Divide and Conquer Read Online Free PDF Page B

had in the twenty-first.
    November in Paris turned out to be pretty cold once he was away from the light and warmth of the tower, and the clothes Riq had found weren’t all that warm. Dak shivered as he felt his way across the deep trough ringing the tower. Behind him, in the middle of the river, shadows paced back and forth along the wall around Paris, soldiers keeping an eye on the Viking camps.
    Dak scrambled upriver, a long black stretch of water lapping softly along muddy banks to his left. A thin sheet of frost crackled under his feet as he slipped his way through fields and between the few houses and churchyards that had been built across from the island.
    Even from here he sensed the fear of the coming morning radiating from the city, and this caused him to pause. He remembered catching a glimpse into one of the houses in Paris as he’d walked by earlier in the evening. He’d seen a father pull a young boy onto his lap, brushing frightened tears from his son’s eyes. At the memory, something tightened inside Dak, making it harder to breathe as he thought about his own father, now lost in time. Sera theorized that his parents were being drawn to the Breaks and that eventually they’d find one another again, but Dak wasn’t so sure.
    In one swift moment Dak felt the enormity of the task the Hystorians had given the three of them and how easily it could all go wrong. For his entire life, the two things he’d always been sure of were his parents’ love for him and his knowledge of history.
    Now his parents were missing and history was changing.
    Dak looked back at the north tower and thought about turning around. Sera would be worried. But then he felt the inescapable tug of the Viking ships moored up the river. It would only take a minute or two for him to scurry down and take a look. With the Vikings themselves encamped farther inland, he would never have a better opportunity.
    Firsthand knowledge of Viking artifacts was rare in his time, and the thought of returning home and being able to straighten the record was too tempting an opportunity to pass up.
    Dak hoped Sera had nodded off like Riq, but just in case he sent a silent apology over his shoulder and made his way quickly to the ships. They towered over him. The boat they’d seen (and almost been crushed by) during their class trip to the Smithsonian paled in comparison to the real thing. Dak reached out and pressed a hand against one of the hulls. The wood was smooth, painted in bright reds and blues, and without any blemishes or knots. Holes dotted the sides where oars could be set for rowing, and the prow curved into the form of a sinister-looking dragon’s head.
    Dak had told himself he’d just take a quick look and leave, but that was impossible. It wasn’t enough to glance at the hull; he had to climb inside and sit on the benches and wrap his hands around a set of oars. Above him sails wound tight around spars attached to a forest of masts and he imagined the color of them all unfurled: red, yellow, white, blue, green.
    He was so lost in his daydream that he didn’t hear the crunch of approaching feet across the frosty bank. All Dak knew was that one minute he was standing on the prow of a Viking ship imagining all kinds of seafaring adventures, and the next he was flat on his back.
    Pinning him to the deck was the largest beast Dak had seen in his entire life. It had paws the size of cement blocks resting on either side of Dak’s ribs. But all Dak could really focus on was the monster’s head, its mouth a cavern of sharp teeth. The animal panted a hot breath against Dak’s face that stank of something truly horrid. When it growled, the entire boat vibrated.
    This wasn’t exactly the way Dak had imagined his life ending, but there was little he could do to defend himself. Instead he tried a little diplomacy.
    “Nice doggie,” he cooed. “Who’s a good boy?”
    This only caused the beast to draw its tongue over its lips in