The Magicians

Epilogue

I sat on a hill with all of my friends. Jackson and I sat together on a picnic blanket. I leaned against him, my head on his shoulder.

Rainy and Sky sat on another blanket next to us, both drinking grape soda.

Tanner and Katrina sat together across from me, on their own picnic blanket. Tanner was holding Katrina close, like he would never let her go.

"So, I want to confess something." Tanner said. "Katrina and Jackson know what I'm about to say, but I thought everyone should know." Tanner ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.

"My magic is- well it's a very strong, rare kind of magic. And it develops really fast, but it can be dangerous. Since I am technically still a kid, and it's fully developed, it's-it's killing me. And the more I use it, the worse it gets."

I stared at Tanner. "Well, um, how much longer do you have?" I asked without thinking. "Maybe five years. It's a slow-progressing thing. And it doesn't really affect me, except when I use my magic. I try not to let it bother me, but sometimes it really hurts." He said, his expression grim.

"Hey, I'm really sorry. Maybe there's a way we can fix it?" I said, hope filling me briefly, then leaving at Tanner's sad look. "We've tried. It only made it worse." Tanner said.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry." I said. Tanner smiled. "Hey, I've still got five years. Maybe more. I'll be fine. You won't even know." Tanner said. "In fact, can we pretend I'm not dying?" Tanner asked. I smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

A question came to my lips before I could stop it. "Does dying scare you?" I asked. Tanner blanched. "What?" "Dying, does the thought of it scare you? Any of you?" I watched everyone's faces change. They all stared at me.

"Of course, Rose. Death is undeniable. But it still scares me." Tanner said. "I'm not scared of anything, really, but death... The thought is horrifying to me. But, when the time comes, it'll be the right time." Jackson said, smiling.

"Okay. Thank you." I said. Jackson leaned over and kissed me. I leaned into him, kissing him too. Then I pulled back, remembering my friends. I turned away, heat rushing to my cheeks.

When I turned back to my friends, Tanner and Katrina were kissing too. Sky and Rainy looked seriously annoyed. I laughed, nudging Jackson with my shoulder. "Is that what we look like when we kiss? So desperate and close and in love?" Jackson asked with mock disgust.

I laughed, but heat rushed to my cheeks. "Yes." Sky said, a disgusted look on her face. Tanner and Katrina broke apart, their faces red too. "S-sorry." Katrina said.

"No problem, watching you all kiss is my favorite thing to do." Rainy said, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, well, when you get a boyfriend, I'll watch you kiss, okay?" I mocked. "Fine." Rainy snapped.

I pulled the picnic basket close to me. "You guys hungry?" I asked. "Yeah. Can I have a sandwich?" Tanner asked. I pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich and handed it to him on a plate. I got out the bag of chips and set it out for everyone.

"PB&J please." Jackson said. I handed him a sandwich. I handed Katrina and Rainy egg salad sandwiches, and got one for myself.

We ate and laughed, trying not to waste one moment of the calm. I loved doing nothing here. As the sun set, glowing red and orange and yellow, it turned the landscape different colors.

I thought it was beautiful.

No one talked. We all cherished the quiet, calm, and relaxation of that day. Katrina smiled and nudged Tanner when he got ham on his camp shirt. Tanner smiled sheepishly and cleaned it off.

"Hey, man, you will never hear the end of it if you mess up in front of your girlfriends. I'm still hearing about the time I ate two sandwiches for lunch." Jackson said. Tanner, Rainy, and Sky burst out laughing at Jackson's crooked smile. Katrina and I exchanged a look, both of us rolling our eyes.

"Yeah, well, stop eating like a horse and we'll talk." I said, trying to keep my tone serious. A chorus of "ooooooooooooooooo"s went through the group.

I laughed while Jackson scrambled for a come-back. Finally, he threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "I got nothing." "I never thought the day would come that you would say that." I said. "I'll come up with something one day, you'll see."

Rainy rolled her eyes. "Hey, I've got to go. I have to go right back to raining tomorrow." Katrina said. Tanner nodded and said, "Me too." He winked at me. "I guess I'll see you there." He said. "I guess it's time for me to start beating you in fights again." I said, smiling.

Tanner stuck his tongue out at me, helped Katrina up, gave her his arm, and waved goodbye. I waved too, smiling as he left. "I've got to go too. I have to... Meet someone." Rainy said.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Who?" I asked. Rainy's face showed panic, but her tone was cool when she said, "Someone. It's not important." I laughed."

"Braydon Gray. He's a fighting magician from my advanced fight training class. He's my age. He's a really nice guy, and he asked me out this morning." Rainy explained, her face turning red.

"I know him! Tall? Brown hair? Brown eyes?" Jackson asked, concentrating on creating an image in his head. "Yeah. He's really great. Now I've got to go." Rainy said. She waved and headed down the hillside.

Sky yawned. "Everyone's leaving." She said, lying down on her picnic blanket. "If you want to leave, you can." I told Sky. "Nah, it's fine..." She said, sitting up. Then she looked me over, then Jackson. She smiled and said, "You know, I'm really tired. You guys have a good night." She said, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes at her and waved, realizing suddenly I was alone with Jackson, the stars coming out, his arm wrapped around me. Sky left because of us. I thought. I panicked, not sure what to do.

"Are you okay?" Jackson asked. He must have felt me tense. "Yeah, sorry. Have you been having nightmare?" I asked. "Yeah, that's normal. Magicians have nightmares a lot. It comes with the fighting, enemies, and monsters." Jackson said.

I put my head on his shoulder and watched the sky get darker. "How about you? How are you?" I asked him. "I'm not sure. I'm having nightmares like you. I don't want to train tomorrow. But now, I'm alone with you, so I'm okay." He said.

I smiled. "I'm okay too. I guess I'm just... I can't process what happened. We both almost died. I'm- I'm scared, Jackson. I don't want to do that again. I-I can't." I said, my voice wavering.

"It's okay. I'll protect you. You will never have to do that again. You're safe now." Jackson said. "Don't make promises you can't keep." I said. "I never break my promises." Jackson's tone was strong, like he meant what he said.

"Thank you." I said. "Its what boyfriends are for, isn't it?" I laughed. "I love you." He said, his voice true. All the stars were out now. The sky was a dark, dark blue. I could still see Jackson's glowing orange eyes. "I love you too." I said, and I meant it.

I loved him.

We are The Magicians. You might not see us, but we're there, protecting you. So, enjoy your life. We'll help you do so. Maybe you can help us enjoy ours.

I know I'm enjoying mine.