A Mutiny in Time (Infinity Ring #1)

“Hey, look at me,” she said. “We need to start using these things the way they were meant to be used. If we do what the Hystorians asked, then maybe when we go back the SQ will never have attacked, and we’ll all be living fat and happy.”


“Wait a second,” Dak replied, seeming deep in thought. “If we change history, then maybe we change our future lives, and if there’s no need for Breaks to be corrected, then maybe we never build a time-travel device and the Breaks that didn’t need fixing never get fixed and . . .” He stopped, his expression having changed to complete confusion.

Sera knew what he was getting at. “Better not to even go there. Time paradoxes are way too complicated, and we don’t know for sure how they work. That’s why we can’t risk going back to our own time.”

“We can’t go home again, huh?” Riq asked.

“Not until we’ve done everything Brint’s asked of us. What if we go back home and the Infinity Ring blinks out of existence before we’ve fixed all the Breaks?”

“You could make another one,” Dak said. “Couldn’t you?”

“You’re assuming I wouldn’t blink out of existence, too.”

“That could happen?” Riq asked. He looked deeply troubled by the idea.

“The whole point is that I don’t know! Look.” She put the Ring in the satchel and handed it to Dak, then took a stick from the ground, using it to draw a line in the sand. “Time is like a river, right? That’s what time stream means. The current is flowing in one direction — toward the future — and we’re all being pulled along for the ride. The Ring, of course, lets us move upstream or downstream at will.”

“Oh, goody,” said Riq. “A metaphor. They didn’t tell me you were a poet, too.”

“Here’s a poem,” said Dak. “Roses are red, violets are blue. Please just shut up, why don’t you?”

“I’ve got the speaking stick.” Sera raised the stick. “And it doubles as a hitting stick, so both of you be quiet.”

“Time. River. Got it,” said Dak.

“Now imagine the Breaks as great big boulders that have been plopped into the time stream. The stream keeps flowing, but it has to veer a little bit from its natural course, working its way around the boulders. It’s not a completely different river — it still gets where it was going, for the most part — but there are subtle changes all along its length. Ripples. Remnants.”

“And as we remove the boulders,” Riq added, “the river goes back to normal.”

“Right, but we can’t say for sure what ‘normal’ looks like. As long as we’re moving from place to place with the Infinity Ring, we’re anomalies, and we’re immune to the changes we’re causing. But when we return to our proper time . . . who knows.”

“So, we won’t be affected?” Dak asked. “Our memories will stay intact? And the Ring, too?”

“That’s the theory, Dak. I’m sorry, but this is all uncharted territory here. All I know for sure is that the second we start changing things, the time line will be in flux and we won’t be able to take anything for granted. All we can do is make the changes the Hystorians tell us to and hope for the best. Otherwise we might go back to discover the planet is a chunk of dead rock floating through space.”

Riq moved closer and eyed the satchel in Dak’s hands. “Okay, fine. So how in the world do we know what to do? They didn’t tell me anything about the Breaks, their locations, nothing. I started my training in The Art of Memory, but hadn’t gotten too far.”

“Then it’s a good thing two out of three of us are smart,” Dak said, stepping up beside Riq. “We’ll figure it out. You just be a good boy and translate.”

Riq laughed, which made Dak’s face grow red. “How many languages do you know, by the way? I forgot.”

“One,” Dak said in a deadpan voice.

“Ah, okay. When I need help with English, I’ll come to you.”

“And when I need help on how to look stupider, I’ll come to you.”

Riq pointed a finger at Dak’s ear. “Just remember, as impressive as that device is, it won’t help you with reading and writing. You’re basically illiterate now. Just sayin’.”

Sera cleared her throat. Dak was usually so quick to trust strangers. She wondered if Riq reminded Dak a little too much of himself. “You guys finished?” she asked. They each gave the other a dirty look, but then nodded at her. “For the love of mincemeat. Dak, you can’t be dumb and learn tons of languages. And, Riq, you better be nice to my best friend — he knows more about history than your bosses. I guarantee it.” She waited a moment to make sure she’d put their argument to rest, then took a deep breath. “Dak, there’s something else. I’ve been thinking about your parents, and I think they’re anomalies, too.”

Dak got serious, fast. “What does that mean?”