Meanwhile, Kyrie and Linder were walking steadily towards Rider's
Falls. Khan bounded ahead along the dirt trail through the woods as a
small mountain lion, energetic with freedom.
"Why did you want to come?" Kyrie inquired curiously.
"I got bored, for one," Linder said, laughing. "But really, I felt something pulling at me, like… I dunno… like I'm supposed to come with you. Especially cause of the pairs."
"What do you mean by 'cause of the pairs'?"
Linder ruffled his light hair. "Like, your mum and Will. They were a pair. And so were Adam and Eve. And Baruch and Balthamos, Lyra must have told you about them."
Kyrie frowned; she was sure she had never heard the names before.
Her companion looked surprised. "They were angels, best friends, that helped Will find Lyra when she was in the cave with Mrs. Coulter."
"It's strange how you know so much about my life and my parents' lives," Kyrie said quietly. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her heart. "Khan!" She gasped, and ran a little ways down the trail, where Khan, as a wolf, bared his teeth and snarled at the huge, shimmering outline of a man in front of him. "Stop it!" Kyrie yelled at the angel, who was curling his lip in disgust at Khan, making bored efforts to hurt the daemon.
Lyra had told Kyrie once about angels, and her mother's words flashed through her head now. "Angels are merely age-old, wise spirits. They are powerful, but they can be hurt or killed, just like mortals. Some are rebels, some are associated with the Church, but they all desire one thing: a body."
"Stop it," Kyrie repeated desperately as the angel attempted to grab Khan. He snapped at the hand, snarled, and crouched low. "Go ahead," Kyrie cried wordlessly at her daemon, infuriated with the angel's scornful manner, ready to bite him herself but recognizing that it would be useless.
Khan understood that Kyrie was supporting him, and sprang at the angel's throat at the same time Blaise dove to scratch at his eyes. With a resounding yell, the angel shook off the animals and leapt into the skies, vanishing almost instantly.
Khan dashed to Kyrie and jumped into her arms, transforming rapidly into an ocelot, shaking, and Kyrie cuddled him, held him close. "I wouldn't have held out alone," Khan whispered.
Upset, Kyrie turned to Linder, who was soothing Blaise, hiding her fright so that he wouldn't think she was easily scared. "Where do you think the angel went?"
Linder narrowed his eyes. "I en't certain, but I bet he's going to go tell the Church where we are. We better get to the window soon."
They trudged on, apprehensive, watching for more danger, but none came. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees towering over them, the river a little ways off flowed gently, and night descended on the woods. It became too dark to walk any farther, and Linder and Kyrie settled for the night, each under their own blanket.
"You don't act thirteen," Linder murmured as they lay on the warm earth.
"I've had to grow up fast," the girl returned sleepily, Khan curled next to her as a small bear. "How old are you, anyways?"
"Fifteen," Linder answered.
"When did your daemon settle?"
"Not long ago. I think a month or two," the boy replied. "I didn't want her to be a hawk for a while, I thought I'd rather have a tiger or something like that. But I guess the gyptian in me took over."
Kyrie raised her head. "You said you were only half gyptian?"
Linder sighed. "My dad told me that my mum died when I was a baby, I en't sure how. He never wanted to talk about her, but she wasn't a gyptian." He longed for a mother, but he had never let anyone know about the emptiness he felt. He had to be strong.
"What was she, then?" Kyrie asked carefully, interested but aware of the prince's discomfort.
"I… I dunno," he said, confused.
Kyrie snuggled closer to Khan and closed her eyes. "It's okay." They lay in silence until sleep overtook them.
Sunlight spattered the ground and invaded Kyrie's peaceful slumber. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, tumbling her chagrined daemon to the ground. He became a porcupine, bursting out in quills in annoyance at his sleep being disturbed so abruptly.
"Oh, get off your high horse, Khan," Kyrie laughed.
"It isn't a pleasant way to be woken up," Khan returned haughtily. Linder was nowhere around, so Kyrie got out a chocolate bar and devoured half of it hungrily before he returned, his firm torso tanned and gleaming wet as he put on his shirt.
He shook his head vigorously to clear it of water and grinned. "Hey," he greeted her. "I just swam quickly before you woke up. Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Kyrie said, and they started off, Khan waddling behind until he became a robin and flew with Blaise, soaring in the warm, fresh breeze. The two daemons were soon engaged in conversation while their humans walked without a word, too distracted by Blaise and Khan's chatter to talk to each other.
By mid-afternoon, the roaring of the Falls could be heard in the distance. As the sun began to sink on the horizon, Kyrie and Linder had reached the monstrous waterfall, and hopped cautiously from stone to stone across the churning water to reach the cave behind it.
"There en't nothing here," Linder said despairingly, but Kyrie shook her head and walked around the small space, emitting a gasp of surprise as she found herself looking through a waist-high square into another world.
