Free The Red Pearl by C. K. Brooke Page B

understand.” Antonia searched the horizon. “I saw it, too.”
    “A mirage,” Rob realized. He issued a small laugh of disbelief, although their situation was in no way humorous.
    “Mirage?” She looked puzzled. “But how could we both share the same hallucination?”
    “It’s not a hallucination,” he explained. “It’s a real optical phenomenon. It has to do with light rays…” He wanted to say more, but was too tired. Ravenous, he wondered whether there was still any fruit in back…
    “My goodness, Robin!” Antonia’s voice jolted his eyes open, though he hadn’t noticed he’d shut them. “Are you nodding off?”
    “Er…” He did feel rather weary.
    “Stop the carriage,” she ordered.
    Too exhausted to argue, Rob pressed the brake and lifted the lever into park.
    Antonia opened her door. “I’m driving.”

“ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW what you’re doing?”
    “Hush.” Antonia lowered the gear. She’d seen Robin operate the carriage enough times; it couldn’t be that difficult. To her surprise, however, the vehicle rolled back when she hit the pedal.
    The man adjusted the gear. “You had it in reverse.”
    She pouted. She’d figured as much, and could’ve shifted the gear herself. She stepped on the pedal again, and they accelerated forward. “Just try to rest,” she told him, while Maverick lay down between them. “Preserve your energy.”
    Robin did as told, shutting his eyes.
    Antonia watched the western horizon. They had bypassed the mountains’ foothills, and the sun hung straight ahead, glaring in her face. She kept driving, hands plastered to the steering wheel. Somehow, having something to do, on which to concentrate, enabled time to move more swiftly, and helped distract her from her thirst.
    Antonia drove into the sunset, although she knew that, once all was dark, she’d be unable to see where she was going. Yet, to her surprise, when the sun descended, the moon materialized, swollen and glistening. Why, she’d fallen so out-of-sync with the lunar phases in her short time since leaving the temple, she’d not realized the night would boast a full moon!
    Even better, she could see just fine. Clear moonlight bounced off of the beige sands, illuminating her path adequately. They were in the desert, after all. There wasn’t exactly much to run into.
    Another western mountain range dotted the far distance, and Antonia felt fairly sure it marked the border of Axacola. As long as she drove directly at it, she would not lose her way. She had this.
    Night wore on, but she forced her eyes to stay open. They needed water, and it was clear the desert had no oasis. They had to get out. By midnight, however, her eyelids were sagging in earnest, and the vehicle began to slow. It was running low on oil, she realized. And she had no idea how to refuel it, especially not in the middle of the night.
    She glanced at Robin and Maverick, sound asleep on the bench beside her, and sighed. Having no other choice, she parked the carriage and lay back in her seat. Her throat ached, but she brushed the pain aside in favor of exhaustion.
    She awoke the next morning feeling not altogether refreshed, but sober. Robin, however, wasn’t looking well. He sported dark creases beneath his eyes, and his lips were chapped. Antonia climbed into the backseat and unearthed an old peach. “Eat this.” She thrust it at him.
    He blinked sleepily.
    “You need it.”
    “And what of you?”
    “I’m not hungry,” she lied. She had fasted for spiritual purposes before, and the Azean priestesses had taught her how to discipline her mind against food. It was only thirst she was unaccustomed to suffering.
    The man bit into the peach, its liquids trickling down his sprouting beard, and closed his eyes with a grateful shudder. After a walk, he refueled the carriage, and they resumed the journey. Antonia pointed to the mountain range she’d followed the night before. “Is that Axacola?”
    Robin eyed the mountains,