This is the first chapter of the story of Riva Mischa and her dæmon Konstantin's adventures. It is set in the world of Lyra, from the His Dark Materials book series. Please review and tell me what you think! I'm always open to constructive criticism… ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own the concept of dæmons, or the concept of gyptians, or the concept of an evil Magisterium, or claim to have invented the world where this story was set in (because it was created by Phillip Pullman), or for that matter, I might as well say that just the characters are of my own invention
Chapter One
It was night, and the rain was pouring down. Only the anbaric streetlights were on, shining through the rain. I was dozing off, with my fox dæmon Konstantin curled up next to me, when pebbles rained down upon my window. We were both wide-awake in an instant and we quickly made our way to the window and looked outside into the pouring rain.
"See anyone?" I asked quietly.
"Yes- over by that streetlight," Konstantin replied.
My fingers fiddled with the window latch as he squinted, peering into the rain.
"Can you tell who it is?" I asked.
"No, but they've got a wolf dæmon, I think."
A wolf dæmon? I didn't know anyone with a wolf dæmon. I peered out into the rain again, and a streak of lightning lit the street as if it was day out. The figure had a hood pulled over it head, and the dæmon wasn't a wolf, it was a coyote, and I said as much to Konstantin.
"Riva, it's Roth and Bronwyn!" he realized. I finally got the latch undone, and we jumped the meager two meters to the ground in the rain. My impulsive decision had caused me to forget to bring a raincoat, but I was extremely grateful for being too tired to change out of my day clothes as I hit the ground. Konstantin led the mad dash to Roth, and I barreled into him, giving him the biggest hug that I could.
"Whoa, Mischa. You almost took me down that time," he said.
"What's so important that it couldn't wait 'till morning, Gannon?" I demanded, letting go of him. He produced an umbrella, and as our dæmons wrestled in the mud, his cheerful face grew solemn.
"I found summat weird, Riva. Really weird," said the usually unperturbed Roth.
"Like what?" I asked him.
He called his dæmon Bronwyn over, and Konstantin followed her. "Me'n Bronwyn dunno what to make of it." He led the way to an alley and took us to the abandoned zeppelin station. We sat down on a bench, and he opened his rucksack. Konstantin leapt up to my lap and peered at the object wrapped in black velvet that Roth had just brought out.
"What is it?" I asked as he unwrapped it.
"Dunno. It en't like anything I've seen before," he replied.
And I could see why. It was like a clarineto, but without all the extra keys- it just had holes for your fingers, and it had no reed. It silver all over, with gold engraving in some foreign language- it might have been from the Urals, but it was definitely not from England. I picked it up gently, and placed my fingers on the holes. I would have blown into it, but a light flicked on overhead, and Roth jumped to his feet.
"Isn't this place s'posed to be abandoned?" I asked.
"Obviously, it's not anymore!" he said before bolting towards the door, abandoning the strange clarineto and its black velvet cloth. Handlamps cut through the air, probing corners that the overhead light couldn't reach.
"What should we do?" I asked Konstantin quickly, as the anbaric beams drew closer.
"Don't leave it- maybe we can sell it," he said. "Quickly! Wrap it up and let's run!"
I grabbed the cloth and shot towards the door, wrapping the strange object as I went. Konstantin led the way, trying to avoid the beams of the handlamps, but one of them caught his fur, and then we just ran headlong towards the door. Rifle cracks rang out as we ran, and bullets ricocheted off the doorframe as we made it out into the drenching rain again.
The morning sun was starting to come out, and the rain was lightening, but I had no time to admire the view. Konstantin and I looked around, bewildered, trying to find either Roth or Bronwyn, but there was no trace of either. "Down here," Konstantin said, leading the way down an ancient sewer entrance- so ancient that it had steps. The sound of bullets stopped, and I could hear authoritative voices speaking loudly, and booted feet tramped overhead.
"What should we do?" I asked, while unconsciously unwrapping the strange clarineto.
"Don't get that out!" he snapped. "We don't know what it is, but I bet you all the money in the world that it's why we're being chased." I put it back in its cloth and shoved it into my pocket. "No! Don't put it there- it could fall out."
"When what'll I do with it?" I demanded sharply. "I can't run with it."
"Carry it. It's all you can do now," he replied, and cocked his head, looking intently at the entrance we came down from. "Run!" Konstantin whispered fiercely. "They're coming." Boots appeared at the first step, and I ran.
Running seems to be all I'm doing since I saw Roth, I thought, but I didn't voice it. We came to a junction in the tunnels. All the possible choices were angled down hill, and the one on the left was filled with water. The center tunnel was clean, with no wild life, and the air wafting to where I stood smelled good. Rats, tree roots, and rubble filled the last tunnel, the tunnel on my right.
"Which way?" I asked Konstantin.
As the men chasing us got closer, he wordlessly dived into the tunnel with rats. The men saw us begin running again, and cried out, "STOP! STOP IN THE NAME OF THE MAGISTERIUM!"
The Magisterium? How the hell did they come into this picture? I wondered as I ran. Rats skittered out of my way and as I stumbled over, under, and around the tree roots that just kept on coming, the anbaric handlamps cast strange shadows down the tunnel. Konstantin ran as fast as out physical bond would allow, and I kept close at his heels. We passed over a rusted metal grill, and I heard a voice I had thought I would never hear again.
"Riva! Riva Mischa!"
"Roth?" I asked quietly. "I've got Magisterium men chasing me, Roth. I dunno-"
"Just stand back, Mischa. I've got someone for you to meet," Roth said. I stepped off of the grill and Roth lifted it off the ground. Konstantin leapt down lightly to greet Bronwyn, and when I followed him, Roth caught me.
In the excitement, I had forgotten about the Magisterium's soldiers. As Roth pulled the grill back into its place and jammed it so that they wouldn't be able to lift it, the soldiers fired of rounds of bullets. Some of the bullets found their way through the holes in the grill, and one hit Roth in the sternum, near the heart.
As if in slow motion, he toppled forward, his brawny body landing on me. Roth almost crushed me, but someone grabbed him as his added weight caused my body to collapse onto the filthy ground. Bronwyn's glossy coyote fur grew dull, and the newcomer's dæmon supported her.
"C'mon, get up, hurry," the foreigner said, his voice containing a lilting Irish accent. "They're almost here, gel. C'mon, up ye go." Konstantin nudged me to my feet, and I saw that the Irish man held his own handlamp. I followed him as he led me further along the subterranean passageway that I hadn't known existed previously. As we drew further and further away from the grill, the Magisterium soldiers reached it and began trying to lift it. Loud curses reached my ears, and looking over my shoulder, I saw that the rusty metal of the grill held its own against direct gunshots.
My Irish guide took me to the end of the path, and I saw that a river of sewage was rushing by. I wondered what the strange man was thinking, walking towards the smelly river, but the beam of his handlamp revealed a cleverly concealed gyptian river boat. The sound of shouts of victory from the soldiers far behind us made it clear to everyone that they had finally gotten through the grill and were coming for us…
I hope you liked it, I am writing Chapter Two, and personally, I thought this one could have been better… oh well… review review review!