Page 149 of Bones
“Yes, thanks.” Trey smiled back. “You’ve got a real nice place here.”
“Been in the family a long time,” Zeke said, pleased. “The hot water work for yah?”
“It did,” I answered. “Thank you. It was lovely to take a hot bath.”
Zeke’s smile softened again as he glanced at me. “I lost my wife a couple years back to a fever. We had nearly twenty-seven years together, but it still feels too short.” He looked at Trey. “Don’t take a single moment for granted.”
Trey’s hand found mine and squeezed. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said to Zeke and I nodded in agreement. “That’s good advice,” Trey continued, smiling down at me. “I know I haven’t stopped thankin’ my lucky stars I met her, and I’m not sure I ever will.”
My eyes prickled and Zeke beamed, his eyes bright.
“Nice to see a young couple in love,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion.
“Do you have any dried flowers or herbs in stock?” I asked, desperate to change the subject. “And some oil? Sunflower would work.”
Zeke cleared his throat. “Got some sunflower oil over there on the shelf,” he said, gesturing. “We got several dried herbs. You’ll find those in the jars to your left.”
I found calendula and wild plantain and a small amount of horsetail plus the sunflower oil and a small bottle to put it in. When I brought my supplies up to the front, Zeke had left.
“Got us a horse.” Trey grinned.
“How are you payin’ for all this?” I asked, lowering my voice.
“With the silencer,” Trey answered. “It coulda got us two horses, but Zeke’s only got one extra right now. So he gave me the rest back in gold.”
I blinked in quiet astonishment. It made sense that silencers were so valuable since I’d never seen one before. The Reapers had what I assumed must be every single weapon and then some, but none of them had silencers.
“He’s saddlin’ the horse up now.” Trey glanced at my hands. “You find somethin’ that’ll work? Zeke said if you wanted to make your infusion you were welcome to use the kitchen. I’m gonna see if Zeke needs any help.”
* * *
Zeke’s kitchen looked worn, but tidy. As I began to rub the dried herbs between my hands to release more of the oils before dropping them in the jar, a slight noise made me glance down at my feet. Somehow, I managed to avoid swearing as I jumped at the sight of little eyes peeking out at me from between the tabletop and the bench pushed underneath.
“Oh you scared me,” I said, trying to calm down my heart.
“Who are you?” a little voice demanded.
“I’m B— uh, Sara.” I stumbled a bit. “Is Zeke your dad?”
“Yeah. Why are you back here? Dad don’t let people in the kitchen.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised, “he said I could come back here to mix up an oil infusion.”
The eyes disappeared and then a little boy with messy dark curls scooted out from under the table. “A magic potion?” he asked, eyes wide.
I slipped into that familiar healer role as I studied him. He looked to be around six or seven, but the terrible thinness of his body made him look frail. I could see his blue veins through his pale skin and dark circles framed his sunken eyes.
“It’s kind of like a magic potion,” I said, crouching to his eye level. “What’s your name?”
"Roe," he answered. "Can I help? I'm ten so I'm good at helpin'."
I did a double take at his age but forced myself to smile. "Sure."
Roe pulled the bench out so he could climb up on it to see the table. I showed him how to rub the dried herbs in my hands. Roe began to enthusiastically copy me, asking millions of questions that I answered patiently. I didn’t need my powers to know he was ill. I kept seeing a single word from the medical textbooks in my head.Terminal.
I was helping Roe pour the oil over the top of the herbs when the door opened, and Zeke and Trey came in.
“We’re makin’ a magic potion!” Roe chirped to his dad, who looked startled to see him.
