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.
The daemons had checked to make sure there was no one in the room or in the corridor outside. The room was clean and tidy and the house did not look as if it had been abandoned.
Will tried not to look nervous.
"You said that you don't have burglar alarms or anything like that in this world, didn't you?"
"No. I'd never heard of anything like that until you described them, but witches may have set spells as traps I suppose. We'll just have to be as careful as we can."
Pan and Kirjava checked the corridor again and set off to explore.
"I've been thinking about something you asked Saeunn Leira in Oxford," said Lyra. "You asked if they were sure Serafina was still alive and she said she thought so, but they weren't sure. But if Kaisa was there that proved that Serafina was alive."
Will frowned.
"Yes of course. I was really stupid not to think of that myself. Sorry."
The daemons had split up to be able to cover more ground. Kirjava looked round the ground floor whilst Pan slipped upstairs. Pan encountered some witches first, but they were all asleep. All the bedrooms appeared to be occupied with some witches in the beds and others on the floor, some were even curled up in the corridors.
Kirjava only found witches in the kitchens where two of them were up early and looking for breakfast. However, she also found the door leading down to the cellars.
The daemons returned to Will and Lyra. They had seen no sign of Serafina Pekkala and none of them were in any doubt that she must be in the cellars.
Kirjava volunteered to go down but Will and Lyra wanted to go as well this time.
"If most of the witches are asleep at the moment, we may get a chance to get Serafina out now," said Will.
The daemons went first, checking round corners and making sure the way was clear. They went past the kitchens and heard the witches arguing with each other.
"I know I haven't met many witches," whispered Will. "But I didn't expect them to be like this."
"They are very different from Serafina's clan," agreed Lyra.
They came to the door at the top of the cellar stairs. It was slightly ajar. Will put his ear to the gap and listened for a few seconds.
"There's a noise a bit like a generator."
Gently he opened the door a little wider. Pan slid through and reported back that the stairs led down a short way to another door. They all went down the stairs together. Will had strapped the sheathe of the subtle knife to his belt. He checked that he could draw the knife quickly if he needed to.
The door at the bottom of the stairs was closed. Will looked at Lyra and she nodded. He slowly turned the knob and carefully opened the door. The room it opened into was brightly lit but there was no one in there.
In fact it was a very large room, but with some areas partitioned off to create separate areas. It was full of machinery, but nearly all of it was idle. The noise Will had heard came from one of the machines. It reminded both of them of a medieval torture chamber brought up to date. There was another door at the other end of the room. They quickly looked round and decided to move on. The door led down a further flight of steps.
If anything the next room was even larger. It looked more like a warehouse and was indeed being used for storing things. Large quantities of weaponry of all sorts were there. They ranged from ordinary rifles to field guns. There was even a large tank under a camouflage net and many other devices which neither Lyra nor Will had ever seen before.
Will puzzled at how the larger pieces had been brought down here, but on the right hand wall was a large, metal gate and he hoped they had found a second exit which did not lead back through the house. He went up to it. It was made of a solid piece of metal. There was no sign of how it opened, no lock or handles or controls.
He turned round to see Lyra beckoning to him from the other side of the room. She had found another door. It was also made of metal but was of a normal size. It was locked but on this door it was easy to see where the lock was. Will used the subtle knife to cut the lock out of the door and they went though to be faced by a dark tunnel.
A quick search of the warehouse like room yielded a couple of devices rather like torches. They set off down the tunnel. It led gently downwards until they found themselves in a final room. This appeared to have been roughly cut out of the rock and moisture ran down the walls, which only made the metal cube in the middle of the cave look even stranger. It was black with dimensions of about three metres. On the side facing them was a control panel and a viewing screen. On the screen they could see a witch lying bound and blindfolded on the floor. Her face was turned away from them but they were in no doubts as to who it was.
They looked around the outside of the cube and found a door on the left hand side. To their surprise it was unlocked. Will opened the door and looked in. The witch had not moved but he could see clearly that it was indeed Serafina Pekkala. He was about to go in when Lyra stopped him.
"Seeing you at the moment might not be the best thing for her," she said. "Go and keep watch. It would be easy for us to get trapped in here."
Will went back to the tunnel to listen for anyone coming. Lyra went in the cube to Serafina. She went up to her friend and knelt beside her.
"Serafina Pekkala," she whispered. "It's me Lyra. We've come to get you out. Can you hear me? I'm going to take off the blindfold so close your eyes."
"Lyra?" Serafina croaked. Her throat was dry. "Get away from here. Please get out now."
"We're all going," said Lyra. She undid the blindfold and Serafina closed her eyes to protect them from the light coming in from the cube door. She slowly opened them to see the face of her friend smiling at her.
"I'll undo the cords now." She released Serafina but the witch could barely move. She looked around the inside of the cube, her prison. There were what Will would have recognized as speakers on the walls and several small ventilation grills. She sensed that the chemical smell in the air came from them.
