{"product_id":"the-book-of-dustisbn-9780553510720","title":"The Book of Dust","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePhilip Pullman returns to the parallel world of His Dark Materials to expand on the story of Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDon’t miss Volume II of The Book of Dust: \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eMalcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, are used to overhearing news and the occasional scandal at the inn run by his family. But during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm finds a mysterious object—and finds himself in grave danger. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Inside the object is a cryptic message about something called Dust; and it’s not long before Malcolm is approached by the spy for whom this message was actually intended\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he begins to notice suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl—just a baby—named Lyra.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Lyra is at the center of a storm, and Malcolm will brave any peril, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through it.\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e“Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen-year wait: \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Dus\u003c\/i\u003et is one of them.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e“The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling.” —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e“People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman’s new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Compass\u003c\/i\u003e came out.” —\u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Reading this novel is like standing in a room in which suddenly\u003cb\u003e all of the windows have blown open at once.\" \u003c\/b\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSlate \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's \u003cb\u003ea stunning achievement,\u003c\/b\u003e the universe Pullman has created and continues to build on.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eA phantasmagoric waterborne odyssey\u003c\/b\u003e. Mr. Pullman is a supple and formidable writer.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eEnthralling, enchanting.\u003c\/b\u003e The first half reads like a thriller. The story becomes darker, deeper and even more engrossing when a cataclysmic flood overtakes Southern England. \u003cb\u003eToo few things in our world are worth a seventeen year wait: \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Dus\u003c\/i\u003et is one of them\u003c\/b\u003e.\" — \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Pullman's writing is as deftly brilliant as ever. \u003cb\u003eA triumphant return\u003c\/b\u003e to the alternate Oxford we love.\"—\u003ci\u003eBustle\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Book of Dust \u003c\/i\u003epasses by in one tumultuous wave of literature, that leaves you queasy, but wanting the next volume as quickly as possible.\u003cb\u003e It deserves not only a reread, but an unpacking.\u003c\/b\u003e It is not a one and done novel, something that, in a time where binging and passing is the status quo. This is a novel to digest. One to take in, let settle, and then revisit. \u003cb\u003eWe are lucky to have Pullman's words. Words that will continue to nourish the souls and imaginations of readers for a long, long time.\u003c\/b\u003e\" \u003ci\u003e—Hypable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Once again, \u003cb\u003ePullman’s fantasy arrives precisely when it can teach us the most about ourselves,\u003c\/b\u003e as if it were guided by Dust itself.\" —\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"High-octane adventure \u003c\/b\u003eaccompanies \u003cb\u003eingenious plotting.\" —\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Lyra Silvertongue, Lyra Belacqua, but really just Lyra: one of those characters\u003c\/b\u003e—Pip, Emma, Lolita—\u003cb\u003ewho is on first-name terms with her public.\u003c\/b\u003e\"—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Pullman's imagery is as dazzling as ever. \u003ci\u003eLa Belle Sauvage \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003ereveals the incredible ways in which 'ordinary' children can react whenplaced in extraordinary circumstances: with kindness, bravery and cunning.\u003c\/b\u003e\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Bookseller\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A rollicking adventure. \u003cb\u003eDelightful.\u003c\/b\u003e\" \u003ci\u003e—Mother Jones\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eA stunning, otherworldly journey.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eLa Belle Sauvage \u003c\/i\u003edives deeply into magic and intrigue. \u003cb\u003eWhat a gift it is to be allowed back into this universe.\u003c\/b\u003e\" —\u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Full of acute observation.\u003cb\u003e A rich, imaginative, vividly characterized rite-of-passage tale.\u003c\/b\u003e\" —\u003ci\u003eLondon Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Thrilling and thought-provoking.\" \u003c\/b\u003e—\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A singularly beguiling work of fantasy. [Pullman is] \u003cb\u003eperhaps the best fantasy writer alive\u003c\/b\u003e.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe A.V. Club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A \u003cb\u003eprofoundly compelling \u003c\/b\u003efoundation for a new trilogy.\" —\u003ci\u003eVox\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"This tense, adventure-packed book\u003cb\u003e will satisfy and delight Pullman's fans\u003c\/b\u003e and leave them eager to see what's yet to come\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Pullman is an easeful storyteller and an intricate and inventive world-builder, and \u003cb\u003eeverything he has to write is worth reading.