Epilogue
"I wish to register my continued disagreement with this decision."
"That is, of course, your privilege, Emma. Secretary Contill, please note her disagreement."
"Chancellor, I wish for more than a note." The woman who had spoken stood up and leaned forward, placing her hands flat upon the desk in front of her. "Let the record show that I believe that Professor Crumbs' actions in this matter are tainted by his emotional involvement with the Russo family. I am dismayed that the Council has permitted itself to be swayed by him. Justin Russo has freely admitted himself a warlock."
Standing fully up, she walked around the desk, out onto the floor. "He has bound himself to the Elemental Powers themselves, to those with whom traffic has been forbidden since the time of Merlin." She paused, emphasized her next words by spreading her hands. "A prohibition set in place by Merlin himself. We have no idea of the full ramifications of what he has done - but I am not afraid to admit that I fear the Powers this child has invoked."
She turned, addressed herself to the other side of the chamber. "The Council's judgment has been passed, over my objections, and those of seven other of my colleagues. I accept the will of the majority, but I say to you this: the Russos must be watched. The potential risks are too great."
Again, Emma paused, and this time a voice broke in. "We are very well aware of your feelings in this matter, Wizard Jinkles. Must we be subjected to another lecture?"
Chancellor Tootietootie tapped his gavel. "Professor Crumbs, please. Wizard Jinkles has the floor. You must permit her to continue."
"That was a wonderful experience." Tootietootie took off his hat, set it onto the hatrack, walked behind his desk, and sank into the polished wood of his chair.
"I presume you're exercising your skills in sarcasm," Crumbs replied as he took one of the smaller guest chairs.
Tootietootie gave Crumbs a look, then shook his head. "I don't see how you could think I could be doing otherwise. Really, Crumbs… you shouldn't have antagonized Emma. You won by two votes. Two votes. You don't have the margin to be pulling these kinds of stunts."
Crumbs shrugged. "To be frankly honest, the opinions of that band of fools do not concern me. They're all too spineless to take any sort of action without a dozen others to spread the blame across."
Taking off his own hat, Crumbs set it in his lap. "They can't see that we've just tripled our chances of survival. Any one of those children could be the one the prophecy refers to - but now, all three have power of some sort. Whichever one it might be, the condition is fulfilled."
Tootietootie rolled his eyes. "Really? The prophecy? You're worried about that old scrap?" Shaking his head, he leaned back, then closed his eyes, put one hand to his forehead. "Crumbs, I know they're your -"
"No." Crumbs said emphatically. "Do not say that. Not even here." He stared at Tootietootie for a moment, until the younger man sighed and nodded. "'When the bloodline folds upon itself,' the prophecy says. Clearly it's speaking of Justin and Alex taking up with each other, and -"
"Clearly?" Tootietootie sat back up and opened his eyes. "Crumbs, nothing in that thing is clear. Hells below, the earliest version we have must have been translated through half a dozen languages, and passed through dozens of scribes. Even if you're right, we don't know if it refers to one of the three, or to the child that Alex is carrying. If it means anything at all, and isn't just the ramblings of some half-mad coot."
Crumbs raised an eyebrow at that, and Tootietootie colored a little. "Not that I mean to imply you're anything of the sort. But still…." He shook his head again, changed tack. "Normally, I trust your judgement of Justin. It matches my own. But he's been influenced already, and we don't know what effect what he's done now will have on him. I hope you're right. I want you to be right. But I am the Chancellor of the Council, and I must prepare for if you're wrong, Crumbs." He stood, looked down at the older wizard. "It's my duty," he finished, spreading his hands.
Standing as well, Crumbs set his hat back into place, looked Tootietootie in the eyes. "We all have our duties, Chancellor. I hope that yours and mine will not set us against each other. And now - good night."
Tootietootie opened his mouth to reply, but Crumbs was gone already.
Justin Russo sat up in his bed, looked to his right. Alex was hogging the covers, as usual, but that wasn't what had awoken him. I was sure I heard a voice…. He swung his legs off the bed, stood up. Alex turned over at that, looked at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah. Just thirsty," Justin lied. "I'll be back in a minute."
Alex nodded with a grunt of agreement and settled back down, and Justin went out into the living room. He turned back toward the bedroom door, then closed it carefully, trying to avoid making noise.
