Mrs. Coulter he shadow beside her:

    quot;Look atron! ...quot;

    tood on a ledge  cavern, cheir careful way down, a long way below.

    quot;I could strike ; the shadow whispered.

    quot;Yes, of course you could,quot; s;but I  to see atron; I  o knorayed s folloc;

    t fall s pillar of faint lig descended smooto ter tention to spare for it, because trembling h

    desire, and so keep  control she could manage.

    t, follo a great weariness fall over her.

    quot;? ?quot;  once.

    quot;I ; s malice, quot; to love and be loved. I t I loved  now...”

    quot;t,quot; t;in your  t t you  see ;

    quot;Oatron,  is since you  tell  is Im regretting? Its not  mine. terly I regret t I didnt knoo you...quot;

    So control to gulp at t of her flesh.

    tumbled and broken rocks to of t, t lig. Mrs. Coulter kept reac o recollect herself, and whispered:

    quot;Keep beatron,   me lull .  come as a s see you, ot let t;

    t  o deepen and strengtself, and  t moment o destroy Lyra and to possess ayed hey could.

    Lord Asriel ing be block of granite, out of sig. tood up as Mrs. Coulter came around timeter of air, ed by t, y to every tiny detail; and in t lig  ears, and t sting eet to sob.

    ook he snow leopards neck and buried his black face in her fur.

    quot;Is Lyra safe? ; she whispered.

    quot;t of tecting bot;

    quot;Dust is beautiful... I never kne;

    quot; did you tell ;

    quot;I lied and lied, Asriel.. .Lets not  too long, I cant bear it... e  live,  survive like ts?quot;

    quot;Not if o to give Lyra time to find ime to live and groake Metatron to extinction, Marisa, s time, and if  doesnt matter.quot;

    quot;And Lyra ;

    quot;Yes, yes,quot; ly.

    as soft and ligeen years before.

    Sly. hen she could speak, she whispered:

    quot;I told o betray you, and betray Lyra, and  and

    full of  I lied too ed o find no good in me, and . t I love Lyra.  kno came to me like a t, and noing . All I could  my crimes rous t tard seed in tted even greater ones to  more deeply still... But tard seed aken root and tle green s ting my  wide open, and I was so afraid ;

    So stop to gatroked  about , and ed.

    quot;Any moment no; s;I told o make  er all, even if le o t;

    ;Yes. Lyra  ;

    Sook a deep breat it out in a long, s dohe hair back behind her ears.

    quot;Metatron,quot; sly. quot;Its time.quot;

    Metatrons s of took in at once w was wo daemons, croucc, and Lord Asriel...

    at  once, seizing , and tried to o ts, palms, elboered Lord Asriels  pummeling blo forced t cracked against his skull and shook his senses.

    o  later, Mrs. Coulter  up betatrons rengt  folded rained and  tighem.

    too. Stelmaria eetearing at one of t  to greater fury. it er against a rock.

    Mrs. Coulter unned for a second, and  once ting o fling off t Lord Asriels arms  tter grip no so muco enclose. Lord Asriel set o crus of Metatron, grinding ogetrying to ignore t were landing on his skull and his neck.

    But to tell. And as Lord Asriel tried to keep ing on ttering o tatron -sized rock, and no doal force on t of Lord Asriels skull. t t eac anot  till clung fast, t , and stumbled for a footing among tured rocks.

    And as Metatron raised tone o a treetop, and teeto ttered down

    toatron s o left and rigrying to dislodge t teetail, and ter gat ing o s movement.

    Metatron  . Nor was he abyss.

    And by noo   a little more . ogetight and drag down.

    ter found to his eyes.

    Metatron cried out. From far off across t cavern, eco cliff, doubling and diminisant gs to pause in their endless procession and look up.

    And Stelmaria t effort and leapt for t.

    Metatron fell to er, falling  ing o eeth.

    And noumbling and rocks falling, and tcearing, and t t at t Metatron forced  effort spread bot  beat doer atron ig . t go…

    But tatron would escape.

    quot;Marisa! Marisa!quot;

    torn from Lord Asriel, and ood and found ing and leapt , to  ting ogeto the abyss.

    ts ion of dismay, and t  once.

    ill sprang for of t a little kick on ialys leapt off and landed on t, seizing ure o t one looked stupidly at tump of   fell. A second later t. ill felt times beats, and pulled it out before t could t it away in falling.

    red as t Lyra was un beside  hing in his mind.

    quot;tialys! tialys!quot; eet cliff-gs ialys ing still, so  off  aing thery neck.

    quot;ill,quot; said Lyra be;ill, look at t;

    So tal litter. It al ained and smeared  ts ing before t. It lay tilted crazily among t...

    quot;Oill alive! But, t;

    ill saal, trying to reaco t errified, crying like a baby and coo t corner.

    quot; be so old, Ive never seen anyone suffering like t, o  ?quot;

    ill cut tal in one movement and reaco . Demented and po seemed like yet anot.

    quot;Its all rig; ill said, quot;. Come on,   you.quot;

    ttering a  on and on, and grinding eet  as Lyra reacoo, to , ried to smile, and to bo  wonder.

    Bet of days out of al cell; it   as paper, and o simple kindness like a floo t in to stop to to loosen and dissolve. Only a fes later ely, and t impression  profound and exed relief.

    tery dissolving in mystery. It aken less te, and ill turned back at once to ttle body, cradling it in ears flo.

    But Lyra ly.

    quot;ill,  to move,  to, those horses coming...”

    Out of t and ducked; but Salmakia cried rengt;No, Lyra! No! Stand  your fist!quot;

    So Lyra ill, supporting one arm urned and so seize her knuckles in sharp claws.

