6 Catch DeLay

Chapter 6 Catch DeLay Think! Rosa told herself desperately. She and Kingsley couldn't hold on for much longer—soon they would tumble out among the clattering wheels and pounding hooves. She knew they had only one chance.

"Hurry, Kingsley! Your watch!" she shrieked above the noise. "Freeze!" Kingsley flipped up his watch face and pressed a button. Time froze. Immediately, their horses were like sculptures in midgallop. Their chariot had tilted to rest on its axle—a long, strong piece of wood that usually had two wheels attached to it. Now it had just one.

Rosa glanced around the hippodrome. Spectators stood like statues with wide yelling mouths. Horses' manes and tails were frozen in flight. Rosa and Kingsley scrambled to their feet, brushing sand from their hands and faces. "Wow," said Kingsley, looking around.

"I've never done a Freeze before." "Me neither," Rosa said. The Timekeepers could only freeze time once on each mission, and it only lasted a short while. Freezes were risky—if they weren't careful, they could accidentally cause snags in history. They were strictly for emergency use only.

Other than the Timekeepers, there was only one other flash of movement—a speck in the sky that grew larger and larger. Tempo! She flew to Rosa's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek with a soft wing. "Cuckoo!"

"She's glad we're okay," said Kingsley. His head snapped around as he heard a movement. Footsteps crunched on the track. DeLay! "Nice trick," he called to them. "Shame it doesn't work on me!" Rosa and Kingsley groaned. DeLay reached into his pouch for a Time Crunch and flung it at his horses. Tick tick tick... It exploded into a cloud of smoke. To Rosa's dismay, DeLay's horses began moving. They weren't galloping at normal speed—they looked like a video being played in slow motion. But still, Rosa knew DeLay might get away before she and Kingsley could climb through the other chariots and catch him.