¡¶THE AMBER SPYGLASS¡·


 ONE - THE ENCHANTED SLEEPER-1

    In a valley so tream milky er splass fleiff  clustered below.

    tream better of insects and time to time a stronger gust of  another and groan like a cello.

    It  sunligs of lemon-gold brilliance lanced doo t floor betill, never constant, because drifting mist en float among treetops, filtering all t to a pearly sheen and

    brusure t glistened ed. Sometimes tness in to tiny drops  and ed do rustling patter among the millions of needles.

    tream, er of  t of to a  its reamed out in tual ains, and offerings of barley cakes and dried tea  of t, tual rainbows.

    tating and fasting and praying, and ted for t y feet or so deep,  tures living in it for years s.

    But t  lay rous golden fur, and urned a pine cone t, snapping off tc t nuts.

    Be beyond t er in a small pan over a napove. tered a er looked up.

    Coming along t pater kne be kno sation and prayer, and under a voo speak to a man. Ama s sed.

    time, t alone. o ted a little way off.

    Ama came to trance and bowed.

    quot;My fat; she said.

    quot;Greetings, c; said Mrs. Coulter.

    tton, ers feet. t a little ton to speak in a rapid, nervous voice. Mrs. Coulter understood some of tain people, but it o let tioned to to close o c tle black terfly daemon tering closer and closer until tled on a horny forefinger.

    t o er felt a tiny stream of understanding floo o take refuge in t it  sh her who was in some way dangerous and powerful.

    It  er, or ? Did s place? ere to stay long? Ama conveyed tions housand misgivings.

    A novel anso Mrs. Coulter as tanding filtered into ell trut all of it, naturally, but some. S a little quiver of laug t kept it out of her voice as she explained:

    quot;Yes, t to be afraid of. Ser, and s made o er ry to cure ;

    Ama  voice, and ill; and talk of encers and spells added to t. But tly, and ser into the cave.

    ook a step for ayed where he was.

    Mrs. Coulter lit a candle, because t o ttered ogetitive gesture of finger on to s.

    quot;You see?quot; said Mrs. Coulter. quot;So be afraid of.quot;

    Ama looked at t a about t, for  . ure like a mongoose, but red-gold in color and smaller. tenderly smooture stirred uneasily and uttered a tle mehrough her hair.

    quot;So you can tell your fat youve seen,quot; Mrs. Coulter  on. quot;No evil spirit. Just my daug, please, Ama, tell your fat t be a secret. No one but you t knoroy ell your fat;

    S beside Lyra and smooto kiss ers c Ama  ttle girl felt tears fill her gaze.

    Mrs. Coulter took Amas  back to trance, and sac ogeto er, o Mrs. Coulter and to ted sleeper, turned and scampered doo t off, to vanishe heavy rhododendrons.

 ONE - THE ENCHANTED SLEEPER-2

    Mrs. Coulter turned back to ter on ove, he boil.

    Crouco it, tirred it briskly, counting in ill five minutes ook tove and sat doo  for to cool.

    Around  from trom , and so on. tougaining various instruments; and tol in a er.

    tion cooled rapidly in t  blood , s carefully into a metal beaker and carried it to th her.

    Mrs. Coulter placed t beside to seize Pantalaimon if he woke up.

    Lyras o stir: Mrs. Coulter  ter her.

    Sed trands of ed and sly; Pantalaimon moved a little closer to . t Lyras daemon, and tle black fingers tc the

    sleeping bag.

    A look from Mrs. Coulter, and  go and moved back a ly lifted er so t  tering, heavy.

    quot;Roger,quot; s;Roger... ;

    quot;S; ;s;

    ilted it to let a drop moisten tongue sensed it and moved to lick ter let a little more of trickle into Lyras moutting her swallow each sip before allowing her more.

    It took several minutes, but eventually ty, and Mrs. Coulter laid er down again. As soon as Lyras alaimon moved back around . hey were deeply asleep again.

    tly to t once more cer dipped a flannel in a basin of cold er and mopped Lyras face, and tened t. took a comb and gently teased out tangles in Lyras  back from ing it neatly.

    S t Ama : some flat loaves of bread, a cake of compressed tea, some sticky rice  ime to build tains  niginder, set truck a matc o tc, and so ove; s keep t day and night from now on.

    ented.  like o express urned empt in every line of  into took no notice, but eadily and skillfully to build up t to  some er for tea.

    Neverticism affected ea brick into ter, s in t s . S only hiding Lyra: she was hiding her own eyes.

    ¡ª

    Out of ttle boy came, ened, whispering over and over:

    quot;Lyra, Lyra, Lyra... quot;

    Be. to be of t t  spoke; and ten.

    quot;Lyra... Lyra...quot;

    hey?

    On a great plain, en flat by t, even t  t must ime t pressed it flat, even time illed in t must  of all worlds.

    quot;Lyra...quot;

    here?

    tted a crime, t it y sat in judgment.

    tle boy keep calling Lyras name?

    hope.

    hey?

    Gs.

    And Lyra couldnt toucter ried. ill ttle boy stood there pleading.

    quot;Roger,quot; s  in a ;

    ;Its t to do, I dunno if Im , because I tried to be good, but I e it, Im scared of it all, I e it...¡±

    And Lyra said, quot;Ill

    quot;Be quiet,quot; said ill, quot;just be quiet. Dont disturb me.quot;

 TWO - BALTHAMOS AND BARUCH-1

    It  after Lyra aken, just after ill aintop, just after tc ttle tin lantern aken from c , and crouco open Lyras rucksack.

    inside -er. It glittered in tern lig out to tood beside hemselves angels.

    quot;Can you read t; he said.

    quot;No,quot; said a voice. quot;Come  come. Come noo Lord Asriel.quot;

    quot; kno;old me to expect you. .  you?quot;

    quot;No one sent us. Ourselves only,quot; came t;e  to serve Lord Asriel. And t did  you to do ;

    ill o ate.

    quot;ake it to Lord Asriel,quot; he said.

    quot;t;

    quot;No. Not till Ive found Lyra.quot;

    over ter and put it into ,  teadily at two shadows.

    quot;Do you tell trut; he said.

    quot;Yes.quot;

    quot;tronger t;

    quot;eaker. You rue fles. Still, you must come ;

    quot;No. If Im stronger, you o obey me. Besides, I  care  takes, Ill find  and to Lord Asriel.quot;

    t for several seconds. ted aogethough

    ill could  they said.

    Finally they came close again, and he heard:

    quot;Very ake, t;

    ill tried to pierce t the rain filled his eyes.

    quot;Come closer so I can see you,quot; he said.

    t seemed to become even more obscure.

    quot;Ster in daylig;

    quot;No,  of a ;

    quot;ell, if I cant see you, no one else ay  be far aook ell me ;

    to tormy air and vanis a great sullen tle over tle strengt before t ed to do was close h weeping.

    ugged tco , and fell asleep in a moment.

    quot;Now; said a voice.

    ill  in truggled to ually (and it took most of a minute, because o open o t morning in front of him.

    quot;; he said.

    quot;Beside you,quot; said t;t;

    t in t, but nowhere could he see a figure.

    quot;I said  on. quot;You  at , at dusk or da best in darkness; least of all in tain, and found neit ter er.quot;

    quot;A dead man?  does ;

    quot;e middle age. Flesraces of a  around ;

    quot;Sir C; said ill. quot;ts er must s somet least.quot;

    quot;S traces. My companion urn ;

    ill got to  and looked around. torm ressing; for nearby lay tced oing al-beaked carrion croearing at t feast.

    ill looked at eacurn, but none of tcicular friend. t s suddenly on anot long before the evening?

    So s still be alive. t c found not tion he looked.

    quot;; o the angel.

    quot;Beside you,quot; came t;as al;

    ill looked to , hing.

    quot;So no one can see you. Could anyone else ;

    quot;Not if I artly.

    quot; is your name? Do you ;

    quot;Yes, ;

    ill considered o do.  of many, all t take are snuffed out like candles, as if ted. At t all ills ced at once. But to keep tence meant doing noto cer all.

    quot;ell go back doain,quot; ;ell go to t lake. t be sometting ty anyake t is and you can guide me if I go ;

    It  ill realized  ing. In fact,  t of his wound since he woke up.

    opped and looked at t  after t. It ment , but t a sign of blood; and after t bleeding , t   leap almost h joy.

    ally. true, till , but  quality of pain: not t a smaller, duller sensation. It felt as if it c her had healed him.

    he slope, cheered.

    It took to ttle blue lake. By time , , and in t, took it off, s cover, for  feo ter, to fall on er freezing mout  it made eeth and skull ache.

    Once ,  up and looked around. ion to notice t noer, and rident insect noises from all around.

    quot;Balt;

    quot;Always ;

    quot;;

    quot;Beyond t.quot;

    quot;Are ters around?quot;

    quot;No, none. I dont ers , and nor ;

    ill took up o ted out.

    Beyond it a little camp  up, ents and till alive and hiding.

    But t scrapings only scratc t. tents ill, ter ill drifting slo from  briefly, but it iny lizard.

    tents erial,  more among the dull red

    rocks.  and found it empty. So  in tin and a box of matcrip of some dark substance as long and as t first  it  in t  clearly to be dried meat.

    ell, er all.  a t cly salty, but full of good flavor.  t and tcogetin into ents, but found ty.

    t till last.

    quot;Is t he air.

    quot;Yes,quot; said Balt;;

    ill o trance, ole er, urn led ill to tle knife itself. Sir C, and poed unpleasantly, and ill didnt  to look at it, but a glance inside tent s ty of to steal, so epped over to look more closely.

    ly o take. ill o guess. ook a small magnifying glass in a steel case, because  to ligcougeen for er, mucer tskin flask in cup; a small pair of binoculars; a roll of gold coins t-aid kit; er-purifying tablets; a packet of coffee; t; a bag of oatmeal biscuits; six bars of Kendal Mint Cake; a packet of fisebook and a couple of pencils, and a small electric torch.

    all in  anot, filled een from to Balthamos:

    quot;Do you t;

    quot;You could do ; came t;Some faculty to enable you to recognize o respect and obey it.quot;

    quot;Are you ;

    quot;Muc;

    quot;ell, you see, I cant tell. Are you a man? You sound like a man.quot;

    quot;Baruc. Now ;

    quot;So...¡± ill stopped s tom, and tried to see to see. quot;So ;  on, quot;and t w ;

    quot;Not al in t majority of cases...Very rarely.quot;

    quot;;

    quot;Four t;

    quot;And did ;

    quot;In yours. But t.quot;

    quot;But ;

    quot; is t of tapion?quot;

    quot;I just  to kno;

    quot;Better to stick to your task. You y, you oys you need to keep you alive; no;

    quot;o go.quot;

    quot;;

    quot;till find us if ay  a couple more to do.quot;

    ill sat do Cake. It  as to nouris ter again. ty-six little pictures painted on ivory  t t a puppet, t  t was obscure.

    quot;; o Balthamos.

    quot;Quite possibly s up. truments udied for many years, and even tand t;

    quot;S making it up. S truly. Sold me t;

    quot;t is as mucery to me, I assure you,quot; said the angel.

    Looking at ter, ill remembered somet reading it: somet tate of mind so be in to make it  urn, to feel tleties of the silver blade.

    Feeling curious, ook out t a small  of   blue air, but belorees and fields:  a doubt.

    So mountains in t correspond to mountains in   time. to use it again!

    to  felt like an electric shock.

    If this one and his own?

    Surely it s into any of them.

    up again, letting o tip of told il led among toms t every tiny snag and ripple in the air.

    Instead of cutting as soon as  t little , as  to anot racing a roitcly t none of them was harmed.

    quot; are you doing?quot; said the air, bringing him back.

    quot;Exploring,quot; said ill. quot;Be quiet and keep out of t cut, and if I cant see you, I cant avoid you.quot;

    Balted discontent. ill  t for tiny s and ations.

    t. And as  t to cut t once,  t quality: te, t one cloudy; a ttle and frail...

    But among t more easily t one to be sure: his own world again.

    up and felt ip for a snag  quality.  ic and resistant, and let ts hrough.

    And yes! t   green fields and  a desert of rolling dunes.

    and opened anotrial city, h a line of chained and

    sullen rudging into a factory.

    one, too, and came back to  a little dizzy. For t time ood some of true po very carefully on t of him.

    quot;Are you going to stay ; said Balthamos.

    quot;Im to anot is, and maybe ts ting-to kno like  or you mig back. Youd be lost forever.quot;

    quot;Indeed. But may we...¡±

    quot;And youd o kno in opening it,quot; said ill, as muco o t;So its not as easy as I t. e  lucky in Oxford and Cittagazze, maybe. But Ill just...quot;

    o ion oucy of resonance, like triking a  of course t it came, like every otiniest movement ty air.

    t was.  somew was again.

    t . t t t a grassy upland meado sky, in  of stiff heir backs.

    epped t animal looked up incuriously and turned back to t  for tried them.

    Yes, ill  meant ttagazze-.

    it back to t get lost; no safely.

    itrengt  and she rucksack over his shoulder.

    quot;ell, are you ready no; said t sarcastic voice.

    quot;Yes. Ill explain if you like, but you dont seem very interested.quot;

    quot;Oever you do a source of perpetual fascination. But never mind me.  are you going to say to t;

    ill looked around, startled. Fartrail, a long ravelers eadily up to seen , but if ayed whey would soon.

    ill gat  was dry. hing else he could carry.

    quot;Lets go fart; he said.

    o retie t it could .  off along travelers, and t air.

    Mucer t day tains onto a spur covered in grass and dwarf r, and soon, op.

    tle from time to time Balt;Not t ; or quot;to t,quot; and ed t really o keep aravelers, because until t as well ayed whey were.

    Noting,  range companion. tline of a man seemed to quiver in t, and t.

    quot;Balt; ;I  to find a stream. Is t;

    quot;t; said t;just above trees.quot;

    quot;t; said ill.

    een. But before o ttle ion from Balturned to see line dart across to, and ill could see ter  ly; but o pause, and listen, and to to skim back sly to ill.

    quot;; ;Baruc invisible. Come, come. Come no;

    ill folloen. t, opened onto a dim, tundra-like landscape t ter tains in ttagazze  sky.  t once.

    quot;; ill said.

    quot;to follo;

    quot;;

    quot;Of course I read  goes ;

    ill looked around. te as t failed.

    quot;I dont  to sleep ; ;ell stay in ttagazze  and come t least t  ake any ot;

    quot;o do t?quot;

    quot;In t  one, tened of me at first because of t. So if o travel in o pretend to be my daemon, and take t least.quot;

 TWO - BALTHAMOS AND BARUCH-2

    quot;Oedious.quot;

    quot;Can you, t;

    quot;I could...quot;

    quot;Do it no me see.quot;

    to condense and so a little vortex in midair, and to t ills feet.

    quot;Fly to my s; said ill.

    tone:

    quot;I ss absolutely necessary. Its unspeakably ing.quot;

    quot;too bad,quot; said ill. quot; in fussing or arguing. Just do it.quot;

    t. Before t back taking tive.

    quot;; he said.

    quot;Follo;

    quot;t oo, in t;

    Next day ill ed for t part of loion, but found none. tion in ty broiness ant smudge of darker green,  and t its , ried and failed to sleep among some low bussore and weary.

    quot;Slo; said Balthamos sourly.

    quot;I cant ,quot; said ill. quot;If you cant say anyt speak at all.quot;

    By time , t imes, startling a bird t flew up shrieking from somewhere nearby.

    quot;t  living today,quot; ill said.

    quot;o camp?quot; said Balthamos.

    trees.  ill could see of ulant.

    ill said, quot;Ill o stop . I can ream, see if you can find it.quot;

    trudged on, tle, o follo  co stop soon, or to stop  a choice.

    quot;Left,quot; said Balt;A stream and a dead tree for fire;

    ill follo ream splasly beto a narrotle crees. Beside tream, a grassy bank extended a little o bush.

    Before  ,  about collecting o a useful lengtrying to get t.  kno o go about it, and ed several matco coax to life.

    tcience.

    Once te tmeal biscuits, some dried meat, and some Kendal Mint Cake, er. Balt nearby, silent, and finally ill said:

    quot;Are you going to cime? Im not going anyw;

    quot;Im ing for Baruc;

    quot;ould you like some food?quot;

    Baltly: empted.

    quot;I mean, I dont kno at all,quot; ill said, quot;but if youd like somet;

    quot; is t...quot; said tidiously, indicating t Cake.

    quot;Mostly sugar, I t. ;

    ill broke off a square and  out. Balt up,

    and cool against ills palm.

    quot;I t; ;One piece is quite enoug;

    and nibbled quietly. ill found t if  t at tronger impression of him.

    quot;; ;Can e ;

    quot;I feel t urns, alking is best.quot;

    And barely ten minutes later t sound of s came to tood up eagerly. t moment, to tual affection. More tion: th a passion.

    Baruc do a cloud of smoke drifted past t  of outlining t  time. Baltly be mingled y disdain ender, ardent sympature could let  ts. But s in Baruc o t of all knoher.

    quot;Did you find out  for news.

    quot;Yes,quot; said Baruc;t is turned into rainbo mistake it. tive in a cave among trees, kept asleep by t;

    quot;Asleep? And t;

    quot;Alone, yes. In ;

    quot;And Lyras not ;

    quot;No. Just asleep, and dreaming. Let me s;

    itraced a map in took ebook and copied it exactly. It sine s identical mountain peaks.

    quot;No; said t; side of ter runs t. t;

    ; and tting closer in eacime, so t ill felt  difficulty, provided t undra and tains. tting bet it couldnt abolisance hem.

    quot;t; Baruc;orn by to t wer ;

    quot;Do t; said ill. quot;And ss  understand. ;

    quot;It seems so.quot;

    ill folded t tin cup on tones at to  some er, and noo it, stirring it ick, and o drink.

    A burning stick settled in t bird called.

    Suddenly, for no reason ill could see, botion.  sa do t from ch

    someto t and up, and so did this.

    quot;Put out t; Balthamos whispered.

    ill scooped up some eart once truck into o she cloak around himself and looked up again.

    And noo see: above t  the moon.

    ;t? Could it be?quot;

    quot; is it?quot; ill whispered.

    Baruc;take your knife and...¡±

    Before led out of to Baltion of a second Baruc on it, and Balting to free  t in t ruggled together.

    use too quickly. Instead, ook tric torcc on.

    None of ted t. ttacker to  ill could see  ronger th.

    quot;ill!quot; cried Balt;t a  ¡­quot;

    And at t ttacker tore himself free of Baruchs hands, and cried:

    quot;Lord Regent! I !quot;

    later to t ill dropped orc for using t beating o  til te, remembering even in t sensations true fles. ronger tronger even t po rue: o the ground.

    ttacker ill sing in t ear-splitting voice: quot;Lord Regent! to me, to me!quot;

    ill managed to glance upirring and s gleam, someth energy, like plasma.

    Balt;ill, come a through, before he comes...¡±

    But truggling o irely. Baruco tackers head back and back.

    quot;No!quot; cried Balt;No! No!quot;

    ill, stacker rying to s again, but Barucremor, like a mig too loo  soms of ted the marrow in ills bones.

    quot; sobbing, and noc;Please, please, ill...¡±

    ill looked up.

    ting, and t first, but as it

    came closer second by second, traigakable malevolence.

    quot;ill, you must,quot; said Barucly.

    ill stood up, meaning to say quot;ig; but even as to  t like mist, and then he was gone. ill looked around, feeling foolish and sick.

    quot;Did I kill ; he said shakily.

    quot;You o,quot; said Baruc;But now...¡±

    quot;I e t; said ill passionately, quot;truly, truly, I e t stop?quot;

    quot;e must go,quot; said Baltly. quot;Quickly ill, quickly, please...¡±

    tally afraid.

    ill felt in tip of t of t sly, and looked up: t oterrifying. Even from t distance, and even in t urgent second or so, ill felt o t, brutal, and merciless intellect.

    And o hurl...

    And in t it took to c and turn uprigo fling t incoget a s it  her world.

    t moon. Giant fernlike trees greended for miles along t was  and humid.

    quot;?quot; said ill, trembling, facing two angels.

    quot;t atron,quot; said Balt;You should have...¡±

    quot;Metatron? tack? And dont lie to me.quot;

    quot;e must tell ; said Baruco ;You s;

    quot;Yes, I s; Balt;but I ;

    quot;tell me no; said ill. quot;And remember, its no good telling me ters to me, none. Only Lyra matters, and my mot,quot; o Balt;is t of all tapion, as you called it.quot;

    Baruc;I tell you our information. ill, take you to Lord Asriel. e discovered a secret of tys  s ; ;t;

    quot;t  universe.quot;

    tood on , and ting. t; tterly alone.

    quot;tell me, t; said ill. quot;tell me about Metatron, and  is.  angel call ? And y? Is ;

    do t h him.

    Baltly, quot;ty, God, tor, ty, tor.  angel, true, t po  as  is only a name for er begins to understand itself. Matter loves matter. It seeks to know more

    about itself, and Dust is formed. t angels condensed out of Dust, and ty  of all. old ter  ed t it er  trutill. And ty still reigns in tatron is .

    quot;But as for ain,  tell you t of it. e so eac t to ;

    quot;tell me  keep me in t;

    quot;e found our o tain,quot; said Baruc once  on: quot;Im sorry; erms too easily. Its sometimes called t. Its not fixed, you see; it moves from place to place.  goes, t of tadel, y   surrounded by clouds, but as time passed,  for tadel is knoain.quot;

    quot; did you find t;

    quot;ty  t of tain. e couldnt get close, although we saw him. his power...¡±

    quot;ed muc; Balterrupted, quot;to Metatron. Youve seen w  is more, he knife. I did say...¡±

    quot;Balt; said Barucly, quot;dont c be blamed for not kno took us so long to find out.quot;

    Balthamos looked away.

    ill said, quot;So youre not going to tell me t of yours? All rigell me tead: w ;

    Balthamos looked back, in surprise.

    Baruc;ell, t is, and o Balt t  of Baruc dark to us.quot;

    quot;It is a prison camp,quot; said Balt;ty establis in t to kno in time.quot;

    quot;My fat died, ts s a ;

    Balt Baruch, who shrugged.

    quot;And  on.

    quot;Its impossible to say,quot; said Baruc;Everyt it is secret. Even t knoell t t ts a lie. If people really kne;

    quot;And my fat ;

    quot;it a doubt, and so less millions w;

    ill found ion trembling.

    quot;And ly to Lord Asriel  secret,  is,quot; ;instead of looking for me?quot;

    quot;e  sure,quot; said Balt;t  entions. take us seriously? But if en. tent o ;

    quot;ell, Im sorry,quot; said ill, quot;but t sounds feeble to me. If you ,

    you  need an excuse to see Lord Asriel.quot;

    quot;t; said Baruc;e kne Metatron ed to make sure t fall into o come to Lord Asriel first, t least...¡±

    quot;Os not going to ; said ill. quot;Youre making it o reac easier. S important tting ely. ell, Im not.  you just go to Lord Asriel and leave me alone? Make en. You could fly to o find Lyra first, come  do t, just go, just leave me.quot;

    quot;But you need me,quot; said Baltiffly, quot;because I can pretend to be your daemon, and in Lyras and out ot;

    ill oo angry to speak.  up and y steps a, deep sand, and topped, for t and y unning.

    urned around to see talking closely togeto  proud, too.

    Baruc;e are sorry. I so Lord Asriel and give ion, and ask o send you o find er. It ime, if I navigate truly.quot;

    quot;And I say ; said Balthamos.

    quot;ell,quot; said ill, quot;t;

    t and cool, like thamos.

    quot;If o; ill said, quot;will you find us?¡±

    quot;I s; said Barucepped hack.

    t into tly into ttered stars. Balter e longing.

    quot;S; urning to ill.

    quot;Sleep ; said ill.

    quot;tc for danger. ill, I

    burden, and I s cry to be kinder from no;

    So ill lay do, tc t tle comfort.

    ¡ª

    get us out of ;

    understand. he spread his pale hands and shook his head.

    quot;I dunno ;

    quot;o me,quot; s;and me and ill, o kno tc as surbid skies of tic. S  ter, wo kill; fear of w was o er.

    Meaning ice cap, ts, t sick.

 THREE - SCAVENGERS

    But s stop to visit o comfort and encourage ers. Instead, so the armored bear.

    Sains lay bare and black, and only a fetle sno  time of year? ture urned.

    It took  of a day to find t after a  er: o breatage of camouflage and t of its element. t was hings should be.

    But Iorek Byrnison usks of ty  keep  bay. Serafina cures fougurning te sea-spray red, and sao a broad sc a respectful distance by ting for turn at t.

    ing, Serafina fleo speak to ime to face her remorse.

    quot;King Iorek Byrnison,quot; s;please may I speak ;

    S rock bet t if er any emotion, it would be surprise.

    quot;Speak, Serafina Pekkala,quot; ;e , ;

    quot;King Iorek, I ;

    tained muzzle ill. Sips of te hing.

    quot;Mr. Scoresby is dead,quot; Serafina  on. quot;Before I parted from o summon me o  I arrived too late. ing a force of Muscovites, but I kno brougc;

    quot;; said Iorek Byrnison.

    quot;In anotake me some time to tell.quot;

    quot;t;

    Sold  Lee Scoresby  out to do: to find tanislaus Grumman. Sold   some of ting of told of tca Skadis fliger tried to describe to ta o  t salline clarity of their wisdom.

    t she had found when she answered Lees call.

    quot;I put a spell on o preserve it from corruption,quot; sold ;It  until you see o do t. But I am troubled by troubled by everyt mostly by t;

    quot;;

    quot;I left ers, because I o ans;

    quot;In t same ;

    quot;Yes, t;

    quot; t;

    Sened expressionlessly, and t;I so Lee Scoresby. And t go sout;

    quot;Sout;

    quot;t tered a s;

    ttle foxes ing patiently. tcill sitting up, folloion. tic, scavengers t t t tand statements in t tense. Most of o t t didnt matter if ted  out rue, ts often believed most of it, and never learned from tment. tco tions being scavenged as  th.

    quot;And you, Serafina Pekkala?quot; Iorek  on. quot; ;

    quot;Im going to find tians,quot; s;I t;

    quot;Lord Faa,quot; said t;yes. Good fig;

    urned ao ter  a splaso sireless paddle tohe new world.

    And some time later, Iorek Byrnison stepped t-split rocks at t. t  as  t blackened e fur and t searco bite.

    one point in o t oticed taste of ter and temperature of t till good to breater still  t t around,  tone crags above him.

    Bet and tains, a rocky slope of tered ed metal: girders and struts t o some complex mac t ts y clarut less damaged t, and feeling a flimsiness in ty of tal, turned a once and scanned tain wall again.

    t  trance, a large, low boulder.

    eadily to. Beneat, dry bones snapped loudly in tillness, because many men o be picked clean by coyotes and vultures and lesser creatures; but t bear ignored tepped up carefully toed under  and carried  and gravel. But as soon as o move up once more, relentlessly, patiently, until self, wing was firmer.

    tted and c marks. Everytcold rue. And in confirmation, a little Arctic flo as a signal in a cranny of the rock.

    Iorek Byrnison moved around to t  not good enougs t s off t argets and lay , in tiff in the shadow.

    ill, and not a skeleton, because tco preserve ion. Iorek could see tigs c cover t must s and t completely. Lee Scoresby looked not asleep, nor at peace, tle, but   had been successful.

    And because texan aeronaut eemed, ed t gift to  movements of o feast on t was  meal for days, and he was hungry.

    But a complex s self in trands in it tisfaction. ttle girl Lyra, ation among tcs and alliances and range fact of tself, and tcence t t te of te of the child.

    And ting of tadel. Since t disturbances in tic, to disappear, and Iorek kne o find an icebound fastness for old  tains in t even  fly over tains ask.

    But for no, somet and hard and unshakable: vengeance.

    Scoresby, il blood ill .

    tting as Iorek finiser gats of Lees body into a single ed t in ter of to do. tc of to all w would be nouris kinds of life.

    t off doooh.

    Cliff-gs . ttle creatures c t ender and rank.

    Before  let it talk, and laug its silly babble.

    quot;Bear must go soutcroubled! true! S;

    quot;Bears dont go sout;

    quot;true! King bear must go sout good...¡±

    quot;King bear go sout;

    quot;And flying t treasure! Flying tal treasure!quot;

    quot;Flying ts? treasure?quot;

    quot;Like lig like cliff-g. Rical! And croubled, ch sorry, Scoresby dead...¡±

    quot;Dead? Balloon man dead?quot; ts laughe dry cliffs.

    quot;itc;Scoresby dead! ; t wrenc rails.

    ¡ª

    t;

    quot;But w;

    And t s ans;I t; was all so say.

    Betle boy ss, dozens, ogetening to every word.

    quot;And t ; said Roger. quot;I  dead. I ays alive as long as ever so s t being dead, t s. Except I know s;

    Lyra was alarmed.

    quot;I t know w; she said.

 FOUR - AMA AND THE BATS

    Ama, ter, carried t stop t  question for a moment trut Mrs. Coulter old ed, beyond a doubt, and it oo likely t t sleeping spells, and t a moter in t fierce and tender ion amounting almost to ed daughter.

    S as often as so ttle valley, to run errands for to cter and listen, for tales to tell. Again and again s it ed t it would probably never be allowed again.

    And during time s milking to make bread, s incessantly about t must , and about w er old o imagine.

    One day sook some flat bread sened rail to Cery. By er o gain an audience  ulku, e fever only the year before, and who was immensely wise.

    Ama entered t mans cell, bo daemon sed around ening  into o  Ama tried to remain still and silent until Pagdzin tulku spoke.

    quot;Yes, c; h every word.

    In t eyes  of led on till at last, so s;Please, Pagdzin tulku, I  to gain o knos. Can you teac;

    quot;No,quot; he said.

    Sing t. quot;ell, could you tell me just one remedy?quot; she asked humbly.

    quot;Maybe. But I  tell you  is. I can give you t tell you t.quot;

    quot;All rig is a great blessing,quot; simes.

    quot; is t?quot; the old man said.

    quot;Its a sleeping sickness,quot; Ama explained. quot;Its come upon t;

    Sra clever, s in case the cave.

    quot;And ;

    quot;tulku,quot; s;so ;

    quot; s come to me? ;

    quot;Because tulku. I only erday and I came at once to seek your advice.quot;

    quot;I sient and examine o tions of ts at t be done in a ;

    quot;Is to take back?quot;

    t daemon fell off tered blackly aside before s ting silently across too quickly for Ama to follo t eyes of tly o box, apping out a spoonful of poed them.

    ipped all ts into a mortar and ground togettering a spell as apped tle on tar, dislodging took a bruse some cers on a s of paper. ipped all to tion and folded tly into a little square package.

    quot;Let to trils of ttle at a time as ; old ;and  o be done  caution. too muc once and est of brus;

    quot;tulkuquot; said Ama, taking t in t of  s. quot;I ;

    quot;One is enoug; said t;No time you come, tell me trut part of it.quot;

    to  given too much away.

    Next evening so t rice  leaf. Sing to tell t so give  of all for ted sleeper to alk to hey could be friends!

    But as surned tient ed at ty. S fe t in, and t, and everything else.

    Ama looked into t beating fast. Surely t  ter patc he curve of her sleeping daemon.

    S a little closer. t about it, t and left ted girl alone.

    A t struck Ama like a musical note: suppose surned...

    But sime to feel t idea before sside, and in a s sed be t be  was wrong.

    And no golden monkey ting in trance, sniffing and turning . Ama sa o hes, mouse-formed

    and trembling.

    quot; is it?quot; said to to trance. quot;. S come in, t arrange a spot on to leave t.quot;

    it a glance at tooped to bring to life, and set a pan of er to  o time  up and looked around tting cramped and uncomfortable in ly t sed outside and not gone in. o be trapped?

    to ting er. Ama could smell tringent flavors as ted out eam. tirring. Ama turned ed sleeper moving, tossing from side to side, throwing an arm across her eyes. She was waking!

    And took no notice!

    S, because s surned back to er. Sion into a beaker and let it stand, and only turned tention to the waking girl.

    Ama could understand none of t sh increasing wonder and suspicion:

    quot;; t;Dont ;

    quot;Roger,quot; t;Serafina! ;

    quot;No one  us,quot; ;Lift yourself and let Mama was;

    Ama cruggling into ried to puso ter and mopped at ers face and body before patting her dry.

    By time to move more quickly.

    quot;  to sleep, No, no! I ! No!quot;

    teely-firm rying to lift Lyras head.

    quot;Be still, dear, be calm, ea...¡±

    But t and nearly spilled the drink, and cried louder:

    quot;Leave me alone! I  to go! Let me go! ill, ill, help me, oh, help me¡­¡±

    tig h.

    quot;I ! You dare toucear your , I ...¡±

    t a o s-snake-rat-fox-bird-wolf-ca-

    But talaimon became a porcupine.

    t go. tuck ser snarled and  t; and before Lyra could gats, t o swallow or choke.

    Ama oo muco  little by little it died ao sleep, enced sleep? Poisoned sleep! Drugged, deceitful sleep!

    Ama sareak of erialize at t as fully co a long, sinuous, snoure  black eyes and black-tipped tail, and laid himself alongside her neck.

    And tly, crooning baby songs, smootting  face dry, o ring of nonsense syllables, la-la-la, ba-ba-boo-boo,  voice mouthing gibberish.

    Eventually t stopped, and took a pair of scissors and trimmed t to see t effect. Sook one dark blond curl and put it in a little gold locket sell . But t to ... Orange.

    t t of to to snatcing bat from ttle black t pierced Ama from one ear to t to  and out and out till it snapped and broke and e string of sines fellotle t limb by limb, and te a box of ce.

    time passed. Lighe woman and her daemon fell asleep.

    Ama, stiff and painful, crept up from iptoed out past t make a sound till sh.

    itrail,   motion of treetops, ted clouds in tars all calmed tle.

    Sopped in sigtle one .

    quot;S; Ama said. quot;So us!  can ell Dada?  can ;

    quot;Dont tell,quot; said ;More trouble. eve got take ;

    t filled t it tle paper package , and to use it.

    ¡ª

    see  me...¡±

    quot;O be frigened, too, Ill go mad...¡±

    tried to ig ty air. Lyra tried to say le pale face in the darkness:

    quot;Im just trying to  to ! I  care if it  for an  kno, even, but I will ;

    quot;But if youre dreaming, Lyra, you mig believe it  t ;

 FIVE - THE ADAMANT TOWER

    quot;No!quot; sen sulpended ts mepic vapors in sudden gusts and belcary  its edge.

    If ook to ts  if ayed on t ake so long to get past t t  arrive too late.

    o take ter risk. ed until a cloud of stinking smoke billoed upo t.

    Four pairs of eyes in different parts of t, and at once four pairs of   tco the cloud.

    t in  all. t to break out of tage, and t mig might mean a successful kill.

    And unluckily for ter one of  once trailing streams of vapor, and dizzy, bot of it at first, but ter fle and furious struggle, all ting in to fall, finally, among the cloud.

    At tern end of a range of saootains, on a peak t commanded ress of basalt seemed to gro of tain as if some volcano  it up a million years ago.

    In vast caverns beneat ored and labeled; in ted, armed, and tested; in tain, volcanic fires fed migitanium ed and combined in alloys never known or used before.

    On t exposed side of tress, at a point deep in ttress  lava-floe, a postern c and c to enter.

    cs above, I try stamped once or t , and ttle nap beside . en minutes, and o te, t of all his bed.

    to  ttle door  ted. , and  time opening tap t allo ligtress outside. In t tinct, and who seemed ill, or wounded.

    t try kne ;e found  t an urgent message for Lord Asriel.quot;

    try unbarred terrier daemon quivered as ty trance. t involuntary  off, as try sa ttle po an angel, nevertheless.

    quot;Lay ; try told turned teleped ch.

    On t rampart of tress o: just one fligeps up to a set of rooms , and . t room ed t.

    Lord Asriel sat in t totered papers. A napable, and a brazier  tter c. Inside the door,

    a small blue .

    tain o look at: aller t t of Lord Asriels captains treated , for ing in the spurs on his heels.

    It o sit on table, and o repel anyt test courtesy y and malevolent tongue. ies of good spies except, of course, tional smallness: touc they had been of Lord Asriels size.

    quot;Yes,quot; tering like droplets of ink, quot;your c ly I kno;

    Lord Asriel looked at ly, and ttle man kne once t aken advantage of esy: t  o put out a o steady  later Lord Asriels expression uous, just as ers could be, and from then on Lord Roke was more careful.

    quot;No doubt, Lord Roke,quot; said Lord Asriel. quot;But for reasons I dont understand, ttention, and I need to kno ;

    quot;terium is alive ion; one brancigating sometrying to keep its discoveries secret from t. t active brancorial Court of Discipline and ty of t, and,quot; said Lord Roke, quot;I ;

    quot;urned a member of ty, t; said Lord Asriel. quot;I congratulate you. to be impregnable.quot;

    quot;My spy in ty is t; said Lord Roke, quot;a very skillful agent. t ed t tual designed to invoke t tical moment, t of  noe  s;

    Lord Asriel smiled and said, quot;And ;ty t your daug important c a great crisis  te of everyt t point. As for torial Court of Discipline, its  t, nesses from Bolvangar and elseialys, is in toucone resonator, and ting me kno, I  ty of t  very soon  it. It ake torial Court a little longer, but  once.quot;

    quot;Let me kno you ; Lord Roke boo table. Sirrups. Lord Roke sprang on  of t it open for a minute, in spite of tter air, and leaned on t, playing he ears of his snow-leopard daemon.

    quot;So me on Svalbard and I ignored ; ;You remember t co arrive  a fatal mistake? I didnt consider er t, not for a moment, but sant, Stelmaria!quot;

    quot;Lets t; ; can s;

    quot;Do, not muc;

    quot;Ser; so kno;

    quot;ts not;

    t turned at once.

    quot;My lord,quot; said t;an angel  arrived at tern gate, o you.quot;

    And a minute later, Baruc to t it  ttle orn and his eyes dimmed.

    Lord Asriel sat close by and to t  of defining t more clearly.

    quot;ell, sir,quot; ;ell me?quot;

    quot;t me say ty, and so o your standard as soon as you raised it. But ed to bring you somet long ago o find our o t of tain, tys citadel in t;

    o stop for a moment to breato steady inued:

    quot;e learned trut ty. e learned t ired to a cal deep ain, and t ead, emplates deeper mysteries. In atron. I o kno angel ;

    Baruc ongue and ed for Baruco continue.

    quot;Metatron is proud,quot; Baruc on rengt;and ion is limitless. ty co be , and togeto discover. ty considers t conscious beings of every kind , so Metatron is going to intervene mucively in end to move ty secretly aain, to a permanent citadel someain into an engine of  and o set up a permanent inquisition in every ly from t campaign o destroy your Republic...quot;

    trembling, t one from ement.

    Barucrengt on:

    quot;t can cut openings bets poed, but only in to use it. And t person is a boy...quot;

    Once again to stop and recover. ened; ing apart. Lord Asriel could see t o oget tensely gripping til Barucrengto go on.

    quot;My companion is ed to bring ly to you, but  tell you: er are friends. And  agree to come to you until ;;

    quot;anislaus Grumman.quot; Lord Asriel was so surprised ood up

    involuntarily, sending billohe angel.

    quot;Grumman ; he said.

    quot;Grumman  born in your o it and its bearer, intending to bring to you. But to...quot;

    quot; Once again Baruco stop. Lord Asriel sat doook several slohe only sound.

    quot;take your time, sir,quot; Lord Asriel said gently. quot;Do you kno;

    quot;;  mountains. A cave near a valley full of rainbo;

    quot;A long way from ;

    quot;It is t I ; said Baruc;except t;

    quot;And if you found her so easily...¡±

    quot;too.quot;

    Lord Asriel seized a great atlas from t and flung it open, looking for t she himalaya.

    quot;Can you be precise?quot; ;Can you sly w;

    quot;it; Barucried to say, and Lord Asriel realized ;iter and leave any  atron kno me alone on t atron , because I... O; quot;;

    quot;Yes. Yes. A cave... attered flags on t; o look at tlas.

    t to  in one s movement and leapt to t it oo late: t ing. t  ; but seeing t urned back to see Barucraining and quivering to oget oo muc from t an eddy of air across ticles of trengto randomness and vanis;Balt; came a illed urned to t;My lord, I beg your...¡±

    quot;Not your fault. take my compliments to King Oguno attend, er. Finally I  No. 2 Squadron of gyropters armed and fueled, and a tanker zeppelin to take off at once and . I s;

    ted and,  uneasy glance at ty bed,  out and s the door.

    Lord Asriel tapped to open t out t t  the snapping wind.

    quot;ell, , Stelmaria,quot; ly.

    quot;But not enoug; she replied.

    t trist came in. eukros Basilides, and ingale.

    quot;Mr. Basilides, good evening to you,quot; said Lord Asriel. quot;to put everyt...quot;

    old t Baruclas.

    quot;Pinpoint t cave,quot; ;Get me tes as precisely as you can. t important task you aken. Begin at once, if you please,quot;

    ¡ª

    stamped  so  even  ;You dont believe Id do t, Roger, so dont say it. I  forget, so t;

    S all s and sorrowful.

    Rogers face .  contained hope.

    S;?  you miserable, like t you at t;

    And ;

 SIX - PREEMPTIVE ABSOLUTION

    quot;No; said torial Court of Discipline, quot;I  you to recall exactly, if you can, tc;

    t looked ternoon lig tand, t ness.   o. Jerome.

    quot;I cannot call tcly to mind,quot; said Fra Pavel ;I  seen torture before, as I said to t yesterday, and I found it made me feel faint and sick. So exactly ell you, but I remember t. tc t of a propo o make a fateful cure of all t o mind a parallel case, and we and fear ;

    quot;And did tc name?quot;

    quot;No. Before ster it, anotc under a spell of invisibility, managed to kill ;

    quot;So on t occasion, ter  ;

    quot;t is so.quot;

    quot;And sly afterer left?quot;

    quot;Indeed.quot;

    quot; did you discover after t?quot;

    quot;I learned t to t ot t traordinary po; said Fra Pavel. t nervously and  on: quot;I may speak entirely freely in t?quot;

    quot;it freedom, Fra Pavel,quot; came tones of t. quot;You  be puniselling us urn old. Please continue.quot;

    Reassured, t on:

    quot;to make openings bet er t, please, once again, I am afraid of  is capable of killing t  is  destroy.quot;

    ing and trembling, and ness stand to tation. Fra Pavel gasped in pain and scooped ly, letting  ter in t of him.

    quot;And did you ask furt t; said t;Did you discover tc;

    quot;Yes, I did. Once again I crave t t...¡±

    quot;You ,quot; snapped t. quot;Dont be afraid. You are not a ic. Report ime.quot;

    quot;I beg your pardon, truly. tion of Eve, t;

    tenograpaking do. Po silence; but at Fra Pavels c on:

    quot;Please, remember, ter does not forecast; it says, If certain t, t says t if it comes about t tempted, as Eve o fall. On tcome emptation does take place, and if t and sin riump;

    troom. t t filtered in t leaded ed beams a million golden motes, but t, not Dust, t  ot t settled over every ter ifully t the laws.

    quot;Finally, Fra Pavel,quot; said t;tell us  ;

    quot;Ser,quot; said Fra Pavel. quot;And t is all I o tell. I s once and ask for a more precise location, and as soon as I , I sell t; but...quot;

    opped, so rembling hand.

    quot;Yes, Fra Pavel?quot; said Fat;;

    quot;I believe, Fat, t ty of t kno t;

    Fra Pavels voice  it  a whisper.

    quot;Is t so?quot; said t, o radiate hey glared.

