Author's Note: Well, might as well get this over with. So, this is my first fanfiction ever and I'm really new to all of this publishing stuff. But for quite some time it's been a goal of mine (and a New Year's Resolution) to finally get the guts and publish the fanfic I've been loosely writing since September. I just want to make some things clear now: (1) I'm not a native English speaker so please forgive any vocabulary or grammar mistakes I may have made. I try to do my best to avoid those and make this simple fanfic seem like a professionally written book and (2) I welcome any constructive criticism you readers might have as long as it is delivered in a polite manner :). If you're still reading this, thank you for taking the time to check out my story. If you like it, drop a review and let me know if I should continue this, it'll help me out a lot (morally that is :)) For more information regarding this fic feel free to check out my profile to get a better idea of what ride you're in for :)

Now I'm only going to do this once, so here it goes.

Disclaimer: I don't own His Dark Materials. The trilogy belongs to its respectful owner Philip Pullman. I own only my original characters and my story.

Enjoy!

Prologue

All was quiet in the streets of Oxford. Only the glow of the moon, the whistle of the wind and the song of the nightingale were present on this fateful night. Nothing would stop her from reaching her goal. The leaves rustled in her flight, the rooftops creaked softly under her light steps, the mice and rats hid from her shadow.

She came atop Carfax Tower and gazed at the dark city. The moon hid behind the clouds, the wind stopped its whistle and the nightingale fell silent as if all of them were holding their breath. The cat daemon came to stand beside her, feeling the fear they inspired in everything around them. He snarled in self-loathing.

"Are we going to see the child?" He asked.

There was a pause. She carefully thought through her words, knowing what her decision would mean. "Not yet." She said. "And she isn't a child anymore. We must plan this carefully, my Xander. I see danger looming over her and we must put a stop to it."

"Are you still hoping you can protect her?" The daemon asked.

"You know I have to. But it's going to be difficult; too many are already lining up to have her head on a plate. Or worse."

"So what do we do? She'll ask questions; she'll want the truth."

"We'll try to keep her in the dark until the time is right. Until then…" She took out an envelope from an inside pocket. "We move in." She passed him the envelope. "Take this to Dame Hannah. Make sure she agrees to the meeting." The daemon gently took the letter in his mouth and melted into the shadows.

She was left alone atop the tower. She closed her eyes in thought, willing only the best to happen. But images of different futures came uninvited into her mind. Images of darkness and death, of loss and sorrow, of slavery and war swirled in her mind. The winds blew again to rid her of those images, the moon shone on her to give her light and hope and the nightingale sang to sooth her heart and remind her of her cause. She tried to send one last message.

"Don't worry Lyra." She opened her eyes. "I'm coming for you."

Lyra felt weak and cold. The whispers never ceased, always taunting her, always breaking her again and again. The horror she just witnessed was imprinted in her mind. And it never left her.

Words cannot describe what she felt when she witnessed the death of Will Parry. And that scene kept replaying in her mind. She screamed and cried for it to end, for life to end. But the pain only kept growing and growing. She looked down at her hands, covered in blood and cuts. She felt blood running down her face, neck and back. Sleep was pulling her but she resisted. If she closed her eyes she would be stuck in a forever nightmare. But she felt only weaker and colder and soon her eyes closed.

Will was lying on his stomach, his eyes were wild and afraid. Lyra wanted to look away but couldn't move. Only the pain that would put her into an eternal nightmare was there. The whispers continued. They asked why she didn't know this would happen. Why she didn't stop it. She kept staring at Will. She owed him at least that. In the final moments she wasn't going down without a fight.

The blade that was about to end Will's life dropped from above… and broke mid-fall.

Light suddenly chased away the darkness. The hellish creatures that were torturing her burned up and disappeared into the ground leaving only traces of smoke. Lyra fell on her hands and knees and breathed heavily. Someone laid Will's still form next to her. She looked at him and was relieved to see his chest rising and falling evenly, though his eyes remained closed. Then she felt a gentle hand rest on her neck and a pleasant pain warmed her body.

"Don't worry Lyra." She closed her eyes. "I'm coming for you."