Will finished his soup, eating up the cold dregs at the bottom, before setting the bowl in front of him. He turned to Kirjava.
"Well this is turning out to be a strange week, isn't it?" He asked lightly. The cat licked its paw and looked at him, yellow eyes glinting.
"Yeah. . .But I feel it's going to be over soon enough." The daemon answered. It then returned to licking itself, and the boy got up, stretching. He felt slightly weak, but knew Lyra might be in danger, and decided there was no time for rest.
He walked towards the large double doors, pushed them open, and walked into the study. The many priests that worked there looked up at him briefly, before returning to their books.
A young monk with a honeyeater daemon came up to him. Kirjava threw a superior look to the bird on the man's shoulder, before stopping beside Will.
"Aurora is waiting for you outside with Charles. You'll be leaving soon I expect. Good luck." The priest said quickly, smiling at the boy.
Will nodded and the man walked away, his daemon chirping on his shoulder.
Then, he made his way past the desks and dusty library, and pushed another set of doors, finding himself in the blinding sunlight.
When his eyes became used to the brightness, he blinked and saw Aurora working around two huge griffins. One was silver and the other, gold. When she saw him, she turned to him and smiled.
"Ready to go, Will? We'll have to open a window in the sky, because it'll give us the time to kill the Specter that comes out of it, before it reaches the ground." Aurora told him, tying something that looked like a bundle of blankets to the silver daemon, which was Equinox.
The golden griffin roared, shaking its head, and bent its knees so Will could get on her back. When Solstice got back up, Will found he could hold on to a rope that had been tied around the creature's neck.
Kirjava joined him and he got a good grip on her, before watching Aurora as she mounted Equinox.
Before they left, Charles came running to them.
"Boy, you forgot your blade in the forge yesterday! I know it may not be able to open worlds anymore, but it can still cut through anything. It might be useful." The old priest said as his daemon looked carefully at Solstice's claws.
"Thanks." Will took the blade and inclined his head.
Charles nodded, and at that moment, Equinox spread his wings and leapt into the air. He roared terribly and flapped upwards.
With an unseating buck, Solstice spread out her own wings and followed the other daemon.
"Bye, Charles!" Aurora shouted as they rose into the air, faster than the eye could register.
Charles nodded again and Miroka, his daemon, meowed, happy that the angry Equinox was gone. She had never liked him.
(0)
"Lyra!" Pan whispered urgently. The girl groaned, trying to cover her face, but her daemon bit her hand as she did that.
Therefore, she was forced to open her eyes and look into Pan's glinting optics, which were an inch from her face.
"What?' She asked, her voice as quiet as it could get.
"It's morning. Get the alethiometer and let's go." Pan answered, before leaping to the ground. Lyra searched her pocket and felt the instrument in it, so she swung her legs over the camp bed and followed her daemon.
"Where are they?" She asked. By 'they', she meant Aurore and Tenebrus.
"Asleep on the floor. Hurry."
Lyra got outside, and noticed it was very early indeed; the sun was just barely rising. But there was enough light to see the alethiometer, so she walked up to a little stream nearby and settled down on a rock. Pan perched himself on her shoulder.
The girl fumbled with the silk covering the instrument, before placing it on her knees. She gazed down at the alethiometer and found herself relaxing for the first time in days. It felt good to watch the familiar object, even if she couldn't fully understand what it told her.
Right now, the large arrow was dancing from symbol to symbol, and Lyra followed its progression almost lazily. Pan watched it as well.
"Ask it something." He finally said.
The girl nodded, and slowly, unsurely, directed the three smaller arrows across a few symbols. Immediately, the big arrow started to dance at amazing speed, so quickly that Lyra wasn't able to follow it.
'Slower.' She ordered sternly. The arrow stopped in mid-track, and returned slowly to the first thing it had pointed. It then began traveling over the symbols at a steady pace.
Lyra would nod or frown at moments, and after a few minutes, she had a conclusion.
"What did you ask it?" Pan demanded when she blinked and shifted her gaze to the stream.
"I asked it to tell me what I needed to know about Aurora. . .you know, Aurore's evil twin sister. . ."
". . .And? What did it say?"
Lyra paused. She looked at the alethiometer again, as if wondering, before slowly answering.
"It said. . .well, I'm not sure, but from the sounds of it, Aurora isn't so evil at all. The alethiometer said she was helping Will; I'm sure of it. But it also added something like. . . that's she's trying to accomplish something through him, and then through me. But I don't know what that is. . ."
The girl bit her lip. There was a moment of silence.
"Ask it, then." Pan told her.
Lyra moved the three arrows and as soon as she was done, as if an invisible force was just dying to tell her something, the big arrow moved towards a symbol, faster than before but slow all the same.
