Creepy Creatures: The Wizard Brothers, #3

By Lou Klein

THE MAGIC FOREST HIDES MANY ANCIENT CREATURES, SOME ARE OLDER THAN THE FOREST ITSELF.

Stranded in a wild and totally unknown area of the Magic Forest, Andrew and Joey must find a way out ASAP, or they'll end up killed by the powerful monsters roaming the woods. They must save themselves and reach the secret village where the antidote to save Raul is kept.

Can they make it on time, or is it already too late? Most importantly, does that village even exists, or have they just fallen into a deadly trap?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lou Klein
• Release date: Feb 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386504979

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE SEED

Andrew had been walking for a while in the white flower valley, never losing sight of Tessa. The dog had an erratic behavior: sometimes she ran away and disappeared in a pile of flowers, other times she would circle around him suspiciously, then she’d jump away, like a giant rabbit, happily barking at him. He had tried again and again to pet her but she wouldn't let him.

Andrew had always loved both cats and dogs, but felt a stronger connection to dogs whose personality was much more similar to his: sociable and outgoing. Still, they had such a short lifespan that he couldn't bring himself to adopt another after his last dog, Harry, had died a century ago. He had suffered too much back then and had sworn not to ever go through such pain again. For the same reason, he refused to have any human friends: ten years to a human were just one year to a wizard.

Being a wizard, his age was comparable to that of a guy in his twenties, so there was no way Andrew would form a relationship with a human, to see him die only a moment later. Pets lived even less, their life being like a single, beautiful note in the symphony of eternity. True, if the bond with his wizard or witch was strong enough, a pet could absorb some of its owner's magic, becoming a familiar which could live much, MUCH longer, sometimes even outliving its very owner. But Andrew had never managed to create a strong enough connection with his pets, so they all died eventually; all at an old age, to their standards, yet far too soon to his. He blamed himself for having failed to turn them into familiars, for not having been powerful enough. Or, maybe, for not having loved them as they deserved, since he always held back a little, for fear of getting hurt. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that it took him a moment to realize that Tessa had stopped moving and was now barking like crazy. He looked and saw her sitting and barking at a giant tree, a few yards in front of him. It was the Eondalee. It looked even more majestic than when he’d seen it before in the Magic Forest.  Its trunk was pulsing from the inside with a bright, positive energy, and the flowers blooming on its branches were like a thousand lit lanterns framed by the silvery green of its thick

foliage. Tessa was sitting right beneath it, wagging her tail and happily barking to Andrew.

So, what's up? He asked her the moment he reached the tree. I don't get ... WHOA! Calm down, girl!

The dog had just jumped into his arms, first licking his face like crazy, then gently biting his chin.

My daughter likes you very much, Eondalee suddenly said, taking Andrew aback. She has closely observed your soul, and she told me that it smells nice, just like her favorite cream cake.

Uh? Cream cake? Andrew repeated, scratching his handsome head. He had always thought of himself as tough, manly, brave. He would have never imagined that his soul was comparable to something as sweet and soft as a cream cake.

My daughter told me that your heart is pure, Eondalee continued. That you're selfless and always worry for everyone but yourself. She also told me that you're capable of loving deeply and unconditionally, which is one of the rarest qualities to be found both in magic people and humans alike.  Overall, she has a very high opinion of you, although she made it clear that you aren't nearly as good as a dog.

Well, no one is! Andrew exclaimed, speaking from the bottom of his heart. Am I right, girl? He smiled at Tessa who covered his face with wet kisses in return, wagging her tail frantically. Hey, stop it! Andrew laughed. And thanks for your assessment, by the way!

I say that this settles everything, young wizard, the magic tree continued.  Andrew thought he detected some amusement in her voice. I've been waiting for a wizard like you for a very long time. Someone selfless and brave, but also powerful and with a pure heart. You see, my kind doesn't come from here, but from a very, very distant world. A long time ago, when your world was still young but threatened by darkness, the first of your kind came to us, desperately asking for help.

Wait! The first of my kind? Andrew rushed. You mean the Great Merlin?

I believe your people call him that way. We called him Mudryy, which in our language means 'The Wise One'.  He begged us Eondalees for one of our seeds: My ancestors saw that his heart was pure and entrusted him with one, with the direction to guard and protect it after he planted it on Earth, where it was needed. Merlin promised us that, and went back to your world. But, once he arrived, he realized that war was already causing distruction, and that there was no safe place on Earth to plant me.

You?

Yes. You see, I was that seed. The Wise One brought me here, which is the most hidden and wildest area of the Magic Forest, waiting for better times to bring me back to Earth, the one and only Eondalee.

One? But I was told there were more of you, Andrew said. I mean, only a bunch of you that evil wizards tried to steal, but ...

No, Andrew Coulter, I am the only one. My roots run deep and far and what those evil beings thought were other trees, were simply extensions of myself, which helped me fool my enemies while keeping them under control. They kept threatening me even here, so the time to go back to Earth never came. I was sad and frustrated since I considered Merlin my father, but all I could do to help him was to give him the juice of my roots, which he’d use to speed up the healing of himself and his allies. With time, his visits became more and more rare. I knew he was fighting a dark wizard and his acolytes, who were so powerful, that they were a challenging match even to Merlin himself.

I was here, waiting, while the centuries chased each other and became millennia. I was about to lose hope to ever see him again, when he came to me, one last time. When I saw him, I felt something break inside me seeing him so very old and sick and frail. He told me that he had finally won the war, but an old battle wound had taken its toll on him; it wasn't really a physical one, which I could have cured, but a mark, a dark mark left on his heart by the betrayal of his apprentice whom he had loved like a son. That type of wound, not even I could heal. He told me that that was the last time I'd see him and bid me a last goodbye. While doing so, he apologized that he was now too weak to take me to Earth, where I'd be the most helpful. He told me not to despair though, since one day when the time would be right, another wizard would come, a young one, just like he was when he reached my world, asking for help. His successor would have a heart as pure as his and with great powers as well. Merlin told me to trust this wizard with my seed, assuring me that he'd use it to bring hope to Earth, instead of creating darkness and desperation. I loved my father with every fiber of my body and trusted him completely. So I waited. I waited for so long that your world had the time to change radically, for the good and for the bad. I waited and waited, remembering my father and never losing hope, in spite of the solitude of this place. I was right since you were finally sent to me. Merlin kept his promise, finally!

Wait, look, Andrew protested, feeling awkward and inadequate. Nobody 'sent me' here. I mean, I was sent, with my brother, to the Magic Forest, but we came here by accident, we crashed here ...

You didn't come here by accident, Andrew Coulter. Everything happens for a reason, you should know it. You were brought to me by the forces of good, to fulfill Merlin's prophecy.  And your heart is crystal clear, just like his was. So much time has passed, but the memory of his is so vivid in my heart that sometimes I think he left me just yesterday and will come back to me any time... Eondalee concluded, a great sadness in her beautiful, otherworldly voice. Now, I'm going to trust you with the most precious gift of all, Andrew, my very only child, a part of me. When you get back, ask your mother, she'll tell you without doubt that you are a part of her, just like this child is a part of me. Now, please, open your hand.

Andrew obeyed, not really knowing what was about to happen, but somehow aware that it'd be good.

THE FLOWERS STARTED falling much faster, creating a sort of storm around the wizard, swirling on his head and shoulders, filling his blue eyes with their whiteness. He could