Immediately, she crawled through, leaving Linder blinking in astonishment, as all of a sudden she was gone. But soon he joined her, looking around in wonder. They were standing in a park by a small pond, people hurriedly passing by on the sidewalk, buildings rising on all sides.
"That's a car!" Kyrie exclaimed eagerly. Lyra had told her about cars once, turning her adventures in other worlds into bedtime stories for her young daughter.
Warily, Kyrie crossed the road with Linder, almost laughing in delight at the new sights. She remembered that her mother had told her that in her father's world, no one had daemons, but nothing prepared her for the shock of seeing living people without the accompanying animal forms.
"Girls wear trousers here," Linder observed, watching a pretty brunette walk by until Kyrie scolded him, amused. "Where does your father live?"
"I dunno," the girl replied, feeling out of place in her plaid school skirt and disoriented with not knowing where she was. She fumbled in her bag and brought out the alethiometer. Linder watched, interested, as she slipped into a subconscious world and twisted the knobs. "He lives in flat A2 of that apartment building," she announced after she fell back to reality, preparing to walk in the door.
Linder grabbed her arm. "You can't just barge in there!" He exclaimed.
Kyrie's eyes flashed. "Why not?"
Linder shook his head. "They'll have doormen and such and they'll want to know why you're there. What are you supposed to say? 'Well, I'm going to go see my father, but he doesn't know he has a daughter yet, because I've been living in another world all my life.' It en't going to work."
Kyrie rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous," she returned, giving the evil eye to a passerby who stared incredulously at the hawk on Linder's shoulder. Khan was again a mouse in her pocket, so they were indistinguishable from any other person in this world. She pushed through the revolving door and right past the doorman, who rushed up and politely tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, miss, but I don't believe I've seen you here before," he said meaningfully.
Wiping her face of all expression except for complete innocence, Kyrie smiled. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself, but I'm in such a hurry. I'm in town only for a little while, and I invited my uncle to come see a play with me that starts in half an hour. I'm dreadfully late, so if you'll excuse me and my brother?" she asked gently but firmly, taking charge of the situation and smiling kindly at the doorman, and hurried Linder through and into the elevator.
They reached the flat and rang the doorbell several times, but no one was there. Unperturbed, Kyrie drew a bobby pin out of her bag and set to work on the lock. With a satisfyingly click, the door swung open and a devastating scene met their eyes.
Will Parry, bearer of the Subtle Knife, son of Stanislaus Grumman, Adam, Father of All, brave, confident, loving, and passionate, and twenty-seven years old, lay dead on the floor in his living room.
"Why did you want to come?" Kyrie inquired curiously.
"I got bored, for one," Linder said, laughing. "But really, I felt something pulling at me, like… I dunno… like I'm supposed to come with you. Especially cause of the pairs."
"What do you mean by 'cause of the pairs'?"
Linder ruffled his light hair. "Like, your mum and Will. They were a pair. And so were Adam and Eve. And Baruch and Balthamos, Lyra must have told you about them."
Kyrie frowned; she was sure she had never heard the names before.
Her companion looked surprised. "They were angels, best friends, that helped Will find Lyra when she was in the cave with Mrs. Coulter."
"It's strange how you know so much about my life and my parents' lives," Kyrie said quietly. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her heart. "Khan!" She gasped, and ran a little ways down the trail, where Khan, as a wolf, bared his teeth and snarled at the huge, shimmering outline of a man in front of him. "Stop it!" Kyrie yelled at the angel, who was curling his lip in disgust at Khan, making bored efforts to hurt the daemon.
Lyra had told Kyrie once about angels, and her mother's words flashed through her head now. "Angels are merely age-old, wise spirits. They are powerful, but they can be hurt or killed, just like mortals. Some are rebels, some are associated with the Church, but they all desire one thing: a body."
"Stop it," Kyrie repeated desperately as the angel attempted to grab Khan. He snapped at the hand, snarled, and crouched low. "Go ahead," Kyrie cried wordlessly at her daemon, infuriated with the angel's scornful manner, ready to bite him herself but recognizing that it would be useless.
Khan understood that Kyrie was supporting him, and sprang at the angel's throat at the same time Blaise dove to scratch at his eyes. With a resounding yell, the angel shook off the animals and leapt into the skies, vanishing almost instantly.
Khan dashed to Kyrie and jumped into her arms, transforming rapidly into an ocelot, shaking, and Kyrie cuddled him, held him close. "I wouldn't have held out alone," Khan whispered.
Upset, Kyrie turned to Linder, who was soothing Blaise, hiding her fright so that he wouldn't think she was easily scared. "Where do you think the angel went?"
Linder narrowed his eyes. "I en't certain, but I bet he's going to go tell the Church where we are. We better get to the window soon."
They trudged on, apprehensive, watching for more danger, but none came. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees towering over them, the river a little ways off flowed gently, and night descended on the woods. It became too dark to walk any farther, and Linder and Kyrie settled for the night, each under their own blanket.
