Chapter 13 13. Issarhart

[Aesahaettr (Aesahaettr), is another name for the magic sword in the novel, which is a word created by the author from Norwegian, meaning "God Destroyer (God Destroyer)"] When the moon rises , the witch begins to cast a spell on Will, healing his wounds. They woke him and told him to put the knife on the ground, the blade shining in the light of the stars.Lyra sat nearby, stirring herbs in a pot over the fire.Her companions clapped their hands, stamped their feet, and shouted rhythmically, and Serafina crouched beside the knife and sang in a shrill, high-pitched voice: "Knife! They dug your steel from the belly of Mother Earth and made a fire , smelt the ore, let it weep and bleed into rivers; hammer it, hammer it, dip it in icy water, heat it in the forge until your blades are red-hot!

Then they plunge you into the water again and again until the steam is a boiling mist and the river cries for mercy. When you cut one shadow into 30,000 shadows, they know that you have been refined, so they call you the magic sword. But knife, what did you do? You open the door of blood and let it stand wide open! Knife, your mother calls you, from the belly of the earth, from her deep mines, from her hidden iron belly. listen! "Serafina stomped and clapped again with the other witches, who were screaming at the top of their lungs, tearing the air like claws. Will sat among them, feeling chills down his spine.

That's when Serafina Pekkala turned to Will, taking his wounded hand in both.When she sang again this time, her voice was so high-pitched and her eyes sparkled, Will almost flinched, but he sat still and let the spell go on. "Blood! Obey me! Turn around and be a lake, not a river. When you hit air, stop!Coagulate into a wall, firmly coagulate, and block the blood. With blood, your head is your sky, your eyes are your sun, the breath in your lungs is your wind, with blood, your world has boundaries.stay there! "Will felt every atom of his body responding to her commands, so he joined in, urging his own bleeding blood to listen and obey.

She dropped his hand and turned to the tin can on the fire, and Will heard the liquid bubbling violently as a puff of bitter-smelling steam rose from the can. Serafina sang: "The rubber tree, the spider's silk, the moss on the ground, the salt-weed seeds—hold fast, stick fast, hold, close, block the door, lock the gate, the walls of blood shall coagulate, the blood of wounds shall Dry up." The witch took her knife and split an alder sapling in half from top to bottom, the split white trunk gleaming in the moonlight.She applied some steaming liquid to the crack, then closed the tree and stroked it from bottom to top, and the tree was whole again.Will heard Lyra gasp, turned around, and saw another witch holding a writhing, struggling rabbit in her strong hands.The rabbit was panting heavily, its eyes were wild, and it kicked its legs violently, but the witch's hand was merciless.She held its front legs with one hand and its hind legs with the other, and the panicked rabbit was held tight, belly up, heaving and falling.

Serafina raised the knife and cut down, Will felt dizzy for a while, Laila stopped Pantalaimon, and he himself changed into the shape of a rabbit, jumping in Laila's arms, he felt for the rabbit Very sympathetic.The real rabbit fell motionless, its eyes bulging, its chest heaving and its guts gleaming. But Serafina poured more liquid, dripping into the open wound, and closed the wound with her fingers, stroking the wet fur until it disappeared completely. The witch who had caught the rabbit let go, and gently lowered it to the ground.The rabbit shook its body, licked its own waist, shook its ears, and gnawed on the blade of grass as if no one was there.As if suddenly aware of the witches around it, it ran away like an arrow, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Lyra was coaxing Pantalaimon when she glanced at Will and knew he understood what it meant: the medicine was ready.He held out his hand, and Serafina applied the steaming hot concoction to his bleeding hand, and he looked away, gasping for breath several times, but he didn't flinch. When the exposed muscles of his wound were soaked with the liquid, the witch pressed some dodder to the wound, and bound it tightly with a silk cloth. And just like that, the spell ended. The rest of the night, Will fell asleep in a deep sleep.It was cold, but the witches piled leaves on him, and Lyra huddled behind him.Serafina applied medicine to his wound again in the morning, and he tried to tell from her expression whether the wound was healing, but her face was calm and indifferent.