\u003c\/b\u003e\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eMagisterial storytelling\u003c\/b\u003e will sweep readers along; the cast is as vividly drawn as ever; and big themes running beneath the surface invite profound responses and reflection.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews,\u003c\/i\u003e starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Luminous prose, \u003cb\u003eheady philosophical questions\u003c\/b\u003e, and a lovable protagonist combine with a gripping plot sure to enchant fans and newcomers alike.\" —\u003ci\u003eSLJ,\u003c\/i\u003e starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Pullman demonstrates that his \u003cb\u003etalent for world building\u003c\/b\u003e hasn’t diminished, nor has his ability to draw young characters—here, Malcolm, who is layered enough to carry an adventure through multiple dimensions.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist,\u003c\/i\u003e starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003ePullman's immense powers of kinesthetic visualization keep the story pulsing on an \u003cb\u003eepic \u003c\/b\u003escale.\"\u003ci\u003e—The Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003eAn\u003cb\u003e immersive, creepy, edge-of-your seat adventure.\"\u003c\/b\u003e —\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"To connect once more with \u003cb\u003ea fictional universe of such great power is a delight.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003ePHILIP PULLMAN is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy, which has been named one of the top 100 books of all time by \u003ci\u003eNewsweek \u003c\/i\u003eand one of the all-time greatest novels by \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly.\u003c\/i\u003e Pullman was knighted for his services to literature in the 2019 New Year Honours.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Book of Dust, Pullman’s eagerly anticipated return to the world of His Dark Materials, will also be a book in three parts. It began with \u003ci\u003eLa Belle Sauvage \u003c\/i\u003eand continues with \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Commonwealth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Philip Pullman is the author of many other beloved novels. For younger readers: \u003ci\u003eI Was a Rat!, Count Karlstein, Two Crafty Criminals!, Spring-Heeled Jack,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Scarecrow and His Servant.\u003c\/i\u003e For older readers: the Sally Lockhart quartet (\u003ci\u003eThe Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North, The Tiger in the Well\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cu\u003e,\u003c\/u\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Tin Princess\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eThe White Mercedes, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Bridge.\u003c\/i\u003e He has written a magnificent collection, \u003ci\u003eFairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm,\u003c\/i\u003e and his essays and lectures on writing and storytelling have been gathered in a volume called \u003ci\u003eDæmon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Philip Pullman lives in Oxford, England.\u003ci\u003eEleven-year-old Malcolm lives with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford, across the river Thames from Godstow Priory, where the nuns are looking after a special guest. One night his father comes to Malcolm’s bedroom.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Malcolm, you en’t in bed yet—good. Come downstairs for a minute. There’s a gentleman wants a word with you.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Who is it?” said Malcolm eagerly, jumping up and following his father out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Keep your voice down. He’ll tell you who he is if he wants to.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Where is he?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “In the Terrace Room. Take him a glass of Tokay.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “What’s that?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Hungarian wine. Come on, hurry up. Mind your manners and tell the truth.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I always do,” said Malcolm automatically.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “News to me,” said his father. But he ruffled Malcolm’s hair before they entered the bar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The gentleman waiting gave him a start, though all he was doing was sitting still by the cold fireplace. Perhaps it was his dæmon, a beautiful silvery spotted leopard, or perhaps it was his dark, saturnine expression; in any event, Malcolm felt daunted, and very young and small. His dæmon, Asta, became a moth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Good evening, sir,” he said. “Your Tokay what you ordered. Would you like me to make up the fire? It’s ever so cold in here.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Is your name Malcolm?” The man’s voice was harsh and deep.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes, sir. Malcolm Polstead.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’m a friend of Dr. Relf,” said the man. “My name is Asriel.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Oh. Er—she hasn’t told me about you,” Malcolm said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Why did you say that?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Because if she had, I’d know it was true.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Asriel gave a short laugh.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I understand,” he said. “You want another reference? I’m the father of that baby in the priory.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Oh! You’re \u003ci\u003eLord \u003c\/i\u003eAsriel!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “That’s right. But how are you going to test the truth of that claim?