Nagging and cajoling, seps, and ttered glass and splintered o a small, cool room off ttles, jars, pots, pestles and mortars, and cs balances. Under ty one sink, o a smaller one.

    quot;Sit do; h a dark golden liquid.

    ill sat doook t mout t like fire. Lyra took to stop it from falling as ill gasped.

    quot;Drink it all,quot; the old man commanded.

    quot; is it?quot;

    quot;Plum brandy. Drink.quot;

    ill sipped it more cautiously. Now o .

    quot;Can you ; said Lyra, e.

    quot;O draable and bring out a bandage.quot;

    ill saable in ter of t before  up toward er.

    quot;Drink again,quot; the old man said.

    ill igo  stung  t tion of a toly. t, and it  again.

    quot;tment,quot; t;Very difficult to obtain. Very good for ;

    It y, battered tube of ordinary antiseptic cream, suc in any p as if it were made of myrrh. ill looked away.

    And alaimon calling to ly to come and look out trel perc a movement belo treet o keep a flock of bats from urned ao run ones in t eacing to hing behind him, shaking his head.

    Angelica e, and so tle Paolo beried to pull ever roubling him.

    And Lyra realized  of sickness acked by Specters. Angelica kne, t see ttle Paolo riking at ty air to try and drive t it didnt ullio . s became more and more letly topped altogeto  not would bring him back.

    to feel Lyra c t.

    Lyra felt a jolt as if truck red in ense, and too, and tle boys voice cried, quot;ell kill you! You done to tullio! e gonna kill you, all rig;

    tricken brotened and guilty,  t heard. Gia-como Paradisi

    ment on tried to put w s of her mind, and focused on ill.

    quot;You got to tie somet; Lyra said, quot;to stop t  stop ot;

    quot;Yes, yes, I kno; said t sadly.

    ill kept ed whe plum brandy sip by sip.

    Presently  sootant, ting abominably.

    quot;No; said Giacomo Paradisi, quot;ake t is yours.quot;

    quot;I dont  it,quot; said ill. quot;I dont  anyto do .quot;

    quot;You  got t; said t;You are t;

    quot;I t you said you ; said Lyra.

    quot;My time is over,quot; ;to leave one tle in anoto tell. You dont believe me? Look!quot;

    tle finger and t to it  like ills.

    quot;Yes,quot; ;me too. I foug t kno;

    Lyra sat doy table ruggled to find words.

    quot;But I—ed t , t;

    quot;I kno man. .  give you anytake. s t, ray you. .quot;

    itance, ill turned to tself.  toal about eig crosspiece of tal, and a  it more closely,  t recognize till urned t angel, ood out a little from t up  t it ifully balanced, and t t dull after all. In fact, a so live just under tal: bruise purples, sea blues, eartrees, tering s tomb as evening falls over a deserted graveyard.... If t le knife.

    But t. In fact, teel, merging a little o tle s steel of an incomparable s it, so s seem. t as keen, but silvery in color, and Lyra,  over ills s;I seen t color before! ts to cut me and Pan apart s just t;

    quot;t; said Giacomo Paradisi, touceel ; terial in t;

    And  t only test resistance as tip of to table, cut clean off.

    quot;t; t on, quot;is more subtle still. it you can cut an opening out of

    togetry it noo knoeac me, and I  mucime left. Stand up and listen.quot;

    ill pusood,  dizzy, sick, rebellious.

    quot;I dont —quot;  Giacomo Paradisi shook his head.

    quot;Be silent! You dont —you dont ... you en to me, because time is s. Nos not only t o cut, its your o So do t your mind out at tip of the knife.

    Concentrate, boy. Focus your mind. Dont t your  ip. t is ly. Youre looking for a gap so small you could never see it  tip , if you put your mind there.

    Feel along till you sense t little gap in t;

    ill tried to do it. But   of  able and crouc oo muco bear. t and  and tears dazzled ened un  her....

    e. But t trangest t  across o find Pan-talaimons  ing, sorroly licked ills wounded hand again and again, and laid his head on ills knee once more.

    ill aboo in Lyras ing one person from touc toucalaimon before, it eness t  kno,  on iative, and noered to  of motcerest but not incredulity. raveled to otoo.

    Pantalaimons gesture ood up again, ears out of his eyes.

    quot;All rig; ;Ill try again. tell me o do.quot;

    time o do ting eetrembling ion, sing. Lyra ing to interrupt, because shis process. So did Dr.

    Malone, and so did t Keats,  it by straining to But songue and clasped her hands.

    quot;Stop,quot; said tly. quot;Relax. Dont pusle knife, not a heavy sword.

    Youre gripping it too tig your mind o your  and to t along tly, dont force it. Just o tip, ip of t do t no, and t;

    ill tried again. Lyra could see tensity in y descend over it, calming and relaxing and clarifying. ty o do range to her.

