Somewhere Out There

Chapter Three - The Window

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. :)

His jacket flung over his shoulders and one hand stuffed in his pants pocket, Will walked down the moonlit street with his dæmon, whistling Heigh-Ho from a Disney movie he remembered as a child. His date hadn't gone well; he never had any luck with girls, but he didn't particularly care. He wasn't really interested in finding someone to settle down with. He was still young, he had plenty of time.

"Look," said Kirjava suddenly, interrupting his hymn.

Will looked up and found himself at the corner of Mary's street. It was only ten and most houses were still lit and awake, but Mary's was too far down for him to tell. "Do you think we should stop by?" he asked. "See what's the matter?"

Without an answer, Kirjava began toddling down the street towards Mary's flat.

Mary walked into the kitchen to fix herself some coffee, still considerably anxious by the knife that hadn't move from her dining room table. Her hands shook as she added sugar and cream, and upon hearing a knock at the door, she dropped the carton altogether.

"Oh no," she groaned, grabbing a hand towel and trying to wipe up the mess. Another knock reminded her that she had a visitor and she called, "Come in!"

"Mary?"

A familiar face appeared from behind the door, a cat purring at his feet.

"Oh, Will!" she cried in relief. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Will nodded, closing the door behind him. "We thought we'd stop by, we were really worried by your phone call earlier."

"Sorry," she apologized, turning back to the mess on the floor. "I was just a little stressed."

"About what?"

She finished cleaning the cream and picked the rag up, throwing it in the sink. With one hand on her hip, and staring at her white counter as if it fascinated her, Mary said quietly but simply, "The knife."

The knife…

"What?" Lyra looked up from the book she was reading. "Pan, did you say something?"

Pantalaimon had been resting sleepily in her lap but he had uncurled before she even spoke, his head risen high in the air, his ears perked. "No, but did you hear that?"

"You heard it too?"

"It sounded like…" He trailed off and Lyra knew he was going to say Mary; they hadn't liked speaking willingly aloud about her or Will since Lyra had started seeing Collin, and Pan squirmed squeamishly in her arms.

"Yes, I know," Lyra soothed. "We were probably just hearing things…"

She settled back again and continued her book, but Pantalaimon was uneasy for the rest of the night.

"The knife," Will gasped when Mary had led him to it. It was shining even brighter than when Mary had first discovered it several hours ago and reflected so brightly it made luminous shadows dance across his face as he leaned towards it.

"Well?" Mary asked after he had examined it, prodding it gently, feeling the surface, turning it back and forth.

"Well nothing," he shrugged, though he looked nervously away from her. "It seems completely normal besides the fact that it's glowing. If you don't mind, I'm going to get a glass of water."

"But don't you think you should look at it more? Something? Anything?" Mary pestered.

Will shook his head and walked towards the kitchen but Kirjava didn't move; feeling her hesitation, Will moved back towards the table, and Mary suddenly noticed the solemn look on his face.

"What is it?" said Mary. Will's face had gone gray and he couldn't speak, so Kirjava explained for him.

"Will feels the atoms. They are active, willing… and perfectly capable." She didn't say of what but instead turned to Will. He was staring at the knife and after a moment or so, put out his hand on her fur as if to draw some courage from her silky fleece. Knowing what he was thinking, Kirjava spoke once more:

"Yes, Will. You know you have to."

Mary had gone whiter than paper and Will looked up to see her dæmon quivering more than she. The bird was slightly transparent because Will still had trouble focusing such that he could see other's dæmons, but enough to know that they were incredibly worried.

Slowly, Will bent down and picked up a broken piece of the knife: the very tip. It seemed heavier than he remembered, and at first the metal appeared alien in his hand. But adjusting it just so, he found it seemed more at home in his fingers than anything else ever had been.

"I don't think this is a good idea," he said shakily.

"We need to know, Will," Mary said, her voice a mere squeak.

Will turned back to the knife-tip. The colors were glowing and swirling across the sheen surface and Kirjava inched closer for a better look. "Hurry, Will," she purred.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. But the feeling of the familiar metal in his hands was overpowering and an image of Lyra came to him, and he knew that even after all those years he could not cut through his love for her. She sat in a field of grass, pushing her hair behind her ears and bending over the golden alethiometer, all her concentration focused on the instrument in her hands.

Mary knew instantly what he saw when a smile grazed his face and he looked sad and distant. "Don't, Will," she chided gently. "This isn't the time to be thinking about her."

"Sorry," Will muttered, shaking his head. He inhaled and exhaled several times to keep calm, trying to direct himself completely to that little point at the end of the knife.

Expecting to be out of practice or have even forgotten, he was surprised that by his third try he found every fiber of his deliberation exactly where he had meant for it to be. So surprised, in fact, that the piece of the knife fell to the floor and he lost the concentration.

"I'm so nervous," he sighed, falling back onto the couch and running his shaky hands through his hair. "I just… I-I just don't think this is necessary."

"It is," said Mary, taking a seat beside him. "We need to know what the knife can do again, if anything. Our next step after that will be easier, I promise."

Will rubbed his face, gradually becoming aware that he was exhausted and wanted nothing more but to go home and go to bed. But he had his obligation to attend to first…

"I'm ready." He stood and picked up the slice of knife, holding it carefully between his fingertips. He was aware of Mary sitting behind him, breathing heavily; of Kirjava on the table, watching the knife almost expectantly; of his racing heart and shallow breathing; but most of all, of that tiny metal in his hand that brought him the love of his life and ruthlessly took her away.

"Don't think of her," Kirjava added and Will nodded, closing his eyes tightly and trying to concentrate.

Minutes passed. Mary watched with wide eyes as he stood entirely still, even his dæmon didn't move a hair. His concentration radiated off of him and she felt the strength and willpower he was gathering and directing towards the very tip, and just when she thought nothing was going to happen--that's when she heard it. The small tinkling of water.

Mary stood in a flash. Will's eyes were still closed and he was grimacing, as if afraid to see what he had done, and soon she found out why. Moving to the side, a stone fountain came into view and Jordan College loomed in the dark behind it.

A window leading into Lyra's world was hanging in the middle of her living room.

A/N: Okay this doesn't mean Will is going to run to Lyra and they'll live happily ever after… I don't even know if he is going to see Lyra again. It depends. I thought I knew what I was going to do, (Will and Lyra wouldn't meet again) but it seems like some of you want them to get together. So…? What do you guys want me to do?