A Mutiny in Time (Infinity Ring #1)

Sera shoved the SQuare into the satchel then pulled out the Infinity Ring. As she fiddled with the programming, Dak moved his gaze to the Great Pyramid towering above them, slanting up and away as if it went all the way to the sky. He thought of the thousands of people who’d worked on it, performing superhuman feats with massive stones that would’ve been difficult to move into place even with modern technology.

“You know,” he said, that comforting and familiar urge to share his great knowledge warming him from top to bottom. “Funny story about the Egyptians. When the royals died, it was very important to prepare the bodies so that they could last forever, mummify them until they were ready to rise up as gods in these humongous tombs. One thing they did was take their brains out, through their nose. Now that’s one big booger. The way they did it was —”

“Dak!” Sera yelled. She smiled when he looked back down at her. “That’s so . . . vastly entertaining, but . . .” She held up the Infinity Ring.

“Time to go?”

“Time to go.”

They gathered around her and touched the Ring. She pushed the button and the Pyramid was yanked away in an explosion of light.





SERA WAS on her back. She opened her eyes to see a perfect blue sky, only a few wisps of clouds flecked across its surface. A warm breeze blew up and over her body, along with the sounds of crashing waves. She sat up to see a stunningly beautiful ocean, the water blue and dark and choppy with whitecaps, several old-timey sailing vessels out on the horizon.

“Wow,” she said, gripping the cool metal of the Infinity Ring in her lap. “That’s awesome. The waves are a lot bigger here than at the beach where we go with your mom and dad.”

“That’s because we go to a bay,” Dak answered from her left. He sounded bitter, and she wondered if mentioning his parents had been a bad idea.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.” She slipped the Ring back into the satchel.

Riq was sitting cross-legged to her right. “Did everything come through okay? The SQuare? The Ring?”

Sera pulled out the SQuare and inspected it. “They look fine.”

He gave a satisfied nod then turned to look behind them. Sera did so as well. Several small wooden buildings sat a few hundred feet away, and behind them an entire village. People milled about, but it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed the visitors from the future yet.

Sera got on her feet and brushed the sand from her pants. Looking at them made her think of how much they would stand out. “First thing we need to do is find some new clothes.”

Dak was already pointing at a small house on the beach. “Look, they’ve got a bunch of laundry hung out to dry. Perfect!”

“That’s called stealing,” Sera chided.

“Are you kidding me? Small price to pay for saving the world from destruction and mayhem. They’ll have great grandkids who’ll thank us. Come on.”

“Now wait just one second,” Riq scoffed. “I’m not going to run around following two little squirts excited to dress up and play history together. This is serious business, and we need to think things through.”

Sera didn’t want a long argument. She knew Dak had a point about the clothes, but figured saying so wasn’t the way to get Riq on board. “You’re probably right,” she said. “Maybe we shouldn’t worry about the clothes. Let’s just hang out for a while. Talk it over and hope no one spots us.”

Riq looked at her suspiciously. “Well . . . when you put it that way . . . I think we should probably grab those clothes after all. But just don’t do anything stupid!”

He took off in that direction, slipping and sliding in the sand, and Dak was right on his heels. Letting out a sigh, Sera went after them.



A half hour later, Sera, Dak, and Riq were crouched behind an old barrel in an alley on the outskirts of the village. They’d stealthily made their way up from the house on the beach. Some of their newfound clothes — thieves, all three of them! — were too small, some too big. But they’d found just enough to get by. The boys wore linen shirts covered by buttoned jackets that Dak called doublets, with breeches and hose that looked ridiculous to Sera. But not as bad as the twill housedress she had to wear — completely impractical and bulky.

Dak wore a hat as well — low crowned with a wide bill — and kept straightening it, breaking into a smile every time. She knew that he was living a fantasy he would’ve never thought possible just a few days ago. Literally living history. She wished she could be just as excited — but all that occupied her mind was stress and worry.

“Time to check the SQuare for a hint, don’t you think?” Dak said after they’d spent a minute or two spying on the people walking through the streets ahead of them. “If we don’t find a Hystorian for help, we’re sunk.”

“That’s punny,” Riq whispered.

“Huh?” Dak responded.

“Never mind.”

Sera turned and sat down on the ground, then pulled out the SQuare. She flicked it on and the strange diagram — the Art of Memory puzzle — had been replaced by a short menu: Access Granted

The First Break - Menu

Daily Journal of Activity

Hystorian’s Guide

Identify Break

Locate a Hystorian

Proceed to Second Break