Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife

«It is one of millions. There are openings between them, but they're not easily found. I know a dozen or so, but the places they open into have shifted, and that must be due to what Asriel's done. It seems that we can now pass directly from this world into our own, and probably into many others too. When I looked through one of the doorways earlier today, you can imagine how surprised I was to find it opening into our world, and what's more, to find you nearby. Providence, dear lady!

The change meant that I could bring you here directly, without the risk of going through Cittagazze.»

«Cittagazze? What is that?»

«Previously, all the doorways opened into one world, which was a sort of crossroads. That is the world of Cittagazze. But it's too dangerous to go there at the moment.»

«Why is it dangerous?»

«Dangerous for adults. Children can go there freely.»

«What? I must know about this, Carlo,» said the woman, and Will could hear her passionate impatience. «This is at the heart of everything, this difference between children and adults! It contains the whole mystery of Dust! This is why I must find the child. And the witches have a name for her — I nearly had it, so nearly, from a witch in person, but she died too quickly. I must find the child. She has the answer, somehow, and I must have it.»

«And you shall. This instrument will bring her to me — never fear. And once she's given me what I want, you can have her. But tell me about your curious bodyguards, Marisa. I've never seen soldiers like that. Who are they?»

«Men, that's all. But… they've undergone intercision. They have no daemons, so they have no fear and no imagination and no free will, and they'll fight til] they're torn apart.»

«No daemons… Well, that's very interesting. I wonder if I might suggest a little experiment, if you can spare one of them? I'd like to see whether the Specters are interested in them.»

«Specters? What are they?»

«I'll explain later, my dear. They are the reason adults can't go into that world. But if they're no more interested in your bodyguards than they are in children, we might be able to travel in Cittagazze after all. Dust — children — Specters — daemons — intercision… Yes, it might very well work. Have some more wine.»

«I want to know everything ,» she said, over the sound of wine being poured. «And I'll hold you to that. Now tell me: What are you doing in this world? Is this where you came when we thought you were in Brazil or the Indies?»

«I found my way here a long time ago,» said Sir Charles. «It was too good a secret to reveal, even to you, Marisa. I've made myself very comfortable, as you can see. Being part of the Council of State at home made it easy for me to see where the power lay here.»

«As a matter of fact, I became a spy, though I never told my masters all I knew. The security services in this world were preoccupied for years with the Soviet Union — we know it as Muscovy. And although that threat has receded, there are still listening posts and machines trained in that direction, and I'm still in touch with those who run the spies.»

Mrs. Coulter sipped her Tokay. Her brilliant eyes were fixed unblinkingly on his.

«And I heard recently about a profound disturbance in the earth's magnetic field,» Sir Charles continued. 'The security services are alarmed. Every nation that does research into fundamental physics — what we call experimental theology — is turning to its scientists urgently to discover what's going on. Because they know that something is happening. And they suspect it has to do with other worlds.

«They do have a few clues to this, as a matter of fact. There is some research being done into Dust. Oh, yes, they know it here as well. There is a team in this very city working on it. And another thing: There was a man who disappeared ten or twelve years ago, in the north, and the security services think he was in possession of some knowledge they badly need — specifically, the location of a doorway between the worlds, such as the one you came through earlier today. The one he found is the only one they know about: you can imagine I haven't told them what I know. When this new disturbance began, they set out to look for this man. And naturally, Marisa, I myself am curious. And I am keen to add to my knowledge.»

Will sat frozen, with his heart thudding so hard he was afraid the adults would hear it. Sir Charles was talking about his own father!

But all the time, he was conscious of something else in the room as well as the voices of Sir Charles and the woman. There was a shadow moving across the floor, or that part of it he could see beyond the end of the sofa and past the legs of the little octagonal table. But neither Sir Charles nor the woman was moving. The shadow moved in a quick darting prowl, and it disturbed Will greatly. The only light in the room was a standard lamp beside the fireplace, so the shadow was clear and definite, but it never stopped long enough for Will to make out what it was.

Then two things happened. First, Sir Charles mentioned the alethiometer.

«For example,» he said, continuing what he'd been saying, «I'm very curious about this instrument. Suppose you tell me how it works.»

And he placed the alethiometer on the octagonal table at the end of the sofa. Will could see it clearly; he could almost reach it.

The second thing that happened was that the shadow fell still. The creature that was the source of it must have been perched on the back of Mrs. Coulter's chair, because the light streaming over it threw its shadow clearly on the wall. And the moment it stopped, he realized it was the woman's daemon: a crouching monkey, turning its head this way and that, searching for something.

Will heard an intake of breath from Lyra behind him as she saw it too. He turned silently and whispered, «Go back to the other window, and come through into his garden. Find some stones and throw them at the study so they look away for a moment, and then I can get the alethiometer. Then run back to the other window and wait for me.»

She nodded, then turned and ran away silently over the grass. Will turned back.

The woman was saying, «… the Master of Jordan College is a foolish old man. Why he gave it to her I can't imagine; you need several years of intensive study to make any sense of it at all. And now you owe me some information, Carlo. How did you find it? And where is the child?»

«I saw her using it in a museum in the city. I recognized her, of course, having seen her at your cocktail party all that time ago, and I realized she must have found a doorway. And then I realized that I could use it for a purpose of my own. So when I came across her a second time, I stole it.»

«You're very frank.»

«No need to be coy; we're both grown-up.»

«And where is she now? What did she do when she found it was missing?»

«She came to see me, which must have taken some nerve, I imagine.»

«She doesn't lack nerve. And what are you going to do with it? What is this purpose of yours?»

«I told her that she could have it back, provided she got something for me — something I couldn't get myself.»

«And what is that?»

«I don't know whether you —»

And that was the moment when the first stone smashed into the study window.

It broke with a satisfying crash of glass, and instantly the monkey shadow leaped from the chair back as the adults gasped. There came another crash, and another, and Will felt the sofa move as Sir Charles got up.

Will leaned forward and snatched the alethiometer from the little table, thrust it into his pocket, and darted back through the window. As soon as he was on the grass in Cittagazze he felt in the air for those elusive edges, calming his mind, breathing slowly, conscious all the time that only feet away there was horrible danger.