Pushing it open, the smell of oil, metal, and magic from enchanted parts waiting to be installed filled my lungs. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was steady, safe… and kept me breathing.
Alto didn’t just hand me a towel and a meal that day he took in an orphan; he gave me a way to live.
I remember my eyes flicking toward him every few seconds over the bowl of soup in my hands, his puzzled look vexing me. When I was halfway done with the soup, a fairy woman with swirled purple and pink hair dragged in a cot. Alto got up and cleared out a space in the back of the garage while the woman, Tara, his mate, tried to talk to me about what happened to my family.
I’d been alone for so long that it was no big deal to tell her they were all gone. Her eyes welled up, even as she tried to give me a kind smile. She demanded that I stay here, and when I tried to refuse, she balked at me, telling me I didn't have a choice. Alto agreed, and that first night, I fell asleep to the smell of rubber and motor oil. The hum of enchanted parts charging on the shelves above surrounded me, and the warmth was strong and cozy.
By morning, Alto had pressed a wrench into my palm and told me he was hiring me on as an apprentice.
I was surrounded by machines with sigils etched into their manifolds. Fuel lines threaded with faintly glowing script. Engines that hummed even when the keys weren’t in the ignition. It was all fascinating, the way the machines worked with the magic.
He taught me about magic and its limitations, as well as how to build a car from the ground up. It wasn't long before I was the one handling the jobs on my own.
When a car came back with uneven pull at high speed, I crawled beneath it and traced the issue to a misaligned rune plate. When a client wanted more speed without sacrificing corner control, I sketched out a different wing angle and sourced lighter enchanted alloys.
That was when Alto started to handle the front.
He leaned against the counter, wings tucked out of sight, charming clients with easy smiles while I stayed beyond the bay doors. Supes would occasionally ask about the mechanic, trying to peer past him, but Alto was the king of schmoozing clients.
Eventually, they handed over stacks of cash without ever seeing me since the Austin racing scene kept us busy.
On weekends, trailers lined industrial backroads. Engines screamed down private stretches of highway. Custom builds rolled into our shop with demands scrawled across napkins—faster, lighter, deadlier.
All of them were chasing the number one spot, and I secretly wanted to be the mechanic that made that happen.
“Olivvvvviaaaa!”
The pounding on the back door rattled a wrench off the wall.
“You ready?!”
Used to my best friend’s brash attitude, Alto’s mouth twitched before he could stop it.
The door burst open, and Lark swept in with a rush of perfume and night air. The hem of her dress flirted dangerously high when she moved. The neckline didn’t leave much to the imagination either.
She froze mid-step when she noticed Alto watching.
Her posture shifted instantly. Shoulders back, her gaze dipped toward the floor as her voice climbed an octave.
“Hey, Mr. Harkithen. I hope you had a good Friday.” Her toes pointed to the ground, and a rosey blush rose from her neck. I dragged a hand down my face. I would be embarrassed too if Alto saw me like that. He was like an old man trapped in the body of a thirty-five-year-old.
Alto chuckled, patting my shoulder as he moved over to where Yendor was putting the tools in the wrong drawers. “Go have fun. Be smart.” His eyes flicked to Lark, who was already trying to hide the excited bound of her feet. “And keep her out of trouble.”
I nodded. “I’ll be back before midnight. Got builds to finish.”And Yendor’s mess to clean up.But I didn't say that last part.
A crash exploded when the tool box fell to the ground, tools spreading out across the concrete floor, and I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“I’m fine!” Yendor’s voice followed, thinner than before.
When I chanced looking up, Alto had also pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. It made my heart twinge a little.
“I’ll take care of that. Go have fun before he burns the building down.” He turned away and began to yell. “And you! Get up. Go to the office where all you can do to yourself is give yourself a paper cut!” Yendor scrambled up, glaring at me like it was my fault, and flew though the door to the office.
Alto was proof that you could build an empire on reputation and skill, yet still end up with a grandson who tripped over a rolling chair.
He followed Yendor in, and the office door shut behind him.
Lark closed the distance between us in three quick steps. Under the shop lights, her golden hair caught and scattered the brightness around her head. When she grinned, her hazel eyes flashed greener, brighter.