After they had breakfast, Serafina told the two children that the witches had reached an agreement, since they came to this world to find Laila and be her guardian, and they wanted to help Laila complete her mission, then It is to guide Will to find his father. So they all set off, and it was quiet for the most part.At first, Lyra cautiously questioned the alethiometer, and she learned that they were heading towards the mountains looming across the bay.If they hadn't come to the highest part of the city, they wouldn't have realized how winding the coastline was, how the mountains were once below the horizon.But now, when the woods were sparse, or when they turned over the hills, they could see far away the blue boundless sea and the tall green hills beyond the sea, and there was their destination.It seems that there is still a long way to go.

They rarely speak.Laila was busy looking at all kinds of animals in the forest, from woodpeckers and squirrels to small green snakes with squares on their backs, while Will needed to concentrate on walking forward, and Laila and Pantalaimon kept talking. talking about him. "We can take a look at the alethiometer," said Pantalaimon, as they wandered along a path to see how close they could get to a fawn grazing without being spotted. Alethiometer. We can find all kinds of things for him, and we do it for him, not for us." "Don't be stupid," Lyra said. "It's for us, because he didn't ask. You're greedy and nosy, Pan."

"That's just a change. You're usually the one who's greedy and nosy, and I'm the one who always warns you. Like in the lounge at Jordan, I never wanted to be in there." "Pan, do you think all this would have happened if we hadn't?" "No, because the dean will poison Lord Asriel to death, and it will be over if that happens." "Yeah, I guess so...but who do you think Will's father is? Why is he so important?" "That's exactly what I meant! We'll find out in a minute!" She looked thoughtful. "I almost asked once," she said, "but I think I've changed, Pam."

"No, you haven't changed." "Maybe you haven't changed...Hey, Pam, when I change, you don't want to change. What do you want to be?" "I wish to be a flea." "No, don't you have any sense of what you're going to become?" "No. And I don't want to change." "You're angry because I won't let you do what you want." He turned into a pig and snored and squealed and snorted until Lyra started laughing at him and he turned into a squirrel again and slid into the bushes beside her. "Who do you think his father will be?" Pantalaimon asked. "Do you think he will be someone we met?"

"Possibly. But he must be an important man, almost as important as Lord Asriel, certainly. In short, we know what we're doing matters. " "We don't know," Pantalaimon pointed out. "We thought it was important, but we didn't know. We only came looking for Dust because Roger died." "We know it's important!" Lyra said eagerly, almost stamping her foot. "Witches think so too. They came all the way here to be my guardians. Help me! We have to help." It's important that you find his father. You know that's important, or you wouldn't be licking him when he hurts. Why on earth did you do that? You never asked me if you could do that. When I could hardly believe it when you did that." "I did it because he didn't have a genie, and he needed a genie. If you knew half as well as you thought you could, you'd know." "I do know, really," she said. They stopped because they saw Will, sitting on a rock by the side of the road.Pantalaimon turned into a dove and flew into the bushes.Lyra asked, "Will, what do you think those kids are going to do now?" "They won't follow us, they're afraid of witches. Maybe they go back and wander around." "Yeah, maybe. Though they might want to use the knife. They might follow us because of it." "Then let them come. They don't have the knife in their hands, not yet. I didn't want the knife in the first place, but if it can kill the yokai..." "I never trusted Angelica, not in the first place," Lyra said bluntly. "No, you did." "Yes, I did believe it... I