"Lyra, you must get away from here," she repeated. "These witches are strange, terrible. I don't understand what they are doing, but everything about them seems wrong." She struggled to get up but could not manage it yet.
"Serafina, I have so much to tell you but this isn't the place to start giving explanations. Just listen to me. Will is here, in our world. He's going to help get you out. But your clan is on its way to rescue you as well."
"No!" cried Serafina. "They mustn't. These witches have weapons. They will destroy my clan. How do they know I'm here?"
"They sent Saeunn Leira to get me to use the alethiometer to find you. We didn't know about any weapons."
"Who is this Saeunn Leira?" asked Serafina.
Lyra gaped at her.
"She said that she was one of your clan, that they had sent her."
"There is no one in my clan of that name," said Serafina, "and what do you mean Will is here?"
"This isn't the time for explanations," said Lyra. "We can talk later. Can you walk? Will you be able to fly if we can find a cloud pine branch?"
With Lyra's help Serafina managed to stumble out of the cube. Straightaway she felt better, but she could still hardly walk and Lyra could see that she was unlikely to be able to fly.
Will saw that as well as the two approached him. He had sent Kirjava to the top of the tunnel to keep watch but no one had appeared so far.
"How did you come to be here?" Serafina asked him.
"We can discuss that along with several other things I want an explanation for," Will replied, a little more harshly than he had intended. He was a little stung by her question when he had come here to rescue her.
"Come on. Let's get out," said Lyra. They helped Serafina up the passage. She felt better the longer she was out of the cube but she still felt a little sick and very tired. They reached the warehouse room and stopped to let her get her breath back. She stared round at the contents of the room in disbelief.
"What are they doing?" she whispered.
"Where did they get all this stuff from?" asked Will.
"From the battle with The Authority. That's what they told me. They said they wanted power and that these weapons would help them get it. But who is this Saeunn Leira? I have never heard the name before. Are you sure she was a witch?"
"Oh yes," said Will. "She was a witch alright." He was thinking of the witch who had killed his Father. He still didn't understand that. Surely the witch should have understood that his Father was going to remain faithful to his Mother?
Suddenly Kirjava ran back towards them.
"Two witches have just come into the room with the machines."
"Are they coming down here?" Will asked getting to his feet.
"No. Not yet. They were talking and stopping to look at one of the machines," she paused. "I know this sounds strange but I think one of them may have been Saeunn Leira."
The daemons had checked to make sure there was no one in the room or in the corridor outside. The room was clean and tidy and the house did not look as if it had been abandoned.
Will tried not to look nervous.
"You said that you don't have burglar alarms or anything like that in this world, didn't you?"
"No. I'd never heard of anything like that until you described them, but witches may have set spells as traps I suppose. We'll just have to be as careful as we can."
Pan and Kirjava checked the corridor again and set off to explore.
"I've been thinking about something you asked Saeunn Leira in Oxford," said Lyra. "You asked if they were sure Serafina was still alive and she said she thought so, but they weren't sure. But if Kaisa was there that proved that Serafina was alive."
Will frowned.
"Yes of course. I was really stupid not to think of that myself. Sorry."
The daemons had split up to be able to cover more ground. Kirjava looked round the ground floor whilst Pan slipped upstairs. Pan encountered some witches first, but they were all asleep. All the bedrooms appeared to be occupied with some witches in the beds and others on the floor, some were even curled up in the corridors.
Kirjava only found witches in the kitchens where two of them were up early and looking for breakfast. However, she also found the door leading down to the cellars.
The daemons returned to Will and Lyra. They had seen no sign of Serafina Pekkala and none of them were in any doubt that she must be in the cellars.
Kirjava volunteered to go down but Will and Lyra wanted to go as well this time.
"If most of the witches are asleep at the moment, we may get a chance to get Serafina out now," said Will.
The daemons went first, checking round corners and making sure the way was clear. They went past the kitchens and heard the witches arguing with each other.
"I know I haven't met many witches," whispered Will. "But I didn't expect them to be like this."
"They are very different from Serafina's clan," agreed Lyra.
They came to the door at the top of the cellar stairs. It was slightly ajar. Will put his ear to the gap and listened for a few seconds.
"There's a noise a bit like a generator."
Gently he opened the door a little wider. Pan slid through and reported back that the stairs led down a short way to another door. They all went down the stairs together. Will had strapped the sheathe of the subtle knife to his belt. He checked that he could draw the knife quickly if he needed to.
The door at the bottom of the stairs was closed. Will looked at Lyra and she nodded. He slowly turned the knob and carefully opened the door. The room it opened into was brightly lit but there was no one in there.
In fact it was a very large room, but with some areas partitioned off to create separate areas. It was full of machinery, but nearly all of it was idle. The noise Will had heard came from one of the machines. It reminded both of them of a medieval torture chamber brought up to date. There was another door at the other end of the room. They quickly looked round and decided to move on. The door led down a further flight of steps.
