Lyra lay down in Aurore's camp bed. Pan jumped onto her and snuggled to her neck. Together, they sighed, relaxing after this strange day. Night had just fallen, and little bit of light still came into the cave.

"Wonder why Tenebrus acted like that. . ." Lyra wondered aloud. Aurore was outside, talking to his daemon, which was still frustrated about something.

"I don't know, Lyra. . .but I have a bad feeling about this. He's been acting strange for a while now. And besides, I wonder all together what that 'world' of darkness you saw was." Pan said in her ear. She nodded. She had told her daemon about world of hate and evil she had seen during training.

"I have no idea, but I have a feeling we weren't told something." Lyra shrugged.

Both stayed silent, listening to the wind outside.

"I wonder if we can trust them." Pan wondered. The girl nodded again, but a sudden idea crossed her head.

"Pan?"

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow, wake me up when the sun rises, and we'll ask the alethiometer, alright? I bet I'll be able to read an answer." Lyra sounded very decided, and her daemon nodded in her neck, before yawning an slowly falling asleep. The girl followed him into a world of dreams.

(0)

"Tenebrus. . ." Aurore sighed. The great daemon, in a bear form, growled and turned away, facing the forest and a nearby stream.

The man rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Tenebrus, listen to me. You can't act like that in front of her. She'll think she can't trust us." Aurore said firmly. The bear turned his head to him.

"I don't care about that. And you know she wasn't supposed to see 'that'. Your mind was to stay closed in all times." He pointed out severely. Aurore nodded, defeated.

"But you know we don't have time, so it isn't the right moment for these kind of behaviors. We need her to clear that Dust before Aurora shows up."

Tenebrus had to admit his human had a point, so in defeat, her changed into a snowy owl and flew to his shoulder. There, he got patted as he blinked his amber eyes.

"We must hurry." The daemon whispered.

"I know. . ."

(0)

Will shifted, groaning as pain shot through his head. For a few blissful seconds, he couldn't remember a thing; and then, everything flew back to him, passing the invisible dam that was trying to hold the memories back.

He remembered Easheatter, his voice and how he had ensnared him. He remembered how he had suddenly doubted and hated Aurora and had tried to attack her with the blade. At the thought of the two-daemon girl, Will sat up quickly, finding himself in a room filled with the light of day. He lay on a wooden bed, under two warm covers.

Then, he suddenly remembered how Aurora's daemons had transformed into strange, black lions. He remembered feeling the terrible cold and evil coming from the creatures, as they immobilized him and his own daemon.

Then, Aurora had reminded him he was trying to save Lyra, and Easheatter's voice had become weak and faded. At that moment, he had released all its energy, and the magic tip had transferred from his blade, and to Forseti.

Will swung his legs over the bed, to find he was still in the same clothes as the ones he had worn before.

He got up, swayed lightly, and took a determined step towards the door in front of him. It was ajar, and when he pushed it open, he found himself facing a dining room, filled with several large wooden tables, that was empty except for three daemons and a girl.

When Kirjava saw him, she gave a shrieking meow and lunged for him. Her claws burrowed into his flesh, and he held her tightly, burying his face in her soft fur.

He suddenly remembered that to get his attention, Aurora had touched his daemon, which was something absolutely terrible. The feeling had stricken his heart like a spear, and made him shiver lightly as he held the cat.

When he let Kirjava down, he found Aurora was looking at him with compassion and calmness. But Will felt sudden anger at the girl.

"What?" He snapped at her. She didn't look surprised about his reaction, and this infuriated him even more. He stomped over to her and dropped in the chair on her left, looking into her dark eyes.

"Good to see you're awake. You've been out all night." Aurora whispered softly, but Will

ignored her.

He glared at her. Solstice transformed into a ferret, on the table, and Equinox became an angry-looking wolverine Will knew this was one of the worst transformation a daemon could take, and it probably reflected anger that the girl felt deep inside.

"You are going to tell me everything I need to know." His gaze broke from the daemon's and returned to her. Aurora nodded.

"What do you want to know?" She asked quietly. Solstice bumped Equinox and he took a ferret form as well.

"First of all, how come you know so much about me? And about everything I've been through and done?" He hissed. Kirjava sat beside him, not expressing any feeling. She was already a good friend of Solstice and to her, her human's feelings did not reflect her own.

Aurora sighed.

"I know because I followed you. I've followed Lyra as well, before she met you. I've been at your side all along your journey, I've sent spells your way to protect you, and I've called help for you when you needed it. Who do you think called the witches when the kids of Cittagaze almost killed you? I directed the winds of Lee Scoresby's balloon so he could reach Svalbard, when Lyra needed to go there. I followed you to the world of the dead. I distracted the Specters from your daemons for a few seconds when you tried to get into the mulefa's world during Lord Asriel's war. I watched over you and Lyra, Will as much as I could without directly interfering, because I knew something very few did. I knew she had to accomplish something great without knowing it, but wouldn't be able to do it alone. I knew she needed you, so I got you to her.

Who do you think that cat that led you to Cittagaze belonged to? It was Solstice. She got you into the city; she made you see the window. I watched over Dr. Malone when she entered the world herself. I did amazing travels, I followed you, and I helped you as much as I could. That's why I know so much Will; that's why." Aurora sounded slightly angry, and Equinox became a wolverine again for a few seconds, before she obviously calmed down.

Will blinked. It took him a few seconds to understand that everything she said was true; all the facts matched. As if to confirm his new discovery, Solstice came forward and changed. Will immediately recognized the cat that had showed him the window to Cittagaze, before being attacked by it's kids and finally, attacking Mrs. Coulter's daemon so he could get his blade back.

"I. . ." Will was lost for words.

Aurora shook her head. "Anything else you'd like to know?" She questioned softly.

"No. . .Yes. . .how come you didn't save Solstice when the kids of Cittagaze attacked him?" Will looked away from the tabby cat and to its human.

The girl smiled, as if she had expected that question.

"The world below was crawling with Specters. It wasn't safe for me to go there. And the Specters cannot harm Solstice, unlike Equinox, because she isn't officially my daemon. She's my brother's. It makes our relation somewhat distant, even if she is bound to me; therefore, the Specters couldn't touch her, and that's why she chose to be the one to help you. Besides, I wanted to see if you'd go and help her."

There was a silence. Will relaxed slightly, and noticed a bowl of cool soup beside the girl. He also noted how hungry he was.

As if reading his mind, Aurora pushed the bowl to him, and he dug in.

"We'll set out as soon as you're done. Forseti is ready to open worlds again." She got up, and walked away.

Will felt like asking her if she could actually read minds, but his mouth was too full.

However, he found he didn't need to ask at all; before reaching the doors that lead out of the dining room, Aurora stopped.

"Yes, I can read minds. Perhaps not as well as my brother, but I can do it. . ." She said with a grin, over her shoulder and walked out. Will blinked after her.

(0)

Sorry this is short, but next chapter, all the action starts.

Quiz girl: Yeah, there's probably something wrong with your computer, cuz that's definitely not where the chapter ends. And I've checked your story out, (I hope you got the review) and I think it's very good. You should continue it.

Unnamed: Thanks. The plot is getting thicker and thicker! And Will couldn't hear Easheatter before because the blade didn't really need him or anything, I guess. And it was pissed at him for making it ugly. But now that it's existence was at risk, it spoke to him.

Kaiame: It's good to hear at least someone isn't confused. And Asriel and Mrs. Coulter will have a very important part at the end; that's why there's here. But Shhhh! It's a secret!

Next chapter, Will sets out to find Lyra, and Aurore gets one step close to getting what he wants. . .but just what is it?