Feyland: The Bright Court

Chapter Four

Jennet’s cheeks were still warm as Tam dropped his hand from her shoulder. He thought she was cute - had actually shed some of his skittishness and touched her! Hope kindled a bright flame in her chest.

“Anyway,” he said, “we’re almost at Zeg’s. You can message Lassiter from there.”

He turned and started walking, and she hurried to catch up. It meant a lot - not only that touch, but that he was letting her see Zeg’s. She knew how important the sim-café was to him.

From what she could piece together, Tam had learned to sim on Zeg’s equipment. Once he’d gotten good, Zeg had let him play for free, since people would come in just to watch him.

Tam was one of the best simmers she knew. Okay, the best. He’d won the regional tournament last year, and had a good chance at taking Nationals. If he’d gone. He didn’t talk about it, but she was certain his wreck of a mom had something to do with him missing the tournament.

“Here we are,” Tam said, holding open the door.

Zeg’s Game Parlor was written across the large window, and a gust of warm, coffee-scented air met her as she stepped over the threshold. The place was filled with the hum and ping of games - one side devoted to netscreens, the corner crammed with moto-sense setups. The wall by the door was covered with posters of celebrity simmer Spark Jaxley, her signature magenta hair blowing in a cyber-breeze.

A man looked up at them from behind the counter. He had long brown hair and a beard that melded together into a frizzy halo around his face.

“Hey, Tam! Good to see you,” he said. “Heard you were in rough shape for a bit.”

“Yeah.” Tam didn’t elaborate. “Zeg, this is Jennet. She’s a simmer, too.”

“Cool.” Zeg pursed his lips and nodded at her. “Sim-systems are in the back. Tam’ll show you. Don’t bet against him - you’ll lose.”

“I’m not planning on it,” she said.

 “A girl with sense.” Zeg winked at her. “You kids want some coffee? Tea?”

“Um…” She glanced at Tam.

“Sure,” Tam said. “Your mint blend, ok?”

“I’m happy to pay, if you want to scan my chip…” Jennet lifted her wrist, her implant catching the blue light from a nearby netscreen.

Zeg looked at her arm. His eyebrows twitched into a frown, and he shook his head. “Nah, Tam’s cred is good.”

“Next time, then.” She didn’t want to coast indefinitely on Tam’s reputation.

“Come on,” Tam said. “You can message Lassiter from the back.”

He led the way to a second room that held a half-dozen sim-systems with color-coded chairs, helmets, and gloves. The equipment was scuffed and stained, eons behind the Full-D, but she didn’t say anything. Then again, if they played here they wouldn’t run the risk of getting their souls sucked out, or being chased and mangled by demon hounds.

She leaned back against the blue sim chair and pulled out her tablet. It didn’t take long to craft a message to Roy and send it - but she wasn’t nearly as confident as Tam that he would show.

“Shall we play something, while we wait?” she asked. “Blade-X?” The fast-paced racing sim would be a nice distraction - take her mind off the tangle of problems they faced.

 “I don’t want to be in-game when Lassiter comes.” Tam set his hand on the back of the blue sim chair. “By the way, I don’t recommend ever playing the blue system. It has severely slow response on the gloves.”

“You wouldn’t give me a handicap to even things up? How generous.” She grinned at him, though they both knew he was the better gamer.

Not that she was wretched - far from it. Before she’d met Tam, she’d known maybe two other kids who could top her simming skills. But Tam was flawless.

He just shook his head, a half-smile on his lips. “Come on - I bet our tea’s ready.”

Back at the counter, Zeg slid a couple mugs of sweet-smelling liquid at them, followed by a plate that held four crumbly cookies.

She perched next to Tam on one of the stools, and took a sip of tea. It was warm and minty - a cozy contrast to the screens and consoles surrounding them.

“Have a cookie,” Tam pushed the plate toward her.

She took one. It tasted like butter and cinnamon.

“This is good. Does Zeg make them?”

“His wife does – she’s more the domestic side of the business, no matter how Zeg acts. He’s the tech guy, though he just likes to pretend to be a teddy bear.”

Jennet glanced toward the man, who had moved to one of the netscreens and was helping a boy get unstuck in some game.

“He does it well,” she said. “Any kids?”

“Nope. The sim-café is his baby.”

Tam looked like he was about to say more, but a cold blast of wind pulled their attention to the open door of the café.

Standing there like he owned the place was Roy Lassiter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Feyland: The Bright Court is published and for sale in both print and digital formats (only $3.99 for the e-book version) from all online retailers. Did you miss the first story? Feyland: The Dark Realm is here on Wattpad, and available as well from all online retailers.

NOW AVAILABLE: Feyland: The Complete Trilogy in one epic digital bundle for only $8.99. Three full books - The Dark Realm, The Bright Court, and The Twilight Kingdom - in one awesome adventure~     http://www.amazon.com/Feyland-The-Complete-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00B73TD9I/

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