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Chapter 27

Golden Auroras

Lord Asriel grunted as he reached up to tuck in a piece of pink insulation into a corner of a room.

"Fussy little brat," he muttered under his breath, balancing on the ladder to place a little more push into his work. "Stay put there."

"You're wasting too much time with it," Stelmaria growled, pacing around restlessly at his feet. "Will you let one of the contractors do it? We have other work to do."

In almost quite literally no time at all, Asriel had begun building and establishing a small headquarters there in the Republic of Heaven itself. They'd discovered that time worked differently here, and that they could spend time planning and building and organizing with hardly a few minutes passing in their own world and the myriad of others.

It was a lot of work, to build a fortress and a movement, but it was one Asriel had been preparing for practically his entire working life. He'd found a way back to his world and brought back some reinforcements, chief among them King Ogunwe. The pair had met from Asriel's travels and shared a similar disdain and mistrust of the Magisterium, along with grand ambitions to take matters into their own hands if only they could. Asriel's bridge and his discovery was the perfect moment to do so, and thus they slowly yet surely began to build their operations on the basalt ridge of the mountain.

"I have to do my part as well, Stel," Asriel told her, letting out an "aha!" as he finally tucked the piece in and then promptly covered it. "Good leaders understand and participate in all the work. This is the least I can do."

He jumped down then and wiped his hands on his already-dirtied work pants. Much of the building and construction was left to the architects and engineers he and King Ogunwe had recruited for their cause. There was an astonishing amount of people both looking for work and most displeased with the Magisterium, so their operations were off to a productive start, as strange as all the time worked.

"Lord Asriel," came King Ogunwe's low, deep voice from across the half-built room. "A moment of your time for an update?"

Part of their work, naturally, needed to include keeping a careful eye on the Magisterium and their actions. In his travels Asriel came across a small group of Gallivespian spies and convinced them to join his cause. A few of them, under the military direction of King Ogunwe, had been keeping an eye on Geneva, London, and Trollesund to learn as much as the Church's moves as they could, both to stay out of their path while also further anticipating their next moves.

"Of course, your majesty. What's the latest?"

Nothing new was happening, really. The Magisterium was still in a tizzy over the newfound portals, keeping guards there day and night while keeping the entire thing hush-hush. There was concern in Geneva about this proof of multiple worlds and the consequences it would prove to their own control of their world, which led to certain committees formed to further address the matter and next steps. The Cardinal of London was also jet-setting across London, Trollesund, and Svalbard, which concerned Asriel but wasn't too worrisome in itself. They had sent search patrols forward but, from what King Ogunwe and his people could glean, didn't have much luck in finding anything.

"This sounds very promising," Asriel said when he was done, realizing how only a few weeks seem to have passed in their world while it felt like he'd been in the Republic for several months already.

"There's something else to report, before I leave to go speak with the witches. Something more… private in nature."

"What is it?"

"We still haven't found the girl," King Ogunwe told him, voice a tad softer. As soon as they'd met and joined forces, Asriel asked the African king for one and only one personal favor: locating Lyra. He could only have assumed she'd followed him in through the bridge, since the Magisterium was still looking for her. She was smart and resourceful and above all had the alethiometer with her, but it still worried him, her being alone like that entering who knows what worlds. It wasn't right, but Asriel was at a loss for how to help her when he didn't even know where she was.

"We did find something else that might help us, though," King Ogunwe continued. Asriel gazed at him expectantly. "We haven't heard much from the Coulter woman, either."

"What do you mean?" Asriel asked, tone sharper than he'd intended. Stelmaria bristled at the mention of Marisa. It felt simultaneously long and short since he'd last seen her on the mountain, asking her to come with him. They'd felt the sun of another world shine upon them as they fell into one another. But she'd pulled back, and said she needed to stay with Lyra, and then it was over and she was just another memory in his past. He hadn't even asked King Ogunwe to look into her, but given Marisa's incessant devotion to Lyra, it wasn't too surprising for her to come up.

"Whereas our informants reported increased activity from her the past several months looking for the girl, it all suddenly stopped at the time the bridge was created."

"Can't have too much attention on the heresy of other worlds," Asriel spat.

"It's not that she told them to stop. She herself seems to have disappeared."

At that Asriel felt his mouth gape open a little bit. "Disappeared?"

"No one has seen her. Not even the Magisterial forces first stationed at the bridge upon their arrival. We think that wherever the child is, Mrs. Coulter is with her."

Asriel will admit this wasn't what he'd expected. Of all things he would expect Marisa to do, it'd be to take Lyra and drag her back to London under her tight leash and watchful eye, using all of the resources and influences at her disposal to mother her however she pleased. He expected her to hide behind the Magisterium's ranks until she knew more about how things were going to shake out. She was purposeful and methodological in that way, as well as inherently selfish. The one thing she wasn't was impulsive, which seemed to be what King Ogunwe was implying.

