Wizards and Thieves - Epilogue
Epilogue: Endings have to come to an end
After everything had calmed down, Neal found that he had no real clue what had just happened. Obviously it had been some kind of a magical battle and Petros had turned out to be the victor, but Neal couldn't see where Adalia had gotten off to. The only thing there was a mangy old cat and even the existence of zombies in that world couldn’t get him to connect the two in his mind.
Peter also had a problem with the result, as Neal had suspected. He stepped forward, drawing Petros’s attention. “What happened to Adalia?”
“It will take him a couple of months to figure out how to fix himself, but it will take even longer than that to get to the point where he is causing trouble once more,” Petros replied. He waved his hand at the staff and it jerked upright. “I’ll take care to drain the magic out of this and then I will hide it where he wont’ be able to get to it.”
“While they are discussing the boring stuff, why don't we talk?” Neal smirked as his alternate self jumped when he spoke. Then again, Neal had used his skills to silently approach Niall. While he waited for the other to get over his shock, he marveled over how it really did look like a mirror.
“What do you want to talk about?” Niall also kept his voice low.
“He’s not as bad as you think,” Neal said. He really could tell that Petros was the same as Peter, which meant that he was a good guy.
Niall blinked. “What do you mean by that? Who?”
“Petros, of course," Neal said. He thought about his relationship with Peter. “While I don't always agree with Peter, I’m a conman and he’s in law enforcement, I do trust him all of the time. He’s a good man and he can be good for us if we let him.”
“That’s Peter Burke,” Niall pointed out. Of course, he had never interacted with Petros before.
“Just like we’re similar, I am sure that Lord Petros is so close to Peter Burke,” Neal said. “Just, give him a chance. You’re the chosen one and my alternate, I am sure that you’ll be able to survive giving it a shot.”
Niall looked over at the two Peters and winced. “I don't know.”
“Please, try,” Elizabeth stepped in. Neal looked up to find that, while both of them had stepped forward, it was Elisabet who had spoken. She stepped towards Niall. “We would love to get to know you after all of this.”
Neal could tell that Niall tried to resist, but no one could refuse El anything in the long run. He was not surprised when Niall caved. “I’ll try.”
A brief spell of babbling over took them at that point, celebrating the fact that Niall was going to stay. That drew the attention of the two men with the same face. From there, it was not long before arrangements were made to send the group home.
“The best way is to use the staff again. I believe that will restore the balance between our worlds,” Petros told them. He sighed. “I would have loved to have dissected it, but that is all that I can do.”
“Thank you,” Neal said as he stepped forward. He shook Petros’s hand once last time.
“It is for a good cause,” Petros said. He grinned. “I think that one thief is enough for me to handle.”
Neal began to suspect that the two Peters hadn't just been talking about what had happened. He had no chance to say anything, though, before he was urged to pick up the staff.
After one last look, Neal picked up the staff and disappeared in another flash of light. When the spots disappeared yet again, Neal found himself standing in the Burke’s living room, surrounded by all of his friends. He glanced down and sighed when he spotted the glowing green light.
Peter clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You knew it wouldn't last.”
“But it was great while it did,” Neal replied. He bounced on his feet. “Magic exists. Maybe not in this world, but it exists.”
“Oh great, that’s just what we need," Peter said. “A thief who knows magic.”
Neal laughed. “I’m glad to be back home.”
The end.