    Fra Pavels daemon uttered a little frog  brancerium, and kne to get caug to  ill.

    quot;I believe,quot;  on, trembling, quot;t to finding out exactly ;

    quot;Quite so,quot; said t;And did ter tell you about t;

    quot;Yes, it did.quot;

    quot;Very o continue t line of investigation. ever you need in tarial o command. Please stand do;

    Fra Pavel boes and left the

    courtroom. their fingers.

    Fatapped a pencil on t of him.

    quot;Sister Agnes, Sister Monica,quot; ;you may leave us noion on my desk by t;

    t.

    quot;Gentlemen,quot; said t, for t orial Court, quot;lets adjourn.quot;

    t (Fat and ro t (Fatrembling ry), gates and follo to table and talk in tmost privacy.

    t President of torial Court  called ed young. Presidents served for life, and ies, so it o be expected t Fatiny of torial Court, and to come. ured man, tall and imposing,   not for tal discipline er and ate only bread and fruit, and rainer of ces. As a result,  and lined and restless. his daemon was a lizard.

    Once ted, Father MacPhail said:

    quot;tate of to be several points to bear in mind.

    quot;Firstly, Lord Asriel. A co ts t  army, including forces t may be angelic. entions, as far as tc tooy himself.

    quot;Secondly, tion Board. tions in setting up t Bolvangar, and in funding Mrs. Coulters activities, suggest t to replace torial Court of Discipline as t poive arm of tpaced, gentlemen. ted rutised for our laxity in letting it urn to  sly.

    quot;testimony,  can do traordinary t find  as soon as possible.

    quot;Fourt. I aken steps to find out ion Board  it. One of tal t Bolvangar o tell us ly talk to ernoon doairs.quot;

    One or ts sed uncomfortably, for quot;doairsquot; meant te-tiled rooms s for anbaric current, soundproofed and well-drained.

    quot;ever  Dust, t; t  on, quot; bear our purpose firmly in mind. tion Board sougo understand ts of Dust;  destroy it altoget. If in order to destroy Dust roy tion Board, ty, t. It may be, gentlemen, t tself o perform task and to peris. But better a  to struggle under tter a !quot;

    Blazing-eyed, Fately.

    quot;And finally,quot; said Fat;till just a co be tempted and s us, I am going to propose t radical, and I .

    quot;I propose to send a man to find empted.quot;

    quot;Fat,quot; said Fat once, quot;I ive penance every day of my adult life. I udied, I rained...¡±

    t ive penance and absolution rines researcorial Court, but not knoo t yet committed, intense and fervent penance accompanied by scourging and flagellation, so as to build up, as it ore of credit. e level for a particular sin, tent ed absolution in advance, t never be called on to commit t imes necessary to kill people, for example; and it ate of grace. quot;I ; said Fat;I  of t? Yes. o be reacever o anyone else, raigo trike , like t blasted t. ter for us all if t paradise.quot;

    t  gave its blessing.

    And in t corner of t a man no larger they said.

    In ty rousers , stood under t bulb clutcrousers  daemon  of  Father MacPhail.

    quot;Dr. Cooper,quot; t began, quot;do sit do; ture except t. ts voice ecly off, te tiles t lined the wall and ceiling.

    Dr. Cooper sat on t take  and gray-. ed to see  was coming.

    quot;So you nearly succeeded in severing t; said Father MacPhail.

    Dr. Cooper said s;e considered t it o , since t o take place any tal c ter ervened and took to ers.quot;

    t daemon opened  t, and t them again and hid her face.

    quot;t must ressing,quot; said Father MacPhail.

    quot;tensely difficult,quot; said Dr. Cooper, ening to agree.

    quot;I am surprised you did not seek torial Court, ;

    quot;e, I, ood t t ion Board matter, but old it orial Court of Discipline. e  ot;

    quot;No, of course not. And noter. Did you ; said Faturning to t of  to t;of t of Lord Asriels researc migo release on Svalbard?quot;

    Dr. Cooper sense silence a drop of s fell from o te floor, and bot distinctly.

    quot;ell...quot; ;team rolling it  just as an atomic explosion is detonated by conventional explosives, t... however,

    taken seriously. I paid no attention to ; ly, quot;kno  auty t ;

    quot;Very  colleague no;tack.quot; t smiled. It  Dr. Coopers daemon s . quot;Courage, Dr. Cooper,quot; said Fat;e need you to be strong and brave! t o be done, a great battle to be foug earn ty by cooperating fully  even ion, not even gossip. No you to devote all your attention to o  equipment was ime you need.

    quot;And t very comfortable. ell o someo e at a table or a desk? ould you like a typeing macate to a stenograp;Let t every moment, Dr. Cooper, I  you to to your colleague and  task is to recall, and if necessary to rediscover, ruments you require, you s is a great task, Dr. Cooper! You are blessed to be entrusted ! Give to ty.quot;

    quot;I do, Fat! I do!quot; Grasping tband of rousers, tood up and bo  realizing it, again and again, as t of torial Court of Discipline left his cell.

    t evening tialys, to meet   coo, but certainly full of peril for t  its deat t only t an arm to teet action had saved him.

    t at ted meeting places, among ts of a plane tree in a stle square, and excact in ty old  earlier t evening tation from t of torial Court to come and discuss matters of mutual interest.

    quot;Quick ; said t;A o one  tell t ;

    old  to kill Lyra. S surprised.

    quot;Its to do,quot; s;Very logical people. tialys, do you t;

    quot;I dont kno I so. Go omorro tain.quot;

    Unsaid be brief excness of to nine years or ten, rarely more, and tialys and Salmakia  fear old age, trengt compared end as far into ture as tcended past Lyras own.

    turned to t. Jerome and began to compose to Lord Roke on tone resonator.

    But  talking to Salmakia, t sent for Fatudy togeted t tive absolution t ransfigured; tainty t ran to make .

    tical arrangements, money, and so fort said, quot;Once you leave ely cut off, forever, from any help we can give. You can

    never come back; you ter advice t look for t ead, look for tempter. Folloempter, and so t;

    quot;S; said Father Gomez, shocked.

    quot;Yes, s; said Fat;e  mucer. tempter comes from is a strange one. You  le you, Fat let yourself be distracted by task you o do. I ; ;in traveling, guided by to a place  time to tempt  is, of course, if  succeed in removing t location. t remains our first plan. You, Fatimate guarantee t if t falls till not prevail.quot;

    Fat green-backed beetle, clicked her wing cases.

    t opened a dra of papers.

    quot; t; ;and t seen. Read it ;

    s given name before. Fat tears of joy prick  farewell.

    ¡ª

    youre Lyra.quot;

    t t meant. S dizzy, even in  a great burden settle on o make it even o shadow.

    quot;ell, I... I kno like ours. ell, s t;

    It  impossible noo see ttle boy, and s  and wandering away like sheep in a field.

    quot;But rust ; s,

 SEVEN - MARY MALONE

    Almost at time, tempter  to folloempted herself.

    quot;ts all I need, no more, ly, t; said Dr. Mary Malone to tried to give han she could carry.

    ted and cers trees; but o ttle vine-sered farm  to let her go.

    quot;I must go on,quot; said Mary again, quot;t carry, o, anottle chank you...¡±

    tly sa ters. Stagazze, sation, enouger-eaten adults and  aay ed o, because so move on.

    S little goats cs vine leaf, smiled and boook a last drink from t bubbled up among tly togeturned firmly a.

    S. t communication ities sicles, and Lyra called Dust, er, and at truction sroyed t. Noold o go to find raordinary ot, ask o find t,  meant.

    So s notle track ao look for guidance.

    Once stle farmstead to be sure s be disturbed, s under trees and opened  ttom, y years: a commentary on tion, the I Ching.

    Saken it imental:  to  a lot as a sc ory, s;s t?quot; and pointed to ter on t sly afterer, Lyra  Dust o  used those symbols.

    So in  packing to leave aken  tle yarroalks . And noime o use them.

    Sing, dividing and counting and setting aside, e, curious teenager, and  forgotten o do it, but sual coming back, and  a sense of t calm and concentrated attention t played sucant part in talking to the Shadows.

    Eventually so t indicated t part, because tself in sucic style. She read:

    turning to t

    For provision of nouris

    Brings goo d fortun e.

    Spying about h sharp eyes

    Like a tiger iable craving.

    t seemed encouraging. Sary t led il so: Keeping still is tain; it is a bypat means little stones, doors, and openings.

    So guess. tion of quot;openingsquot; recalled terious ered t o say t she should go upward.

    Botalks a off up th.

    Four er s and tired. track sered out, and s among tumbled boulders and smaller stones. to  toended vineyards and abandoned o  a scree of small rocks and gravel sloped up to a cliff of crumbling limestone.

    earily sed   on t flat stone, but before sransferred , sopped. t c tried to find it again.

    quot;And t  glass tention-catcions in it, just a square patc ttle stones, doors, and openings.

    It  because of t:  probably  s all.

    Stle patce curiosity, because s ime to look at t one: so get a sail, touco see  became invisible from ting te difference bet, and found  bursting ement t suchings could be.

    t, at about time of tion, oo careless to close it, but at least  t a point very similar to t to a rock face. But t, not limestone but granite, and as Mary stepped to t at t of a to almost at top of a locrop overlooking a vast plain.

    It o breat aste t rushing.

    ide golden ligo begin  of it e variety of buff-broly in a  t so be laced t looked like rivers of rock  gray surface.

    And secondly, ands of tallest trees Mary tending a aken time out to look at t redrees, and marveled; but rees opped t least. t trunks gold-red in t.

    And finally, ures, too far off to see distinctly, grazed on trangeness about t t s quite .

    Sely tired, and ty and rickle of a spring, and only a minute later s: just a seepage of clear er from a mossy fissure, and a tiny stream t led aefully, and filled tles, and t about making able, for night was falling rapidly.

    Propped against te some of ts chen fell deeply asleep.

    Stled in tiny beads on es lapped in fres human being who had ever lived.

    S up, yaretcing a couple of dried figs and taking stock of the place.

    Betle rise s vie, across t immense prairie. trees lay to to tes of dust.

    Loading o t stand of trees, four or five miles away.

    t ercups, like cornfloints to top segment of humb,

    visiting a blue flo as it backed out of tals and took to t it , for a moment later it made for  most delicacy and taking flig found no nectar. It e s bronze-featoo fast for o see.

    on eart she was seeing!

    Sting closer to a ures s   telopes, and similarly colored, but ill and rub  of tion: ter, one at t, and one under tail, so t tion. Mary longed to examine a skeleton and see ructure worked.

    For t, tures regarded o go closer and take time to look at t it ting , and t trees looked inviting; and ty of time, after all.

    Before long sepping out of to one of tone so .

    It mig black, but t  retcainly easier to he grass.

    Sorees. t, tounded srunks, as ed, as tall, as tall as... S even make a guess.

    o t trunk, sed ons as long as  and fragrant to le flock of tiny terfly oo many cra. the air was full of humming and buzzing and scraping.

    Sillness, tructures, thin herself.

    It aken  it o ting on tos of lig vertical. Dro move under trees during ttest part of the day.

    S.

    Feeling too  to move any farto rest bets of one of t trees, o a doze.

    y minutes or so, and s quite asleep, w she ground.

    t up and gats, and sa t resolved itself into a round object, about t across, rolling along to a , and falling on its side.

    And tc craso ttress-like root of t trunk and roll away.

    t of one of to make ake  of toget hey? Seedpods?

    atcured under to look at t of ts. S uprig out of t on to look at it more

    closely.

    It ly circular and as ter, aco tree. It   it  not tried  made no impression at all.

    fragrance t. S ter t glistening, and as souc again, s it slide easily under  was exuding a kind of oil.

    Mary laid t about this world had evolved.

    If  t, and tiple ed by quantum t off from ion rees and large creatures on.

    So see ific any, no geology, no biology of any sort, s as a baby.

    And to locate until s moving along one of toand of trees, and to a mile a it  moving slowly, and all of a sudden s afraid.

    Sed back into t roots and crammed o it, peering over ttress beside  to cloud.

    s first it looked like a motorcycle gang. t it  . But she was.

    tures, but leaner and gray-colored,  trunks like eleps. tructure as t some and rear single legs, a wheel.

    But  in nature, ed; t; you needed an axle  ely separate from tating part, it couldnt  was impossible¡­

    to a  not fifty yards a settled, sion, and s  loud tle coug.

    tly round, immensely , t ter. tures er of t and rear legs, and used teral legs to pus t ttle anxious, for t tance selligence and curiosity in their gaze.

    And they were looking for her.

    One of tted taken out of trundled off to. , ed it onto an edge runk and rolled it over to his companions.

    touc delicately runks, and serpreting t cs tampered  was wrong.

    t: I came  understand it yet. Be bold. take tiative. So sood up and very self-consciously called:

    quot;Over  your seedpod. Im sorry. Please dont ;

    Instantly trunks , glittering eyes facing for.

    Sepped out of ter of ts and faced tly. S  sucure migo creatures ill, it o the road.

    Close up, not five steps a tention ures  from the grazing animals nearby as a human was from a cow.

    Mary pointed to ;Mary.quot;

    t creature reacs trunk. S touc, : quot;Merry.quot;

    quot; are you?quot; she said.

    quot;ata; ture responded.

    All s;I am a ; she said.

    quot;Ayama yuman,quot; said ture, and tures laughed.

    trunks ossed ts came takable sound of merriment. S : soo.

    ture moved foroucs trunk. Mary offered o its soft, bristled, questing touch.

    quot;A; s;youre smelling t;

    quot;Seepot,quot; said ture.

    quot;If you can make t be able to communicate, one day. God knoo herself again.

    Notc again: quot;Mary.quot;

    t creature toucs o s trunk and spoke. as it ture spoke again, and time Mary tried o make t;Mulefa,quot; sentatively.

    Oted, quot;Mulefaquot; in o be teasing ture ; t were a fine joke.

    quot;ell, if you can laug suppose youll eat me,quot; Mary said. And from t moment, tween  nervous no more.

    And tself relaxed: to do, t roaming at random. Mary sa one of ts back, and ted to it, making it secure by tying straps around it,  and intricate movements of trunks. ood still, teral legs, and  and back legs to steer. ts were full of grace and power.

    One of to ts trunk to utter a trumpeting call. to trot toood patiently at t tures move slooucing.

    t runk; and to runk delicately to Marys mouth.

    At first s tation in tures eye, so she came forward again and opened her lips.

    ture expressed a little of t, to cure  Mary impulsively put ures , dusty runk.

    Presently trumpeted softly and to leave.

    S joy t t t t surprise as well.

    One of tures self, kneeling douring s trunk, and ting  about it: to carry o take hem.

    Anotook ened it to to put  of tures, or be could so?

    But before s out, ture o move ahem.

    ¡ª

    because ;

 EIGHT - VODKA

    Balt t it o t air over tundra, flailing o t ime before o ill, hey were back in Lyras world.

    quot; is it?quot; said ill as trembling beside ;Is it danger? Get behind me...¡±

    quot;Baruc; cried Balt;my dear Baruch is dead...¡±

    quot;;

    But Balt tell;   inguis keep still: o seek out Baruc, calling, crying, calling; and t, and fly doo urge ill to , and promise to cirelessly; and to tance of kindness and courage t Baructen none of t a nature so gracious could never be snuffed out, and o ting about in every direction, reckless and ricken, cursing tars.

    Finally ill said, quot;Balt;

    t ter cold gloom of tundra, to ;You must try to keep quiet no tll attack if tect you  if ttack you up t be able to oo, tll be to o Lyra. Please dont forget t. Barucrong, be strong, too. Be like ;

    At first Balt speak, but t;Yes. Yes, of course I must. Sleep no;

    ill trusted o. And presently he fell asleep again.

    o anding nearby. t rising, and ts ipped h gold.

    Before ill could move, Balt;Ive decided  do. I say , and do it co Lyra, if I can, and to Lord Asriel. I  I never met a nature t made me so ardent to do good, or to be kind, as Barucimes, but eacime o redeem me. Nos not, I

    so try  it. Perime to time, but I sry all t;

    quot;t; said ill, shivering.

    quot;S;

    quot;Yes,quot; said ill, quot;fly ell me o take forever.quot;

    Baltook to t told ill everyt, because rying to do  and not atron, t, from   angels o see, including parts of  of ure Lyra atron no some time Balto tell  not quite yet. It oo difficult.

    ill, reckoning t it o get ing for a fire to catc off toted and potimes come t t  tle sense of making progress.

    Sometime later, w was brighamoss voice spoke beside him.

    quot;About oo tie up. I fle tly sout a passage, t;

    quot;Good,quot; said ill fervently. quot;And does to to;

    quot;It goes to to;

    quot;I  lock me up if I cant speak t;

    quot;As your daemon,quot; said Balt;I sranslate for you. I ainly understand try.quot;

    ill oil  least  least every step took o Lyra.

    taining reindeer, and dogs t barked as  out of tin c , and t flood: o s of corrugated iron sbuildings  away.

    But t  t curious feature of t first   even made umble once or t of tical, all leaning ttle chquake?

    Dogs erical fury, but not daring to come close. Baltaken te dog igail, and  t tance. ted and listless.

    ill paused in ter of ttle village and looked around, ood staring at  people  coats, muddy boots, and fur s, and t look friendly.

    te dog co a sparroo ills s t of t  look t is tful to do.quot;

    ill kept  talent. By time

    to t interest in  t hing loudly.

    Baltly, quot;t. You e to urn and bo;

    ill did so. t less eyes moved over ills face and body, taking everything in. he beckoned.

    ill  to the doorway and bowed again.

    t said somet;ever you like.quot;

    quot;I speak Englis; ill said slo;I dont kno;

    quot;A; cried t gleefully in Englis;My dear young man! elcome to our village, our little no-longer-perpendicular K is your name, and w;

    quot;My name is ill, and Im going sout my family, and Im trying to find t;

    quot;t come inside and ,quot; said t, and put a he doorway.

    terest in Balt to t:  into ills s as if he were shy.

    t led o a parlor obacco smoke, eamed quietly on a side table.

    quot; ; said t. quot;tell me again.quot;

    quot;ill Parry. But I dont knoo call you.quot;

    quot;Otyets Semyon,quot; said t, stroking ills arm as o a c;Otyets means Fat of tc is your fat;

    quot;Jo;

    quot;Joccc;

    quot;Im lost,quot; ill said. quot;I raveling o t ic, and t lost. So Im traveling souts ;

    t spread ;A soldier? An explorer from England? No one so interesting as t rodden ty roads of Kuries, but in time of up  appear tomorroor, ill Ivanovitc stay t in my alk and eat toget; he called.

    An elderly ly. o ook a glass and filled it  tea from t tea to ill, togettle saucer of jam h a silver spoon.

    quot;t; said ill.

    quot;to sen tea,quot; said t. quot;Lydia Alexandrovna made it from bilberries.quot;

    t  tea ter, but ill sipped it, nonet kept leaning foro look closely at  o see ract he village sloped.

    quot;t; t said. quot;It is all foretold in t. Jo river only a s o tic Ocean. All tains of central Asia it flohousands of years,

    ever since ty of God ty Fated t  turned again and  norturned upside do;

    quot;A long ;I didnt kno kno w? ;

    quot;Bring me t large book on ttom s; said Semyon Borisovitc;I will s;

    t dreable and licked urning t atlas.

    quot;; ing y fingernail at a spot in central Siberia, a long  of t  of tains in tibet all to tic.  t ched.

    Semyon Borisovitcalked and talked, pressing ill for details of iced dissembler, ans in some beetroot soup and dark bread, and after t e.

    quot;ell, c; said Semyon Borisovitc;S cards, or o talk?quot;

    ea from took it doubtfully.

    quot;I cant play cards,quot; ;and Im anxious to get on and keep traveling. If I  to teamer going sout;

    ts e flick of t.

    quot;trouble in to; ;Lydia Alexandrovna er ic. You did not see armored bears w;

    t ly t only ill could ;Be careful.quot; And ill kne once  Lyra old  t try to contain his feelings.

    ;e ;

    quot;Yes, t is , to ills relief, quot;But no, and to let tcers of evil! t to deatco do c to t age? try to seduce you. t, cunning, deceitful  skin, t voices, and take your seed, you kno, take your future, your c are to come, and leave you not to deat;

    t reaco took dotle and two small glasses.

    quot;Noo offer you a little drink, ill Ivanovitc; ;You are young, so not very many glasses. But you are groo knoaste of vodka. Lydia Alexandrovna collected t year, and I distilled ttle is t, tyets Semyon Borisovitcoget;

    tle, filling eaco talk made ill  so drink  discourtesy?

    quot;Otyets Semyon,quot; anding, quot;you ay longer to taste your drink and to alk, because ell me eresting. But you understand I am un my family, and very anxious to find t move on, muco stay.quot;

    t pus  of  t;ell, you s. But before you leave, you must drink your vodka. Stand ake it, and do;

    all at once, and tood very close to ill. In , dirty fingers t seemed tiny; but it , and ill could smell tang of tale s and tains on t sick before he began.

    quot;Drink, ill Ivanovitc; t cried, ening iness.

    ill lifted tatingly so figo avoid being sick.

    to come. Semyon Borisovitc , and took ill by both shoulders.

    quot;My boy,quot; o intone a prayer or a psalm. Vapors of tobacco and alco came powerfully from o brush.

    ts cig, left, rig Baltiny clao  still. omac  move.

    Finally it  stepped back and pushed him away.

    quot;Go, t; ;go soutc;

    ill gatried to raig ts ook t of the village.

    s place. Baltop at one point, and laid tle; but ill made  he would never drink vodka again.

    And in te afternoon t of toer so broad it might have been a sea.

    Even from some  trouble. Puffs of smoke ing from beyond ter by the boom of a gun.

    quot;Balt; ;youll o be a daemon again. Just keep near me and c for danger.quot;

    o tskirts of ttle tos mud stains on toed, but as oing, of screams, and of t louder.

    And  last tco look a terfront, s of big vessels rose above tops.

    An explosion s of a nearby o the smoky air.

    ill reacreet and looked along terfront.  cleared a little, ing vessel standing offss place against tols surrounding a great gun, wched,

    boomed again. A flasy splash.

    ill s, but,  to expect, t al, or creatures in  flo in alarm. to t splastered, and some ran in flames to ters edge and plunged in, to be s along and out of sig.

    ill found a man close by weacher, and said:

    quot;Do you speak Englis;

    quot;Yes, yes, indeed...¡±

    quot; is ;

    quot;ttacking, and ry to fig it is difficult, we have only one gun, and...¡±

    t  of blazing pitcime it landed even closer to t immediately after ion, and t ating the barrel swing down low.

    quot;A; ted, quot;its no good, t fire...¡±

    t brougo in alarm and despair, especially  into being on t or turned to flee; but time t launcoing o  against t.

    t doo t o traitors. took no notice, but ran to lower a gangplank.

    turned to go back on board, a s ence like a candle flame.

    tion from t once t and o face t ups over tops. And at top of tion of ironclad migs t rained on o make test dent in his massive armor.

    ill said to t;tacking to;

    quot;t fuel. But  figes, robbers...¡±

    t bear  ted; and ill sa to to the breech.

    An idea came, and  onto t into ty space bethe bear.

    quot;Stop!quot; ed. quot;Stop fig me speak to t;

    tood still, astonis trengto cayed y.  clao t.

    quot; are you?  do you ?quot;  language.

    tc one anot, and tand translated for thers.

    quot;Ill fig,quot; cried ill, quot;and if you give ing o stop.quot;

    t move. As for tood ed and jeered and ed er. But not for long, because ill turned to face tood cold-eyed, contained, and perfectly still, until ter stopped. rembling on his shoulder.

    , , quot;If I make t agree to sell t agree. If you dont, troy all of you.quot;

    t  turn; coalking, gesticulating, arguing, and after a minute, a voice called, quot;Boy! Make t;

    ill turned back. ook a deep breath and called:

    quot;Bear! You must agree. If you give o me, ting o stop, and you can buy fuel and go peacefully up t;

    quot;Impossible,quot; roared t;It  of its s fig;

    quot;I agree,quot; said ill, and every scrap of tention  ferocious being in front of ;Its not a fair contest at all. You  armor, and I ake off my  fairer, t, for example. tter matcll be no so fig;

    it expressed red, rage, and scorn, t claw and un  in place.

    And noerfront. No one spoke, no one moved. tell t somet tell   t of tless crying of seagulls over clang as t do ills feet.

    ill put ed t up on its end.  it. It consisted of a single s of iron, dark and dented, op and a massive c humb.

    quot;So t; ;ell, it doesnt look very strong to me. I dont knorust it. Let me see.quot;

    And ook ted t t of t, and sliced off a corner as if ting butter.

    quot;ts ,quot;  anoto a pile of fragments in less te. ood up and  a handful.

    quot;t ; ter onto t at , quot;and t o me, Ill o fig it. Are you ready, bear? I tcake off your er all.quot;

    Utter stillness. tc a drop of s trickle down his spine.

    t and took a step backward.

    quot;too strong a ; ;I cant fig. Boy, you ;

    ill kne a second later t and he bear had

    finiso turn and call out, to keep t:

    quot;No keep ter tart repairing t t tie up and refuel.quot;

    it ake a minute to translate t and let t among tco t ting out, as a net of sandbanks baffles and breaks up tc ood more fully t the boy had achieved.

    ill put t a different kind time. to dismantle the quayside.

    Ons about clearing up, but several more came croo see ill, curious about to command t ime for ill to become inconspicuous again, so  ed all kinds of curiosity a  magic, but simply a e eresting, less attractive to tention. t urned away.

    But ttention

    anotraordinary po ills command. ly, in a voice t seemed to the ships engines.

    quot; is your name?quot; he said.

    quot;ill Parry. Can you make anot ?quot;

    quot;Yes.  do you seek?quot;

    quot;Youre going up t to come o tains and t ake me?quot;

    quot;Yes. I  to see t knife.quot;

    quot;I o a bear I can trust. trusto tains to find. ongue. t;

    quot;I am Iorek Byrnison,quot; said the bear.

    quot;I kno; said ill.

    t aking fuel on board; tilted sideo let coal tes into t rose iced by townspeople, whe ship.

 NINE - UPRIVER

    quot;Let me see t; said Iorek Byrnison. quot;I understand metal. Noteel is a mystery to a bear. But I o look at it closely.quot;

    ill and teamer, in tting sun, and t progress upstream; ty of fuel on board, t ill could eat, and aking taken t already.

    ill  toook it from ely. ting e objects as skillfully as a urned t, bringing it closely to  to catc, testing teel edge, on a piece of scrap iron.

    quot;t my armor ; ;trange. I cannot tell  is,   I  to understand it. o possess it?quot;

    ill told  of w  only w concerned her.

    quot;You foug t; t;S;

    ill  o ment, t till very tender. t them.

    quot;Bloodmoss,quot; ;And somet identify. ?quot;

    quot;A man  in a  cured my cried, but t ;

    quot;And o do ; said Iorek Byrnison,  carefully back to ill.

    quot;to use it in a ; ill replied. quot;But first I must rescue Lyra Silvertongue.quot;

    quot;t; said t leapt h pleasure.

    Over t feral Asia, so far from their homeland.

    Since tastrop  tic ice o melt, and nerange currents appeared in ter. Since tures arve if tayed o migrate to o t mountains, to t touc unsernal, and deep in snoains, for as long as it took to settle itself again.

    quot;So youre not making ; ill said.

    quot;Our old enemies vanis new ones, we know o fig;

    quot;I t t   case?quot;

    quot;t gave advantage to t else? But I congue. First, I ever serves tc is er.quot;

    old ill of s o ter of turned tic to tage by letting take t could, and as it s source in tains t, and as Lyra oo, t well so far.

    So time  past.

    During ting, gatrengted in every part of co ceppe gave o lo; and still t steamed south.

    alked to tain and t of politeness, but lacking Lyras instant ease rangers,  difficult to to say; and in any case ttle interested in   a back muctle range daemon of cimes it imes it seemed to itious, like many sailors, to leave him

    alone.

    Balt, kept quiet, too. Sometimes oo strong for o put up  and fly c or taste of air, any sing stars or pressure ridges t migalked, at nigtle cabin ill slept in, it o report on  ill tle sympat it, y.  and formal, tic;  t promise, at least.

    As for Iorek,  it for esting bot,  up to t, touc ongue, sniffing it, and even listening to t flosman of t accomplis; nor for Iorek  in ty paws.

    Finally Iorek came to ill and said, quot;t does somet told me about.  is it, and  ;

    quot;I cant s; said ill, quot;because t is moving. As soon as op, Ill s;

    quot;I can t,quot; said t;but not understand  is trangest t;

    And  back to ill, ing, unreadable long stare out of his deep black eyes.

    time  ing t flooders t  do of tic. ted tly in different places, ill saer village stood up to its roofs in er and ried to salvage s and canoes. t tle  race rue course turbid streams. tter, and t o keep cool; some of teamer made its asting tive ers in this foreign land.

    But eventually to rise tains of t central Asian plateau. ill sac greing itself into different peaks and ridges and passes bet it seemed t t be close at  till; it  t tains  t more inconceivably high.

    Most of tains, apart from t as t t ramparts, still so far off.

    quot; ; said one. quot;Are tains? ;

    quot;t; ;e sable. And tures ty. Our lives  for a o ic freezes once more, o go back and claim it. If arved. Be prepared for strangeness and for ne;

    Eventually teamer could sail no fart t t to a  in a valley bottom t normally ain floain insisted t  go past it. Beyond t,  enough.

    So to tcrop of rock formed a sort of jetty, and disembarked.

    quot;; said ill to tain, wed.

    tain found a tattered old map and jabbed at it ;take, go on.quot;

    quot;t; ill said, and o offer to pay; but tain urned ao supervise the unloading.

    Before long all ty or so bears and all tain sed an order, and to turn ponderously against t, maneuvering out into midstream and giving a blast on tle t ecime around the valley.

    ill sat on a rock, reading t, tive, according to to t and t hrough a pass called Sungchen.

    quot;Bears, mark t; said Iorek Byrnison to s. quot;ime comes for us to move back to tic,  make  ens, I s;

    tary creatures for t part, and togetimes of  t tient to be off, eacheir own.

    quot;Come, t; said Iorek Byrnison, quot;and we s;

    ill lifted  off.

    It  part of t t t of t off t t precipitous. ill found  on t, t,  up rengt t of it.  kno, but the bear did.

    And as soon as tropical rain forest steamed and dripped, and ed out into tain air. Iorek couc it, and stepped to t, moist air to look around in silence. t scrapings and frog croakings, and t drip-drip of condensing moisture sounded very loud to ill, outside it.

    tco see t t ill t ting  for a long time and  back ;I ;

    ttle,  a gazelle and ate most of it, leaving tender meat for ill to cook; and once to a village, and , ill exc, coarse bread and some dried fruit, and for boots of yak leatcoat of a kind of s  night.

    o ask about to; anding easier bet directions, which were helpful and clear.

    It ting there.

    And so hers.

    Lord Asriels force, ters and tanker, o go still, but t pause except for essential maintenance, and t in touc fortress. one operator aboard er, and to learn as quickly as Lord Asriel  w was going on elsewhere.

    ting. ttle spy, tcorial Court of Discipline and ty of t, agreed to put ty er and more skillful aletrist to orial Court noly o rescue ing no time, t commandeered a flig same day a battalion of to embark aboard ting in till air beside the Lake of Geneva.

    So eac ts oains. And t   t muc: Lord Asriels gyropters er torial Court, but to fly, and ted by tanker.

    And tion:  t orial Court, because t o consider getting Lyra ao kill her.

    t of torial Court o ialys one resonator, ordering o smuggle t to go aly to tect il King Oguno rescue y o come above every otion.

    Getting t least because of t to carry. Apart from tone resonator, t important items  larvae, and t insects emerged, t t like any kind of dragonfly t tures carefully, and eacs differed from t. tialyss clan bred poriped dragonflies al appetites, -flying creature ric blue body and the dark.

    Every spy ed amounts of oil and ion or bring rapidly to adultialys and Salmakia y-six o c  time t ake, and ts to emerge before the zeppelins landed.

    to roar, s structure from end to end as t off and t zeppelins rose into t sky.

    tal insult, but to conceal t least as s. From t in oucer.

    But t learn any more about on t never spoke of it: and t ter of to commit if torial Court failed in tracking  all.

 TEN - WHEELS

    quot;Yea; said ted casino. quot;e seen ;

    Fat;And do you remember w s;

    quot;S,quot; said ttle boy. quot;Sy in t.quot;

    quot;o be?quot;

    quot;About...quot; said t;I suppose maybe forty or fifty. e didnt see y, maybe. But s, like Paolo said, and s;

    Paolo  t as  in his face.

    quot;Yea; said tiently, quot;I knoers,quot; so Fat;sers at all. S y and never . I ain never seen a gro before, all rig t; s h a challenge in her eyes.

    quot;t I dont kno; said Father Gomez mildly.

    ttle boy plucked at her sleeve and whispered again.

    quot;Paolo says,quot; sold t, quot;o get t;

    Fat le. estimony of Fra Pavel in t torial Court: t be t.

    quot;If I can,quot; ;I s?quot;

    quot;From torre degli Angeli,quot; said ting at tone toops. It s;And tole it, ullio. ters got . You  to kill t boy, ts okay. And t;

    quot;too?quot; said t, trying not to seem too interested.

    quot;Lying filt; spat t;e nearly killed t there came some women, flying women...¡±

    quot;itc; said Paolo.

    quot;itc took t. But ter. e t maybe s some kind of knife, to keep ters a; sing o stare at him boldly.

    quot;I ; said Fat;But I ask. Maybe t is protecting me against ters.quot;

    quot;Yea; said t;maybe. Any  soutoains. e don kno, because t before and not no;

    quot;t; said t. quot;Bless you, my c;

    t off t, silent streets, satisfied.

    After tures, Mary Malone kne t deal about her.

    t first morning t o a settlement by a river, and table; so o, and tures back  frig t of t made ed enougo ignore t.

    And in tures pons, t eacime in tant past, a line of ancestral creatures must ructure and found it  as generations

    of long-ago craral spine.

    t er a eered by leaning to one side or tled along at a speed Mary found terrifying, to admit t ture sest feeling of danger. If only so o, s.

    At t of tand of t trees, and nearby a river meandered on t looked like a er, but s spend long looking at t, because tures tlement on ty to see it.

    ty or ty s, rougo s to see, tle-and-daub mixture on tcures  out of thers bringing brushwood for a fire.

    So ty. And about tment being made in ures became t  told s not theyre us.

    te close noo eaco look. ty from to a , and Mary clambered stiffly do ser on.

    quot;t; so ? eed? -eyed amiability t stood beside tled for, friend.

    runk and imitated her words:

    quot;Anku,quot; s.

    Sook ure (quot;Anku! Anku!quot;) and  and on to the village.

    And tion truly began.

    In t feo be just as ruck by o begin  get enouge trunks felt over every joint, searc tly, and tc as so curn, t runks. tely flexible, and about as long as e poions at tip  gentleness; tures seemed to be able to vary tone of t of fingertips, from a soft velvet to a solidity like , te task like milking a grazer and tearing and shaping branches.

    Little by little, Mary realized t trunks  in communication, too. A movement of trunk  sounded like quot;c; meant er runk from left to rigrunk curled up at tip, sadness o t. As soon as sated it, moving  sures realized t so talk to t .

    Once to talk (mostly in to teac;ankuquot; and quot;grassquot; and quot;treequot; and quot;skyquot; and quot;river,quot; and pronounce tle difficulty) t an individual  the

    sounds for  it oo subtle for o imitate easily. So e it all doionary.

    But before s ruly absorbed, sook out tered paperback and talks, and asked this, or should I go on somewhere else and keep searching?

    till, so t restlessness dissolves; tumult, one can perceive t laws.

    It  on: As a mountain keeps still self, t permit o stray beyond uation.

    t could alks a scures around her.

    One said, Question? Permission? Curious.

    She said, Please. Look.

    Very delicately trunks moved, sorting talks in ting movement surning tonis t surn t time. to coget;teeple,quot; or make t over-and-over to-opposite forefinger movement t  exactly t in Lyras s away.

    Once talks and t to  C meant t  to do ly, at t moment, w she should do.

    So s o learning more about t.

    S t ten years at least, gro tion. ttlement, one almost gros, t manage to move as t on t for all turousness (skipping up to Mary and srying to clamber up tree trunks, floundering in ter, and so on), t. ts artling by contrast, and Mary sa long for t. Sc cly to tore, and try to fit o tral  o stand up,  once, trapping tracted an adult. truggled to get free, squeaking y, and Mary couldnt  t, at t parent and ty c at t minute and scampered away.

    tmost importance, and soon Mary began to see just hey were.

    t mucime, to begin aining tly lifting and ting t out of trunks to examine trong: a spur of  rigo tly curved so t t part, in t as it rested on tc .

    Mary remembered t seedpod. it  on  stay on the claw seemed

    impregnated ly fragrant oil, and after sesting, cate of to wonder w: wree?

    Alt as  ures could only use ural  be some feature of tent of tone roads t made t savanna, and be so resistant to tle by little, Mary came to see toget, seemingly, managed by tion of every and of  grass, and te tree, and te. On one occasion sing some individuals and , to dispatcrunk. Noted. one in trunks, tted tes, and tcing out tender meat and tougs, trimming t, removing tly t Mary c at seeing anything done well.

    Soon strips of meat  and , er use, and to soak in pits of er filled o tan; and t c of ending to be a grazer, making t evening t to eat, and Mary feasted well.

    In a similar  fiso be ly s. Looking for somet to t-makers and offered to  on t trunks togeto tie a knot, sonisie knots on  first s t tage, s cut . And from t time on, so knot task icular friend, fingers and trunk moving in and out together.

    But of all t rees t took most care h.

    ter by t ty of oty  out to cy trees, and to  any fallen seedpods. It  rees benefit from terco a , surrounding one individual , so ted; but tself aken back to ttlement.

    t open and took out all t pale ovals as big as Marys little fingernail, and examined eac tant pounding t on to crack at all, and also t t to germinate. it ttention, trees would all die.

    Eac  made it possible. It and, but to be saying t ter of t young ones didnt  use their claws.

    And t ion betion t  few years of her life.

    But before s any furtions he mulefa were long and complex,

    because trating ts ten notely for reference), ttlement tacked.

    Mary  to see ttackers coming, t knohey were.

    It ernoon,  one story  climbers; but Mary c it in place wo echey could.

    So s ters of a co er t empering t of t by a flase.

    It came from t distant glitter s  of tall  of t  making  grace for th.

    Mary called t are you seeing?

    S kno, so sail, we, many.

    At once t stopped o ter of ttlement, calling te all to flee.

    Atal, ualapil tualapi!

    It  Mary e sails by time ered t t. Mary acked so sly, togetarlings, all cion simultaneously. And tiful, te slender sails, bending and dipping and filling...

    ty of t least, and tly t. But s t boats at all: tic birds, and t,  and flexed and trimmed by their own muscles.

    time to stop and study t. tall as sened noer.

    Ser treamed out of ttlement and onto t in time: al ing, and as Mary scrambled on al beat t, speeding aer her companions.

    t move as fast on land, soon gave up turned back to ttlement.

    tore open tores, snarling and groossing t cruel beaks  and all t and grain. Everyte.

    And tualapi found tore, and tried to smas seedpods, but t  ense c of ter pod o ty legs, but of course no o t.   several of toer, ohe sea.

    t sno about demolisal, raking blo and stabbing, smasearing movements of the mulefa around

    crooning h sorrow.

    I help, Mary said. e make again.

    But tures  finis; iful ed among tation and voided ted up te dung lay among ttered tc on land giving trut, t back to ter and sailed aream tohe sea.

    Only  tore.

    Out of teen pods t . t o ter and lost. But t bend of t s a ook off , and so it. On t one but five of tening centers, shem behind her.

    titude. tered ter taking care to keep t and .

    Later t niger a scanty meal of s roots, told  time ual joy. But sometue  of te every effort and all ttention trees were dying.

 ELEVEN - THE DRAGONFLIES

    Ama climbed to t in . o reache sleeping girl?

    So told o leave t it do s go straigtle fart till to  and the rainbows began.

    ttle green-aracts, past trum tinted spray, until iny pearls of moisture. to get to top  e temptation, and soon t sparkled and fractured into red, yello snt bruso see better until s rigo top, or t.

    Kulang, o a rock near top of ttle erfall, and surn at once to make sure s brusure off  t .

    Instead, here, gazing forward.

    Ama ill, because looking do ure s immense, terrifying, four times t, and ivory e hair on his head.

    quot;?quot; said t understand t the sense easily enough.

    After a moment t to tting jaw.

    And  a daemon beside  sucrange bird: unlike any s fleo Kulang and spoke briefly: Friends. e s  you.

    t  all.

    quot;Come up,quot; said t for her.

    atcitious atle erfall and stood sterfly and settled for a moment on  left it to flutter around t still on the boys hand.

    quot;ill,quot; said ting to himself.

    S;Ama.quot; No sened of t more two of  dizzy w.

    turned aream and lay doer, as if to cool ook to ttered o understand eacher.

    And  to be looking for but a cave, h a girl asleep?

    tumbled out of ;I knoo keep  I o make  to ;

    ill could only s for Balto translate. It took more te.

    quot;Iorek,quot; ream, licking  s; ill said, quot;to look, way c;

    Iorek Byrnison, foursquare in tream, nodded silently. ill  t filled to bruso see o put .

    of ted t t gnarled pine trunks ensely green and a billion tiny insects scraped and sang. Do, and fartill t folloo tossed unceasingly in t sky.

    ted. ill dreangle of leaves and branco t, and partway up¡­

    quot;Mrs. Coulter,quot;  ing fast.

    t a t and brusogetic.

    But t vicious monkey appeared, leaping up to ed someter didnt look domestic at all.

    Ama ear ts will alive.

    quot;Is t; ill said. quot;No soldiers, or anyone like t?quot;

    Ama didnt knoalk about strange and frig be gs, seen on tainsides at nig ts in tains, everyone kne. So t not o do he woman.

    ell, t ill, if Lyras in ter doesnt leave it, Ill o go and pay a call.

    ; is t do you o do  to wake ;

    Ama explained.

    quot;And ;

    In her home, she said. hidden away.

    quot;All rig  come near. nt say t you kno bring ;

    , Amas daemon said.

    quot;Bring t; said ill. quot;Ill meet you ;

    Sc unease as  off along t believe old  t o the cave.

    Actually, ill felt very nervous. All o be clarified, so t iniest insects drifting in ts and tle of every leaf and t of t th.

    quot;Balt; o -eyed small bird ;Keep close to me, and c monkey.quot;

    quot;to your rig; said Baltersely.

    And ill sac at t cy paces aill, and turned o look in turned back.

    ill felt for the knife handle and walked on.

    ing for him.

    Sting at tle canvas ccravelers clot so  and so graceful  of tle spray of red blossom so front looked like t elegant of jeered, and .

    So tness and gentleness a  into a smile, and it unsettled him.

    quot;Youre ill,quot; s looxicating voice.

    quot;; he said harshly.

    quot;Lyra says it in ;

    quot;;

    quot;Safe.quot;

    quot;I  to see ;

    quot;Come on, t; s to , dropping the chair.

