My Shattered Soul

Chapter 4

Unknown, TN; August Unknown, 2017, Evening

"Okay, don't get me wrong, this car is nice if a little beaten down, but what's with the shitty paint job?" Emma asked, leaning forward with her arm resting on the center console.

"Hm...Oh, the car was assigned to me by the Foundation. Apparently, it's been in some warehouse for years. I don't really see a reason to pay for a new paint job."

"You know, a painting spell isn't supposed to be all that hard to learn," Emma said, nervous.

"Do you want to try changing the color of the car?" Sophie asked, turning in zir seat to look at Emma.

"Yeah, I think it would be good practice." She smiled tentatively.

"Alright, if you think it will help you. When we get to the new inn I'll park the car in a garage so you can work on the spell." Alex said, casting a quick glance her way.

"Really, you'll let me do it?" Emma smiled, sitting up a little straighter.

"Let? Um...yeah, you can do whatever you want; just...please don't make it too crazy a color." Alex replied.

"Oh, you should try to make it pink!" Sophie cheered.

"Umm, you wear a lot of purples. Why don't I just do that?" She said.

"Yeah, that works. Purple is my favorite color." Alex said.

"Never woulda guessed," Sophie smirked.

"Oh, yeah, and what's yours, pink?" Alex asked.

"Of course." Sophie smiled happily. "Emma, what is your favorite color?" ze asked, turning in zir seat even further.

Emma shrugged, "It's red."

"And what kind of magic do you have?" Sophie asked.

"There's more than one kind?" Alex asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions.' the dark voice growled.

"I'm a brownie." Emma smiled.

"Oh," Sophie said.

"What does that mean?" Alex asked.

"A brownie is an urban fae. Our magic is more directed towards household jobs. Painting, cleaning, building, things like that." Emma answered.

"Alright," Alex said.

"So, where are we going anyway?" Emma asked.

"We're heading to Tennessee," Sophie answered.

"Ooh, Tennessee. There's supposed to be this awesome little village just outside of Knoxville where a group of faes lives. I'd love it if we could stop there for a few hours." Emma chirped excitedly.

"Oh, you know what? There are a ton of caverns and national parks that we should totally check out while we're at it." Sophie smiled.

"Um...I don't know...I don't know if we'd be allowed to stop; I mean we do have a job to do." Alex said gently.

"I know, but it'd just be nice, you know. I'm finally getting out of Virginia. I kinda want to see more than just one Inn after another." Emma said, smiling sadly.

How could she say no to her, she knew what it was like to feel trapped, with nowhere interesting to go, and nothing fun to do. She could count the number of places she'd visited in New York on both hands.

"Fine, I'll talk to the guys about it. I'm sure they'll love the idea. But this means we're all gonna get to pick some detours to make, so I'm pulling over at the next orchard I see to buy peaches." Alex said.