Before you read this, I need to state that do not own Lyra, Will or any of the other characters in this story. His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass and all related characters, concepts, and commercial offspring are the property of Philip Pullman, Scholastic Books, Random House Inc, New Line Cinema and all other right-holders. This is not for profit and is not intended to infringe upon any commercial endeavours.

Mary and Will's Mother, Elaine returned shortly after midday.

Will and Lyra had agreed that in order not to upset his Mother, Lyra would wait in the kitchen. Will would take his Mother into the lounge and then tell Mary to go into the kitchen. Once the emotion of that meeting was over they would introduce Elaine to Lyra.

This proved to be a sensible idea as Mary was at first stunned to see Lyra and then burst into tears, rushing to hug her.

Will sat down with his Mother. He noticed that she had improved again. She seemed totally aware of her surroundings and was able to hold a normal conversation with him.

"You had a good time then Mum?" he asked.

"It was lovely Will. So quiet. We met a few other people walking and just said 'hello' to them. Mary seemed a little worried though, is she alright?"

Will looked at her curiously. It was rare that his Mother picked up on someone else's feelings. "A friend or hers and mine has come to visit Mum. I hope that's OK."

"Of course dear. You must introduce us." She started to get up but Will gestured for to sit down.

"You stay there Mum. You must be tired from the journey. I will bring her in here."

Will went to the kitchen to find the initial shock was over and that Mary was now asking for explanations.

"We have plenty to talk about but it will have to wait. I need to take Lyra to meet Mum." Will interrupted.

Will returned to the lounge with them.

"Mum, this is Lyra. Lyra, this is my Mother."

All of a sudden Lyra felt very shy, but she mastered it and walked forward to shake Elaine's hand.

"So Lyra, are you Will's girlfriend?"

Lyra had not expected such a straight question and nor had Will.

Lyra looked at Will and said, "Yes, I am." Will felt a thrill run through his body. He couldn't remember how often they had told each other "I love you" but to hear Lyra declare it so easily to someone else felt wonderful. As if they were declaring their love to the world.

Will's Mother smiled. "Come and sit down and tell me all about yourself."

Will thought Lyra might need some help with that, but Mary pulled him to one side.

"Have you seen the car outside? How long has it been there?"

"What car?" Now Will felt another feeling course through him. He had been careless and it might have put them at risk

"There's a strange car at the end of the street with two people I don't recognize sitting in it." Mary looked worried. "They must have been watching us all this time, but now that Lyra has re-appeared they have stepped up their presence. How did she get here Will? I know how you must feel but I'm not sure this is for the best."

"We need to decide what to do quickly, but I don't want Mum worried. Let's get her to go and have a lie down in her room so we can make some plans."

But there was no time for that. Kirjava was sitting up at a window facing the front and she called to Will. "A man has got out of the car and is coming up to the door."

"We will have to try and bluff him," said Mary.

Will picked up the subtle knife, safe in it's sheathe, and pushed it into the back of his trousers. The doorbell rang.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," he said confidently. He went into the hall and opened the door. He had never seen the man before, but the man obviously knew him.

"You must be Will Parry. My name is Inspector Malloy. I'd like to come inside to ask some questions."

"You can ask your questions here," replied Will. "My Mother is resting I don't want her to be disturbed."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Just be a good boy and let me in. It isn't your Mother I want to speak to anyway."

"Really?" said Will. "Who is it you want to see?" "Come on now son, don't be difficult," the man smiled confidently.

Will realized the man was simply trying to gather information. He wanted to get inside to check who was actually there and if he could get them to come quietly. Will wanted some information as well. How many men were there? Was it just the one car? Did they know about the Intention Craft? Did they know the knife had been broken or that it had been re-forged? However, he knew he was not going to find the answers to any of those questions even if the man did come in, so he decided that he would not satisfy the man's curiosity.

"Get lost! You haven't even attempted to show me a warrant card. No. Don't bother." He added as the man reached for his wallet. "You're no more a policeman than I am."

The man smiled and walked away with the air of someone who has just lost an insignificant skirmish but knows he is about to win the war.

"We have to leave," he said to Mary. "Lyra has hidden a machine a few miles out of town in a wood. We need to check if it's still there and then we need to get you and Mum to somewhere safe."

Mary stood looking at him as he walked back into the lounge.