ended up hating it, hating the city." "I thought it was heaven when I first found it and I can't imagine a better place. But it's been full of monsters all the time, and we don't know..." "Oh, I'll never trust kids again," Lyra said. "I think back to Birvangar, those grown-ups did all kinds of bad things, but kids are different, they don't Would have done something so cruel, but now I'm not sure. I've never seen a kid like that before, and that's how it is." "I've seen it," Will said. "When? In your world?" "Yes," he said awkwardly.Lyra sat there waiting motionless, and after a while he went on: "My mother was going through a bad time of hers at the time, she and I, the two of us living alone, obviously because my father was away. She often Thinking of unreal things and doing things that don't make sense - but not against me. I mean she has to do these things or she gets frustrated and scared, so I help her. Like Feeling all the railings in the park, or counting the leaves on a bush - that sort of thing, she usually gets better after a while. But I'm afraid someone will find out about her condition, because I want them to would have taken her, so I took care of her and kept it a secret, I never told anyone. "Once she got scared again but I wasn't there to help her. I went to school. She went out without much clothes on but she didn't know it. A couple of boys from my school spotted her , they started..." Will's face flushed.He couldn't help walking up and down, not looking at Laila because his voice was shaking and his eyes were full of tears.He continued: "They tortured her like the kids at that tower tortured the cat... They thought she was crazy and they wanted to hurt her, maybe kill her, I wouldn't be surprised. They hated her just because she was different. Anyway, I found her later and brought her home. The next day I got into a fight with the lead boy at school and I interrupted him arm, and I think I knocked out a few of his teeth--I don't know. I was about to fight the rest of them, but I got in trouble, and I realized I'd better call it a day, because they Will find out - I mean the teachers and the people in charge. They will report to my mother so they will find out what happened to her and take her away. So I pretend I'm sorry and tell the teacher I'll never Won't do that anymore. They punished me for fighting, and I still didn't say anything. But I got her safe, see? Nobody knows that from the boys, and they do, if they dare Say what I'll do, they know next time I'll kill them, not just hurt them. After a while, she was fine again. No one ever knew. "However, since then, I no longer trust children, just like I don't trust adults. They are also keen to do bad things. So when those children in Magpie City did that bad thing, I was not surprised at all. "But I'm glad the witch is coming." He sat down again, with his back to Laila, still not looking at her, and he wiped his eyes with his hand, which she pretended not to see. "Will," she said, "you told about your mother...and Tullio, when the goblin caught him...and yesterday you said you thought the goblin came from your world..." "Yes, because of the incredible things that happened to her, she wasn't crazy. The kids probably thought she was crazy, and they laughed at her and tried to hurt her, but they were wrong, and she wasn't crazy. She was just afraid of something I see Missing things. She had to do things that seemed incredible. You didn't understand why, but she obviously did, like she counted those leaves, or Tullio touched those stones on the wall yesterday, maybe that was A way to get rid of monsters. If they turn their backs on something scary and try to get interested in how stones fit together or in trees, as if they just get really interested in stones or leaves, they'll be safe Nothing. I don't know, it seems so. To her, it's something real that frightens her, like robbers who come to rob, but there are other things like them. So my world is very There may be monsters too, we just don't see them and don't give them a name, but they do exist and they've