The Red Pearl by C. K. Brooke

looking heartened. “Pirsi City, I think. It’s on the border.”
    “Is it a real city?”
    He laughed. “No, it’s artificial,” he teased. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, is it just a tiny ghost town at the edge of the desert? Or is it an actual city, with people and buildings and roads—?”
    “Oh, it’s a city, all right,” Robin replied. He removed a hand from the steering wheel to unfasten another of his blouse’s buttons. “Cor, today’s a scorcher.”
    Antonia couldn’t help it; she eyed his chest as it was exposed to her. He was admittedly well-formed. He then happened to glance at her, and she turned away, a peculiar tingling in the lowest region of her stomach.
    She swallowed, careful to resume their conversation. “So I take it there’s water in Pirsi City?”
    “Should be.” He shrugged. “Otherwise, how could it be a city, right?”
    “You don’t sound entirely sure.”
    “One can never be entirely sure of anything,” he muttered.
    Antonia rolled her eyes. She understood he’d been betrayed by his closest friends, but that did not suddenly make the rest of the world untrustworthy, too.
    It was almost evening by the time they heard it: the sounds of civilization. Horses neighed, carriages rolled over cobblestone, and fiddlers’ tunes drifted from the open windows of saloons. Robin moaned as he parked the carriage behind a queue of horse-drawn ones along the main street. “Time to find a drink.”
    And a shower, thought Antonia longingly, examining her clothing. The latest dress she wore was coated in a generous layer of dust. She couldn’t wait to cleanse herself and don a new one.
    They were taken aback by a booming voice in their midst. A tall man dressed in a navy suit marveled at them. “By golly,” he bellowed, feathery black moustache aflutter. “But what in the world, may I ask, are the pair of you driving?”
    Before Robin could answer, the man removed his top hat, revealing a balding crown between two patches of dark hair. “May I?” Without awaiting a response, he prodded and inspected all around the carriage. “Well, I’ll be,” he breathed.
    “It’s sort of…a horseless carriage,” explained Robin.
    The gentleman looked intrigued. “Wherever did you get it?”
    “My father built it.” Robin opened his door. “It’s an invention of his.”
    “May I ask his name?”
    “Dr. Thaddeus Watkins of Pangrove, Innía.”
    “Genius.” The man replaced his hat atop his head and reached into his breast pocket. “If you don’t mind, son, I’d like to give you my card. Perhaps you could pass it on to your father?”
    Appearing worn, Robin received the card. Without looking at it, he shoved it into his back pocket. Clearly, water was his only concern at the moment.
    The stranger tipped his hat. “A good day to you both.”
    “‘Day,” mumbled Robin.
    Antonia descended the carriage, glancing up at the adobe buildings lining the bustling street. “I think there’s a hostel down the way.” She pointed. “It should be inexpensive. Only…”
    “What?”
    “I’ve just a few coins on my person. And I was hoping to use them to get to Ela—”
    “I’m paying.” Robin hoisted their bags out of the backseat.
    “Y-you are?”
    “Sure.” He smiled. “What’s a few extra coins to me at the moment? I’ll soon be the richest man in all of Otlantica, once we find the Red Pearl.”
    Antonia gave a start. We? Wasn’t she only accompanying him until he regained the map? Surely, he wasn’t going to make her find the pearl with him, too? Why, at that rate, she’d be with him the rest of her life!
    But he didn’t seem to notice his error as he made off down the sidewalk, Antonia and the dog flanking him.
    They found the hostel, but the porter pointed to Maverick. “No canino,” he said. No dogs.
    Robin held out his hands. “Come on, man…”
    The porter only shook his head.
    Scowling, Robin steered Maverick out to the busy street. “Sorry about this,