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.

Xaphania stood at a window gazing out onto the site of the battle. Despite the bodies having been removed some time ago it remained a place of desolation. A mist blew across it reminding her of the smoke from the fires that had burned there. Light from the setting sun reflected from the ground in large scarlet patches.

Another angel entered the room and waited to be acknowledged. He was of a lesser grade than her and appeared rather nervous. She sensed this without even needing to look at him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We may be wrong. It only seemed to be there for a moment so we could have made a mistake." The angel's nervousness seemed to be increasing.

"What is it?" she repeated, but not harshly.

"There may have been another window opened. We think that there was, but it was closed again so we can't be sure."

She turned to face him. "Which worlds were involved?"

"The world of Will Parry was where the window was opened but we couldn't tell into which world."

"No." She said quietly. "Not him. He broke the knife. I checked and it was in pieces. Not even in his world could it be repaired." She looked out of the window again. "Was it a mistake to have separated them so soon?"

"As I say we may be wrong," the angel started again but Xaphania interrupted him.

"Have you checked the seals on the abyss and on the gap Asriel created?"

"Yes I thought of that straightaway. Everything is in order. All the windows and other gaps are still secure as well. Nothing is moving between the worlds. You don't think that this could be the first signs that He is back?"

Xaphania remained gazing out of the window. "It is not The Authority. He is gone. If Metatron is still alive, which I very much doubt, he is still in the abyss. However, I never thought that the war would be over so easily. Perhaps someone else is ready to reveal himself as their leader." She turned to the Angel again. "Go to Will Parry' world and see what you can find out. Be careful and be discreet. That world is relatively free of His influence and I don't want it being stirred up by the sudden appearance of Angels."

The angel departed leaving her to stare out of the window for a few minutes more. But then she turned away from the view. She had plenty of work to do and for the first time in aeons she was starting to doubt herself.

Serafina Pekkala drifted back to consciousness. She was still blindfolded and tied hand and foot. She tried to feel the nature of the room and felt that even if the blindfold were removed she would still be in darkness. The room itself seemed to be oppressing her, crushing her. The air itself felt wrong.

When she had spent just a short time in Will Parry's world she had felt a little sickened by the pollution in the air. She was sensitive to all things in nature and had felt the air almost crying from being misused.

Now trapped in this room she felt the same way. There were traces of toxic chemical gases drifting around. Not anywhere near enough to kill, but enough to disturb her.

"Please, sisters, talk to me. Why are you doing this to me? I came to help you."

Whispers started up around here. She could not make them out at first but then one became clearer, repeating over and over again.

"We do not need your help. You betrayed us. We have new powers now. We do not need your help. You betrayed us. We have new powers now. We do not need your help. You betrayed us. We have new powers now."

The whispering carried on until Serafina could bear it no longer and she started begging for it to stop. It continued for a short while and then gradually receded again into nothing.

Serafina remained silent as well not daring to speak again in case she provoked the whispers to restart. But as the silence continued she felt herself start to shiver uncontrollably. She was used to being parted from Kaisa but at this moment she needed the companionship of her daemon more than she had ever needed it before.

"Kaisa will find my clan," she told herself. "They will not abandon me. We have many allies." But at the moment she felt desperately alone. Suddenly she thought of Lyra.

"Is this how Lyra feels? Is it like this for her all the time? No! She has friends, people to talk to." But she remembered the look on Lyra's face the last time she had seen her. Serafina had been called away almost as soon as she had arrived and she recalled the look of sadness on Lyra's face as they parted. "Lyra!" she cried out not realizing what she was doing.

The whispers started again.

"You betrayed her. You left her. You destroyed her." And although she knew it was not true, Serafina cried. Not just for herself but for Lyra as well.
Will and Lyra had jumped back to her world without any problems although it was quite uncomfortable in the confined space of the cockpit. Kirjava found it hard to settle and Pan was fed up of holding the cable. They decided that it was probably better to return to Jordan in the early morning. That gave them the rest of Sunday afternoon to themselves. There was no one in sight so Lyra had tried to teach Will how to fly the craft. However, although this had come so easily to her, Will found it much more difficult.

