This is it. The last chapter. And thus concludes Wizards Vs. Angels: The Darkest Days. Hope you've had as much fun reading as I did writing :)
The air was bitter and so was the taste in Justin's mouth. There was nothing better than a crowd to perform in front of and Justin was itching for a show. Rosie was in such a vulnerable position and the surprise and hurt and guilt were painted on her face like a graffiti-filled alleyway. Holding Justin back with her own hands, she choked out, "Justin, I'm so, so sorry for everything that's happened. I pretended to fall in love with you to carry out Gorrog's plan, but along the way you touched my heart and made that love real."
The darkness in Justin's soul flinched. And then he became confused. He eyed Rosie up and down. She looked completely sincere and honest. This wasn't what Justin wanted. "What am I doing?" he whispered in awe at himself, giving himself a shake and letting go. The fury fled from his soul faster than dousing a candle with water. The thing missing in his dark life was love. It was the sole cure for the darkness enveloping his entirety. "You love me?"
Sensing Justin's resolve crumble, Gorrog approached the couple, "Justin, don't give in to it."
Justin turned his head back to his sister. "Take the compass to the guardian angels. I'll be fine." Their eyes locked and said all the things that were unsaid. With a curt nod, Alex disappeared.
Rosie and Justin held hands and kiss, smile. An unknown light comes down on both of them. Rosie's wings change color and her face brightens. Justin, however, falls to his knees as the wings literally burn off his back, blazing away the darkness in him. It robbed him of evil and felt like a nail was being pried out of every inch of him at the wrong angle. But with Rosie's hand in his, he withstood the pain and did so silently. When he stood up, his blue eyes shining with love and joy and light, he clasped Rosie to him again.
Gorrog was crestfallen and heartbroken. "Rosie. You have betrayed me and forsaken the Dark Realm. You are a liar and a player. I would've made you my Queen. And yet you settle for this...chump. Get out." He had to start from scratch with a new plan. His first order was to purge his warriors of any weak, good points.
"I'm gonna go too if that's okay with you." Justin added. Gorrog looked away and rolled his eyes. He had no use for them anymore. They were just thorns in his side. As he turned away from them, so did the rest of the angels, ostracizing them.
"Wrap your arms around me." Justin instructed Rosie as he held the pieces of his wand together. He mumbled a spell and they disappeared into the cloudless night air that held hopes of a bright future.
. . .
They landed in the Russo wizard lair. "Sorry, it's kinda hard to have a soft landing with a broken wand," Justin explained. He tossed the pieces of his wand onto the table. He'd deal with it later. There were more important things he had to discuss. If anything, Justin was bright and knew what had to be done the moment Rosie confessed her love.
Apologies were exchanged by Rosie and Justin. "Of course I forgive you." Justin stated as though it was obvious, but he knew it needed to be said.
"I'm so glad." Rosie smiled at him. Finally, someone who cared for him and wouldn't leave him.
Regret churned his stomach. Doing what was right was the hardest thing to do. "But we can't be together." The words burned on the way out. It meant he had found a match but not the right one for him.
No expecting a break up, Rosie's face fell. "What? Why?"
Justin took Rosie's hand to hopefully help convey the importance of her and her life. "Rosie, everything we've been through made me realize something. The world is fragile place. Always teetering between good and bad. I mean, look how easy it was for me to forget what's right. Of course I want to be with you, but the world needs another guardian angel more." As much as it felt good to be loved and say it, this wasn't what Justin wanted. He needed love, but in a different way from a different person.
Rosie ruffled his hair, a parting gesture. "You are such a good person. Oh, Justin. I don't know if I have what it takes to be a guardian angel again." She looked down.
The wizard lifted up the angel's head and hopes. "Hey, you saved me. When the whole world turned bad, you stayed good."
Her eyes were not won over. "Because of you." But then they gained understanding with the look Justin gave her and everything he said made sense. The world's balance needed caring and if he believed in her, it was all the hope she needed.
Justin gave her a small smile as they hugged goodbye and she stepped out of his life. Another chapter in his love life closed. Seems the right one for him would never appear.
. . .
The world is a cruel place. It continues to live even though a loss feels like death. Seasons change, birds migrate, and the pain ebbs away with time. And to Justin, Rosie was a beautiful, white dove and he couldn't hold her down when she could help the world that was literally balanced on a compass. Justin caressed a fallen white feather as he came to terms with his feelings and thought what about what the future could possibly hold that may entice him with the same passion as he had for his lost, but good, angel.
Alex strayed into the lair. "Justin, what're you doing still up? It's late."
The expression on Justin's face remained broken by loss and melancholia. "I stayed up because I owe you something." He stood up and reached for something by the table and presented it to Alex. "A two headed dog had it." Alex looked down and took it from Justin's smooth hands. He added cheekily, "Pretty sure it didn't start out that way."
The corners of Alex's mouth twitched up. "Thank you. What about your wand?"
Justin turned over his wand in his hand. "I, uh...I'll find a spell to fix it." It wasn't a big deal at the time so he shrugged it off. "And I owe you something else." He moved closer to her. "Thank you for saving me."
"It's for all the times you saved me when I wasn't so good. And for future time." Alex clarified. Oddly enough, she had a not so easy time accepting compliments from her brother. From everyone else she took their compliments to boost her ego, but her brother was a different story for some reason. Maybe it was because he rarely gave her compliments.
He looked at her hard, trying to make her believe and himself believe what he was about to say. "You saved the world today."
"You gave up the girl to protect it." Alex pointed out. She knew she didn't deserve all the credit. But something was bothering her. "Why do we have to keep dealing with stuff like this?" She wasn't expecting a real answer, but it felt good to say it outloud. Alex had been thinking it for a while and it never made any sense.
"We're wizards. I don't think we have a choice," Justin sighed. Alex leaned her head on Justin's shoulder and Justin put his head on Alex's, taking in the moment.
They were quiet for a while. Alex suddenly sat and spoke up, "We always have a choice." Justin said nothing. His sister laughed to herself. "Wow, who've thought that being so serious would make you shut up. I'll have to remember that for later."
Justin, copying her attitude, playfully chastised. "Don't ruin the moment."
"'Kay."
"So, do you intend on," he bit his lip in nervousness, "keeping your word? About what you said back about being a better to me and all that?"
Ever full of sarcasm, Alex narrowed his eyes and opened her mouth but then decided not to make a snarky comment. Instead, Alex smiled, breathed out, and placed one hand on Justin's and another in the air, "Angel's honor."
The End
Thank you all for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it!