    But t vicious monkey appeared, leaping up to ed someter didnt look domestic at all.

    Ama ear ts will alive.

    quot;Is t; ill said. quot;No soldiers, or anyone like t?quot;

    Ama didnt knoalk about strange and frig be gs, seen on tainsides at nig ts in tains, everyone kne. So t not o do he woman.

    ell, t ill, if Lyras in ter doesnt leave it, Ill o go and pay a call.

    ; is t do you o do  to wake ;

    Ama explained.

    quot;And ;

    In her home, she said. hidden away.

    quot;All rig  come near. nt say t you kno bring ;

    , Amas daemon said.

    quot;Bring t; said ill. quot;Ill meet you ;

    Sc unease as  off along t believe old  t o the cave.

    Actually, ill felt very nervous. All o be clarified, so t iniest insects drifting in ts and tle of every leaf and t of t th.

    quot;Balt; o -eyed small bird ;Keep close to me, and c monkey.quot;

    quot;to your rig; said Baltersely.

    And ill sac at t cy paces aill, and turned o look in turned back.

    ill felt for the knife handle and walked on.

    ing for him. ?

    Sting at tle canvas ccravelers clot so  and so graceful  of tle spray of red blossom so front looked like t elegant of jeered, and .

    So tness and gentleness a  into a smile, and it unsettled him.

    quot;Youre ill,quot; s looxicating voice.

    quot;; he said harshly.

    quot;Lyra says it in ;

    quot;;

    quot;Safe.quot;

    quot;I  to see ;

    quot;Come on, t; s to , dropping the chair.

    For t time since coming into  trous, eaco be made of pure gold, muctle face and  seen t face, contorted e, on tole ter back from Sir Crom in tried to tear at eetil ill -rig t  t noturn  monkey now.

    But tcepped carefully over the

    cave and folloer to ttle figure lying still in the shadows.

    And t friend, asleep. So small s  le and mild w alaimon lay in  sening, and Lyras hair lay damp across her forehead.

    do. Out of to spring, and set  Mrs. Coulter sly, and the monkey relaxed.

    it seeming to, ill  layout of t  of to find  in to see it first.

    quot;So you see, se safe,quot; said Mrs. Coulter.

    quot; you let ;

    quot;Lets sit do;

    S take t sat  trance to t ills mistrust deepened.  t every , and every smile . ell, o deceive urn: o make eacaken an interest in his all his life.

    Rig. I can deal h you.

    quot;ould you like someto drink?quot; said Mrs. Coulter. quot;Ill oo... Its quite safe. Look.quot;

    S open some o t fres.

    quot;; she said.

    quot;It  o follo;

    quot;Evidently.  Lyras aleter?quot;

    quot;Yes,quot;   for  .

    quot;And youve got a knife, I understand.quot;

    quot;Sir Cold you t, did ;

    quot;Sir C sounds fascinating. May I see it?quot;

    quot;No, of course not,quot; ;;

    quot;Because I love ; s;Im  let anyto ;

    quot;Danger from ; said ill.

    quot;ell...quot; s   up again, sucked it back be s disturbed.

    If Mrs. Coulter sa;Look, ill, I dont kno my daug knoainly dont knorust you; but equally, Im tired of o lie. So  is: truth.

    quot;I found out t my daugo belong to, from t to kill er. And I  of too. to it; I served it h a passion.

    quot;But I er...¡±

    quot;I kno look after aken a o trust me. But ried to save . Ive o become a renegade and e place, and I t  noo learn t you found us so easily, and, t  be far be to kill  let ;

    quot;e ;

    quot;Because of o do. I dont kno is; I  te ;

    Salking urgently and quietly and closely.

    quot;elling you t; s on. quot;Can I trust you? I to. I cant escape anymore, to go. And if youre a friend of Lyras, you migoo. And I do need friends, I do need  me noroy me, too, as  me in a cave er, and all trying to track us doo find us, apparently.  are you going to do, ill?  do you ?quot;

    quot;; ubbornly avoiding ions.

    quot;Because  five days.quot;

    quot;But  to ;

    quot;Do you ten? Do you tened s trust me. Ses me, ill. You must kno. S kno... I love  career, great ion and o come to tains and live on dry bread and sour fruit, just so I can keep my daugo do t I o keep . But I must keep  your mot;

    ill felt a jolt of s Mrs. Coulter o bring o support . t sed by t t er all,  protected o protect er love Lyra more t t was unfair:  well.

    Eiter did not kno rously clever. iful eyes ced uncomfortably; and for a moment Mrs. Coulter looked uncannily like er.

    quot;But o do?quot; she said.

    quot;ell, Ive seen Lyra no; ill said, quot;and ss clear, and ss all I o do. So no, I can go and o.quot;

    t did surprise tle, but sered it.

    quot;You dont mean, I t you mig; se calmly, not pleading but questioning. quot;it you did at Sir C safe for us, couldnt you? You could  a;

    quot;Im going to go no; ill said, standing up.

    S o a skillful opponent  was w ed and ric  like her.

    So  firm and cool and soft. Surned to the golden monkey, who had been

    sitting beime, and a look passed bet ill couldnt interpret.

    turned back h a smile.

    quot;Good-bye,quot; he said.

    And sly, quot;Good-bye, ill.quot;

    t look back once. Ama il erfall ahead.

    quot;S; o Iorek Byrnison ty minutes later. quot;Of course s made t loves lying too muco stop.quot;

    quot; is your plan, t; said t,  doche rocks.

    ill  o move into anoto a spot rig to o to safety, and t o do: e?

    Balt , ;You o  to do no;

    Iorek uttered a deep, quiet gro first ill t  ttle s  taken little notice of eacil no, but t this, clearly.

    And ill sco it rue. ivated by Mrs. Coulter. All s referred to  of Lyra, it o  o o ed  of her...

    grimace. ood on a rock from  tok-tok of someone cling of treetops far beloiniest crevices in tains at to ures wure many miles away.

    t about it: Balt. t a spell on   and tempting to t tiful eyes and tness of t voice, and to recall to pus shining hair...

    it o ogetant drone.

    urned t to locate it, and found it in tion he and Iorek had come from.

    quot;Zeppelins,quot; said tartling ill, for   creature come near. Iorek stood beside ion, and t of ill, ent.

    quot;;

    quot;Eig; said Iorek after a minute, and too: little specks in a line.

    quot;Can you tell  ake to get ; ill said.

    quot;t long after nig;

    quot;So  s a pity.quot;

    quot; is your plan?quot;

    quot;to make an opening and take Lyra to anot again before o  s explain very clearly o use it, so so come into t  to put ract Mrs. Coulter ;

    ted and closed lined in droplets of mist in te afternoon light.

    quot;Balt; ;Im going back into t noo find a safe place to make t opening. I need you to keep cell me t s daemon of ;

    Balto sure. to t over to search for a world where Lyra would be safe.

    In tc over tting cocoon of tric blue one, easing taking care to let  t imprinted itself on ted eyes, sootretcs name to t creature, teac w was.

    In a fees tialys o  for noor, and tention  of the bow and his fingers.

    ransmitted:

    quot;to lord Roke:

    quot;e are timated time of arrival at torial Court of Discipline intends to send a squad to they land.

    quot;It o ts. t unit o to prove ure t is impossible, to kill her.

    quot;t is to capture the boy alive.

    quot;ters of King Ogunimate t ters er tly leave tly to try to defend t t unit and  bay until reinforcements arrive.

    quot;e a your response.quot;

    t immediately.

    quot;to tialys:

    quot;In t of your report, here is a change of plan.

    quot;In order to prevent t possible outcome, you and to cooperate iative, so if akes to it, let ay by t all times.quot;

    tialys replied:

    quot;to Lord Roke:

    quot;Your message is ood. t once.quot;

    ttle spy closed tor and gat together.

    quot;tialys,quot; came a s c;

    up to trut o t gently free of troking its great fierce ed tennae, still moist and curled, and

    let ture taste til it irely under his command.

    Salmakia ting irrups of titanium, a saddle of   raps around ts body, tiging. It ill it died.

    ted  to ts. trembled as s took over ture, and it plunged into ter tialys joined  eager to fig-gatself.

    ts, took a fes to get t the valley.

 TWELVE - THE BREAK

    As darkness fell, tood.

    In  toention tle figure beside tone resonator, and every ot ed, every part of ed to t came to tone under t.

    King Ogun in ter, sly  a plan to counter tentions of torial Court,  from t. tor . tial tting troops on t ers er t till some way behind.

    In torial Court, ttending to t. teen bolts a minute. t a spin and made te as a rifle. It ,  advantage.

    Mrs. Coulter lay arance to tless, and frustrated: ts  to torment.  by Mrs. Coulters sleeping bag, scratctle  t settled in the rock.

    Lyra lay  and almost as restless, but deep, deep asleep, locked into oblivion by t  ime, and no urned, and little ic resolution s and , making Pantalaimon grind  teethy.

    Not far aossed pines on t patoried to explain to Ama  , and  sed. o move calmly and speak quietly in order to keep o let ake to tell  o be used. In to say simply, quot;Keep very quiet and follo; and  she would.

    Iorek, in ing to o give ill enougime to  Lord Asriels force ime to time brougant clatter to Ioreks ears, but w zeppelin engines sounded like, er, and .

    Balt o tell t ill roubled about  to o , distracted, and sullen. And t, in turn, made it o talk to Ama.

    As to t;Balt;

    quot;Yes,quot; said tunelessly.

    quot;Baltay ay close and ;

    quot;I  abandoned you yet,quot; said the angel.

    t  ill could get out of him.

    Far above in ting midair, tialys and Salmakia soared over trying to see doo tly as told, but t easily cope ossed about dangerously in ter of trees, and to brancaking thering dark.

    ill and Ama crept up in t to t point t ill out of sig o be be off t a he air.

    tion of ground o a bleace ground s cratered ttering sounds over a wide silence.

    Ama folloect  must be ing tly place; and ing at once, became a lizard and scampered over t.

    ill sa  t moonligern once ers cave. o open it quickly, pull Lyra t again at once. t was safer.

    opped on to Ama: quot;e must be very quick and completely silent. No noise, not even a w;

    Sood, tened. ttle packet of po: s a dozen times, and sask so often t s in total darkness.

    te rocks, ill measuring tance carefully until imated t the cave.

    took t t possible window humb and forefinger.

    o it quickly to keep t out and looked t all  sky; er, asleep, ail, trailing negligently over the sleeping bag.

    C see oo close?  t ep or two, and opened again.

    S there.

    quot;Listen,quot; o Ama and ;t see o find  t. So stand back, keep out of t accidentally cut you uck t by t;

    quot;e s; Ama said, quot;because I knoter too.quot;

    ubborn, ogets clenc slowly around his neck.

    ill said, quot;O e silence, and you do exactly  once, you understand?quot;

    Sted  yet again to che medicine.

    ill made a small opening, lo sly, getting t on  beogeten seconds.

    taking some moments to adjust from t rees, but belo oo. It   far away.

    it hand, ill balanced himself carefully and looked around.

    Ama ; but Lyra  at t about it.

    ill raised ook a long, steady look doorance, wer and her daemon lay deep in sleep.

    And t sank. tretc in t next to Mrs. Coulter. tlines  seen her.

    ill touced.

    quot;ell just o do it very carefully,quot; he whispered.

    Sometside. trees, and lig, too, s Lyra out, tter, and t meant darting doer ting to safety, and closing again.

    to Ama. She nodded.

    t to move, Mrs. Coulter woke up.

    Sirred and said sometantly to . ill could see te in ttentive, and ter  up, s t outside.

    ills left ig. Mrs. Coulter got up, fully dressed, lit, not at all as if s been asleep. Perime. Scening, as t from to side above treetops and ts, male voices  clear t t, very fast.

    ill squeezed Amas  and darted forcumbled, running fast and low.

    t Lyras side, and salaimon around  carefully, and a second later to pull Lyra to safety¡­

    But  Mrs. Coulter. Surned around silently, and ted off t  it   all; it   t, and o the ground.

    It was broken.

    No  at all.

    o Ama, quot;ake  no;

    tood up, ready to figrangle t monkey first. ensed to meet its leap, and ill  of t least  to  h.

    But ttack eiter. Stle to let t from outside sol in  some of t s Ama o rils by using ail as a brush.

    ill side: te no sounded familiar, like an intrusion from ter of a er. ts s across trees outside, in a brilliant green scatter of radiance.

    Mrs. Coulter turned briefly as to  too briefly for ill to jump and seize t ill  blinking, crouco spring.

    Lyra  doing o him.

    Outside t, and a man fell out of to land  five yards from trance to ter didnt flinc urned back to ill. A moment later ter t, a storm of sing broke out, and ts of gunfire.

    Lyra ruggling up into consciousness, gasping, sigo fall back alaimon retc to one side as o act.

    As for ill, most care for time to  o gat up safely. As ed it carefully, every nerve in  into te easily, because tal caugside: seven of t being t itself. urned back to try and make sense of t outside.

    Some t difficult for ts to  steady. Meaners o land one at a time, and to make t  from the swaying zeppelins.

    By time, botroops. Some rees. But neit reacill t lay er.

    ill said above the noise:

    quot; are you going to do?quot;

    quot;ive.quot;

    quot;, as ages? ake any notice of t? t to kill us all any;

    quot;One force does, certainly,quot; s;but Im not sure about t ;

    Sside, ill saw her face full of joy and life and energy.

    quot;You broke t; he said.

    quot;No, I didnt. I ed it .quot;

    Lyras voice came urgently: quot;ill?quot; stered. quot;Is t ill?quot;

    quot;Lyra!quot;  quickly beside  up.

    quot;s ; Lyra said. quot;;

    quot;ere in a cave. Dont move too fast, youll get dizzy. Just take it carefully. Find your strengt;

    ill  se to be aing aking muc. Ama cimidly, for no trange girl isfaction: she was here, she was real.

    t on a rock. Lyra held his hand and rubbed her eyes.

    quot;s ; she whispered.

    quot;Ama  some poo ; ly, and Lyra turned to t time, and put ;I got ; ill  on, quot;but some soldiers did, too. I dont kno as soon as ;

    Outside, t; one of ters aken a fusillade from a zeppelins mac on top, and it burst into flames, not only killing t also preventing ters from landing.

    Anot o reinforce tion. Mrs. Coulter ing it ook careful aim before firing. ill sa side.

    If s again, , Ill rusurned to o Balt tead, ill sa trembling and whimpering.

    quot;Balt; ill said urgently. quot;Come on, t  you! And you o , you kno, youre not a coward, and we need you...¡±

    But before thing else happened.

    Mrs. Coulter cried out and reaco aneously tc someth a snarl of glee.

    A voice, a  somee, came from the monkeys paw:

    quot;tialys! tialys!quot;

    It iny  one of  s in pain. Ama kneop till orn it off, but ill leapt forers hand.

    And  t ter fell still, and ill became arange stalemate.

    ter terly motionless. orted  s move, because standing on iny man   ening  o cry out a moment before.  ung her ankle.

    But ttle man couldnt  Mrs. Coulter anymore, because of tner  t tle man dug o Mrs. Coulters jugular vein. None of them could move.

    Breato govern ter turned ear-daso ill and said calmly, quot;So, Master ill, ;

 THIRTEEN - TIALYS AND SALMAKIA

    unning  Mrs. Coulter groaned aloud and to let tiny ruggle free.

    In a moment s up to ter, botime to be astonis enderly, and embraced ly before calling to ill.

    quot;You! Boy!quot;  ; t;

    quot;Of course I ; said ill. If t kno o tell them.

    quot;You and to follow us. ;

    quot;Ama, from t; said ill.

    quot;tell o return t;

    ill didnt ate. ever tended, ill get ah below.

    So c on, ed foro ter lay. Sunned ing, but s past her, and cried:

    quot;Lyra! Lyra, my daug go! Dont go!quot;

    Lyra looked do  tepped over ers feeble clutcears glistening on her cheeks.

    Crouc beside ted until ting, and ted do s, the leaping orange of flames.

    ill looked back once. In ters face ragic passion, and eously to  and  her arms, crying:

    quot;Lyra! Lyra, my love! My s treasure, my little c go, dont leave me! My darling daugearing my ...¡±

    And a great and furious sob ser all, Mrs. Coulter ears run dohe girls cheeks.

    But o be rut Lyras ed close to o  a crouc ers pistol.

    quot;Make for top of t; said t;and give yourself up to t ;

    Mindful of t t intention of obeying. t  , and Lyra and Ama ran behind him.

    quot;!quot;

    te men he Swiss Guard.

    quot;Iorek!quot; cried ill at once. quot;Iorek Byrnison!quot;  far a him.

    But someone else came from noion so being in front of them.

    But trained  later t at teete in t in fear and sing co vanis of sigreetops.

    Lyra  all ill-dazed eyes. It aken no more t it ol and clamped  o tt and pulled trigger, and t s t found t.

    taneously ttle spies launc t tims before ill could blink. t, and eacab heir daemons vanishing in mid-howl.

    ill leapt over t  alaimon racing -formed at t, and  dodging do pat, and a second later o. tced on roots and rocks, but tumbled to to te rocks under ts broke the immense silence.

    And t to omaccal

    to mention to  ted at   ing until omac y.

    Lyra c .

    ill finally recovered a little and looked around. And at once  t alone in ttle spies oo,  ternly. t and tures so distinct t t about they were.

    o Lyra, quot;ters in my rucksack, t;

    quot;O, oo muco believe,  to do, o even t... And its safe! You brung it all t;

    tumbled out of ly t even s expect anser over and over, roking tal and they knew so well.

    ill t: Itll tell us o mend the knife!

    But , quot;Are you all rigy?quot;

    quot;I dunno... yea not too much. Anyway...¡±

    quot;e s; ill said, quot;just in case t and come t;

    quot;Yes, ts true,quot; s, ill carrying his rucksack and Lyra happily

    carrying ttle bag s ter in. Out of t t tance and made no t.

    Over t offered a narro beneat,  for snakes, and s and some er from ills bottle.

    ill said quietly, quot;t kno of my mot made t, or catc knouck till  it mended. I didnt  ttle people to kno, Ive got t you could ask ter, maybe, and...¡±

    quot;Yea; s once. quot;Yea;

    Srument out in a moment and moved into t so s as ill o turn talaimon, mouse-formed no on her knee.

    Sarted before stle gasp of excitement, and s ill  it  finis, and sil trument fell still.

    S it a;Iorek? Is  I  t I  ;

    quot;Yes. Could  er said?quot;

    quot;Oal, ill! Not only armor, tle delicate t; Sold  tin box Iorek o s t;But w;

    quot;Close by.  obviously ing... And Balt ened...quot;

    quot;;

    t be feeling.

    quot;But Ill tell you more about er,quot; ;Its so strange... old me so many tand too...quot; hrough his hair and rubbed his eyes.

    quot;You got to tell me everyt; s;Everyt me. O still bleeding? Your poor ;

    quot;No. My fat. I just opened it up  its better no t hed made...¡±

    quot;You found your fat;

    quot;ts rigain, t nig;

    on some fresment from ttle old   ranger, tion t came to tcruck ing o ting h Iorek.

    quot;All t ; s;Dyou knoo me, ill, I t ted to  me...S...quot;

    She rubbed her eyes.

    quot;O my dream, ill, I cant tell you range it   clearness and understanding going so deep you cant see ttom, but clear all the way down.

    quot;It old you about my friend Roger, and  ried to rescue   wrong and Lord Asriel killed him?

    quot;ell, I saw , and he was, like,

    beckoning to me, calling to me, only I couldnt   me to be dead, it  t. ed to speak to me.

    quot;And... It  took o Svalbard,

    back to os and by t to Bolvangar to fetc  say sorry, itll all be no good, just a e of time. I got to do t, you see, ill. I got to go doo t care . t doesnt matter after t.quot;

    ill said, quot;t a  a  to ;

    S ruck by the idea.

    quot;You could ask,quot;  on. quot;Do it no;

    S over ter and ly. A minute later she answer.

    quot;Yes,quot; s;but its a strange place, ill...So strange ... Could ? Could o t,  of us does t? Because daemons fade aay in t t;

    quot;t be a t. A different part.quot;

    quot;You kno; sement, quot;I t must be true! Because I can t my body and I can t my daemon, so t be anot, to do t;

    quot;Yes. And ts t.quot;

    Lyras eyes blazed. S;Maybe  Rogers g out. Maybe we could rescue ;

    quot;Maybe. e could try.quot;

    quot;Yea!quot; s once. quot;ell go togets exactly ;

    But if t get t, to do not all.

    As soon as omac calmer,  up and called to ttle spies. te apparatus nearby.

    quot;; ;And w;

    t  a . t.

    quot;e are Gallivespian,quot; s;I am tialys. e are spies for Lord Asriel.quot;

    Sanding on a rock tinct and brilliant in t. tle voice ly clear and loerial and a sleeveless top of green, and  ume  rousers reaco midcalf. Botrong, capable, ruthless, and proud.

    quot; ; said Lyra. quot;I never seen people like you before.quot;

    quot;Our ialys. quot;e are outla.quot;

    quot;And  to do ;

    quot;to take you to your fat; said t;Lord Asriel sent a force under King Oguno rescue you and to ress. e are o ;

    quot;A suppose I dont  to go to my fat trust ;

    quot;Im sorry to ,quot; s;but to take you to ;

    Lyra couldnt : s loud at tion of tiny people making  it ake. Moving suddenly, talaimon, and oucip of a spur to   Bolvangar ouc ion.

    But t ill  up t ig use his spurs, and was holding him high.

    quot;Stalemate again,quot; said t;Put t;

    quot;Let go of Lyras daemon first,quot; said ill. quot;Im not in to argue.quot;

    Lyra sa ill ly ready to das ttle people kne.

    Salmakia lifted  aalaimons leg, and at once  free of o a , ail laseet  composure. After a moment urned and fled to Lyras breast, ermine-sialys back on tner.

    quot;You s,quot; to Lyra. quot;You are a tless, insolent co make you safe. Youd do better to act politely.quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;Im sorry, I ;

    quot;As for you...¡±  on, turning to ill.

    But ill interrupted: quot;As for me, Im not going to be spoken to like t, so dont try. Respect goes ten carefully. You are not in c to stay and o Lord Asriel no it.quot;

    Lyra could see tling, but tialys  ills  , and s  all costs tnt kno hen.

    quot;Very ; said t;e ss task  you must let us knoend to do.quot;

    quot;ts fair,quot; said ill. quot;Ill tell you. ere going back into Lyras ed, and o find a friend of ours, a bear.  far a;

    quot;t; said Salmakia. quot;e sa t come o Lord Asriel.quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; said Lyra, lying earnestly, quot;o t.quot;

    Pantalaimon  ed up to join them.

    quot;t poison,quot; Lyra said, turning back to t;in your spurs, I mean, is it deadly? Because you stung my moter, didnt you? ill s;

    quot;It ; said tialys. quot;A full dose c;

    And full of maddening pain,   tell .

    quot;I need to talk to Lyra in private,quot; said ill. quot;ere just going to move ae.quot;

    quot;it knife,quot; said t;you can cut to anot t so?quot;

    quot;Dont you trust me?quot;

    quot;No.quot;

    quot;All rig  got it, I cant use it.quot;

    on t  t  touc,

    quot;ell just o put up ; ill said. quot;As soon as t;

    quot;t; s;And t care, t;

    quot;I just . I  realized .quot;

    quot;; sly.

    Scalaimon as ed tiny mot go as far as t  as fast, and even more brigterned. Stled on it, ransparent ing.

    quot;Do you trust t; ill said.

    quot;Yes. t I t.quot;

    t back to to t;Im going to sleep no;

    t once and fell asleep.

    Lyra sat do-formed and er ruly fearless, and s beyond measure; but  good at lying and betraying and cing,  of t, s uous, because s for ill, never for herself.

    Sended to look at ter again, but to  time instead of unconscious, and s for a brief nap, as she assured herself before she fell asleep.

 FOURTEEN - KNOW WHAT IT IS

    ill and Lyra slept t and ually a; but wialys was calmly on guard close by.

    quot;torial Court reated,quot; old t;Mrs. Coulter is in to Lord Asriel.quot;

    quot;; said ill, sitting up stiffly. quot;;

    quot;No. e talk tone resonator. I reported our conversation,quot; tialys said to Lyra, quot;to my commander, Lord Roke, and   once you ;

    quot;Good,quot; said ill. quot;ts eat toget our food?quot;

    quot;t; said the Lady.

    ill took out  fe loaf of rye bread,  take much.

    quot;As for er, t seem to be any around ; ill said. quot;ell o  till ;

    quot;tter do t soon,quot; said Lyra.

    First, took out ter and asked if till any danger in to leave.

    trange in t, giving onto tation ing. ted to look at it, and ounded to see   not t only sprang into being whe side.

    quot;Ill o close it once ; ill said.

    Lyra tried to pincogeter t t  find it at all; nor could te tly w cleanly and quickly.

    quot;er ; said tialys.

    quot;As many as t; said ill. quot;No one o find out.quot;

    pat air and darted like needles ts of sunlig of trees above , and tranquil; so it o see ted er suspended among ts African pilot, tangled in  belt,  of to find ttle fart-black strips of clotruts and pipe o cinders, torted and draill tening to fight.

    And trees farto battle, noting   most.

    op of trees t and terfalls began, topped to drink deeply of ter.

    quot;I  little girls all rig; said ill. quot;ed never  you ao a o get t po;

    quot;S,quot; said Lyra, quot; cause I asked ter, last nig mixed up in it, but s.quot;

    terfalls and refilled ills canteen before striking off across teau toer told Lyra t Iorek had gone.

    And trouble for ill, but a torment to Lyra, er  songue torn out t; limping, tigrembling, s pace  do noon did s to relieve himself.

    t;Rest. t;

    quot;But I dont  to let ill do  o t;

    quot;ts t t;

    quot;You dont kno; said Lyra rudely. quot;You dont know ;

    quot;I knoinence ; said t;Do as I tell you no. Save your energy for t;

    Lyra felt mutinous, but ttering spurs , so shing.

    tone resonator, and, curiosity overcoming resentment, Lyra co see  looked like a s lengtone, resting on a stand of  a tiny bos across t various points along t marked, so o be touc at random, but from tensity of ain fluency of s, Lyra kne was as skillful and demanding a process as er.

    After several minutes t took up a pair of tle fingernail, and ighe

    stone, leading t along to anot t around t. By manipulating tension on to his own message.

    quot; ; she said when hed finished.

    tialys looked at o judge ed, and t;Your scientists, al tum entanglement. It means t ticles can exist t only ies in common, so t  t, no matter  taking a common lodestone and entangling all its particles, and tting it in t bots resonate togeterpart to tly, and so e.quot;

    everyto t a little apart, talking too quietly for Lyra to alaimon became an ourned  ears in tion.

    Presently ill came back and t by and track got steeper and ted once more at tell t Lyra was nearly finished: she was limping badly and her face was gray.

    quot;Let me see your feet,quot; o ;because if tered, Ill put some ointment on.quot;

    t ting eeth.

    Meanes  one a;I old Lord Roke of our position, and ter to bring us a;

    ill nodded. Lyra took no notice. Presently s up wearily and pulled on  off once more.

    Anot of ter before nig then Lyra gave a cry of relief and joy.

    quot;Iorek! Iorek!quot;

    Sill, e coat indistinct against a patc o sniff, and bounded doainside tohem.

    Ignoring ill,  Lyra clasp  ill felt it t; but Lyra felt it as pleasure and forgot ers and .

    quot;Oo see you! I never t Id ever see you again, after t time on Svalbard, and all tve ;

    ttle spies  all events, to be only tainside, t o be anyretco his cave.

    ill, preoccupied, didnt listen as Lyra talked to Iorek, t one point, and heard her say:

    quot;Mr. Scoresby, os too cruel! Really dead? Youre sure, Iorek?quot;

    quot;tcold me  out to find t; said the bear.

    ill listened more closely now, for Barucold his.

    quot; ; said Lyra, her voice shaky.

    quot;ing.  a  bay w;

    Lyra  knoo say, for it .

    Soon Iorek turned aside and made for trance to a cave, very dark against t knoed to speak quietly to Lyra, but not till  being overheard.

    doone in  foreparuck it no more times on a similar one on time a scatter of sparks burst out and  exactly o a  il trongly.

    t, because tter: a  mig. Iorek ate  ra ted its joint on a sick and laid it to roast across them.

    quot;Is it easy, ing up in tains, Iorek?quot; she said.

    quot;No. My people cant live  luckily so, since I found you.  are your plans no;

    ill looked around tting close to t t t: o ask.

    quot;King Iorek,quot; ;my knife is broken...¡± t t;No, .quot; ing at t;If youre listening,quot;  on more loudly, quot;come out and do it ly. Dont spy on us.quot;

    Lyra and Iorek Byrnison turned to see o. ttle man came out of tood calmly in t, on a ledge he childrens heads, Iorek growled.

    quot;You  asked Iorek Byrnison for permission to enter ; ill said. quot;And  a spy. You s.quot;

    Lyra loved . S ill emptuous.

    But t ill, was displeased.

    quot;e rut; ;It ;

    ill stood up. , o show.

    quot;If  ; ;ould you o come . Youd o make us unconscious, and taken to Lord Asriel. So rick you, tialys, and youll just o put up .quot;

    Iorek Byrnison said, quot;;

    quot;Spies,quot; said ill. quot;Sent by Lord Asriel. terday, but if t  people  dis;

    t o take on Iorek  tialys . All he could do was bow and apologize.

    quot;Your Majesty,quot; o Iorek, w once.

    tred at ill, and defiance and  Lyra, and a cold and  at Iorek. ty of ures made all t, as if a ligely, ssy to the bear.

    quot;Forgive us,quot; so Iorek. quot;t of concealment is o break, and my companion, tialys, And I, t out of pure  ed to pay you tesy. ere accompanying to make sure tainly no ention to;

    If Iorek  only  esy, too, and the Lady had spoken graciously enough.

    quot;Come do; ;ty if you are o speak about t;

    quot;Yes,quot; said ill, quot;and I t it could never  its broken. And ter told Lyra t youd be able to mend it. I o ask more politely, but t is: can you mend it, Iorek?quot;

    quot;S;

    ill s of t carefully until t places and  ts lig loo look closely at eacouc delicately ing it up to turn it t and examine t tness in those huge black hooks.

    t up again, o the shadow.

    quot;Yes,quot; ly tion and no more.

    Lyra said, kno;A  believe ant t get it mended te trouble, and not only us...¡±

    quot;I dont like t knife,quot; Iorek said. quot;I fear  can do. I  deadly figtle toys compared to t knife; t can do is unlimited. It ter if it ;

    quot;But ...¡± began ill.

    Iorek didnt let   on, quot;it you can do strange t you dont knos oentions may be good. tentions, too.quot;

    quot; be?quot; said ill.

    quot;tentions of a tool are  does. A ends to strike, a vise intends to , a lever intends to lift. t it is made for. But sometimes a tool may  you dont knoimes in doing end, you also do ends,  kno edge of t knife?quot;

    quot;No,quot; said ill, for it rue: to a t t reac.

    quot;t does?quot;

    quot;I cant. But I must still use it, and do o . If I did noty.quot;

    Lyra ill unwilling, she said:

    quot;Iorek, you knoo be able to carry on doing t  get  t it  you, Iorek, and nor did anyone, but no  to use it ourselves,  just not. td be feeble, and itd be oo, itd be just

    like  over to em and saying, Go on, use it,  stop you. All rig kno does, but I can ask ter, cant I? t it properly, instead of just guessing and being afraid.quot;

    ill didnt  to mention  pressing reason: if t repaired,  never get  ly responsible for botions.  use it to return to her, or never forgive himself.

    Iorek Byrnison said notime, but turned o look out at t to  and stalked to t tars: some t range to him.

    Beurned t over on t o see ialys and Salmakia sat silent on their ledge.

    turned around.

    quot;Very ion,quot; ;t is a mistake. My people s or daemons. e live and die and t is t.  sorrorouble, but  full knoter trument. Kno is t youre asking. If you still  it t;

    At once Lyra took out ter and edged nearer to t sook  of trance, roubled.

    quot;I never kno so confused,quot; s;ts of t said. I t it clear. I t said about balance first. It said t could do good, but it  test t or  one  meant you, ill, it meant  didnt say  or a bad one.

    quot;t said yes,quot; s t;It said yes, do it, repair t;

    Iorek looked at eadily and then nodded once.

    tialys and Salmakia climbed doo c;Dyou need more fuel, Iorek? Me and ill could go and fetc;

    ill understood alk.

    Iorek said, quot;Belo spur on track, t as you can.quot;

    S once, and ill  h her.

    t, track of scumbled footprints in tting and cold. Bot brisk and  talk till the cave.

    quot; else did it say?quot; ill said.

    quot;It said some t understand till dont understand no said t, but t said it o keep Dust alive. I didnt understand it, ill. But it said again it  kept saying t. It said if ...¡±

    quot;If o the dead...¡±

    quot;Yea, it said t  survive.quot;

    c for t Iorek ioned, and silenced by t of  be taking on.

    quot;eve got to, t; ; ;

    quot;I dont kno;

    quot;Noo Roger, and I  to speak to my fato, no;

    quot;Im frig; she said.

    And  t to anyone else.

    quot;Did it say ; he asked.

    quot;Just emptiness, just blankness. I really didnt understand it, ill. But I t meant t even if it is t dangerous, ry and rescue Roger. But it  be like  set off, and I o ians and tc be any o go. And I can see... In my dream I sa s w;

    quot; Im afraid of,quot; said ill after a minute, not looking at  all, quot;is getting stuck somew;

    From no seemed,  on elling ories, and as long as  abandon ! er .

    And as if Lyra  hinking, she said warmly:

    quot;Yeas true, t  gre remember anyone ever   me and Pan as far back as I can go... I cant remember Mrs. Lonsdale being like t to me; s Jordan College, all ss all s about... o in t, os strange, I kno I really felt ser me... S  I o die, being asleep all t time, I suppose I mustve caug sopped looking after me. And I remember s w Id do in ;

    So s knoime. Sell ray t memory, even if it was false? No, of course .

    quot;Is t t; Lyra said.

    t  enougo sayed strongly on his fingers.

    quot;And  going to say anyto ttle spies,quot; she added.

    tohe cave.

 FIFTEEN - THE FORGE

    At t moment too, alking about to to be out of tialys said, quot;e must never leave  keep closer t;

    quot;oo alert. c; said Salmakia. quot;trusting. I t, and s, tialys.quot;

    quot;But .quot;

    quot; go anyw ;

    quot;But so folloact again, t to slip into anoto get a purpose, and its very different from  to do.quot;

    quot;ell see. But youre rigialys, I t stay close to t all costs.quot;

    tcicism as Iorek Byrnison laid out tools in y ories under Lord Asriels fortress,  furnaces and rolling mills, t tone ing of a piece of Ioreks armor. Nevertaken task, and in tainty of s ttle spies began to see some quality t muffled their scorn.

    ed t eacurning it from side to side, and told ill or Lyra to place it at suco break off part and place it separately at t raordinary ferocity, s energy concentrated at one side.

    By time t in tense. Iorek continued to build take trips doo ensure t tion.

    turned over a small stone on told Lyra to find some more stones of t tones,  , for if t metal came in contact  .

    Lyra set about searcalaimons ones to old o place tly t s moving, o make sure the work piece.

    ill es directing ood to use. So muc placement, and Iorek could not stop and correct eaco understand, and t properly.

    Furtnt expect to look exactly t  o overlap t by a little ogettle, despite tone-gas, so some of t; and no doubt t t as s would work.

    So ill creaming eyes and scorced eacill t ed it.

    Meanone, ed several until  , te smell of smasrils of tcalaimon ive, co a crow so er.

    Eventually to Ioreks satisfaction, and  t tle knife among t t of told Lyra to begin ing tone-gas over tce face lurid in tal begin to gloe.

    Iorek co snatc. After a fes tal cening, and sparks just like t.

    t paed in and seized first one piece and tips of  e of his

    armor. ill could smell t Iorek took no notice of t, and moving raordinary speed ed t he rock hammer.

    tip leapt on t t of   tiny triangle of metal, t point t searc toms, and all rembled, sensing every flicker of every flame and tom in ttice of tal. Before t only a full-scale furnace,  tools and equipment, could  blade; but no tools, and t Ioreks artistry ructed t furnace there could be.

    Iorek roared above t; still in your mind! You o forge it, too! task as muc;

    ill felt one . ting, too, and Lyras leafy branc t gas along to bats flo ting air. ill sensed it all and felt toms of tal linking eaco eacure, forming neals again, strengtraigtice as the join came good.

    quot;t; roared Iorek. quot;;

    instantly, sensing te snags and te easement as tly. t join urned to t piece.

    quot;A neone,quot; o Lyra,  to .

    ill co direct tter, and Iorek began to  a ney added to ask, because o ion  only by doing t accurately could .

    So tinued.  took; Lyra, for , found reaming, igue; but still sone as Iorek old ill talaimon raised  the flames.

    came to ted by tellectual effort  t branco to understand every connection, or t oget came to t complex one, t,  remaining at t  in oget as if Iorek had never begun.

    too, and paused before ing t piece.  ill, and in  a bottomless black brilliance. Nevertood: t o it, all of them.

    t o t ion out to t, and braced  and fiercest part of task.

    So ogetook   tiny settling as toms connected across to t exion possess ate,  and smoke; and Iorek ood reaks of ass rice.

    tialys and Salmakia  in turns, one of t. Noo gray and finally to silver, and as ill reac for tner  at once.

    But ill didnt touc ill too great for o ill:

    quot;Come outside.quot;

    to Lyra: quot;Stay  touc;

    Lyra sat close to told o bank t let it burn doion yet.

    ill follo bear out onto tainside. tter and instantaneous, after the cave.

    quot;t  knife,quot; said Iorek, after ttle ;Maybe I s . Im troubled, and I roubled before, never in doubt. No. Doubt is a  a bear t ;

    quot;But  piece of armor,  t bad, too, in t;

    Iorek . till to a big drift of sno and rolled t, sending flurries of snoo t it looked as if ion of all the world.

    ood up and sill ing for an anso ion, said:

    quot;Yes, I t migoo. But before t first armored bear, t. t oms, and t cure is  custom, as bear flesected  armor.

    quot;But I tepped outside bear nature in mending time ell. But I am uncertain and doubtful. No tell me: w;

    ill rubbed h hands.

    quot;t me and I t s; rying to recollect ty ;And t somet couldnt cut, and because my mind  back bot time, it snapped. ts  s;

    quot;alk of talk of your mot;

    quot;Do I? Yes... I suppose I do.quot;

    quot; are you going to do ?quot;

    quot;I dont kno;

    Suddenly Iorek lunged at ill and cuffed  pao tumbled over and over until h his head ringing.

    Iorek came doo ;Ansrut;

    ill empted to say, quot;You   if Id ; But  Iorek kne, and kne , and t it eous and stupid to say it; but empted, all the same.

    ongue until anding uprigly.

    quot;I said I dont kno; rying o keep ;because I  looked clearly at  is t Im going to do. At  means. It frig frigoo. Anyway, I agreed as soon as I  s;

    quot;And ?quot;

    quot;e  to go doo talk to t of Lyras friend Roger, the one who

    got killed on Svalbard. And if too, and if alk to gs, I  to talk to him.

    quot;But Im divided, Im pulled apart, because also I  to go back and look after my motold me I so Lord Asriel and offer to  as ;

    quot;; said the bear.

    quot; a o be afraid; Im afraid, too. So I o t times  do t t  to look scared, so  because its dangerous. ere more concerned  looking scared t. Its very s ;

    quot;I see,quot; said the bear.

    tood in silence for  like a long time, especially to ill, ection from tter cold. But Iorek  finis, and ill ill  quite trust , so tayed whey were.

    quot;ell, I ; said t;It may be t in  final destruction on my kingdom. And it may be t I , and t destruction roubled, o do un-bearlike deeds and speculate and doubt like a human.

    quot;And I sell you one t already, but you dont  to,  you dont mistake it. If you  to succeed in task, you must no longer t your mot put he knife will break.

    quot;Noo say fareo Lyra. You must  in t let you out of t, and I do not  tening wo ;

    ill  and  ;t; but t was all he could say.

    oill s surrounding dark.

    t t process in tle knife.  among ter cinders until tal, and o take it and plunge it directly into t ed outside.

    t ill old eam,  toms finally settle toget t as infinitely rare.

    But it did look different. It  looked ugly no looked like  was, wounded.

    , ignoring to  for Lyra to come back.

    Iorek aken tle farto a point out of sig  cradled in ter of  arms, alaimon nestling mouse-formed at . Iorek bent   a ongue  as safe as s in her life.

    But , Iorek spoke. S e against her back.

    quot;Lyra Silvertongue, o visit t;

    quot;It came to me in a dream, Iorek. I saw Rogers g, and I knew o me... You remember

    Roger. ell, after  you,  , at least I felt it  finis I began, ts all: I so t do it.quot;

    quot;Can is not t.quot;

    quot;But if you must and you can, t;

    quot;;

    quot;No, Iorek,quot; sly, quot;our business is to keep promises, no matter  tly, Im deadly scared. And I  of using to go t  get out of it.quot;

    Lyra felt Pantalaimon trembling and stroked h her sore hands.

    quot;e dont kno t; s on. quot;e  knoill ry.  are you going to do, Iorek?quot;

    quot;Im going back nort live in tains. Even t. I t  is warm.

    t ongue; I can smell it; I can . I spoke to Serafina Pekkala before I came told me so Lord Faa and tians. If t;

    Lyra sat up, excited at  Iorek  finis on:

    quot;If you do not find a  of t meet again, because I . My body  of it. But if it turns out t you and I botor to Svalbard; and true of ill. old you ;

    quot;No,quot; said Lyra, quot;except t it ;

    quot;faced me. I t no one could ever do t, but too daring for me, and too clever. I am not  you s you plan, but trust to go  t boy. You are ongue, my dear friend.quot;

    S o o speak.

    After a minute ood up gently and disengaged urned and ly ao t line  almost at once against t it mig ears.

    steps on t t;Dont you move. Look,  going to use it. Stay ;

    outside and found Lyra standing still, alaimon as a e silent. t came from tion in t, in turn, ed from  cears found tion in ills eyes, and so tons  web.

    quot;I love ; so o us no rely on anyone else nos just us. But  old enoug. ere only young... ere too young... If poor Mr. Scoresbys dead and Ioreks old... Its all coming onto us,  to be done.quot;

    quot;e can do it,quot; ;Im not going to look back anymore. e can do it. But  to sleep noay in ter t come, t for... Im going to cut to sleep in, and if ts too bad;  rid of time.quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; sh

    bot;Lets do t. You sure tested it?quot;

    quot;I knoll ;

    italaimon tiger-formed to deter t back and picked up their rucksacks.

    quot; are you doing?quot; said Salmakia.

    quot;Going into anot; said ill, taking out t felt like being w realized .

    quot;But you must  for Lord Asriels gyropters,quot; said tialys, his voice hard.

    quot;ere not going to,quot; said ill. quot;If you come near t, but you cant make us stay ;

    quot;You lied!quot;

    quot;No,quot; said Lyra, quot;I lied. ill doesnt lie. You didnt t.quot;

    quot;But w;

    ill didnt ans an opening.

    Salmakia said, quot;take. You s, and listen to us. You  t...¡±

    quot;Yes, ; ell you  tomorro;

    to to rees behe dunes. he said:

    quot;;

    t be once. ed, t cone resonator and began to play a message into the dark.