"Thank you, friend," Asriel simply responded instead, nodding. "I very much appreciate the update, and look forward to hearing how things go with the witches."

This isn't good, Asriel, Stelmaria thought to him as the king bowed and then walked away. You know what the witches have said about the girl. If Marisa is there with her, and if she stands in her way…

Asriel didn't like it. He didn't want to think about it at the moment, though, as he rolled his sleeves back up and instead grabbed a piece of wood from a nearby pile. Lyra had an important mission to do in an effort to save them all. The witches have whispered about her for years. Their prophesies were sacred and highly-regarded and not the sort of thing to interfere with.

They still didn't know anything for sure, however, so for now he didn't need to worry about it. Brushing away his daemon's lingering concerns, he went back to work, lining up some wood and reaching for a hammer and a nail. He had time to work it all out—more time than anyone could ever ask for. He also had more important things to attend to than obsess over whatever Marisa was up to.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

On their second full day with Dr. Malone in London, Mrs. Coulter decided to keep her promise and help Will with the knife. It was very early on Saturday morning as she made her way into Will's room and gently shook him awake.

"It's okay, Will," she soothed as the boy awoke in a terror, per usual. He'd clutched for the knife and then relaxed when he saw her, eyes widening very slowly.

"What is it?" he asked, still blinking sleep from his eyes.

"I'm extending the offer I made to you yesterday," she explained, smiling as the golden monkey grunted from the corner. "Practicing with the knife. It's very early now and no one should be out and about."

His eyes brightened as he nodded and jumped out of bed. Mrs. Coulter went out into the hall as he changed, waiting with her daemon.

"I still think this is too risky," he snapped to her. "We have no idea where Carlo is or what he's planning."

That was their main problem. Mrs. Coulter had known Carlo Boreal for several years through his work in the Church. He was a wealthy man, and sharp and worldly in ways Mrs. Coulter was continuing to discover. She'd always been amazed before at all he knew and how he could quickly discover things, so she shouldn't be surprised now to find some of his secrets. She knew nothing about this world while he knew everything. He knew where she had been and how she'd gotten there and even how to best track down Will, given their display back at that college. And she can't feel at all comfortable, with him knowing their connection to Dr. Malone and her now stealing away the knife Carlo so desperately wanted from her.

"All the more reason to lie low," the monkey insisted. "We should stay put until they give up looking for us."

"That will never happen and you know it." Mrs. Coulter's voice was cold now. "They'll never give up. And we need to be ready, which in part means helping Will with the knife."

The knife was indeed, in Mrs. Coulter's eyes, a way out. A way through their unfortunate situation. Maybe it was selfish of her, to view the instrument purely for her own benefit in this way. She knew there was something larger surrounding it, something so grand that even the alethiometer wouldn't tell Lyra as some things just couldn't be shared. But couldn't it help them in the here and now, too? Did everything have to be so purely altruistic at the expense of all utility?

"What about Lyra?" Will asked once he met her outside the door in a new set of clothes.

"What about her?" Mrs. Coulter asked, ushering him down the stairs. It was so early not even Dr. Malone was awake. "She'll be fine here. No need to bother her."

Mrs. Coulter tried her best to be more gentle with him, given the outburst he'd had the day before. Will was young. He was strong and tough in ways she couldn't help but admire, but he was still just a child. He was sensitive in a certain way, too, where he cared about what was happening in the world and wanted to do the right thing. He was like Lyra in that way: determined and pure. They were both so pure that Mrs. Coulter could barely take them in.

"Where are we going?" Will asked once they'd been walking for a few minutes.

"Just here, dear. I found a nice spot this way."

She led the way over to a small little clearing beside the park. It was covered by thick trees but led to a big enough area to move around. The golden monkey jumped out of the bag given the privacy. Will looked around cautiously and carefully before nodding once and then pulling out the knife.

"Right," Mrs. Coulter said, rolling up the sleeve of her creamy beige blouse. "Now, what did the old bearer tell you to do in order to cut through?"

"Calm my mind," Will said aloud, closing his eyes. "Find a center or focus."

"Very well, then." Mrs. Coulter lowered her eyes respectfully as Will spread apart his feet and stood in the grass, his eyes closed and the knife gripped firmly in his right hand. His breathing was slow and even. Steady. Mrs. Coulter assumed he was gaining enough focus now to be ready to do something, whatever that something was.

"Alright," Will said after a while, voice eerily calm. "I think I'm ready."

"Then go ahead, Will." Mrs. Coulter found herself breathless, almost, as she waited for Will to slice into the air. "Concentrate now on what it is you want to cut into."

