Watch - Use

But in that moment, the jaguar growled louder than ever, squatted on its haunches— then pounced toward the two helpless boys.

And then something happened.

Or, more accurately, nothing happened.

The beast was frozen in midair. Fitzwilliam had stopped rambling.

Only Jack was moving.

Despite the fact that his hands were still bound, he had managed to reach the watch, lift the crown, and buy himself some time. In fact, he now had all the time he could possibly need.

Thinking quickly, Jack squirmed over to the wall of the cave and propped himself up. When he was finally standing, he hopped over to where the jaguar was suspended in midair. Maneuvering his hands. Jack leaned in toward the violent beast and gazed into its deadly maw. Even though Jack knew^ the jaguar was powerless at this moment, he couldn't stop a shiver of fear as he stared into its mouth, which was full of rows of saberlike fangs and reeked of previous fleshy meals.

Once Jack had shaken off the creeps, he leaned in and went to work, sawing away his bonds on the jaguar's teeth. Very quickly—a testament to the sharpness of the cat's teeth—his hands were free.

***

The Timekeeper, Chapter 7