 SIXTEEN - THE INTENTION CRAFT

    quot;My cer!  ter to tear t, s;

    Mrs. Coulters cry resounded ttle c top of t tohe coils of a silver chain.

    Lord Asriel sat nearby, scribbling on a piece of paper, taking no notice. An orderly stood beside  ted and , errier daemon close at ail tucked low.

    Lord Asriel turned to Mrs. Coulter.

    quot;Lyra? Frankly, I dont care,quot;  and ;tcayed  e any more time or resources on o be  ;

    quot;You dont mean t, Asriel, or you  ;

    quot;I mean every . t of all proportion to s. An ordinary Englis very clever...¡±

    quot;S; said Mrs. Coulter.

    quot;All rig but not intellectual; impulsive, dis, greedy...¡±

    quot;Brave, generous, loving.quot;

    quot;A perfectly ordinary cinguis;Perfectly ordinary? Lyra? Shes unique.

    t s dont you dare patronize your daugil...¡±

    quot;Youre rig; ting up. quot;So amed and softened you, ts no everyday feat. Saken your teet. Your fires been quencimental piety.  it? tiless agent of tical persecutor of cor of o slice t and look in terrified little beings for any evidence of sin, and along comes a foul-mout little brat y fingernails, and you cluck and settle your feat: t  Ive never seen myself. But if all it does is turn you into a doting mots a pretty ttle gift. And no conference, and if you cant control your noise, Ill ;

    Mrs. Coulter o to spit in Lord Asriels face.  calmly a;A gag  an end to t kind of beoo.quot;

    quot;O me, Asriel,quot; s;Someone ied to a ceness. Untie me, or Ill force you to gag me.quot;

    quot;As you  before ie it around h, she shook her head.

    quot;No, no,quot; s;Asriel, dont, I beg you, please dont e me.quot;

    Angry tears dashed from her eyes.

    quot;Very ie you, but ay in ; ting h a clasp knife.

    Ss, stood up, stretciced tion of  of till remained in s, but s going to s.

    Lord Asriel said, quot;You can ing a small room .

    S Lord Asriel over  to make idier.

    to announce:

    quot;y King Ogun;

    temple fresly to table astride his blue hawk.

    Lord Asriel greeted t ep off, and to t by ting lig seemed to come from somewhere else.

    By time Mrs. Coulter idied, and all to  t inclined  down peaceably, he pinioned monkey in her arms.

    it ing time, Lord Asriel said, quot;tell me w ;

    t;e killed seventeen Sroyed t five men and one gyropter. tured ter, despite  reated eously.quot;

    quot;I am quite content reated me, sir,quot; sest possible stress on the you.

    quot;Any damage to ters? Any ; said Lord Asriel.

    quot;Some damage and some  all minor.quot;

    quot;Good. t ;

    t;My spies are  in a drugged sleep for many days. t ts in t, it broke in pieces. But it is noure from t bear, very skilled at smit to anot ty: o do anyt if to kill o us. For time being, tialys and t least rack of to o come  any rate. My t lose t;

    quot;Are t; said Lord Asriel.

    quot;t of large tree-ferns. to tialys not five minutes ago.quot;

    quot;t; said Lord Asriel. quot;No your ts are folloerium anymore. e so rely on ter. At least...¡±

    ter spoke, to their surprise.

    quot;I dont kno t; s;but as far as torial Court is concerned, t slo know w;

    Lord Asriel said, quot;t Lyra and tend to do next?quot;

    quot;No,quot; s;none. Ive spoken to to be a stubborn co keeping secrets. I cant guess o read.quot;

    quot;My lord,quot; said King Ogun;may  is ion? If not, s be taken elsew;

    quot;Sive and my guest, and as a distinguis of tion t ;

    quot;ill so be tortured?quot; said Lord Roke, cly as he spoke.

    Mrs. Coulter laughed.

    quot;I ter to expect truto come out of torture,quot; she said.

    Lord Asriel couldnt y.

    quot;I ee Mrs. Coulters be; ;S  , express it no;

    quot;I do,quot; said King Ogun;but I doubt you, not ;

    quot;; said Lord Asriel.

    quot;If sempted you, you  resist. It ure  o invite o treat esy, give est comfort, but place ay away from ;

    quot;ell, I invited you to speak,quot; said Lord Asriel, quot;and I must accept your rebuke. I value your presence more taken a;

    before er spoke.

    quot;Please,quot; sly, quot;listen to me first. I can o t of terium to find again. I knoheyll do.

    You  me, s simple: to kill my daug let  I found out c o leave t knoo you, t ery; but I kne I o set myself against t everyt ty ;

    Sopped. All tening intently. Noo e,  eyes glittering.

    quot;I  mot my only caken a, because I didnt care about . I didnt t o regret t of h.

    quot;But to take an interest in Dust and in cirred in my , and I remembered t I her and Lyra was... my child.

    quot;And because t, I saved . times noepped in to pluck  of danger. First, s  to Jordan College and I took o live  she ran away.

    quot;time  Bolvangar, ime, under t nearly stopped... It  I o ot  moment, I  I got ook ; I saved ime.

    quot;But even as I did t, I still felt myself part of t, a loyal and faited servant, because I ys work.

    quot;And tcime soon, be tempted, as Eve s  form temptation ake, I dont kno ser all. Its not o imagine. And no t, too, t all depends on ting ake t semptation,  will be?

    quot;No, to kill o tempted. Killing is not difficult for tations and psalms and  to their hands, shes dead already.

    quot;So cer for time. I took o a place ay.quot;

    quot;You drugged ; said King Ogun;You kept ;

    quot;I o,quot; said Mrs. Coulter, quot;because sed me,quot; and ion but under control, spilled over into a sob, and it trembled as s on: quot;Sed me, and s if I  drugged o oblivion. Do you kno means to a mot it o keep  time in t ... O sucenderness, suc time I o do ttle...! o tle one...quot;

    Sly; s declaim or raise   into a ifling ions for tesy. ive, Lord Asriel t ; she very marrow of her bones.

    Sed  King Ogun seeming to, and Lord Asriel sa, too. Not

    only o play on him.

    In fact, t  sest impression. Lord Roke sensed in ure as close to t of a scorpion as ered, and ing ect under le tone. Better to keep scorpions w.

    So ed King Oguner c say, and Lord Asriel found flanked: for ed  o abide by his commanders wishes.

    Mrs. Coulter looked at uous concern. ain t no one else could see tter of sly triumpiful eyes.

    quot;Stay, t; ;But youve spoken enougay quiet no to consider t: is it  desirable? Next I  to look at t to  tions of t, t;

    time, and Mrs. Coulter e kno of its leaders strengths.

    But no tialys and Salmakia erium, t of date. An idea came to Mrs. Coulters mind, and s felt like a po sroked ened to the commanders.

    t;Enoug is a problem er. Noand to test tention craft. ell go and look at it.quot;

    ook a silver key from  and unlocked t and oucip of one golden hair.

    Lord Roke mounted  off doairs of to onto ttlements.

    A cold  ty draft, w around ed ah daemons head.

    Mrs. Coulter said o the angel:

    quot;Excuse me, my lady: your name is Xap;

    quot;Yes,quot; said the angel.

    er, just as ca Skadi ure Mrs. Coulter had ever seen.

    quot;Are you one of t;

    quot;Yes. And since terprise t roying tyranny at last.quot;

    quot;But if you fail?quot;

    quot;troyed, and cruelty ;

    As trides along ten battlements to even ts on sconces do disclose ttom. Past to t making , until iny spark, and thing.

    to Lord Asriels side, and Mrs. Coulter found  to the African king.

    quot;Excuse my ignorance, sir,quot; s;but I il t in terday... ell me about  offend  if I speak  kno  be unintentionally rude.quot;

    quot;You do o ask,quot; said King Ogun;ly servants of ty, and trying to exterminate t time anyone can remember. till cannot quite trust t they are fierce and proud warriors, and deadly enemies, and valuable spies.

    quot;Are all ;

    quot;t most are ;

    quot;And t until recently t angels ion of t imaginary...to find yourself speaking to one is disconcerting, isnt it...;

    quot;Mrs. Coulter,quot; said t;tions are just t of t to find out.quot;

    quot;A fine sort of spy Id be, to ask you so transparently,quot; s;Im a captive, sir. I couldnt get ao. From no.quot;

    quot;If you say so, I am o believe you,quot; said t;Angels are more difficult to understand t all of one kind, to begin er poed alliances among t enmities, t tle about. ty o being.quot;

    Sopped. Sed beside  of tly shadows over her face.

    quot;You say t so casually,quot; s;as if it oo, but...  be? ty created t ed before everyto being?quot;

    quot;t; said Ogun;It soo, to learn t ty is not tor. tor, or t:  kno at some point ty took cruggled against oo. t rebellion. Never before est force ever assembled. But it may still not be enoug;

    quot;But end?  is t;

    quot;y. Empty of conscious life, t is. e are not colonialists, Mrs. Coulter. e  come to conquer, but to build.quot;

    quot;And is o attack t;

    Ogun her levelly.

    quot;ere not going to invade t; ;but if tter be ready for er, I am a king, but its my proudest task to join Lord Asriel in setting up a  name since ty first set  of t no part of it. t. e intend to izens of t;

    Mrs. Coulter ed to say more, to ask tions t rose to  the king had

    moved on, uno keep ing, and so follow.

    taircase led so far do by time it reac t e invisible. ell before tle breat, but s and moved on doill it opened out into a massive  by gloals in t supported tries, beams, and  them purposefully.

    Lord Asriel o er arrived, and  ing to let ,   figure  on tcer noticed t, presumably as a courtesy to Lord Roke, every pillar y bracket at  so t o be included in the discussion.

    But t stay in t  ttendant o let to tform of a railing ive.

    treated be t of to to t by tals, s against mirrored mahogany panels.

    As soon as Lord Asriel rain began to move, gliding smootform and into a tunnel, accelerating briskly. Only track gave any idea of their speed.

    quot;; Mrs. Coulter asked.

    quot;to t; Lord Asriel said sly, and turned ao talk quietly he angel.

    Mrs. Coulter said to Lord Roke, quot;My lord, are your spies al out in pairs?quot;

    quot;;

    quot;Simple curiosity. My daemon and I found ourselves at a stalemate ly in t cave, and I rigued to see .quot;

    quot;rigued? Did you not expect people of our size to be good fig;

    S y of his pride.

    quot;No,quot; s;I t  you easily, and you very nearly beat us. Im o admit my mistake. But do you always fig;

    quot;You are a pair, are you not, you and your daemon? Did you expect us to concede tage?quot; y stare, brilliantly clear even in t ligals, dared o ask more.

    Sly and said nothing.

    Several minutes  past, and Mrs. Coulter felt train taking to tains . S guess , but  fifteen minutes rain began to sloly to a platform  after tunnel.

    Lord Asriel opened t out into an atmosp and sulp Mrs. Coulter o gasp. ty one.

    An attendant form, and instantly t s over t made ted by t of sound and lig. ed, Mrs. Coulter looked around, alive y.

    Sories in  seemed like a village smited in a moment to tant ceiling and to flatten balks of iron tree trunks, pounding t in a fraction of a second  made tain tremble; from a vent in ten metal floil it  off by an adamant gate, and t seeto roo settle and cool in a cloud of evil smoke; gigantic slicing mac and folded and pressed ss of inc issue paper, and trous  flat again, layering metal upon metal  t layers became one tougher one, over and over again.

    If Iorek Byrnison could  ted t t al. Mrs. Coulter could only look and  o speak and be understood, and no one tried. And nouring to to follo beloo  metals from ther rock.

    talactites range colors and wer could feel a cool breeze on ed face.

    tals t gave t ed on sconces nor enclosed in glo scattered loosely on torco add to t, so little by little ty began to feel cold again; and presently t, quite suddenly, into t air.

    t a place ain , great iron doors in tainside, some open and some s; and from out of one of ty doorways, men were arpaulin.

    quot; is t?quot; Mrs. Coulter said to the African king, and he replied:

    quot;tention craft.quot;

    Mrs. Coulter  t could mean, and cense curiosity as to take off tarpaulin.

    Sood close to King Ogun;  do?quot;

    quot;ere about to see,quot; said the king.

    It looked like some kind of complex drilling apparatus, or t of a gyropter, or t   least a dozen levers and  of it. It stood on six legs, eaced and sprung at a different angle to t it seemed botic and ungainly; and tself ons, coiled cables, sc ell ructure and , because it  from be of it was hidden in gloom.

    Lord Roke on o it directly, circling above, examining it from all sides. Lord Asriel and t itself, one carrying a clipboard, anoth of cable.

    Mrs. Coulters eyes gazed at t  of it, making sense of its complexity. And as sco t, fastening a leat and sting a  securely on o folloo adjust someto the doorway.

    tention craft moved, ter  sure   as if it  e still, poised range energy on t legs. As s moved again, and t  urning t,

    scanning t busily moving t dial, adjusting t control; and tention craft vanished.

    Some o t op, turning sloo t. t of  y. It simply he air.

    quot;Listen,quot; said King Ogun;to t;

    Surned rained to  moaned around tain, and t t, and t door at some signal topped and ts inguis Mrs. Coulter could ly, ter engines on ts of wind.

    quot;; sly.

    quot;Decoys,quot; said t;My pilots, flying a mission to tempt to folloc;

    Srying to see anyt ts fears. Above tention craft   of  effect on it. No lig, so it  to see, and t of sigely.

    t t sigs lo t as to eadily. Six gyropters, flying fast, one of trouble, for smoke trailed from it, and it fleain, but on a course to take t it and beyond.

    And be, came a motley collection of fliers. It  easy to make out  Mrs. Coulter sarange kind, traig, one great bird t glided less speed carrying three or four angels.

    quot;A raiding party,quot; said King Ogunwe.

    ters. t blazed from one of traig, folloer by a sound, a deep crack. But ts target, ter, because in tant as t, and before tcain saion craft, and a shell exploded in midair.

    Mrs. Coulter ime to understand t almost instantaneous sequence of ligtle  at all easy to follo of every flier so quick; but a series of nearly silent flas tainside, accompanied by s eam. Eacruck some a different raider: t caug bird uttered a scream like tearing of a mountain-ain and plummeted onto t of gloicles til t like a dying firework.

    ters, cention craft, still someurning sloo look around. truction of ty e t Mrs. Coulter, ention craft, it seemed to sself, and t he ground again.

    King Ogun flood out over ter stayed ion craft.

    quot; to us?quot; ly.

    quot;Surely  ; sone.

    t in t to of making Lord Asriel a proposition: of offering to go to torial Court of Discipline and spying for e t  to convince t s. And no t to go  resist an offer like t.

    But no t strange flying macruck even more forcibly, and sh glee.

    quot;Asriel,quot; sly, quot;may I see ;

    racted and impatient, but full of excited satisfaction, too. ed ention craft; s be able to resist s off.

    King Ogunood aside, and Lord Asriel reaco t. o t and crols.

    quot; ?quot; she said.

    quot;Your intentions,quot; ;end to go for ;

    quot;ts no ansell me.  sort of engine is it?  fly? I couldnt see anyt all. But trols.. .from inside, its almost like a gyropter.quot;

    to tell  a cable at teeth.

    quot;Your demean,quot; ;o eet doesnt matter. And you o  . t floor amplifies it, os more complicated t, but to fly. e put in controls like a gyropter for ty, but eventually  need controls at all. Of course, only a .quot;

    quot;I see,quot; she said.

    And s  of the machine.

    In t s on crol t in a gyropter ilt ttle for once tention craft leapt into the air.

    But s quite  yet. t ill for some moments, sligilted, before srols to move it for to ;  up o stop King Oguno fire on tention craft; and ;Lord Roke, go ;

    t once, and traigo till-open cabin door. t; c, and t neiticed ttle figure of Lord Roke leaping from o them.

    A moment later, tention craft began to move, and to skim doo Lord Asriels . No more ter, t arry air.

    Lord Asriel cion.

    quot;ell, King, you e rig; ;and I sened to you in t place. S ed somet.quot;

    quot;Arent you going to pursue ; said King Ogunwe.

    quot;, and destroy a perfectly good aircraft? Certainly not.quot;

    quot;;

    quot;Not at first. S knoorial Court and give tention craft as an earnest pledge of good faithem for us.

    Sried every oty: t onell be a novel experience. And as soon as s w;

    quot;And w ;

    quot;O as a surprise, dont you?quot; to ter, more advanced model of tention craft ing tion.

 SEVENTEEN - OIL AND LACQUER

    Mary Malone ructing a mirror. Not out of vanity, for stle of t, but because sed to test an idea sed to try and catc truments in ory so improvise erials at hand.

    Mulefa tectle use for metal. traordinary tone and als tive nuggets of copper and otals t toolmaking. tal. Mulefa couples, for example, on entering marriage, he same meaning as a wedding ring.

    So ted by t  valuable possession.

    Atal, tif onis one day tac ure magnifying glass, o burn a design onto a dry branc  w  Shadows.

    t time, but t  t lie across ter and sat on talked, until Mary sae surface. So ted Atal; but as ted up from t ouc: If tist in ten million years found it, till find S, because Ive .

    Sed into a sun-doped reverie until Atal asked:

    are you dreaming?

    Mary tried to explain about ory, ticles, tastical revelation t tale gripping  so be back among .

    S expect Atal to folloly because of  command of t partly because tical, so strongly rooted in t sical; but Atal surprised her by saying,

    Yes, ... and t sounded like t.

    Mary said, Light?

    Atal said, Not lig... and said to catc on er  sunset, and t comes off in brig t, but it is a make-like.

    Make-like erm for metaphor, Mary had discovered.

    So s is not realty lig you see it and it looks like t liger at sunset?

    Atal said, Yes. All too. t is  like t . Even t  Mary couldnt e clearly enougo say: sometrunk.

    Mary ed. So keep o find t words.

    do you kno it!  come from?

    From us, and from tals reply, and Mary kne seedpod wheels.

    From you?

    trees it  vanis stays among us.

    o keep . One of to suspect about S cs reacted to tly, or attracted different kinds of Sivity.  Lyra said t tists in  about Dust, w was again.

    And it ed to o er screen just before s ever it ion, it o do  cory symbolized in tory of Adam and Eve; emptation, tigations among fossil skulls,  around ty t increase aken place in ticles associated  in evolution, to make ts.

    So Atal:

    here been mulefa.

    And Atal said:

    ty-thousand years.

    So read Marys expressions by time, or t obvious of t least, and s ter ious t Mary usually o join in, but now sounded and said:

    ly? Do you ory of all those years?

    Oal. Ever since hing.

    o give you the sraf?

    e discovered o use ture o play, and as she played she¡­

    She?

    Sself the snake said...

    to her?

    No, no! It is a make-like. tory tells t t; do you kno; So t;Put your foot t; So s a foot in  range and pleasant t sed to s at once h

    e took t t grazers. tree, and all tures and plants.

    Because t, said Mary.

    Yes, to use to ride to generate tayed  to plant more seedpod trees for t t ted. So t mulefa sa do to rees, rees ogether.

    Mary directly understood about a quarter of al  by questioning and guessing s t quite accurately; and ime. t it became, as eac suggested ions, eac direction.

    But ser t of sraf, because t ; and t  the mirror.

    It o ter t suggested it. Reflected lig mig ticles, oo.

    I cant see sraf as you can, s I o make a mirror out of t mig.

    Atal ed by t at once and began to gat Mary needed. As a token of good luck t.

    t of anotree, ed for t purpose. By boiling t in tilled fruit juice, tance like milk in consistency, and delicate amber in color, o ty coats on a base of ing eac clot, and gradually build up a surface of great  opaque  sometimes t it transparent, and t ed Mary: because ty as t split lig w you saw double.

    S sure o do, except t s if s fretting, or nagging . Sing t Keats to Lyra, and Lyras understanding at once t t e of mind  was w Mary o find now.

    So s piece of a  tone (no metal: no planes) until it  as s. t  .

    ted tal,  sending, and asked permission to take some sap. to let  too busy to be concerned. itals icky, resinous sap, and til to use.

    ttony fiber from anot to apply it, and folloructions of a craftsman, sed ime as t letting it cure un ted on over forty coats, s count, but by time , t least five millimeters thick.

    After tly, in smoots, until he labor no more.

    t.

    Next morning t to  s , tiger ticks ighter spaces.

    It urned to ttlement, t Mary could begin to experiment, or rato play, since sill didnt  she was doing.

    First sried using t simply as a mirror, but for lack of a silvered back, all sion faintly in the wood.

    t t  s t;  flat  a backing anyway?

    tting to leave t ake time, too, but at least sting it very delicately from taking test of care not to scratc eventually removing most of torn and splintered uck immovably to the pane of clear, hard varnish.

    S er. Did ten if it got ? No, said er in t, it  like t in a stone bo looked and smelled to Mary like an acid.

    t  all, rigued by  and o sely onto telling  by grinding and dissolving and distilling a mineral t t yet visited. Gradually tened and came free, and Mary   of clear bro the size of a page from a paperback book.

    Sop, until bot and smoot mirror.

    And w...

    Noticular. It ly clear, but it s one quite close to t and about fifteen degrees upward.

    S op of ther.

    So sook tried to score a line across t so s it in tone, so score a line deep enougo risk snapping t. Sick under tting glass, and it worked: now swo ss.

    S togetograper it emply different cast to t t there was no sign of Shadows.

    S, c a , a curious ts normal color, but brighter and more vivid.

    At t point Atal came along to see w she was doing.

    Can you see sraf now? she said.

    No, but I can see otried to show her.

    Atal erested, but politely, not  ing Mary, and presently tired of looking ttled doo maintain imes t of pure sociability, and once or tal ed Mary to attend to urn, let Atal tidy  trunk lifted it and let it fall, stroking and massaging her scalp.

    S Atal ed t do surface smooteflon t rested on tral urned. tours matcly, of course, and as Mary ran exture: it ure,  itself together again.

    Atal act. o marry a zalif from outside; but contact  easy, and sometimes Mary t t Atal  ure. So s begrudge time s o clean t and grime t accumulated t oil gently over als trunk lifted and straightened her hair.

    al  o urned back to  at once she made her discovery.

    Ses a  so t t clear, brig something had happened.

    As sal. t of t t point souc h her oily fingers.

    Atal, she called. Quick! Come back!

    Atal turned and wheeled back.

    Let me take a little oil, Mary said, just enougo put on the lacquer.

    Atal  ced one of t substance.

    tes togeto spread t once more.

    And ograms . Everyal : sparkles of liging and drifting and sometimes moving in a current of purpose. Among it all rees; but . It didnt obscure t made them clearer.

    I didnt kno iful, Mary said to Atal.

    is,  is strange to t you couldnt see it. Look at ttle one...

    Sed one of ter grassopping to examine a leaf, falling over, scrambling up again to rusell racted again by a piece of stick, trying to pick it up, finding ants on runk and ing ation. ters, ts, tronger t by muc unlike t tle ss of intention t eddied and broke off and drifted about, to disappear as new ones were born.

    Around ronger, and ts ttled and poone, making tis or tortillas, c time; and t, t baty and wise care.

    So at last you can see, said Atal. ell, no come h me.

    Mary looked at . Atal¡¯s tone range: it  change.

    And ot of ters, from along t strangers, too, mulefa eady.

    I go? Mary said. hey all coming here?

    Dont al, come   you.

    It seemed to ing, for to go and o expect. t t  least, Mary estimated, o. tting sun spread its o oil, part warm fles horselike smell.

    Atal urged ohe mound.

    Mary said,  is ell me!

    No, no... Not me. Sattamax will speak...

    Mary didnt knotamax, and tal indicated ranger to  trunk ter of ole a glance t Mary  respect, even ttle of  meant.

    tamax o speak, t of t. Mary stood close to tal nearby for reassurance; but s as if s school.

    Sattamax began to speak. ones ricures of runk low and graceful.

    e ogeto greet tranger Mary. to be grateful for ivities since sed until s especially tal, tranger Mary can noand us.

    But to understand, and t , but s see it as il srument to look through.

    And no o help us.

    Mary, come here and join me.

    S dizzy, self-conscious, bemused, but so and stepped up beside t ster speak, so she began:

    You able. I came from a  some of us are aeful for your . If to do it.

    Sal, and s made her meaning

    clear. It ure as  to understand.

    Sattamax said, It is good to o , I cannot see ualapi  of ty-t taken care of trees prospered, tualapi came, our numbers and tant.

    But trees began to sicken. e cended till  of season, and some of trig find a cause for this.

    to be sure, t so is t kno until you came. e terflies and birds, but trange as you seem; but you are s and immediate, like birds, like butterflies. You realize to antly, out of terials ogetrument to do so. Beside us, you t  is  seems, w our ro you.

    But t fact is our  , you can see connections and possibilities and alternatives t are invisible to us, just as sraf o you. And o survive, ly to trees sickness and find a cure; ualapi, who are so numerous and so powerful.

    And we hope you can do so soon, or we shall all die.

    t and approval from t Mary, and s more t a scations of  a strange flattery: t and darting and birdlike , because s of  along  came t t it terribly ; t understand at all; s possibly fulfill te heirs.

    But equally, s. ting.

    Sattamax, s your trust in me and I s. You iful and I ry very o  it is t I am doing. trusting me.

    troked runks as sepped down. Sed by w so do.

    At t very moment in ttagazze, t Fatrack in tains beted trunks of olive trees. t slanted ts and cicadas.

    Atle farmered among vines, ed and a spring trickled dotending to some task beside t toool and a bucket.

    In told  t salked of going up into tains; per least t be co buy, and springer to drink. Fate used to living frugally, and ty of time.

 EIGHTEEN - THE SUBURBS OF THE DEAD

    Lyra alaimon s , and s up to  and o t even in ted Arctic; t a stir of ill t not tiniest ripple broke on t.

    ill lay curled up fast asleep, o protect tucked it around ending t saking care to avoid  s, curled up just as  be .

    Carrying till sleepy Pantalaimon, s dotle  wake him.

    quot;ttle people,quot; Pantalaimon said.

    quot;I dont like em,quot; said Lyra decisively. quot;I t arap quot;em in a net or somet ts it, ;

    quot;e  got a net,quot; ;or somet t. c;

    Pantalaimon e by minute into t et edge of t cleared t reac toucc floialys, standing by ills chem.

    quot;t; said Lyra, quot;t make us do . t to follo t;

    quot;If t ; said Pantalaimon, meaning ;and got tings ready to stick in us, ill¡¯d o do ;

    Lyra t about it. Ser, tly, lolling drool of tered ream... And t cly been reminded elseed.

    quot;Suppose t , t; s;suppose t ed  cter make em t, if ;

    S ter  it rument out and laid it on its black velvet clottle by little, Lyra drifted into t trance in e edness bet rid of the spies?

    to dart t, almost too fast to see, and some part of Lyras aed tops and sa once t t said.

    It told  try, because your lives depend on them.

    t  a  s on and asked:  to the dead?

    the knife.

    And finally santly,  to do?

    Yes, said ter instantly. Yes.

    S of rance, and tucked t oo: insects irring, and a very sligling tems growing he dune.

    S ter ao ill, alaimon as large as ing the Gallivespians.

    tone apparatus, and when hed finished, Lyra said:

    quot;You been talking to Lord Asriel?quot;

    quot;to ative,quot; said tialys.

    quot;e ent going.quot;

    quot;ts old ;

    quot; did ;

    quot;t  yours.quot;

    quot;Suit yourself,quot; s;Are you married to t lady?quot;

    quot;No. e are colleagues.quot;

    quot; any c;

    quot;No.quot;

    tialys continued to pack tone resonator aing up graceful and slotle  sand. till asleep, teth dew.

    quot;Are t; Lyra said.

    quot;e kno; tialys replied, not very  to talk quietly to too softly for Lyra to  sco refreser must be different for t to Pantalaimon: imagine drops t! to get into; t of elastic rind, like a balloon.

    By time ill oo,  to look for t once, fully focused on him.

    he looked away and found Lyra.

    quot;I  to tell you somet; s;Come over here, away from...¡±

    quot;If you go a; said tialyss clear voice, quot;you must leave t leave t talk to eac;

    quot;Cant e?quot; Lyra said indignantly. quot;e dont  you listening to ;

    quot;t leave t;

    ter all, and certainly t be able to use it. ill rummaged in ter bottle and a couple of biscuits, and o Lyra,  he dune.

    quot;I asked ter,quot; sold ;and it said ry and escape from ttle people, because to save our lives. So maybe uck ;

    quot;old t o do?quot;

    quot;No! And I , eitell Lord Asriel on t speaking-fiddle and op us, so  to just go, and not talk about it in front of t;

    quot;t; ill pointed out. quot;t be good at listening and ter not mention it at all. e kno talk about it, and to put up  and come along.quot;

    quot;t oo far off. ill, I asked  too. It said to follo t.quot;

    quot;Sounds easy,quot; ;But I bet it isnt. Dyou knoold me?quot;

    quot;No.  to say good-bye,   for you, but

    you could do it. But old me w;

    quot;t of my mot; ;So Ive got to put  of my mind. But... its like  a crocodile, you do, you cant ...quot;

    quot;ell, you cut t nig,quot; she said.

    quot;Yeaired, I t follo;

    quot;ts all it said.quot;

    quot;Mig t muc. e ougo find someto take  or somet Ill find a art looking properly.quot;

    quot;All rig; said Lyra, quite o be moving again, h Pan and ill, alive and awake.

    to tting alertly by their backs.

    quot;e so knoend,quot; said Salmakia.

    quot;ell,  coming to Lord Asriel any; said ill. quot;eve got someto do first.quot;

    quot;And ell us  is, since its clear  stop you from doing it?quot;

    quot;No,quot; said Lyra, quot;because youd just go and tell to come along  kno;

    quot;Certainly not,quot; said tialys.

    quot;e  some kind of guarantee,quot; said ill. quot;Youre spies, so youre bound to be dis, ts your trade. e need to knorust you. Last nigoo tired and  t it, but to stop you ing till inging us to make us  lodestone t easily. So o ee t you . A promise isnt enoug;

    trembled  their honor.

    tialys, controlling ;e dont accept one-sided demands. You must give somet tell us entions are, and tone resonator into your care. You must let me  o send a message, but you o use it  your agreement. t ee. And noell us w;

    ill and Lyra exco confirm it.

    quot;All rig; Lyra said, quot;ts fair. So o t kno t. ts o do.quot;

    t y.

    t; you say doesnt make sense. ts all. t;

    quot;I t t rue, as ; said ill. quot;But no sure. At least .quot;

    quot;But w;

    Lyra looked at ill and saw him nod.

    quot;ell,quot; s;before I met ill, long before I o danger, and  I  o find  . Nor er. If  to o do  all, ts my friend  matter to  it matters to me. to us. So ts  to do.quot;

    quot;C; said tialys, quot;o live on after t?quot;

    quot;ere going to go and find out,quot; said Lyra. quot;And noold you, Ill take your resonator lodestone.quot;

    S alaimon stood, tail so reinforce ialys unslung t in  h.

    quot;And ion ake?quot; said the Chevalier.

    quot;e dont kno; Lyra told ;e dont kno it, any more t go t;

    quot;First t; ill said, quot; to get some er and some more food, someto carry. So Im going to find a  off.quot;

    tialys and Salmakia mounted t insects e, and Lyra, c for t time, saraordinary fineness of tirrups, tiny saddles.

    ill took temptation made ouc card still; elepher¡­

    tone, and  nearly stopped. If  he end.

    After a fes ried again. Instead of trying not to to  Im just going to look away whis...

    And t time it s later all of tanding in  and prosperous farmyard in some nortry like one-flagged yard  and clean and a roable doors stood open. t. tive and vigorous t it sounded like a macables.

    Lyra  and looked, and came back at once, looking pale.

    quot;to , and recovered, quot;four dead ;

    quot;Look,quot; said ill, s;or maybe better not.quot;

    ing at t edged tc seen a mans legs, one , protruding from t part of the bushes.

    Lyra didnt  to look, but ill  to see if till alive and needed help. he came back shaking his head, looking uneasy.

    t the farmhouse door, which was ajar.

    tialys darted back and said, quot;It smells ser in t; and ted furtbuildings.

    ill folloce cable, and a tle stood cold. Next door try, he silence was oppressive.

    Lyra said quietly, quot;ill, is t;

    t o  ;No, I dont ts one  of rye bread, tll be good, its lig;

    aken o table.

    quot;ell?quot; said Lyra, seeing tialys raise ;You s you take.quot;

    At t moment Salmakia came in table in a sric blue.

    quot;t; s;on foot, es ;

    And as ss on gravel, and a voice issuing orders, and tal.

    quot;t; said ill.

    in t. And at once ion. to be sliding along a very smoot sank til o cut. But it ant, like o ail as tanding in.

    quot;s ; said Lyra.

    t it  t. Just as ted ted to pus someter  all. to perc  a pressure in t and ted, and ttle riders o stroke ts o calm their fears.

    But after a feruggle, t o see) and closed it, sting their own world.

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra, and urned to see t tchem.

    jolted. It  ten minutes before, stark dead in t cut.

    most of time in t no te scable rembling , ill o see, act.

    o speak, but no . All  at ill and Lyra.

    Lyra said, quot;Excuse us for being in your  artled you. Im Lyra, and tialys and tell us your name and w;

    t seemed to bring to his senses, and a shudder passed over him, as if he were waking from a dream.

    quot;Im dead,quot; ;Im lying out t dead. s  my t. s ;

    Lyra stepped closer to ill o  as a mouse. As for trying to control t insects seemed to

    ed c.

    But t notice till trying to understand w had happened.

    quot;Are you a g?quot; ill said cautiously.

    t ried to take it, but ingle of cold was all .

    o e.

    quot;truly,quot; ;I am dead... Im dead, and Im going to ;

    quot;; said Lyra, quot;ogets your name?quot;

    quot;Dirk Jansen I ; ;but already I... I dont knoo do... Dont kno;

    ill opened tcouched.

    A little groan broke from Dirk Jansens t, as if t anymore. ted out of t up er ttering little cries.

    quot;I cant stay  stay,quot; ;But t t to go...quot;

    quot;; said Lyra.

    quot;Do to go. Cant stay ;

    Salmakia fleo perctle cla;tion.quot;

    quot;t; said ill, and swung his rucksack over his shoulder.

    Dirk Jansen o left and rigumbling over little ruts and stones on t had known so well.

    Lyra came after ill, and Pantalaimon became a kestrel and flew up as high as he could, making Lyra gasp.

    quot;t,quot; ;t;

    And soon too: ty or so men, ogets, o a stumbling run, and t to greet him.

    quot;Even if t kno; Lyra said. quot;e better just go ;

    quot;Dyou t; said ill.

    quot;Cant tell. If you sa;

    quot;Its o say. t look normal, exactly...to see in my to outside tic bag, and o anyone or  inside. And no one ever looked at o pretend . t like s and I never kne;

    quot;I dont t; said Lyra doubtfully.

    quot;Any be t been killed, tve done it, and s just like t itd be a lot different...quot;

    quot;ill, its fading,quot; s;Look!quot;

    Scopped and looked around, and s. Not long before epped to ttagazze, tood outside at midday and c dayligil a sort of eerie t as clear as in full daylig t to see it by, as if all trengt of a dying sun.

    odder, because tion as well and becoming blurred.

    quot;Its not like going blind, even,quot; said Lyra, frig;because its not t  see ts like t;

    t of t green of trees and t farmhouse ...

    to notice, too, and ing and hers arms for reassurance.

    t t red-and-yelloric blue of ttle riders, and ill and Lyra, and Pantalaimon, wrel-shaped close above.

    to t of t s. ill and Lyra took a step too fear, for ts o approach.

    ill called out, quot;Dont be afraid. ere not going to  you. ; quot;

    t t man among their guide.

    quot;ere going  I cant remember learning it. Seems as if its along t ;

    quot;Mama,quot; said a c;ting dark in time?quot;

    quot; fret,quot; t;Cant make anytter by fretting. ere dead, I expect.quot;

    quot;But ;I dont  to be dead, Mama!quot;

    quot;ere going to see Grandpa,quot; tely.

    But t be consoled and  bitterly. Ot t to ely t on, and on, and on.

    tialys o Salmakia before skimming acs brig got smaller and smaller. t on ills hand.

    quot;to see ting it. t .quot;

    quot;But ;If I  to stay in t  lost.quot;

    quot;t; ill said, guessing. quot;Its .quot;

    quot;No, t; said t;Some instinct is dra;

    And indeed ts  t of sigy storm ening, but tric tension

    t comes aorm. ts eadily, and traig  featureless.

    From time to time one of t ill or Lyra, or at t dragonfly and its rider, as if t man said:

    quot;You, you boy and girl. You aint dead. You aint gs.  you coming along ;

    quot;e came t,quot; Lyra told ;I dont knoo escape from t seemed to find ourselves ;

    quot; to t to go?quot; said ill.

    quot;I expect old,quot; said t confidently. quot;te out teous, I dare say. Its no good praying nos too late for t. You s w;

    It e clear o be in, and quite clear, too, t  it  be a big one. ts   arguing.

    And on trudging in silence under a sky t o a dull iron gray and remained t getting any darker. to t and rig il a little spark appeared ao o meet h a cry of pleasure.

    to the children.

    quot;toialys. quot;It looks like a refugee camp, but its obviously been turies or more. And I t, but ts covered in mist. I could e, from every direction, people like ts...quot;

    ts tened as  mucy. to tled into a dull trance, and Lyra ed to so urge to struggle and .

    quot;o ; she said.

    even guess. As t on to t and rigy-colored smoke o add its darkness to t  all empty-ing over tohe smoke.

    table matter, se, t got. t a patc, and ts growing anywhere were rank weeds and coarse grayish grass.

    Aer, . It rose like a cliff to merge  came t tialys o.

    Bete , t tohe dead.

 NINETEEN - LYRA AND HER DEATH

    among toreets, no squares, and no open spaces except ood above t, tico o its columns. Betone buildings, a mazy clutter of sies  toget of lengtimber, beaten-out petrol cans or biscuit tins, torn plastic sing,

    scraps of plywood or hardboard.

    ts oion came more of t t trickle tos raigo toly o follo topped.

    A figure stepped out of a patc;ait, .quot;

    A dim lig  easy to make out ures; but t a g. attered business suit, and ogetepped out of oms post on a rarely visited frontier.

    quot; is t; said ill, quot;And ;

    quot;Youre not dead,quot; said t;You o  in to t and give to t te.quot;

    quot;But excuse me, sir,quot; said Lyra, quot;I  mind me asking, but  dead? Because t it?quot;

    quot;Its a suburb of times take, but to  in t;

    quot;ait for ;

    quot;Until t;

    ill felt  to argue, and before s;Can you just explain o;

    quot;No, no,quot; said t;t a port of transit. t.quot;

    quot;o?quot; said ill.

    quot;ts not sometell you,quot; said tter smile pulled  t;You must move along, please. You must go to t;

    ill took t, and then held Lyras arm and urged her away.

    tialys explained t to rest; so t t on alaimon, leopard-s t rack, skirting tcies and tcream of gs arriving and passing  o toself.

    quot;eve got to get over ter, like t of t; said ill. quot;And maybe tell us  seem to be angry anys strange. And t;

    torn from a notebook, . It ing to see  all looked so real.

    It ting darker and colder, and time rack of. Lyra t t  ctle  earlier, whe door.

    As t ter in one  a  their papers and nodded.

    to go inside w;Excuse me, w;

    quot;Go and find someay,quot; said t unkindly. quot;Just ask. Everybodys ing, same as

    you.quot;

    urned aravelers turned doo t of ty toay.

    It le s, repaired a dozen times, patcic or corrugated iron, leaning crazily against eac some places, an anbaric cable looped do and provided enoug to porung out over ts. Most of ters of building material, as if t remaining flames of a great conflagration, staying alive out of pure malice.

    But as ill and Lyra and tail, t many more figures sitting in t talking quietly.

    quot; t; said Lyra. quot;Its cold.quot;

    quot;t people,quot; said t;t even gs. t I dont kno;

    travelers came to t group of s by one of tly in t  . tside, croucood up: five of t.

    quot; is to; said ill.

    took a step backtle closer toget iny anding on end, t  Pantalaimon s go back, please ...quot;

    t;peoplequot; made no move, and finally ill s;ell, good evening to you any; and moved on. t a similar response from all to, and all time their apprehension grew.

    quot;ill, are ters?quot; Lyra said quietly. quot;Are ers no;

    quot;I dont ttack us, but to be afraid t kno;

    A door opened, and lig on tood in tctle cluster of figures around tep or t of respect, and tolid, harmless, and mild.

    quot;; he said.

    quot;travelers,quot; said ill. quot;e dont knoo;

    quot;t; said t;raveled far?quot;

    quot;A long ired,quot; said ill. quot;Could ;

    t to t and looked around furturned to trange figures standing by and said:

    quot;Did you see any deat;

    t;No, no, none.quot;

    turned back. Be: a wo young chey were all nervous and apprehensive.

    quot;Deat; said ill. quot;ere not bringing any deat;

    But t fact seemed to be t, because side stle.

    quot;Excuse me,quot; said Lyra, stepping fore  ;I couldnt icing, but tlemen s rude, but e I do beg your pardon. But you see, in my  like youre so see us. And noraveling, ill and me, t seem to , and I ill I found out t ordinary like me really. So maybe ts  a bit sort of nervous ;

    t;Lyra? And ill?quot;

    quot;Yes, sir,quot; she said humbly.

    quot;Are t; ing to the spies on her shoulder.

    quot;No,quot; said Lyra, and sempted to say, quot;ts,quot; but s ill  a bad idea; so s;tialys and tinguisraveling ; saking mouse-Pantalaimon out of . quot;You see, omorro;

    Everyone ed. ttle by one, and to look modest and er a pause the man said:

    quot;ell, ts strange, I suppose trange times.. .Come in, t;

    tside nodded, one or ttle boood aside respectfully as ill and Lyra o t. to keep it s.

    It  by a napable, and clean but sed ures cut from film-star magazines, and tern made s of soot. tove against one  of it, eaming, and on a dressing table tic flotles, and ots and pieces, all surrounding ture of a jaunty skeleton op  and dark glasses.

    ty ering eyes, s. As Lyra looked at s stirred, and a very t it  a skeleton. In fact, on in ture too, noticed, and all travelers toget e figures like tside. And all of t as nonplussed as t seen them.

    In fact, all ttle s t a loss for  was Lyra w.

    quot;ts very kind of you,quot; s;to be o  any deats t  disturb you any more to. You see, s o come   kno, or o get t. So if you can tell us anyt it, eful.quot;

    till staring, but Lyras mosptle, and ted to sit at table, dra a benced the sleeping dragonflies up

    to a sialys said t till dayligable.

    teoes and cut to it to make it go farto offer travelers some ot  a bottle of clear and pungent spirit t smelled to Lyra like tians jenniver, and ted a glass into heir own.

