Lyra turned to the captain, and he paused. The two stared at each other momentarily, and Lyra blurted out, "Why?"
The captain laughed, slowly climbing the steps. "I'd like to meet this man, he must be quite interesting if he could father you. And I want to find out why you were in the Arctic, and most importantly, I want to ensure you find your parents." The captain soon caught up to her, and the smile fell from her face.
"Promise not to slow me down?" Lyra asked. The captain nodded, and Lyra grinned. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."
"It was my pleasure," the captain said.
"Now let's go see my dad!" Lyra shouted, bolting up the steps. She hurried through the double doors, running off and hiding in the anthropology exhibit. The captain, meanwhile, found himself standing on the steps, too old to keep up with Lyra. He slowly walked to the doors, hoping to find her.
Lyra peered at the exhibit, looking over every little detail. She had come to the museum before, and found old skulls with great amounts of Dust on them. Lyra looked for those skulls, and was delighted to see that they had not moved in the nearly four years since she had been there. She looked around, then walked over and sat in a dark corner.
Pantalaimon crawled out of Lyra's old pack, crawling onto her lap. "What do we do now?" he asked. "Because I would really like to know how we plan to free Will."
Lyra shrugged, looking at the pine marten in her lap. "Pan, you know I haven't thought that far ahead."
"You never do," he grinned.
Lyra pulled out the little velvet sac, then her alethiometer. She twirled around the little knobs, and waited for the answer. How can I free Will? The needle swung itself round and round. She looked at each of the symbols, and then tried to interpret the answer.
She couldn't.
~*~
"Tell me where the glove is!" the man spat. He was tall and bulky, very muscular. He may have been dressed completely in black, Will couldn't tell if it was the man's clothes or if he was simply bathed in shadows.
Will leaned his head down, collecting his breath. He had been brought down to the sewers recently, and now was tied to a sewage drain. He lifted his head and looked at where he guessed the mans face to be in the shadows, and said, "I told you! I don't know what you are talking about!"
The man smacked Will across the face, which would probably wind up into another bruise. "Quit playing stupid with me, boy!"
"I told you!" Will shouted. He wasn't that loud, however, for days of crying for help had made his throat soar, and he has nearly lost his voice. "I don't know of any glove!"
The man sighed, then leaned down. Although he couldn't see the features clearly, it was one of the first times Will could see his face in the dim light. The man licked his lips, eager for what came next. He hissed, "I've had enough of your games, you foolish boy."
And then Will found himself being untied. His hands fell free, the ropes taken away. He rubbed his wrists, raw from trying to escape from the rope. Will felt arms being wrapped around him, and as the man lifted the weakened teenager over his shoulder, Will found himself wishing for the first time that he was still tied to the sewage drain.
~*~
Lyra looked at Pantalaimon, obviously scared. "Pan!" she cried. "I can't read the alethiometer anymore! I lost it again!"
Pan looked up at her, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Are you sure?"
Lyra nodded. "I couldn't read the answer! And, we haven't seen Xaphania recently, what if we don't see her again? We won't get to the window, and we'll be stuck here forever, while Will is kidnapped, and we'll get deathly sick, Pan! Deathly sick!"
Pan shook his head. "No, no! Maybe it was a complicated answer! Here, try this question. 'Will we ever see Xaphania again?' That should be simple, we'll know if you still have it!"
Lyra nodded, and twisted the knobs. She went into her trance, and Pantalaimon grinned. That was a good sign. When he saw Lyra grin, he knew that she hadn't lost it. She said, "The alethiometer said, 'You must choose your own path, and the decisions you make will effect whether or not you see Xaphania!' I can read it, Pan! I can read it!"
Pan grinned nervously, trying not to show his thoughts. 'We may never see Xaphania again, and if we don't see her, then we can't get to the window, and-' Unfortunately, Lyra and her dæmon could always tell what one another was thinking.
"We gotta be careful, Pan," Lyra said.
He nodded, finishing with, "We have to make all our decisions carefully."
The two sat in silence a moment, and then Lyra said, "My first decision is to find Will."
Pantalaimon looked up at her, agreeing. "It's what we came here for, right?"
