Nakaros

Chapter One: The Girl with the Daemon.



Will walked down the wet tarmac road leading to the local market. There were puddles of slush left from the snow that had fallen heavily the previous day. His daemon, Kirjava, who had the form of a cat, skirted around them .Like all cats she hated to get her feet wet. Will picked her up and put her onto a low wall aside him where she could walk without getting her feet wet. Only 8 months had gone by since he had said goodbye to Lyra Silvertounge in the Botanic Garden, but so many things had changed that it seemed much longer. The 13-year-old old shook his head in disbelief when he thought of all that had happened. His mother was getting better day by day, and although she still sometimes got afraid, he was always there to help her, as was their mutual friend Mary Malone. Mary had actually been fined heavily for smashing up the equipment in the lab, but before she had to pay up a letter had been sent to her, saying that she didn't have to pay after all, and that the person who issued that command was now facing charges of misconduct.

He wandered around the market, not particularly interested in what the triumphant shop owners were brandishing in front of him. A group of boys his age were playing football, (AN: Soccer to all you Americans) and they shouted at him, asking him to join them. He paused, undecided, but then hurried over to them.

"Great!" shouted Dan enthusiastically. "Now we can play five-a-side!"

As he walked over to them, he heard a loud crash of something tipping over, and a shout of 'stop, thief!' Interested, Will looked around. There was a loud commotion at the other side of the square. One stall, owned by an old man who was notorious for his hatred of children, seemed to have tipped over. Chocolate bars and apples fell on the floor. It's owner was brandishing his stick and was shouting angrily. Suddenly a girl with long (but not very long) brunette hair darted out from the chaos, and started running down a street. She clutched a chocolate bar in her hand triumphantly. Will stopped and stared. Surely he wasn't seeing what he thought he was seeing? A blood-red squirrel scampered along beside her, looking around to see where to escape the angry crowds and indignant owner. She looked over her shoulder to see the stall manager following her, so suddenly, with practiced ease, she turned round and fled into a dark alley. The old man ran a few paces more, then gave up, gasping and wheezing for breathe. "Kids these days!" he snorted. 'No respect!" then he shuffled back to his overturned stall.

Will stood undecided at the mouth of the alleyway. There was something he had caught a glimpse of, something he hadn't seen for eight months, the rebel, cheeky Lyra. Kirjava looked at him. He looked at her. Then, they turned and ran through the alleyway.

Up ahead he could see the dark outlines of two creatures resting behind a pile of boxes. A girl, and a bat. Whatever doubt had been in his mind quickly left. He knew that the mysterious brunette was from Lyra's world. Taking a deep breath, he walked up the alleyway.



AN: Sorry for the first chapter being so short! I think the next one will be longer.