    Lyra o stare most at t ty ed just as muc, at   long to ask why.

    quot;Youre t people  a deat; said ter. quot;Since  to  till our deatells us its time.quot;

    quot;Your deatells you?quot; said Lyra.

    quot;Yes.   side, taking to ;

    quot;Doesnt it scare you, ime?quot; said Lyra.

    quot;? If  more nervous not knowing w;

    quot;And everyone ; said ill, marveling.

    quot; youre born, your deato ts your deat takes you out.quot;

    quot;A; said Lyra, quot;ts o knorying to find t kno t;

    quot;Your deataps you on takes your s time. It migravail, your deato you kindly and says, Easy no across to t.  ;

    told a co call to to tcoget drab and quiet and dull.

    quot;t; said tialys.

    quot;Indeed, sir,quot; said Peter.

    quot;Do you knos time to go?quot;

    quot;No. But you knos a comfort.quot;

    tialys said not it   it  a comfort. tood politely along t range to see tle space took up, and to find tle notice ttracted. Lyra and ill soon found toget: time, t kno know...

    teo ces and put some in a boo pass among t eat, but t tent. Presently all ts ing er asked t their world was like.

    quot;Ill tell you all about it,quot; said Lyra.

    As s, as sook c of  a little stream of pleasure rising upc  s at, doing it for hem.

    Sarted by telling about s. tant and ed out of tate by a political enemy and to prison. But to escape by climbing doune, only to be attacked and murdered by outlaen,  ill rescued  in time and taken o t e s him alive.

    te up ty, and even to listen, perc eous faces as s tale of .

    ayed o Oxford to c Roger, and o escape in a ured a gyptian narro and sailed it all tting caug Abingdon Lock, and tes and o sy to a ted clipper just setting off for o trade for tea.

    And on t trangers from to t of taken refuge in t, and so take turns going up to see t ing and plunged doo Davy Joness locker.

    tried to persuade tain to turn t erested in t ting to Cat t them a file, and...

    And so on. From time to time surn to ill or tion, and Salmakia ail or tory self up to t o to learn, from s, t of wune had been buried.

    quot;And if ; s;like you do   I to find our ening, and for giving us t was really nice.

    quot;But o find a  across ter oo. Is ts  of ;

    tful. tiredness, looked o t no one could suggest w.

    t  spoken before. From tone, not a  a living voice: it h.

    quot;to t; ing  Lyra, quot;is  call up your o bay. You dont like t of courtesy tay out of sig t far off. urn your eacup. Or in a de like me and old Magda ; ;e live togets ts it, ts  to do, say e your deato come close to you, and see

    to agree to.quot;

    o Lyras mind like ones, and ill, too, felt t of them.

    quot;?quot; he said.

    quot;Youve only got to ;

    quot;ait,quot; said tialys.

    Every eye turned to  up to turn to iny, passionate one. anding close by Salmakia,  o say t too far, t turn back, taking to irresponsible lengths.

    So sepped in. quot;Excuse me,quot; so ter, quot;but me and our friend t to go outside for a minute, because o talk to rument. e  be long.quot;

    And sook side into ted iron roofing h a melancholy sound.

    quot;You must stop,quot;  urned oil drum, in t of one of t ss cable over;t;

    quot;But ,quot; Lyra said.

    quot;No, no. Not to t;

    quot;All rig a o your s all rig mind.quot;

    quot;Do you realize ;

    quot;Yes.quot;

    quot;You dont. Youre a tless, irresponsible, lying casy comes so easily to you t your y, and you dont even admit trut stares you in t see it, Ill tell you plainly: you cannot, you must not risk your deat come back ress in ;

    Lyra felt a great sob of rage building up in , and stamped , unable to keep still.

    quot;You dont kno; s;you just dont kno in my , do you? I dont kno kind, youre not generous, youre not considerate, youre not cruel, even, t ter, if you d mean you took us serious, you didnt just go along  suited you... O trust you at all nooget to stop us, youre t one, tialys!quot;

    quot;I  let a co me in t,  punished you before...¡±

    quot;take your bloody spurs and dig em in ! You got no idea  no notion  my friend Roger, you kill people just like t,¡± s;t matter to you, but its a torment and a sorroo me t I never said good-bye to  to say sorry and make it as good as I can, youd never understand t, for all your pride, for all your groo do . So if you  to kill me, you rong man, you poison bearer, you C, go on, kill me. t you, you pitiful t;

    tialys mig o see, for o foot h a

    passionate anger, s; but  ime to move before a voice spoke be a curned around, knoe her bravado.

    tood very close, smiling kindly, ly like t talaimon at  ried to pus by doing t, , orong pulse of .

    Lyra clutco ly. S remember ialys quickly preparing tone resonator, busy.

    quot;Youre my deat you?quot; she said.

    quot;Yes, my dear,quot; he said.

    quot;You ent going to take me yet, are you?quot;

    quot;You ed me. I am always ;

    quot;Yes, but... I did, yes, but... I  to go to ts true. But not to die. I dont  to die. I love being alive, and I love my daemon, and ... Daemons dont go do go out like candles w;

    quot;No,quot; ;Your daemon vaniso t;

    quot;t to take my daemon o t; s;And I  to come back again.  ever been knoo do t?quot;

    quot;Not for many, many ages. Eventually, co t, no risk, a safe, calm journey, in ted friend, er than yourself...¡±

    quot;But Pantalaimon is my special and devoted friend! I dont knoh, I know Pan and I love Pan and if he ever, if we ever...¡±

    terested and kindly, but s for a moment forget w h, and so close.

    quot;I knoll be an effort to go on no; seadily, quot;and dangerous, but I  to, Deatruly. And so does ill. e botaken aoo soon, and o make amends, at least I do.quot;

    quot;Everyone o tion for you?quot;

    quot;Because,quot; s;because t to do t just seeing my friend Roger, somet ask put on me by an angel, and no one else can do it, only me. Its too important to  till I die in tural s got to be done nos o.quot;

    Beialys put a and sat co be taken where no one should go.

    tc notop Lyras   even fear: soo.

    So eventually h said:

    quot;If not you off, take you to t as for getting out again, youll o manage by yourself.quot;

    quot;And my friends,quot; said Lyra. quot;My friend ill and t;

    quot;Lyra,quot; said tialys, quot;against every instinct, e ago. But you make it ;

    Lyra kne time to conciliate, and so do t, ten her way.

    quot;Yes,quot; s;I am sorry, tialys, but if you  got angry, o guide us. So Im glad you o you for being ;

    So Lyra persuaded o guide o tony Makarios, and so many otold o go doo tty o leave.

    But Pantalaimon rembling and so stillness, or quiet t little moan  tering. So  chfully beside her.

 TWENTY - CLIMBING

    t a morning inspecting and testing tals family ores before c sed. ting and rong and flexible, and Mary soon found exactly t sed.

    are you doing? said Atal.

    term for climb, so Mary o do a lot of gesturing and roundabout explaining. Atal was horrified.

    to go into t of trees?

    I must see w is he rope.

    Once in California, Mary  a matician rees. Mary tle rock climbing, and sened avidly as alked about tec. So try it ed to be climbing trees in anot greatly appeal, eit t t.  s as safe as possible beforehand.

    Sook a coil long enougo reacree and back doo trong enougo bear several times . t a large number of s pieces of a smaller but very toug loops tied , o the main line.

    tting t place. An ing oug some arroiff leaves in place of feato stabilize t; and finally, after a days o begin. But tting, and ired, and se and slept, preoccupied, w, musical whispers.

    First t off to s an arrocy. Climbing o creatures  t of it hem.

    Privately Mary kne, lig line to one of  it flying uphe bow.

    S t arro stuck in t come out. S t did clear t didnt fall far enougo reac back, s it and snapped it. ttaco t, and sried again , and time it worked.

    Pulling carefully and steadily so as not to snag t, she prepared rope up and

    over until botied to a massive buttress of one of ts, as t s. It ter be.  s tell from t kind of brancen to pitons on to fall, t o make tle more secure, sogeto a  around bot t sig so slip.

    Mary put  in t sling and began to climb.

    Sime ticipated. traig ed to t tting on top of t branc to get a solid purc, only fifteen minutes after s tanding on t brance to t.

    S tending to make a o serve in place of tons and anc;friendsquot; and otying took es more, and once s looked like t promising branc off.

    After ten minutes careful climbing s in t part of ter flole coin-sized t er become one of t iron-hard seedpods.

    Sable spot ed ed.

    tion over  she black highways.

    t breeze,  scent out of tled tiff leaves, and Mary imagined a   branc a kind of bliss s once before; and t  when she made her vows as a nun.

    Eventually s back to ate of mind by a cramp in  ankle,  aurned tention to task, still dizzy from t surrounded her.

    So to es a  in order to see t once t tube of bamboo, fixing tes at eacelescope. tucked in  pocket, and sook it out no, like a vast cloud of tiny beings floating t part ted randomly like dust motes in a s of sunliger.

    For t part.

    But to see anotion. Underlying ting , out from tohe sea.

    ell, t ly so see ill sly sure, and trenuous process of climbing down.

    Mary found tate, ies for the ground.

    Atal oucrunk, uttering gentle o ttlement along hers.

    A soon as t out among time t Mary guessed tors from elseer nehem.

    ttamax mounted tform and welcomed esy sings were over, so speak.

    ingly and  phrasings, she said:

    My good friends, I o trees and looked closely at the seedpods.

    I could see t t of sraf reetops, s on, and it moves against t t it. Can you see t from t.

    No, said Sattamax. t is t .

    ell, sinued, trees are filtering t moves t is attracted to t urned upraig er tals and fertilize tars.

    But t falling dos moving out too be facing ter it. ts  most of t drifts past  entering. t  because in t all traigo t to trees. And you can only see t current from  it.

    So if you  to save trees, and mulefa life,  find out  t, but I ry.

    So look up t of Dust. But from t see it: s the sky was all she could see.

    time, trying to recall any mention of tories, but t sraf came from tars, as it had always done.

    Finally they asked if she had any more ideas, and she said:

    I need to make more observations. I need to find out ion or ers like ts during t. So I need to spend more time in treetops, and sleep up t nigo build a platform of some kind so I can sleep safely. But ions.

    tical and anxious to find out, offered at once to build ever secackle, and presently one suggested a ing Mary easily into to save he dangerous labor of climbing.

    Glad to o do, t about gaterials at once, braiding and tying and lasreetop observation platform.

    After speaking to t track.  several days searcion, but to ely.

    he rifle

    at okens of e determination to complete task.

    But it   patc top of a scree, o see if t, but in trees, t been a s  he window and found where Mary had gone.

 TWENTY-ONE - THE HARPIES

    Lyra and ill eac ion. tialys and Salmakia tending to tside, flies cut from spiderer in a tin plate.  Pantalaimon, mouse-formed,   t to  outside.

    quot;You can still decide differently,quot; said Salmakia.

    quot;No, . e decided already,quot; said Lyra, stubborn and fearful at once.

    quot;And if  come back?quot;

    quot;You dont o come,quot; Lyra pointed out.

    quot;ere not going to abandon you.quot;

    quot;t if you dont come back?quot;

    quot;e sant.quot;

    Lyra . S really looked at t s of tanding on table just an arms lengt beautiful, not pretty, but t of face you o see if you ing out t. But s no if ever t y and   a o o lull and sooto, one day, in a voice like t.

    quot;ell,quot; Lyra said, and found  choked, so she swallowed and shrugged.

    quot;ell see,quot; said turned back.

    Once ten tter tea, s, took t off ty toely a little  to come closer, t looking back to see if they were following.

    t. It , and reamers of to t t all toget o c colors flash.

    Before long ttlement and made tream t ture toad as big as ills foot, rying to move out of t t kne to  it.

    quot;It o kill it,quot; said tialys. quot;; said Lyra. quot;It migill like being alive, in spite of everyt;

    quot;If , aking it ; said ill. quot;It s to stay agnant pool migter t;

    quot;But if its in pain?quot; said tialys.

    quot;If it could tell us,  since it cant, Im not going to kill it. t oads.quot;

    tsteps made told t t alaimon  eyes o Lyras so ill rembling and trembling.

    Suddenly ttle  , but it urned o talaimon crept into Lyras breast as sogetreading carefully along th.

    And t ter lay still in front of the pebbles.

    turned to t, and a little  t, a ty stood crazily out over ter. t; tty began, and  began. Lyras deato epped into t to do next.

    quot;Listen,quot; said ill.

    titive sound out on ter: a creak of , regular splas   and moved foro tting planks. Lyra follos, looking like ood at tty, pressing t t, and o brus settled on t sloting closer and closer.

    quot;Dont lets go!quot; Pantalaimon whispered.

    quot;Got to,quot; Lyra whispered back.

    S ill.   turn aside. And tialys on ills sc, like cobime to time t to clear t make t. She dead.

    t.

    It  ro, battered, patcting; and t , ly around t, pale eyes sunk deep among folds and wrinkles of gray skin.

    go of an oar and reaco t in t at tty. ito bring t rig the planks.

    to speak. ill got in first, and to step dooo.

    But tman held up his hand.

    quot;Not ; he said in a harsh whisper.

    quot;Not w;

    quot;Not ;

    ended a yelloing directly at Pantalaimon,  form immediately became ermine we.

    quot;But ; Lyra said.

    quot;If you come,  stay.quot;

    quot;But ! ed die!quot;

    quot;Isnt t ?quot;

    And t time Lyra truly realized rembling, and clutcig he whimpered in pain.

    quot;t; said Lyra opped: it  fair to point out t t o give anything up.

    ill c t tty, at tagnant puddles, t , against h. Impossible! Never!

    quot; stay o come,quot; tman said again.

    to land on t, man. Lyra ccir at troom t migh a pardon.

    tman bent to listen and then shook his head.

    quot;No,quot; ;If so stay.quot;

    ill said, quot;ts not rig o leave part of ourselves be;

    quot;O you do,quot; said tman. quot;Its une t salk to t s leave. You  knoil you are on ter, and t oo late. But you all o leave t part of yourselves o t;

    No, Lyra t, and Pantalaimon t  go ther again?

    And s ted  of ing ts companion, co t, and so a storm of  ec muffled t all along tcree stumps, tures t lurked ted cry and dretle closer to the ground, afraid of such passion.

    quot;If e to end  tman shook his head.

    quot;, but if  stays ; he said.

    quot;But ;

    quot;I dont kno;

    quot;;

    quot;Leave?quot;

    quot;ere going to come back. ere going to to come back.quot;

    quot;Not t;

    quot;t ;

    quot;I aken millions, and none came back.quot;

    quot;t. ell find our . And since o do t, be kind, boatman, be compassionate, let ake ;

    quot;No,quot;  ;Its not a rule you can break. Its a la; er, and tilted  ran out again. quot;t makes ter fall back into ts a la. I cant tilt my er fly upake o t s stay.quot;

    Lyra could see notalaimons cat fur. But ill saialys dismount from o spring at tman, and ention; but turned  o say:

    quot;o t me, it  ake come ruggle and cry, try to bribe me, ten and fig  me, sting as you ter comfort take no notice of me.quot;

    ill could c ting ing trying to put  claime after time sill ried to cling.

    Surn back.

    Snt do it.

    Srue to t-deep, life-deep bond linking o Pantalaimon, s t first, s out of her mind¡­

    But s.

    quot;Pan, no ones done t; s;but ill says ake care, my dear, youll be safe, e of my life finding you again, I  stop, I  rest, I , o to, Ive got to...quot;

    And s ter and cold and frighe muddy ground.

    animal ell. o be so young, a cub, a puppy, someten, a creature so sunk in misery t it ure.  Lyras face, and ill could see  look a avoid t, and y and  time as ing. ts of feeling bet t electric to him.

    And Pantalaimon didnt ask o t, too. And  if  be able to resist; so t so as not to distress tending t it  , it  be long before toget . But ill kne ttle girl earing  out of .

    tepped doo t. S t it barely rocked at all. S beside ill, and  Pantalaimon, rembling at tty; but as tman let go of t to pull t atle dog daemon trotted  to tly on t planks, and stood c c drety faded and vanis.

    te t even in t muffled, mist- raised an ec of course it  an ec  of urn from to the dead.

    quot;My , ill...quot; so  face contorted h pain.

    And t ter of Jordan College o t Lyra  betrayal and it would  erribly, was fulfilled.

    But ill, too, found an agony building inside  toget as he same anguish.

    Part of it  as if an iron  and  out betried to  in. It  it al, too: somet and private o t o be, and ill ure of pain and s.

    And it . It  kill me, Im frigead; s matter, I dont love ; and as if s, and pretended s so as to spare  as bad as t. to feel.

    So ill kne all t of   bealaimon, on t poisoned and desolate s came to ill and Lyra at t, and tear-filled glance. And for time in t not t, eachers face.

    Only tman and t to t insects , so dislodge ture; and t against the slime-puddled floor.

    ted longer ted to measure. t of alaimon abandoned on t ing to trengto see w would hey would land.

    ills arm rong around  oo, o peer t gray gloom and to ly somet darken.

    tman pulled on one oar to turn t a little to t.

    quot;; said tialys, small but strong as ever, to it, as if oo, had been suffering pain.

    quot;Near t; said tman. quot;Anotes,  tage.quot;

    quot; island?quot; said ill. rained, too, so tig hardly seemed his.

    quot;te to t; said tman. quot;Everyone comes s, c;

    quot;e s; whispered Lyra fiercely.

    eyes y.

    As ter, dark green, dense, and gloomy. teeply, and trees gre  could slip bet t t Lyra gave a little ; but not no ever again.

    quot;Are ; ill said to tman.

    quot;Makes no difference,quot; ;t came ed all t t ake, someone o be dead  not for time t make yourself alive again. And ttle infants, sometimes, t to to t tle crying baby on my lap many, many times, t never knehe difference

    betoo, t, snarling and savage and cursing me, railing and screaming:  t I take some noo put t, tion to see I  t trution t going to too, in turn, sooner ted.

    I let em cry and rave; t  me; t in the end.

    quot;So if you dont knotle girl so to contradict you.  you are, youll know soon enoug;

    All time eadily ro and reac to  for t  t rose out of the lake.

    alongside t still for t  to get out: as long as s, talaimon o t ure ated, but t out, pale and clutc; so so as well.

    quot;t; so tman. quot;ell  of everyto  before, I s;

    quot;Yes, Ill tell ,quot; said tman.

    rokes faded a.

    ttle ravelers, at t mist, t t a great  of them.

    Lyra s as if urned into lace and tter air could flo of alaimon ill, s, Roger must  like t as ainside, trying to cling to e fingers.

    tood still and listened. ter from t one or two drops splasheir cheeks.

    quot;Cant stay ; said Lyra.

    togeto tic stone blocks, green  slime, rose o t t t, to tell:  ing filaments of a jellyfisouched.

    quot;t; said ill in a rained voice.

    It tered ern under a slab of stone. Before ill could lift , one of tening them horribly.

    Immediately ted into ttle le. But t fle tal bloled  above tialys and Salmakia gats.

    t bird ture, s of a ures like o mind as soon as he saw her clearly. her face was

    smoot aged beyond even tcy and misery of all of teful expression on ures. But as travelers sated ed as if sed ancient blood again and again. ted, filto one fiercely;  of putrescent stink ed from ime she moved.

    ill and Lyra, botried to stand upright and face her.

    quot;But you are alive!quot; them.

    ill found ing and fearing han any human being he had ever known.

    quot;; said Lyra, w as repelled as ill.

    For ansed a jet of noise rig tc Lyra and togeturned into y of c teaco regulate to appeal to, nowo hide.

    and looked he sheer power of her scream had made him dizzy.

    quot;If youre trying to stop us,quot; ;tter be ready to fig door.quot;

    t time it o purse o a mock kiss.

    t;Your motmares. e s ;

    ill didnt move, because out of tely along tialys on t at to dig o tures scaly leg, and tialys launc off tly onto tric blue steed and up into the air.

    t on te. Anottered t  ill and Lyra bot taggered. But so tone ood out from  of serpents.

    ill tugged at Lyras ried to run to t turned, ting Lyra behe knife.

    t once, darting close at ing ao get in a blo distracting  s o the ground.

    Lyra called out, quot;tialys! Salmakia! Stop, stop!quot;

    tering in t one curn, and flexing , and t was w Lyra iced.

    too land on. Salmakia realized o tialys: quot;S. e cant  ;

    Lyra said, quot;Lady, ;

    travelers nearly fainted from tion and decay t ed from her.

    quot;No-Name!quot; she cried.

    quot; do you  ; said Lyra.

    quot; can you give me?quot;

    quot;e could tell you ed, I dont knorange t;

    quot;Oo tell me a story?quot;

    quot;If youd like.quot;

    quot;Maybe I ;

    quot;You mig us go in t door and find t weve come o look for; I ;

    quot;try, t; said No-Name.

    And even in  t s been dealt trumps.

    quot;O;  before, sting and improving and adding: parents dead; family treasure; shipwreck; escape ...

    quot;ell,quot; stling into orytelling frame of mind, quot;it began ay, oime. ting in our forest. t   ;

    it even a cry of  Lyra, clastretc ime to duck, but still one of t ore out a clump of hair.

    quot;Liar! Liar!quot; t;Liar!quot;

    Sly for Lyras face; but ill took out t of reac in time, and ill led Lyra over to t tred:

    quot;Liar! Liar! Liar!quot;

    And it sounded as if   so be screaming Lyras name, so t Lyra and liar hing.

    ill  , o protect

    t to tten  out the blade.

    ting dragonflies, tumbled to ts as them.

 TWENTY-TWO - THE WHISPERERS

    t to make Lyra sit doook out ttle pot of bloodmoss ointment and looked at t  it  deep. ore a strip off t and mopped it clean, and spread some of tment over the gash,

    trying not to tate of t made it.

    Lyras eyes were glazed, and she was ash-pale.

    quot;Lyra! Lyra!quot; ly. quot;Come on no to move.quot;

    Sook a long, sh, and her eyes focused on him, full of a wild despair.

    quot;ill, I cant do it anymore, I cant do it! I cant tell lies! I t it  it didnt s all I can do, and it doesnt ;

    quot;Its not all you can do. You can read ter, cant you? Come on, lets see ;

    time t ts were.

    t plain t extended far ao t. t by o exist everyrue srue lighe same dingy color.

    Standing on ts and c people, so many t Lyra couldnt guess t least, most of tanding, tting and some lying doless or asleep. No one , or running or playing, turned to look at ty in their wide eyes.

    quot;Gs,quot; s;ts ever died...quot;

    No doubt it  so ills arm, and  little forms darting and skimming over ts,  filled  felt like life.

    Beside till ec people aring at ill and Lyra, and to cro yet to face to do, and it .

    quot;Do you speak our language?quot; ;Can you speak at all?quot;

    Sened and full of pain as y t togets tle po clear voice t o respond.

    But t, pale sound, no more t breatter. And as t forling and desperate, ted to and from in front of to prevent too close. t ce longing, and Lyra kne once s t their own daemons again.

    quot;O daemons,quot; Lyra burst out compassionately; quot;and if my own daemon was roke ouch him, I promise...¡±

    And s o t gs less or fearful, but tance as fog, poor t and lifeless, to  trong-beating s of travelers, and bot a succession of cold, delicate brusions as ts passed t little by little too; t got an infinite amount of life and o give, and to stop.

    Finally Lyra o plead o hold back.

    S;Please, o tell me o do!quot;

    ts ed by t gloact ly alive. One g girl, en, reaco try and touc, and t Lyra said, quot;Dont be afraid,  come o  you, speak to us, if you can!quot;

    t girl spoke, but in  was only a whisper.

    quot;Did t? Did try and  you?quot;

    quot;Yea; said Lyra, quot;but if ts all t  t;

    quot;O isnt, ohey do worse...¡±

    quot;?  do t;

    But tant to tell  silent, until one boy said, quot;It ent so bad for ts been  tired after all t time, t fraid you up so much...¡±

    quot;Its t talking to most,quot; said t girl. quot;Its just.. .Os just eful. t tell you.quot;

    t s all seemed sunk in a let t t never move or speak again.

    quot;Listen,quot; said Lyra, quot;please listen. e came  to find a boy called Roger.  been  a fe if you know w;

    But even as s tay ill t every face, and still t never see more tiny fraction of t despair sit on £ð://</kbd>

    eetried to  , ts part of it anyway.

    t g girl  lost little whisper.

    quot; to find ; said ill. quot;ell, Lyra s to speak to  t to find as  to find my fatoo, someo speak to o to come and speak to Lyra and to ill. Ask them...¡±

    But suddenly ts all turned and fled, even ttered by a sudden gust of  ty, and ts of rotten stink, battering hose raucous screams, jeering, mocking, cackling, deriding.

    Lyra so t once, covering ialys and Salmakia skimming to t, and  or to c ting insects, and ing, scoffing   s; but part of e cold and separate, ting, observing. None of ted to come anywhe knife.

    to see  migo sending to skim just over his head. her

    clumsily, and s made turn.  and slashe knife.

    By time t to attack, but ill called: quot;tialys! Come o my ;

    t;atc t ake  t to touc all. e can ignore t;

    Lyra looked up, ures fle or so a t t moment. tle, and to dart t t.

    And it  on ts, too: seeing ill standing unafraid and uno drift back toravelers. tciously, but for all t, trong beats, oo muco resist.

    Lyra stood up to join ill. rickling down  s aside.

    quot;ill,quot; s;Im so glad ;

    one in   s s ready to speak of it yet.

    o sood.

    t girl said, quot;t;

    And bot trangest sensation, as if little g ugging at to make them follow.

    So t off across t great desolate plain, and t t tance, and tch.

    As ts talked to them.

    quot;Excuse me,quot; said one g girl, quot;but ;

    Lyra ead.

    quot;e left our daemons outside,quot; ; ter. Did you ;

    quot;Yes,quot; said t, quot;;

    quot;And tled?quot; said Lyra.

    quot;No, not yet. o t, because I liked  nig s your daemon called?quot;

    Lyra told s pressed fored to talk about their daemons, every one.

    quot;Mine apan...¡±

    quot;e used to play  see  all, she was ever so good...¡±

    quot;Once I  my eye and I couldnt see and he way home...¡±

    quot;ed to settle, but I ed to groo argue...¡±

    quot;So curl up in my o sleep...¡±

    quot;Are till t;

    quot;No.  goes out like a candle flame. I seen it or, though, I never said good-bye...¡±

    quot;t no;

    tling gs ed and eager, travelers.

    ill said, quot;Is t ;

    A t boy of urned to him.

    quot;O; came t;e didnt understand   felt like to be  t;

    quot;I kne; said one girl, quot;I kne daemons, I t t somet never see s t to me, and t forever. rust, someone o do. But I aint got  knoo ;

    quot;t noto ; someone else said. quot;Not;

    quot;You dont kno; said anot;t t o ;

    S ill and Lyra.

    quot;t t ever ; said a g boy. quot;Maybe its all going to c;

    quot; ; said Lyra.

    quot;Go up to t;

    quot;Even if it meant you could only see it once, ill  to do t?quot;

    quot;Yes! Yes! Yes!quot;

    quot;ell, any to find Roger,quot; said Lyra, burning  it o kno.

    On t, slo among table gs. t see it, but tialys and Salmakia, flying above, ctle pale figures all moving  t looked like tion of immense flocks of birds or  ter of t eadily on; not leading, and not follo some into an intention of all the dead.

    ts moving even more quickly ting steeds, exc to rest side by side on a dry, hered branch.

    quot;Do ; said the Lady.

    quot;Since  into t boat, I  as if my  orn out and till beating on t; ;But it ; its still . So somet ttle girls daemon, and sometoo, Salmakia, because your face is drao knos arted t.quot;

    et safely, and took out tone resonator. But o touc wopped.

    quot;No response,quot; he said somberly.

    quot;So ;

    quot;Beyond ainly. ell, o t;

    quot;to t;

    quot;ill ;

    quot;Im sure  oialys, I dont kno;

    quot; survive tion of empted  arise. It  matter anymore.quot;

    quot;Do you to leave  to make?quot;

    ting after t brigongue.  make out est t trong.

    quot;No,quot; ;not yet. ts still to come,  may be.quot;

    quot;t bring o it safely.quot;

    quot;Bring toget;

    t rein, and ed off t once and sped doohe Chevalier close behind.

    But t stop o make sure t, tly because tless, and partly because ted to find out ended.

    Lyra sa a pang of relief t till somet darted and gloy. to keep o urned to ill; but so w o h, he heard her say:

    quot;ill, I  us to take all t kids outside, t em free! ell find Roger and your fats open to tside, and set em all free!quot;

    urned and gave rue smile, so umble and falter inside  least, it felt like t, but  Pantalaimon s ask  it meant. It mig to . Deeply surprised, sold o raigop feeling giddy.

    So t faster t;Roger, Lyras come, Roger, Lyras ; passed from one g to anotric message t one cell in to t.

    And tialys and Salmakia, cruising above on tireless dragonflies, and looking all around as tually noticed a ne. Some tle gyration of activity. Skimming do time, because someteresting s. talking excitedly in t hey were urging someone forward.

    Salmakia fle couldnt land: too great, and none of t o try. S boy , un old, and s:

    quot;Roger? Is t Roger?quot;

    he looked up, bemused, nervous, and nodded.

    Salmakia fleo ogeto Lyra. It e, but by cterns of movement, they finally found her.

    quot;t; said tialys, and called: quot;Lyra! Lyra! Your friend is t;

    Lyra looked up and   insect landed at once, its red and yellos filmy iff and still on eitialys kept  eye level.

    quot;; sement. quot;Is ;

    quot;An ; said t;But old  was  keep going, and soon youll find ;

    tialys sa to stand up straigo find some more energy. Lyra ions: o t did  he way?

    And so on. tialys tried to ansrutiently, and step by step to t to h.

 TWENTY-THREE - NO WAY OUT

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra, quot; ts out?quot;

    Because tures ting louder and flying closer, and time, as if tself into little clots of malice and giving ts kept looking up fearfully.

    quot;Are ting close?quot; Lyra called to the Lady Salmakia.

    quot;Not far no; s;You could see  rock.quot;

    But Lyra didnt  to e time. Srying  to put on a c every moment in front of  terrible image of ttle dog-Pan abandoned on tty as t closed around , t be hopeful for Roger; she always had been.

    o face, it e suddenly. In among ts, tures   as a g could be. o embrace her.

    But  tle c , it rengto ruly touch again.

    But ;Lyra, I never t Id ever see you again, I t even if you did come do to speak to me...¡±

    quot;?quot;

    quot;Because I done t my daemon ao figo you! t o get my daemon again, and ;

    quot;But t  your fault, stupid!quot; Lyra said. quot;It  brung you t place, and I s you go back ians. It . Im so sorry, Roger, , it , you ve been ;

    quot;ell,quot; ;I dunno. Maybe I  dead some ot it  your fault, Lyra, see.quot;

    S o believe it; but all t o see ttle cold t so out of reacried to grasp , ty air; but ood and sat down beside her.

    ts tle, leaving t, too, to sit do ts to force tend to the wound.

    But Lyra and Roger o t.

    quot;And you ent dead,quot; ;ill alive? And w;

    quot;Oo leave   to do, it  so muc s, and  stood t looking, o like a murderer, Roger, but I o, or else I couldnt ;

    quot;I been pretending to talk to you all time since I died,quot; ;I been , me and all terrible place, Lyra, its  t till youre resting, you cant never sleep properly, you just sort of doze, and t beside you and t forget em. t t you. to make you feel  tupid ts you ever  you cant get a;

    quot;ell,quot; s;listen.quot;

    Dropping o ttle g, just as so do w Jordan, : s on:

    quot;You probably dont kno tcc a prop me. t knoo anyone about it before. But ian took me to see tcest. o go outside and pick out t piece of cloud-pine out of all to ser.

    quot;ell, I done t, and t  only took a second, it alking to Farder Coram, and t knoo do somet and important, and it o be in another world...

    quot;Only I never spoke of it, and I reckon I must  it, t sort of sunk out of my mind. I never even talked about it h Pan, cause he would have laughed, I reckon.

    quot;But ter on Mrs. Coulter caugrance, and I , and I dreamed of you. And I remembered tian boat mota, you remember, it   on board of, in Jerichem...¡±

    quot;Yes! And  to Abingdon! t  t never forget t, even if Im down housand years...¡±

    quot;Yes, but listen,  time, rigians again and ter me and... O, youd be amazed, but tant ta said to me, s cians er people but I was a fire person.

    quot;And  means is s of preparing me for tc sometant to do, and Dr. Lanselius t al I never found out iny ill it  never ask about it... So I never did. I never even t  miger, even.

    quot;But no a sort of proof.  I got to do, Roger, iny is, is I got to s out of t to rescue you all. Im sure its t. It must be. And because Lord Asriel, because of someto die, ll nt tell em yet, promise. I mean you mig last up t...¡±

    e to speak, so sopped.

    quot;ts just ed to tell you!quot; ;I told em, all told t like you came and rescued t, it anyone can. they

    rue, ted to believe me, but tell.

    quot;For one t;  on, quot;every kid ts ever come arts by saying, I bet my dadll come and get me, or I bet my mum, as soon as sc ent ts t someones going to come and rescue em. Only told em youd come. Only I was rig;

    quot;Yea; s;   ill. ts ill over ts tialys and to tell you, Roger...quot;

    quot;;

    Lyra began to explain, quite unaraig ory of ing  for tle knife.  Roger noticed, he unchanging dead.

    Meanalking quietly.

    quot; are you going to do, you and t; said tialys.

    quot;Open t ts out. ts  t;

    onis on any faces, let alone t respect for t silent for a fes, and tialys said:

    quot;ts test blorike. ty er t;

    quot; it?quot; said t;Itll come at t of now;

    quot;And ; tialys asked ill.

    quot; to get out ourselves, and find our daemons, I suppose. Dont ts enougo t said anyto ts, in case¡­, in case it doesnt  you say anyto find a c to ract t.quot;

    Instantly to tc insects c t  creatures  w over briger again.

    took up tantly t aunts about opped.  trying to clear his mind.

    ried again, . e ty of t ttle to stop them.

    ell, t it o be like. It  going to get any easier. So ill let  sat til he was ready again.

    time t straigo t rock. o t up and tried again.

    And t   ing.

    Next time  carefully in tting tip searc revealed a ouc. to; everywouc was solid rock.

    Lyra  sometion  to o ills side.

    quot; is it?quot; sly.

    old ;ere going to o move some going to let us. old ts ;

    quot;No. Only Roger, and I told o keep it quiet. ever I tell  not ever get out. Suppose  stuck ;

    quot;t to,  cut a tunnel. Itll take a long time, and I  o, but  ;

    quot;Yea. Course ;

    But s . t go on muc t  quail in ightly, aching for Pan.

    Mean leave Lyra alone.

    quot;Please,quot; said one girl, quot;you  forget us w;

    quot;No,quot; said Lyra, quot;never.quot;

    quot;Youll tell t us?quot;

    quot;I promise. s your name?quot;

    But tten. Surned away, hiding her face, and a boy said:

    quot;Its better to forget, I reckon. Ive forgotten mine. Some ent been ill knoen a  ts t. And t;

    quot;Yea; said anot;tell us about t!quot;

    And more and more of to tell t tten, suco play; and surned to ill and w; s;

    quot;tell t;

    quot;Im scared. After w he harpies...¡±

    quot;tell trut;

    S fully. In fact, s sick urned back to ts, whronging closer and closer.

    quot;Please!quot; t;Youve just come from tell us, tell us! tell us about t;

    tree not far a a dead trunk s bone o t talk at time, s so as to o sit. ts jostled and so make room.

    tree, tialys landed on ills ed t o listen.

    quot;t; ly, quot;t you migo fig;

    it s s o it. tialys took off again, and tree and sat dos.

    So many dead figures clustered around, pressing  ill o make t  Roger stay close, because  Lyra, listening h a

    passion.

    And Lyra began to talk about the world she knew.

    Sold tory of er it until it o fly again; and  and cob migokay, s tell, and  listened, proud and desperate, nodding and s just rue all rig;

    told t t battle betohe clayburners.

    First s in everyts, t brick beeold t trees along told o split up into great es,  to squiso te of mud, trying to keep it as big as you could  breaking it. Underneat ill , ideal for t people.

    And sten-leaf-mold smell of t, tatoes to eat; and ter slipping slickly over to ts; and tried to pull your foot out of t slap of te paddles in ter.

    As ss croop.

    told o o; and oed and planned and attacked t t one anotle and tearing it dourning tifications into missiles until ter ricably togetly to sole, and none of tter day in all their lives.

    ill, exed. then she had a shock.

    As s, silent all around, and oo: tree ered  her, solemn and spellbound.

    Sood up in sudden fear, but t move.

    quot;You,quot; se, quot;you fle me before, o tell you somets stopping you noear at me  out of me!quot;

    quot;t is t er, en to me. t gs came doo see t in every one, and ill our blood is rank  and our very s are sickened.

    quot;But still, it  o open a o ts out into the air...¡±

    And   til ts fell silent again.

    quot;Yes,quot; cried No-Name, quot;to lead t!  will we do now? I sell you w we will do: from

    noear and rend every g t comes tred. teland now; we s a ;

    Every single ree and straig ts, making tter in terror. Lyra clung to ills arm and said, quot;t a do it. te us, trayed t  better!quot;

    quot;Quiet,quot; said tialys. quot;Dont despair. Call ten to us.quot;

    So ill cried out, quot;Come back! Come back, every one of you! Come back and listen!quot;

    One by one t for misery, turned and fleo tree, and ts drifted back as  tle tense figure, green-clad and dark- to a rock whey could all see him.

    quot;; ;ter t. Ansions truly, and  I say, and to you outside t ?quot;

    quot;Lies!quot; t;Lies and fantasies!quot;

    quot;Yet ened, every one of you, and you kept silent and still. Again, ;

    quot;Because it rue,quot; said No-Name. quot;Because srut  . Because it rue. Because   broug rue.quot;

    quot;t; said tialys, quot;lets make a bargain ead of seeing only ty and greed of ts t come doo ask all ts to tell you tories of to tell trut oucs ory; every single one t comes doure o tell you about t to o tell you.quot;

    Lyra marveled at ttle spy. o tures as if o give ts? Any one of t, o smas tood, proud and fearless, making a bargain ened, and conferred, turning to one anotheir voices low.

    All ts c.

    turned back.

    quot;ts not enoug; s;e  more t. e ask under tion. e y. e fulfilled tys commands diligently, and for t ake any notice of us, if t into t let t be dispensed y and a task to do, one t  ;

    ted on ttering and raising t a moment later Salmakia leapt up to join t:

    quot;You are quite rigask to do ts important, one t brings task, and its one t only you can do, because you are task o guide ts from to t into they will

    tell you tories as a fair and just payment for t seem rigo you?quot;

    No-Name looked at ers, and t;And o refuse to guide to tell us. If toucion for infants o learn anyt ot guide t.quot;

    quot;t is fair,quot; said Salmakia, and travelers agreed.

    So treaty. And in excory of Lyras t to take travelers and to a part of t unnels and caves,  ts could follow.

    But before t, as loudly as a  of a te face, and he cried:

    quot; ill o o us!quot;

    Otook up tion: quot;Yes, tell us o expect! e  go unless ;

    Lyra turned to ill in despair, but ;tell truter, and tell t it says.quot;

    quot;All rig; she said.

    Sook out trument. t once. S it aood up.

    quot;tll ; s;and its true, perfectly true.  of icles t make you up  apart, just like your daemons did. If youve seen people dying, you kno looks like. But your daemons ent just not of everytoms t o trees and t part of everyts exactly o you, I promise on my  apart, its true, but youll be out in t of everyt;

    No one spoke. t, and t , and no one spoke until a young uries before. So ts:

    quot;old us t y in ts and angels praising ty, in a state of bliss. ts s o give our lives, and oto spend years in solitary prayer, e around us and we never knew.

    quot;Because t a place of res a place of not, or peace.

    quot;But no and Im going to follo, because it  be nottering in tars and t true home and always was.

    quot;So I urge you: come  to t;

    But   aside by t of a man when he said:

    quot;tter message, a sad and cruel joke. Cant you see trut a c of tion and tears. Notisfy us. But ty ed us ternity, to t  ruly!  t lies. Ss to lead you to  your peril. My companions and I of true faiternity singing ty, o tell true.quot;

    Once again urned away in hing.

    Lyra felt beake? Sion on every side. But s trusting Mrs. Coulter because of iful smile and -scented glamour. It o get t o guide  too.

    But ill was s o  roughly.

    quot;You knos not true,quot; ;just as ake no notice! too. And ts make a start.quot;

    So trust rut old her; she knew Pan would have.

    So t off, and ts began to follooo far back for to see, otants of t  marcialys and Salmakia fleo look and o see ty  look  all, beings like tranger gs as well.

    But ill and Lyra rengto look back; all ter the harpies, and hope.

    quot; done it, ill?quot; Lyra  nearly over?quot;

    tell. But t ;Yes, its nearly over, . ell be out soon.quot;

 TWENTY-FOUR - MRS. COULTER IN GENEVA

    Mrs. Coulter ed till nig. Jerome. After darkness  tention craft do treetop . tinctive s buildings of Geneva, and sers, toorial Court of Discipline ed times before; s ty of ention craft.

    Flying sloiles,  rain, so a little gully beteep tiled roof and toence nearby; it would do very well.

    S delicately onto tting its six feet find t to keep to love t sprang to  as s ; it could o touc olen it, Mrs. Coulter ered the

    controls, but sill   : selling .

    Once s tled, and t to support it, sook off t and climbed down.

    iles. Sed  of ttens on  through.

    quot;Go in and look around,quot; so the dark.

    Stic, and tood at once and folloo let . In t stic ure of all kinds  into storage.

    t to pusall cupboard in front of tiles iptoed to t tried t  ses later sanding at one end of a long corridor, aircase descending at ther.

    And five minutes after t, try next to tc into te around to t ant to arrive in tter ended to leave.

    quot;take your ; so t;and sesy, or I sell t t Mrs. Coulter  so see  once.quot;

    teet tantly coucked ail stump as lo would go.

    telepe later a fres came ening into teed to s.

    quot;; she said.

    quot;Brot; said t daemon, quot;Convener of tariat of torial Court. If you would be so kind...¡±

    quot;I  come o parley ; sold ;take me to Fat no;

    t h relief.

    Broter trying times to make conversation, gave up and led o ts rooms in to ions, and poor Brotly as steps crossed the floor.

    ts eyes widened as  was, and he smiled wolfishly.

    quot;Mrs. Coulter,quot; ;I am very glad to see you. My study is cold, and our ality is plain, but come in, come in.quot;

    quot;Good evening,quot; sone-tle fuss and so a c;t; so Brotill ;Ill take a glass of ce.quot;

    Noting it o treat , but  t . t nodded, and Broto leave and deal , to  annoyance.

    quot;Of course you are under arrest,quot; said t, taking turning up the lamp.

    quot;Oalk before ; said Mrs. Coulter. quot;I came arily, as soon as I could escape from Asriels fortress. t is, Fat, I  deal of information about  to give it to you.quot;

    quot;t;

    quot;My daugoo late for any of us to prevent tastropure and opportunity ogetinder. to your intervention, t is no;

    quot;It y to bring o our care. Instead, you co skulk in a mountain cave, telligence o remain ery to me.quot;

    quot;t deal ts mysterious to you, my Lord President, starting ions bet for one moment t I y, men y fingernails, reeking of ancient s, men ions , my Lord President, you are more stupid take me for.quot;

    tray. ray on table  t in o stay; but Fato reluctantly.

    quot;So o do?quot; said t.

    quot;I o keep il t;

    quot; danger  ; he said, handing her a glass.

    quot;O I mean. Someer, a serpent, so to speak, and I o keep ting.quot;

    quot;t;

    quot;Yes. And if you  interfered, trol. As it is, t least t ;

    quot;I  raordinary po alone.quot;

    quot;Im a,quot; said Mrs. Coulter. quot;I managed to break ? it, and o get it mended again.quot;

    t ched boy?

    quot;e kno; ly.

    quot;ell, ; s;Fra Pavel must be getting quicker.   to read all t.quot;

    Se, o take teous abstinence out on tors, too.

    quot;tell me about Lord Asriel,quot; said t. quot;tell me everyt;

    Mrs. Coulter settled back comfortably and began to tell  everyt  for a moment t sold  tress, about t t the foundries.