"It's harder for me to use the controls with my injured hand," he claimed. Kirjava pointed out that he was meant to be flying the machine by using his mind and Lyra cheekily commented that perhaps that was the problem.

They returned to the ground and hid the craft in the wood, which was much bigger in this world.

"It's like with the alethiometer, you are just a natural," he said and then wished he hadn't.

"No, this is something I am naturally good at. The alethiometer was different. I think a lot of the time it was the angels using it to talk to me. Like sometimes it almost seemed to volunteer information that I hadn't asked for. Now when I try to read it, it's hard work."

"I can't imagine how you can do it at all," Will said.

"Well it's something else where you have to use your mind, so I can do it and you can't!" she laughed and then ran off shrieking as he chased her, their daemons bounding along beside them.

The night had been warm and they spent it in the wood in the shelter of the craft. In the morning they set off and arrived back over the college just as dawn was breaking. They flew the craft back into the quadrangle and put it back under it's tent.

"We should try to see the Master as soon as possible," said Lyra. "I don't think he will be angry about me taking the machine." She grinned at Will. "I used to get up to much worse things."

She guided him over to the Master's rooms. She was not altogether surprised to see the Master emerge and beckon them in. He led them though into his drawing room and gestured for them to sit down on a long overstuffed sofa.

"So, the wanderer returns again," he said dryly. "And I don't suppose I need to ask who you have brought to visit me?"

"Master, this is Will Parry," said Lyra. "He is the ."

"Yes. Yes. I have heard a lot about you Master Parry," said the Master, as Will got up to shake his hand. "Well first things first. Let me have your report on the strange machine."

Lyra explained about her discovery, her trip to the other world and what had happened there. In response to the Masters questions Will explained what he had been doing since his return to his own world. Neither of them had intended telling him so much but he asked searching questions and was a good audience. Finally Lyra asked.

"Why did you try to poison my Father?"

Will gasped at the effrontery of the question. But the Master simply smiled.

"I was trying to spare you the suffering and trouble you have had to go through. I suppose it is as well that I did not succeed, but I will not deny that I had no time for your Father. He was an ambitious and ruthless man. There are many men who are like that but not like him. I sometimes wonder whether the angels opposing the Authority were in control of him or if it was the other way round. They needed his leadership and drive and he needed the forces and supplies that they had gathered. So, what do you mean to do now?"

Will and Lyra glanced at each other.

"We want to try to find Serafina Pekkala. We think she may be able to tell us more about what happened just before Will and I were separated," Lyra replied.

"We are also hoping she may have some suggestions about the knife," Will added. "Is there anything you can tell us, sir?"

"I know nothing of the knife," said the Master. However, his curiosity got the better of him. "May I see it?"

Will handed him the knife. "Be very careful with it, sir," he warned.

The Master turned it over, studying the hilt and then the blade. "You say it looks slightly different that before it was broken?"

"Yes. It looks as if there are small snakes in a sort of pattern," replied Will.

"Hmm. Pattern is the word. I believe the blade has been pattern-welded."

"What is pattern-welding?" asked Lyra half afraid that it was a stupid question, but Will was shaking his head as well.

"It is the hammering together, and then twisting and re-hammering of layers of iron. It imparts flexibility and strength. Many weapon smiths used to use the skill as a way of creating unbreakable blades out of poor quality iron ore," the Master told them. "It isn't really my field of course but I'm quite sure that this has been pattern-welded."

"Unbreakable," repeated Will looking at Lyra sharing a common idea. Whoever had reforged the knife did not mean for it to be broken again.

"Well that was the main point of course. If a man's blade were to break in battle, he would be as good as dead. Ah! I see what you mean." The Master handed the blade back to Will.

"Is it a common skill?" asked Will.

"I don't suppose that there are many smiths who would bother with it these days. Unbreakable swords aren't exactly in demand now. I don't think it would be normal to do it for a knife. That would require a rare degree of skill."

There was a soft knock at the door. Cousins, the Master's manservant entered.

"There is a young lady to see you, sir," he said, looking rather shaken. He was obviously not used to young women expecting to be admitted to the Master of Jordan's house.

However, all became clear when the person in question entered the room. She was a witch.

"Master of Jordan, I am here in search of Lyra Silvertongue, who I believe is in your care."