away, gazing horrified.

    Sravelers in  of t as scer busy gorging on—somety tly, daemons  outside. o ter be  turned  indifference at tle son drowning beside him.

    t oo mucer, and as sa Skadi cried out: quot;Be careful, sister! Be;

    And Serafina felt just for a moment a  t, and reac and up for Ruta Skadis o  er be of mist ser, casting about for its lost prey. Ruta Skadi s an arroo t of it,  at all.

    Serafina put t it ers, and treated to ttle band of travelers ed for good no flies, tccance, and every adult ill. tanding, t  doerrible stillness  of ters drifted aed, Serafina fleting on trong, hy-looking woman whose cheeks were red and whose fair hair was glossy.

    quot;oman?quot; said Serafina. t;Can you ;

    S to notice. , and when away again.

    tctered  tims in dismay.

    ttle knoll some aring at tcogether fearfully.

    quot;tc; said a ch.

    Sed up to o look back, so see w was going on.

    quot;ell speak to ; said Serafina, and sprang into the air.

    ers, co t Serafina Pekkala alig before laying it on t of her.

    t gesture s meaning akable. ted, looking from Serafina to tco too,  urning tail and running while his companions perished.

    quot;; he said.

    quot;My name is Serafina Pekkala. I am tc is your name?quot;

    quot;Joaccreat ;

    quot;If  make us your enemy?quot;

    for a fes, and settled ;It mig;

    ;but times o t;

    quot;Because times  are tures y?quot;

    quot;ell, ters...quot; onis;Dont you knoers?quot;

    quot;eve never seen t knoo tand.quot;

    quot;t t; said Joac;Only toucy of travelers o include a man and a o look after t times are bad noies are ters, and to be no more t;

    Ruta Skadi o it o meet her.

    quot;But tell me ; Joac on. quot;You didnt ans ;

    quot;ere looking for a c; said Serafina, quot;a young girl from our  range c;

    quot;No. But , making for t;

    quot;Angels?quot;

    quot;troops of t been so common in t years, time ten, or so o say.quot;

    otered ed travelers. ted noing some of the children.

    Serafina folloonig ters, ell us more about t;

    quot;Certainly I ;

    tco move trees s o stay o see ttle co a moto

    tugging to not understand s. t parents of t before, simply looked bleak and stayed dumb. Serafina picked up ttle boy  figure still standing in ter, indifferent. Serafina felt ears on her bare skin.

    to tcernly, ignoring tears. t in oo seemed immortal and strong and beautiful.

    Later, as t old Serafina and Ruta Skadi about tory of his world.

    It ies , tilled and fertile. Merc so and fro on ts of cod and tunny, bass and mullet; ts ran  s and squares of t cities ambassadors from Brasil and Benin, from Eireland and Corea mingled abaco sellers, une bonds. At nig under t gardens, and tirred  of jasmine and to trung mandarone.

    tcened o tale of a  so different.

    quot;But it  ; ;t all  orre degli Angeli, toy , to blame. Ot  on us for some great sin, t about  sin  suddenly out of no it is to live in a ers in it.  rely on anytinuing as it is? At any moment a fat be taken, or a mot; a merc migaken, and erprise fail, and all ors lose t; and rust trust and all tue fell out of our ;

    quot;; said Serafina. quot;And ;

    quot;In ty —Cittagazze. ty of magpies. You kno? Because magpies steal, and ts all e not noteal from ot other worlds.

    torre degli Angeli discovered all o kno t subject.

    t, lets you  isnt ts not a spell but a key t can open even  is, it let ters in. And t still, I understand. to oteal from t t otoo, like ideas, or sacks of corn, or pencils. t; terly, quot;t Guild of t;

    quot; ters ; asked Ruta Skadi.

    quot;t is test mystery of all. In t repels ters of Indifference. But its more t. C see though we

    cant understand er-orps aken; try, and sometimes t to adults to look for food and supplies in a Specter-ridden area, and sometimes t about and scavenge.

    quot;So t is our rue parasites: t kill t, t of t of  till recently, till t storm. Sucorm it  sounded as if t; t been a storm like t in memory.

    quot;And t lasted for days and covered every part of t I knoravel. And ers, o t to sea, but time wherever we go. As you saw for yourselves.

    quot;Nos your turn. You tell me about your  to come to t;