"He is taking charge," she thought. On the one hand that thought relieved her but it worried her at the same time. She heard him speaking to Lyra and his Mother.

"We need to go for a short trip in Mary's car. I know you've just come back Mum but we need to go now."

"But I was just getting to know Lyra," Elaine complained.

"We can keep on talking as we go," said Lyra. Picking up on the urgency in Will's face. She hurriedly packed the new clothes she had bought in the blue rucksack and Will quietly slipped the knife in as well.

"There won't be much space in the machine with the two of us, but I think we can fit this in as well," she whispered to him.

Despite the situation Will was amused at the thought that Lyra was so reluctant to leave behind her shopping. Then it dawned on him that if he as going to leave with Lyra and there was only room for two of them in the machine then they were quickly going have to come up with a plan to keep his Mother and Mary safe.

Lyra looked at him and seemed to read his mind.

"Don't worry, we will think of something. For now we need to get away from those men."

The journey proved to be easier and at the same time more difficult than Will had expected. They were able to drive away without interference, but Lyra had difficulty in giving them proper instructions on which way to go. She knew the rough direction out of Oxford that they needed and was able to describe the main road she had travelled on in such a way that Mary guessed which one it was. However, their stop-start way of travelling must have made the men think that they were trying to lose them. The tailing car moved much closer. Mary pulled out onto a long, straight stretch of road and started to accelerate. Their tail accelerated to match them.

Mary's mind was racing. They had to get away from the following car but she couldn't see how to do it. The road was quiet but the other car was clearly much faster than her's. A memory of an accident she had once seen on a motorway occurred to her. She checked everyone was wearing his or her safety belts.

"Brace yourselves everybody," she said, "I'm going to test my brakes."

She steadied herself and gathered her resolution. Then she stamped hard on the brakes, held the steering tight to ensure she kept control of the wheels, crashed through the gears and started to accelerate away again.

The driver behind had not been paying enough attention. Over-confident, and not caring that the people they were pursuing knew that they were being followed; he had got too close to the car. The sudden braking manoeuvre caught him completely by surprise. He braked hard as well, too hard. He felt the steering wheel wrench to the right as he lost control. The car veered across the road, over the grass verge and into a stone wall.

"Do you think that they're alright?" Mary's voice quivered as she tried to whisper her question to Will.

"I think so," replied Will, peering behind, but in truth he had no idea. He presumed that the car's airbags would have saved its occupants. He was a little stunned that Mary had done what she had. Mary forced herself to concentrate and carry on driving.

They eventually came to the place where the craft was hidden. Mary drove the car up a small lane where it was out of sight of the main road. They had seen no further sign of pursuit but did not doubt that other people would soon be looking for them.

They had had a brief discussion of Will and Lyra's concerns but not enough to satisfy any of them. Mary could only tell them what she had been told by Serafina Pekkala, how she had got to the world of the Mulefa and what she had seen through the amber spyglass. Both Will and Lyra silently noted that Angels had guided most of her actions. Mary could see that the parting had only made their love stronger and she could sense their determination to stay together or at least to get a better explanation of why they had to be apart. Into this discussion came the question of whether to use the subtle knife for Lyra had come up with a plan for the security of Mary and Elaine.

"Will and I can return to my world, I think we should find Serafina Pekkala. We know she spoke to Xaphania and she may be able to help us. Will could cut just one window to let you and his Mum through to a world where you will be safe. What about the world of the Mulefa?"

Will worried about the affect this could have on his Mother, but it seemed less harmful than leaving her in their own world at the moment. Mary was secretly delighted at the thought of seeing the Mulefa again but did not want them to use the knife.

The decision was made for them when they saw a car driving along the main road and then turning into the lane where their car was parked. Will took out the knife and cut a window. He could see the familiar landscape of the Mulefa world through it.

"I know this seems strange Mum," he said as reassuringly as he could. "But I think you will find it very peaceful in this place and Mary will look after you until I can return for you."

Mary stepped through the window and beckoned Elaine through. Elaine followed as if in a dream. Will stepped through with her to say goodbye and Lyra climbed up to the craft to check all was well. The craft had not been touched.

Will stepped back into his own world, closed the window carefully and climbed up into the craft. Lyra had been right, there was very little room. They ended up with Will sat on the seat and Lyra sat on his lap with the helmet on and Pantalaimon grasping the cable in his teeth.

"OK," said Will "let's go."