Twisting the alethiometer's knobs, Lyra asked, How do I get into the tunnels where Will is being held?
~*~
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Pantalaimon asked from his place in Lyra's pack.
"It's what the alethiometer said. 'Through the sharks, and then through remains of creatures long dead. Near the king is a hidden door, leading to storage."
"Why storage?" Pantalaimon hissed.
"Storage is underground," Lyra responded. "Of course, it is going to lead into the tunnels."
Pantalaimon muttered something about no longer liking the alethiometer and what it leads to, but soon stopped to look at the massive skeleton in the air above him, suspended from wires. He looked at the plaque on the wall, finding immense interest in the dinosaur remains. "We are in the remains of creatures long dead part," he hissed. "Now go find that stupid king of yours."
Lyra hissed for him to be quiet, and then looked for a doorway to another exhibit. There was none. "Pan," she said. "It's a dead end. We are at the end of the hall, there is no exhibit with a king!"
Her dæmon ignored her, choosing to spend his time reading the plaques. "Triceratops," he read, peeking out of the backpack and gazing at the bones. "Three-horned-"
"Pan, please." Lyra looked around the room, and then added, "A little help would be nice."
Pantalaimon looked at her indignantly, silently hopping out of the pack. He landed on the ground, then gazed at the tremendous structure before him. A gigantic skeleton was battling another, one with a large head with long, sharp teeth, and the other with a long neck. Pantalaimon leapt onto a pedestal carrying their names. "The Diplodocus," he read. "Although it was simply an herbivore, it stood a great chance of success when battling the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"Pan," Lyra hissed to her pack. "Do you see a king anywhere?"
Silence.
Lyra turned, realizing her dæmon had left her pack. She sighed, looking around for him. When she saw him, she walked over and picked him up in her arms. "Pan!" she said.
"I found him!" Pan shouted. "I found the king!"
Lyra looked at the tablet, reading what it said. "The Diplodocus. Although it was simply an herbivore, it stood a great chance of success when battling the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex. The T-Rex, a carnivore, was often called 'The King of the Dinosaurs.'"
"Pan! You did it!" Lyra said happily.
"And there," Pantalaimon said, pointing with his snout. "Is the door." Lyra followed the direction he pointed in, and saw a small hatch in the corner of the floor. The two hurried over to the door, hoisting it up. Ensuring that no one was watching, they dropped down, into the darkness of the basement.
~*~
Lyra crept through the dark, trying to move without making any noise. She hid behind the shelves, carrying labeled specimens that had not made it into the museum displays. She found some of it quite interesting, and thought it a pity that the museum had not put them up.
A desk lamp shone through some gaps in the shelves, and Lyra was able to concentrate on reading the alethiometer. Pantalaimon went to make sure no one was coming. Lyra twisted the knobs, asking, Where can I find Will?
Go by the shelves until you reach some steps. They wind down, leading into the tunnels. Turn left, and follow the path.
Lyra committed the directions to memory, then called Pantalaimon. He scurried over to her, and the two walked down the shelves. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Lyra and Pan came to a door. They slowly pushed it open, and found steps winding down, in a circular pattern.
"Let's go," Lyra said to her dæmon, and they pushed through the darkness, down the steps. Lyra eventually found her footing on the ground, and the two set off down the left portion of the tunnel.
They didn't say a word for fear of being heard by the kidnapper, they simply followed the dark tunnel. Along the walls were lights, but they were few and far apart, so they didn't help much. They were also incredibly dim.
Soon, the two came to an fork in the tunnel. They could turn left, right, or head straight. Lyra looked down each of them, then pulled out her alethiometer. She tried to twist the knobs, and Pantalaimon could see she was getting frustrated.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's the alethiometer, Pan. I used to know where all the symbols were and everything, but I have forgotten that. And Xaphania didn't give me that ability back. Plus, it's too dark for me to see where the symbols are. We'll have to backtrack to one of the lights." Lyra and Pan both sighed, and then started down the dark tunnel.
Before they could get to a light, Pan froze. "Wait," he said. "Do you hear that?"
In the silence that followed, Lyra strained to hear what Pan was listening for. And then she heard it. Someone - or something - was coming toward them in the pitch black!
