Before you read this, I need to state that do not own Lyra, Will or any of
the other characters in this story. His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass,
The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass and all related characters, concepts,
and commercial offspring are the property of Philip Pullman, Scholastic
Books, Random House Inc, New Line Cinema and all other right-holders. This
is not for profit and is not intended to infringe upon any commercial
endeavours.
Will peered through the opening but was unable to make much out. Dawn was just beginning to mark the eastern horizon but it was still dark. There was nothing for it but for them all to emerge and find the craft as quickly as possible. Will wanted to close the window as quickly as possible.
There guess about the position of the craft had been good but not perfect. They were a couple of hundred yards away. As soon as Will had closed the window they all tried to look all around to see if they were being watched.
It was very quiet. They remained where they were for several minutes trying to get their bearings before setting off for the craft's hiding place. Just as they came up to it Serafina suddenly looked up and stifled a cry.
Will and Lyra followed her gaze and saw several score of witches silently flying towards the mansion.
"We must stop them," gasped Serafina.
"Are they all from your clan?" asked Will.
"My clan and several others. Saeunn must have sent a message that I was held here, luring them into a trap. Stay here. I will try to warn them."
She ran to a nearby stand of trees and broke off a branch. Instantly she was astride it and flying up towards the other witches. It seemed she might be in time but suddenly a bolt of lightening flashed up from the mansion. As it reached the centre of the flight of witches it burst into a purple explosion scattering the flyers, flinging some of them off their branches.
The first blast was followed by another and another. Then several smaller bolts shot out in a continuous burst. The sound of the detonations belatedly reached Will and Lyra's ears.
A jet of fire erupted a hundred feet into the air and the more familiar sound of ordinary firearms became heard.
The witches were in disarray. Some of them had seen Serafina and were trying to rally to her. Others were hurtling down to the mansion to try and carry the fight to their attackers. Many were already dead or desperately injured.
"Will, stay here," shouted Lyra as she started to run to the craft.
"What are you doing?" he called after her.
"The craft has some sort of weapons. I have to try and help them." She jumped into the cockpit and took off instantly leaving Will on the ground. He looked up at the craft as it headed straight for the heart of the danger and ignoring her instruction to stay where he was, he set off towards the barn.
Serafina had not been injured in the initial volley of fire from the mansion. Her first intention had been to stop the attack, to warn them of the weapons that their enemy had. But she realized that to try and retreat now would probably lead to death of them all. There was nothing to do but press home the attack no matter how suicidal that seemed to be. She was totally unprepared for the explosions, which now hit the mansion itself. At first she thought something within the mansion had blown up. But then she became aware of the machine that Lyra was flying and that the devastation being rained down on the mansion and its surroundings was coming from that craft.
In fact Lyra was hitting the grounds around the mansion more than the house itself. She had not used the weapons since she had found out about them by accident the first time she flew. She had no idea how to aim them and was terrified of hitting the witches on her side as they darted through the air. She was even more afraid of what Will was going to say to her when she landed.
"But I had to help, Pan," she said, hoping her daemon would agree with her. "There wasn't time to show Will the buttons to press and I'm better at flying anyway. We couldn't try to do this with both of us in the cockpit. There was nothing else we could do."
Will was almost at the spot where the barn had been. He could see that it had been burned to the ground and he was hoping that the trapdoor was still there and that he could get it to open. He looked up to see the craft firing at the mansion.
He was not angry with Lyra, just terrified that she might get hurt. The weapons fire from the house had stopped but he was sure that it was going to be redirected at Lyra at any moment. Even if he got to the machine room under the mansion to try and stop Saeunn's witches he was going to be too late, but he didn't see what else he could do.
Just like Lyra, he thought wryly. She gets a thought and acts on it the next instant.
He reached the site of the barn and saw that the entrance to the tunnel was open, the trapdoors stuck in a half open position. He went inside and plunged into the darkness.
Just after he disappeared underground the first witches landed at the mansion. Will didn't see Lyra stop firing and turn the machine away. Orange and violet light streaked after her as the defenders of the mansion finally managed to turn their attention to her, but they were not accurate enough and she was away and flying behind a hill before they could correct their aim.
Will continued down the tunnel but it was not long before he could see nothing in the darkness. He was reluctant to use the torch but he really didn't have any choice. He snapped it on and partially covered the beam with his hand to reduce the amount of light being produced.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" asked Kirjava.
