She woke to find a stranger shaking her arm, and then as Pantalaimon sprang awake and growled1, she recognized Thorold. He was holding a naphtha lamp, and his hand was trembling.
"Miss-miss-get up quickly. I don't know what to do. He's left no orders. I think he's mad, miss."
"What? What's happening?"
"Lord Asriel, miss. He's been almost in a delirium4 since you went to bed. I've never seen him so wild. He packed a lot of instruments and batteries in a sledge5 and he harnessed up the dogs and left. But he's got the boy, miss!"
"Roger? He's taken Roger?"
"He told me to wake him and dress him, and I didn't think to argue-I never have-the boy kept on asking for you, miss-but Lord Asriel wanted him alone-you know when you first came to the door, miss? And he saw you and couldn't believe his eyes, and wanted you gone?"
Lyra's head was in such a whirl of weariness and fear that she could hardly think, but "Yes? Yes?" she said.
"It was because he needed a child to finish his experiment, miss! And Lord Asriel has a way special to himself of bringing about what he wants, he just has to call for something and-"
Now Lyra's head was full of a roar, as if she were trying to stifle6 some knowledge from her own consciousness.
She had got out of bed, and was reaching for her clothes, and then she suddenly collapsed7, and a fierce cry of despair enveloped8 her. She was uttering it, but it was bigger than she was; it felt as if the despair were uttering her. For she remembered his words: the energy that links body and daemon is immensely powerful; and to bridge the gap between worlds needed a phenomenal burst of energy....
She had just realized what she'd done.
She had struggled all this way to bring something to Lord Asriel, thinking she knew what he wanted; and it wasn't the alethiometer at all. What he wanted was a child.
She had brought him Roger.
That was why he'd cried out, "I did not send for you!" when he saw her; he had sent for a child, and the fates had brought him his own daughter. Or so he'd thought, until she'd stepped aside and shown him Roger.
Oh, the bitter anguish9! She had thought she was saving Roger, and all the time she'd been diligently10 working to betray him....
Lyra shook and sobbed11 in a frenzy12 of emotion. It couldn't be true.
Thorold tried to comfort her, but he didn't know the reason for her extremity13 of grief, and could only pat her shoulder nervously14.
"lorek-" she sobbed, pushing the servant aside. "Where's lorek Byrnison? The bear? Is he still outside?"
The old man shrugged15 helplessly.
"Help me!" she said, trembling all over with weakness and fear. "Help me dress. I got to go. Now.1 Do it quick!"
He put the lamp down and did as she told him. When she commanded, in that imperious way, she was very like her father, for all that her face was wet with tears and her lips trembling. While Pantalaimon paced the floor lashing16 his tail, his fur almost sparking, Thorold hastened to bring her stiff, reeking17 furs and help her into them. As soon as all the buttons were done up and all the flaps secured, she made for the door, and felt the cold strike her throat like a sword and freeze the tears at once on her cheeks.
"lorek!" she called. "lorek Byrnison! Come, because I need you!"
There was a shake of snow, a clank of metal, and the bear was there. He had been sleeping calmly under the falling snow. In the light spilling from the lamp Thorold was holding at the window, Lyra saw the long faceless head, the narrow eye slits19, the gleam of white fur below red-black metal, and wanted to embrace him and seek some comfort from his iron helmet, his ice-tipped fur.
"Well?" he said.
"We got to catch Lord Asriel. He's taken Roger and he's a going to-I daren't think-oh, lorek, I beg you, go quick, my dear!"
"Come then," he said, and she leaped on his back.
There was no need to ask which way to go: the tracks of the sledge led straight out from the courtyard and over the plain, and lorek leaped forward to follow them. His motion was now so much a part of Lyra's being that to sit balanced was entirely20 automatic. He ran over the thick snowy mantle21 on the rocky ground faster than he'd ever done, and the armor plates shifted under her in a regular swinging rhythm.
Behind them, the other bears paced easily, pulling the fire hurler with them. The way was clear, for the moon was high and the light it cast over the snowbound world was as bright as it had been in the balloon: a world of bright silver and profound black. The tracks of Lord Asriel's sledge ran straight toward a range of jagged hills, strange stark24 pointed25 shapes jutting26 up into a sky as black as the alethiometer's velvet27 cloth. There was no sign of the sledge itself-or was there a feather touch of movement on the flank of the highest peak? Lyra peered ahead, straining her eyes, and Pantalaimon flew as high as he could and looked with an owl3's clear vision.
"Yes," he said, on her wrist a moment later; "it's Lord Asriel, and he's lashing his dogs on furiously, and there's a boy in the back...."
Lyra felt lorek Byrnison change pace. Something had caught his attention. He was slowing and lifting his head to cast left and right.
"What is it?" Lyra said.
