Equinox neighed wildly, throwing back his eagle head as his wings flapped at his side.
Solstice was following, head bent against the wind as Will struggled to stay on her back. It was hard, considering the fact he had to hold Kirjava with one hand, while gripping the feathers of the Hippogriff's neck with the other. And now, after many cold hours of flight, he was numb in the hands, and it was getting harder with each flap to keep holding on.
Aurora didn't seem bothered by the cold; in fact, she was resting against Equinox's neck, buried in his fur, and looked like she was sleeping.
Will judged it was perhaps better if he mimicked the way she was laying on her daemon. He bent forward, placing Kirjava in between his stomach and the back of Solstice's neck, tucking the daemon in so she couldn't fall.
The cat relaxed slightly, feeling safer. Will then put his hands around the creature's neck, burying his frozen face into its feather's. Immediately, he felt soothed, warm. But he was careful not to drift to sleep, because his grip would surely loosen and he might fall.
The boy shut his eyes and wished the trip were over.
But little did he know, that while Aurora did the trip in one day, just barely, it might take them longer, considering that they would have to stop on the ground for Will to rest.
The boy wished again it could be over.
He could almost swear he heard a voice wake up in Easheatter. . .but maybe it was just the wind. . .
(0)
Lyra walked down to the dining hall, starved and sleepy, since wasn't able to fall asleep after that dream about Will's death. It haunted her, and Pan, who hadn't even seen it, also felt terrible fear. Was it because the dream confirmed their fears, or because that white wolf at the end seemed so very real?
The girl shook her head, blond hair flying, and entered the kitchens. She proceeded with searching the pantries as Pan made sure no one was coming. But it was early; no one was as much as awake.
A pleasant breeze flew in through the window as Lyra found some brown bread, and lightly melted butter. Smearing the beige grease over three pieces of bread, the girl walked calmly to a table near the open window, and flopped down.
Pan jumped onto the table, and she gave him half of one of her breads. He started to eat quickly, chewing on the slightly soggy breakfast as fast as he could, before quickly returning to the door to see if anyone was coming.
But just as Lyra finished her last toast, a white little bird landed on the window's edge. She ignored it, since it was not so unusual to see birds so close to people.
But it was only when Pan leaped on her lap, and his fur rose as if he was menaced, that she noticed something strange; the bird, which was a little albino blue jay, was carrying a piece of rolled-up parchment.
It whistled, shaking its head, and dropping the parchment as it opened its mouth. The girl picked the paper up and was surprised to notice that the bird had not yet left. She unrolled the letter.
Lyra, if you wish to get answers, follow Tenebrus. He will lead you to me. That's where the letter stopped.
Lyra blinked, wondering whom Tenebrus might be. She gave quite a jump when the bird beside her spoke.
"I'm Tenebrus." It answered her.
Immediately, it glided down onto the table, and seeing how Pan was about to attack it, the human-less daemon changed into a pine marten, mimicking Lyra's daemon.
Pan looked shocked, and but Lyra was even more; this daemon had no human, meaning they had gotten separated. Horrified, she wondered if it had been like the kids of Bolvangar.
"No. My human walked through the Desolation, which is where the witches separate from their own daemons. But that was long ago. . . but that isn't important. What is important is that you follow me." Tenebrus answered her unasked question.
Lyra blinked.
"Where am I supposed to follow you to?" She asked, quite curious. Pan, who was now hiding in her hair, nibbled her ear in warning, but she ignored him.
Tenebrus bowed his head.
"My human wishes to speak to you. He is out of the city. I know you may not trust this odd encounter, so my human decided it would be alright for you to bring any weapon of your choice to defend yourself if you think you might need to." The daemon changed successively into a butterfly, weak, defenseless, then into a mosquito, invisible and quick and finally back into the pine marten.
Lyra bit her lip, just as Pan bit hard into her ear.
"Pan!" She yelled, shaking her head. Her daemon gave her a meaningful look before jumping down to the ground.
The girl turned back to Tenebrus, who was patiently waiting for an answer.
"I'll go (Pan looked at her with wide, warning eyes), and I won't bring anything. I don't need weapons to fight anyone. And if your human has answers, I think he's worth a bit of trust. . .but just what is his name? And can you read thoughts? Since you answered my unasked questions before. . ." Lyra looked more curious than anything.
The other daemon smiled.
"Yes, I can read thoughts. But only the ones 'on top', shall we say. Because a mind is a complex thing; thoughts aren't always accessible, since they are mostly hidden. I do not know your past, or any of your secrets, because they are buried. But I can hear random questions or remarks you may pass in your head. They are thoughts you do not have control over, so they are easy to read." Tenebrus answered matter-of-factly.
