Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1)(91)

Danny squinted up at Brandon’s face. The sky overhead was bright, considerably brighter than the night Danny had just left. Of course—time was frozen. It would be the exact moment the thief had removed Colton’s cog, 11:14 in the morning.

“How long was I gone?” he rasped, sitting up.

“I can’t tell, can I?” Brandon said irritably.

“The cog?”

“We’ve only just started looking. Why are you wearing different clothes?”

Danny hid his face in his hands and laughed. He laughed until there was no more air in his lungs and he started to cough. When he regained his composure, Brandon was gaping at him.

“It’s been more than a day.”

“What? How?”

“The town’s Stopped, Brandon.”

Brandon helped put Colton in Danny’s arms. The spirit’s hair was tousled, and Danny smoothed it down.

“No time for grooming, mate,” Brandon said. “What’s the news?”

Danny explained what had happened as they walked toward the green. In his hurry, he forgot to hide Colton. By the time he realized his mistake, they were already in view of the searching townspeople.

They saw Danny immediately and rushed forward when they noticed the body in his arms, perhaps believing he’d found the thief. The back of Danny’s neck prickled and his breath caught.

The people began to crowd around, chattering over one another, demanding answers. But then he saw the flash of understanding in their eyes, first in a woman near the front, then in a man with a worker’s cap, on and on until the same thought ran across everyone’s faces: this wasn’t a normal boy Danny held.

The crowd hushed around him, a few figures winking out here and there as time looped.

Brandon shifted uneasily at his side, looking to Danny for a cue to do something. But Danny had to face them himself.

He took a deep breath. “Enfield,” he said, “this is your clock.”

There were gasps and murmurs as all attention shifted to the limp form of Colton. The spirit opened his eyes, saw what was going on, and squirmed in Danny’s arms.

“Danny—no—”

“Let them see you,” he whispered, then raised his voice for the others to hear. “This boy is responsible for your town. He’s watched over you, mourned with you, laughed with you. He loves this town, and its people, and would protect it with his life. If you honor that, then help us find his missing cog and restore Enfield to what it was.”

Danny wondered if he had done the right thing. Nobody moved or said a word. He almost preferred their questions.

Then one person broke from the crowd and approached him. Harland. Danny tensed, but Harland stopped just before him. He wore an expression of disbelief, but when he met Danny’s eyes, there was also wonder.

Slowly, carefully, Harland touched Colton’s arm. Colton allowed him to, staring up in his own wide-eyed amazement. Harland exhaled in surprise.

“He’s real.” Harland turned to the others. “He’s real!”

The townspeople shouted and rushed forward, reaching for Colton in a shy, sacred way, like a religious ritual. Like they might have reached out to touch the shrine of Aetas hidden in the hedge. Colton could only stare at them, his lips parted.

“Hold on, lad, we’ll find your missing piece.”

“Hang in there!”

“Let’s check the manor house.”

The crowd broke apart and renewed the search with tripled effort. Danny was trembling, but he smiled. Colton still looked as if he’d been struck on the head.

“Who do you suppose could have done it?” Brandon asked.

“Someone in the town, maybe? Matthias could have bribed them. I don’t think any of the other mechanics would do something like this, but none of the apprentices would be experienced enough. Besides, Matthias loves the apprentices. He wouldn’t put one in danger.”

Then again, he had killed Lucas. Maybe not on purpose, but it was something Danny couldn’t look past.

As the people of Enfield searched the gardens, the houses, the hedge, Danny focused on Colton, trying to use him as a compass. It kept them near the village green, but he soon grew as frustrated as a dog sniffing the same spot only to find nothing new or remarkable about it. Time warped them out of



Danny closed his eyes and focused harder. He tried to see the time threads stretching between him, Colton, and Brandon. What tied them together? What decision would set them on the right path?

Danny looked around. His eyes fell on the church.

“Has someone checked there?”

“I think so, but I haven’t gone in yet.”

“Let’s see.”

They walked across the green to the parish church. The nave and tower were formed from the random bits of rubble that workers had taken for good materials back in whatever long-ago century it had been built.

Danny walked inside with Brandon. The church was empty, the pastor out searching with the others. Colton stirred the farther in they went, restless.

“It’s close, I think,” Danny murmured. Colton’s head tilted toward the steps leading to the church tower. “Come on.”

They climbed the spiral staircase until they reached the tower room. Slats of gray light leaked through the window shutters and striped the floor.