It was dark, with an enfolding blaess that pressed on Lyras eyes so heavily that she almost felt the weight of the thousands of tons of rock above them. The only light they had came from the luminous tail of the Lady Salmakias dragonfly, and even that was fading; for the poor is had found no food in the world of the dead, and the Chevaliers had died not long before.
So while Tialys sat on Wills shoulder, Lyra held the Ladys dragonfly in her hands as the Lady soothed it and whispered to the trembling creature, feeding it first on crumbs of biscuit and then on her own blood. If Lyra had seen her do that, she would have offered hers, sihere was more of it; but it was all she could do to trate on plag her feet safely and avoiding the lowest parts of the rock above.
No-he harpy had led them into a system of caves that would bring them, she said, to the point in the world of the dead from which they could open a window to another world. Behind them came the endless n of ghosts. The tunnel was full of whispers, as the foremost enced those behind, as the brave urged on the faied, as the old gave hope to the young.
"Is it much farther, No-Name?" said Lyra quietly. "Because this poonflys dying, and then his lightll go out."
The harpy stopped and turo say:
"Just follow. If you t see, listen. If you t hear, feel."
Her eyes shone fier the gloom. Lyra nodded and said, "Yes, I will, but Im not as strong as I used to be, and Im not brave, not very anylease dont stop. Ill follow you, we all will. Please keep going, No-Name."
The harpy turned bad moved on. The dragonfly shine was getting dimmer by the minute, and Lyra k would soon be pletely gone.
But as she stumbled forward, a voice spoke just beside her, a familiar voice.
"Lyra, Lyra, child..."
And she turned in delight.
"Mr. Scoresby! Oh, Im so glad to hear you! And it is you, I see, just, oh, I wish I could touch you!"
In the faint, faint light she made out the lean form and the sardonic smile of the Texan aeronaut, and her hand reached forward of its own accord, in vain.
"Me too, honey. But listen to me, theyre w some trouble out there, and its aimed at you, dont ask me how. Is this the boy with the knife?"
Will had been looking at him, eager to see this old panion of Lyras; but now his eyes went right past Lee to look at the ghost beside him. Lyra saw at once who it was, and marveled at this grown-up vision of Will, the same jutting jaw, the same way of holding his head.
Will eechless, but his father said:
"Listen, theres no time to talk about this, just do exactly as I say. Take the knife now and find a place where a lock has been cut from Lyras hair."
His tone was urgent, and Will didnt waste time asking why. Lyra, her eyes wide with alarm, held up the dragonfly with one hand a her hair with the other.
"No," said Will, "take your hand away, I t see."
And in the faint gleam, he could see it: just above her left temple, there was a little patch of hair that was shorter than the rest.
"Who did that?" said Lyra. "And...」
"Hush," said Will, and asked his fathers ghost, "What must I do?」
"Cut the short hair ht down to her scalp. Collect it carefully, every single hair. Dont miss evehen open another world, any will do, and put the hair through into it, and then close it again. Do it now, at once."
The harpy was watg, the ghosts behind were crowding close. Lyra c