Radar [The Maad Series #1.5]

THE WILD WIZARD TEASER.

Prologue.

Reed pushed the wheelchair across the marble path while Drake slept on it. Around them was a thick forest with scattered trees and bushes. The trees were home to faeries, and the ground housed gnomes. The hair on Reed's neck rose as he felt the creatures staring at him. He gulped and maintained his composure. Humans weren't allowed in the Canon Dimension. Thankfully, the dimension's ruler was expecting them.

When he reached the end of the path, a marble basin full of steamy water stood before him. The dimension's ruler and the basin's protector, Samson, stood in front of Reed. He was fifteen feet chimera with the body of a lion, horns of an oryx, and a snake for a tail. As far as Reed knew, Samson was the last of his kind.

"Do you have it?" Samson asked with a deep voice that made the ground shake. The faeries shook in fear, and the gnomes hid behind the bushes when Samson asked the question. It was easy to see why. Though Reed hadn't said or done anything to offend the chimera, the snarl on the creature's face said otherwise.

Reed swallowed his fear and raised his head. "Yes." He removed the gunny sack slung over his shoulder and placed it on the ground. He then pulled the strings and took out a pair of bronze wings. The bolts and screws holding one wing differed from the other one. Only someone with a keen eye could tell one wing had been damaged and repaired recently.

Samson's eyes glistened once he saw the wings. "How do I know he won't go back on his word once he's healed?"

"Master Drake is not that kind of man."

About half a year ago, Drake had informed Reed about the existence of the Fountain of Youth. Drake had said it was the only thing that could remove the curse imposed on him by The Elders. But first, they needed to find someone with strong dark magic for the wings to siphon from while in use.

And there was only one answer to that: Donatello—Drake's son.

While Donatello was stealing the wings from Lady Camilla, Drake and Reed went to the Canon Dimension to make a deal with Samson. The chimera had lost his dragon wings in the war with phoenixes, leaving him as his kind's last survivor.

Drake knew how desperate Samson was to fly again. So he offered the wings to Samson, and in return, he wanted to bathe in the Fountain of Youth.

"You may proceed," Samson said.

Reed grabbed Drake's skeleton-like body and placed him on the ground. He then took the wings and strapped them on Drake's back. Reed pushed the button on the middle strap—around the waist—and pins inserted themselves into Drake's spine.

Drake woke up with a gasp, his eyes glowing with dark energy while his son's magic coursed through him, and then he fainted.

Reed removed the wings from Drake's body, and then he carried him in his arms. He had never thought he would be in this position with his master. Usually, it was the servants who carried Drake when the curse took away his ability to walk.

Reed threw Drake into the basin and waited. The faeries, gnomes, and Samson watched with intent too. Just like Reed, they weren't sure it would work or not. Drake was the only one who did. And if Drake believed it, then Reed did too. He had no reason to doubt his master.

A white glow came from the water, covering the whole basin. Reed covered his eyes with his arms until when the light disappeared. When he looked back at the basin, Drake stood before him. He had large muscles and looked one thousand years younger. But his cursed white hair still covered his head.

Drake checked his body with a smile on his face. "It worked." He chuckled. "It finally worked!" The once baggy clothes he wore were now tight on his body. It was an inhumane transformation. But of all the things Reed had heard the Fountain of Youth could do, this was the least shocking.