been trying to attack my mother. So I was happy yesterday when the alethiometer said she was all right." He was breathing heavily, and his right hand grasped the hilt of the knife in its sheath.Lyra said nothing, and Pantalaimon didn't move. "When did you know you were looking for your father?" she asked after a while. "A long time ago," he told her, "I kept imagining that he was in jail and I was going to help him escape. I played that game with myself all the time, and it usually lasted days. Or he was on a desert island, and I Sail there to bring him home. He knows exactly what to do - especially about my mother - she'll be fine, he'll take care of her and me, I'll go to school, make friends and I'll have a dad too And a mother. So I always say to myself, when I grow up I'm going to find my father... My mother also used to tell me that I'm going to inherit my father's mantle. She used to say that to make me happy. I don't know That's what it means, but it sounds important." "Don't you have any friends?" "How can I have friends?" he said a little confused. "Friends...they come to your house and get to know your parents and...sometimes a boy invites me to his house and I can go or not but I can never invite him back to mine. So I've never had a friend, really. I wish I had... I have my cat," he continued, "I hope she's okay now, I hope someone's taking care of her." "What about the man you killed?" Lyra asked, her heart beating wildly. "Who was he?" "I don't know. I don't care if I kill him, he's damned. There's two of them, and they're always coming to my house and pestering my mother until she's scared again, and it's going to get worse. They want Knows all about my dad, he doesn't let my mom go, I don't know if they are the cops or something. At first I thought they were some kind of gang, they thought my dad robbed the bank and hid the money But they don't want money, they want paper, they want letters from my dad. They broke down the house one day, and then I realized it would be safer if my mother lived somewhere else. I can't report to the police, please Their help because they're going to take my mother. I don't know what to do. "In the end I turned to this old lady who used to teach me the piano and she was the only one I could think of. I asked her if my mother could live with her and I took her. I thought she would Take good care of her. Anyway, I went home again, and looked for the letters, because I knew where she kept them. I got the letters, and at this time the gang came looking for them, and they broke down the door again. In. It was midnight, or early morning. I hid at the top of the stairs and Moxie - my cat, Moxie - she came out of the bedroom, I didn't see her, neither did the man, and when I bumped into him, she tripped him , he fell headfirst under the stairs... "Then I ran away, and that was all that went through. So I didn't mean to kill him, but I wouldn't care if I did. I ran away, got to Oxford, and I found the window. I found it because I saw another cat, so I stopped to look at her, and she found the window first. If I didn't see her...or if Moxie Didn't come out of the bedroom..." "Yeah," Lyra said, "that's luck. Me and Pam were wondering what would have happened if I hadn't gone into the closet in the Jordan College lounge and seen the Dean pour poison into the wine What? None of this will happen.” The two of them sat silently on the mossy stones, the setting sun shining on them through the branches of the old pine.They wondered how many little chances had brought them to this place, each of which had the potential to produce a different result.Maybe in another world, another Will didn't see the window, he was exhausted wandering to the middle of England, and finally got caught.In another world, another Pantalaimon persuaded another Lyra not to stay in the common room, so another Lord Asriel was poisoned, another Roger survived, in another forever Playing eternal games with Lyra on the roofs and alleys of Oxford. After a while Will regained his strength and could go on, so they continued along