Divide and Conquer (14 page)

It was the smell that did it to her. She’d been expecting a normal church, the dusty scent of stones mixed with the lingering hint of incense. What greeted her was the stench of a barnyard: wet wool, damp hay, and the close quarters of too many animals.

The Remnant slammed into her, causing her to stumble. She was reminded of the abandoned barn on the edge of her uncle’s property and hit with the sense that this is what it should smell like.

She swore she could feel someone taking her hand and gliding it along the flank of a horse, patiently teaching her how to care for the animal after a wild ride through the fresh grass.

She sucked in a gasp, dizziness spiraling through her. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, easing her to the ground.

When she was able to open her eyes she found Riq kneeling in front of her. “Sera?” he whispered.

She blinked, trying to gather her thoughts and stop the churning in her stomach. “I . . . I’m okay.”

It was clear from Riq’s face that he knew she was lying. Even so, he didn’t press her on it. Instead he helped her to her feet and ushered her from the vestibule into the church proper.

Any pews that once existed had been stripped out or arranged to make crude pens for the slew of animals housed inside. But that’s not what drew Sera’s attention.

“Dak!” she cried out, and then she was running toward her best friend.

Dak didn’t admit it out loud, but he couldn’t have been happier to see Sera, and even Riq, running into the church. He allowed Sera to hug him, relieved to see his best friend again.

They all started talking at once, swapping stories about what they’d been through over the past few days, but their reunion was cut short by Billfrith. He dashed in from where he’d been keeping watch in the bell tower. “Sorry, but we don’t have time for a happy reunion,” he said, out of breath. “A band of Vikings is headed this way, and they don’t look too pleased.”

“Bill!” Sera said in surprise. Dak watched with interest as her cheeks colored. “You’re safe.”

The Hystorian smiled shyly back at her and Dak snickered, a sound he cut off instantly when faced with a glare from Sera. He cleared his throat, but his shoulders still lurched a bit with unspent laughter.

“I wouldn’t be the one laughing, wolf boy,” Riq muttered under his breath and now it was Dak’s turn to blush, remembering that he was basically half-naked with a wolf pelt slung from his shoulders.

“There’s no time,” Bill insisted. Even as he said the words, a loud crash rang out from the front of the church. “I’ve barred the door, but it won’t hold for long.”

He turned to Dak. “Do you have the SQuare?” Dak nodded, pulling it free. “And you have the Ring?” Bill asked Sera. She pulled it out but didn’t make any moves to start programming it.

“We haven’t fixed the Break yet,” she protested.

Bill stepped toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Your safety is more important,” he said softly.

Sera shook her head and turned to Dak. “We unraveled the code after you left. It said that we were supposed to let Siegfried take the city peacefully. Riq and I figure that the Hystorians speculated that Siegfried would settle here, never extending his power, never heading to Normandy at all.”

Riq supplied the conclusion Sera hadn’t. “It means we messed up by prodding the Franks to fight.”

Dak thought through the implications of that. He ran through various scenarios, playing out the effects of their actions through history like an intricate chess game. “But as long as we keep the Vikings from Normandy, we should be cool, right?” he concluded.

Riq and Sera exchanged a glance and a shrug.

“I mean, really all we’re doing is preventing the SQ from establishing themselves in Normandy. And if the Vikings never settle there, we’ll have done that.”

“I guess,” Sera agreed. “But how can we do that?”

Dak grinned. “I’ve taken care of everything.”

They heard another boom and the cracking of wood against stone. A familiar dog came loping into view from the back of the church. When she reached Dak she reared on her hind legs to place her front paws on his shoulders. Vígi gave his face a very wet lick and Dak gagged at the smell.

Behind her ambled Rollo, each footfall the sound of thunder. Sera, Riq, and Bill all drew weapons although their faces paled.

“Your friend is right,” Rollo boomed. “I’ll keep Siegfried and the others from Normandy if that’s what needs to happen. I hear Burgundy is nice this time of year and that King Charles the Fat has a fondness for paying large fees to those who help him quell uprisings. Nothing a man like Siegfried likes better than a hefty purse of silver!”

Sera glanced at Dak, her eyes huge. “He’s with you?” she mouthed. Dak grinned.

“That’s really all we had to do?” Riq asked, his suspicion evident.

Rollo glanced over his shoulder toward the front of the church. “Well, that and get out of here as fast as possible. In about three minutes Siegfried’s men are coming in here after you. I can do a better job of barring the door, but if it didn’t keep me out you can bet they’ll get in eventually.”

Dak turned to Sera. “You ready?” he asked, holding out the SQuare. She glanced at Bill and swallowed, finally nodding.

“Where to?” she asked.

Riq took the SQuare and called up the information on the third Break. He traced his fingers lightly over a pattern of circles, his forehead furrowing.

Around them animals shifted in their makeshift stalls, a few sheep bleating their unease.

