The Nightscape

Goodbyes

There was someone waiting for her outside the library. Lyra spotted them from miles away, a single dark figure against the sun bleached yellow stones. She faltered for a moment, a sense of foreboding in her stomach, before she forced herself to keep going. It was just one person, and Hayden needed her alive. She was also loathe to take anymore time than she had to; it had been a little while since she escaped from the bunker, and she was certain that her absence had been noted. If Guy had gone to get his sister, she would have some more time to reach the library, but if he was with the others he would no doubt guess where she had gone. 

She approached the figure, squinting against the harsh sunlight to get a look at them. Lyra didn't recognise them, but they looked oddly familiar; with the red hair and upturned nose, the woman looked a lot like Ettie. Lyra got within ten feet and stopped, eyeing her warily and glancing around to make sure no one was sneaking up on her. It would be pretty hard to do; aside from the library, there was no blemish on the flat, sun soaked planes surrounding them.  Of course, there could be people in the library, but they would no doubt be allies of Hayden. No point in trying to escape him now. 

"Hello, Lyra. I'm glad that you saw sense. I'm Vivian." The woman called out, gesturing for her to come closer. Lyra inched forward a foot, and then stopped. 

"Where's my father?" She demanded. 

"He's safe, for now. You came at just the right moment, Hayden was beginning to get impatient, which wouldn't have boded well for your dad's health. Give me a minute, I'll message Hayden and tell him not to do anything. Your father won't be released until the divide has been sealed, though." Vivian warned her, pulling out a clunky looking radio phone and jabbing a message in. 

"I want to see him." 

"You can't."

"Then I don't know that he's still alive, and I won't work for you. I'll just go back to Guy." She tried to bluff. Vivian smiled at her, indulgent, like she was talking to a young child. 

"By all means, turn and walk away. Even if we get into a fight and you somehow win, then Hayden will put a bullet into your daddy's brain and send a hundred people to capture you." She drawled out. Lyra bristled. 

"So, what? I'm just supposed to believe that you're telling the truth and he's fine?" She demanded, hands balled into fists. Vivian shrugged. 

"What choice do you have? If you walk away, then he's definitely dead. Stay and do as your told, and he'll be just fine. I know you don't like Hayden, but he is a man of his word." Lyra doubted it was that simple. By coming here in the first place, she was fairly sure that she had removed the option of walking away. Either the library was filled with backup who could run her down, or Vivian was powerful enough that Hayden trusted her to single handedly bring him the last part of his plan. No matter which it was, she had already sealed her fate. 

"Alright then. What happens now?" Lyra asked, walking a few steps closer. Vivian smiled. 

"Clever girl. I had a quad round the back, and if I can trust you not to do something stupid, I can take you to Hayden." She offered, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket and rounding the corner of the library, just trusting Lyra to follow along. It irritated the girl, but she couldn't do anything about it. 

"I've never been on a quad before." She muttered. 

"I wasn't going to let you drive anyway, purple. Just sit on the back and hang on tight. It'd be awfully irritating if you fell off and died now." Vivian commented wryly, mounting the bike and starting the motor. Tentatively, Lyra sat behind her, holding onto the side of the seat. 

"Remember what I just said about you falling off the back and dying? Well, that's how you do it. Pretend I'm your boyfriend and hang on properly." She snapped at her. Lyra did as she was told, closing her eyes as the bike lurched into motion, going much quicker than they did in the normal world. Vivian was wearing a pair of steampunk style goggles to keep the dust out of her eyes, but Lyra just had to keep her eyes squeezed closed. She wondered if it was on purpose; if she couldn't see where they were going, how would she find her way back?