Ruby Red

Chapter Nineteen

Karis, Fallon, and Harsha followed Etta out of the castle on their horses. Since it was useless trying to get to Alana without keys, after some convincing, Etta brought them all back to the Crimson Sailboat to come up with a plan.

"Here she is," Etta said as she walked through the door. There were a few patrons inside and a barmaid waved at them from behind the counter. "My pride and joy. Well, actually, my second pride and joy."

"What's your first?" Fallon asked. Someone at one of the tables glared at her, and she threw them a nasty look back.

"My ship. Down at the port." Etta winked at Harsha. "I used to be a pirate, you know."

Harsha beamed. "Lucky. I've always wished I could sail."

"You know where to find me, Princess."

They all settled down at a table near the back. The barmaid brought over a tray of food on the house, courtesy of Etta, but Karis couldn't eat. There was too much on his mind. He kept running through plans and possible scenarios, hoping that one of them would get Alana out safely. As the others chatted, he stood up and braced his hands on the table. "I'm going after Indigo. They can't be far from here."

Fallon started to get up too. "Well, let's go. We've spent long enough here. It's time to take action."

"No." Karis looked between the three of them. "I need to do this by myself. I can handle Indigo. You two can stay here with Etta and look for the Scepter. If anything, we need to get to that before Indigo does."

"You can't handle Indigo by yourself, Karis," Harsha stated. "We've all tried."

"And that's why I'm going to catch them by surprise." He grabbed a dagger from his waist and turned it over in his palm. "I'll make sure they'll get what they deserve."

He didn't stop to listen to any arguments. There was no way he was letting his friends put himself in harm's way for Alana like this. Karis took this mission upon himself. Alana had said she needed him, and he was going to be the one to help her.

It was strange being on this side of town in the daylight. He had been here before, but it was always after dark when things were the shadiest. Now, it seemed like normal streets. There were vendors selling things in front of stores, families walking about hand in hand, and carriages and coaches passing through from one point to another.

He made sure to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of suspicious activity. Indigo would surely be sticking to the shadows, out of sight and out of mind. There were still whispers about the ball the other night and what had happened, and the townspeople of Cordavis certainly weren't running out of news any time soon.

Karis walked by a restaurant and squinted through a window to see inside. He noticed a burly man pouring a drink for a table and the man smiled at him. Karis smiled back, but he was jolted out of his admiration when he looked closer at his eyes. They were a hazel green color sparkling in the sunlight, but they were nothing compared to hers. Alana. Karis remembered what he was doing and, upon no signs of Indigo, continued on his way.

On the side of the restaurant was a shadowed alley. There were a couple of doors to the buildings around him, but other than a few discarded wooden crates, it was empty. Just as he was about to move on, Karis caught a flash of motion out of the corner of his eye. A mop of curly blond hair popped out from behind a stack of crates with their hands on their hips.

The person turned their head and Karis froze. Indigo was right in front of him. They turned their head to the side and looked Karis up and down while grinning. For a split second, they raised their eyebrows as if to tease, then started running.