A Mutiny in Time (Infinity Ring #1)

“We can explain everything,” Sera said. “It’s not what you think.”


“Not what I think!” the man roared. “I just said you were from the future and you didn’t bat an eye or protest! That something you think people go around talking about?”

Dak reached out and pulled on Sera’s hair. Talking to this guy was craziness — they needed to run. She looked at him sharply then returned her glare to the stranger.

“I’ll tell you who I am,” he said. “I was trained by my father, who was trained by his mother, who was trained by her father, who was trained by his mother. From there it goes three mothers in a row and then a string of fathers. Way, way back is my point.”

“Trained to do what?” Dak asked.

“To look for the likes of you, that’s what. I’m a Time Warden of the SQ, raised to the Watch when I was only fourteen. But if I’d known the people we’ve been looking for all these centuries were nothing but a few weaned babies, I’d have left the honor to my little sis. Who has one arm. And no legs.”

That pricked Dak’s pride. “Well, if it’s any consolation, we were hoping you’d be shorter,” he grumbled.

“Why are you here?” the Warden asked. “What do you know?”

Sera opened her mouth then closed it. She seemed to be considering reasoning with the giant.

“Look,” she said at last, “we know who you work for. They don’t care about anybody but themselves. We are from the future and, trust me, they make a mess of everything.”

“Who cares about the future?” the man rumbled. “They’re paying me well now.”

“We can pay you!” Dak exclaimed. “Do you accept, um, currency from a country that hasn’t been established yet?”

“What I want from you is your reason for coming here. What are you planning?”

If only they had a plan. But that reminded Dak: They did have the riddle. He was confident he could work it out, and that would mean they’d have an ally in the village. But he needed to buy some time. And some distance would be nice, too.

“Speak!” the man shouted. “Speak or I’ll start breaking faces with my toy!”

“Okay, okay,” Dak said. He felt a funny flutter in his mouth when he spoke and something like a double-echo in his ears. His translation tool would need some practice if the goal was to fit in — assuming they survived the next five minutes. “We can tell you everything you need to know.”

“You sound funny, boy.”

“Dak, what’re you doing?” Sera whispered fiercely to him.

He just winked at her in response. Then he stepped forward so that he was directly beneath the angry glare of their visitor. He held his hands up. “I’m using a translation device, so if I sound funny, it’s his fault.” He jabbed a thumb back at Riq. “You’re right — we did come from the future, and we came in a very complicated travel machine. It’s hidden under the sand out on the beach. We’ll take you there if you promise not to hurt us.”

“And we have laser guns,” Riq blurted out. “Touch us and we’ll zap you. Zap you to death!”

Dak spun to give him a hard glare. “Um . . . yeah, those. Very dangerous.” He turned back to the Time Warden. “So the time machine’s that way.”

The man’s face hadn’t so much as twitched during the exchange. “Time machine? Laser guns? What is this nonsense?”

“We’re from the future,” Dak responded. “What do you think we did, snapped our fingers and poof? Time is a river; we came in a boat. It’s that way.”

When the man finally let down his guard and turned to look in the direction Dak had indicated, Dak went for it. He lurched forward and slammed his shoulder into the Time Warden’s side, knocking him off balance as the iron bar rattled to the ground. Then Dak pushed him again, and the man toppled over.

As the Warden roared in rage and scrambled to get up, Dak grabbed Sera and Riq by the hands and yanked them in the opposite direction. Without looking back, the three of them sprinted away and around the nearest corner, into the busy streets of Palos de la Frontera.





SERA COULD hear the shouts of the Time Warden behind them like the rumble of thunder as they ran, causing all the people bustling about to stop and stare at the commotion. Sera and the others pushed and dodged and zigzagged their way through the crowd. There were men and women, many of them carrying baskets or sacks. Carts and animals, children chasing one another, sellers hawking their wares. She kept one eye on Dak, hoping he had some kind of plan — besides “run!” — in that precious brain of his.