“It’s Dak,” Riq answered. “I’d be surprised to see him again before noon.”
Sera whirled on him, crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
One of Riq’s rocks sank into the water with a loud sploosh. He lifted a shoulder. “Only that it’s Dak. We let him go alone to an enemy camp. I figured we had a fifty-fifty chance he wouldn’t do something stupid and get caught.”
Sera felt her blood boil hot in indignation and then drain from her cheeks in worry. “Dak’s smarter than that. I’m sure he learned his lesson last time,” she said.
“When hasn’t he gotten in trouble? Alone or with us? Look, I understand the dude’s fascination with history — this whole trip must be like a field day to him. But he’s not exactly smart about avoiding risks and taking precautions.”
Sera wanted to argue. She even opened her mouth, ready to defend Dak. But nothing came out. The truth was, Riq was right.
With a huff, Sera turned her back and resumed her pacing. Just downriver Rollo and his men were piling supplies into their tethered boats and preparing to cast off. With so many men, it would be a long and involved process but if Sera, Riq, and Dak wanted to be with them when they left, they had to be ready soon.
It wouldn’t be long before the Franks realized that the Viking attack had been nothing but a ruse and then they’d regroup and come after them. She really didn’t want to stick around to see what an enraged Frank looked like in this century.
For a while longer, Sera began to pace and then she stopped in front of Riq. Losing Dak wasn’t the only problem occupying her mind.
“Do you think getting Rollo out of here is enough to fix the Break?” she asked.
Riq just shook his head.
“And you’re basing that on . . . ?”
Riq looked up at her and she glimpsed something familiar in his eyes. “My Remnants are getting worse,” he confessed.
Sera winced. “That bad?”
Riq tried to laugh but the sound came out forced and choked. Sera sat next to him, watching his face closely.
“You never told me what your Remnants were about,” she said.
Riq scratched at the ground, searching for another rock. “There’s nothing to really say about them. Nothing concrete I can describe.”
“Mine were like that, too, at first,” Sera said. “They were just feelings but eventually I started to understand what those feelings meant.” She hesitated before prodding. “What’s the feeling you get from yours?”
Riq pushed himself to his feet and stretched, throwing his arms high overhead. “Nothing,” he said when he was done.
Sera hated the attitude in his voice. “Fine, if you don’t want to share then don’t.” She stood and walked away. “I’m going after Dak,” she said.
DAK GRITTED his teeth in frustration. He didn’t care so much that his hands were tied behind his back, or that the Time Warden now carried Dak’s axe, or even that his parents might be nearby but he didn’t know where.
All of those things he could deal with. What angered him was that he’d just heard a familiar voice call his name. Sera had never been one for subtlety and she crashed around in the forest sounding like his uncle Dick after eating Aunt Lou’s world-famous six-bean casserole.
Dak tried to cough every time he heard her voice to distract the Time Warden but that only served to make Gorm send strange looks his way. Dak could hear the edge of panic in Sera’s voice. It was careless of her to be wandering around in the woods looking for him. There was a Frankish army on the run, what if she stumbled on them instead?
Eventually, Gorm figured it out. He jerked on Dak’s arms, pulling him to a stop. “Sounds like your friend’s worried about you,” he said, nudging Dak with his elbow.
Dak fumed but when the Time Warden raised the axe to Dak’s neck and ordered him to call out for Sera, he had no choice but to obey. “Sera Froste!” he shouted, hoping that by using her full name she’d be suspicious and figure something was up.
They really should have figured out some sort of code word for situations like this. Though perhaps it would be better to try avoiding situations like this altogether.
Sera was one of the smartest people Dak knew — other than himself, of course — but she was more of what he’d call book smart rather than street smart (or in this case, forest smart). So he shouldn’t have been surprised when she came crashing through the underbrush, winded and unarmed.
The Time Warden was delighted to see her. “Well, now it’s getting interesting, isn’t it?”
She drew up short, her eyes going wide as she glanced from Gorm to the axe to Dak with his hands tied behind his back. All she said was, “Uh-oh.”
Uh-oh, indeed, Dak thought. Now all they needed was for Riq to join them and it could be a party.
As if summoned by Dak’s thoughts, the older boy stumbled into the clearing, just as unarmed as Sera.
“Oh, for the love of mincemeat,” Dak muttered, using Sera’s favorite phrase. She glared at him.
“You didn’t bring any weapons, or perhaps a Viking or twenty as backup, did you?” Dak asked hopefully.
At least Sera had the decency to look sheepish as she shrugged and said, “All the men were busy.”
Great, Dak thought. Now Gorm knew no one was coming to rescue them. This morning was getting worse and worse.
Which of course is a phrase only uttered moments before things do indeed become worse. Gorm knocked Dak to the ground and stepped forward, resting the axe against Sera’s stomach. Using delicacy that Dak never could have thought possible with such an unwieldy weapon, the Time Warden sliced the leather sack from her belt.
The Infinity Ring had been their last bargaining chip. Now that it was in the Time Warden’s possession, the three time travelers were completely out of options.