Again, Pan waited for her to finish.
"It said. . .it was going to be something that would change the world. I think it mentioned the end of the beginning, but I don't know what that means. . ." She shook her head. Now, she was sure Aurore was hiding something from her.
Pan frowned. "Alright. . .that didn't clear anything up. . .but you can ask what Aurore is up to. . ."
His human nodded, but just as Lyra moved the three pointers, a voice came from behind them, making both jump.
"Up already? I didn't know you were such a morning person."
It was Aurore himself. Tenebrus wasn't with him.
"Uhh. . ." Lyra said, her heart beating. She hoped he didn't hear what they were talking about.
"Tenebrus went to hunt something. I'll start a fire, we'll cook whatever he brings back, and then, we'll get back to work. . .' Aurore said with a smile. 'And I hope Aurora isn't on her way. . ." He added a bit more darkly.
Lyra nodded, her hands quickly wrapping the alethiometer. She would ask further questions when she found time to. For now, she would have to play along, and hopefully, the dark-haired man was actually trying to help her.
(0)
Equinox and Solstice rose through the air like bullets, as Will tried to hold on as well as he could. Kirjava had huddled to his stomach, eyes shut tightly.
And very suddenly, they stopped.
The boy gasped, slipping sideways, but caught himself in time. Aurora flew her daemon up to him.
"Ready, Will? I'll have to plunge after the Specter, because it'll start falling. You just wait here, alright?"
When he nodded, she skillfully took her blade from its case and let the light reflect on it. Then, she poised it in midair, and with a last look at the boy, cut through the fabric of the worlds.
Instantly, a window like Will had seen so many, opened, and right out of it came a black, shapeless form. It tried to grip Aurora, but missed, and went plunging to the ground.
Equinox bellowed and went streaking after it, so quickly he appeared blurred.
Not even twenty meters down, Aurora caught up with the beast and drove her blade into it. With a shriek, the Specter vanished, and she returned upwards to the boy.
But new questions had awoken in him, and Will was decided not to move until he got them answered.
"Hey, Aurora! How come I never saw a Specter come out of a window like that? I've created plenty and that's never happened!" He asked. She stabilized Equinox next to him, and slapped her forehead with her hand.
"Of course! I forgot to tell you. Before, there used to be a special window in the World of the Dead, through which the Specters came out of when they were created. That window was opened a bit after Easheatter was forged, long ago. But the angels closed that window when they searched the worlds for all unnatural openings, so the Specters now appear where ever a window is created." Aurora answered. She was going to fly away, but obviously sensed Will wanted to ask something else, because she stopped yet again, halfway into the other world.
"Oh. . . I was wondering. . . how come your blade doesn't cut through the words when it just moves. . .? Because you told me it was so powerful that a simple movement could open a window. How come nothing like that happened when you attacked the Specter?"
Aurora smirked. "Forseti knows what will happen if she opens worlds whenever she feels like it. But she is wise, so she has learned from her mistakes. If once, for accidentally opening a window, her tip was taken away, she will be more careful next time. And in my hands, her power is slightly under control. That's why I need Lyra to kill my brother with her; because not only will she be able to unleash an amazing power, but she will also entierly control the desire to open the fabric of the universe, which is something I cannot do."
And the girl's daemon flew into the other world. Will had no choice but to follow.
Aurora closed the window behind them and they set off, flying at break neck speed towards Oxford, where they hoped to find Lyra.
(0)
Wow. . .I'm done here. I hope things seem a bit clearer. And good news everyone, I've finally decided who's the bad guy in the story. . .however, I'm not telling. And another thing, the story will be over in two or three chapters. . .four at the most. . .
Ellidiot: Thanks! I hope you get to read the rest.
Unnamed: Wow. . .you really want to know what is going to happen, eh? But just so you know, I post at least once a week, because I usually find time to write a new chapter. Some times, I can post two chapters a week.
Quizgirl: Indeed. However, I'm sorry to say that you're wrong about Aurora. I may have forgotten to mention it, but Aurore got a new daemon when he crossed the Desolation to see if he could get one by separating a part of himself. He succeeded, because his daemon was buried inside of himself. But that'll all be explained when Aurora and Aurore will meet, so don't worry too much about it.
And a carcajou is a very mean animal that lives in the forest. It kind of looks like a small bear. Look it up.
Kaiame: Thanks for the review. I'll write as much as I can.
FoxofRoses: Can't tell; you'll have to find out with the rest. . .
Next chapter, Aurore gets closer to his goal as Lyra unleashes most of her Dust, while Aurora and Will try to find her. They need time, but it doesn't seem they have it. . .