Divide and Conquer by Carrie Ryan Page A

swallowed some sort of poison. Their already hideous faces became the masks of monsters.
    Dak motioned furiously for Rollo to lean closer and then he shouted instructions into his ear. When he was done, Rollo straightened and gave a nod.
    And then, with a massive roar of rage, the
berserkergang
began. Rollo slapped Dak on the back, shoving him toward the group. “Good-bye, friend,” he said. Vígi whined, straining at the frayed leash holding her by Rollo’s side.
    Dak nodded his thanks and began to run.

    Their situation was so much worse than Sera had thought, she realized as she stood with Riq on the ramparts of the wall ringing the Île de la Cité. The rains during the night had led to flooding, which wasn’t helped by all the debris the Vikings had spent the day before throwing into the river. That, coupled with the half-sunk/half-burned Viking ships, meant that an enormous amount of strain was being put on the already damaged bridge. And if the bridge fell, the Vikings would finally be able to surround Paris.
    Already she could hear the supports of the bridge groaning. Parisians were trying to relieve the pressure by prying loose some of the larger obstacles but the bridge was built so low to the water that nothing was working.
    It didn’t help matters that it was still pouring, rain turning everything into a sodden mess. She could see on the faces around her that the Franks were ready to give up.
    They couldn’t allow that to happen.
    From across the river she heard horns wail and men scream with rage. It reminded her of their first day, the moment just after they’d warped when the ground shook with the stampede of the massive Viking army.
    That morning Siegfried had pulled most of his men back at the last minute, only wanting to show the Franks the force of his might.
    Today the Parisians wouldn’t be so lucky.
    “Maybe you should take the Ring and get someplace safer,” Riq suggested.
    Sera shook her head. “We’re in this together,” she told him but as soon as the words left her mouth she was hit with a bout of dizziness. Her stomach lurched and she stumbled. If it weren’t for Riq grabbing hold of her, she would have fallen.
    She squeezed her eyes shut but that didn’t stop the feeling that something was horribly off about the world. The words she’d just uttered, “We’re in this together,” echoed through her head again and again, and her heart ached with each incantation.
    Phantom hands cupped her cheeks; a face like her own peered down at her with eyes brimming with love. She was warm and safe and loved and cherished.
    And then it was gone, but Sera couldn’t bear to open her eyes and return to the harshness of their reality. She wanted to live inside the Remnant.
    “It’s okay,” Riq was murmuring, but she didn’t believe him. It had never been okay.
    Riq maneuvered her until she was sitting with her back against one of the crenellations and he pushed her head between her knees so that she could catch her breath and keep the world from spinning.
    He didn’t have to ask her what had happened. It was clear from his expression that he understood. “We have to fix this Break,” she finally said when she’d caught her breath. “It’s the only way to stop the Remnants. I don’t know if I can take them any longer.”
    “We will,” Riq promised, his hand warm against her back. Sera marveled at how not too long ago she’d viewed Riq as an annoying third wheel who did nothing but cause trouble. Now she realized she’d almost call him a friend.
    “Thanks,” she murmured.
    He nodded, the gesture growing still as he looked over her shoulder out toward the river and the fields beyond. His eyes widened as an expression of horror crossed his face.
    “What?” Sera demanded. She shifted to her knees. Riq tried to keep her from looking, but she finally dodged around him until she could see what had caused him such fear.
    A band of naked men was sprinting across the field, furs of various