Epilogue

PART II: By the Bank of the River

Calm. Complete and utter calm. There was no sound but the slow trickle of running water, a pleasant white noise in the background, barely loud enough to hear if you did not listen. A light wind brushed his face, cool and refreshing. Jem let his eyes remained closed for just a moment longer, relishing in the feel of it. Practically bliss.

Moments before, or so it seemed to him, he had been an old man, a tired man, who had lived what felt like three different lifetimes. He had been a boy in China and then London, a Silent Brother in the City of Bones, and an adult a hundred years later. Three lives. Spanning close to two centuries. And as much as he had loved it, he had also felt it in his very bones. Jem had been old, he had felt elderly and worn and every bit his real age. But not now. The creaks in his joints which had been painful and kept him from sleeping for years were gone. All his aches and his pains, which had rattled in his very bones, cleared for the first time in recent memory.

Memory. His mind. His mind was wide open and fresh. He could remember every moment of his life, from when he had been a small child in China all the way to sitting in his rocking chair on the porch of the house he had grown old in just the day before.

His life was open before him. The daze that came with his aging mind was gone. He felt young again, healthy and strong. He felt restored to just as he had been after he ceased being a Silent Brother, free of poison and runes which marked him as different. He flexed his arms and legs just slightly, enjoying the feel of being limber and able. Jem took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He was in a cave, a tunnel of sorts, narrow and winding. The walls were rough and natural around him, rock which had been opened up so that there was a way through. Light shown in from an opening not too far away, around another bend or two. And in his hand was a lantern, an old one, as he might have used in the Institute in London, emitting a faint glow. In front of him, there was a path clearly evident. It was well trodden, the ground worn and clear. Jem turned and glanced behind himself curiously, but it was dark and foreboding, the space smaller and unwelcoming. Clearly he was meant to go forward.

Every inch of him felt it, the need to go ahead. He was supposed to leave the rock and move onward. That was where he belonged. Something was waiting for him, something good. Peace, maybe.

Boldly he began to move, no hesitation in his steps, no fear or worry. Nothing he would hurt him, he was safe, he was not sure how he knew it but he was certain. After just a few seconds, the scenery around him shifted. He reached the mouth of the rock, the end of the tunnel. Stretched out in front of him was a wide expanse, open and clear.

The first thing Jem noticed was that there was no sun in the sky. It was light out, but not bright, sort of a pleasant cool grey. Jem did not know where the light could have been coming from. Everything looked sharp and clear.

It was a flat plane, no trees or houses in sight. As far as the eye could see was just land, green and lush, the grass gently swaying in the soft breeze. Through the land was one anomaly, a river, huge and flowing. It seemed to be more than a mile in width, and in length it started and ended at either end of the horizon. There could be no circumnavigating it. That must have been the water he had heard before. But now the rush was louder, more prominent.

Standing at the bank of the river was a figure, a man. In the pale light, Jem could not make out his face, but he could tell the man was relaxed. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his head tipped to the side in the confident manner and the slow slouch of someone who knew he got what he wanted. Black hair flew around his head wildly.

Jem set down the lantern in his hand, as he no longer needed it, and took a step forward, out of the opening to the cavern, and toward the river. Without the shadow behind him, now surrounded by the light, everything became even clearer. The piercing blue eyes of the man at the edge of the water bore into him, knowing and familiar in a way that neither time nor distance could ever take away. And suddenly Jem knew where he was. He knew what had happened. And he knew who the man waiting for him was.

Resisting the urge to run forward, Jem sauntered down to the side of the rushing river. Will took a few steps forward to meet him, grinning. Without a single word, the two men threw their arms around each other.

Jem pulled back and looked at his brother, his hands on his shoulders, not willing to lose contact altogether after so long a parting. Much like Jem felt, Will looked young and spry, far different from the age when he had died. Every angle of his face, every twinkle of his eyes were familiar, and looking at Will felt like coming home.

"You came back to me!" Will said, sounding joyous.

"Just like I promised," Jem smiled back, dropping his hands.

Will nodded, not taking his eyes off of Jem and said in a sincere voice, "I have missed you"

This seemed odd to Jem, "You didn't have to. You have been with me the whole time." Jem looked out at the water, over Will's shoulder and a thought occurred to him, "Have you been waiting for me?"

Will gave a small shrug, "It wasn't waiting, not exactly. I just didn't want to go on without you, I couldn't really. But you are here now." He spoke with such confidence, like it was no matter at all, like it was obviously the only choice he had ever had.

Jem was touched, but it also made perfect sense to him. If their roles had been reversed, he would have done the same. "Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his right hand, palm up.

"Yes," Will agreed, clasping his hand with the other man's, gripping it firmly

Together the two men turned to the river, standing side by side, their hands connecting them.