The Subtle Knife

When moonrise arrives, the witches’ spell to heal Will’s hand is ready. They chant and wail while slicing open a young tree and a rabbit, rubbing the blood and sap into Will’s wound. To the children’s surprise, both plant and animal seem unharmed. Will is finally able to sleep deeply after the spell, and the group spends a night in the woods. They are freezing cold, but know they are safe from the dangers of the world; the Specters are afraid of the knife, and the other children are afraid of the witches.

In the morning, the witches decide that the party will set out to finish Lyra’s task, helping Will find his father. Using the alethiometer as a guide, they begin their journey on foot. Will and Lyra walk together and talk about Will’s mother. He tells her that he knew children could do evil things after he found a group of them torturing his mother during one of her episodes of confusion. He fought them off and knew from then on that he would always have to be a fighter. He speculates that whatever the Specters are, they may be the same thing causing his mother’s distress. For much of his life he thought she was mentally ill and scared of things that didn’t exist.