger, he screwed up his eyes and fired. The stake whizzed from his crossbow and sliced into the respirator covering the dead peacekeeper’s face.
    As it sucked in air through its torn mask, the creature began to convulse. Through the lenses of its respirator, Zach watched its eyes grow fat and round. They bulged and then popped out of their sockets altogether, exploding against the inside of the mask. The dead peacekeeper began to thrash about uncontrollably as he tried to claw the mask free from his face. Neanna saw the dead peacekeeper as he finally ripped the mask free, his gooey eye sockets wept black tears onto his deathly pale face. Just like the other had, he