Will set off at ooward the sound, and Lyra followed behind as he plunged down a narrow alley shadowed from the moonlight. After several twists and turns they came out into the square in front of the stoower theyd seen that m.
Twenty or so children were fag inward in a semicircle at the base of the tower, and some of them had sticks in their hands, and some were throwing sto whatever they had trapped against the wall. At first Lyra thought it was another child, but ing from ihe semicircle
was a horrible high wailing that wasnt human at all. And the children were screaming too, in fear as well as hatred.
Will ran up to the children and pulled the first one back. It was a boy of about his own age, a boy in a striped T-shirt. As he turned Lyra saw the wild white rims around his pupils, and theher children realized what was happening and stopped to look. Angelid her little brother were there too, stones in hand, and all the childrens eyes glittered fiercely in the moonlight.
They fell silent. Only the high wailing tinued, and then both Will and Lyra saw what it was: a tabby cat, c against the wall of the tower, its ear torn and its tail bent. It was the cat Will had seen in Sunderland Avehe one like Moxie, the ohat had led him to the window.
As soon as he saw her, he flung aside the boy he was holding. The boy fell to the ground and in a moment, furious, but the others held him back. Will was already kneeling by the cat.
And then she was in his arms. She fled to his breast and he cradled her close and stood to face the children, and Lyra thought for a crazy sed that his daemon had appeared at last.
"What are you hurting this cat for?" he demanded, and they couldnt ahey stood trembling at Wills anger, breathing heavily, clutg their sticks and their stones, and they couldnt speak.
But then Angelicas voice came clearly: "You ain from here! You ain from Cigazze! You didn know about Specters, you don know about cats either. You ain like us!"
The boy iriped T-shirt whom Will had thrown down was trembling to fight, and if it hadnt been for the cat in Wills arms, he would have flown at Will with fists ah a, and Will would have gladly joined battle. There was a current of electric hatred betweewo of them that only violence could ground. But the boy was afraid of the cat.
"Where you e from?" he said ptuously.
"Doesnt matter where we e from. If youre scared of this cat, Ill take her away from you. If shes bad luck to you, shell be good luck for us. Now get out of the way."
For a moment Will thought their hatred would overe their fear, and he reparing to put the cat down and fight, but then came a low thunderous growl from behind the children, and they turo see Lyra standing with her hand on the shoulders of a great spotted leopard whose teeth shone white as he snarled. Even Will, whnized Pantalaimon, was frightened for a sed.
Its effe the children was dramatic: they turned and fled at once. A few seds later the square was empty.
But before they left, Lyra looked up at the tower. A growl from Pantalaimon prompted her, and just briefly she saw someohere on the very top, looking dowhe battle-mented rim, and not a child either, but a young man, with curly hair.
Half an hour later they were in the flat above the cafe. Will had found a tin of densed milk, and the cat had lapped it hungrily and then begun to lick her wounds. Pantalaimon had bee cat-formed out of cur