    On t a gray- at Lyra, t Salmakia clinging to her collar.

    quot;Madame...quot; said Salmakia faintly, quot;we ;

    quot;You ; said Madame Oxentiel, and tche reins.

    At once times, so loud t Lyras ed from t one, t  it seemed to craso one anot ts and te t instead, to apestry of s and silent needle-brighe children.

    quot;Lyra,quot; said t;and ill: folloo your daemons.quot;

    As ts ed atle  t only trengt umbling and falling more t ly against  all time.

    quot;Left! Left!quot; cried tning-riven murk turned t o t ill saep beside tream of dragonflies made for t once, and tered. t, eacs back, finding a o the

    insect as it   impossible to follourned and fled in panic, ttered.

    But ts in a sudden turned in dismay: t a gallop, and already one or trapping to snap ts like ws aside.

    quot;t; came t;Duck, no do;

    t t be s? Lyra raised  e different from horses.

    quot;Iorek!quot; s. quot;O;

    ill pulled  once, for not only Iorek Byrnison but a regiment of ly for t in time Lyra tucked o o go left, go righem.

    Ligo face ill and Lyra, .

    quot;Iorek, be nets!quot; ill cried, because t on them.

    Before t antly Iorek eel-strong cob t rong, and alt fighe coils.

    quot;Iorek!quot; ill sed. quot;Keep still! Dont move!quot;

    ussocks as tried to control t at t w he air.

    But ill kept ead of slasting in more of a tangle, c and cut it tter of moments. t fell useless to t at Iorek, feeling  ting . t bear stood motionless as ted  body, cutting, freeing, clearing the way.

    quot;No; ill yelled, leaping clear, and Iorek seemed to explode upo t of t horse.

    tar to s t Iorek Byrnison in ons, and not t range could and tered, fell o see o the children:

    quot;On my back! No;

    Lyra leapt up, and ill follo to move.

    Be of trange cavalry, ings enraged t;Straigrees in t;

    Iorek reacop of a little rise in to a quarter of a mile atery of great guns  burst just under ted doorees, making t as a fine target for the guns.

    And figrol of tself ers, being s. As soon as t little group of trees, Lyra and ill bot t if t reacers here

    every minute, streaming over t. ill and Lyra could see them very clearly now.

    An explosion just over tones and clods of earto t, and ill o clutc.

    quot;; Iorek groo charge.

    A flare burst ing slo glare. Anot, closer time, and t ter ting of eartones on t falter, but t o  dig to o grip t bot slipping.

    quot;Look!quot; cried Lyra, pointing up as anot nearby.

    A dozen cs aside, so t from the guns.

    And no tement, a rees and to go in directly among t of t nauseating  t.

    quot;t; said a voice beside topped so suddenly t ill and Lyra tumbled off his back.

    quot;Lee!quot; said Iorek. quot;Lee, my comrade, I  am I speaking to?quot;

    quot;Iorek, old feller, you dont kno. ell take over noers arent afraid of bears. Lyra, ill, come t knife...”

    to Lyras fist, and t;Dont e a second, go in and find your daemons and escape! t;

    quot;t; said Lyra, and took wing.

    ill could see Lee Scoresbys g dimly beside to t to say fareo Iorek Byrnison.

    quot;Iorek, my dear, t ;

    quot;t; said ill.

    quot;No time. Go. Go!quot;

    er Lee Scoresbys g into to rig  ed, and tangled, confusing.

    quot;Keep close,quot; o Lyra, and t as a bramble sliced across his cheek.

    All around t, noise, and struggle. to and fro like branc s: bot ttle dashey heard voices all around:

    quot;t;

    quot;Over ;

    quot;Keep going, were ;

    quot;Not far no;

    And t Lyra kneter ther:

    quot;O;

    quot;Pan, darling, Im here...”

    So tore dotles,  and warning.

    But ters arget, too, and tangle of bus and brancing no more resistance ties seemed to pour in toer of t marso fighem off.

    ill and Lyra rembling and ion, nausea, and pain, but giving up ore at to left and rig of the shadowy beings became more and more savage.

    quot;t; cried Lee. quot;See em? By t big rock...”

    A , ts, spitting and  t if time o tell  t time, because a Specter eased  of t patcohe daemons.

    ill leapt over t obstacle, a fallen tree trunk, and plunged to ting s  eet, and to boil a back into the darkness again.

    Almost ters and still more came pressing trees, and only t gs were hem back.

    quot;Can you cut t; said Jo.

    ill o stop as a racking bout of nausea so toe. t in omac dreadfully. Lyra beside ate. Lees g, seeing led  hem.

    quot;ill, please...” said Lyra, gasping.

    In  t looked t prairie under a brilliant moon, so very like   hed been blessed.

    ill leapt across t daemon wher.

    And even in t  t moment of utmost peril, eac ttle sement: for Lyra alaimon.

    tore thers eyes.

    quot;Good-bye, Mr. Scoresby!quot; Lyra cried, looking around for ;I wis;

    quot;Good-bye, my dear c;

    Lyra scrambled t ill stood still and looked into t, brilliant in t o say.

    ill said to , quot;You said I old me t ure, and I s argue . Fat because I o. I cant cure, but I can c I do. And I will c;

    enderness. quot;ell done, my boy. ell done indeed,quot; he said.

    ill couldnt see urned and climbed ter Lyra.

    And no toms to relax and drift apart, at long, long last.

    Out of ttle grove, aers, out of t ty form of his old

    companion t little scrap of t  Lee Scoresby floated up as  balloon imes. Untroubled by ting so ts and cries of anger and  of Lee Scoresby passed t under t stars, ing for him.