Honey and Dax were standing in the kitchen outside of a circle of pink salt speaking softly to each other. Archer stood to the side, leaning against the kitchen island. His arms were crossed against his chest and his expression looked bleak. When he saw me, his eyes brightened for a moment before we both remembered why I was there and what was about to happen.
I offered a lame little wave which made him laugh.
Honey and Dax motioned for me to come closer. "Don't disturb the salt circle, dear," Honey said as she carefully maneuvered me around the area. Dax took an amber bottle, dipped a finger into it and rubbed something onto my forehead.
"It's a blessing," he murmured before doing the same to himself, Honey, and then Archer who stared at him like he was nuts.
"He doesn't participate in things like this very much," Dax said. He grinned at Archer who turned away and looked outside.
Honey's gaze softened as she looked at him. "It's okay to miss her, Arch, but she isn't gone yet."
His shoulders stiffened, but he turned back around to watch.
A look of approval in her eye, she gave Archer a sharp nod and turned back to me. "Take off your weapons. I'll hand them back to you in a moment."
I shrugged off the backpack and quiver, and unfastened the bow at my hip. Dax took everything and held it while Honey walked me into the circle, careful not to disturb the salt pattern on the ground. She held a long stick of bundled herbs. With a whispered word, they caught fire and she blew on them until only the smoke remained. Honey produced a feather from thin air and gently fanned the air toward me. She covered my entire body with the smoke and just when I thought I was going to cough, it dissipated into thin air. "Consecrating," Honey said with a smile. "It's purification of the body in preparation for the magic. I already got everyone else."
"So everyone here is holy?" I asked.
Dax barked out a laugh. "I wouldn't go that far. None of us here are saints, that's for sure. We're just prepped for the ritual. Anything else and we're kidding ourselves."
We smiled at each other and I let out a little sigh. "I'm going to miss all of you."
Dax's smile drooped a little. "And us, you," he said. "We always wanted a daughter."
Archer choked on a cough. An unbidden snicker came from me.
"You guys," Dax said, but he couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad I caught you before you started making out."
"Dad!"
Honey's eyebrow rose. "Do tell," she drawled.
"Moooom," Archer moaned. "It wasn't anything. Dad was just being weird."
"Dad was minding his own business and happened to stumble upon you two making cow eyes at each other."
My face felt beet red and I wanted to collapse into a pile of embarrassed ash.
"Oh my god," I whispered.
"We were not making cow eyes at each other," Archer grumbled.
We were totally making cow eyes at each other, but I wasn't jumping into this disaster.
Honey cleared her throat. "That doesn't matter right now. We have to get on this otherwise it's going to be too late." She pushed a pack into my hand. "There's enough currency here to buy yourself lodging for at least two nights. Plus food."
I tried to push it back into her hand. "I can't."
"You can and you will," she said. "You can't just waltz into a place you haven't been for years and expect to throw yourself on the mercy of the people. You don't know what it's going to be like when you get there. And, if your mother is really still alive, you need to be prepared for the havoc that could come once it's widely known."
