Page 1 of Pointy Ears and Purple Glitter
Chapter One
“Hey, boss. I’ve just finished putting the gearbox in the Carsons’ car.”
Malik sighed, poking his head out from under the hood of the truck he was working on, scowling at his young mechanic. “Ian. What have I said about calling me boss? I have a name. Use it.”
“Me mam says it’s not polite to call you by your first name, because you sign my paycheck. You don’t have a last name, and the last time I called you Mr. Malik you threw an oil bottle at me.”
“It was empty, and you ducked.” Malik straightened up, taking care not to hit his head. Ian was a gangly lad in his early twenties, his bright ginger hair peeking out from under the cap he’d smushed on his head. His face was streaked with grease, and his ankles were showing from where he’d gotten too tall for his overalls. “Did the Carsons’ car check out okay?”
“That gearbox was as dry as a bone, and it’s a wonder it worked at all. But yep, nothing broke and it’s all running smoothly now. Did you want me to give you a hand with the truck?” That was another thing about Ian’s face – his ever-present smile.
Glancing outside, Malik noted the darkening skies. “It’s getting late. Your mam will have my hide if you’re not home before dark. Get off with you, and if I don’t get this done tonight, we’ll both work on it first thing tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, but I’m betting on your magical gremlins doing it while we sleep.” Ian sauntered over to where he’d hung his jacket. “We both know there’re times a day-long job is finished by the time I get in the next day, and I’m pretty sure you have to sleep sometime.”
“Oh, it’s magical gremlins now, is it?” Malik leaned against the truck, folding his arms across his chest. “Last week it was aliens, and the week before that it was self-propelled robots that were doing the work you thought needed doing. Did it ever cross your mind that sometimes a job on a vehicle is not as complicated as you first thought, so it gets done quicker? Or…maybe I get more work done when you and our customers aren’t bothering me every five minutes?”
“Nah.” Ian burst out laughing as he readjusted his cap, so the brim faced forward. “I tell you, there’s something magical about this place and me mam thinks so, too. Why do you think she lets me work here? This place is in the worst area of town. You can’t even leave your car on the street at night, or it’ll be stripped for parts in the time it takes you to have a piss in the alley. But this business has a steady stream of customers from all over town, and no one has ever tried to break into this workshop.” He flung up his hands. “What does that tell you? Magical gremlins, that’s what.”
Malik chuckled. “Your mam subjectedmeto an interview when you applied here – it was over an hour long.”
“My mam cares about me, doesn’t she.” Ian’s cheeks went bright red. “She brought cookies with her – homemade – and she sends along a tin of them every Monday.”
“Why do you think you got the job?” Malik laughed. It was an old joke between them. Ian was really talented for his age and could get most old motors – the only ones Malik allowed in his workshop – to purr no matter what they sounded like when they limped in.
“Get on with you. Straight home and don’t dawdle. You know your mam will be blowing up my phone if you’re not there for dinner.”
“Yes, Boss. It wouldn’t do you any harm to get out of here once in a while, either, you know. It has to be boring staying here after hours on your own. See you bright and early.”
Ian sauntered out, and Malik followed him, standing out on the cracked pavement watching him walk briskly down the road. His eyesight from his animal side wasn’t as vivid as a wolf’s, for example, but it was still sharper than most. He’d noted the group of four men standing in the shadows on the opposite side of the road three blocks down. Malik watched them and Ian, until Ian reached the lights of more brightly lit areas of town five blocks away.
He should be safe now.Malik gave a sharp nod in the direction of the would-be hoodlums and grabbed hold of the chains that operated his large double roller door. He lowered the heavy metal until it hit the concrete floor with a clang before securing the heavy bolts on both sides of the door that held it shut.
“Gremlins. Ian’s the one who should get out more.” Malik shook his head as he turned his radio on and flicked on extra overhead lights. Moving over to the truck he was working on, Malik unhooked the lid of the hood – he’d already undone the bolts holding it. Placing the hood carefully on the floor, Malik rubbed his hands together as he considered the engine. It had come in with an oil leak.
I could get on my roller, go underneath this darn thing, squish my chest, and risk getting dripping oil all over my face.The car was on a hoist. The chest crushing thought was an exaggeration. But given Malik’s height, he would still need to be crouched under the darn engine, reaching above himself to work in a fiddly position.
Or I could take advantage of the bolts I’ve already removed and make the job so much easier.
Reaching in, one hand on each side of the engine, Malik smirked as he got a good hold and lifted. It was something he did at least three times a week, so it wasn’t as though it was difficult for him. He just couldn’t do it in front of Ian. A human wouldn’t understand if he mentioned his inner rhino was the one lending him the strength.But hey, I bet a gremlin can’t do this.
Carrying the engine over to his reinforced workbench, Malik could see where the gasket had let go. Humming along to the eighties tunes playing in the background, Malik quickly replaced the gasket before carrying the engine back to where the truck was waiting. Another twenty minutes attaching all the hoses, pipes, transmission, and the gearbox, and the job was done.
“And that’s why I love these older engines,” Malik muttered fondly as he quickly reattached the hood lid. Job done, he lowered the truck down from the hoist, checked the oil levels, reconnected the battery, and ran the engine for a few minutes to make sure it still started. He would run it for longer in the morning when the garage doors were open.
“Definitely gremlins.” Malik wiped his finger marks off the hood with the cloth he always kept tucked in his back pocket. “Ian’s going to have a field day with that in the morning.”
Stretching out his arms wide, easing the muscles in his shoulders, Malik looked up at the windows that ran along to the top of the walls – far too high for anyone to see in. It was fully dark out, and he caught the faint glimmers of stars. His rhino rumbled under his skin. “I know my friend,” he said softly. “But that’s what the weekends are for. We’ll go out for a graze then.”
Making his way to the far back corner of the workshop, Malik clicked out the lights and the switch for the radio, leaving just one small light on in the front office. The door to his private quarters was partially hidden by four metal lockers and withone last glance around the workshop,Malik let himself into his home, taking off his boots by the door.
There were a few advantages to having a workshop in the toughest part of town. The building next to Malik’s workshop was vacant when he bought his space, and it wasn’t difficult to pick up the entire building for very little cash. From the outside, the windows were boarded up, and apart from a lick of paint, Malik had done nothing obvious to the exterior. Anyone walking past would just assume it was one of many abandoned buildings in the area, and as it didn’t look easy to get into, most people left it alone.
The inside was like walking into another world. The lights came on automatically as Malik made his way through his wide open-space living room to the bathroom. The rugs on brightly shining wooden floors were thick and plush and felt warm under his socks. He smiled at the huge abstract painting, which shone as a burst of color on a pristine white painted wall. But Malik kept walking. His first stop after work was always the shower.
In the bathroom, which was also double sized and had walls coated with wide white tiles, Malik stripped off his overalls and dropped them and his muscle shirt into the handy hamper. The water streaming from the showerhead was instantly hot and he groaned as the warmth soaked over his shoulders and ran down his body.It’s always the simple things,he thought contentedly as he reached for the body wash, tipping some into his hands and rubbing it over his bald head.
Exactly five minutes later, he stepped out of the water, refreshed and relaxed. Wrapping and knotting a large blanket towel around his middle, he padded through to his kitchen, where his crockpot was waiting for him. Lifting the lid, Malik sniffed appreciatively, quickly serving himself a huge bowl of stew. A couple of slabs of bread smothered in butter and a large mug oftea completed his meal prep. Malik headed to the couch for a night of food and television.It might be a boring life to some,he thought as he settled his butt into a well-worn hollow in his giant couch,but it’s my life, and I have everything I need.
