Orion walks on my other side, hands in his pockets, listening with that smile he gets when Asher's being particularly Asher, and it's a great moment.
Even with everything being chaotic and shitty, this moment is perfection, and I soak it in and am grateful.
Then it's over.
Just like that, the bubble bursts as a man passes us on the sidewalk. At first glance, the pedestrian looks normal enough. He's a middle-aged guy wearing cargo pants and a navy fleece jacket that looks pretty good on him.
But what is definitelynotnormal is the mark on his forehead glowing faintly red.
It stands out against the dimming light and seems to be a sigil of intricate lines forming an almost ampersand pattern I don't recognize.
I slow, turning to watch him continue past.
"Did you see that?" I ask Orion.
His silver-blue eyes track the man as he dips his chin. "What the hell was that?"
Asher looks from Orion to me and back. "What was what?"
I tap my forehead with my finger. "He had a glowing sigil, right here."
Asher frowns. "I didn't see anything. Is this a magic thing?"
Before I can answer, a woman walks out of the coffee shop onto the sidewalk ahead of us. She has the same intricate sigil marking her forehead.
"She's got one, too," Orion whispers, tilting his head toward the woman.
Asher looks between us, then at the woman, then back. "Okay, I'm officially feeling left out. I don't see anything."
I study the woman as she walks away. She's in her mid-twenties, wearing athletic gear, and completely oblivious to the magical symbol literally written on her face.
"Maybe I need glasses." Asher waves his hand in front of his eyes.
I gather his waving hand and tug him back into motion. "More likely, it's a magic thing and has nothing to do with your eyesight."
"Awesome, I'm magically blind. Nocana see it, nocana do it."
I snort despite myself. "That was terrible."
"No, it was brilliant," Asher corrects. "Maybe that's why it's called nocana in the first place. You never know."
We continue toward Wildflowers & Wellness, but I don't see anyone else with sigils. "It has to be magical if Asher nocana see them, but what does it mean? Is it a natural thing or is someone marking them?"
"I'd put money on door number two, Pop-Tart." Orion frowns, stretching his neck left and then right, as if attempting to release stress. "And nobody nice marks other people without their knowledge."
"Do you remember that episode of Buffy when everyone in town gets possessed?" Asher asks. "Maybe Emberwood is going full Buffy. If anyone starts acting weird, I say we stock up on wooden stakes."
I blink at him. "Everyone in Emberwood acts weird.”
"Okay, well, weirder than usual."
The bell above the door chimes as we enter Wildflowers & Wellness. A rush of warm, herb-scented air hits me, along with the faint metallic tang of active spellwork. Lanterns flicker in acknowledgment of our magic as we step inside, and I look around, remembering all the times Mom brought me in here as a kid.
It's crazy how different things feel now.
The shop is quiet, with only one other customer examining dried herbs near the back. The girl behind the counter is my age,with dark brown hair pulled into a messy bun and hazel eyes that track our entrance with polite interest.
Her name tag reads "Isobella" in neat handwriting.