It had never taken the older boy this long to piece together a The Art of Memory puzzle. Previously, he’d only had to glimpse the pattern to ascertain the time and place of the next Break that needed to be fixed.

“We have to hurry,” Dak stressed. He was about to say more when Sera placed her hand on his arm, stopping him. The expression on her face was enough for Dak to know she wanted him to shut up and let Riq work.

Dak scowled — since when had Sera stood up for Riq over him?

He had certainly missed a lot in the past few days.

“I’ve got it!” Riq shouted. He tilted the screen to show the two of them, but it only looked like a random swirling pattern to Dak. He glanced at Sera, wondering if she saw something he didn’t, but she appeared just as confused.

“Washington, DC — former capital of the United States, in 1814. Looks like we’re headed to the War of 1812,” Riq explained.

A few days ago Dak would have been clapping his hands together with glee over the prospect of witnessing another battlefield firsthand. He’d spent so many afternoons daydreaming about what those places had been like in the heat of battle.

But he only sighed. “Another war,” he said dryly. “Awesome.”

S
ERA FOCUSED
on her fingers flying over the controls of the Infinity Ring because that way she didn’t have to look at Bill. Every time she glanced over at him her stomach fluttered. To calm herself down she ran differential equations through her head, but it didn’t seem to work the way it usually did.

“Oh, for the love of mincemeat,” she muttered, angry at herself for spending the last few moments she had in the year 885 avoiding the fact that she’d gone and gotten a crush on the Hystorian.

As if he knew she was thinking of him, he slid down the wall to sit next to her where she’d found a quiet nook to program the Ring. Her fingers fumbled over the controls.

It didn’t help that Dak and Riq kept peeking around the corner at her anxiously while the giant Viking paced back and forth, swinging his axe through the air.

And yet if Sera was honest with herself, she didn’t want to go. Not yet. She cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say.

“That looks complicated,” Bill said, staring at the Ring. She only nodded in response.

“Dak said you were the one to make it work.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair and Sera wondered if he was as nervous as she felt. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“Thanks.” Sera’s fingers stilled on the controls.

Bill stared at the Ring. “I guess that means it’s all programmed and you’re ready to go?”

Was it just Sera or was there a hint of regret in his voice? She took a chance with her answer and told him the truth. “I finished programming it a couple of minutes ago.”

“Then why . . . ?” Bill’s face scrunched in confusion and then he seemed to understand what she was saying. That she’d pretended to keep working on the Infinity Ring to buy more time because she didn’t want to leave. “Oh!”

Sera had faced down a horde of
berserkrs
but turning toward Bill in that moment was one of the hardest things she’d done. “I wish you could go with us,” she murmured. She felt her cheeks blaze hot, but that was okay because she was pretty sure Bill was blushing, too.

He laid his hand on where hers gripped the Infinity Ring. “Me, too. But you know better than anyone what it means to be a Hystorian: My job is to stay behind and record what I know for future Hystorians. If I warp away with you, then the truth of what happened here will be lost.”

The thing was, Sera understood what he was saying and yet she still prickled at it. She remembered what Riq had said earlier about his parents, how being a Hystorian took over your life. She tried not to resent it. She knew how important their mission was — that the fate of the world rested with them — but that didn’t mean it didn’t stink sometimes.

“So what now?” she whispered.

He grinned and started to lean toward her, one of his hands reaching out. Her heart began to pound so loudly it drowned out the Vikings trying to force their way inside. “We enjoy the time we have left,” he offered.

Sera’s thoughts went in a thousand different directions at once as Bill came closer, wondering what was going to happen next. But it didn’t matter because right then Dak came around the corner, invading their bubble of privacy.

“Hey, did you know there’s an actual saint buried here? They say a saint’s bones never rot and instead emit a sweet odor, but when I took a whiff I didn’t notice anything and it sure isn’t doing a thing to cover up the stench of all those animals. . . .” Dak’s voice trailed off when he realized he’d just interrupted something.

“In fact, I think that might be the woman who single-handedly rallied Paris against Attila and the Huns in 451. So,” Dak continued as if he could salvage the situation, “that’s pretty cool. I know how you like the stories about strong women from the past.”

“Spare me the history lesson,” Sera grumbled.

It didn’t matter anyway. They were interrupted by a massive shattering and a series of shouts as Siegfried and his men stormed into the church.

Dak’s world exploded into chaos.

“Stop them!” Siegfried roared at his men. Rollo stood between them, his sword,
Kettlingr
, raised. Beside him Vígi growled, baring her teeth as the hair rose along her back.

“Go!” Rollo shouted at them.

“But aren’t you supposed to be on the same side as him?” Dak asked, indicating the enraged Siegfried. He knew that for their plan to work Rollo had to convince the other Vikings to leave Normandy alone, and he was afraid that this would ruin everything.

Rollo just smiled. “Vikings like Siegfried love to fight. Tomorrow he’ll be thanking me for getting his blood moving. Now go!”