Pan made a hissing noise, and Lyra sent him a glare.
"But you didn't answer. . ." She started.
"Aurore Borealis. His name is Aurore." Tenebrus completed.
Pan had a bad feeling about this. Just like Lyra, he knew this daemon was the one belonging to the caped figure, and the one that could change into a dragon.
But unlike Lyra, that did not reassure him.
(0)
Will had long since fallen asleep. Aurora noticed how he seemed exhausted, yet handsome, asleep on the back of her daemon, nuzzled in its feathers.
Equinox softly pointed out that she could use magic to get them to the temple faster, and she considered this; after all, every second counted. She had a vague feeling that Aurore was planning something.
The girl sighed, before searching her memory for a quick spell she had learned in another world. Even if she didn't have the power to do instant spells, like her mother, witch of Lyra's world, she had entered once an Earth very similar to our own, but different all the same.
At first, she had thought that the window she crossed didn't lead into another world at all; it looked exactly the same. But then she met witches –men and women- who used the elements to do all sorts of things for them; give them warmth, food, wood or make them travel faster.
And strangely enough, even though those people possessed such amazing powers, they knew nothing of wars. They didn't even know what fighting meant. The only living creature they had ever killed was a pig, and they even begged the animal to forgive them for doing so; there was a whole ceremony before the beast's death. It was nothing like Lyra's or Will's worlds.
And Aurora was desperate to keep this world the same, without intruders. She was already afraid someone might have entered the place and stared fights. So, the men and women promised her she would learn their spells and share their powers if she could close all the window, which they found very scary, that lead to other worlds.
Aurora spent ten years making sure no windows remained. The last one open was high in the sky, and it was there to let her out when she was done. She would close it after.
A great witch-man taught her how to call upon the power and use them. But she could only stay a few months, because both Equinox and Solstice were very sick.
The two daemons would have left for their world to heal, but with all the windows that were open, in all the different worlds, there were many chances they would get lost and never find Aurora again. And that was something she just couldn't bare.
So the girl learned a few spells, and with many thanks, the witch-people let her go, and she flew off into the sky. Passing the last window on this world and closing it behind her.
The girl took a deep sigh, and focused on calling the wind God, Sabat.
"Sabat, God of Wind,
May your powers search within.
Search inside of me and you'll see
I need your help; I aren't lying to thee.
So Sabat, God of Wind,
Lend me your power,
Lend me your skin." She chanted. Immediately, the wind rose and both daemons adjusted the position of their wings so they could be carried by the waves.
They surfed the skies.
(0)
Kirjava heard Aurora chant something, and right after, a power wind rose like a fury of waves on the ocean. The cat snuggled against Will, who was sleeping deeply, exhausted, with his arms latched around Solstice's neck.
She had been struggling to stay awake, by fear of falling. Just imagining how high they had to be made her shiver and close her eyes.
She buried her muzzle in the Hippogriff's feathery neck, hoping this could all be over as soon as possible.
(0)
Will wasn't dreaming. He was sleeping a dark, restful sleep. It did him some good, since he felt so very exhausted.
But suddenly, the boy's stomach gave a jolt, and he sat up on the daemon with a jump. Kirjava planted her claws in his lap, terrified, as the ground came rushing towards them.
Had they fallen? Will, tiered and still sleepy, was confused and this raised his panic to a high level. He gripped Solstice so tightly around the neck that the daemon gave him a warning beat of her wings to the head, telling him he was chocking her. The boy let go slightly, as the ground go closer still, but after seeing the daemon was still in control of the situation, he relaxed.
With a mighty swish of her wings, Solstice landed on the ground, and with the help of her wing, Will and Kirjava got off her back. Aurora joined the two, and Equinox let her off.
Both of the girl's daemons turned into snow leopard and bumped their heads together lovingly. Kirjava glared at them.
"We're here?" Will was stunned. It was barely after noon, and it seemed to him that Aurora herself had taken much more time than this.
"Yes. I used a spell to raise the winds and that got us here very quick.' And seeing how Will was about to ask her why she didn't do it when she did the voyage alone, since it could have given them a head start on her brother, she continued. ' But it's a tiring power. I can't use it many times in succession."
Will frowned and turned around, looking at the large stone temple they were facing.
"Is that the place we're going to forge Easheatter at?" He questioned. Aurora nodded and started to walk up the stone steps that lead to the entrance.
Her daemons walked in front of her. Both had turned into ravens, and flew through the door when she opened it.
Will stayed speechless when he entered: the ceiling was as high as that one a cathedral, and everything was made of stone. There were pretty, colored windows on both side of the room they had entered.
