A Mutiny in Time (Infinity Ring #1)

Dak motioned for Sera to go next, then Riq. Dak wanted to savor every moment of this. He’d forget for now that they could very well be dead in a few days. With a deep breath of satisfaction, he headed up the narrow strip of thick wood.

The ship seemed so much bigger now, almost like a living thing — especially with the workers moving about every last inch of it. There was even a guy working on the furled sail at the very top of the mid mast, looking as if he’d fall to his death with the slightest wind or misstep.

Dak stepped onto the lower deck of the ship, where his two friends were straining their necks to take it all in. Eyeball was talking to a group of men in hushed whispers, one of whom stood out from the crowd. He was tall with broad shoulders, and dressed much nicer than anyone else. He had that look about him that said he expected people to do whatever he told them to do.

The man suddenly stepped away from the group and approached Dak, looking square into his eyes. Dak realized he’d been staring. Squirming under the man’s gaze, part of him wanted to turn and run back down the gangplank. But he stood his ground and waited to see what would happen.

“Welcome aboard the Santa María,” the man said, holding out a hand. Dak timidly took it, and the guy about ripped his arm off shaking it. “My name is Christopher Columbus.”





HISTORY HADN’T been kind to Columbus. Those few stories that even acknowledged his existence didn’t paint him as the nicest guy. But now, with so much at stake, all Sera wanted in all the world was to not get kicked right off of the man’s boat.

She had seen this look in Dak’s eyes before, after all. They were wide and dazzled . . . which meant he was about to do something really stupid.

“I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you,” her friend said. “The books I’ve read have been critical, but —”

Sera kicked him in the shin to shut him up.

“Ow!” he shouted, jumping up and down while he held his leg. “What was that for?”

Columbus let out a huge laugh. “Oh, how I love the stupidity of these kids you bring on the ship, Eyeball. They remind me of my own son.” Then he switched from amusement to fierceness faster than Sera could blink. “Now get them working! And I better not see any more of this horseplay, or we’ll have people in the brig by the time we launch tonight!”

With that he stormed off, shouting orders left and right as he went. Sera saw him kick someone in the rear end.

Dak looked at Sera, almost sad. “Guess you have to be a jerk to lead a ship full of thugs.”

“You want to give us away?” she whispered back to him. “Careful what you say!”

“Hey, that rhymed.”

Sera wanted to strangle him.

“You poppycocks done?” Eyeball asked roughly. “Embarrassed me right in front of the captain. I ought to dash your brains out and throw ’em overboard.”

“We’re really sorry,” Sera said. “My friend is just excited that we’re here and got a little carried away. We’re ready to work.”

A huge grin spread across the man’s face. Several of his teeth looked rotten and about to join their long-lost partners. “That’s good, then. ’Cause you’re gonna be worked to the livin’ bone.”



Eyeball lived up to his word.

Sera spent the next few hours working harder than she’d ever done before. And it mostly involved crawling around on her hands and knees, scrubbing the wood of the upper decks. Every last muscle in her body ached. Dak was helping her, and Riq was behind them spreading out pitch — a black tarlike substance that sealed the wood and protected it from water.

Despite having the easiest job, Riq complained the most. But they didn’t talk much, because every time they did, someone would yell at them to shut their traps and get back to work. It had become impossible to tell who was in charge anymore, but everyone on board seemed to have the right to boss them around. Eyeball showed up every now and then, threw out a few swearwords for good measure, and then he’d disappear again.

Sera was scrubbing away when she heard voices above her. She looked up to see a couple of men fixing a rip in one of the sails with some thick twine and a large needle. She couldn’t quite tell what they were saying, but she thought she heard the name “Amancio,” and one of them was pointing toward the back of the ship.

She nudged Dak, then turned to look. Two men — one short, one tall — were making their way along the decks. They both had long black hair and shirts that revealed their entire arms, which were ripped with muscle.

“Those’re the Amancio brothers,” she whispered.

“You’re right,” he said back. “I’ve seen paintings, and that’s definitely them! The tall one is Salvador, the shorter one Raul.”

Sera flicked a glance at Riq, but he was too far away to join the conversation. “What do you think? Is this mutiny supposed to happen or what?”

“I don’t know. We need to snoop around and learn more, I guess. We’ve only got a few days before they do it.”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

He gave her his special look that said, How can you possibly doubt my infinite wisdom?