Fig of mucual. For a bear to kill anot  , or raigill.

    But occasionally tances in e , a whole ceremonial was prescribed.

    As soon as lofur announced t lorek Byrnison ake place, t ground  and smooto c ested, and tes  as muctention o e six-inco a deadly point. Lyra c of omac be tention; y-four  rest or food;

    one point, after lofur Raknison ested ts skin open like paper, and t o lofur and go ah fear.

    Even Pantalaimon, o say t er:  told  trust o read) s it wice.

    By time,  ground  stle about t time to  asking questions. Instead sayed close to lofur Raknison and ciers around  tside, and tried to guess tokens to -ranking, stle manikins like lofurs rag-doll daemon, trying to curry favor, perating to notice t o do  of favor now? hey behave?

    { Because t , so see.

    t sure  like lorek Byrnison, pure and certain and absolute; tant pall of uncertainty cched lofur.

    And tcy. Sly close to lofur and said not her.

    ted by time, and t, ting of darkness toime Lyra t lorek o arrive. As sood stle rise of dense-packed sno t ground, so lig to see a flig black so bear o see ty, ; or to see Ma Costas broad arms, to smell t enfolded you in her presence....

    Sears t froze almost as soon as to brusened. Bears,  understand  comfort   firmly around tle mouse-form, and  her fingers.

    Beside ments to lofur Raknisons armor.  metal toes inlaid  enclosed t of ening carapace of silver-gray, s; and tected by a close-fitting sark of c  srayed lorek Byrnison, for lorek . ected only  lofur Raknison, so sleek and po a deep sickness in  and fear combined.

    Sy, if you remember o you before...”

    turned y racted from target t for o slas  claws.

    “Yes? Yes?”

    “Remember, I said Id better go and speak to lorek Byrnison first, and pretend—”

    But before sence, tc it meant and took it up riump excitement. they had seen lorek.

    “Please?” Lyra said urgently. “Ill fool him, youll see.”

    “Yes. Yes. Go now. Go and encourage him!”

    lofur Raknison ement.

    Lyra left  ground, bare and clear as it le footprints in ted to let  bodies lumbered aside, t.  tc ill he snow.

    al, and in a flurry of snoood beside her.

    “Oerrible to o fig ready— youre tired and hungry, and your armors—”

    “ terrible thing?”

    “I told  on te to be like a person and  desperate. So I tricked o t I o desert you and be ead, but o figo make it  you figo just burn you up before you got close—”

    “You tricked lofur Raknison?”

    “Yes. I made   you instead of just killing you straigcast, and to do t, because—”

    “Belacqua? No. You are Lyra Silvertongue,” o fig.

    Come, little daemon.”

    S lorek Byrnison in tered armor, lean and ferocious, and felt as if   h pride.

    togeto ground lay flat and open at t of tered at ttlements, ood like a dense y we as of eyes and noses.

    t ones moved aside, making them.

    lorek ed across t ground from lofur Raknison. trodden snowo bears faced eac.

    Lyra o lorek t srembling in  dynamo, generating migouc t and said, “Fig. hing.”

    tood back.

    “Bears!” lorek Byrnison roared. An ecartled birds out of ts.  on: “terms of t are te. If I kill lofur Raknison, I s order to you all o tear do palace, t perfumed insel, and o tal. Gold is not.

    lofur Raknison ed Svalbard. I o cleanse it. lofur Raknison, I challenge you.”

    tep or two, as if he could hardly hold himself back.

    “Bears!” urn. “lorek Byrnison  my invitation.

    I dreo make terms of t, and torn apart and scattered to ts. erated. It sal crime to speak his name....”

    inued, and t ual fait tterly different: lofur so glossy and po y and dented. But  and it fitted  content ed anotless will.

    And s all too. But lorek and lofur  tures, tinies. lofur o take tion, and lorek ake t, one future o unfold.

    As tual combat moved too prolessly on t a flicker of movement from tators: but all eyes follohem.

    Finally till and silent, co face across t ground.

    t t. Like t masses of rock balanced on adjoining peaks and sainsides gatrees into splinters, until to eac boto po oget resounded in till air and ec t destroyed, as rock o rise ed up in a lit easily raise  once for t e fur, and t and wrenc forward.

    Sensing t ters edge, sending ss of er flying o the air.

    And lorek fell aing metal lofur stood up tall, straigeel of es by srengtill trying to rise.

    Lyra felt  of  crashing fall.

    Certainly t? ruggling to t   , and lofur eet.

    Drops of  blood o it like a token of love.

    to t came a to scramble upright again.

    For a moment tood apart, getting t cection it  once into a  ill fastened at ttom, and trailed around  ing heavily.

    But  lofur before tangle  t of lofurs neck, . lofur t eacains of sno sprayed in all directions and sometimes made it o see wage.

    Lyra co breatogetig . S searing at a  t couldnt be rig later, after anotanding uprigy cla lofurs face, ting back just as savagely.

    Lyra trembled at t of t were swinging a sledge eel spikes...

    Iron clanged on iron, teeteet trodden doo a crimson mud.

    lofurs armor iful state by time, tes torn and distorted, torn out or smeared t gone altogetter condition, for all its ugliness:

    dented, but intact, standing up far better to t sledgeurning aside tal six-inch claws.

    But against t, lofur ronger t more blood.  to  w could she do?

    And it  it .  to strike  oo, almost little pats compared y cruss es before.