Summary: When Will and Lyra's dæmons disappear at the hands of a shady, evil figure they are united once more. Are all the world openings closed? And why is this dark spirit plaguing the universes?
Author's Note: This is the first chapter of my first story, so don't blame me if anything here is… strange… or wrong.
Chapter One: Danger in the Garden
The trees in Will's Oxford Botanic Garden stirred in the breeze. Will sat on a wooden chair, surrounded by lively plants and rustling leaves. He stared at the gardens, his mind lost in thought. He began to think of Lyra, and he cursed himself for it.
Stop thinking about her! This is just a break and you'll be back to that place soon enough!
He had been helping out in the home his mother lived in for 2 years since he and Lyra had parted. The work there was getting hectic, and he had taken a break in the Botanic Garden, the one place he could find solace and peace.
His dæmon Kirjava the cat sat beside him.
"Your mind must not stray, Will," she said, peering around with sturdy eyes.
He looked at her confusedly. "What do you mean?"
She looked at him sternly, "something is not right here; I sense…" she drifted off, sniffing the air.
"Yes?"
"Something that doesn't wish us any good." She concluded finally, but her warning was clear.
Will stood bolt upright. The trees had stopped swaying in the gentle breeze and a chilly sensation ran through him. "Come Kirjava!"
His dæmon bounded behind him as he sprinted through the pathways and hedges of the garden. He was making for the exit.
Once he reached the first one and was about to run through, the metal gate swung shut of its own accord. Kirjava attempted slipping through the bars, which resulted only with a terrible burning feeling. Both human and dæmon felt a searing pain, which raged inside both of them. Will suppressed all his other thoughts and focused all his energy on escaping the fearsome pain. He began to run again, trying to both leave the peaceful garden which had changed horribly, and to relieve the pain in his chest. Kirjava felt it too, but the inner fire burning their insides soon began to ease, slowly.
They both stopped, panting and catching their breath. A large clump of thick green leaves incinerated before their eyes, the blaze which had come from no-where catching on the grass. Worry overwhelmed all Will's other emotions, and he panicked more than ever.
A wisp of dark substance began to emerge from behind the trees. The feeling of pain still lingered in Kirjava and Will. They began to make for another exit, hurtling over chairs and plants.
They had both slowed down considerably. Will risked a look at Kirjava. He panicked enormously; the cat's subtle fur had dulled to a grey tint.
"Kirjava!" He yelled.
But his dæmon wasn't answering. When he was just about to call her again a sleek, jet-black hand enveloped her and pulled her away. She didn't react, but lay still in the grasp of the dark, slim figure which had seized her.
"Go!" It rasped, facing Will. The voice seemed to come from no-where, but was emanating from the being itself. "Get out Will and leave your dæmon to me, Mary awaits you. I shall not say what will befall you if you try to get this cat back, only that you won't have her, and you won't remember having her! I know the means by which the Witch's dæmons part and that you have acquired them. GO!"
Will, never willing to part with Kirjava, lunged at the black entity. He fell straight onto the ground, as if there was no-one there. He knew at once that the thieving spirit, or whatever it was, was gone.
Surely nothing in all the worlds could escape so quickly? He thought. He decided to find Mary Malone, perhaps she could help him, and he set off towards the exit briskly, before the fire destroyed him…
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