"I want to get inside to stop them using those weapons. If Lyra can divert their attention and I can shutdown some of their machines then Serafina's witches might have half a chance."
Kirjava darted off down the tunnel. Moving faster than Will she would see any trouble before he ran into it and her cat eyes did not need the amount of light that Will's did.
Suddenly at a point where Will guessed he was about halfway down the tunnel Kirjava came running back.
"Someone's coming up the tunnel towards us. They have a torch but it doesn't seem to be working very well."
Will clicked off his own torch and drew the knife. He stepped back against one of the walls trying to merge into it and waited for the person to approach.
He heard her before he saw her. Just one person, muttering and cursing to herself.
"Trust me to pick the only lighter that doesn't work." There was the sound of something being banged against a wall and a light flicked on briefly only to die again after a couple of seconds.
Will's fingers curled tighter around the knife's handle. The voice was that of Saeunn Leira. She banged the lighter against the wall several more times but it did not relight.
"Nothing from this damn world is any good. Why did I have to end up here? And with this bunch of incompetent morons"
A huge explosion rocked the ground above their heads. Saeunn stumbled and Will seized his opportunity. He was only a few steps from her and he quickly and silently covered them to grab Saeunn's arm and raise the knife to her throat. She froze instantly.
"Who are you?" she hissed.
Will switched on his own lighter directing the beam into her eyes.
"Never mind who I am. Where do you think you are going? It doesn't sound as if the battle is over but you are leaving already."
Will had underestimated his opponent. She could not see him though the glare and was not stupid to grapple with him especially now she knew which knife was threatening her. She had recognized his voice.
"Will. So you came back. Where was it that you got to? Another world? Can you just pick and choose where you go?"
"I am going to ask the questions," he snapped back.
"But Will, you are so bad at asking the right questions. There is so little you understand and yet you are making such big decisions." Saeunn was relaxing already. She knew that Will would not kill her but she wanted to get out of the tunnel before it collapsed.
"If I know so little perhaps you would like to provide with some more information. But first I need to shutdown some of your firepower."
Saeunn shook her head, carefully, as the knife was still close to her skin.
"The battle is over - the main part at any rate. I put a little too much faith in the capabilities of this witch clan. This is a fight we should have won easily but will lose because they cannot push the right buttons when it matters. They will soon be overwhelmed. That last explosion was the consequence of one of the secondary power sources overloading. I think we should get out before the primary source goes."
Will looked at her doubtfully. He knew she was a liar but a second shaking of the tunnel walls convinced him that getting out of the tunnel was a good idea.
"Come on lets go." He gestured for her to start walking and took up a position behind her. She set off at a brisk pace but Will was easily able to keep up.
"You are not from this world are you?" he asked.
She laughed.
"No as I think you have guessed I am from the same world as you. During the Great War I signed up with Lord Asriel's army but I was the only one of my people to survive that battle." She stopped abruptly and Will nearly ran her through by accident.
"So what are you doing in this world?" he asked as they set off again.
"During the battle I came across another witch clan from this world. They had given up trying to use their own powers in the face of the military technology being used against them. They were trying to use an electro- cannon because they had seen what it was capable of but they really didn't have a clue."
"And you did?" asked Will sarcastically.
"Yes, actually I did. I may have been a witch in our world but that is not all that I was. Anyway the battle was virtually over by this point. I realised that this type of technology could be useful in the sort of world these witches came from. There was plenty of it lying around after the battle so we took what we wanted before the portals were all closed. I have been trying to get them to understand how to work these machines since then but as you can tell it hasn't been a great success."
They were approaching the opening to the tunnel when a huge explosion threw them off their feet. They both scrambled, half crawling, half running to get out of the tunnel before it fell in on them. They collapsed out onto the open ground breathing hard.
Will looked around in the early morning light to see the smoking ruin of the mansion. Bodies were spread all around. There didn't appear to be any witches in the air.
"You know what that knife is called?" said Saeunn suddenly. Will just looked at her.
"The god-destroyer. Did it ever occur to you that you were instrumental in destroying the old order? That you were then split up from the only other person who knew what you had been through. That you then destroyed the only means you had of rejoining that person. That, with the same action, you destroyed the only weapon that could threaten the leader of the new order."
"Xaphania," breathed Will.