    So o her lap.

    tcogetopped trembling. No less intense, ly no too. Per he

    blade, or per  sat so naturally in ills  ttle movements ip noead of random.  turned t to find some little snag in ty air.

    quot;s t?quot; he said hoarsely.

    quot;Yes. Dont force it. Come back noo yourself.quot;

    Lyra imagined so o . ood back, dropped his hand, blinked.

    quot;I felt somet; o Giacomo Paradisi. quot;t slipping t first, and t it...quot;

    quot;Good. No again. time, . Dont ate. Dont be surprised. Dont drop t;

    ill o croucake t   ent on it; ood up again after a couple of seconds, the knife held forward already.

    time it  once,  to searc ttle snag after less te. It ely searc titc  of a scalpel. oucouco make sure, and t sidehe silver edge.

    It  Giacomo Paradisi  to be surprised.  careful  it doable before giving in to onis. Lyra tle room  like trees: a gap in midair ther world.

    And because toery, in fact, looking back toy. trees a little ance toy.

    If t already seen t  tical trick. Except t it  only optical; air , and traffic fumes,  in t-tagazze. Pantalaimon co a sing  before darting back to Lyras shoulder again.

    Giacomo Paradisi c;So muc learn to close.quot;

    Lyra stood back to give ill room, and to stand beside him.

    quot;For t; ;One  o begin  find it unless you put your soul into your fingertips. toucely; feel again and again till you find t togets all. try.quot;

    But ill rembling.  get o te balance  needed, and  more and more frustrated. Lyra could see w was happening.

    Sood up and took  arm and said, quot;Listen, ill, sit doell you o do it. Just sit doe, cause your s and its taking your mind off it. Its bound to. Itll ease off in a little w;

    t down again.

    ill sat do Lyra. quot; am I doing ; he said.

    ained, trembling, wild-eyed. he edge of his nerves: clenching his

    jaapping , breat.

    quot;Its your ; s;You ent  all. Youre doing it rig your  let you concentrate on it. I dont knoting around t, except maybe if you didnt try to s it out.quot;

    quot; dyou mean?quot;

    quot;ell, youre trying to do t once. Youre trying to ignore t o it by t time, I dont kno I ill frigime I . Just sort of relax your mind and say yes, it does , I kno try and s it out.quot;

    tle.

    quot;All rig; ;Ill try t.quot;

    And time it  e, and did as Giacomo Paradisi old oget  the world.

    a brief, calm exion, and t.

    tiff o est side of t t leato it and buckled it as tigh his clumsy hand.

    quot;t; Giacomo Paradisi said. quot;If ell you tory of tle knife, and torre degli Angeli, and tory of t and careless ers are our fault, our fault alone. ts, po die deepest nature of t t  particles of matter toget I mean by a bond? Somet binds?

    quot;ell, tile city. A city of traders and bankers. e t  bonds.

    e t a bond iable, somet could be bouged.... But about t ters in.quot;

    ill asked, quot;ers come from?  open under trees, t came in t;

    quot;ers come from is a mystery—from anothe darkness of space...

    ters is t troyed us. Are to times a knife bearer migful,  time to stop and close as rees... I left t open myself, in a moment of unforgivable foolis to tempt o ty, o ters. But I t oo clever for a trick like t. s the knife.

    Please, never let  it.quot;

    ill and Lyra shared a glance.

    quot;ell,quot; t;all I can do is o you and so use it, o be, before it decayed. First, never open  closing. Second, never let anyone else use the knife.

    It is yours alone. t for a base purpose. Fourt secret. If tten tten t is because t matter. You  be a c our akable. I dont even know your name. Now go. I shall die very soon, because

    I knoend to  for ters to come in, as t. Go.quot;

    quot;But, Mr. Paradisi—quot; Lyra began.

    But  on: quot;time. You  kno purpose is, but t you ;

    quot;You ent really going to poison yourself?quot; said Lyra, distressed.

    quot;Come on,quot; said ill.

    quot;And  angels?quot; s on.

    ill tugged her arm.

    quot;Come on,quot; ;e got to go. t;

    ained, dusty rig gently. oo, and nodded to Pantalaimon, w.

    Clutcs leatairs and out of to tle square, and tion, but treet y. And it ter not to   already. Sreet ullio anding, as still as death.

    quot;I opping to look back up. quot;Its eet  going to swallow some poison and die now, and I wis;

    Sears.

    quot;; said ill. quot;It

    go to sleep. Its better ters, ;

    quot;O o do, ill?quot; s; o do? Youre  so bad, and t poor old man.... I e t to t o do no;

    quot;ell,quot; ;ts easy. eve got to get ter back, so eal it.

    ts o do.quot;