"You don't act thirteen," Linder murmured as they lay on the warm earth.
"I've had to grow up fast," the girl returned sleepily, Khan curled next to her as a small bear. "How old are you, anyways?"
"Fifteen," Linder answered.
"When did your daemon settle?"
"Not long ago. I think a month or two," the boy replied. "I didn't want her to be a hawk for a while, I thought I'd rather have a tiger or something like that. But I guess the gyptian in me took over."
Kyrie raised her head. "You said you were only half gyptian?"
Linder sighed. "My dad told me that my mum died when I was a baby, I en't sure how. He never wanted to talk about her, but she wasn't a gyptian." He longed for a mother, but he had never let anyone know about the emptiness he felt. He had to be strong.
"What was she, then?" Kyrie asked carefully, interested but aware of the prince's discomfort.
"I… I dunno," he said, confused.
Kyrie snuggled closer to Khan and closed her eyes. "It's okay." They lay in silence until sleep overtook them.
Sunlight spattered the ground and invaded Kyrie's peaceful slumber. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, tumbling her chagrined daemon to the ground. He became a porcupine, bursting out in quills in annoyance at his sleep being disturbed so abruptly.
"Oh, get off your high horse, Khan," Kyrie laughed.
"It isn't a pleasant way to be woken up," Khan returned haughtily. Linder was nowhere around, so Kyrie got out a chocolate bar and devoured half of it hungrily before he returned, his firm torso tanned and gleaming wet as he put on his shirt.
He shook his head vigorously to clear it of water and grinned. "Hey," he greeted her. "I just swam quickly before you woke up. Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Kyrie said, and they started off, Khan waddling behind until he became a robin and flew with Blaise, soaring in the warm, fresh breeze. The two daemons were soon engaged in conversation while their humans walked without a word, too distracted by Blaise and Khan's chatter to talk to each other.
By mid-afternoon, the roaring of the Falls could be heard in the distance. As the sun began to sink on the horizon, Kyrie and Linder had reached the monstrous waterfall, and hopped cautiously from stone to stone across the churning water to reach the cave behind it.
"There en't nothing here," Linder said despairingly, but Kyrie shook her head and walked around the small space, emitting a gasp of surprise as she found herself looking through a waist-high square into another world.
Immediately, she crawled through, leaving Linder blinking in astonishment, as all of a sudden she was gone. But soon he joined her, looking around in wonder. They were standing in a park by a small pond, people hurriedly passing by on the sidewalk, buildings rising on all sides.
"That's a car!" Kyrie exclaimed eagerly. Lyra had told her about cars once, turning her adventures in other worlds into bedtime stories for her young daughter.
Warily, Kyrie crossed the road with Linder, almost laughing in delight at the new sights. She remembered that her mother had told her that in her father's world, no one had daemons, but nothing prepared her for the shock of seeing living people without the accompanying animal forms.
"Girls wear trousers here," Linder observed, watching a pretty brunette walk by until Kyrie scolded him, amused. "Where does your father live?"
"I dunno," the girl replied, feeling out of place in her plaid school skirt and disoriented with not knowing where she was. She fumbled in her bag and brought out the alethiometer. Linder watched, interested, as she slipped into a subconscious world and twisted the knobs. "He lives in flat A2 of that apartment building," she announced after she fell back to reality, preparing to walk in the door.
Linder grabbed her arm. "You can't just barge in there!" He exclaimed.
Kyrie's eyes flashed. "Why not?"
Linder shook his head. "They'll have doormen and such and they'll want to know why you're there. What are you supposed to say? 'Well, I'm going to go see my father, but he doesn't know he has a daughter yet, because I've been living in another world all my life.' It en't going to work."
Kyrie rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous," she returned, giving the evil eye to a passerby who stared incredulously at the hawk on Linder's shoulder. Khan was again a mouse in her pocket, so they were indistinguishable from any other person in this world. She pushed through the revolving door and right past the doorman, who rushed up and politely tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, miss, but I don't believe I've seen you here before," he said meaningfully.
Wiping her face of all expression except for complete innocence, Kyrie smiled. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself, but I'm in such a hurry. I'm in town only for a little while, and I invited my uncle to come see a play with me that starts in half an hour. I'm dreadfully late, so if you'll excuse me and my brother?" she asked gently but firmly, taking charge of the situation and smiling kindly at the doorman, and hurried Linder through and into the elevator.
They reached the flat and rang the doorbell several times, but no one was there. Unperturbed, Kyrie drew a bobby pin out of her bag and set to work on the lock. With a satisfyingly click, the door swung open and a devastating scene met their eyes.
Will Parry, bearer of the Subtle Knife, son of Stanislaus Grumman, Adam, Father of All, brave, confident, loving, and passionate, and twenty-seven years old, lay dead on the floor in his living room.