    Fat  moving a muscle, his lizard daemon absorbing and remembering every word.

    quot;And  ; he asked.

    quot;I stole a gyropter. It ran out of fuel and I o abandon it in tryside not far from  of t;

    quot;Is Lord Asriel actively searc;

    quot;Of course.quot;

    quot;I assume er t knife. You kno s of t troyer,quot;  on, crossing to ters. quot;ts o do, isnt it? Destroy ty? t God is dead already. Presumably, Asriel is not one of tains tion to kill ;

    quot;ell, er, quot;if   to o look at er, in time of Daniel,  of Days. ill alive, at some inconceivable age, decrepit and demented, unable to t or speak and unable to die, a rotten  is ion,  it be t merciful truest proof of our love for God, to seek  and give  of deat;

    Mrs. Coulter felt a calm exion as s out alive; but it oxicating, to speak like t to this man.

    quot;And Dust?quot; ;From t is your vie?quot;

    quot;I ,quot; s;I dont kno is. No one does.quot;

    quot;I see. ell, I began by reminding you t you are under arrest. I ts time e comfortable; no one  youre not going to get aomorro;

    at once. quot;Ser to t guest room,quot; said t. quot;And lock ;

    t guest room  least it er turned beer looked around at once for te ligting and anoted then had a horrible surprise.

    atcop of t of drawers behe door was Lord Roke.

    S and put a o steady ting cross-legged, entirely at  ;And ting me kno;

    quot;Before,quot; ;tell your daemon to calm down, or Ill disable ;

    teetanding on end. to make any normal person quail, but Lord Roke merely smiled. tered in t.

    ttle spy stood up and stretched.

    quot;Ive just spoken to my agent in Lord Asriels fortress,quot;  on. quot;Lord Asriel presents s and asks you to let  entions are.quot;

    S he bed.

    quot;Did you come o spy on me, or to ; she said.

    quot;Bots lucky for you Im  some anbaric ion do kno is, but team of scientists  rigo ;

    quot;I dont knotered or alarmed. As a matter of fact, Im exed, and Im going to sleep. If youre o c;

    il so into bed. rolled ture rail, tains, ters out of tcer, and t once.

    Lord Roke  told  racking t of all kinds of beings in tiers of ticed a concentration of . t patrols out to investigate, but so far tever it  self in impenetrable fog.

    t it best not to trouble Mrs. Coulter , ted. Let ly about tening at tc of t.

    An er s come into t noise outside t scratc t a dim liglined to t corner and stood beer hes.

    A minute  by, and turned very quietly in t  out.

    Lord Roke could see  truder  for o adjust. Finally t Brotepped in.

    iptoed to to spring, but t merely listened to Mrs. Coulters steady breato see o table.

    tery ligc on, letting a t table so closely t ouc . Mrs. Coulter  a fe into bed, a couple of coins, a ring, c Brot interested in those.

    urned to  tering a soft  of  on ters neck.

    Lord Roke moved silently along ting board tohe door.

    t crossed o o touc over tirred.

    tstretc daemon trembled at , no use at all: s least  c. turned over in ill again.

    After a minute poised like a o Mrs. Coulters neck.  Lord Roke t t tc finally ed t gently aood up.

    Lord Roke, as quick and as quiet as a mouse,  of t urned around. ed in tiptoed out and turned to follow him.

    Brotoened.

    Fat alone: Fra Pavel, trist, her

    figure stood nervously by tal th looked up.

    quot;ell done, Brot; said t. quot;Bring it  down, s;

    Fra Pavel moved some of  laid table. t over to look as Fatcknife, and t click.

    quot;A; sig.

    Lord Roke climbed to top of t  t ing it bet t.

    quot;Are ain t; he said.

    quot;I am certain,quot; came the weary voice of Fra Pavel.

    quot;And is t, Dr. Cooper?quot;

    t loook t up to t.

    quot;O; ;One single ;

    quot;Im very pleased to ,quot; said t. quot;No return t to t;

    t sagged faintly: ask  placed t t, looking up and around as o drop out of sight.

    quot;Fat,quot; said Brot;I s may I know w;

    quot;No, Brot urb you. Leave tters to us. Off you go.quot;

    took t and left, smotment. Lord Roke t of going back er just as rying to replace to see  ant to find out o.

    As t back into tened.

    quot;?quot; said tist.

    quot;Every time sioned t; t said, quot; to t. No be ready?quot;

    quot;A matter of ; said Dr. Cooper.

    quot;And t do you do ?quot;

    quot;e place ting cand, eac of genetic particles quite distinct... ell, as soon as its analyzed, tion is coded in a series of anbaric pulses and transferred to t locates terial, ts a process t actually makes use of tokes ;

    quot;Dont alarm yourself, Doctor. Fra Pavel old me t ted by means of t;

    quot;Yes. to eac. ts rig;

    quot;So onated, troyed, w;

    tist, and tant quot;Yes.quot;  on, quot;t as an atomic bomb needs a high

    explosive to force toget off tion, t to release ter pohe severance process. I was wondering...¡±

    quot;It doesnt matter onated, does it?quot;

    quot;No. t is t. Anyw;

    quot;And its completely ready?quot;

    quot;Nohe power, you see...¡±

    quot;I o t. ting station at Saint-Jean-les-Eaux ioned for our use. t you say?quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; said tist.

    quot;t out at once. Please go and see to tus, Dr. Cooper.  ready for transportation as soon as you can. tains, and torm on t;

    tist took ttle envelope containing Lyras . Lord Roke left han a shadow.

    As soon as t of ears of ts room, tairs, felt an agonizing stab in er; but rangely , to land semiconscious at ttom.

    Lord Roke  of tcy, for it oer was asleep.

    t t of to slip t  dared to try and fasten ters neck: it lay beside he pillow.

    Lord Roke pressed o  s once and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

    he envelope.

    quot;You sroy it at once,quot; old ;One single ;

    S ttle curl of dark blond hair and shook her head.

    quot;too late for t,quot; s;t from Lyra.   back some of it.quot;

    Lord Roke h anger.

    quot;; ;Aco be out of ,   it aside t;

    quot;And t it,quot; said Mrs. Coulter. quot;Still, if he bomb...¡±

    quot;S;

    t ening, and t, too: steps ohe room.

    Mrs. Coulter t t Lord Roke,  and leapt for top of t to urned noisily in the door.

    quot;?  ? tack Dr. Cooper?quot; said ts  fell across the bed.

    Mrs. Coulter to sruggled to sit up.

    quot;You do like to keep your guests entertained,quot; s;Is t do I o do? And w;

    teorco t ers eyes   s left her bed.

    quot;You ; ;Someone tacked a guest of t? ;

    quot;I  test idea alking about. And ;

    doo  up,  on topped, picked it up, and looked at t ing as s;But ts it doing aken taken it? s going on?quot;

    And no himself.

    Fatook a step back o his head.

    quot;Someone else must  ;  t;;

    quot;I ; s;If ts te at ;

    Fato t;take o t   of it as soon as s;

    S Lord Rokes eyes for a fraction of a second, glittering in t  once and understood exactly w s o do.

 TWENTY-FIVE - SAINT-JEAN-LES-EAUX

    taract of Saint-Jean-les-Eaux plunged bet tern end of a spur of ting station clung to tain above it. It tered  all  not been for t anbaric generators ons of er t roared the gorge.

    It  folloers arrest, and tormy. Near tone front of ting station, a zeppelin sloo a ing s belo made it look as if it anding on several legs of ligself to lie down.

    But t  satisfied; t into eddies and cross-gusts by tain. Besides, transformers oo close: to be s in among tantly fatal. Sleet drummed slant t rigid envelope of t, making a noise t almost droter and raining engines, and obscuring the ground.

    quot;Not ; t sed over t;ell go around t;

    Fatc moved ttle fored trim of tain. t suddenly lengto feel t in t and rain.

    quot;You cant get closer to tation t; said t, leaning foro let o t.

    quot;Not if you  to land,quot; t said.

    quot;Yes,  to land. Very  us do;

    t gave orders for to prepare to moor. Since t to unload  ant to make t secure. t settled back, tapping , gnating t ered.

    From ransverse bulk tcimes during t tle sal meso anyone  in order to  o a place whe risk was unavoidable.

    ening , tcter of booted feet on metal  engineer called some figures to t, igo truts and beams as tilted.

    Finally, sensing from t t t s on tarboard side.

    tions: creecs. Many of ty. On ter sat a, ching from her lap and exuding malice.

    Lord Roke ed for ted across to Mrs. Coulters seat, and .

    quot; are t; she murmured.

    quot;Landing. ere near ting station.quot;

    quot;Are you going to stay ; she whispered.

    quot;Ill stay o .quot;

    S, uncomfortably  in ted cabin, but  take it off.

    quot;Go on, no; sed inside t, finding a fur-lined pocket ucked Mrs. Coulters silk collar inside solicitously, for all tidious couturier attending to e model,  Lord Roke ely .

    in time. Not a minute later a soldier armed o order Mrs. Coulter out of the airship.

    quot;Must I ; she said.

    quot;I  been told to remove t; ;On your feet, please.quot;

    quot;But its o move if I cant o tiff, Ive been sitting  part of a day  moving, and you kno any s really necessary to manacle me. Am I going to try and run a;

    Lord Roke o  interested in its effect on ot a grizzled old warrior.

    quot;ell,quot; said t;Im sure you , maam, but I cant do  been ordered to do. You see t, Im sure. Please stand up, maam, and if you stumble, Ill catc;

    Sood up, and Lord Roke felt  graceful  umble and cry out in alarm, and felt t oo; turning over steadily to generate pos, voices from somewhere nearby giving orders.

    ter leaning ly, and Lord Roke could just make out his reply.

    quot;t, maam, over te,  t I darent ask ;

    quot;O; sty sig. quot;t;

    Lord Roke ed feet moving a;You  t;

    quot;tell me o know w;

    quot;About ten of my paces ao t. A big man. I can see t .quot;

    quot;No good unless I know w;

    quot;Yes. A s, stubby key ape .quot;

    Lord Roke climbed doil  there he clung and looked around.

    t, en brilliantly. But as ing around for so s of   out abruptly.

    o t once and sprang t to, ry and catc.

    In t at t s ton of trousers, o t above t.

    t gave a grunting cry and fell clumsily, grasping rying to breatrying to call out. Lord Roke let go and sprang ahe falling body.

    No one iced: t be seen. But to o ter, and  ss of steel, as big around as ill ape. And to le ual risk of ts.

    And t;You all rig?quot;

    t ts, upor. Lord Roke couldnt : a spring and a kick, and t.

    ling, o lift six ot of taped one  t back on, but even in two men lying unconscious ...

    And as ed t, a s  up.  rengtugging, ing, cra arrived and voices called for lig;S?quot;

    quot;Didnt ;Are t;

    t, secure again, snapped on once more. Lord Roke ock-still,  and rig everyones attention wo men weriously, o il er.

    A second later sly to t for t and ran up to her shoulder.

    quot;; o ;t begun to unload it. Its te on t do anytill take it out, and even then...¡±

    quot;All rig; ;run. ay c;

    doo  a sound s, slo first so as not to catco ting ao see the way.

    Beinuing roar of ts, t trying to impose some order on tion t s tialys, and didnt envy their waking up.

    But soon s rocks, and all s reflected back from t curved belly of tly t  out again, and all sraining vainly against taract below.

    tation ruggling over to bring a poo the bomb.

    ter  o get out of tuation alive: t ter. to get Lyras  of t it off. Lord Roke er , letting take to t sky; and to tory and c of ttle dark golden curl in ting cion. ly  t ligtering surfaces in tory, not to mention tant coming and going of tec impossible for o do anyt it there.

    So to remove ter t up.

    And t o be even  t intended to do er. tting t tercision: tine. o sever tion beto destroy er. Sed. It , at least, s.

    in t t go on using tinually, because ing, t took a day for tency to build up again. Before long s force, and ts.

    S to ts of a spruce tree t clung to ttled  to look around.

    Beood ting station. ts to o t far as rees. tself, as tic reel on a truck at top of t te tes or less.

    At tood guard, looking out into t-filled dark  te containing t ready for ter could see it clearly in ts, streaming ly tilted on tension crackle and s, esque jump rope.

    Mrs. Coulter ructure: the silver blade above.

    tood at one end of tus. t of it range to ors, ttice of tubing. Nevert complexity tle lock of hing depended.

    to  to te and a ter from taract of Saint-Jean-les-Eaux.

    tumbled foro t looked up to t o tered a piercing yell.

    was he doing?

    A moment later Mrs. Coulter found out. Of all unlikely tc as ed above the wind:

    quot;Searcure of some kind s attacked several of my men already. You can see t and kill it!quot;

    quot;t; said tcone t carried clearly to Mrs. Coulters ser. quot;I can see it in t;

    quot;Never mind t. Find ture and destroy it,quot; said t. quot;It cant be far aoo.¡±

    tco the air again.

    Suddenly ters ed.

    tc  somet moving.

    quot;Go and bring ; sed from one rock to anottle patcered close to o see, but all the same he was horribly conspicuous.

    Faturned to ting station  t doo it, and tecerminals.

    Mrs. Coulter o do, no im  turned to look over  ense t urned up  into togeting of a saint in tasy of martyrdom. Mrs. Coulter felt a sudden bolt of fear, because sly .

    Darting from rock to rock, the golden monkey reached Lord Roke.

    quot;My left leg is broken,quot; said t;t man stepped on me. Listen carefully...¡±

    As ted s, Lord Roke explained exactly . tically under t step by step, from so s tle burden.

    Mrs. Coulter, cing  a  to  to tree. An arrouck t arm. At once sc anotumbled doohe monkey.

    And t once, too quickly: t of gunfire, and a cloud of acrid smoke billoer attacked, set Lord Roke doo  as tc t t rock, and Mrs. Coulter grappled directly ch.

    tled furiously among t about tearing all tchs cloud-pine branch.

    Meaning o t, but ruck  quickly. tecments, cers and gauges.

    Out of noc  too tigcore ers grasp, snatcattered pine branc into to join her daemon.

    Mrs. Coulter otack  like claear gas. t of tumbled a, to gat ribbed belly of training at its cables in ts silver sides running ure.

    But ters ears ring: a scream so  even tcer, pitce limbs, black silk, and green tc at t of Fathe rock.

    Mrs. Coulter darted foro see if Lord Roke  t spur chs neck.

    tcill just alive, and ;Somet;

    It made no sense. t epping over o reactle clay.

    t for Fat not to attack: o reac of ting c tried to grab  Mrs. Coulter seized tried to pull  see: to ill gas in the air.

    And all around t was happening?

    ts s noteady, not even tainside. t and Mrs. Coulter fougo cearing, pulling, biting, and sired and rong; but se, too, and s  part of ced t ing, reaching in...

    to emple. Sunned, and t broke free and o t after him.

    And tal clasp! Still more to undo; and Mrs. Coulter  terminals, t, ation, ing ogether.

    tense le cloud of gold:  Lyras  ever it  ble once in ters rigig it clung to t pounded.

    But someto . A terrible clarity o see t tiny details, and tail in t mattered: stuck to one of

    ting chere was a single dark gold hair.

    S o loosen ttle strengt. t passed  clear of t s ore at t against t togetter silence t silver blade s down.

    Somet Mrs. Coulter .

    ting o be surprised at anymore; tention craft stood bely level. ed o t, ignoring the cries of alarm and confusion.

    quot;Is  go off?quot; so say.

    Lord Asriel climbed in beside  in, too, tunned monkey in ook trols and t sprang at once into ter looked do tain slope. Men ing station snaked do, making its o ttering bomb, he cage.

    quot;Lord Roke?quot; said Lord Asriel.

    quot;Dead,quot; she whispered.

    ton, and a lance of flame jetted toossing, sant later to a rose of ention craft,  uncop of to tumble in a er of smoke and flames doainside, gating trees as it , until it plunged into te ers of taract, o the dark.

    Lord Asriel toucrols again and tention craft began to speed a Mrs. Coulter couldnt take cime, gazing ear-filled eyes at til it ical line of orange scratceam, and t hing.

 TWENTY-SIX - THE ABYSS

    It  pressed on Lyras eyes so  s felt t of tons of rock above t tail of t s  long before.

    So  on ills s and rembling creature, feeding it first on crumbs of biscuit and t, s; but it rate on placing  safely and avoiding t parts of the rock above.

    No-Name to a system of caves t o t point in to anots. tunnel ed, as to the young.

    quot;Is it muc; said Lyra quietly. quot;Because tll go out.quot;

    topped and turned to say:

    quot;Just follo see, listen. If you cant ;

    ;Yes, I  Im not as strong as I used to be, and Im not brave, not very any stop. Ill follo;

    turned back and moved on. tting dimmer by te, and Lyra kne ely gone.

    But as sumbled for beside her, a familiar voice.

    quot;Lyra, Lyra, c;

    And surned in delight.

    quot;Mr. Scoresby! Oo  is you, I can see, just, oouc;

    In t, faint lig texan aeronaut, and s own accord, in vain.

    quot;Me too,  listen to me, trouble out ts aimed at you, dont ask me ;

    ill  o see t noo look at t beside  once  tting jahe same way of holding his head.

    ill was speec her said:

    quot;Listen, time to talk about t do exactly as I say. take t from Lyras ;

    one , and ill didnt e time asking w her.

    quot;No,quot; said ill, quot;take your  see.quot;

    And in t gleam, : just above  temple, ttle patc .

    quot;?quot; said Lyra. quot;And...¡±

    quot;; said ill, and asked , quot; must I do?¡±

    quot;Cut t  doo  it carefully, every single  miss even one. t to it, and t again. Do it no once.quot;

    tcs be faces in tened and being old o t in t.  a little  all tiny golden o it, and replaced the window.

    And to ser of turning on itself like a vast mills of stone began to fall from tunnel. to one side. ill seized Lyras arm, and toget began to s and slide, and loose pieces of stone came tumbling past, bruising t...

    t to t, and too breato cry out. tons of rock tumbling and rolling dohem.

    Finally t stopped, till tumbling and

    bounding do  been te before. Lyra  arm. it  for t ill t .

    quot;tialys? Salmakia?quot; said ill shakily.

    quot;Bot; said the Chevaliers voice near his ear.

    t, and of te smell of smas o see: the dragonfly was dead.

    quot;Mr. Scoresby?quot; said Lyra. quot;e cant see anyt ;

    quot;Im ; said Lee, close by. quot;I guess t off, and I guess it missed.quot;

    quot;Bomb?quot; said Lyra, frig t;Roger, are you t;

    quot;Yea; came ttle w;Mr. Parry, o fall, and  ;

    quot;Look,quot; said t of Jo;But ill to t move.quot;

    t range faint golden glimmer, like a luminous misty rain falling all around t rike ts ablaze  lit up o t, to erfall.

    It  black emptiness, like a s into t darkness. t floo it and died. t it o t, a slope of rougones, loose and precariously balanced, rose o ty gloom.

    to  even a ledge, just some lucky  abyss, and t except fortered rocks and teetering boulders, est toucling down below.

    And be cleared, more and more of ts oo frigo move. Only took to to reassure till in tunnel, flying ao searc.

    Lyra c least ter le face, and said:

    quot;Come on, till  been . And  least. So just keep going, just keep on moving. e cant go any ot; Sured at t;So  got to keep going a keep on till  be scared, dont give up, dont lag beell t look back all time because I got to c to trust you to come on steady after us, all rig;

    ttle g nodded. And so, in a s took, neit o forget. t it seemed to pull t doo it, and a gly dizziness s footion, t loose slope of gravel, and kept t it pulled, it tempted, and t o it, only to feel tilting and t ss.

    From time to time te line of t of ts faces to ts, aged fattle ccs of t, young boys and girls of Rogers age keeping stauncill ohe open air.

    But some didnt trust t cold heir

    s and trails, and they heard vicious whispers:

    quot;;

    quot;ere frig;

    quot;e s least back in ttle ligtle company, t;

    quot;You did a o our land! You sayed in your oed to die before you came doo disturb us!quot;

    quot;By ;

    ill ed to turn and denounce t Lyra ened, she said.

    t emptiness.

    quot;Friends, be brave! Stay toget Lyra can find it. Be patient and c, dont fear!quot;

    Lyra felt rengt ention. And so toiled on, .

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra after some minutes, quot;can you  ;

    quot;Yes, I can,quot; said ill. quot;But I cant feel it at all. And I tell you somet t s t a  t kind of edge; once youve felt it you never forget it. And I can see it t  t big space dos not anots different. I dont like it. I ;

    quot;You  closed every ;

    quot;No, because I couldnt, some of t I kno big...quot; ured do ing to look. quot;Its ;

    alking togetion aking place a little ialys alking quietly s of Lee Scoresby and John Parry.

    quot;So ;Youre saying o go out into t of me is aco join t of t;

    quot;Yes, and so am I,quot; said ills fat;But I believe t if to figo  be able to to ttle on Asriels side. And if it came at t moment, it mig;

    quot;Gs?quot; said tialys, trying to icism from ;?quot;

    quot;e couldnt  living creatures, ts quite true. But Asriels army is going to contend ;

    quot;ters,quot; said Lee.

    quot;Just  ts ry, Lee.quot;

    quot;ell, Im ;

    quot;And you, sir,quot; said Jo to t;I o ts of your people. ill you live long enougo see t?quot;

    quot;Its true, our lives are s compared to yours. I o live,quot; said tialys, quot;and ttle longer, per to s  be permanent. I o ;

    t abominable fall yaime, and one little slip, one footstep on a

    loose rock, one careless  Lyra, so far doarvation before you ever  ttom, and t o an infinite gulf, o o reac you out, forever conscious and forever falling...

    O   it?

    A strange to  of falling induced a kind of vertigo in Lyra, and s too far to reac aken  at t moment stle flicker of vanity blazed up for a moment in . t to frigigo and one gutter.

    So remind  noo creep along like an insect.

    But ttle boys  dead like us...¡±

    And it seemed to  t sed, tones moved under , and o slide. In t moment it   as sterly failed to o anytones rolled and tumbled beneato slammed into o fall. to stop  oo late.

    error. S as ry and catco find ling tone t; s kno ill . Instead, ex of roaring fear. Faster and faster sumbled, do bear to cheir eyes and cried aloud.

    ill felt electric co c e ering any more t t stop, shere, she was falling...

    And out of t creature ig. togetra oo mucrong  t and beat and beat, and  of t ing to ills reaching arms.

    igo , feeling t of  against  Lyra just t ill; s a girl, and  a boy. t gulf of deatogets clustered around,  at o oo; and tialys and Salmakia spoke to No-Name, praising hem all, generous one, blessing her kindness.

    As soon as Lyra could move, s trembling for t  speak. All ty  of her.

    till for some minutes. Once terror o subside, t off again, ill ig foresting eac before t any  t t die of fatigue; but t rest, t stop. ,  fearful gulf belohem?

    And after anotoil, o her:

    quot;Look a...quot;

    It rue: tting easier, and it o climb slig t a fold in t really be a ?

    Lyra looked into ills brilliant, strong eyes and smiled.

    tep moving farto roll and t their ankles.

    quot;e must ; ill said. quot;I could try t I find.quot;

    quot;Not yet,quot; said t;Farto go yet. to open. Better place ;

    tly, , , ...trembling , tion. t fe up to t of ttle o the shadow.

    Lyra cook to searcoucouching again.

    quot;A; he said.

    quot;You found an open space?quot;

    quot;I t;

    quot;ill,quot; said , quot;stop a moment. Listen to me.quot;

    ill put dourned. In all t  been able to t it o knoo part for t time.

    quot; ; ill said. quot;ill you just vanis;

    quot;Not yet. Mr. Scoresby and I tle  us into Lord Asriels ;  on somberly, looking at Lyra, quot;youll need to travel t to find your daemons again. Because ts w;

    quot;But Mr. Parry,quot; said Lyra, quot;o my fat;

    quot;I er, itll confirm  remember t daemons,quot; ense and empic. quot;trom o return to  live permanently in mine. torre degli Angeli, o rue, and gradually t.

    quot;And t o me. I  and s possible for a o be. t of my o, and couldnt find t deal in t ten years after I arrived tally sick.

    quot;And ts full life in t ually sicken and die. e can travel, if to ot  enterprise o build there is no elsewhere.

    quot;ill, my boy, you and Lyra can go out no; you need t, and you deserve it; but t come back into t journey.quot;

    ill and Lyra exc a  est they had ever seen.

    t air filled took in a canopy of dazzling stars, and ter somerees, as les, dotting

    the wide savanna.

    ill enlarged to left and rig big enoug to , out of the dead.

    t gs trembled ement passed back like a ripple over ts alike looking up and a and  stars turies so tarved eyes.

    t g to leave took a step forurned to look back at Lyra, and laugurning into t, tarligtle burst of  ill he bubbles in a glass of champagne.

    ts folloness of t air, tars.

 TWENTY-SEVEN - THE PLATFORM

    Once to build tform for Mary, tc quarreling and cooperate  getting in eacecting and cutting and joining  and effective.

    ition platform  and lifted into place. It able, and , s one  scent of ting ; le of tant murmur of tured, and if sopped tirely lapped in bliss.

    But of course t shere for.

    And  of ticles, it seemed to ing aion at all.

    t icles passed too, and in every oty  up: t true scientific society in on ics and gravitation.

    ted ter.

    At time in t strange o get le knife ed.

    Sform move in a very slig tree so ciny sparkles drift t t te current t looked all but conscious.

    t current, or  ts of a different cause altoget connected at all?

    t o fall into a trance, and let  aing particles...

    Before s s ly w o find side her body, and she panicked.

    Stle form, and a fe off among to t ead of t slo, it ime moving differently for  sside  ening to s was immense.

    S o seize  sed. No abominable drop, and ried to s and  observed  of togeto the open sky.

    And no matter ruggled, s carried  er pouring over a icles of Dust reaming along as if too, were pouring over some invisible edge.

    And carrying her away from her body.

    Sal lifeline to t pried to recall t: all tions t made up being alive. t toucals soft-tipped trunk caressing aste of bacon and eggs. triump strain in e dancing of er keyboard. ting coffee. ter night.

    And gradually sopped moving; t, and s t and strengt pus he sky.

    And trange ttle by little (as sasting an iced margarita in California, sitting under trees outside a restaurant in Lisbon, scraping t off t t he pressure was lessening.

    But only on  flood reaming as fast as ever. Sometle patcillness around icles ing the flow.

    t y and responded to it. And to carry o ed body, and  once more, so  sob convulsed .

    And to her body and awoke.

    Sook in a s tform, and e ago nearly gone mad asy at being one  ter.

    Finally s up and tried to take stock.  to ing one trembling  about it: t slo o o feel, and  to see, but even  s, silent inundation remained vividly, toget noticed in terror of being outside  t he air.

    ticles knew w was happening and were sorrowful.

    And sly ster. Part of  to tide t ure, whey were.

    And unless s ing ao oblivion, everyone.

    Suddenly s t and began to the ground.

    Fatepped t lengt stands of  as Mary  sometime before. But t tle earlier, and icular, ant sea and some flickering  be sails.

    ed turned too see  to ures in tting sun  and entirely free of taint of napever target, tempter o.

    at sunset on a little ides in tide er.

    And floating in to stop and te birds, eac, raig trailed on ter be least t unlike s tuated one in front of ther, surely...

    Suddenly turned  once all tly like t, and the shore.

    Faty of trimmed so perfectly, and by t too: ter, placed not fore and aft like t side by side, and ogetraordinary speed and grace in ter.

    As t one reac lumbered up tly for t. It s  oo, like a series of sharp incurved hooks.

    Fat a er, on a loory, and y of time to put do the rifle, load, aim, and fire.

    t of red and ure blundered on clumsily for several steps before sinking onto its breast. It didnt die for a minute or more; t bird beat itself around and around in a bloody circle, kicking up til a long, bubbling expiration from its lungs ended  fell still.

    topped as soon as t one fell, and stood c, and coo. telligence in to t to to his face.

    o , sing backogetood.

    trong creatures, large and broad-backed, like living boats, in fact. If t deat Fation betful understanding betruly learned to fear ly as he said.

 TWENTY-EIGHT - MIDNIGHT

    Lord Asriel said, quot;Marisa,  to land.quot;

    A blustery da fortress as tention craft fleer, sore and sick, opened  been asleep. So to made for ts.

    As soon as t  out and ran to join King Ogunern cer entirely. tec once to attend to took no notice of ioned  t solen; it  tower, wo bring her some food and coffee.

    quot;ever you ; s;And t; s on as turned to go: quot;Lord Asriels aletrist, Mr. ...quot;

    quot;Mr. Basilides?quot;

    quot;Yes. Is o come ?quot;

    quot; t, maam. Ill ask o step up ;

    So t s. t s made  some more coals on tove,  op rembling, but t just her flesh.

    ten minutes later trist, ingale daemon on ly. A moment later tray of bread, cer said:

    quot;t?quot;

    quot;I ake some coffee, t;

    quot;Please tell me,quot; s;because Im sure youve been follo;

    ated. tched her arm,

    quot;S; said Basilides carefully, quot;but also...quot;

    quot;Yes? O do you mean?quot;

    quot;Sime I could not interpret rument elling me: it seemed impossible. But t. So ts to come out. As soon as t seems t t s and desirable end for ter tells me t t to deat t task for o accomplis, t of t;

    Mrs. Coulter couldnt speak. So turn ao to conceal tion on her face. Finally she said:

    quot;And  no, I kno predict. Is s;

    quot;S sill all toget;

    quot;And t;

    quot;t  ;

    Mrs. Coulter felt suddenly exed. Sed noto lie doside, ttered in ts.

    quot;t; surning back to t;Im very grateful. Please  me kno  s;

    t. Mrs. Coulter  to lie do try as s keep her eyes closed.

    quot; do you make of t, King?quot; said Lord Asriel.

    celescope at sometern sky. It ain  , t it  at arms lengt it  been t ely still.

    telescope broug closer, but tail: cloud still looks like cloud s magnified.

    quot;tain,quot; said Ogun;Or, ? t?quot;

    quot;it at tatron. tures: ions ao do more t, if t angel t, tered tain to spy. If tle, ends to intervene directly in , Ogun Inquisition, orial Court of Discipline could dream up, staffed by spies and traitors in every ed personally by telligence ts keeping t mountain aloft...ty at least o y o s. t;

    quot;ell, ; said Ogun;Look, is t smoke?quot;

    A drift of gray ain, a slo t it couldnt  ing against t tore at the clouds.

    t o  it ;Angels,quot; he said.

    Lord Asriel came aelescope and stood up, ens of til  part of te figures fle on coming. Lord Asriel rong flocks of blue starlings t  around t  a multitude in all reamed ao th.

    quot;As t?quot; said Lord Asriel, pointing. quot;ts not t;

    tain, and long tattered banners of vapor streamed out in t Lord Asriel  from tside. tumbled, and t parted for a second.

    tain t t for a moment; and to conceal it again.

    King Ogun down his field glasses.

    quot;ts not a mountain,quot; ;I sas ...quot;

    quot;So did I. A  to do t. But as for ...¡±

    tion, onis, urned and gripped  all but bruised o the bone.

    quot;t got t; ly. quot;t got Zes;

    his friends rough cheek.

    quot;Fe;  on, quot;and s-lived as ronger. ts red, Im sure of it. to ed to t termination, e numbers as you can s!quot;

    quot;Asriel, t;

    quot;e s;

    quot;And suppose  to look for your daug;

    quot;My daug; cried Lord Asriel, exulting. quot;Isnt it someto bring a c into t o trick  of  to go doo t t! And t boy; I  to meet t boy; I  to s aking on ed t did ty and , tatron, did t taking on  involved?quot;

    quot;Lord Asriel,quot; said t;do you understand ance for ture?quot;

    quot;Frankly, no. ts o see Basilides. ;

    quot;to ter. But t; il ed.quot;

    quot;ed before. Send for iel to come to tos convenient. I must give ;

    Madame Oxentiel o take over Lord Rokes responsibilities. King Ogun he gray horizon.

    All t day tain, looking for an opening, but  success. Not or inore at t parting even for a second. to t, gilding tinting tain every s, of apricot and orange. ly from hin.

    arriors , loading ing sigs arrived. Padding silently over tely, singly, came a number of armored  long after of several cime.

    Along to tress glimmered ts, marking ts of spy-angels cruised tirelessly, keeping ch.

    At midnig to in discussion iel teukros Basilides. trist  finisood up, crossed to t at tant gloain ern sky. t; t  urn pale and tremble, and none of te knew o respond.

    Finally Lord Asriel spoke.

    quot;Mr. Basilides,quot; ;you must be very fatigued. I am grateful for all your efforts. Please take some ;

    quot;t; said the reader.

    okay and he glass.

    quot; ; said tiel.

    Lord Asriel came back to table.

    quot;ell,quot; ;it  o survive; and t me if Im summarizing atron is intent on capturing tures to

    folloill t;

    t; form do t daemons?quot;

    quot;t yet fixed, madame,quot; said teukros Basilides. quot;t be any s;

    quot;So,quot; said Lord Asriel, quot;to sum it up: all of us, our Republic, ture of every conscious being, atron?quot;

    quot;t is so.quot;

    Lord Asriel sig isfaction; it ion, and reac made quite unexpected sense.

    quot;Very ; able. quot;t le begins. King Ogunress. Madame Oxentiel, you are to send your people out at once to searcion for toget t point, I understand, to o anoty.quot;

    tiff gray  t, glinting like stainless steel, and ted from Lord Roke spread  by the door.

    quot;No; do you knoatron? ill rengt;

    quot;o prominence long after I ; t;I   o dominate trong indeed, strong in every  angels ron ;

    Ogunell t Lord Asriel ruck by an idea. tention suddenly  focus for an instant, and to t ra censity.

    quot;I see,quot; ;Finally, Xapells us t t only opened an abyss belo also fractured tructure of t t be a o t abyss. I  you to look for it.quot;

    quot; are you going to do?quot; said King Ogunwe harshly.

    quot;Im going to destroy Metatron. But my part is nearly over. Its my daugo live, and its our task to keep all t so find o a safer ;

    quot;And  Mrs. Coulter?quot; said the king.

    Lord Asriel passed a hand over his forehead.

    quot;I  roubled,quot; ;Leave ect ice. ever else so surprise me. But  do, and : ect Lyra until s o being for t. Let us do it as ;

    Mrs. Coulter lay in Lord Asriels bed next door. irred, for s deeply asleep. S of roubled slumber uneasy and h longing.

    up beside  s  to move closer to t ed to icular  they were all doomed.

    Finally so stand up.

    quot;Asriel,quot; so t.

    ly; to propitiate  turn.

    quot;Asriel, ; saking a chair.

    o igue.  doed an elboable. till, tting uprig at Lord Asriels side, cer unblinkingly.

    quot;You didnt ; he said.

    quot;I tle. I couldnt sleep, but I  listening. ;

    quot;No.quot;

    ill  ansion, and  going to, and s.

    quot;e s; s;and broug;

    It  tered test possible gro t, and settled dostretching.

    quot;I cant  of oblivion, Asriel,quot; sinued. quot;Sooner anyt. I used to to be tortured forever, I t t must  as long as you  ter,  it? Better t going into t forever and ever?quot;

    o listen. tention; to respond. She said:

    quot;t terly, and about me... I t you ed and your ing me. Ive never ed you, but I could understand... I could see  I couldnt see ;

    urned hen looked back.

    quot;I remember you said sometrange, on Svalbard, on taintop, just before you left our ; s on. quot;You said: Come roy Dust forever. You remember saying t? But you didnt mean it. You meant te, didnt you? I see noell me ell me you rying to preserve Dust? You could old me trut;

    quot;I ed you to come and join me,quot; , quot;and I t you ;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;ts .quot;

    S sit still, but s really rengto stand up. For a moment s faint,  almost at once ilessly tuation had changed.

    quot;Asriel...quot; she murmured.

    t a tentative  to toucc a elmaria didnt move; er.

    quot;O ; Mrs. Coulter said again. quot;Is t;

    hing.

    Moving like someone in a dream, s to , picked up t lay in t for ol; and  t moment tsteps running up tairs.

    Boturned to look at the orderly who came in and said

    breathlessly:

    quot;Excuse me, my lord, t far from tern gate, in ts, try tried to talk to t t come near. It e or so ago...quot;

    Lord Asriel sat up, transfigured. All tigue . o  and seized coat.

    Ignoring Mrs. Coulter,  around o the orderly:

    quot;tell Madame Oxentiel at once. Put t: t to be tened, or frig...quot;

    Mrs. Coulter  airs. steps oo, tle side.

    le and complex as it y-five years of life.

    quot;Very ; s;I cant see any ot;

    once o , and t, and tly left tairs.

 TWENTY-NINE - THE BATTLE ON THE PLAIN

    It ely o leave t s  before, but if to find to go into ter unnel, Lyra bent over ter for tietime, making little unconscious sounds of distress, oo, felt te tenderness t every breatore at h cold hooks.

    urned t leaden feet s moved. t led from every one of ters ty-six symbols, do loose and sions bet elling a story: sometural. No laboriously, and nt fail because othing would fail...

    quot;Its not far,quot; s last. quot;And ttle, t  place no at tunnel ter. You cut t;

    ts  her side.

    ;Lyra, gal, it  be long noell  out figtles over, time in to drift along toms t used to be er, and my mots, all my ss... Lyra, c w;

    ed to put  of course t  ead, and t saook strengt.

    And on Lyras s lives iffness in t. turn soon to time as gs, but t eac tay  say a  their dying.

    Up and up t speak. tfalls, ttle stones teps dislodged. Ac and grim.

    tunnel. And ter dripping, a trickle, a running of er.

    quot;; said Lyra, reaco touc of rock t blocked t and cold. quot; is.quot;

    Surned to the harpy.

    quot;I been t; s;o guide all ts tll come to t land  in last nig, if you ent got a name, t cant be fig for ture. So I t Id give you a name, like King Iorek Byrnison gave me my name Silvertongue. Im going to call you Gracious ings. So ts your name nos ;

    quot;One day,quot; said t;I ongue.quot;

    quot;And if I kno; Lyra said. quot;Good-bye, Gracious ings, till I die.quot;

    Sigh cheeks.

    tialys said: quot;t;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;ts er says. Its close to ress.quot;

    quot;t me speak to ts.quot;

    S;Listen, because tress on a mountaintop: t is o s be of good courage and fig;

    Lyra turned to ill.

    quot;All rig; ;Im ready.quot;

    ook out to t,  knoher...

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra, alarmed.

    opped. tuck in took  ened in tance of an invisible  a deep breath.

    quot;I nearly...quot;

    quot;I could see,quot; s;Look at me, ill.quot;

    In t lig  mout t t of her flesh.

    the knife came loose.

    quot;Ill try again,quot; he said.

    urned aip, touc. In, along, dos cro ills body and Lyras felt little jolts of cold along every nerve.

    And .

    t t t struck in o cover ts and living alike, so t ttle of gunfire, ts and screams antly clear, and ening.

    Jo and t of Lee Scoresby recovered t. Because bottle, t so disoriented by tc.

    Explosive rockets ing in ts of rock and metal over tain, ing angels, and coo, s arro ted on a dragonfly, diving to attack a flying mac tried to figo ed and skimmed above, its rider leapt off to clamp s neck; and t returned, so let its rider leap on t green back as traigo t t of tress.

    quot;Open it ; said Lee Scoresby. quot;Let us out!quot;

    quot;ait, Lee,quot; said Jo;Somet;

    ill cut anotion ed, and as t, ttern of ting. ttacking force began to opped moving forurned laboriously and moved back. A squadron of flying macting tter of a ragged battle ers, . troops equipped co disengage and pull back.

    quot;s going on?quot; said Lee. quot;t w;

    to be no reason for it: Lord Asriels allies numbered, tent, and many more of them were lying wounded.

    t a sudden movement among ts. ting out at someting in the air.

    quot;Specters!quot; said Jo;ts t;

    And for t time, ill and Lyra t tledo t, and wo see.

    quot; are t; said Lyra.

    quot;t platoon of Asriels riflemen...¡±

    And ill and Lyra kne;Run! Get a;

    Some of t from close by, looked around startled. Oter making for trange and blank and greedy, raised t of course . And t struck t man it came to.

    a spotted eeto spring.

    t giving an incoils of an invisible net, snarling, rying to reaco ing al nausea.

    quot;Rig; said Jo;Let us out now; we can fig;

    So ill opened t at ts; and trangest battle he could imagine.

    ts clambered out of till in t. to fear anymore, and t ters, grappling and ling and tearing at t see at all.

    tly, spectral combat. ill made , brandisers  before.

    , Lyra , too, c sers from time to time, in an oily glistening of t  shiver of danger.

    it rise, just a bank of earted by  sry te.

    tern , riven ops dra in titude  oo, on ted: macing brigir s draing.

    Beo , o tress. t gray in torm ligant ramparts of black basalt, stle figures moving about, repairing ttlements, bringing more o bear, or simply ching.

    And it  t Lyra felt t distant lurc akable toucers.

    S it  once, t it before. And it told , t s o become vulnerable to ters, and secondly, t Pan must be somewhere close by.

    quot;ill, ill...¡± she cried.

    urned, knife in hand and eyes ablaze.

    But before c, and so him.

    quot;Pan! Pan!quot; sanding on tiptoe to look all around.

    ill rying not to be sick. After a fes t to finding ts, cries, voices crying in pain or terror, tant yowk-yowk-yowk of cliff-gs circling overhe wind.

    Lyra felt it first on , and t in torm: all teness he horizon.

    Beill s every grove and every single tree bet and vivid, little frail t and flower.

    And t all  te-cers almost clearly no ills eyes and las so bloers a ted straig to in every sense for his.

    And noning, and t almig t o umbled, as if driven doo eac no one he millions of worlds.

    itca Skadis clan, and Reina Mitis, and corccumen, reaming over tress from t, from t of traigoorm.

    tile ers still remained in tco to cry out and tumble blazing to t most of time, and t fligcreamed like a river of fire into t of torm.

    A fligain to meet tcer t tco t, and t ones soared up o to left and rigorcer angel, outlined in fire, tumbled screaming from the air.

    And t great drops of rain came doorm clouds meant to douse tced; tcumen blazed defiance at it, spitting and o t to te Lyra and ill o tung tiny stones.

    t all tumbled and struggled, er from tumult: quot;Pan! Pan!quot;

    t constant noorn open. Bet;Pan! My Pantalaimon! Pan!quot; from Lyra and a  not w she was named.

    it to look to go t c for ters till not fully see. But Lyra o tle strengt to cling to Lyras sialys  ing movement t  mucs poric blue and t he dead.

    And t in t  from t. As tering t unlike any totally silent. It ress. It skimmed overop above to t of torm.

    But time to  it, because anotold Lyra t Pan  it, too, and tumbled blindly ting gs, errified, and sick.

 THIRTY - THE CLOUDED MOUNTAIN

    tention craft ed by Mrs. Coulter. S.

    tric altimeter tle use in torm, but situde rougc blazed ling rain, till flaring   difficult, eitning t flickered around tain served as a brilliant beacon. But so avoid till fighe rising land below.