the path, surrounded by the great quiet forest. All day long they traveled, rested, advanced, and rested, and the woods thinned and the roads became rougher and rougher.Lyra checked the alethiometer, and it read: Keep going, this is the right direction.At noon they came to a village untouched by monsters.The sheep grazed on the hillside, the lemon grove cast shade on the stony ground, the children played by the stream, and they saw Lyra in rags, and Will, pale and sharp-eyed, bloodstained, and a walking Beside them was the graceful greyhound, and the children yelled and ran to their mother. The grown-ups were wary, but willing to take a gold piece from Lyra and sell them some bread and cheese. The witches ducked, but both children knew that if there was any danger, they would appear at once.After some haggling by Lyra, an old woman sold them two sheepskin waterskins and a fine linen shirt, and Will said good-bye to the dirty T-shirt, and he walked in the freezing stream. I took a bath in the sun and lay down in the hot sun to dry my body. After resting, they moved on.The land was barren, and they had to rest in the shade of rocks instead of under trees with broad branches and thick leaves.They felt the heat of the ground through the soles of their shoes, and the sun beat into their eyes.They climbed more and more slowly, and when the sun set on the ridge, they saw a small valley below, and they decided not to go any further. They climbed down the hill, almost fell several times, and then they had to make their way among the dwarf rhododendron bushes, whose glossy dark leaves and crimson flowers were densely swarmed with bees.It was not until nightfall that they came out, and they came to a meadow surrounded by a stream, full of weeds, and cornflowers, gentians, and echinacea blooming in the grass. Will gulped down the water from the creek, then lay down, drowsy but unable to sleep, his head reeling and everything was shrouded in a strange mist.His hands were swollen and throbbing with pain. To make matters worse, his hands started bleeding again. As Serafina inspected his hands, she added more herbs to the wound and tied the silk scarf tighter, but this time her face was disturbed.He didn't want to ask her, what's the point of asking?It was clear to him that the spell hadn't worked, and he could see that she knew it too. As night fell, he heard Laila lay down not far from him, and after a while he heard a soft purr.Her daemon, transformed into a cat, was snoozing with its paws a foot or two away from Will, and he called softly, "Pantalaimon?" The elf's eyes opened, but Lyra did not move.Pantalaimon asked quietly, "What is it?" "Pan, am I going to die?" "The Witch won't let you die, and neither will Lyra." "But the spell didn't work, I kept bleeding and I didn't have any more blood to bleed. Now it's bleeding again, can't stop, I'm afraid..." "Lila doesn't think you're going to die." "Does she think so?" "She thinks you are the bravest fighter she's ever seen, as brave as Iorek Bernison." "Then I'd better not look so scared," Will said, and he was quiet for a minute or two, and then he said, "I think Lyra is braver than I am, and she's my best friend." "She thinks the same about you," said the elf softly. Soon Will closed his eyes and fell asleep. Laila lay motionless, but her eyes were wide open in the darkness, and her heart was beating violently. When Will woke up again, it was completely dark.His hands ached more than ever, and he sat up cautiously, and saw a fire not far away, and Lyra was baking bread with a fork-shaped log.There were some birds roasting on another fork, and when Will came to sit nearby, Serafina flew down. "Will," she said, "eat the leaves before you eat." She handed him a handful of soft, sage-like leaves, very bitter, and he chewed them in silence, forcing himself to swallow them all.They were astringent, but he was more awake, no longer cold, and felt much better. They were eating a roasted bird, seasoned with lemon juice, while another witch brought some blueberries that had been picked on the hillside.Then