The captain laughed, slowly climbing the steps. "I'd like to meet this man, he must be quite interesting if he could father you. And I want to find out why you were in the Arctic, and most importantly, I want to ensure you find your parents." The captain soon caught up to her, and the smile fell from her face.
"Promise not to slow me down?" Lyra asked. The captain nodded, and Lyra grinned. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."
"It was my pleasure," the captain said.
"Now let's go see my dad!" Lyra shouted, bolting up the steps. She hurried through the double doors, running off and hiding in the anthropology exhibit. The captain, meanwhile, found himself standing on the steps, too old to keep up with Lyra. He slowly walked to the doors, hoping to find her.
Lyra peered at the exhibit, looking over every little detail. She had come to the museum before, and found old skulls with great amounts of Dust on them. Lyra looked for those skulls, and was delighted to see that they had not moved in the nearly four years since she had been there. She looked around, then walked over and sat in a dark corner.
Pantalaimon crawled out of Lyra's old pack, crawling onto her lap. "What do we do now?" he asked. "Because I would really like to know how we plan to free Will."
Lyra shrugged, looking at the pine marten in her lap. "Pan, you know I haven't thought that far ahead."
"You never do," he grinned.
Lyra pulled out the little velvet sac, then her alethiometer. She twirled around the little knobs, and waited for the answer. How can I free Will? The needle swung itself round and round. She looked at each of the symbols, and then tried to interpret the answer.
She couldn't.
~*~
"Tell me where the glove is!" the man spat. He was tall and bulky, very muscular. He may have been dressed completely in black, Will couldn't tell if it was the man's clothes or if he was simply bathed in shadows.
Will leaned his head down, collecting his breath. He had been brought down to the sewers recently, and now was tied to a sewage drain. He lifted his head and looked at where he guessed the mans face to be in the shadows, and said, "I told you! I don't know what you are talking about!"
The man smacked Will across the face, which would probably wind up into another bruise. "Quit playing stupid with me, boy!"
"I told you!" Will shouted. He wasn't that loud, however, for days of crying for help had made his throat soar, and he has nearly lost his voice. "I don't know of any glove!"
The man sighed, then leaned down. Although he couldn't see the features clearly, it was one of the first times Will could see his face in the dim light. The man licked his lips, eager for what came next. He hissed, "I've had enough of your games, you foolish boy."
And then Will found himself being untied. His hands fell free, the ropes taken away. He rubbed his wrists, raw from trying to escape from the rope. Will felt arms being wrapped around him, and as the man lifted the weakened teenager over his shoulder, Will found himself wishing for the first time that he was still tied to the sewage drain.
~*~
Lyra looked at Pantalaimon, obviously scared. "Pan!" she cried. "I can't read the alethiometer anymore! I lost it again!"
Pan looked up at her, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Are you sure?"
Lyra nodded. "I couldn't read the answer! And, we haven't seen Xaphania recently, what if we don't see her again? We won't get to the window, and we'll be stuck here forever, while Will is kidnapped, and we'll get deathly sick, Pan! Deathly sick!"
Pan shook his head. "No, no! Maybe it was a complicated answer! Here, try this question. 'Will we ever see Xaphania again?' That should be simple, we'll know if you still have it!"
Lyra nodded, and twisted the knobs. She went into her trance, and Pantalaimon grinned. That was a good sign. When he saw Lyra grin, he knew that she hadn't lost it. She said, "The alethiometer said, 'You must choose your own path, and the decisions you make will effect whether or not you see Xaphania!' I can read it, Pan! I can read it!"
Pan grinned nervously, trying not to show his thoughts. 'We may never see Xaphania again, and if we don't see her, then we can't get to the window, and-' Unfortunately, Lyra and her dæmon could always tell what one another was thinking.
"We gotta be careful, Pan," Lyra said.
He nodded, finishing with, "We have to make all our decisions carefully."
The two sat in silence a moment, and then Lyra said, "My first decision is to find Will."
Pantalaimon looked up at her, agreeing. "It's what we came here for, right?"
Twisting the alethiometer's knobs, Lyra asked, How do I get into the tunnels where Will is being held?