    Serafina told rut man, and t needed concealing from ened closely, s;I told you about to ot occasionally t of forgetfulness; 1  be surprised if travelers from otime to time. e kno angels pass ter all.quot;

    quot;Angels?quot; said Serafina. quot;You mentioned to us. Can you explain t;

    quot;You  to kno angels?quot; said Joac;Very old. Some call tcoo. t beings of fles. Or maybe ter and clearer, I  kno t like us. ts times in to anotill nigs. t from ours, t days too, some say.

    quot;And  storm, I  by Specters in ty of SantElia, on my  to a birc long I s too, closer to go out and see, tark terrified, if you  to kno ever got during t fog, I ventured to look out, and I sa figure lying  as if I  to see—sacred to look away, and whe figure was gone.

    quot;ts t I ever came to an angel. But as I told you, , ars, making for t of mighty ships under sail....

    Somet kno may be. t. t I dont knocome   be impossible if t tation  imagine it.

    quot;t;  on, sitting up to stir t;t migter t mig a ogeto t t a blessing t would be, eh! how fresh and happy we could live, free

    of t fearful blig;

    t ared into t played over  trong features; he looked grim and sad.

    Ruta Skadi said, quot;t, do you kno w;

    quot;I couldnt say. Im not a learned man, you can see t plain enoug ts ts, tering, ts  on s  from.quot;

    cars in theirs:

    t across ts of starliged t matcness....

    quot;Sir,quot; said Serafina, quot;did you ever ?quot;

    quot;Dust? I guess you mean it in some ot on t look! troop of angels no;

    ed to tellation of Op, a tiny cluster of lig drift; t of geese or swans.

    Ruta Skadi stood up.

    quot;Sister, its time I parted from you,quot; so Serafina. quot;Im going up to speak to tever to Lord Asriel, Ill go , Ill searc;

    ta Skadi took o t, sped out of the dark alongside her.

    quot;ere going ; he said.

    quot;As ed fliers in Oply, Sergi. Lets catc;

    And s be look back at ttle fire in t tc part of ures a, and unless s  against t expanse of starlight.

    So s of took on a clearer shape.

    t as if t as if, c ts a Skadi stayed becrengto fig armed, but on t even outstrip  came to a chase.

    Making  in case, s;Angels!

    and listen to me! I am tca Skadi, and I  to talk to you!quot;

    turned. t  inill tanding uprigion by ting of they

    surrounded  by an invisible sun.

    Sting on  ing rangeness of it, and tered to sit close to th of her body.

    Eacinctly an individual, and yet t ting play of intelligence and feeling t seemed to saneously. t s naked in front of t  so deep.

    Still, s surned th head held high.

    quot;So you are angels,quot; s;or atc;

    quot;e are follo; said one.

    S sure w mig once.

    quot;; she said.

    quot;A mans.quot;

    quot;Lord Asriels?quot;

    quot;It may be.quot;

    quot;;

    quot;Because o,quot; came the reply.

    quot;to ; shem.

    Ruta Skadi  c-lived  s test idea of  beings. Nor did s beyond ary tentacles to test corners of universes s sed to. If so perceive true form, tecture tructures composed of intelligence and feeling.

    But ted nothing else: she was very young.

    At once t ted urbulence t added to .

    t t. tars  into brilliance as t and moist.

    In t to any eye trangeness  Ruta Skadi saill not t of t some ot from somewhere else.

    tirelessly tirelessly s pace. S a fierce joy possessing  sal presences. And s next to  of  and t-voiced bluet daemon, and in ture, plant and animal boted in being of tance as t  so see Lord Asriel again.

    Anot came, and still t some point ty of t for tter, but ca Skadi kne t of t o anot  guess.

    quot;Angels!quot; s; the world I found you in? here

    ;

    quot;t; came t;Gateo ot you cannot.quot;

    Ruta Skadi couldnt see te s need to: ce better ttention on tion exactly. Noe  think.

    tly s;Lord Asriel is in tress ;

    ta Skadi looked  faint glimmer of liginting t, tars above sly as ever against t black of t  by moment, a great mountain range reared its peaks—jagged spears of black rock, migootastrop on t point, lined in brilliance, stood a regular structure: a ress s  , and  o be measured in flying time.

    Beneatress, fires glared and furnaces smoked in ta Skadi  mills.

    And from every direction, ss of angels o, and not only angels, but macoo: steel- gliding like albatrosses, glass cabins under flickering dragonfly  Lord Asriel ains at the world.

    quot;And is Lord Asriel t; she said.

    quot;Yes, ; the angels replied.

    quot;ts fly to meet  be my guard of ;

    Obediently t toress, chem.