the witches gathered around the fire, talking softly, and some witches flew up to scout, and one witch saw a balloon over the sea, and Lyra sat up immediately. "Is it Mr. Scoresby's balloon?" she asked. "There were two people in there, but they were too far away to see who they were. There was a storm gathering behind them." Laila clapped her hands. "If Mr. Scoresby comes," she said, "we can fly, Will! Oh, if only he! I never said goodbye to him, he was so kind, I hope to see you again To him, I really hope..." The witch Juta Kamainan heard this, her red-breasted robin sprite perched on her shoulders, her eyes sparkling, for the mention of Lee Scoresby reminded her of the purpose of her visit .She is the witch who once fell in love with Stanislaus Grumman but was rejected by him, Serafina.Pekkala brought her into this world just to prevent her from killing him in their world. Serafina may have noticed this, but then something else happened: she held out her hand and raised her head, as the other witches did too.Will and Lyra heard the faint cry of a night bird from the north, but it was not a bird, and the Witch knew immediately that it was an elf.Serafina Pekkala stood up, staring intently at the sky. "I think it's Ruta Skadi," she said. They stood silently, their heads held up in the boundless silence, and they tried to listen. Then came another cry, nearer this time, and a third, at which the Witches seized their pine branches and leaped into the air.Only two witches stood close by, arrows on their strings, defending Will and Lyra. Somewhere in the darkness overhead, a battle was unfolding.For what seemed like seconds, they heard the sound of flying wind and the whistle of arrows, grunts and screams of pain or anger, or of giving orders. Then there was another bang, so suddenly that they hardly had time to startle, as an animal fell from the sky at their feet—a leathery-skinned, The tangled animal Lyra recognized as a cliff spook, or something like it. This time it fell hard, an arrow passed through its body, but it was still propped up, flapping its wings maliciously at Lyra.The witches couldn't shoot arrows because she was also within the range of the arrows.But Will got there first, and he slashed back with the knife, and the guy's head fell off, rolled twice on the ground, air gurgling out of its lungs, and it died. They looked up again, for the battle had come lower, and the flames of the raging flames lit up swirling swirls of black silk, white arms, green pine needles, and brown-gray scabbed skin in the sky. Will couldn't understand how the witches could keep their balance through the sudden turns, pauses, and advances, let alone aim and shoot. Another cliff spook fell, and then a third, and they fell into the stream or onto the rocks, and the rest of them fled, screaming northward in the dark. After a while, Serafina Pekkala came down with her witches, and with them was another witch: a beautiful witch with fierce eyes, black hair, and cheeks flushed with anger and excitement. flushed. The new witch saw the beheaded cliff spook and spat at it. "Not from our world," she said, "nor from this world, abominable filth, thousands of them, multiplying like flies... Who is this? Is this child Lyra? This boy is Who?" Lyra responded to her gaze calmly, even though she felt a twitch in her heart, for Ruta Skadi had such a distinct personality that she could elicit a shocked reaction from those who stood near her. Then the Witch turned to Will, who felt the same shock, but controlled his expression as Lyra did.He still had the knife in his hand, and she smiled when she saw what he had just done.He dug the knife into the dirt, wiped off the blood that the filthy fellow had left, and washed it clean in the stream. Ruta Skadi said: "Serafina Pekkala, I have learned so much, all the old things are either changing, disappearing, or useless. I am hungry..." She wolfed down what was left of the roasted bird, stuffed the bread into her mouth, and gulped down the stream.While she was eating, some of the witches dragged away the dead