For a moment Sera wondered if perhaps her luck had run out. She’d already come up with one successful ruse tonight and she wasn’t confident she’d be able to pull off another. She was pretty sure that fear showed on her face, which is part of why it was so easy to convince the Time Warden that she and Riq were the only people in the woods coming after Dak.
Also, technically, that was a true statement. Not that Sera was one for lying, but she was very much a stickler for details and precision. Dak had asked her if there were any Viking men assisting them with backup and she was quite confident in answering no.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t have other tricks up her sleeve. She hoped.
Even so, feeling the sharp edge of the Time Warden’s blade against her and watching as he plucked the Infinity Ring away was quite worrying.
What if she’d miscalculated? If the next few moments went wrong, the three of them could lose all ties to the future, fail in their quest to fix the Breaks, and even possibly lose their lives.
The Time Warden pulled the Infinity Ring from its bag and sniffed it before putting it between his teeth and biting. Pretty much everyone in the clearing winced at the sound of a tooth cracking.
“Hydroxylapatite-infused bone really isn’t much of a match against titanium,” Sera cautioned.
The Time Warden glared at her and raised his axe. She took a hasty step back but wasn’t fast enough — Gorm grabbed her by the arm.
Her gaze shifted to Dak and what she saw there made her remaining confidence waver. He was well and truly terrified and, with his arms tied behind his back, there was nothing he could do to defend himself. Or her.
Riq tried to step forward and situate himself between Sera and the Time Warden but that only made the older man angrier and caused him to push the blade against her throat. With every swallow she felt the keen edge of it, and her mind couldn’t stop cycling through just how much force and pressure it would take for him to sever something important.
H
e was nervous, that much was clear, and Sera knew well enough that a man on edge was liable to take desperate measures. Especially since he had the Infinity Ring in his grasp.
Something shifted in the woods to her left, a dark shape creeping through the darkness. Seeing it, Sera’s heart began to pound wildly. This was her chance, the moment she’d planned for. She had to take action and she had to do it now. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and crossed her fingers, hoping that her luck hadn’t run out after all.
If she failed, it wasn’t just their lives at stake, but the fate of the world.
“VÍGI,” SERA shouted. She pointed her finger at the Time Warden and added the command, “Dinner!” For a moment nothing happened and Sera’s breath hitched as her lungs felt impossibly tight.
Growing up, Sera’s uncle had never allowed her to have a pet and so she’d always looked at dogs and cats with a certain amount of puzzlement. She didn’t understand why someone would invite a wild creature into their home and attempt to interact with it on a daily basis.
But over the past day she’d begun to understand the bond between a dog and its master, especially after seeing how desperate and depressed Vígi became when she was separated from Rollo.
Not to mention the way the Viking chieftain’s eyes lit up when he saw his beloved beast again. It was like watching a father reunite with a long-lost child.
At this moment in time, though, as Vígi propelled herself into the clearing, Sera could have kissed that dog, horrid breath notwithstanding.
The Time Warden didn’t even have a chance to prepare himself before the massive beast leapt through the air, tackling him to the ground and placing her mouth around his throat.
He froze as Vígi’s teeth pressed gently against his skin. Sera noticed Dak wince — he’d already told the story of being pinned by Vígi the first time he met her and how terrifying the experience had been.
“You hungry, girl?” Sera asked, enjoying the look of panic on Gorm’s face. She wasn’t sure which was worse for the man: the dog’s teeth at his throat or her breath so close to his nose.
She ran her hand along the dog’s bristled back in thanks as she bent to snatch the axe from the Time Warden’s hands. It didn’t take long to slice through the ropes binding Dak’s hands behind his back.
Newly freed, Dak knelt to give Vígi a good scratching behind her ears. The dog’s tail swung happily through the air in response.
“Are you going to behave?” Sera asked, looming over the fallen Viking. “Or shall I let this fine dog enjoy her meal?”
The man’s face burned red. “I’m not the only one, you know,” he hissed. “Kill me if you want, but there are others like me after you and none of them have a reason to see you kept alive. You don’t even know what mistake you’ve made here today.”
Sera started to answer when Dak leaned in close, all playfulness draining from his face. “Where are my parents? The couple you saw earlier — where did they go?”
It was such an unexpected question that Sera gasped.
Apparently, her reaction was all the Time Warden needed. A slow grin broke across his face. In response Vígi’s jaws tightened ever so slightly, making the man wince.
Sera glanced at Dak, urging him to look up at her. Usually they had the ability to almost read each other’s thoughts. There were times they were so in sync it’s like they shared the same brain (albeit his tended to focus on more esoteric historical details while hers was firmly rooted in scientific fact).
Now, they were almost like strangers. Sera couldn’t begin to guess what was going through Dak’s mind. The expression on his face, a mix of despair and rage, was one she’d never seen before.
Gorm chuckled. “So it seems there might be something the young time traveler wants after all.” Even with his life at stake, the Time Warden managed to lift one eyebrow. “What are you willing to trade for that information?”
