4. A Connection to Pastimes

Pantalaimon was restless and Lyra couldn't sleep. They lay staring up at the ceiling. True, they felt the hole where Will and Kirjava weren't, but they had successfully crammed it back inside, so as not to let anyone else see.

#She looks like the real thing-#

Almost in a dream walk, she got out of bed and stepped over to the window. Glancing at the clock she saw it was twenty past three in the morning. There was no one about and the streets were silent.

#-She tastes like the real thing-#

Lyra opened the window and stepped out onto the gutter, inching carefully along she climbed onto the roof and found her spot at the highest point of Jordan collage.

#My fake plastic love#

It wasn't the same without them. How could she live like this? How could they live for another lifetime, always with half their attention to an unreachable lover?

'We can't.' murmured Pantalaimon.

***

Lyra awoke looking up at the ceiling of her room at the top of staircase 12. She couldn't remember having walked back to her room…

'Did we climb back down?' she said sleepily to Pan,

'I don't think so. But no one else did.'

It was 8:30. She was going to be late. Immediately they leapt out of bed and got dressed, then hurried of to begin the half-hour walk to Dame Hannah's collage.

Dame Hannah only taught them one or two days of the week, other times it was another female scholar who had once been Dame Hannah's apprentice, she was not so forgiving to lateness.

'Where have you been?!' whispered Katie as Lyra slipped into the classroom and sat down next to her.

'Slept in late- has Mrs. Rhodes arrived yet?'

'Yes, but she's gone out the back to get an index book, if you're lucky, she might not notice you've arrived.'

Lyra cringed. Late students were given an hour-long lecture about the importance of punctuality and the consequences of lateness.

Katie leaned over to look through the door at the back of the room. As she did so, Lyra noticed a long cut, concealed by her long sleeves.

***

Later in the day Lyra and Pan were back on their way home. Things seemed to be so much more complicated than they needed to be. Katie had been silent all day, relentless to the efforts of Sarah and Julie, and Lyra had grown much more attached to her since the night she started consoling to her.

Then there was Will. She could fight it down, but she needed to be all alone. Neither of them could say why. They just needed some private time.

She turned a corner and ran straight into a man in his late 20s.

'Whoa- steady their bullet woman!'

Lyra mumbled a sorry and moved on. Pan looked back and noticed the man had a strange smile on his face. Lyra did not notice.

Until she saw the note in the breast pocket of her blouse.

'That man must've put it there,' said Pantalaimon, 'he didn't half give us a funny look as we passed.'

Lyra unfolded the note and whispered it to them both:

'You sure Katie is all she seems?'

That was it.

'What on earth's that meant to mean? What's wrong with Katie?'

'I hope she know the meaning of loyalty.' Said Lyra, and she turned down an ally toward Jericho.

'Oh, hullo there, you must be Lyra'

'Yeah, is Katie there yet?'

Katie's father's face darkened,

'Yes. She's up stairs and I can't get a word out of her. I hope you can.'

Lyra climbed the stairs to Katie's room and knocked on the door.

'Who is it?' she called from inside,

'It's me, Lyra'

Lyra heard Katie's dæmon say a sharp word, but the door opened, revealing Katie wearing a week smile. 'What's wrong?'

'Oh it's nothing, don't worry- come in.'

Now it was Pan's turn to speak up.

'You two were silent all day. Don't try telling us there's nothing wrong.'

'I can't- you'll hate us!'

'Well you're gonner have to tell us know you've said that. Tell me what's wrong and I promise I won't be angry.'

Katie covered her face with her hands and sat down on her bed.

'It's the Consistorial Court of Discipline. They came round here the other night after you left, they made us tell them what you told us. I'm so sorry! They forced us to spy on you guys!'

'What? If you didn't want to do it why didn't you turn them down?'

Her dæmon, Coreopsis, spoke up and said:

'Oh they forced us! They- no, they said if we didn't they'd, they'd-'

Pan was about to respond when he suddenly looked up at the corner of the room,

'What is it?' said Lyra,

Pantalaimon jumped over to the side of the room, but could not climb up. Katie opened her hands to see what they were doing.

Up in the top left corner of the room, there was a hole in the wall with something peeping out. Lyra reached up and pulled it out.

It was a camera.

'Ah! It's a camera!' Katie wailed, 'Now they'll know I told you!'

Lyra figured this too, but there was little point in saying that, so she tugged the wire out the back of the camera and said:

'Look, you have to tell your dad, if the Magesterium is on to you, you and your dad don't want to be here when they come back.

'But what about you?'

'I'm not angry. I said I wouldn't be. You haven't told them anything they don't already know. Now go and tell your dad. I'll wait here.'

Katie and her dæmon left the room and Lyra flopped onto the bed.

'What are we going to do now?' said Pantalaimon, who wasn't quite so cool about this. 'We haven't got Will and the knife to help us this time.'

'We'll make sure Katie and her dad are out of the way and then go to the garden. Get some time to think about this.'

Katie returned with her dad behind, but couldn't find anything to say. So her dad spoke for her.

'So. You're the famous Lyra.'

'I'm sorry I brought you both into this-' began Lyra, but Katie's dad silenced her;

'It's not your fault, don't worry, I'll take Katie out in the fishing boat with me until we sort something out. D'you want to come?'

'No- thanks, we'll be all right, thanks for understanding, and I'll call later if I can.'

'Be careful Lyra, I have also been in the court's line of fire. You watch who you to talk to.

'OK. I'll see myself out.'