With a deep breath, Will suddenly moved his hand and stabbed at the air. A thin, small window appeared, about half as big as the one they'd been creeping through between this world and Cittàgazze. Mrs. Coulter came closer to peer into it, the monkey coming to rest on her shoulders.

"Where is it?" she asked him, voice lit with wonder.

"I don't know," Will murmured, gazing curiously at it himself. "I know you have to kind of think about where you want it to be, and I thought of somewhere cold. So it's… A tundra, I suppose."

"What if you wanted to go somewhere warm?" Mrs. Coulter pressed. Will nodded, before closing his eyes again and then tracing the window with the other side of the knife's blade and moving upward. The arctic tundra in front of them vanished, then, and Will closed his eyes once more.

This is incredible, she thought to her daemon as Will slashed at the air again, his eyes closely following every thread and movement he made. Absolutely incredible.

What if he could target specific worlds? the monkey dared ask. Mrs. Coulter gasped at that, and tried to hide her excitement as Will opened up another window this time to a vast and steamy dessert. If he could do that, and specify even specific cities, or places, or coordinates…

"Nice work," she breathed to him, leaning forward again this time to run a quick hand through his already-tousled hair. "Tell me again how you knew to open this?"

So he explained to her, sharing how he cleared his mind and found the center of his attention as if aligning the needle on a compass. It reminded Mrs. Coulter very much of the alethiometer, actually, and the way she'd watched Lyra stare and read the machine as if almost in a trance. Will didn't look quite so escaped from reality, but it was a similar look. She wondered if it was the same kind of mental exercise. It might be useful to ask Lyra to work with Will, too, as perhaps she could help him better hone his focus.

As they continued to talk and practice, Will gaining more confidence in his ability to actually open a window and determine even slightly more precisely where it'd open to, they heard a noise from the tree-veiled entryway. The monkey hid behind Mrs. Coulter as she moved over to Will, edging his knife hand behind his back and putting an arm around his shoulders instinctively.

To their surprise, it was Lyra who peeped over at them, Pan on her shoulder as an orange little kitten.

"Lyra!" Mrs. Coulter let out. The monkey jumped out from behind them, teeth pulled up into a snarl. She didn't know the girl had been awake, let alone actively seeking her out. It worried Mrs. Coulter, for her to be out alone like this. She may have the alethiometer, but she was still a little girl who was very much in danger. And it bothered Mrs. Coulter for Lyra's presence to catch her off guard in the way that it had. Angered her, even.

"I wanted to see what you were up to," Lyra said lightly as she came over to them, completely unfazed. She was wearing a mismatched outfit and her shoes were untied. It was an utter mess.

"You can't just leave like that, Lyra!" Mrs. Coulter scolded. "What if you ran into trouble?"

"I didn't," Lyra countered, coming over to Will now. "So it's fine. How's it going, Will?"

Mrs. Coulter let out a flustered sigh as the two children began to talk now, sharing their thoughts and processes. She's so reckless, Mrs. Coulter fumed, feeling her daemon's tail lash against her ankles. So stubborn.

Now you see what you must be like, the monkey thought to her bitterly. While Mrs. Coulter might in another context be warmed at the connection and at his acknowledgement of their shared characteristics, now she only felt annoyed. It was getting in the way now, Lyra's steadfast nature. It was dangerous. It was harmful.

This is why we shouldn't listen to her like we do, the monkey tried, but Mrs. Coulter wasn't ready to have that conversation yet. She was frustrated with Lyra and disapproved of her behavior in this moment, but it didn't meant she was going to completely discount her. And she had just been thinking about how mutually beneficial it might be for the two to work together, so it wasn't the worst surprise she'd even had.

"You have to think about it while not thinking about it," Lyra was saying to Will. "The trick is not to push it too hard."

"Okay," he said, closing his eyes again and bracing himself from another try at it. The window he produced was bigger now, and the two exchanged excited glances. They kept at it, Will opening then closing and opening then closing with Lyra peering over at his work curiously yet wisely.

As they worked, Mrs. Coulter and her daemon heard another noise from the entryway. They weren't thinking too much about it in their current frustration, so they gave it a cursory glance and then looked away again, focusing again on the children. They heard another noise then, however, and looked back toward the source.

Two men dressed in dark black clothing strolled through the opening then-both bald and grinning very widely at her. Mrs. Coulter felt her face drop and the monkey rush over to her as they approached, spread just far enough apart from her to be able to catch her any which way she'd run.

"Well, well, well," said Carlo, his voice a light hiss like his daemon's as he looked not only at Marisa but also at Lyra and Will a couple feet or so away. Father MacPhail's face was set in a familiar frown intensified by the bulging of a vein on his neck. "We've finally tracked you down, my dear Marisa. Is this how you'd planned on giving me my knife? I really wish you would have been more particular about it. And our friend here says the Magisterium has some questions for you as well."