A Mutiny in Time (16 page)

He’d been stepping toward the door as he spoke, a slight limp in his right leg. Gloria quickly gathered Dak and the others in a huddle.

“I know this has all happened quickly,” she said, “but we didn’t have much choice, did we? The Hystorians are asking a lot of you, but I have faith. I’ve barely met you, but I already believe you can do it. Get on there, learn things, scout it out. Find out what the SQ is up to, and do whatever it takes to stop them. Understand?”

Dak suddenly remembered one of the last things his dad had said to him: This wasn’t a game. Not only were they walking right into a violent mutiny — and planning to somehow involve themselves — these voyages were scary enough to begin with. The whole crew neversurvived a trans-ocean trip in these days — a few dozen would probably die from disease alone. Happy thoughts to begin their journey.

And he couldn’t help but feel conflicted about changing the past. Changing the thing he loved most. Could they really take the Hystorians’ word on
everything
?

He realized everyone was looking at him. “I’m totally excited about this. Let’s do it.”

“Okay, then,” Gloria said with a motherly smile. She pulled each of them into a hug and then stepped back. “I wish I could be of more help. I wish I could go with you, but you know I can’t. Good luck, and remember: The fate of the world lies in your hands.”

Dak laughed. “No pressure or anything, right?”

“Hey!” Eyeball barked from the open door. “If I stand here much longer, I’ll have to take care of me bidness again. Let’s get!”

A flurry of panic swirled through Dak, but he pushed it down. This was it. His chance to literally live history. The right path would present itself.

“Thanks, Gloria,” he said. “One day there’ll be a book about how you helped us save the world.”

And with that, he walked out the door, trusting the others to follow, and hoping he was right.

Eyeball led them through the streets, dodging carts and people and kids who darted around like fish. Their guide didn’t say a word, just kept moving with that limp and a grunt every now and then when he saw something that he seemed to take unkindly to. But he never bothered explaining. Dak stayed right on his heels, enjoying every second.

They turned a corner at a large wooden inn, and Dak almost stumbled when he saw the ships docked in the bay suddenly rise up before him. Each mighty mast seemed to touch the blue sky far above, with pointed beakheads at the front and squared off sterns in the back. They looked just as he’d seen them in countless illustrations. People swarmed all over the ships like hungry ants searching for a spare crumb, and shouts and whistles filled the air. Somewhere, men were singing.

“There she is,” Eyeball said, his voice full of pride. He was pointing at the largest of the ships. “
La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción
. Destined to do great things, that beauty. If she weren’t made of splintered wood and filled with sweat and grease, I’d marry her and have lots of babies.”

“For the love of mincemeat,” Sera muttered. “Not a good image.”

The man didn’t seem to hear her. He kept walking, head held high as they got closer and closer. A gangplank had been laid out, and two roughnecks with knives in their belts stood guard at the bottom of it. They didn’t flinch or make a move for their weapons when Dak’s group approached, which could only mean they knew Eyeball well.

“Afternoon, you buckets of lard,” the taskmaster said to them. “Got a few of those extra recruits Stonebull’s been hoping for. These ugly little runts ought to do.”

“Hey!” Sera said in protest. But then she quickly shut her mouth, and Dak hoped her higher voice hadn’t made the men suspicious.

“Shut up, you little weasel!” Eyeball roared. Then to the guards, “That one hasn’t hit the age yet, but he’ll work hard enough. I’ll make sure of that.”

“You slugs better be up to workin’ right away,” one of the guards said, a tall man with a ridiculous mustache. “Lots to do before setting sail tomorrow. Slack on the job and you won’t be aboard when we go.”

“We’ll make you proud, sir,” Dak said enthusiastically before he could stop himself. Riq groaned next to him and Sera gave him a dirty look. Dak hardly noticed.

“Up with ya, then,” the other guard said, before launching a long, slimy spit into the ocean water.

“Follow me,” Eyeball said. He stepped between the two armed men and started walking up the long plank.

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.”

H
ISTORY 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?

“Slacking on the job, are we?” a voice said from behind them.

Sera spun to see that the Amancios had stopped directly in front of them. The taller one — Salvador — leaned over and put his hands on his knees.

“So you’re the ones old Eyeball brought in for us today, eh?” he asked. The man smiled, and he looked way too kind for someone about to throw the captain overboard. “Well, work hard and you’ll do great things here.”

He straightened, and then his brother Raul spoke. “Great things indeed. You’re going to be a part of history, boys. Is this your first voyage?”

Sera and Dak, both a little starstruck, only nodded.

Raul looked out at the distant sea, where the sun was almost ready to dip below the horizon. “Ah, there’s nothing more invigorating than the open sea. You pips are gonna love it.”

The two of them marched off, stopping to talk to each worker they passed.

Sera looked at Dak and raised her eyebrows. “Did we just get a pep talk?”

“I kinda like them,” he said, then got back to work.

Sera did the same, her shoulders aching with every push and pull of the brush.