If anything the next room was even larger. It looked more like a warehouse and was indeed being used for storing things. Large quantities of weaponry of all sorts were there. They ranged from ordinary rifles to field guns. There was even a large tank under a camouflage net and many other devices which neither Lyra nor Will had ever seen before.
Will puzzled at how the larger pieces had been brought down here, but on the right hand wall was a large, metal gate and he hoped they had found a second exit which did not lead back through the house. He went up to it. It was made of a solid piece of metal. There was no sign of how it opened, no lock or handles or controls.
He turned round to see Lyra beckoning to him from the other side of the room. She had found another door. It was also made of metal but was of a normal size. It was locked but on this door it was easy to see where the lock was. Will used the subtle knife to cut the lock out of the door and they went though to be faced by a dark tunnel.
A quick search of the warehouse like room yielded a couple of devices rather like torches. They set off down the tunnel. It led gently downwards until they found themselves in a final room. This appeared to have been roughly cut out of the rock and moisture ran down the walls, which only made the metal cube in the middle of the cave look even stranger. It was black with dimensions of about three metres. On the side facing them was a control panel and a viewing screen. On the screen they could see a witch lying bound and blindfolded on the floor. Her face was turned away from them but they were in no doubts as to who it was.
They looked around the outside of the cube and found a door on the left hand side. To their surprise it was unlocked. Will opened the door and looked in. The witch had not moved but he could see clearly that it was indeed Serafina Pekkala. He was about to go in when Lyra stopped him.
"Seeing you at the moment might not be the best thing for her," she said. "Go and keep watch. It would be easy for us to get trapped in here."
Will went back to the tunnel to listen for anyone coming. Lyra went in the cube to Serafina. She went up to her friend and knelt beside her.
"Serafina Pekkala," she whispered. "It's me Lyra. We've come to get you out. Can you hear me? I'm going to take off the blindfold so close your eyes."
"Lyra?" Serafina croaked. Her throat was dry. "Get away from here. Please get out now."
"We're all going," said Lyra. She undid the blindfold and Serafina closed her eyes to protect them from the light coming in from the cube door. She slowly opened them to see the face of her friend smiling at her.
"I'll undo the cords now." She released Serafina but the witch could barely move. She looked around the inside of the cube, her prison. There were what Will would have recognized as speakers on the walls and several small ventilation grills. She sensed that the chemical smell in the air came from them.
"Lyra, you must get away from here," she repeated. "These witches are strange, terrible. I don't understand what they are doing, but everything about them seems wrong." She struggled to get up but could not manage it yet.
"Serafina, I have so much to tell you but this isn't the place to start giving explanations. Just listen to me. Will is here, in our world. He's going to help get you out. But your clan is on its way to rescue you as well."
"No!" cried Serafina. "They mustn't. These witches have weapons. They will destroy my clan. How do they know I'm here?"
"They sent Saeunn Leira to get me to use the alethiometer to find you. We didn't know about any weapons."
"Who is this Saeunn Leira?" asked Serafina.
Lyra gaped at her.
"She said that she was one of your clan, that they had sent her."
"There is no one in my clan of that name," said Serafina, "and what do you mean Will is here?"
"This isn't the time for explanations," said Lyra. "We can talk later. Can you walk? Will you be able to fly if we can find a cloud pine branch?"
With Lyra's help Serafina managed to stumble out of the cube. Straightaway she felt better, but she could still hardly walk and Lyra could see that she was unlikely to be able to fly.
Will saw that as well as the two approached him. He had sent Kirjava to the top of the tunnel to keep watch but no one had appeared so far.
"How did you come to be here?" Serafina asked him.
"We can discuss that along with several other things I want an explanation for," Will replied, a little more harshly than he had intended. He was a little stung by her question when he had come here to rescue her.
"Come on. Let's get out," said Lyra. They helped Serafina up the passage. She felt better the longer she was out of the cube but she still felt a little sick and very tired. They reached the warehouse room and stopped to let her get her breath back. She stared round at the contents of the room in disbelief.
"What are they doing?" she whispered.
"Where did they get all this stuff from?" asked Will.
"From the battle with The Authority. That's what they told me. They said they wanted power and that these weapons would help them get it. But who is this Saeunn Leira? I have never heard the name before. Are you sure she was a witch?"
"Oh yes," said Will. "She was a witch alright." He was thinking of the witch who had killed his Father. He still didn't understand that. Surely the witch should have understood that his Father was going to remain faithful to his Mother?
Suddenly Kirjava ran back towards them.
"Two witches have just come into the room with the machines."
"Are they coming down here?" Will asked getting to his feet.
"No. Not yet. They were talking and stopping to look at one of the machines," she paused. "I know this sounds strange but I think one of them may have been Saeunn Leira."