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “What’s the baby’s name?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Lyra.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “And what’s her dæmon called?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Pantalaimon.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “All right,” said Malcolm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “All right now? You sure?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “No, I en’t \u003ci\u003esure.\u003c\/i\u003e But I’m more sure than I was.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Good. Can you tell me what happened earlier this evening?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm went through it as fully as he could remember.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “These men came from the Office of Child Protection, and they wanted to take her away. Take Lyra. But Sister Benedicta wouldn’t let ’em.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “What did they look like?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm described their uniforms. “The one who took his cap off, he seemed like he was in charge. He was more polite than the others, more sort of smooth and smiling. But it was a real smile, not a fake one. I think I’d even’ve liked him if he’d come in here as a customer—that sort of thing. The other two were just dull and threatening. Most people would’ve been dead scared, but Sister Benedicta wasn’t. She faced ’em off all by herself.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The man sipped his Tokay. His dæmon lay with her head up and her front paws stretched out ahead of her, like the picture of the Sphinx in Malcolm’s encyclopedia. The black-and-silver patterns on her back seemed to flicker and shimmer for a moment, and then Lord Asriel spoke suddenly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Do you know why I haven’t been to see my daughter?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I thought you were busy. You probably had important things to do.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I haven’t been to see her because if I do, she’ll be taken away from there and put in a much less congenial place. There’ll be no Sister Benedicta to stand up for her there. But now they’re trying to take her anyway. . . .”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Excuse me, sir, but I told Dr. Relf about all this. Didn’t she tell you?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Still not quite sure about me?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Well . . . no,” said Malcolm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Don’t blame you. You going to go on visiting Dr. Relf?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes. Because she lends me books as well as listening to what’s happened.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Does she? Good for her. But tell me, the baby—is she being well looked after?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Oh, yes. Sister Fenella, she loves her a lot. We all— They all do. She’s very happy—Lyra, I mean. She talks to her dæmon all the time, just jabber jabber jabber, and he jabbers back. Sister Fenella says they’re teaching each other to talk.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Does she eat properly? Does she laugh? Is she active and curious?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Oh, yeah. The nuns are really good to her.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “But now they’re being threatened. . . .”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Asriel got up and went to the window to look at the few lights from the priory across the river.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Seems like it, sir. I mean, Your Lordship.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “‘Sir’ will do. You know them well, these nuns?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’ve known ’em all my life, sir.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “And they’d listen to you?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I suppose they would, yes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Could you tell them I’m here and I’d like to see my daughter?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “When?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Right now. I’m being pursued. The High Court has ordered me not to go within fifty miles of her, and if I’m found here, they’ll take her away and put her somewhere else where they aren’t so careful.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm was torn between saying, “Well, you ought not to risk it, then,” and simple admiration and understanding: of course the man would want to see his daughter, and it was wicked to try to prevent him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Well . . .” Malcolm thought, then said, “I don’t think you could see her right now, sir. They go to bed ever so early. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all fast asleep. In the morning they get up ever so early too. Maybe—”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I haven’t got that long. Which room have they made into a nursery?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Round the other side, sir, facing the orchard.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Which floor?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “All their bedrooms are on the ground floor, and hers is too.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “And you know which one?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes, I do, but—”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You could show me, then. Come on.