He didn't say. He was listening intently, but she could hear nothing. Then she did hear something: a mysterious, vastly distant rustling28 and crackling. It was a sound she had heard before: the sound of the Aurora29. Out of nowhere a veil of radiance had fallen to hang shimmering30 in the northern sky. All those unseen billions and trillions of charged particles, and possibly, she thought, of Dust, conjured31 a radiating glow out of the upper atmosphere. This was going to be a display more brilliant and extraordinary than any Lyra had yet seen, as if the Aurora knew the drama that was taking place below, and wanted to light it with the most awe-inspiring effects.
But none of the bears were looking up: their attention was all on the earth. It wasn't the Aurora, after all, that had caught lorek's attention. He was standing32 stock-still now, and Lyra slipped off his back, knowing that his senses needed to cast around freely. Something was troubling him.
Lyra looked around, back across the vast open plain leading to Lord Asriel's house, back toward the tumbled mountains they'd crossed earlier, and saw nothing. The Aurora grew more intense. The first veils trembled and raced to one side, and jagged curtains folded and unfolded above, increasing in size and brilliance33 every minute; arcs and loops swirled34 across from horizon to horizon, and touched the very zenith with bows of radiance. She could hear more clearly than ever the immense singing hiss35 and swish of vast intangible forces.
"Witches!" came a cry in a bear voice, and Lyra turned in joy and relief.
But a heavy muzzle36 knocked her forward, and with no breath left to gasp37 she could only pant and shudder38, for there in the place where she had been standing was the plume39 of a green-feathered arrow. The head and the shaft40 were buried in the snow.
Impossible.! she thought weakly, but it was true, for another arrow clattered41 off the armor of lorek, standing above her. These were not Serafina Pekkala's witches; they were from another clan18. They circled above, a dozen of them or more, swooping42 down to shoot and soaring up again, and Lyra swore with every word she knew.
lorek Byrnison gave swift orders. It was clear that the bears were practiced at witch fighting, for they had moved at once into a defensive44 formation, and the witches moved just as smoothly45 into attack. They could only shoot accurately46 from close range, and in order not to waste arrows they would swoop43 down, fire at the lowest part of their dive, and turn upward at once. But when they reached the lowest point, and their hands were busy with bow and arrow, they were vulnerable, and the bears would explode upward with raking paws to drag them down. More than one fell, and was quickly dispatched.
Lyra crouched48 low beside a rock, watching for a witch dive. A few shot at her, but the arrows fell wide; and then Lyra, looking up at the sky, saw the greater part of the witch flight peel off and turn back.
If she was relieved by that, her relief didn't last more than a few moments. Because from the direction in which they'd flown, she saw many others coming to join them; and in midair with them there was a group of gleaming lights; and across the broad expanse of the Svalbard plain, under the radiance of the Aurora, she heard a sound she dreaded49. It was the harsh throb50 of a gas engine. The zeppelin, with Mrs. Coulter and her troops on board, was catching51 up.
lorek growled an order and the bears moved at once into another formation. In the lurid52 flicker53 from the sky Lyra watched as they swiftly unloaded their fire hurler. The advance guard of the witch flight had seen them too, and began to swoop downward and rain arrows on them, but for the most part the bears trusted to their armor and worked swiftly to erect54 the apparatus55: a long arm extending upward at an angle, a cup or bowl a yard across, and a great iron tank wreathed in smoke and steam.
As she watched, a bright flame gushed56 out, and a team of bears swung into practiced action. Two of them hauled the long arm of the fire thrower down, another scooped57 shovelfuls of fire into the bowl, and at an order they released it, to hurl23 the flaming sulfur58 high into the dark sky.
The witches were swooping so thickly above them that three fell in flames at the first shot alone, but it was soon clear that the real target was the zeppelin. The pilot either had never seen a fire hurler before, or was underestimating its power, for he flew straight on toward the bears without climbing or turning a fraction to either side.
Then it became clear that they had a powerful weapon in the zeppelin too: a machine rifle mounted on the nose of the gondola59. Lyra saw sparks flying up from some of the bears' armor, and saw them huddle60 over beneath its protection, before she heard the rattle61 of the bullets. She cried out in fear.
"They're safe," said lorek Byrnison. "Can't pierce armor with little bullets."
The fire thrower worked again: this time a mass of blazing sulfur hurtled directly upward to strike the gondola and burst in a cascade62 of flaming fragments on all sides. The zeppelin banked to the left, and roared away in a wide arc before making again for the group of bears working swiftly beside the apparatus. As it neared, the arm of the fire thrower creaked downward; the machine rifle coughed and spat47, and two bears fell, to a low growl2 from lorek Byrnison; and when the aircraft was nearly overhead, a bear shouted an order, and the spring-loaded arm shot upward again.
This time the sulfur hurtled against the envelope of the zeppelin's gas bag. The rigid63 frame held a skin of oiled silk in place to contain the hydrogen, and although this was tough enough to withstand minor64 scratches, a hundredweight of blazing rock was too much for it. The silk ripped straight through, and sulfur and hydrogen leaped to meet each other in a catastrophe65 of flame.