And to the very ceiling rose shelves upon shelves of books. Only very tall ladders could reach those at the very top; Will squinted, since the confound darkness of the ceiling stopped him from seeing the very top of the room.
He snapped out of his amazement and followed Aurora as she walked through rows of desks, all of which had a man reading or writing on it.
The girl reached a young-looking man who was hunched over a pile of parchments and was scribbling furiously on them. Equinox swooped down on the man's daemon mouse, warning him they were here, but he didn't harm the little creature.
The man, stunned expression on his slightly wrinkled, yet rather young face, turned around and recognized Aurora immediately. His mouse daemon scattered into his sleeve.
"Charles is in his room. He's furious at you." The man whispered before the girl had even said a word. She nodded, looked over at Will, and walked to a wooden door at the end of the room.
The boy and all three daemons followed.
Aurora pushed the door open, walking in furiously into the room. The man sitting at the desk looked up, and after a brief cower, he suddenly stood.
Both Solstice and Equinox ran into the room, changing into lions. Both roared so loudly the temple trembled. The men in the other room looked at each other and suddenly got up, running out.
Charles had fire in his eyes, and Aurora glared.
"I have brought the boy." She told him, as calmly as he could. The man's white cat daemon hissed at the lions, standing on the man's dimly lit desk.
"I. . .I- I absolutely refuse to forge Easheatter." Charles stuttered.
"I see you've given it thought. . ." Aurora smirked, just as Will squeezed past her into the room, his daemon right behind him. Charles's scared, yet furious eyes shifted onto him.
"The boy doesn't even have daemon. . ." He said with disdain.
Kirjava walked in, hissing insanely, glaring at both the man and his daemon. Charles's eyes flashed, but he said nothing, and his furious gaze shifted on the girl.
"You will forge the blade, Charles." Aurora snarled. Will looked at her, stunned. The rage that had just come out of her voice was so deep and cruel he felt it impossible for a living being to be able to feel such fury.
Charles brought himself to full height, and his daemon jumped onto the ground, hissing, fur puffed up, as it tried to make itself bigger than it was.
"I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE!" He roared.
At that moment, Equinox growled as the cat. It snarled back, warning it.
The large lion's eyes became slits; and before anyone knew it, its paw collided mightily with the cat daemon. Charles fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as the cat went flying into a wall, just as it had two days ago, when Aurora came back for the first time.
Will gasped, Kirjava gaped and Solstice head butted into her mate, reprimanding him. But Equinox raised his head high and roared.
And Will, who had almost never heard him, was surprised how much his voice was deep and wise.
"This is what we are capable of, Charles. You have lied to us, and it is your time to buy yourself back. You will forge the blade, and you will remove its tip, placing it on Forseti." The daemon turned around, and Will scrambled out of its way, terrified. Kirjava, for what might be the first time ever, felt real fear. She hid behind Will, and Equinox walked out, as Charles, groaning, crawled over to his wounded daemon.
Aurora briefly told Will she needed to talk alone with the man. The boy nodded, and stepped out, along with his daemon and Solstice.
"Is he always like that, Solstice?" Will asked.
The lion daemon turned into a rabbit. "Yes."
And she skipped away to Equinox, who had gone outside. Will suddenly had a doubt; what if Aurora wasn't trying to help him? What if her brother was actually the good guy?
Unsure, the boy turned to his own daemon. But it had walked away, and looked back one last time before it walked outside.
"That could have been me. . ."
And Kirjava left, leaving Will alone as he struggled to understand what was going on, and whom he had to trust.
(0)
TATA! How was it? I fought through hell and high water with this one. Now, on with the reviews!
Quizgirl: I'm honored you feel honored: ) Yeah, I was considering doing a crossover, but I seriously suck at those so I chose not to. And sorry, he didn't leave in his boxers, but in pants. . . ( wink, wink).
Kaiame: I'm not sure if there are going to be angels in this one, but if there are, they'll be slightly different. And yes, this story was originally going to be about the Republic of Heaven (it was called La Republique des Cieux at first, which is French for the Republic of Heaven), but finally, the plot wasn't good enough and the story would have sucked, because it would have been kind of cheesy.
As for Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel, we just might hear about them. . . (hehehe).
Amazin angel: I'll keep writing until my fingers turn into dust! Thanks.
Kaisermonkey: Thanks! It's great to see new people are reading this.
Next chapter, the blade is forged, while Will has some more doubts about Aurora. Who can he trust? Lyra FINALLY meets Aurore. . .and what does she find out? That he's actually trying to help her! All this and more on the next chapter of Lyra's Dust!