cliff spooks, rekindled the fires, and set up their sentinels again. The rest of the witches sat down near Ruta Skadi, ready to hear what she had to say to everyone.She told the story of her journey to meet the angel and to Lord Asriel's fortress. "Sisters, that's the biggest castle you can imagine: walls of basalt soaring into the sky, surrounded by wide roads in every direction, loaded with guns and ammunition, provisions and armor. How did he do it all? I think He must have been preparing for a long time, probably countless centuries. He was preparing this before we were born, sisters, even though he was very young then... But how is that possible? I don't know. I can't understand. I think he can control time, he can control the speed of time as he wants. "Warriors of all kinds, men and women, came to this castle from all worlds. Yes, they were full of fighting spirit, and animals in full armor I had never seen--lizards and ape-men, with long Big birds with poisonous claws, and strange animals I can't name. There are witches in other worlds, sisters, do you know? I spoke to a witch, and she came from another world, and that world was like ours , but with a great difference, for those witches do not live longer than our short-lived mortals, and among them are wizards, who, like us, can fly..." Listening to her narration, the witches of the Serafina tribe showed awe, fear and doubt, but Serafina believed her, and she urged her to continue. "Have you seen Lord Asriel, Ruta Skadi? Have you found him?" "Yes, I found it, and it wasn't easy, because he lives in the control center of everything, he directs everything. I made myself invisible, and made my way to his most secret room, when he was going to sleep. .” Every witch knew what happened next in a way that Will and Lyra couldn't possibly have imagined.So there was no need for Ruta Skadi to go on, she went on: "At this point I asked him why all the armies were gathered together, and whether what we had heard about his challenge to God was true, and he Laughed. "'And did they mention it in Siberia?' he asked. I said yes, in Svalbard, in every land in the north - our north, and I told him about our agreement , and how I left our world to find him. "He invited us to join his ranks, sisters, to join his ranks against God. I really hope we will be there when the time comes. He told me that when you realize what God's representatives have done in the name of God Rebellion is justified when it is time... I think of the children of Birvangar and the other horrific mutilations I have witnessed in our south. He also told me of more horrific atrocities committed in the name of God — in some worlds, how they catch witches and burn them alive, sisters. Yes, witches like us..." He opened my eyes, he showed me things I had never seen Stuff, all cruel and horrible atrocities committed in the name of God, all plots to destroy the joy and sincerity of life. "Oh, sisters, I long to devote myself and my whole tribe to this cause! But I know I must consult with you before I fly back to our world with Eva Cascu, Lena Mitty, and the other chief witches. "So I left his room incognito, found my pine branch, and flew away. But before I could fly far, a gust of wind blew me up high into the mountains, and I had to take refuge on a cliff for a while. I Knowing what kind of animals lived on the cliff, I hid again, and in the darkness I heard voices. "I seem to have fallen into the lair of the oldest cliff ghost, who was blind, and they brought him food of stinking carrion found far below the cliff. And they asked him for advice. "'Once upon a time,' they said, 'how far back can your memory go?'" 'Once upon a time, long before man came,' he said, his voice weak and hoarse. "'It is said that a great war like no other in history is coming, is it true, old man?'" 