When he turned around again, he froze in place at what he saw: silver orbs floated in the air like bubbles. There were dozens, the smallest the size of marbles, the largest beachballs, and they drifted slowly, moving seemingly at random. As they moved, they grew bigger and smaller, and sometimes one would shrink away to nothing, while elsewhere, another would appear.
Justin put his hand back to the door - and it was not there. He turned around, then turned again, realizing suddenly that he was no longer in the apartment at all. All around him were the orbs, up as well as to the sides, and he was surrounded by infinite darkness, a bare grey floor the only thing besides himself and the orbs, the light on them seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere.
"What is this?" he said aloud then. "Is someone there?" There was no answer in words, but the orbs began to move differently, and some of them began to pass through each other, making a strange ringing sound as they did, as if someone had taken the sound of a glass bell and drawn it out to last several seconds without changing the pitch.
He tried to run, then, simply running forward, since all directions seemed the same. He was moving, he could tell, but the orbs were everywhere. How long he ran, he did not know - minutes, maybe, or hours, but there was nothing but the darkness, the orbs, the grey floor, and him.
Finally, he stopped, panting, and yelled out. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The only answer was the strange sounds... and then Justin's eyes went wide as he suddenly, somehow, knew what this was, what was wanted. He swallowed, then kneeled on the floor, was completely unsurprised to find that he was within a diagram of faintly glowing lines, and a silver cup sat before him, filled with a liquid whose color matched that of the cup and the orbs.
He took the cup in both hands, lifted it. "Powers of Ether," he said, "I name myself before you: Justin Vincenzae Pepe Russo. I give you the ether of my body, that you may know me." He frowned then, not knowing what to do - and then icy cold bit into him from behind, starting between his shoulderblades and rising up swiftly through his neck, into his head. It hurt like sticking a hand against the metal wall of an industrial freezer, and Justin opened his mouth, forced air out in a soundless cry.
And then he remembered. He remembered the first day when his magic had come in - the way he'd screamed in delight and fear when he'd floated up into the air. The sense of pride and joy when his father had told him what was happening, told him that he was special, was a wizard, that he had powers that normal kids never would have.
Justin remembered the first time entering the lair, that day, how he'd looked everywhere, at so many things to see, how he'd fidgeted, waiting there, looked up to his father to ask permission. Jerry had smiled and told him, "Go ahead, look," and Justin had run forward, looking at everything in his eagerness - but above all else, he remembered that smile, the look of loving pride on his father's face, and how it had seemed to last all day.
And then the memory was gone, and Justin Russo found himself looking down into a orb the side of a ping-pong ball, seeming silvery like the others, but reflecting back not his own face, but his father's, wearing a smile of loving pride that Justin could no longer remember ever having seen his father wear.
And then he knew that something had been taken from him, something indescribably precious, something he could never have again - and he did not even know now what it was that had been taken. Tears streamed down his face, and fell into the cup, mixing with the silvery liquid there. Justin shut his eyes, squeezing the lids as tightly shut as he could, trying to stop the tears.
A minute or more later, he finally opened his eyes, looked down into the cup, then raised it, brought it to his mouth before he could change his mind. He tilted it back and tried to drink, but whatever was in the cup flowed not only between his lips, but through them as well, through his teeth and tongue and into his body, suffusing him. In moments, the cup was empty, and Justin lowered it, breathed in and out, looked at the orbs around him. They were all still, now, hovering as if waiting.
He swallowed, took a deep breath, then let it out, saying, "Powers of Ether, I bind myself to you."
The orbs burst into motion again, moving around him, some of them moving through him, and Justin closed his eyes, wondering what he had just done...
... and then awoke. He sat up in bed, looked down to see Alex laying there, asleep as before. Was that a dream? He slipped off the bed, opened the door, looked out into their living room, found it as normal as it had ever been.
"Justin?" Alex said, and he shut the door again, came back to the bed, slid in next to her, putting his arms around her.
"I thought I heard something," he said, and she nodded, then pulled his hand up, kissed the back of it.
"Quit worrying and go to sleep," she said, her voice soft and a little muzzy. "You got the bad guy. There's nothing else to worry about."
Justin let Alex fall asleep in his arms, and hoped she was right.
Author's Notes: ... and that's it for Normal Life. Hope you've enjoyed it!
But of course, I'm still not done with the crew here! Watch my author page and LiveJournal to see what's next!