At once the silk became transparent66; the entire skeleton of the zeppelin was visible, dark against an inferno67 of orange and red and yellow, hanging in the air for what seemed like an impossibly long time before drifting to the ground almost reluctantly. Little figures black against the snow and the fire came tottering68 or running from it, and witches flew down to help drag them away from the flames. Within a minute of the zeppelin's hitting the ground it was a mass of twisted metal, a pall69 of smoke, and a few scraps70 of fluttering fire.
But the soldiers on board, and the others too (though Lyra was too far away by now to spot Mrs. Coulter, she knew she was there), wasted no time. With the help of the witches they dragged the machine gun out and set it up, and began to fight in earnest on the ground.
"On," said lorek. "They will hold out for a long time."
He roared, and a group of bears peeled away from the main group and attacked the Tartars' right flank. Lyra could feel his desire to be there among them, but all the time her nerves were screaming: On! On! and her mind was filled with pictures of Roger and Lord Asriel; and lorek Byrnison knew, and turned up the mountain and away from the fight, leaving his bears to hold back the Tartars.
On they climbed. Lyra strained her eyes to look ahead, but not even Pantalaimon's owl eyes could see any movement on the flank of the mountain they were climbing. Lord Asriel's sledge tracks were clear, however, and lorek followed them swiftly, loping through the snow and kicking it high behind them as he ran. Whatever happened behind now was simply that: behind. Lyra had left it. She felt she was leaving the world altogether, so remote and intent she was, so high they were climbing, so strange and uncanny was the light that bathed them.
"lorek," she said, "will you find Lee Scoresby?"
"Alive or dead, I will find him."
"And if you see Serafina Pekkala..."
"I will tell her what you did."
"Thank you, lorek," she said.
They spoke71 no more for some time. Lyra felt herself moving into a kind of trance beyond sleep and waking: a state of conscious dreaming, almost, in which she was dreaming that she was being carried by bears to a city in the stars.
She was going to say something about it to lorek Byrnison, when he slowed down and came to a halt.
"The tracks go on," said lorek Byrnison. "But I cannot."
Lyra jumped down and stood beside him to look. He was standing at the edge of a chasm72. Whether it was a crevasse73 in the ice or a fissure74 in the rock was hard to say, and made little difference in any case; all that mattered was that it plunged75 downward into unfathomable gloom.
And the tracks of Lord Asriel's sledge ran to the brink76... and on, across a bridge of compacted snow.
This bridge had clearly felt the strain of the sledge's weight, for a crack ran across it close to the other edge of the chasm, and the surface on the near side of the crack had settled down a foot or so. It might support the weight of a child: it would certainly not stand under the weight of an armored bear.
And Lord Asriel's tracks ran on beyond the bridge and further up the mountain. If she went on, it would have to be by herself.
Lyra turned to lorek Byrnison.
"I got to go across," she said. "Thank you for all you done. I don't know what's going to happen when I get to him. We might all die, whether I get to him or not. But if I come back, I'll come and see you to thank you properly, King lorek Byrnison."
She laid a hand on his head. He let it lie there and nodded gently.
"Goodbye, Lyra Silvertongue," he said.
Her heart thumping77 painfully with love, she turned away and set her foot on the bridge. The snow creaked under her, and Pantalaimon flew up and over the bridge, to settle in the snow on the far side and encourage her onward78. Step after step she took, and wondered with every step whether it would be better to run swiftly and leap for the other side, or go slowly as she was doing and tread as lightly as possible. Halfway79 across there came another loud creak from the snow; a piece fell off near her feet and tumbled into the abyss, and the bridge settled down another few inches against the crack.
She stood perfectly80 still. Pantalaimon was crouched, leopard-formed, ready to leap down and reach for her.
The bridge held. She took another step, then another, and then she felt something settling down below her feet and leaped for the far side with all her strength. She landed belly-down in the snow as the entire length of the bridge fell into the crevasse with a soft whoosh81 behind her.
Pantalaimon's claws were in her furs, holding tight.
After a minute she opened her eyes and crawled up away from the edge. There was no way back. She stood and raised her hand to the watching bear. lorek Byrnison stood on his hind22 legs to acknowledge her, and then turned and made off down the mountain in a swift run to help his subjects in the battle with Mrs. Coulter and the soldiers from the zeppelin.
Lyra was alone.
收听单词发音 |
1
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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40
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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42
swooping
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
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swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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44
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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47
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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48
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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50
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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51
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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54
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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56
gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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57
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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58
sulfur
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| n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur） | |
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gondola
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| n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船 | |
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60
huddle
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| vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人 | |
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61
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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63
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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65
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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67
inferno
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| n.火海；地狱般的场所 | |
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68
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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69
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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70
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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71
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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72
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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73
crevasse
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| n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝 | |
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fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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75
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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76
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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77
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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78
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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79
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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80
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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81
whoosh
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| v.飞快地移动，呼 | |
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