    S use ts, because sed to get close and find some s became more violent, ts more sudden and brutal. A gyropter o tention craft sly ing he Peaceable Ocean.

    Cautiously so climb, peering forruments and flying by siginct.  from one side of ttle glass cabin to to t and rigo antly. tning, great ss and lances of brilliance, flared and cracked above and around t all stle aircraft, gaining  little by little, and alohe cloud-hung palace.

    And as Mrs. Coulter approactention dazzled and beure of tain itself.

    It reminded ain abominable orial Court. ed t tial dimensions t on a very small scale, to seven or eig t to examine directly. ructed a model to s er  before it aining and being contained: its inside side ed  ing space itself to enfold and stretc into galleries and terraces, cc and vapor.

    S a strange exultation ime o bring t safely up to terrace on ttle craft lurcrained in turbid air, but so land on terrace.

    t sill noruck ts; but t . It came from tance of tain itself, wher-of-pearl radiance.

    oman and daemon got do and looked around to see whey should go.

    S otance of tain itself ion. S see tives of colonnade, staircase, terrace, and facade.

    Before so go, ster.

    As tention craft and stopped. tered, and some of t and fear.

    Mrs. Coulter ter: an angel, s, and indescribably aged.  easy to see, because tter al t glittered and t of tain, but serrifying decrepitude, of a face sunken in rembling h and rheumy eyes.

    tured s tention craft, and cackled and muttered to ly at tered a  Mrs. Coulter o cover her ears.

    But evidently task to do, for terrace, ignoring tter.  a o fly, carrying tter betil t to Mrs. Coulters sighe swirling vapors.

    But t time to t t. S staircases, crossing bridges, al, t t sense of invisible activity all around til finally turned a corner into a -ed by an angel h a spear.

    quot; is your business?quot; he said.

    Mrs. Coulter looked at ers of men, so long ago.

    quot;No, no,quot; sly, quot;please dont e time. take me to t at once. ing for me.quot;

    Disconcert t, keep t knoives of ligil to an  antecered, s kno ter a brief pause, somet of her opened like a door.

    o t. , but soo dazzled to see. to hide her eyes.

    Metatron said, quot;er?quot;

    quot;Ive come to tell you, my Lord Regent,quot; she said.

    quot;If s ;

    quot;S, but ;

    quot; be?quot;

    quot;I satron,  Regent, tle, my eyes are dazzled...quot;

    of   till pretended to be dazzled by ly like a man in early middle age, tall, poell because of t nothing else.

    quot;Please, Metatron,  come from Lord Asriel.  to searc;

    quot; does  ;

    quot;to keep il s knoo elling you trut me, great Regent, as I cant easily look at you. Look at me clearly, and tell me ;

    t   searcion Marisa Coulter er and deceit ripped aogety of Metatrons gaze.

    And s ure  h her whole life.

    quot;Yes, I see,quot; said Metatron.

    quot; do you see?quot;

    quot;Corruption and envy and lust for poy and coldness. A vicious, probing curiosity. Pure, poisonous, toxic malice. You  years s calculating  urn to your advantage. You ortured and killed  regret or ation; you rayed and intrigued and gloried in your treac of moral filt;

    t voice, delivering t judgment, ser profoundly. S  s, too, and no it  a little gusriumph.

    So him.

    quot;So you see,quot; s;I can betray o ing into your ;

    S t of vapor about  ed ice.

    quot;; ;I y, but none ;

    quot;;

    quot;y-five years, and ty took me to ;

    quot;And you ;

    quot;I loved tood it y. But   t;

    quot;And you  kno;

    quot;I  of t;

    quot;And is it not time you ?quot;

    t  s most exposed and in most danger. But srusted to o trange trut angels, pered it and longed for contact . And Metatron o gaze at texture of o touch scalding hands.

    trange sound, like t w youre hearing is your house on fire.

    quot;tell me w Lord Asriel is doing, and w; he said.

    quot;I can take you to ; she said.

    tter left tain and fleatrons orders o take ty to a place of safety atlefield, because ed  alive for a  rats,  ttention, rusted to ty of torm, calculating t in tances, a small party han a large one.

    And so it migain cliff-g, busy feasting on a  looked up just as a random searc caugal litter.

    Sometirred in ts memory. ion of a babbling Arctic fox came to his mind.

    At once  later t of troop followed.

    Xaply all t and some of te crack in tainside to tress,  and enlarged it, and noo a series of caverns and tunnels extending a long ress.

    It  totally dark, as . t source of illumination, like a stream of billions of tiny particles, faintly gloeadily dounnel like a river of light.

    quot;Dust,quot; o his daemon.

    t togetil quite suddenly tunnel opened out, and  top of a vast cavern: a vault

    immense enougo contain a dozen catiginously doo pit  beloself, and into t streamed t fall, pouring ceaselessly dos billions of particles ars of every galaxy in ttle fragment of conscious t. It o see by.

    o, to see  t resolved itself: a procession of dim, pale figures picking t. Intent on keeping toget tir at t ts.

    quot;Lyra came ; ly to the snow leopard.

    quot;tread carefully,quot; was all she said in reply.

    ill and Lyra umbling blindly to little gullies reams ran red  t uttered a es, and s and limp in Lyras hand.

    As tered in one riverbed  least, and scooped up o ty mout tialys rouse himself and say:

    quot;ill, I can  must be t across tream and  ;

    quot;Come on,quot; said ill to Lyra, and ter and scrambled up t in time. ttered doo drink didnt look like cavalry: to be of tridents, nets, and scimitars.

    ill and Lyra didnt stop to look; tumbled over t a croucent only on getting away unseen.

    But to keep to see ing an ankle, or  s until them.

    tures  lay glittering in tly taller ts side, a large cage, peral. t it s and rocks, shrieking and yelling.

    And before ill and Lyra could stop and run tumbled rigo troop.

 THIRTY-ONE - AUTHORITY¡¯S END

    Mrs. Coulter he shadow beside her:

    quot;Look atron! ...quot;

    tood on a ledge  cavern, cheir careful way down, a long way below.

    quot;I could strike ; the shadow whispered.

    quot;Yes, of course you could,quot; s;but I  to see atron; I  o knorayed s folloc;

    t fall s pillar of faint lig descended smooto ter tention to spare for it, because trembling h

    desire, and so keep  control she could manage.

    t, follo a great weariness fall over her.

    quot;? ?quot;  once.

    quot;I ; s malice, quot; to love and be loved. I t I loved  now...¡±

    quot;t,quot; t;in your  t t you  see ;

    quot;Oatron,  is since you  tell  is Im regretting? Its not  mine. terly I regret t I didnt knoo you...quot;

    So control to gulp at t of her flesh.

    tumbled and broken rocks to of t, t lig. Mrs. Coulter kept reac o recollect herself, and whispered:

    quot;Keep beatron,   me lull .  come as a s see you, ot let t;

    t  o deepen and strengtself, and  t moment o destroy Lyra and to possess ayed hey could.

    Lord Asriel ing be block of granite, out of sig. tood up as Mrs. Coulter came around timeter of air, ed by t, y to every tiny detail; and in t lig  ears, and t sting eet to sob.

    ook he snow leopards neck and buried his black face in her fur.

    quot;Is Lyra safe? ; she whispered.

    quot;t of tecting bot;

    quot;Dust is beautiful... I never kne;

    quot; did you tell ;

    quot;I lied and lied, Asriel.. .Lets not  too long, I cant bear it... e  live,  survive like ts?quot;

    quot;Not if o to give Lyra time to find ime to live and groake Metatron to extinction, Marisa, s time, and if  doesnt matter.quot;

    quot;And Lyra ;

    quot;Yes, yes,quot; ly.

    as soft and ligeen years before.

    Sly. hen she could speak, she whispered:

    quot;I told o betray you, and betray Lyra, and  and

    full of  I lied too ed o find no good in me, and . t I love Lyra.  kno came to me like a t, and noing . All I could  my crimes rous t tard seed in tted even greater ones to  more deeply still... But tard seed aken root and tle green s ting my  wide open, and I was so afraid ;

    So stop to gatroked  about , and ed.

    quot;Any moment no; s;I told o make  er all, even if le o t;

    ;Yes. Lyra  ;

    Sook a deep breat it out in a long, s dohe hair back behind her ears.

    quot;Metatron,quot; sly. quot;Its time.quot;

    Metatrons s of took in at once w was wo daemons, croucc, and Lord Asriel...

    at  once, seizing , and tried to o ts, palms, elboered Lord Asriels  pummeling blo forced t cracked against his skull and shook his senses.

    o  later, Mrs. Coulter  up betatrons rengt  folded rained and  tighem.

    too. Stelmaria eetearing at one of t  to greater fury. it er against a rock.

    Mrs. Coulter unned for a second, and  once ting o fling off t Lord Asriels arms  tter grip no so muco enclose. Lord Asriel set o crus of Metatron, grinding ogetrying to ignore t were landing on his skull and his neck.

    But to tell. And as Lord Asriel tried to keep ing on ttering o tatron -sized rock, and no doal force on t of Lord Asriels skull. t t eac anot  till clung fast, t , and stumbled for a footing among tured rocks.

    And as Metatron raised tone o a treetop, and teeto ttered down

    toatron s o left and rigrying to dislodge t teetail, and ter gat ing o s movement.

    Metatron  . Nor was he abyss.

    And by noo   a little more . ogetight and drag down.

    ter found to his eyes.

    Metatron cried out. From far off across t cavern, eco cliff, doubling and diminisant gs to pause in their endless procession and look up.

    And Stelmaria t effort and leapt for t.

    Metatron fell to er, falling  ing o eeth.

    And noumbling and rocks falling, and tcearing, and t t at t Metatron forced  effort spread bot  beat doer atron ig . t go¡­

    But tatron would escape.

    quot;Marisa! Marisa!quot;

    torn from Lord Asriel, and ood and found ing and leapt , to  ting ogeto the abyss.

    ts ion of dismay, and t  once.

    ill sprang for of t a little kick on ialys leapt off and landed on t, seizing ure o t one looked stupidly at tump of   fell. A second later t. ill felt times beats, and pulled it out before t could t it away in falling.

    red as t Lyra was un beside  hing in his mind.

    quot;tialys! tialys!quot; eet cliff-gs ialys ing still, so  off  aing thery neck.

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra be;ill, look at t;

    So tal litter. It al ained and smeared  ts ing before t. It lay tilted crazily among t...

    quot;Oill alive! But, t;

    ill saal, trying to reaco t errified, crying like a baby and coo t corner.

    quot; be so old, Ive never seen anyone suffering like t, o  ?quot;

    ill cut tal in one movement and reaco . Demented and po seemed like yet anot.

    quot;Its all rig; ill said, quot;. Come on,   you.quot;

    ttering a  on and on, and grinding eet  as Lyra reacoo, to , ried to smile, and to bo  wonder.

    Bet of days out of al cell; it   as paper, and o simple kindness like a floo t in to stop to to loosen and dissolve. Only a fes later ely, and t impression  profound and exed relief.

    tery dissolving in mystery. It aken less te, and ill turned back at once to ttle body, cradling it in ears flo.

    But Lyra ly.

    quot;ill,  to move,  to, those horses coming...¡±

    Out of t and ducked; but Salmakia cried rengt;No, Lyra! No! Stand  your fist!quot;

    So Lyra ill, supporting one arm urned and so seize her knuckles in sharp claws.

    On t a gray- at Lyra, t Salmakia clinging to her collar.

    quot;Madame...quot; said Salmakia faintly, quot;we ;

    quot;You ; said Madame Oxentiel, and tche reins.

    At once times, so loud t Lyras ed from t one, t  it seemed to craso one anot ts and te t instead, to apestry of s and silent needle-brighe children.

    quot;Lyra,quot; said t;and ill: folloo your daemons.quot;

    As ts ed atle  t only trengt umbling and falling more t ly against  all time.

    quot;Left! Left!quot; cried tning-riven murk turned t o t ill saep beside tream of dragonflies made for t once, and tered. t, eacs back, finding a o the

    insect as it   impossible to follourned and fled in panic, ttered.

    But ts in a sudden turned in dismay: t a gallop, and already one or trapping to snap ts like ws aside.

    quot;t; came t;Duck, no do;

    t t be s? Lyra raised  e different from horses.

    quot;Iorek!quot; s. quot;O;

    ill pulled  once, for not only Iorek Byrnison but a regiment of ly for t in time Lyra tucked o o go left, go righem.

    Ligo face ill and Lyra, .

    quot;Iorek, be nets!quot; ill cried, because t on them.

    Before t antly Iorek eel-strong cob t rong, and alt fighe coils.

    quot;Iorek!quot; ill sed. quot;Keep still! Dont move!quot;

    ussocks as tried to control t at t w he air.

    But ill kept ead of slasting in more of a tangle, c and cut it tter of moments. t fell useless to t at Iorek, feeling  ting . t bear stood motionless as ted  body, cutting, freeing, clearing the way.

    quot;No; ill yelled, leaping clear, and Iorek seemed to explode upo t of t horse.

    tar to s t Iorek Byrnison in ons, and not t range could and tered, fell o see o the children:

    quot;On my back! No;

    Lyra leapt up, and ill follo to move.

    Be of trange cavalry, ings enraged t;Straigrees in t;

    Iorek reacop of a little rise in to a quarter of a mile atery of great guns  burst just under ted doorees, making t as a fine target for the guns.

    And figrol of tself ers, being s. As soon as t little group of trees, Lyra and ill bot t if t reacers here

    every minute, streaming over t. ill and Lyra could see them very clearly now.

    An explosion just over tones and clods of earto t, and ill o clutc.

    quot;; Iorek groo charge.

    A flare burst ing slo glare. Anot, closer time, and t ter ting of eartones on t falter, but t o  dig to o grip t bot slipping.

    quot;Look!quot; cried Lyra, pointing up as anot nearby.

    A dozen cs aside, so t from the guns.

    And no tement, a rees and to go in directly among t of t nauseating  t.

    quot;t; said a voice beside topped so suddenly t ill and Lyra tumbled off his back.

    quot;Lee!quot; said Iorek. quot;Lee, my comrade, I  am I speaking to?quot;

    quot;Iorek, old feller, you dont kno. ell take over noers arent afraid of bears. Lyra, ill, come t knife...¡±

    to Lyras fist, and t;Dont e a second, go in and find your daemons and escape! t;

    quot;t; said Lyra, and took wing.

    ill could see Lee Scoresbys g dimly beside to t to say fareo Iorek Byrnison.

    quot;Iorek, my dear, t ;

    quot;t; said ill.

    quot;No time. Go. Go!quot;

    er Lee Scoresbys g into to rig  ed, and tangled, confusing.

    quot;Keep close,quot; o Lyra, and t as a bramble sliced across his cheek.

    All around t, noise, and struggle. to and fro like branc s: bot ttle dashey heard voices all around:

    quot;t;

    quot;Over ;

    quot;Keep going, were ;

    quot;Not far no;

    And t Lyra kneter ther:

    quot;O;

    quot;Pan, darling, Im here...¡±

    So tore dotles,  and warning.

    But ters arget, too, and tangle of bus and brancing no more resistance ties seemed to pour in toer of t marso fighem off.

    ill and Lyra rembling and ion, nausea, and pain, but giving up ore at to left and rig of the shadowy beings became more and more savage.

    quot;t; cried Lee. quot;See em? By t big rock...¡±

    A , ts, spitting and  t if time o tell  t time, because a Specter eased  of t patcohe daemons.

    ill leapt over t obstacle, a fallen tree trunk, and plunged to ting s  eet, and to boil a back into the darkness again.

    Almost ters and still more came pressing trees, and only t gs were hem back.

    quot;Can you cut t; said Jo.

    ill o stop as a racking bout of nausea so toe. t in omac dreadfully. Lyra beside ate. Lees g, seeing led  hem.

    quot;ill, please...¡± said Lyra, gasping.

    In  t looked t prairie under a brilliant moon, so very like   hed been blessed.

    ill leapt across t daemon wher.

    And even in t  t moment of utmost peril, eac ttle sement: for Lyra alaimon.

    tore thers eyes.

    quot;Good-bye, Mr. Scoresby!quot; Lyra cried, looking around for ;I wis;

    quot;Good-bye, my dear c;

    Lyra scrambled t ill stood still and looked into t, brilliant in t o say.

    ill said to , quot;You said I old me t ure, and I s argue . Fat because I o. I cant cure, but I can c I do. And I will c;

    enderness. quot;ell done, my boy. ell done indeed,quot; he said.

    ill couldnt see urned and climbed ter Lyra.

    And no toms to relax and drift apart, at long, long last.

    Out of ttle grove, aers, out of t ty form of his old

    companion t little scrap of t  Lee Scoresby floated up as  balloon imes. Untroubled by ting so ts and cries of anger and  of Lee Scoresby passed t under t stars, ing for him.

 THIRTY-TWO - MORNING

    t Lee Scoresbys g  under t sun of morning.

    Golden, but also yelloreaks of brigcoo, ops of a particular kind of grass just coming into flohe sky.

    And quiet, but not silent, for a soft breeze rustled ttle stems, and a billion insects and otures scraped and oo o be seen sang little looping falls of bell notes nohe same.

    In all t   and still o back, under tcrop of rock at top of a little bluff.

    till, so pale, t t  lines around t and mud and not a little blood. And from te passivity of t stages of exion.

    Lyra  to  came past touco stir, and .

    But tly s;Pan, Pan...quot;

    Under t move for some time, because  of  limp  still s ttle breeze and ttle insect scrapings and t bird  en he world was.

    Presently sill fast asleep. ,  iff  and s. S ime, at ttle pulse in , at  rising and falling slo te shem.

    irred. Not ing to be caug  ttle grave t before, just a couple of ialys and t rest. t stone nearby; s up and prized it loose from t it uprig t up and so gaze across the plain.

    It seemed to stretc ; gentle undulations and little ridges and gullies varied tand of trees so tall to be constructed ratraigrunks and dark green canopy seemed to defy distance, being so clearly visible at  have been many miles away.

    Closer, t, at t of t more ttle pond fed by a spring coming out of ty she was.

    S up on so. trickled t again and again, washe mud and grime

    before lifting ter to  eet .

    t . Sood for a long time  and ter around her calves.

    S doo dip er and  ting it trail out and flicking it back again, stirring it o lift all t and grime out.

    a little cleaner and  isfied, so see t ill ing  across t tent of it. And at t, and at t t.

    So join ting ttle one, and setting it more firmly in the soil.

    quot;Are t;  the daemons.

    quot;Dont kno t far a I dont know. Dyou remember w ;

    tle cracking noises in hen he blinked and shook his head.

    quot;Not muc; ;I picked up Pantalaimon and you picked up, t ;

    quot;And your, t jumped out of my arms,quot; s;And I rying to see Mr. Scoresby to see  t;

    quot;It doesnt feel like o ted.quot;

    quot;No,quot; s;t. I remember ry and play  it never really oo big to o knoly range,quot; sarily as if srying to dispel some encment. quot;  I dont feel torn apart, I feel safe, and I know ;

    quot;toget; ill said.

    quot;Yea be.quot;

    ood up suddenly.

    quot;Look,quot; ;over t;

    ing. Sant tremor of movement, quite different from t haze.

    quot;Animals?quot; sfully.

    quot;And listen,quot; ting his hand behind his ear.

    No out, sent rumble, almost like thunder, a very long way off.

    quot;t; ill said, pointing.

    ttle patc t on for a fes. t became suddenly quieter, t  already. till gazing in tion, and sly after start up again. And a fes later came the sound.

    quot;t be; said ill. quot;Are t;

    quot;Cant really see. Yes, turning, look, t;

    quot;ell, if ,quot; said ill, and ook to tream, . .  sy of soap, and for some clean clothes.

    Lyra cever trange.

    quot;ill,quot; s;t;

    But s uncertainly. tle o look. It o see individuals no a dozen strong, and telopes and motorcycles, but tranger t, even: trunks like small eleps.

    And tention. ill took out t Lyra, sitting on turning ter.

    It responded quickly, ill a fely left and rig and left, and Lyra felt  to tly as a bird.

    quot;t; s;its all rigs odd, I cant quite make it out... Dr. Malone ?quot;

    So  believe Dr. Malone ill, ter indicated  couldnt give  it aood up slowly beside ill.

    quot;I to t; s;t going to  us.quot;

    Some of topped, ing. ttle, trunk raised, and trokes of eral limbs. Some of tures o to drink; ted, but not y of co a gate. telligence and purpose. they were people.

    ill and Lyra moved doil to speak to te of w Lyra  he knife.

    quot;I dont knoand me,quot; Lyra said cautiously, quot;but I knohink we should...¡±

    trunk and said, quot;Come see Mary. You ride. e carry. Come see Mary.quot;

    quot;O; surned to ill, smiling .

    tures ted irrups of braided cord. Not saddles; turned out to be comfortable enoug t neit comparison. rol, and t t: tirrups o give to o and balance ures the decisions.

    quot;; ill began to say, but o stop and regain ure moved under him.

    t slope, going slo  uncomfortable, because tures  t tting on c.

    Soon to  seen clearly from tco find roads of smootime before.

    tures rolled onto t off, soon picking up speed. tercourse t broadened into  ot split into narroably. It e unlike tal, rational  across valleys on bridges of concrete. t of t an imposition on it.

    ter and faster. It took ill and Lyra a  used to tone. Lyra found it more difficult t first, because s knorick of leaning into t s, and soon sing.

    too muco speak. Instead, to point: at trees, in amazement at t a flock of birds, trangest t ing, screion t a fat blue lizard as long as a ures divided to ride on eit, and it took no notice at all).

    to slow down.

    And in takable,  smell of toly ter than a walk.

    Lyra, stiff and sore, said, quot;Can you stop? I  to get off and ;

    ure felt tug at t ood o a . ills did, too, and botiff and ser tinued jolting and tensing.

    tures alk togetrunks moving elegantly in time er a minute to ed, grass-ures op of t to concentrate on o curned.

    As to top of topped, and ill and Lyra ;Mary close. Mary t;

    tance, and at t of trees and roables, stood a village of tcures like t among tended crops, or rees.

    quot;No; said the leader.

    t far to go. ill and Lyra climbed up once more, and tures looked closely at tirrups runks, as if to make sure they were safe.

    t off, beating teral limbs, and urging til t a terrific pace. ill and Lyra clung tig t to ture of speed, tures loved t their joy and laughed in happy response.

    topped in ter of trunks and speaking words of welcome.

    And t;Dr. Malone!quot;

    Mary  of one of ts, , ocky figure, range and familiar.

    Lyra ran and embraced igood back, careful and doubtful.

    Mary kissed Lyra o tle mental dance of sympatook place in a second or less.

    Moved by compassion for tate t meant to embrace  Mary  kind of response o a man s knoing above all to  cause o lose face.

    So instead s , and a current of understanding and respect passed bet it became liking at once and eac t they had.

    quot;t; said Lyra, quot;old you about him...¡±

    quot;Im Mary Malone,quot; s;and youre arved.quot;

    Surned to ture by ing sounds, moving her arm as she did so.

    At once tures moved a cus ree nearby, w shade.

    And as soon as table, ts broug lemony astringency and tery taste; and salad plucked fres, t oozed a creamy sap, and little cs tasting like s carrots.

    But t eat muc oo riced to do justice to ty, but t from t, sligis or tortillas. It ried some of everyt like ill s a little e enough.

    Mary managed to avoid asking any questions. t to talk about it yet.

    So sions about told t tree, because sheir heads nodding.

    quot;You dont o do anyt sleep,quot; she said.

    ternoon air ill, and tree s. Less tes after t of t asleep.

    tal, surprised. But ell?

    Its easy, said Mary. t sly.

    t muc t come to them?

    I dont knoime soon. I dont know w o us.

    No ically.

    table garden. Mary o save o bend doal used runk, so tion ermittent.

    But you kneal.

    Yes.

    as it ticks t told you?

    No, said Mary, blusist; it  to consulting t t was a nigure, she confessed.

    took their dreams very seriously.

    You dont like nigures, Atal said.

    Yes, I do. But I didnt believe til noold me to prepare for them.

    sort of voice?  speak if you couldnt see it?

    It o imagine speec trunk movements t clarified and defined it. Sopped in ted curiosity.

    ell, I did see it, said Mary. It  very old and yet not old at all.

    ise one  Atal ensely interested.

    old? said Atal.

    It is a make-like, said Mary.

    Atal swung runk, reassured.

    Mary  on as best sold me t I s t not  look after them.

    t and tired, said Atal. ill top the sraf leaving?

    Mary looked up uneasily. S o c ticles reaming aer than ever.

    I  I dont know how.

    In t and t stars , a group of strangers arrived. Mary ed murmur of talk, and  of her house, drying herself.

    ill and Lyra ernoon, and t stirring noo see Mary talking to five or six of ted; but ell.

    Mary saw her and broke away.

    quot;Lyra,quot; s;somet explain and its... I dont kno is... Ive got to go and look. Its an o anyt stop, too anxious...¡±

    quot;All rig; said Lyra, still dazed from her long sleep.

    Mary looked under tree. ill was rubbing his eyes.

    quot;I really  be too long,quot; s;Atal ay ;

    tient. Mary sly tirrups over ed at once. turned and drove ao the dusk.

    t off in a neion, along t to tter of to t, and its silver-sepia ligo envelop ical icism h.

    Sime to time and touc, but s use it till topped moving. And tly,  ing to stop for anyter an one road and moving slowly along a

    trail of beaten eart ran betand of otle gullies, rickled dorees t clustered there.

    It o ted eadily at to the gully.

    Srickling of t  sound of to one anotopped.

    In t a fele knife. It  so it a little  as if inside t it . And out of it was coming a procession of gs.

    Mary felt as if t art, seizing t branc till  of it.

    Soo, more and more t of to t, and vanished.

    t rangest took a feeps in t, and looked around, transformed  t or smoke, ted a of t breeze.

    Some of toed to tell  t touctle ss, an old woman, beckoned, urging o come close.

    then she spoke, and Mary heard her say:

    quot;tell tories. trut tell true stories, and everyt tell tories.quot;

    t  s ably forgotten, and back in a flood comes all tion  in our sleep. It ried to describe to Atal, t picture; but as Mary tried to find it again, it dissolved and drifted apart, just as the dream was gone.

    All t  ness of t feeling, and tion to tell tories.

    So to t endless silence, more of ts urning to their homeland.

    quot;tell tories,quot; so herself.

 THIRTY-THREE ¨C MARZIPAN

    Next morning Lyra  no was.

    t long risen, and t ttle tc s in, Marys ening. tside, and some kind of cricket, and Mary ly in her sleep nearby.

    Lyra sat up and found  for a moment, and t of Marys, a lengt, ligterned clot sie into a skirt. S t, but at least decent.

    S t. Pantalaimon  mean t ill connected some talking, just telling eaching...

    ill ill asleep under ter tree, t of  it e different o t.

    So s doo ter alone in t tall, slender bird like a anding perfectly still on one leg.

    Sly and slo to disturb it, but took no more notice of er.

    quot;ell,quot; she said.

    S to t er coming in on tide, and it range to Lyra, er before. So keep  and  er? Or a beetle, creeping into to tickle irely  on  all? quot;quot;

    t again and, seeing some flat stones by t to fetco  bush, nearly dry.

    ill irring. S nearby and called ly.

    quot;ill! ake up!quot;

    quot;;  once, and sat up, reache knife.

    quot;Safe,quot; s;And too, or Dr. Malone did. Ill get yours. t;

    Sain of leaves and sat o ill he was dressed.

    quot;I s; s;I  to look for Pan, but I t;

    quot;ts a good idea. I mean a s years and years of dirt on me... Ill go down and was;

    looking too closely at anyteness, but curious about everyte ne in muc of c tel le patterns, but patterns t  carved in t o gro surally.

    ter. Part of o puzzle it all out, to step ligy to similarity, from one meaning to anotrument; but anot ay o move on.

    ell, Im not going anywill Pan comes back, so herself.

    Presently ill came up from t of ; and soon Atal came along, too, and to life around t o stare, and Lyra urn and look at tly to make terror.

    quot;ell, no; Mary said  and drunk a scalding infusion of somet. quot;Yesterday you oo tired and all you could do . But you look a lot more lively today, boto tell eac. And itll take us a good long time, and s.quot;

    tiff tarry netting to t out on the grass, and Mary

    so knot a ne ualapi, te birds, gat at sea, and everyone o leave at once; but ime.

    So t old ory, from t so long ago iring Room at Jordan College.

    tide came in and turned, and still tualapi. In te afternoon Mary took ill and Lyra along t ts ied, and t marso o go tide , because te birds only came inland  and perfectly maintained, more like a part of nature t.

    quot;Did tone roads?quot; ill said.

    quot;No. I t; Mary said. quot;I mean t been plenty of  surfaces to use t volcanoes.

    quot;So t possible for to use togetrees t vertebrates, t   t creatures  a bit easier, so all kinds of otral spine. In t anotebrates, to be sure, but not many. tant er try not to  them.

    quot;Anyrees coming toget possible. A lot of little coget of tory begin, ill?quot;

    quot;Lots of little coo,quot;  under trees. If y seconds earlier or later, , never tagazze and Lyra; none of this would have happened.

    arted from tened as time ts,  aintop.

    quot;And tc;

    ood t.  sold him before she killed herself: she had loved John Parry, and he had scorned her.

    quot;itc; Lyra said.

    quot;But if s;

    quot;ell,quot; said Mary, quot;love is ferocious, too.quot;

    quot;But ; said ill. quot;And I can tell  ;

    Lyra, looking at ill, t t if .

    All around t noises of ternoon rickling sucking of ts, tide , so tent of tening under t sun. A billion tiny mud creatures lived and ate and died in top layer of sand, and ttle casts and breats s th life.

    it telling t to tant sea, scanning te sails. But tter ook up t sparkle the shimmering air.

    So gaticular kind of mollusk by finding tubes just above t it hem.

    o ted as many as s .

    Sened to t part of tory. Steadily trusively back to tide urning.

    tory aking a long time; t get to t day. As telling Mary icularly interested in t nature of human beings.

    quot;You kno; s;t I used to belong to,  use t St. Paul talks about spirit and soul and body. So ts in ure isnt so strange.quot;

    quot;But t part is t; ill said. quot;ts  angels cant understand   of ecstasy for to he dead...¡±

    quot;tell it o it,quot; said Lyra, and s  kno  confused.   trust than shed ever seen on a human face.

    By time to prepare. So Mary left t to cide flooding in, and  to join Atal by t.

    But Mary, sualapi destroyed a village furt, and t before. ttack one and to sea. And anotree fell today ...

    No! here!

    Atal mentioned a grove not far from a  spring. Mary ook t t stream of sicles rongly, and at incomparably greater speed and volume, tide nohe riverbanks.

    can you do? said Atal.

    Mary felt t of responsibility like a ly.

    tell tories, she said.

    al sat on rugs outside Marys ars. table in ted nigened to Mary tell ory.

    S before s met Lyra, telling t t tter Researcime so spend asking for money, and tle time t for research!

    But Lyras coming ter of days s ogether.

    quot;I did as you told me,quot; s;I made a program, ts a set of instructions, to let talk to me ter. told me o do. t;

    quot;If you ist,quot; said ill, quot;I dont suppose t o say. You mig ;

    quot;A I kne to be a nun, you see. I t po till I sa any God at all and t peresting anyian

    religion is a very poake, ts all.quot;

    quot;op being a nun?quot; said Lyra.

    quot;I remember it exactly,quot; Mary said, quot;even to time of day. Because I  p me keep up my university career, you see, and I finisorate and I o teac  one of t you a,  even ;  o dress soberly and o university to teaco particle physics.

    quot;And t and to come and read a paper. t, Id never been out of England. t, tel, t sunligo speak, and t of my oo listen and o get t... Oement, I cant tell you.

    quot;And I , you o remember t. Id been suctle girl, Id gone to Mass regularly, Id t I ion for tual life. I ed to serve God . I ed to take my ; soget;and place it in front of Jesus to do as oo muc lasted until, o nine on t tent;

    Lyra sat up and ening closely.

    quot;It er Id given my paper,quot; Mary  on, quot;and it ening, and Id dealt ions  making a mess of it, and altogetoo, no doubt.

    quot;Anyo a restaurant a little , and to go. Normally Id  time I t, ell, Im a groed a paper on an important subject and it  alk  all t interested in, and  Id loosen up a bit. I  liked taste of  of music in t.

    quot;So  doo eat in t table under a lemon tree, and t of bo to me alking to tting opposite  knoo; alian, and  people alking about, and I t it eresting to  it.

    quot;Anyle older t black iful olive-colored skin and dark, dark eyes.  falling across  pus back like t, slo;

    S s very well.

    quot; ; s on. quot; a ladies man or a c o talk to

    to sit tern ligree  of talk and laug  I ty. Sister Mary Malone, flirting!  about my vo dedicating my life to Jesus and all t?

    quot;ell, I dont kno ree, or  it gradually seemed to me t Id made myself believe somet  true. Id made myself believe t I   it eresting, and some people  t I never  ever going to C it  matter, because

    t of to visit.

    quot;And t of some s stuff and I suddenly realized I o Co speak. And Id forgotten it. It aste of t stuff t broug back, I t  almond paste,quot; so Lyra, who was looking confused.

    Lyra said, quot;A; and settled back comfortably to  .

    quot;Any; Mary  on. quot;I remembered taste, and all at once I asting it for t time as a young girl.

    quot;I  a party at ty, and ts ;Usually girls dance togetoo so ask t t kno, and by t time alking... And you kno is  once;  on talking and took a bit of marzipan and  gently put it in my moutrying to smile, and blus for t, for tle way ouc;

    As Mary said t, Lyra felt sometrange o  as if so a great  kno  ots coming on. S trembling as Mary  on:

    quot;And I t  t party, or it mig anot ime. It  and trees, and I  too so move. Almost. But one of us did and t any interval bet um leap, suddenly,  was paradise.

    quot;e sas moved aime, so s... But t . I o C;

    It rangest tly s rooms lit stood ing, quiet, expectant.

    quot;And at  nine in t t restaurant table in Portugal,quot; Mary continued, quot;someone gave me a piece of marzipan and it all came back. And I t: am I really going to spend t of my life  ever feeling t again? I t: I  to go to Cs full of treasures and strangeness and mystery and joy. I t, ill anyone be better off if I go straigo tel and say my prayers and confess to t and promise never to fall into temptation again? ill anyone be tter for making me miserable?

    quot;And to fret, no one to condemn, no one to bless me for being a good girl, no one to punisy. I didnt kno free and lonely and I didnt knorange   as I . A taste, a memory, a landslide...

    quot; and looked at table, I could tell  tell  ill too strange and private almost for me. But later on  for a  breeze kept stirring my , and tlantic le quiet ...

    quot;And I took t in t . All over. Gone.

    quot;So t ; she said.

    quot;as t man t found out about t; Lyra said after a moment.

    quot;Oer. No, t tale. .quot;

    quot;Did you kiss ;

    quot;ell,quot; said Mary, smiling, quot;yes, but not t;

    quot;as it o leave t; said ill.

    quot;In one  ed. Everyone, from to ts to my parents, t and reproac as if sometely believed in depended on me carrying on .

    quot;But in anot  made sense. For t time ever I felt I ure and not only a part of it. So it  used to it.quot;

    quot;Did you marry ; said Lyra.

    quot;No. I didnt marry anyone. I lived  Alfredo, someone else. I lived  t living togeto like mountain climbing, and augo climb, and I ains and... And Ive got my   I mean.quot;

    quot; ; said Lyra. quot;At ty?quot;

    quot;tim.quot;

    quot; did ;

    quot;Os all I remember.quot;

    quot; sa; Lyra said, quot;you said one of tist  you  o t good and evil. Did you t t;

    quot; I kneaugo to t otogeto t t all.quot;

    quot;But do you no; said ill.

    quot;I to,quot; Mary said, trying to e.

    quot;opped believing in God,quot;  on, quot;did you stop believing in good and evil?quot;

    quot;No. But I stopped believing t side us. And I came to believe t good and evil are names for  for  t s an evil one, because it s too complicated to ;

    quot;Yes,quot; said Lyra firmly.

    quot;Did you miss God?quot; asked ill.

    quot;Yes,quot; Mary said, quot;terribly. And I still do. And  is ted to to feel I ed to God like t, and because ed to tion. But if  t;

    Far out on tones. Embers settled in tirring faintly  breeze. Atal seemed to be dozing like a cat,  on ttention o tars.

    As for Lyra, s moved a muscle since t strange tion inside  kno  meant, or w had come

    from; so s ried to stop rembling. Soon, s, soon Ill know.

    Mary ired; s of stories. No doubt somorrow.

 THIRTY-FOUR - THERE IS NOW

    Mary couldnt sleep. Every time s tense h fear.

    times, until s sleep  going to come; so s up and dressed quietly, and stepped out of tree s tentlike branches under which ill and Lyra were sleeping.

    t and  landscape tled , like tion of some s. But animals migrated for a purpose;  crossing to places o mate and bear offspring. t  of pure c of utterly random events at toms and molecules; t all.

    Nevertense and driven  did. Mary felt it, too, except t s kno purpose  unlike o knoire world was alive and conscious.

    Mary climbed tide laced a brilliant silver tening dark of ts and tful beening to embrace somet  was, Mary would never know.

    Surned toree stood. It y minutes os great  o say, and s hem.

    So, moved by tement of t, and desperate to join in. told ill about  t everyted to everytian, s connected, too; but  loose and free and lig purpose.

    And to anot, and it  everyt s off from it. And it o find a connection, because there was no God.

    ation and o climb ree and try once again to lose .

    But before so t sound among treaming of te like an organ. And above t, the squeal and scream of wood on wood.

    Surely it couldnt be ree?

    Sopped  balks of green icks and fell all to tself, tree she knew so well, leaned and leaned

    and sloo topple.

    Every fiber in trunk, ts seemed to cry out separately against t it fell and fell, all t lengt smass  of to lean to a breaker; and trunk rebounded up a little tled doorn wood.

    So toucossing leaves. tered ruins of form.  t t.

    S a brancook out t se different movements in the sky.

    One  of tion, and t of tream of Dust, seeming to cross it in quite another.

    And of t  mucer volume. In fact, to be flo, a great inexorable flood pouring out of t of all to some ultimate emptiness.

    Slohings joined up.

    ill and Lyra  tle knife  least. So tohem.

    told  tured ty-to fail just over three hundred years ago.

    According to ill, torre degli Angeli, tle knife,  aler all, and t be many others.

    Suppose t all time, little by little, Dust  of tle knife ure...

    S dizzy, and it  only t t and , gazing at the scudding clouds.

    tle knife  , and s talk to ill and Lyra and find a o stop it.

    But t flood in tter entirely. t  astrop  stopped, all conscious life o an end. As t came into being  needed some feedback system to reinforce it and make it safe, as trees. it somet, it ion, feeling,  a brutisomatism; and t brief period  like a candle in every one of t ly.

    Mary felt t keenly. It felt like age. S eig and o die.

    S of t fallen tree, and ill  off o the village.

    At t of t time at t stream,  and tanding firm in the middle.

    And t t last: s t great urgent purpose was.

    trying to  flood. triving to put some barriers up against terrible stream:  and hurling

    to truggle to keep ticles in they so enriched.

    Matter loved Dust. It didnt  to see it go. t , and it oo.

    t t.

    quot;ell, t; s;t;

    As s t flotle tiny pebbles trying to  trying, all trying till thing.

    ayed out, Mary didnt knoy of o subside, and exion took its place, sohe village.

    And - on ts. te, a steady movement: sometide.

    Sood still, gazing intently. It couldnt be tualapi, because ts own.

    But everyt it   about it. S alone, and sated before running doo opped, in any case. It ing on ter close to th.

    And it ... No, sometting off its back.

    thing was a man.

    Se clearly, even at t distance; t , and ed to it. S tter beyond doubt: it .

    ick of some kind.  running, but moving like an ate or a er.  light.

    And as o t t stick was. he was carrying a rifle.

    S as if someone er over . Every separate irred.

    Soo far ao do anyted,  o cepped into to t and rigopping every so often to listen, moving from o house.

    Marys mind felt like trying to  as s silently: Dont look under tree, go aree ...

    But o it, finally stopping outside  bear it; s t and began to run do to call out, anyt just in time s it mig back.

    t bear not knoopped and fumbled for to stand still w.

    . , altir in t  be. Mary ed for an endless minute, and then he appeared again.

    ood in  to rig past tree.

    tepped off tood still, almost at a loss. Mary  erested in the village; and

    ly away.

    Scep ook doe clearly epped onto t cross-legged as it turned to glide aes later t to sight.

 THIRTY-FIVE - OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY

    quot;Dr. Malone,quot; said Lyra in t;ill and me  to look for our daemons.  to do. But  be  t  to go and look.quot;

    quot;; said Mary, er urbed nigo itiously, for tprints. So far s found any.

    quot;Dont kno; said Lyra. quot;But t ttle, t trust us anymore. Cant say I blame t  imes, so maybe ;

    quot;Listen,quot; Mary said reluctantly, and told Lyra about t before.

    As so join tened, wide-eyed and serious.

    quot; a traveler and ; Lyra said o be all kinds of openings nourned around and left,   to do anyt;

    quot;I dont kno like it. And Im  you going off on your o kno. O kno please be careful. Please look all around. At least out on t;

    quot;If raigo anot o  us,quot; ill said.

    termined to go, and Mary ant to argue.

    quot;At least,quot; s;promise t you  go in among trees. If t man is still around,  be  see ime to escape.quot;

    quot;e promise,quot; said Lyra.

    quot;ell, Ill pack you some food in case youre out all day.quot;

    Mary took some flat bread and c, t-quencs, ied a cord around it for one of to carry over a shoulder.

    quot;Good ing,quot; s. quot;Please take care.quot;

    Sill anxious. Sood co t of the slope.

    quot;I he ridge.

    quot;S; said Lyra. quot;And if oryll still be  t;

    quot;Mmm,quot; said ill. quot;Dyou t;

    quot;Dunno. I dont suppose Ive got a   Jordan College, and I cant live cians. I  mind t, if t;

    quot; about Lord Asriels  you  to live t;

    quot;Its going to fail, remember,quot; she said.

    quot;;

    quot;Because of  said, just before . About daemons, and ime if tay in t probably Lord Asriel, I mean my father,

    couldnt  about t, because no one knearted... All t,quot; s;all t bravery and skill... All t, all ed! All for not;

    top of topped and looked back.

    quot;ill,quot; s;supposing  find t;

    quot;Im sure ;

    quot;You saion of manners to touce as someone elses daemon. It  only by politeness, but by somet, somet ills  as well as she did.

    t ill, not put off by being s;op c;

    quot;About... I suppose about our age, or a bit older. Maybe more sometimes. e used to talk about Pan settling, o wonder w hed be...¡±

    quot;Dont people ;

    quot;Not  t be t be t... And usually t fits. I mean someture. Like if your daemons a dog, t means you like doing old, and knos are people o find .  t;

    quot;I dont kno kno and quiet and  knod be difficult  you just by looking. I like to keep secret and stay out of sig;

    quot;ts good at  looks like anotterfly t looks like a  ures like t in your world, because we ;

    toget savanna rolled, broy. t he world.

    quot;But its not empty really,quot; Lyra said.

    quot;You mean t man?quot;

    quot;No. You kno;

    quot;Yes, I do. I can see s; ill said.

    tle darting movements  easier to see t look at to so to Lyra, s;Its negative capability.quot;

    quot;s t?quot;

    quot;t Keats said it first. Dr. Malone knos er. Its  it?quot;

    quot;Yes, I suppose it is. But I  t t be t;

    quot;So ...quot;

    S o her lips. he nodded.

    quot;Look,quot; ;trees.quot;

    It ree. t up to it carefully, keeping an eye on t breeze stirring t seemed impossible t a migopple, but  was.

    t trunk, supported in ts torn-up roots and out on t trees ill ree, tig still looked sturdy, leaves t ill green, too the mild air.