"Xaphania is the same type of Angel as the Authority." Saeunn continued. "What makes you think that the new order will be any better for the likes of us?"
Will could do nothing but stare at her.
Will peered through the opening but was unable to make much out. Dawn was just beginning to mark the eastern horizon but it was still dark. There was nothing for it but for them all to emerge and find the craft as quickly as possible. Will wanted to close the window as quickly as possible.
There guess about the position of the craft had been good but not perfect. They were a couple of hundred yards away. As soon as Will had closed the window they all tried to look all around to see if they were being watched.
It was very quiet. They remained where they were for several minutes trying to get their bearings before setting off for the craft's hiding place. Just as they came up to it Serafina suddenly looked up and stifled a cry.
Will and Lyra followed her gaze and saw several score of witches silently flying towards the mansion.
"We must stop them," gasped Serafina.
"Are they all from your clan?" asked Will.
"My clan and several others. Saeunn must have sent a message that I was held here, luring them into a trap. Stay here. I will try to warn them."
She ran to a nearby stand of trees and broke off a branch. Instantly she was astride it and flying up towards the other witches. It seemed she might be in time but suddenly a bolt of lightening flashed up from the mansion. As it reached the centre of the flight of witches it burst into a purple explosion scattering the flyers, flinging some of them off their branches.
The first blast was followed by another and another. Then several smaller bolts shot out in a continuous burst. The sound of the detonations belatedly reached Will and Lyra's ears.
A jet of fire erupted a hundred feet into the air and the more familiar sound of ordinary firearms became heard.
The witches were in disarray. Some of them had seen Serafina and were trying to rally to her. Others were hurtling down to the mansion to try and carry the fight to their attackers. Many were already dead or desperately injured.
"Will, stay here," shouted Lyra as she started to run to the craft.
"What are you doing?" he called after her.
"The craft has some sort of weapons. I have to try and help them." She jumped into the cockpit and took off instantly leaving Will on the ground. He looked up at the craft as it headed straight for the heart of the danger and ignoring her instruction to stay where he was, he set off towards the barn.
Serafina had not been injured in the initial volley of fire from the mansion. Her first intention had been to stop the attack, to warn them of the weapons that their enemy had. But she realized that to try and retreat now would probably lead to death of them all. There was nothing to do but press home the attack no matter how suicidal that seemed to be. She was totally unprepared for the explosions, which now hit the mansion itself. At first she thought something within the mansion had blown up. But then she became aware of the machine that Lyra was flying and that the devastation being rained down on the mansion and its surroundings was coming from that craft.
In fact Lyra was hitting the grounds around the mansion more than the house itself. She had not used the weapons since she had found out about them by accident the first time she flew. She had no idea how to aim them and was terrified of hitting the witches on her side as they darted through the air. She was even more afraid of what Will was going to say to her when she landed.
"But I had to help, Pan," she said, hoping her daemon would agree with her. "There wasn't time to show Will the buttons to press and I'm better at flying anyway. We couldn't try to do this with both of us in the cockpit. There was nothing else we could do."
Will was almost at the spot where the barn had been. He could see that it had been burned to the ground and he was hoping that the trapdoor was still there and that he could get it to open. He looked up to see the craft firing at the mansion.
He was not angry with Lyra, just terrified that she might get hurt. The weapons fire from the house had stopped but he was sure that it was going to be redirected at Lyra at any moment. Even if he got to the machine room under the mansion to try and stop Saeunn's witches he was going to be too late, but he didn't see what else he could do.
Just like Lyra, he thought wryly. She gets a thought and acts on it the next instant.
He reached the site of the barn and saw that the entrance to the tunnel was open, the trapdoors stuck in a half open position. He went inside and plunged into the darkness.
Just after he disappeared underground the first witches landed at the mansion. Will didn't see Lyra stop firing and turn the machine away. Orange and violet light streaked after her as the defenders of the mansion finally managed to turn their attention to her, but they were not accurate enough and she was away and flying behind a hill before they could correct their aim.
Will continued down the tunnel but it was not long before he could see nothing in the darkness. He was reluctant to use the torch but he really didn't have any choice. He snapped it on and partially covered the beam with his hand to reduce the amount of light being produced.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" asked Kirjava.
"I want to get inside to stop them using those weapons. If Lyra can divert their attention and I can shutdown some of their machines then Serafina's witches might have half a chance."