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There was no refusing this man. Malcolm led him out of the Terrace Room and along the corridor, and out onto the terrace before his father could see them. He closed the door very quietly behind them and found the garden brilliantly lit by the clearest full moon there’d been for months. It felt as if they were being lit by a floodlight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Did you say there was someone pursuing you?” said Malcolm quietly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes. There’s someone watching the bridge. Is there any other way across the river?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “There’s my canoe. It’s down this way, sir. Let’s get off the terrace before anyone sees us.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lord Asriel went beside him across the grass and into the lean-to where the canoe was kept.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Ah, it’s a proper canoe,” said Lord Asriel, as if he’d been expecting a toy. Malcolm felt a little affronted on behalf of La Belle Sauvage and said nothing as he turned her over and let her slip quietly down the grass and onto the water.\u003cbr\u003e “First thing,” he said, “is we’ll go downstream a short way, so’s no one can see us from the bridge. There’s a way into the priory garden on that side. You get in first, sir.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Asriel did so, much more capably than Malcolm had anticipated and his leopard daemon followed, with no more weight than a shadow. The canoe hardly moved at all, and Asriel sat down lightly and kept still as Malcolm got in after him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You been in a canoe before,” Malcolm whispered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Yes. This is a good one.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Quiet, now . . .”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm pushed off and began to paddle, staying close to the bank under the trees and making no noise at all. If there was one thing he was good at, this was it. Once they were out of sight of the bridge, he turned the boat to starboard and made for the other shore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’m going to come up alongside a willow stump,” he said very quietly. “The grass is thick there. We’ll tie her up and go back across the field, behind the hedge.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lord Asriel was just as good at getting out as he’d been at getting in. Malcolm couldn’t imagine a better passenger. He tied the boat to a stout willow branch growing from the stump, and a few seconds later they were moving along the edge of the meadow, under the shade of the hedge.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm found the gap he knew about and forced his way through the brambles. It must have been harder for the man, being bigger, but he didn’t say a word. They were in the priory orchard; the lines of plum trees and apple trees, of pear trees and damson trees, stood bare and neat and fast asleep under the moon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm led the way around the back of the priory and came to the side where the window of Lyra’s nursery would be, if it hadn’t been hidden by the new shutters. They did look remarkably solid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He counted once more to make sure it was the right one, and then tapped quietly on the shutter with a stone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lord Asriel was standing close by. The moon was shining full on this side of the building, so they would both be clearly visible from some way off.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm whispered, “I don’t want to wake any of the other nuns, and I don’t want to startle Sister Fenella because of her heart. We got to be careful.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’m in your hands,” said Lord Asriel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm tapped again a little harder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sister Fenella,” he whispered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e No response. He tapped a third time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sister Fenella, it’s me, Malcolm,” he whispered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e What he was really worried about was Sister Benedicta, of course. He dreaded to think what would happen if he woke her, so he kept as quiet as he could while still trying to wake Sister Fenella, which was not easy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Asriel stood still, watching and saying nothing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Finally Malcolm heard a stirring inside the room. Lyra gave a little mew, and then it sounded as if Sister Fenella moved a chair or a small table. Her soft old voice murmured something, like a word or two of comfort to the baby.\u003cbr\u003e He tried again, just a little louder. “Sister Fenella . . .”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A little exclamation of shock.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “It’s me, Malcolm,” he said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A soft noise, like the movement of bare feet on the floor, and then the clock of the window catch.\u003cbr\u003e “Sister Fenella—”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Malcolm? What are you doing?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Like him, she was whispering. Her voice was frightened and thick with sleep. She hadn’t opened the shutter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sister, I’m sorry, I really am,” he said quickly. “But Lyra’s father’s here, and he’s being pursued by—by his enemies, and he really needs to see Lyra before—before he goes on somewhere else. To—to say goodbye,” he added.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Oh, that’s nonsense, Malcolm! You know we can’t let him—”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sister, please! He’s really in earnest,” Malcolm said, finding that phrase from somewhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “It’s impossible. You must go away now, Malcolm. This is a bad thing to ask. Go away before she wakes up. I daren’t think what Sister Benedicta—”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm didn’t dare think it either. But then he felt Lord Asriel’s hand on his shoulder, and the man said, “Let me speak to Sister Fenella. You go and keep watch, Malcolm.