    Suddenly Lyra gripped ills arm.

    quot;S; s;Dont look. Im sure t ;

    t mass of leaves and brancending to gaze vacantly at t tention o t! , t  tree. And beside it, another.

    quot;alk a; ill said under ;ell go somew;

    quot;Suppose t... But yes, all rig; Lyra whispered back.

    tended to look all around; t ting on tending to climb; tended to cheir heads and walking away.

    quot;I wis; Lyra said whey were a few hundred yards away.

    quot;Just go on  get lost. to us o.quot;

    tepped off to tems, cs ing, fluttering, skimming, he million-voiced chorus chirrup and scrape.

    quot; are you going to do, ill?quot; Lyra said quietly after theyd walked some way in silence.

    quot;ell, Ive got to go ; he said.

    S hough. She hoped he sounded unsure.

    quot;But t still be after you,quot; s;t;

    quot;eve seen er all.quot;

    quot;Yes, I suppose... But I ed to sed us to...quot;

    quot;Yea; ;and I ed... It o go to Cittagazze again, even. It iful place, and if ters are all gone... But t to go back and look after  left s not fair on eit;

    quot;But its not fair on you to o do t.quot;

    quot;No,quot; ;but ts a different sort of not fair. ts just like an eartorm. It mig be fair, but no ones to blame. But if I just leave my mot very  kind of not fair. t  got to go  probably its going to be difficult to go back as s out no suppose Mrs. Cooper er  if my motimes  o go into some kind of institution.quot;

    quot;No! Like an orp;

    quot;I ts  dont kno.quot;

    quot;You could escape o my ;

    quot;I still belong to look after erfere t;

    quot;Dyou t married?quot;

    for a long time. Shough.

    quot;I cant see t far a; ;It ... I dont t in my  married?quot;

    quot;Me too,quot; s;Not to anyone in my ;

    teadily, oime in time the world had.

    After a  you? So you could visit my ;

    quot;Of course. I certainly  give it to anyone else, ever.quot;

    quot;Dont look...¡± s altering ;t.quot;

    quot;t; said ill, delighted.

    quot;S;

    quot;I t t pretend no s of stupid places.quot;

    It became a game. t to be ser beetles or slugs; tree at tring-ending to  in t fuss of an ant so rodden on, sympats bruises, saying its face  like Pans, asking in mock sorroo speak to her.

    But  of ears, sly to ill, leaning close to speak quietly:

    quot;e o leave t  ;

    quot;Yes,

    all. Because you made a promise to Roger, and you o keep it.quot;

    quot;And you o speak to your fat;

    quot;And  t.quot;

    quot;Yes, oo,  up. It ;

    As to look for soo of a ridge, and ;ell! If  find somew;

    t  be a stream as raversed till it dipped into t of the rock.

    t faces in ter and sefully, and tream do gature one, and all time get fuller and wider.

    quot; do t?quot; Lyra marveled. quot;ter coming into it from any ;

    ill, c of to disappear into ted silently.

    quot;It just goes slo; ;It doesnt flo as t, so it gat; ing a little group of trees at t of the slope.

    t eacting off to folloream. t t doream  into tunnels of green and emerged in dappled clearings, only to tumble over a lip of stone and bury itself in to follo as muc.

    At t of t ran into ttle rees.

    Fatcop of t  been o folloe Marys confidence in ty of concealment in ts of string- of time earlier looking all around as if t to keep some distance a as ttention to the landscape.

    t  to do  person. to make sure of arget o get close enougo see  folloo the wood.

    Quietly and cautiously ream. le fleing t  e, and s t of ttle aem of grass, and  for  trail in t t be  to mortal sin.

    crees. t looked back once since coming over top of t ill kept loream at a croucher.

    o success no for t time ing on aying to evangelize t to do o convince tures,  t of riding on rary to t, and salvation would follow.

    of trees began, and laid tly.

    o tened, o catc voices t crickle of tream. Yes: topped.

    to pick up the rifle¡­

    And found tering a ched his daemon and pulled her away from him.

    But trocious.  about o left and right, looking for her.

    quot;Keep still,quot; said a voice from t;and be quiet. I ;

    quot;But, w;

    quot;My name is Balt; said the voice.

    ill and Lyra folloream into ttle, until ter.

    ttle clearing in t grass and moss-covered rocks. t sting out tting ttle moving spangles and sequins of sunlig everyth gold and silver.

    And it . Only trickle of tream, and tle of leaves tle curl of breeze, broke the silence.

    ill put do dole rucksack. tely alone.

    took off t do tream, dipping t in ter and feeling t invigorate their blood.

    quot;Im ; ill said.

    quot;Me too,quot; said Lyra, t, somet s quite sure  was.

    te some bread and casted t baking-stones, and ty and very fresh.

    took one of ttle red fruits. it-beating , surned to ;ill...quot;

    And sed t gently to h.

    S  once  oo joyful to speak. ill at  tremble, and  o h happiness.

    Like toget t, touc ogetoward eacher.

    quot;Like Mary said,quot; ;you knoraigain, before sook you aold Pan...¡±

    quot;I ; s;I ed to tell you t I must  all time: I love you, ill, I love you...¡±

    t , and  face over and over again, drinking in ion t of  , moist mout tasted of ttle red fruit.

    Around t silence, as if all ts breath.

    Balterrified.

    ream and acinging, biting insect daemon, and trying to conceal umbling after them.

    nt let c Fat. An angel of c angel rong and  ed ill before. rengto fly.

    quot;Stop, stop,quot; said Fat;Please keep still. I cant see you, lets talk, please, dont  my daemon, I beg you...¡±

    In fact, ting Balttle green to  for a moment, s them closed.

    quot;t; ;follo to talk to you, and t;

    quot;But ill I see you? Keep still, dont move so quickly!quot;

    But moving quickly rying to ignore tinging daemon, tle gully epping from rock to rock.

    take: trying to look be a foot into ter.

    quot;A; came a ion as Fathe splash.

    Balt at once and  no print appeared on time   do sa and leapt for thers on his hand.

    opped in astonis: ted in  to stumble for felt er al pang wrenc.

    Balt;A little fart to top of talk, I promise.quot;

    quot;talk op ouc;

    t reply: it oo o concentrate. o split tention to avoid to see ing his hands.

    As for t, ruly dangerous opponent ter tagonist o strike.

    it in mind  umble, and uttered little moans of pain, and pleaded once or to stop, all time cimating her was, how quickly he could move, which way he was looking.

    quot;Please,quot; ;you dont kno do you any op and talk?quot;

    to move out of sig t wream began, and  very lig canding.

    Balturned around. t raised o t t time: just a s taking it.

    t quite close enougo reac, trutake anotep or two...

    quot;Sit do; said Balt;Sit doep closer.quot;

    quot; do you ?quot; said Fat moving.

    quot; do I ? I  to kill you, but I  got trengt;

    quot;But are you an angel?quot;

    quot; does it matter?quot;

    quot;You migake. e mig;

    quot;No, . I  move. Stay t;

    quot;Its not too late to repent. Even angels are alloo do t. Let me ;

    quot;O; cried Balturning away.

    And as , Fat for  t a o save  go of t daemon. tle fle once, and Fat a surge of relief and strengt, it   form of ted so mucance t, t  keep  slipped; um carried oream; and ; Balt Barucs  out for support.

    Fat a stone, and unned er. t once, but as ried to rise, Balte, ignored tinging tle  t it t it there.

    go. t of tream and laid it carefully on ts  and closing his eyes.

    tood up, sick and weary and full of pain.

    quot;Baruc; ;o truly I died w;

    A moment later, he was gone.

    In te afternoon , Mary als voice, and s tell excitement from alarm: ree fallen? he rifle appeared?

    Look! Look! Atal  runk, so Mary took ting it up to the sky.

    tell me s doing! said Atal. I can feel it is different, but I cant see.

    terrible flood of Dust in topped flo  still, by any means; Mary scanned t ex fart ual movement, but it  flo, if anyt was falling like snowflakes.

    S of trees: t opened up feel t in ts, wly s, and warved for so long.

    tal.

    Mary turned, spyglass in o see ill and Lyra returning. t alking togeto everyt even from a distance.

    S to  urned it to . t so be made of living gold. true image of ance.

    t pouring doars urated  all.

 THIRTY-SIX - THE BROKEN ARROW

    t village, in and out of t-formed across t gatside the open door of Marys house.

    Cautiously t again, toer tree.

    Its long brancrailed t corkscre doo t to rustle a leaf or snap a fallen t asleep in eachers arms.

    toucly  being infinitely careful not to hem.

    As tly cleaning ills fast-ing t sound behem.

    Instantly, in total silence, bot eyes, bare eeth, menace in every line.

    A ood tlined by t  Mary, and whough her voice made no sound.

    quot;Come ; she said.

    Pantalaimons daemon  leapt  il  ree.

    quot;Serafina Pekkala!quot; ;s ;

    quot;s fly to a place ; she sleeping villagers.

    ook it up, t s cro.

    ttled on t comfortable branc, and two birds perched nearby.

    quot;You  be birds for long,quot; s;Very soon nole. Look around and take t into your memory.quot;

    quot; ; said Pantalaimon.

    quot;Youll find out sooner ten,quot; said Serafina Pekkala, quot;and Ill tell you some c none but c is t you are  is possible?quot;

    quot;itc; said Pantalaimon, quot;and s;

    quot;In leaving you bot kno, t c time tce, abominable place, astroper it. to become a c cross it alone and leave  undergo.

    But , t t severed, as in Bolvangar; till one o far places and see strange things and bring back knowledge.

    quot;And you are not severed, are you?quot;

    quot;No,quot; said Pantalaimon. quot;e are still one. But it was so painful, and we were so frig;

    quot;ell,quot; said Serafina, quot;t fly like c live as long as  to c t.quot;

    trangeness of this knowledge.

    quot;Does t mean alaimon.

    quot;Be patient.quot;

    quot;And c all c;

    quot;t c   os ;

    t. Serafina turned to tingale and said, quot; is your name?quot;

    quot;I  knoil I orn a;

    quot;t;

    quot;Kirjava,quot; said Pantalaimon, trying t; does it mean?quot;

    quot;Soon you  means. But no; Serafina  on, quot;you must listen carefully, because Im going to tell you w you s;

    quot;No,quot; said Kirjava forcefully.

    Serafina said gently, quot;I can one t you knoo say.quot;

    quot;e dont  to !quot; said Pantalaimon.

    quot;Its too soon,quot; said tingale. quot;Its mucoo soon.quot;

    Serafina , because s sorroo guide to ation subside before s on.

    quot;; she said.

    quot;t; said Pantalaimon. quot;Every.quot;

    quot;And you saw...¡±

    quot;Yes,quot; said Kirjava, quot;we looked closely, and we saw w was ;

    quot;e sa an angel,quot; said Pantalaimon quickly. quot;And tle people come from, too, ;

    told tc trying to distract ; but s talk, because of thers voice.

    But eventually t of to tell . tle, endless wil Serafina Pekkala said:

    quot;You o punis; my Kaisa did just ter I came te barrens. But o me eventually, because o  o be done next. Because you o tell t you kno;

    Pantalaimon cried aloud, a pure, cold os and burroure table fear came into being.

    Serafina c not compassion until s ills daemon, Kirjava tingale. Salking to tca Skadi, o. ttle broing an implacable ferocity as palpable as , and Serafina .

    Finally Pantalaimons wild screaming died away, and Kirjava said:

    quot;And ell t;

    quot;Yes, you do,quot; said tcly.

    Gradually ty left ttle bro e sadness in its place.

    quot;t; Serafina said. quot;I left it to fly ians, all t;

    t close, and in a moment two doves.

    Serafina  on: quot;t time you fly. I can see a little a you o climb trees t I t be birds ake in all t you can, and remember it  you and Lyra and ill are going to t c it is yours to make, and no one elses.quot;

    t speak. Sook ed aoreetops, circling ingle of tarlig sifting of t Dust she had never seen.

    So t silently into t Mary except t s  in ts  so  startling .

    S on t tc in time ly o s Mary e uning a string. t Serafina epped in among to Mary, and sant easy affection t imes feel for people  in dreams.

    A moment later talking togeter remembered notrical transformers. It ime for Serafina to take charge.

    quot;In a fes,quot; s;youll  be alarmed. Youll find me beside you. Im s quite safe and to  you. And talk properly.quot;

    Saking til stering as t her.

    quot;You must be tc; Mary whispered.

    quot;I am. My name is Serafina Pekkala.  are you called?quot;

    quot;Mary Malone. Ive never been ly. Am I a;

    quot;Yes. e must talk togetalk is o control, and o remember. Its better to talk ao stay inside, or ?quot;

    quot;Ill come,quot; said Mary, sitting up and stretc;;

    quot;Asleep under tree.quot;

    t of t tree s curtain of all-concealing leaves, and o the river.

    Mary cure of ion: s of age came in ed sadness.

    t on ter, and Serafina told  so the childrens daemons.

    quot;t looking for today,quot; Mary said, quot;but somet knoain t ;

    quot;ell, ;

    Mary stared at her.

    quot;If you could see ; Serafina  on, quot;you  yello;

    quot;An Alpine c;

    quot;itime, I could teaco see oo, and to see ts strange for us to t see t;

    told Mary  it meant.

    quot;And to tell t; Mary said.

    quot;I t of o tell t of telling you and letting you he

    responsibility. But I sa .quot;

    quot;t;

    quot;I kno;

    quot;t discovered it...quot;

    Mary tried to take in all tions of  oo hard.

    After a minute or so Mary said, quot;Can you see Dust?quot;

    quot;No, Ive never seen it, and until t.quot;

    Mary took t and  to tc it to her eye and gasped.

    quot;t is Dust... Its beautiful!quot;

    quot;turn to look back at ter tree.quot;

    Serafina did and exclaimed again. quot;t; she said.

    quot;Sometoday, or yesterday if its after midnig; Mary said, trying to find to explain, and remembering  flo river like t;Sometiny but crucial... If you ed to divert a migo a different course, and all you , as long as you put t place to send t trickle of er t ead of t erday. I dont kno ly, or sometil t felt like t, but suddenly t tracted to t stopped flo;

    quot;So t o ; said Serafina, marveling. quot;And nos safe, or it will be w c;

    Sold Mary about t .

    quot;I  an angel: a female angel. Srange; soget; s on, forgetting t t ;old me many t all tory of ruggle betupidity. Sried to open minds; ty and ried to keep t;

    quot;I can t;

    quot;And for most of t time, , ws and palaces are occupied by ;

    quot;Yes,quot; said Mary, quot;I recognize t, too.quot;

    quot;And truggle isnt over no a setback. trongly, and  be ready to resist.quot;

    quot;But ; said Mary.

    quot; t of atron, and led o tatron is gone forever. So is Lord Asriel.quot;

    Mary caug;And Mrs. Coulter?quot; she said.

    As an anscook an arroing it: t, traig, t perfectly balanced.

    And s in two.

    quot;Once in my ; s;I sa orturing a co myself t I  arroo . No toget.quot;

    Mary, distressed, said, quot;ell Lyra?quot;

    quot;ait until s; said Serafina. quot;And s not. In any case, s ell s to kno;

    t in silence for a wars slowly whe sky.

    quot;Can you see a to do?quot; said Mary.

    quot;No, but if Lyra returns to er as long as s ;

    quot;Mary began, and found s considered t for a moment. quot;I suppose I belong in my oo leave t Ive ever been in my life, I t;

    quot;ell, if you do return er in anot; said Serafina, quot;and so salk more on t forever. Embrace me noer.quot;

    Mary did so, and Serafina Pekkala fleil Mary could see her no more.

    At about time, one of turned to t afternoon by a different route and  seen it; t lay undisturbed ures, and by an ancient understanding itled to take any creature left dead after dark.

    ts body back to , and ed very  lay in t doly turning to rust.

 THIRTY-SEVEN - THE DUNES

    Next day ill and Lyra  out by ttle, eager to be alone  s; t focused on .

    t all day on t of ternoon, ted talked, te, trance of  ting h love.

    In tal, saying little, and because t t to t be a cool breeze. til to t under tide urning.

    t sand at t of t bird calling.

    turned t once, because it  sounded like no creature t belonged to te trilling song, and t from a different direction. Deligried to see t all t ed up again, all time singing and singing in ricones an endlessly varied song.

    And tter of  ttle fountain of sand in front of  bird landed a few yards away.

    Lyra said, quot;Pan... ?quot;

    o tell in t; at any rate, e sand. till circled overill singing, and to join  pearl  of dark red feathers.

    And ill kne o see o t  tig. Sixty years and more ions as brigting t bet as tered t rigo  t dunes.

    Lyra made to move to Pantalaimon spoke.

    quot;Lyra,quot; ;Serafina Pekkala came to us last nigold us all kinds of to guide tians heyll be here...¡±

    quot;Pan,quot; sressed, quot;o  is it?  is it?quot;

    to e ermine. too, ill felt it tle grip at , and became a cat.

    Before so ;tc listen, listen to us no;

    quot;Yes, you must listen,quot; said Pantalaimon. quot;to explain.quot;

    Beto tell told tion about tures: about  intending it, tco separate and yet still be one being.

    quot;But ts not all,quot; Kirjava said.

    And Pantalaimon said, quot;O ell you ...quot;

    Lyra was bewildered.  ill, and saw  as clear as her own.

    quot;tell us,quot; ;Dont be afraid.quot;

    quot;Its about Dust,quot; said t daemon, and ill marveled to  of ure telling  kno;It  to t you saopped it flo...¡±

    quot;ill, it  golden lig; Lyra said. quot;t t all floo t ? as it really?quot;

    quot;Yes. But t all time,quot; Pantalaimon  on. quot;And it mustnt. It mustnt all leak as got to stay in t vanis;

    quot;But ; said Lyra.

    Bot ill, and at the knife.

    quot;Every time ; said Kirjava, and again ill felt t little t;every time anyone made an opening bet into tiness outside. tiness too fine to see. But it e big enoug to leak out of. If t up again at once, t time for muco leak out, but t time, Dust  of to not;

    tanding o da it, t a it  like t t seeps into tinguisars: it crept past every barrier t up and under every blind and around tain t it.

    quot;Every opening,quot; Lyra said in a whisper.

    quot;Every single one, t all be closed?quot; said ill.

    quot;Every single one,quot; said Pantalaimon, whispering like Lyra.

    quot;O; said Lyra. quot;No, it cant be true ...¡±

    quot;And so  leave our o stay in Lyras,quot; said Kirjava, quot;or Pan and Lyra must leave to stay in ours. t;

    t struck in.

    And Lyra cried aloud. Pantalaimons o before ened every small creature t , but it o te  Lyra uttered noion, understood  of trut knohemselves had learned.

    Lyra s and turning ear-streaming face t as if looking for an ansrembling.

    quot;Listen,quot; ;Lyra, listen: ;

    quot;O; sossing , quot; ened, too!quot;

    so ely to o o ;No, no, no...quot;

    quot;Listen,quot; ;Lyra, lets try and remember it exactly. t be a  be a loop;

    ly and made  do once Pantalaimon, frigo  daemon tentatively came close to ill. t touc, but no a o  face against epped delicately onto his lap.

    quot;; people could spend a little time in ot being affected. t  from o go into till  ;

    quot;ttle time, but not a long time,quot; ill said. quot;My faten years. And en years, ts all.quot;

    quot;But  Lord Boreal? Sir C ;

    quot;Yes, but remember, o  s er all, in your  no one else kne.quot;

    quot;ell, !quot;

    quot;e could, except t...quot;

    quot;All t be closed,quot; said Pantalaimon. quot;All of t;

    quot;But ; demanded Lyra.

    quot;An angel told us,quot; said Kirjava. quot;e met an angel. Sold us all about t, and ots true, Lyra.quot;

    quot;S; said Lyra passionately, suspicious.

    quot;It ; said Kirjava.

    quot;Ive never ;

    ill y. quot;Suppose t; ;and  made one  t up immediately, t  leave mucime for Dust to go out?quot;

    quot;Yes!quot;

    quot;ed make it ;  on, quot;and only us two would know...¡±

    quot;O  ; she said.

    quot;And o tay hy...¡±

    But tressed, and Kirjava ;No, no.quot;

    And Pantalaimon said, quot;ters... Sold us about ters, too.quot;

    quot;ters?quot; said ill. quot;e satle, for t time.  about t;

    quot;ell,  ;And t time  makes a Specter. Its like a little bit of t floats out and enters ts  open t;

    quot;And t,quot; said Pantalaimon. quot;And on daemons. Because Dust and daemons are sort of similar; groers get bigger and stronger as t;

    ill felt a dull  , and Kirjava pressed  , feeling it, too, and trying to comfort him.

    quot;So every time Ive used t; ;every single time, Ive made anoter come to life?quot;

    ; you dont knos oentions may be good. tentions, too.quot;

    Lyras eyes ch anguish.

    quot;O, ill!quot; s;e cant do t to people, not let oters out, not no;

    quot;All rig; ting to , o . quot;to, one of us o your ;

    S o say, and siful,  even begun to knoo abandon oget?  be living  s be able to live h himself.

    quot;No,quot; salaimon on togetely. quot;Ill do it, ill! ell come to your  doesnt matter if  ill, me and Pan, rong, I bet  a good long time, and tors in your !quot;

    ears on his cheeks.

    quot;Dyou t, Lyra?quot; ;Dyou tc sick and ill and fade ating stronger and more groen years... ts notd pass in a flasies. Its not t far a, Lyra, you and me gro preparing to do all t to do, and t all comes to an end. Do you to live on after you died? Oo t t it, just like you follo ed like yours. No, oget spend togeto spend t.quot;

    Biting cracted anguish.

    opped and turned, and  on: quot;Dyou remember anoto build t for us t any elseoo bitter. I t  meant Lord Asriel and   us,  you and me. e o live in our o;

    quot;Im going to ask ter,quot; Lyra said. quot;tll kno kno before.quot;

    S do en  little bag over ucked t movement ook out t bundle.

    quot;Can you see?quot; , the face were very small.

    quot;I kno it off by . ;

    S over to make a lap. ill lay on one elboc moonliged off te sand, lit up  seemed to dra some ottered, and  ill could  already possess every fiber of his being.

    Lyra took a deep breato turn t after only a fes, sopped and turned trument around.

    quot;rong place,quot; sried again.

    ill, c so  sometration so sink into so quickly. Instead, an un spread gradually over  o symbol, almost at random, instead of darting sly and certainly.

    quot;I dont kno; s;I dont kno I cant seem to see  means...quot;

    Sook a deep, surned trument around. It looked strange and a into ed al, peering at one symbol after anoturned one urned t ill, stricken.

    quot;O; s;I cant do it! Its left me!quot;

    quot;; ;dont fret. Its still t kno be calm and let yourself find it. Dont force it. Just sort of float doo touc...quot;

    S across ook several deep breat oo tense, and   rembling and igried again. Once more s turned t tepped  t didnt kno.

    Surned ao ill and said desperately:

    quot;Its no good, I can tell, its gone forever, it just came o do, for rescuing Roger, and t its over, no everyts just left me... Its gone, ill! Ive lost it! Itll never come back!quot;

    Se abandon. All  kno   s.

    tled and looked up. ill and Lyra sensed it, too, and folloo t o h wings.

    quot;Its t; said Pantalaimon, guessing.

    ly. As tco time  in t prepared for trangeness of ter. hers hands

    tigo of anot t meant not clot. It o tell if s ere and compassionate, and bot as if so ts.

    quot;ill,quot; s;I o ask your ;

    quot;My ;

    quot;I  you to so close t t;

    ill s;Ill s; ;and in return, can you ;

    quot;Not in t. I can see alking about. Your sorroraces in t, but believe me, every single being es t even t po to. to ;

    quot;rembling, quot;er anymore?  I even do t? t s just not t just vanis ;

    quot;You read it by grace,quot; said Xap ;and you can regain it by ;

    quot; take?quot;

    quot;A lifetime.quot;

    quot;t long...quot;

    quot;But your reading ter ter a lifetime of t and effort, because it anding. Grace attained like t is deeper and fuller t comes freely, and furt, it ;

    quot;You mean a full lifetime, dont you?quot; Lyra  just... a fe;

    quot;Yes, I do,quot; said the angel.

    quot;And must all t; said ill. quot;Every single one ?quot;

    quot;Understand t; said Xap;Dust is not a constant. t a fixed quantity t , t all time, by ting, by gaining  on.

    quot;And if you o do t, by o learn and understand about to be kind instead of cruel, and patient instead of y, and cead of surly, and above all o keep to replace  t open.quot;

    ill trembled ement, and  to a single point: to a ne, and t living fully in eitogeter on, t  citizens of to they could do all kinds of good...

    But Lyra was shaking her head.

    quot;No,quot; s ;, ill...¡±

    And , and in tone, ;No, the dead...¡±

    quot;e must leave it open for t!quot;

    quot;Yes, ot;

    quot;And  make enoug for the window open...¡±

    Srembling. S very young as o his side.

    quot;And if ; ;if  to tell t as  to tell people t, Lyra.quot;

    quot;true stories, yes,quot; s;true stories t to  noto tell about it o tell t, ill.quot;

    quot;Alone, t;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;alone.quot;

    And at t a great  some profound convulsion urbed. All  be alone again, and tely precious blessing t o  be taken a at once.  teeper to darken t t tremble and begin to spill,  t mass cras of t against t of s force and ters e; neithem a single inch.

    ed,  eventually it o subside, and ttle calmer after ters ill agitated, and perruly calm again, but t force had gone.

    turned to tood, and t s as sorro soo.

    ill s Ill o open one first, and make anoter. I never kne t;

    quot;e sake care of ters,quot; said Xapook to e steady.  a o  a great factory or c, orage tanks,  every corner, o the air.

    quot;Its strange to t angels dont knoo do t; ill said.

    quot;tion.quot;

    quot;And youre going to close t one,quot; ill said. quot;All except t;

    quot;Yes, t is a promise. But it is conditional, and you knoion.quot;

    quot;Yes, o close?quot; quot;terrible abyss made by t opening Lord Asriel made out of  bot too, some deep under t in ot;

    quot;Barucold me t t to travel beto do t? ill you be confined to one ; quot;No; ; quot;t; Lyra said, quot;is it possible for us to learn?quot; quot;Yes. You could learn to do it, as ills fat uses ty of ion. But t does not mean making t is a form of seeing.quot;

    quot;Not real traveling, t; said Lyra. quot;Just pretend...quot; quot;No,quot; said Xap;notend. Pretending is easy. t mucruer.quot;

    quot;And is it like ter?quot; said ill. quot;Does it take a o learn?quot;

    quot;It takes long practice, yes. You o  as a gift?  is  you aken t steps, and w;

    ill  could be, and at t moment  in to ask.

    quot;I see,quot; ;And o an angel once o our o;

    quot;I dont kno; said Xap;But you s spend your time ing.quot;

    quot;And I s; said ill.

    quot;Yes.quot;

    s ory, turning, c he world where ill belonged.

    quot;ell, Ill s to do,quot; he said.

    So augo feel for t as Giacomo Paradisi  ogettle by little tory disappeared.

    quot;t  made by tle knife,quot; ill said, quot;is it really necessary to close t only escapes t ill Dust exists.quot;

    t;e s t any still remained, you e of time you  to do, mucant and valuable, in your oravel outside it anymore.quot;

    ¡° o do, t; said ill,   on at once, quot;No, on second t, dont tell me. I s I do. If you say my . And if I do end up doing t, Ill be resentful because itll feel as if I didnt  do it, Ill feel guilty because I sever I do, I ;

    quot;taken t steps to; said Xaphania.

    quot;t out at sea,quot; said Lyra.

    quot;t is to take you omorro;

    tomorro to see Farder Coram, and John Faa, and Serafina Pekkala.

    quot;I s; said t;I  I needed to kno;

    S, cool arms and kissed t to kiss tly into ter she had vanished.

    A fes after stle gasp.

    quot; is it?quot; said ill.

    quot;I never asked  my fat ask ter, eit;

    S down slowly, and  down beside her.

    quot;O; s; to live  to kiss you and lie doill I die, years and years and years a  a memory, just a memory... quot;

    quot;No,quot; ;memorys a poor to s your o kno ay op turning, and everyone else could fall into a sleep...quot;

    quot;Everyone except us! And you and I could live  love eac;

    quot;I er I die, and  about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again...quot;

    quot;Ill be looking for you, ill, every moment, every single moment. And ig notear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you.. .ell live in birds and florees and in clouds and in ttle specks of liging in sunbeams... And o make ne just be able to take one, to take tig;

    t the sky.

    quot;Do you remember,quot; s;o t cafe in Cittagazze, and youd never seen a daemon?quot;

    quot;I couldnt understand w  wraig;

    quot;No, I liked you first.quot;

    quot;You didnt! You foug;

    quot;ell,quot; s;yes. But you attacked me.quot;

    quot;I did not! You came c and attacked me.quot;

    quot;Yes, but I soon stopped.quot;

    quot;Yes, but,quot; ly.

    remble, and te bones of o rise and fall, and ly. roked ender sly sill.

    to sand. Lyra sat up to greet t tantly tell alaimon e find: like a large and po, red-gold in color, lit again. But s of no ordinary size, and rous and ric glints and s-lavender-moonligo see tlety, you o look at her fur.

    quot;A marten,quot; alaimon, quot;a pine marten.quot;

    quot;Pan,quot; Lyra said as o ;youre not going to c anymore, are you?quot;

    quot;No,quot; he said.

    quot;Its funny,quot; s;you remember  you to stop c all...ell, I  mind so muc if you stay like t;

    ill put aken  resolute and peaceful. Knoly  roked the red-gold fur of her daemon.

    Lyra gasped. But  flooded t t to  s protest, because s s ig ill ly w she was.

    And soo, t neit a lovers  no other.

    So, urned sloars blazed above them.

 THIRTY-EIGHT - THE BOTANIC GARDEN

    tians arrived on ternoon of to anc, and Joain came asheir guide.

    Mary old time tians epping aso ting to greet ty about t Joy of courtesy and patience in ermined t trangest of all people s grace and friendsern gyptians.

    So ood in t sun for some time ranslated as best sings from terways of his homeland.

    o move up to t o  once to carry ed gratefully, and so it  to to meet them.

    Suc since Lyra  spoken togetic, on to rescue t so sainly; but Jo ig igo .

    quot;S; ;Remember t little girl ook to t ongue of an angel, I couldnt tell you o set eyes on you again.quot;

    But s, , sayed close to ill, and raigrayed far from her.

    ted fully, because Serafina Pekkala old t ill , empered by courtesy, and  t t o beer and a strong refuge.

    quot;Dr. Malone,quot; said Jo;o take on freser, and ing to do, and it ell t  to.quot;

    quot;Lord Faa,quot; said Mary, quot;to say t to s;

    quot;Itll be our great pleasure to accept,quot; said John Faa.

    So t evening t dooget and fruit and ians presented ts s from all tapestries from turkestan, cups of silver from the mines of Sveden, enameled dishes from Corea.

    t, and in return offered objects of their own workmanship: rare

    vessels of ancient knot  rope and cord, lacquered borong and lig even tians he like.

    , tain ts and left to supervise took on board tores and er t t to sail as soon as morning came. , to s:

    quot;A great coken, y. e o s t;

    So Jo o ts , still in ting a grove around it, because it  forever; it was a source of joy.

    quot;ell, tery,quot; said Farder Coram, quot;and Im glad I lived long enougo see it. to go into t . But if t for t part of us t o go do makes my  lig;

    quot;Youre rig; said Jo;Ive seen a good many folk die; Ive sent more to t tle. to kno after a spell in t again to a s land like to be free of ts test promise anyone could wis;

    quot;e must talk to Lyra about t; said Farder Coram, quot;and learn  came about and  means.quot;

    Mary found it very o say good-bye to Atal and t: a lacquer paining some of tree oil, and most precious of all, a little bag of seeds.

    t not groal said, but if not, you  forget us, Mary.

    Never, Mary said. Never. If I live as long as tc everyt you and tal.

    So t, tter of t snoayed  every ogethe blink of an eyelid.

    Xapold Serafina Pekkala t o tions ransparent images on til truly touch.

    At t, , as far as Lyra o travel from o Cittagazze. ills Oxford  a er, te sun lay erracotta roofs, t elegant and crumbling erfront, and ill and Lyras little cafe. A long searcains telescope soever, but Joo take  in case.

    t get in t they were needed.

    te a last meal togetco tain and o Joo be a very strong, and deeply stricken.

    Finally ill and Lyra and t off ty city. And it y; tfalls and t ao to part, and tayed some ers.

    quot;Lyra s to come a little o my Oxford,quot; Mary said. quot;S sometraiger;

    quot; ;

    quot;Me, go o my flat, my onigomorro o  better. tions in my isfy ties and ansions; Ill , and let rate on rong boy...But Ill  got a job anymore, and not muc be surprised if ter me... I can talk to about all t;

    t streets, past a square too darkness, past a little cafe ood on t, and out onto a broad boulevard rees in ter.

    quot;t; said Mary.

    t seen in t suburban road in Oxford opened  o letting  and move ly in the window vanished.

    quot;tll surprise t time t; she said.

    It ention to go into ill and Marys Oxford and surning o be careful  streets of Cittagazze. On t a o a great ico as brilliant as icing sugar under the moon.

    quot;old me t; Mary said, quot;you said you could teaco see ime...I wis;

    quot;ell, ; Serafina said, quot;and  alking? Ive taugc you are going back to your oo, o ter, you o ate of mind, didnt you?quot;

    quot;Yes...just as Lyra did er. Do you mean if I try t?quot;

    quot;Not only t, but ordinary seeing at time. try it no;

    In Marys ure t looked at first like random dots of color but t,  in a certain o advance into t of tree, or a face, or somet simply  there before.

    Serafina taugo do noo t. So o aneously slipping into trancelike open dreaming in rance, just as you o look in tions at once to see tures among ts.

    And just as it  pictures, s it.

    quot;A; so steady  a bird: glossy black,  as Serafina ,  or tcly cocked, for all though he was amused.

    But s ration slipped, and he vanished.

    quot;Youve done it once, and next time it ; Serafina said. quot;o see too, in t see yours or ills, teacaug;

    quot;Yes...Oraordinary. Yes!quot;

    Mary t: Lyra talked to  sicipation.

    Ating a o pass t  again.

    quot;Dyou know w; ill said.

    Mary looked around. t and tree-lined, orian houses in shrub-filled gardens.

    quot;Some;Not far from my flat, as a matter of fact, t knoly w;

    quot;I  to go to tanic Garden,quot; Lyra said.

    quot;All rigs about fifteen minutes ;

    Mary tried t easier time, and t . to see o it  ation. S t led into place as if here all her life.

    ell, , and moved on.

    t mucraffic in treet, and eps opposite Magdalen College toe of tanic Garden, tely alone. te gateone seats inside it, and o tself. to the garden.

    quot;Its t; said Lyra, tugging at ills hand.

    S a pool ain under a ree, and truck off to t bets toone , and in t of trees ing less formal. Lyra led  to ttle bridge, to a  under a spreading, low-brancree.

    quot;Yes!quot; s;I  is, just to come  on t same benced to be alone, just me and Pan.  I t  if you, maybe just once a year, if ime, just for an end   just here in my world...¡±

    quot;Yes,quot; ;as long as I live, Ill come back. he world, Ill come back here...¡±

    quot;On Midsummer Day,quot; s;At midday. As long as I live. As long as I live...quot;

    o see, but  t tears flo held her close.

    quot;And if er on, quot; s;if  someone t  be good to t make comparisons all time and  just keep up t for an  to be toget;

    tiges passed; a erbird on tirred and called; the occasional car moved over Magdalen Bridge.

    Finally t.

    quot;ell,quot; said Lyra softly.

    Everyt  moment , and t er on, ense grace made tender by tely soft. o t one of all.

    o te. Mary and Serafina ing.

    quot;Lyra...¡± ill said.

    And s;ill.quot;

    a o Cittagazze. t  far from t. epped t time and looked do city, tiled roofs gleaming in t, toed sing out on till sea.

    urned to Serafina and said as steadily as ;t to Lyra for as long as s;

    In ansco Mary, and too, embraced, and first Mary and tepped t o trees of tanic Garden.

    Being carts no as  it rying to ing ill in  ed to cla ear out ; nevert, and  no one could see t it cost him.

    And  Lyra  tigrain in .

    Nevertheless, she smiled.

    One last kiss, rus tear from ransferred to alaimon floo Lyras arms; and to close t he way was closed, Lyra was gone.

    quot;Noo sound matter-of-fact, but o turn a;Ive got to break t;

    il ried to bring to mind just o cut a  of ter ably reminded , it  last met somet couldnt cut, and t was his love for her.

    So ried it noed in Mrs. Coopers little hallway.

    But it didnt  easily to a artling t again quickly and stood puzzled for a moment.

    ;Lyra.quot;

    Of course.   t ill lay on his cheek.

    And time, tered and to to glitter on tones t ill  her universe.

    ill knelt to pick t eyes o find them all.

    Mary was shouldering her rucksack.

    quot;ell,quot; s;en norangers, largely. But Serafina Pekkala and I made a promise to eaco Lyra just noo you about t if youll let me, Ill be your friend for t of our lives. ere bot sort of...  I mean to say is, t anyone else alk to about all t eac to get used to living oo...And rouble, and if t doesnt give us somet kno;

    quot;Youre in trouble?quot; said ill, looking at ly.

    quot;ell, I smasy in t, and I forged an identity card, and...Its not deal rouble, , too. e can find your mot reatment. And if you need some mind living , t o go into, , into care. I mean, ory and stick to it, but , couldnt ;

    Mary rue.  of t.

    quot;Yes!quot; he said.

    quot;ell, lets do it. My flats about  Id like most of all in tea. Come on, lets go and put ttle on.quot;

    ter t Lyra ced once more at t dinner table in Jordan College er.

    time it y: just er and Dame . Sop t first dinner, too, and if Lyra o see ed ely, and found t  fault: for teresting, and kindlier by far the dim and frumpy person she remembered.

    All kinds of to Jordan College, to England, to t seemed t tly, and t many brutal la t erium oppled ts and brougions into poion Board orial Court of Discipline was confused and leaderless.

    And ter a brief and turbulent interlude, tling back into tual. Some ters valuable collection of silver ed; some college servants ers manservant, Cousins, ill in place, o meet ility e taken aback ion in his voice? ell, he had changed.

    During dinner ter and Dame alked of ing room for coffee, ter said:

    quot;Noo tell us somet youve experienced?quot;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;But not all at once. I dont understand some of it, and some makes me sill; but I ell you, I promise, as muco promise sometoo.quot;

    ter looked at t daemon in  passed bethem.

    quot;s t?quot; said Dame hannah.

    quot;You o promise to believe me,quot; Lyra said seriously. quot;I knoold trutelling lies and making up stories. So I knos , but my true storys too important for me to tell if youre only going to believe . So I promise to tell truto believe it.quot;

    quot;ell, I promise,quot; said Dame hannah.

    ter said, quot;And so do I.quot;

    quot;But you kno; Lyra said, quot;almost, almost more t

    lost ter. O range, Master,  came in t place and t left! One day I kne so ep from one to anotions, it ; S on, quot;ell, I rees, it  made sense; I couldnt even remember anyt just basic meanings, like t;

    quot;t gone, t; said Dame ;till in Bodleys Library. to study t;

    Dame ting opposite ter in one of ters c t it s , and s s it meant ter.

    quot;ell, no; ter  on. quot;e must t your future, Lyra.quot;

    up.

    quot;All time I ; Lyra said, quot;I never t about t. All I t about  time I  t. ty of times  ure at all. And no a  no...but no idea o do , s like er but no idea o read it. I suppose Ill o  I dont kno s are probably ric I bet t of putting any money aside for me. And any , t be any left. I dont knoer. I came back to Jordan because to be my  o go. I t me live on Svalbard, and I t me live c Im not a bear and Im not a c really fit in tians ake me in...But really I dont knoo do anymore. Im lost, really, no;

    t tering more t kno. S as , Dame , and admired ; and ter sa  iful adult she would be, so soon.

    ;You  . As for money, your fat to care for all your needs, and appointed me executor; so you neednt  t.quot;

    In fact, Lord Asriel , but Jordan College  upheavals.

    quot;No,quot;  on, quot;I  learning. Youre still very young, and your education until noed least,quot;  ;Its been  may turn out t in due course your talents ake you in a direction  foresee at all. But if you o make ter t of your lifes  out to learn consciously uition...¡±

    quot;Yes,quot; said Lyra definitely.

    quot;¡­tter t yourself in t field is unmatc;

    quot;Let me make a suggestion,quot; said t;and you neednt respond no it for a oo young yet to become an undergraduate in any case, but a fe up a boarding school.

    Id like you to come and meet tress and see   t Jordan can provide quite all of tress is a clever young ic, imaginative, kindly. ere lucky to alk to . Sopo begin studying ter systematically, you and I could meet for some private lessons. But time, my dear, ty of time. Dont ans until youre ready.quot;

    quot;t; said Lyra, quot;t;

    ter o ter t nig as ter alaimon slipped out and made treets, .

    Once tanic Garden, Pan ran ao it go and sprang up into tree nearby. It o be careful not to do it ay a secret. Once s off to all  ill augion.

    S on ted for Pan to come to o surprise  so see ended s seen  onto the bench.

    quot;I nearly did it,quot; he said.

    quot;Youll o get better t. I e.quot;

    on ting on her shoulder.

    quot; are o tell ; he said.

    quot;Yes,quot; s;Its only to meet tress, anys not to go to t;

    quot;But  ;

    quot;Yes,quot; s;probably.quot;

    quot;It mig;

    Lyra  t be cleverer ticated, and to kno more t all t ant to girls of t be able to tell t so t.

    quot;Dyou ter?quot; said Pantalaimon.

    quot;it . Imagine o carry a pile of books everyw;

    quot;?quot;

    quot;ill you ever tell me ;

    quot;One day,quot; ;And sell ill, one day. e agreed t  tell eitill t;

    quot;All rig; she said peaceably.

    Sold Pantalaimon everyt it he way shed abandoned him.

    And it ing to t s t speak to him in her head,

    didnt relive every moment toget long for  it o love someone so muc onisures, t onis. S tenderness it left in

    s forever.

    Pan slipped doo togets. Some ell o read ter again, and to teac than she did.

    S, t kno yet, but to be my friends.

    Pantalaimon murmured, quot;t t ill said...quot;

    quot;;

    quot;On t before you tried ter.  any else t;

    quot;I remember.  t  mattered more t important place.quot;

    quot;o build somet;

    quot;ts ;

    quot;Yes. Of course! And t...¡±

    quot;But t o build it. No one could if t t. e o be all t tient, and  to study and t ;

    ing on ingale tle breeze toucirred t bells of ty c one lo agreeing in all t voices on ime  to it a little more slo otoo, and a nigtle breeze irring tanic Garden.

    quot;And t?quot; said ;Build ;

    quot;t; said Lyra.

    thE END