~*~
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Pantalaimon asked from his place in Lyra's pack.
"It's what the alethiometer said. 'Through the sharks, and then through remains of creatures long dead. Near the king is a hidden door, leading to storage."
"Why storage?" Pantalaimon hissed.
"Storage is underground," Lyra responded. "Of course, it is going to lead into the tunnels."
Pantalaimon muttered something about no longer liking the alethiometer and what it leads to, but soon stopped to look at the massive skeleton in the air above him, suspended from wires. He looked at the plaque on the wall, finding immense interest in the dinosaur remains. "We are in the remains of creatures long dead part," he hissed. "Now go find that stupid king of yours."
Lyra hissed for him to be quiet, and then looked for a doorway to another exhibit. There was none. "Pan," she said. "It's a dead end. We are at the end of the hall, there is no exhibit with a king!"
Her dæmon ignored her, choosing to spend his time reading the plaques. "Triceratops," he read, peeking out of the backpack and gazing at the bones. "Three-horned-"
"Pan, please." Lyra looked around the room, and then added, "A little help would be nice."
Pantalaimon looked at her indignantly, silently hopping out of the pack. He landed on the ground, then gazed at the tremendous structure before him. A gigantic skeleton was battling another, one with a large head with long, sharp teeth, and the other with a long neck. Pantalaimon leapt onto a pedestal carrying their names. "The Diplodocus," he read. "Although it was simply an herbivore, it stood a great chance of success when battling the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"Pan," Lyra hissed to her pack. "Do you see a king anywhere?"
Silence.
Lyra turned, realizing her dæmon had left her pack. She sighed, looking around for him. When she saw him, she walked over and picked him up in her arms. "Pan!" she said.
"I found him!" Pan shouted. "I found the king!"
Lyra looked at the tablet, reading what it said. "The Diplodocus. Although it was simply an herbivore, it stood a great chance of success when battling the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex. The T-Rex, a carnivore, was often called 'The King of the Dinosaurs.'"
"Pan! You did it!" Lyra said happily.
"And there," Pantalaimon said, pointing with his snout. "Is the door." Lyra followed the direction he pointed in, and saw a small hatch in the corner of the floor. The two hurried over to the door, hoisting it up. Ensuring that no one was watching, they dropped down, into the darkness of the basement.
~*~
Lyra crept through the dark, trying to move without making any noise. She hid behind the shelves, carrying labeled specimens that had not made it into the museum displays. She found some of it quite interesting, and thought it a pity that the museum had not put them up.
A desk lamp shone through some gaps in the shelves, and Lyra was able to concentrate on reading the alethiometer. Pantalaimon went to make sure no one was coming. Lyra twisted the knobs, asking, Where can I find Will?
Go by the shelves until you reach some steps. They wind down, leading into the tunnels. Turn left, and follow the path.
Lyra committed the directions to memory, then called Pantalaimon. He scurried over to her, and the two walked down the shelves. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Lyra and Pan came to a door. They slowly pushed it open, and found steps winding down, in a circular pattern.
"Let's go," Lyra said to her dæmon, and they pushed through the darkness, down the steps. Lyra eventually found her footing on the ground, and the two set off down the left portion of the tunnel.
They didn't say a word for fear of being heard by the kidnapper, they simply followed the dark tunnel. Along the walls were lights, but they were few and far apart, so they didn't help much. They were also incredibly dim.
Soon, the two came to an fork in the tunnel. They could turn left, right, or head straight. Lyra looked down each of them, then pulled out her alethiometer. She tried to twist the knobs, and Pantalaimon could see she was getting frustrated.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's the alethiometer, Pan. I used to know where all the symbols were and everything, but I have forgotten that. And Xaphania didn't give me that ability back. Plus, it's too dark for me to see where the symbols are. We'll have to backtrack to one of the lights." Lyra and Pan both sighed, and then started down the dark tunnel.
Before they could get to a light, Pan froze. "Wait," he said. "Do you hear that?"
In the silence that followed, Lyra strained to hear what Pan was listening for. And then she heard it. Someone - or something - was coming toward them in the pitch black!