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Malcolm moved away to the corner of the building. From there he could see the bridge and most of the garden, and watched as Lord Asriel leaned towards the shutter and spoke quietly. It was a whisper; Malcolm could hear nothing at all. How long Asriel and Sister Fenella spoke he couldn’t have guessed, but it was a long time, and he was shivering hard when he saw, to his amazement, the heavy shutter move slowly. Lord Asriel stood back to let it open, and then stepped in again, showing his open, weapon-less hands, turning his head a little to let the moonlight fall clearly on his face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He whispered again. Then there was a minute—two minutes, perhaps—in which nothing happened; and then Sister Fenella’s thin arms held out the little bundle, and Asriel took it with infinite delicacy. His leopard dæmon stood up to put her forepaws on his waist, and Asriel held the baby down so she could whisper to Lyra’s dæmon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e How had he persuaded Sister Fenella? Malcolm could only wonder. He watched the man lift the baby again and walk along the grass between one bare flower bed and the next, holding the bundle high so he could whisper to her, rocking her gently, strolling along slowly in the brilliant moonlight. At one point he seemed to be showing the moon to Lyra, pointing up at it and holding her so she could see, or perhaps he was showing Lyra to the moon; at any rate he looked like a lord in his own domain, with nothing to fear and all the silvery night to enjoy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Up and down he strolled with his child. Malcolm thought of Sister Fenella waiting in fear—in case Lord Asriel didn’t bring her back, in case his enemies attacked, in case Sister Benedicta suspected something was up. But there was no sound from the priory, no sound from the road, no sound from the man and his baby daughter in the moonlight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At one point the leopard dæmon seemed to hear something. Her tail lashed once, her ears pricked, her head turned to face the bridge. Malcolm and Asta turned immediately, ears and eyes tightly focused on the bridge, every separate stone of which was clearly outlined in black and silver; but nothing moved, and there was no sound but the call of a hunting owl half a mile away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Presently the leopard dæmon’s statue-like stillness melted, and she moved away once more, lithe and silent. Malcolm realized that that was true of the man as well—during their journey over the river and through the meadow, into the orchard and up to the priory wall, he had not heard the slightest sound of footsteps. Asriel might as well have been a ghost, for all the sound he made.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He was turning now at the end of the walk and making for Sister Fenella’s window again. Malcolm watched the bridge, the garden, what he could see of the road, and saw nothing wrong; and when he turned, Asriel was handing the little bundle up through the window, whispering a word or two, and silently swinging the shutter closed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then he beckoned, and Malcolm joined him. It was very difficult to make no noise at all, even on grass, and Malcolm watched to see how the man set his feet down: there was something leopardlike about it—something to practice himself, anyway.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Back through the orchard, back to the hedge, through the brambles, into the meadow, across to the willow stump—\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then a stronger, yellower light than the moon stabbed the sky. Someone on the bridge had a searchlight, and Malcolm heard the sound of a gas engine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “There they are,” said Asriel quietly. “Leave me here, Malcolm.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “No! I got a better idea. Take my canoe and go down the river. Just get me back across to the other side first.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The idea occurred to Malcolm in the same moment he said it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You sure?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You can go downstream a long way. They’ll never think of that. Come on!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He stepped in and untied the painter, holding the boat tight to the bank while Asriel got in too; then Malcolm paddled swiftly and as quietly as he could across to the inn garden, though the current wanted to whirl him out into the open water, where they’d be visible from the bridge.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Asriel caught hold of the fixed line on the little jetty while Malcolm got out; then he let Malcolm hold the boat while he got in the right way round, took the paddle, and held out his hand to shake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’ll get her back to you,” he said, and then he was gone, speeding with long, powerful strokes down the river on the swollen current, the leopard daemon like a great figurehead at the prow. \u003ci\u003eLa Belle Sauvage\u003c\/i\u003e had never gone so fast, Malcolm thought.","brand":"Knopf Books for Young Readers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304743260389,"sku":"NP9780553510720","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780553510720.jpg?v=1730758300","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-book-of-dustisbn-9780553510720","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}