CHAPTER ONE: BENCH IN THE RAIN
Rain poured down on Lyra's face. The cold boards of the bench in the botanical gardens jabbed into her back as she tried desperately to stay awake after days and days of running. Pan was huddling between her shoulders, failing to keep warm. She shivered.
"So, are we living here?" Pan asked sarcastically.
"Where do you suggest we should go?" she retorted.
"I wasn't 'suggesting' anything."
"Well, you've gotta admit," he sniggered, "This is way better than Saint Sophia's."
"Yeah, 'speak only when spoken to... curtsy, now, chin up'!"
They laughed, but soon sobered up, realizing that they couldn't live like this for long. They had nowhere to go. Dame Hannah was the new chairwoman of the Magesterium, and when they fled to Jordan, they had found that the Master was dead. To make matters worse, he had been replaced by none other than Fra Pavel. The gyptians got a head start and were now in Albania, so she had absolutely no way to get back to the North. The magasterium was after her. Their plan was to start over and the only thing standing in their way was her.
"We could swim there,"
"Yeah, and freeze to death."
"But... never mind."
They lay there in silence, their eyes fogged by rain drops. She shivered. They slid into a deep, uneasy sleep.
end of chapter one