'Yes, boys,' said he, 'a war greater than the last is coming, and we You can have a good meal, and for the ghosts of every world, the good times are coming soon. '"'But who will win, old man? Will Lord Asriel defeat God?'"'Lord Asriel's army numbered millions,' old Cliff told them, "and they came from every world Called together, this force is stronger and better commanded than the forces that have fought God before. As for God's army, oh, they are enormous in number, but God has been around a long time, and is older than I, boys, and his troops are timid, and proud when they are not afraid.It will be a hand to hand fight, but Lord Asriel will win, for he is full of enthusiasm and spirit, and he believes in the justice of his cause.Just one thing, kid.He has no Isarhart, and without Isarhardt, he and his team will be defeated. We'll be feasting for years then, my boys! ,' so he laughed and gnawed at the stinking bones they brought him, and the other ghosts squealed with delight. "Now, you can imagine how hard I tried to listen, wanting to hear more about this Issahat, but I only heard a young cliff ghost asking in the howling wind:" What if阿斯里尔勋爵需要伊萨哈特，他为什么不召唤他呢？ “'“那个老鬼说，'阿斯里尔勋爵对伊萨哈特的了解还不如你多，孩子！可笑的就在这里！高声大笑吧——'“可当我试图靠那群肮脏的家伙更近一点，好再多听到一些时，我的魔法失败了，姐妹们，我再也不能使自己隐身。那些年轻的鬼看到我就高声尖叫起来，我只好逃跑，从空中那个无形的通道逃进这个世界。有一群鬼追上来，死在那儿的就是那些鬼。 “但阿斯里尔勋爵需要我们，姐妹们，这显而易见。不管伊萨哈特是谁，阿斯里尔勋爵需要我们！我希望现在我能回到阿斯里尔勋爵那儿，对他说，'别着急——我们来了——我们，北方的女巫，我们会帮助你取得胜利。'……我们现在就达成协议吧，塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉，召集所有的女巫和每个部族开会，让我们准备战斗！” 塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉看了看威尔，像是在征求他的同意，但他无法给她任何指示，于是她又回过头看鲁塔?斯卡迪。 “我们不行，”她说，“我们的任务是帮助莱拉，而她的任务是帮助威尔找到他父亲。你应该飞回去，这我们同意，但我们必须和莱拉在一起。” 鲁塔?斯卡迪不耐烦地摇了摇头。“好吧，如果你们必须这样的话。”她说。 威尔躺下了，因为他的伤口又开始疼了——比刚受伤的时候还要疼，他的整只手都肿了起来。莱拉也躺下了，潘特莱蒙蜷在她的脖子边，透过半闭着的眼睛看着火堆，睡意蒙咙地听着女巫的窃窃私语。 鲁塔?斯卡迪向上游走去，塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉跟着她。 “塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉，你真该见见阿斯里尔勋爵，”拉脱维亚的女巫酋长安静地说，“他是最杰出的指挥家，他对部队的所有细节都了如指掌。跟上帝打仗，想想这有多大胆！但你觉得这个伊萨哈特会是谁呢？我们怎么会从没听说过他呢？ 我们怎么才能让他加入到阿斯里尔勋爵的队伍中呢？ " “也许那不是他，姐姐。我们和那个年轻的悬崖厉鬼一样知之不多，也许那个老祖宗在笑话他的无知。这个词听上去像是'摧毁上帝者'，你知道吗？” “那就是指我们了，塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉！如果是这样的话，我们加入后，他的队伍该多么强大啊。我真想用我的箭杀死从伯尔凡加以及从各个世界的伯尔凡加来的恶魔！姐姐，他们为什么这么做？在每个世界，上帝的代表把孩子们牺牲给了他们那残酷的上帝！为什么？为什么？” “他们害怕尘埃，”塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉说，“不管它是什么，我是一点都不知道。” “还有你发现的那个男孩。他是谁？他从哪个世界来？” 塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉把她所知道的关于威尔的事都告诉了她。“我不知道他为什么很重要，”最后她说道，“但我们是为莱拉服务的，她的仪器告诉她那是她的任务。还有，姐妹，我们试图治好他的伤，但我们失败了。我们试着用阻拦的咒语，但它没起作用。也许这个世界的药草不如我们的有效，这里太热，血苔藓不会在这里生长。” “他很奇怪，”鲁塔?斯卡迪说，“他和阿斯里尔勋爵是同一个类型。你注视过他的眼睛吗？” “说实话，”塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉说道，“我还没敢看过。” 两个女巫酋长安静地坐在小溪边。时间过去了，星星落下了，又一些星星出现了，熟睡的同伴中响起一声小小的尖叫，那只不过是莱拉在做梦。女巫们听到暴风雨的隆隆声，她们看见闪电划过大海和丘陵，但那是在很远的地方。 过了一会儿，鲁塔?斯卡迪说道：“那个女孩莱拉，她该扮演什么样的角色？ 是这个吗？因为她能领着那个男孩找到他父亲，所以她就很重要？肯定不止于此，不是吗？ " “那就是现在她要做的，但是以后，是的，就远远不止于此。关于这个孩子，我们女巫所说的就是她会终止命运。好吧，我们知道她的这个名字，这让她对于库尔特夫人来说很有意义，我们知道那个女人还不知道这一点。她在斯瓦尔巴特群岛附近那艘船上折磨的那个女巫差点就供出来了，但娅姆阿卡及时来到了她身边。” “可现在我在想，莱拉可能就是你听到那些悬崖厉鬼所说的——那个伊萨哈特。不是女巫，也不是那些天使，而是那个熟睡中的孩子，与上帝的战争的最后武器。还有什么原因让库尔特夫人这么急于找到她呢？” “库尔特夫人曾经是阿斯里尔勋爵的情人，”鲁塔?斯卡迪说，“当然，莱拉是他们的孩子……塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉，如果我给他生一个孩子，那她将会是怎样一个女巫啊！女巫酋长中的酋长！” “嘘，姐妹，”塞拉芬娜说，“听……还有，那是什么光亮？” 有什么东西从站岗放哨的人旁边滑过，她们警觉地站起来，看见露营的地方闪出一道亮光，那不是火光，却和火光差不了多少。 她们悄悄跑回去，箭早已搭在她们的弓上。这时，她们突然站住了。 所有的女巫都在草地上熟睡着，威尔和莱拉也在熟睡，却有十多个天使围着两个孩子，低头凝望着他们。 于是塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉明白了女巫无法用词语形容的一件事：那就是朝圣的概念。她明白这些生物为什么会等待几万年，不惜千里迢迢，只是为了靠近重要的东西。她也明白了，他们在这里匆匆一现后，在剩下的时间里他们会有怎样不同的感受。现在，这些生物看上去就是这样，这些纯净稀薄的美丽的朝圣者围着两个孩子站着。女孩满脸污垢，男孩衣衫褴褛，手上有伤，在睡梦中皱着眉头。 莱拉的脖子那儿动了一下，是潘特莱蒙，一只雪白的貂，他睡意蒙陇地睁开黑眼睛，毫无惧色地向四周张望。将来，莱拉会把他所看到的一切当作一个梦。 潘特莱蒙似乎感觉到莱拉对此的注意力，过了不久他又蜷起身子，闭上眼睛睡着了。 最后，其中一个天使展开翅膀，其他的天使也都展开翅膀，他们靠得很近，他们的翅膀毫不费劲地重叠融合在一起，一个接一个，就像光和光重重交叠，最后在草地上的熟睡者周围形成一个发光的圆圈。 这时守望者像火苗一样一个接一个地飞上天空，他们的身影迅速地变大，直到巨大无比，但他们已经很遥远了，像流星一样向北方飞去。 塞拉芬娜和鲁塔?斯卡迪跃上松枝，跟着他们飞上天空，但还是落在了后面。 “他们像你看到过的那些生物吗，鲁塔?斯卡迪？”她们缓缓降到半空中，望着明亮的光辉消失在天际，塞拉芬娜问道。 “我认为他们更大，不过他们是同类，他们没有血肉，你看出来了吗？他们只是光，他们的感觉一定完全不同于我们……塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉，现在我要离开你去召集我们北方所有的女巫。当我们再次见面的时候，就该是打仗的时候了。 一路保重，亲爱的……” 她们在空中拥抱了一下，然后鲁塔?斯卡迪转过身，迅速地飞走了。 塞拉芬娜看着她走远，然后转过身，看到最后那些发光的天使消失在远方，她对那些伟大的守望者的感受只有怜悯和同情。他们从未感受过脚下的土地，或是发丝中的微风，或是照在皮肤上的璀璨的星光，他们该多么向往这一切！她折下一枝正在骑着的松枝，带着贪婪的喜悦闻着松脂的清香，然后缓缓地向草地上熟睡的同伴飞落下去。