“Deactivate,” Layla murmured, cutting her PEA off. There was a small pop followed by silence. She rarely used the deactivation function of Penny’s programming and she always felt guilty when she did. She just didn’t have the energy to deal with another one of her PEA’s reprimands.
She had survived. She always found a way to survive.
Crawling into the brush near the embankment, she curled beneath a small tree. Fire crackled around her fingers as she summoned her magic. She wasn’t a talented flamecaster, but she could do enough to make a fire on a cold night.
There was a small click at the back of her head followed by Penny’s voice.
“Who do you think you are, trying to deactivate me? You know you can’t turn me off, right? I am not like the other PEAs, Layla. Get over it.” There was a pause followed by a disgruntled gasp. “And you’re starting a fire. Great. After all this you’re going to draw him straight to us!”
Layla heaved an exasperated sigh. “If I don’t find a way to dry out and get warm, I’m going to freeze,” she said. She squeezed the bridge of her nose and counted backwards from five, trying and failing to control her anger. “And, if you don’t want to be deactivated, then stop being so annoying!” she yelled. “You know we almost died back there!”
Penny hummed. “Mmmm we could have, but we didn’t, thank you very much. If you think that I am going to let you off the hook for…” she paused, “for… whatever it was you did to incur that man’s wrath, then think again!”
“What I did?” she yelled incredulously. “Are you serious right now? You know I didn’t do anything!”
She didn’t exactly remember what led to the man chasing her. She just knew that he wanted to hurt her. Was going to hurt her, if she hadn’t rolled off the cliff. But, of course, if she tried to explain any of that to her PEA, Penny would just complain about her being reckless again.
Maybe she was a little reckless.
Shaking her head, she extinguished the flames dancing between her fingers and stood. Her back ached and her legs quivered beneath her weight. She reached high above her head, stretching her shoulders, back, and legs. She held the position for several seconds before bending down and touching her toes.
“You need to be more careful,” Penny chirped. “You know if you die, I die, too. We’re one and the same, you and I.”
Layla sighed. “Yes, Penny. I know.”
Penny buzzed right as there was a flash from above. Layla looked up in time to see one of the comets barreling towards her. Try as she might, she couldn’t get her feet to move. She tried to run. But her legs wouldn’t work.
“Drak!” she hissed, just as the comet struck.
Layla jolted from her bed, panting.
“What was that?” she yelled as she slipped on the sheets and flopped onto the floor.
“A dream, it would appear,” Penny replied.
“You were there, too?” she asked.
“Of course, Layla. I’m always with you.”
PEAs were communication and enhanced memory devices that were integrated into their hosts, typically at birth to help record memories, provide information, and communicate with others. They were connected to a central database that could provide information and news whenever asked. They communicated with their hosts through an exchange of images and internal dialogue. PEAs and their hosts could have entire conversations without the host ever uttering a single word out loud.
Penny had always been different. Instead of receiving commands and always doing what Layla asked, she had her own thoughts and feelings. She seemed to be able to learn and change over time, based on their shared experiences. And, she was able to override Layla’s direct commands, even when she had been deactivated.
Her entire life, Penny had been her constant companion. For once, she was wasn’t upset her PEA never left her alone. She couldn’t help but feel her dream had been an omen of some kind.
She glanced at the clock and jumped to her feet. Detangling herself from her sheets, she threw on an old t-shirt and jeans. She needed to head to The Wand and start her shift. If she arrived late again her boss, a feisty dwarf named Davi, would most likely fire her. Or worse, assign her to bathroom cleanup.
Chapter Two
Metallic music played in the background, drowning out most of the conversations. Mureechi smoke curled in the air, leaving behind a putrid scent. When Layla first began working at The Wand, her eyes had burned every time one of her customers smoked the herb, but now she barely noticed it.
This place had become a second home for her. It didn’t pay much, but the regulars tipped well and she made enough to pay her rent and bills. She poured another round of beer into chilled mugs before sliding them across the bar.
A burly man with a large grin and even larger hands chugged one of them. Frothy liquid spilled down his beard. He wiped the back of his hand across his lips before downing a second mug. He smiled at her and pointed at the now empty cups. Nodding, Layla quickly refilled them.
He winked at her as he paid her in the king’s coin and then placed a single starling on top. Her eyes widened as she realized what he’d given her. Her fingers hovered over the money, unsure of whether to accept it or not. She met his gaze and he nodded at her, his smile broadening.
The silver coin glistened with fae dust as she quickly pocketed it. True starlings were rare. They were a vestige of the fae kingdom and were considered illegal currency by the crown. But Layla lived and worked in the slums where magical coin could be bartered for other goods. That starling was worth at least a month’s worth of food, if not more.
“Slow night,” he said as he placed the mugs on a circular tray.
“You can say that again,” she replied with a small laugh.
“Think you could rustle up some of those little cream stuffed pastries from the sweet shop across the way for me?” he asked.
“For you, Bear, I’m sure I can think of something,” she said as she walked through a door behind the bar and came back with a small pink box. It was even tied with a bow.
“You are truly a fae godmother if I ever saw one,” he said.
She rolled her eyes at him. His biker gang called themselves “the Fairy Godmothers,” or FGs for short, as an homage to the stories that had been passed down for centuries about good and kind fae who helped the innocent.
In the end, their kindnesses did them little good. After centuries of fighting, the rulers of the fae, elvish, and human realms had agreed to rule as a triad. After just a year of truce, the human king broke that trust and sent assassins to slaughter the fae royal family. The power vacuum that followed allowed King Renard to seize control of the whole of Mitier.
Following the assassination, the Fae had been reduced to little more than beasts. Those not forced into slavery had been relegated to the slums. Layla had just been a baby when the event happened and couldn’t understand why the FGs insisted on risking their lives to remember the past.
“It’s true,” he continued. “If I could ever convince you to wear a jacket, I would welcome you to our team any day.”
She shook her head as she handed him the box. “I think I can safely say that you will never catch me riding one of your bikes,” she said.