Kirjava darted off down the tunnel. Moving faster than Will she would see any trouble before he ran into it and her cat eyes did not need the amount of light that Will's did.
Suddenly at a point where Will guessed he was about halfway down the tunnel Kirjava came running back.
"Someone's coming up the tunnel towards us. They have a torch but it doesn't seem to be working very well."
Will clicked off his own torch and drew the knife. He stepped back against one of the walls trying to merge into it and waited for the person to approach.
He heard her before he saw her. Just one person, muttering and cursing to herself.
"Trust me to pick the only lighter that doesn't work." There was the sound of something being banged against a wall and a light flicked on briefly only to die again after a couple of seconds.
Will's fingers curled tighter around the knife's handle. The voice was that of Saeunn Leira. She banged the lighter against the wall several more times but it did not relight.
"Nothing from this damn world is any good. Why did I have to end up here? And with this bunch of incompetent morons"
A huge explosion rocked the ground above their heads. Saeunn stumbled and Will seized his opportunity. He was only a few steps from her and he quickly and silently covered them to grab Saeunn's arm and raise the knife to her throat. She froze instantly.
"Who are you?" she hissed.
Will switched on his own lighter directing the beam into her eyes.
"Never mind who I am. Where do you think you are going? It doesn't sound as if the battle is over but you are leaving already."
Will had underestimated his opponent. She could not see him though the glare and was not stupid to grapple with him especially now she knew which knife was threatening her. She had recognized his voice.
"Will. So you came back. Where was it that you got to? Another world? Can you just pick and choose where you go?"
"I am going to ask the questions," he snapped back.
"But Will, you are so bad at asking the right questions. There is so little you understand and yet you are making such big decisions." Saeunn was relaxing already. She knew that Will would not kill her but she wanted to get out of the tunnel before it collapsed.
"If I know so little perhaps you would like to provide with some more information. But first I need to shutdown some of your firepower."
Saeunn shook her head, carefully, as the knife was still close to her skin.
"The battle is over - the main part at any rate. I put a little too much faith in the capabilities of this witch clan. This is a fight we should have won easily but will lose because they cannot push the right buttons when it matters. They will soon be overwhelmed. That last explosion was the consequence of one of the secondary power sources overloading. I think we should get out before the primary source goes."
Will looked at her doubtfully. He knew she was a liar but a second shaking of the tunnel walls convinced him that getting out of the tunnel was a good idea.
"Come on lets go." He gestured for her to start walking and took up a position behind her. She set off at a brisk pace but Will was easily able to keep up.
"You are not from this world are you?" he asked.
She laughed.
"No as I think you have guessed I am from the same world as you. During the Great War I signed up with Lord Asriel's army but I was the only one of my people to survive that battle." She stopped abruptly and Will nearly ran her through by accident.
"So what are you doing in this world?" he asked as they set off again.
"During the battle I came across another witch clan from this world. They had given up trying to use their own powers in the face of the military technology being used against them. They were trying to use an electro- cannon because they had seen what it was capable of but they really didn't have a clue."
"And you did?" asked Will sarcastically.
"Yes, actually I did. I may have been a witch in our world but that is not all that I was. Anyway the battle was virtually over by this point. I realised that this type of technology could be useful in the sort of world these witches came from. There was plenty of it lying around after the battle so we took what we wanted before the portals were all closed. I have been trying to get them to understand how to work these machines since then but as you can tell it hasn't been a great success."
They were approaching the opening to the tunnel when a huge explosion threw them off their feet. They both scrambled, half crawling, half running to get out of the tunnel before it fell in on them. They collapsed out onto the open ground breathing hard.
Will looked around in the early morning light to see the smoking ruin of the mansion. Bodies were spread all around. There didn't appear to be any witches in the air.
"You know what that knife is called?" said Saeunn suddenly. Will just looked at her.
"The god-destroyer. Did it ever occur to you that you were instrumental in destroying the old order? That you were then split up from the only other person who knew what you had been through. That you then destroyed the only means you had of rejoining that person. That, with the same action, you destroyed the only weapon that could threaten the leader of the new order."
"Xaphania," breathed Will.
"Xaphania is the same type of Angel as the Authority." Saeunn continued. "What makes you think that the new order will be any better for the likes of us?"
Will could do nothing but stare at her.