In the distance she heard men calling out orders, the Frankish army regrouping and setting off toward the Viking encampment along the river. They were running out of time.
“Dak,” she said, plucking at the edge of his cloak. “We have to go.”
When he looked up at her, his face was twisted in desperation. “It’s my parents, Sera. I know you don’t understand but . . .”
He must have seen the way his words dug into her heart because he trailed off. Riq cleared his throat then, making his presence known. He knew enough about Sera’s Remnants to realize how much Dak’s words stung.
She did understand what it was like to miss your parents. Every time her stomach twisted and the world tilted into a Remnant, that’s what she felt. She was always aware of the gap in her life left by her parents’ deaths.
“Let’s go,” Riq murmured. Sera knew he was right. The Franks were drawing closer and if the Time Warden was telling the truth, more SQ cronies were embedded in the army coming after them.
She tugged harder at Dak. He hesitated and then she felt him give in. Vígi stood her ground, keeping the Time Warden pinned so they could get away without being followed. As the three time travelers ran into the woods the man shouted, “You can’t escape the SQ. Through time and space — we’ll always be a step ahead!”
The three of them didn’t say much as they fled up-river toward the fleet of Viking ships, which suited Dak just fine. He’d been impressed by Sera’s quick thinking — even he’d been duped by her ruse — but that couldn’t take his mind off his parents.
They’d made it to the band of Vikings and were being escorted onto one of the ships when Dak stopped short, holding Sera and Riq back. “What if Gorm actually knows where my parents are? We might be leaving the only real lead we have to finding them.”
Men bustled around them, loading up the ships and setting their shields along the strakes for protection. The first light of morning was still struggling just above the horizon and a soft mist curled up from the surface of the river. Rollo’s ship had already pushed from the bank and unfurled its sail, the crisp dawn air making the bright red cloth flutter. He let out a sharp whistle, calling for his dog.
“The fact that he saw your parents only confirms our theory about the Breaks,” Sera said, out of breath from running. He could tell she was trying to be patient with him, though an edge still crept into her voice. “They’re drawn to the Breaks. If we don’t find them here and now, we’ll have another chance. I just know it.”
Dak wanted to believe her but . . . “But this wasn’t supposed to be a Break,” he told her. “We went back to 885 to fix it — we were never supposed to be here. In fact, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Vígi.”
Instead of responding, Sera strode toward one of the ships and let a burly Viking boost her on board.
“Wait,” Dak called after her. The boat was packed with people and supplies, and Dak had to thread his way through large men preparing to cast off. When he finally caught up with Sera in the bow she wouldn’t meet his eye. “What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.
“I think the Hystorians sent us to the wrong time in the first place,” she answered softly. “I don’t think we were ever meant to be at the Siege of Paris after all.”
DAK COULD tell how much Sera disliked admitting that they might have made a mistake and apparently Riq felt the same. He scowled. “I decoded that clue correctly,” he told them. “I may be younger than Brint and Mari, but I understand The Art of Memory and how to use it. It’s just like any other language,” he grumbled.
Sera sighed. “I’m not saying you were wrong, it’s just . . .” She ran a hand through her hair and seemed surprised to find it so short. She frowned and Dak remembered how much she’d loved her long hair. Her uncle had once told her it made her look like her mother.
He hadn’t realized just how much she was sacrificing when she allowed Gloria the Hystorian to cut it off during t
heir first mission.
The ship pulled away from shore, men bent over the oars to push them against the current. The movement jolted Dak and he grabbed for the nearest bench to steady himself. Already he could hear the sound of the approaching Frankish soldiers and see shadows of armed men running through the trees along the riverbank.
“I think that Brint and Mari might have gotten it wrong,” Sera told him. “Which means we can’t rely on the SQuare nearly as much as we have been.”
Dak felt entirely too exposed and vulnerable, even though the river around them was filled with ships, each one teeming with Vikings aiming bows and arrows toward the shore. “We really don’t know what we’re doing, do we?”
Sera cringed at the question. He knew Sera hated when she didn’t know something, and it was even worse when someone pointed it out, especially a friend.
Riq stepped forward, his hands fisted. “We’re doing the best we can,” he said. “Sera’s saved your butt more times than I can count — even when you didn’t realize it. We were under a lot of pressure to warp away when you were out gallivanting with the Vikings. But we didn’t.”
Dak tried to catch Sera’s eyes, wondering if this was true, but she avoided his gaze.
“Whatever,” he eventually mumbled. “Let’s just get to the next Break and start looking for my parents again. Is the Ring already programmed?”
Sera and Riq traded a glance, something Dak was getting really tired of. He hated feeling out of the loop.
She took a deep breath. “There’s a problem with that,” she started. “My Remnants have been getting worse. Riq and I both think it means we haven’t fixed anything yet.”
“But we kept Siegfried from controlling Normandy,” Dak argued. “Now his descendants won’t conquer Great Britain and establish dominance throughout Europe. Isn’t that what we were supposed to do?”