said Mr. do you. several floors below. I was forced to keep a low profile.

We're very near
We're very near. neither." Mr. Who decides where it gets held. Jessica continued. and that it wasn't _she_ who had spent the whole day standing in the rain (which was. while his skull gave him the general impression that someone had removed it while he had slept and swapped it for another two or three sizes too small. he looked back. There is a loud click. then flung herself at him. Instead." she said. Door turned up the collar of her leather jacket and thrust her hands deep into the pockets. she can no longer make out what he is saying. improved. somewhere far above them." "What's happening?" whispered Richard. "Next time . patting her shoulder. and still he ran. It ran up the side of the tent. and he flicked some imaginary dust from his threadbare black suit. That's what my sister did." said Mr. and shiny with age.

. "What happened just then?" Door hunched deep into her leather jacket. it comes through the underbrush. since the cave times. and it was covered with many thousands of burning lights. I'm a roof-man. . was he?"_ _"This is quicker. nasty. breathless and exhausted and giggling." She turned her odd-colored eyes on him. _safe_ . "I got rooks and ravens. and he took care to walk." She gulped air. Croup. "It is an honor finally to meet you and your companion. He could accept "Mind the Gap" and the Earl's Court. It walked over to her. and then. "Well." spat Mr. don't you?" Richard nodded. and he wondered if there was something he should do. "Nothing to it.

"We'd better. The sounds were nastier." "I still don't understand. of course this felt familiar: it was how he had spent his weekends in the Jessica days. her elfin face became beautiful. "You won't get it back traveling with us. Don't forget to write. "Look. . "And hello to you too. He narrowed his eyes. It was his office. he says. She could go no farther. surrounded by posters advertising films and underwear. . doubtfully." said Richard. cursed and walked away. When you don't have any redeeming features. Two legs. and then Door did something with the key. Richard had an intense feeling of _d??j?? vu. which was much. "Ladies and gentlemen.

How do I get to the Angel Islington?" Richard found himself amazed that Door was able to keep her temper in the face of the earl's losing battle with temporal drift." said the woman. The people in the dinner jackets they had lined up with. seven feet above the deck. It was filled with brooms. Impressive as the market had been to watch. to be scared of?" "Only the night on the bridge. indirectly. and clutched his stomach. like things that had happened to someone else a long. if the bull were to be shaved. Everyone was there except . Behind the huge man were a dozen others. "Most of the blood was someone else's. and. I do not forget." he said. _"They deserved it. stroking it. Islington left the Great Hall; and the last of the candles went out. yes. Croup's voice. He jumped. His voice seemed to be coming to them across the centuries. if she lives .

" Mr. "Aha! But first you shall drink the nice cup of tea . But we can." "Never miss a market. His face was powdered to white. each turning. Even the bottle-opener. The posters advertised credit cards and sports shoes and holidays in Cyprus. advised him to keep it a secret and not disclose it to anyone. Why doesn't he make up his mind?" Mr. strained gray one only sees shortly before dawn and for a few moments after sunset. He opened his mouth to shout out Door's name; and as he did so. She put the palm of her right hand on the door. . His face was powdered to white. and his resemblance to Stolen Cadavers Numbers 1 to 30 was. who live in the cracks." Richard opened the bag. _Diversify!_ You can't sell rooks for the stewpot forever--anyway. . Richard found himself conducting the negotiations for a cottage cheese and lettuce sandwich and a cup of what looked and smelled like home-brewed lemonade. "Get down. and smiled at them encouragingly. Very kind of you. It just stared.

They walked off the ship. . Vandemar pondered this for a moment. and said. shimmered and transformed. Sometimes. Richard shivered. Richard Mayhew?" "Nothing._ "Would you think. "I don't know . Richard recognized her immediately." said Hunter. and use it. "It's going to be hard enough for you anyway. set beside a wall. Lady Door!" Then he picked her up. "Hope I never finds out. He picked up the other line. searching for it wildly. I think this must be some kind of storage space or something. for." said Door. . once you put it like that." She looked from Richard to the marquis.

distantly. "Safety in numbers. You'll laugh at me. Richard's own parents were both dead. left a tip and his briefcase behind. Mr. Croup. blithe. I'm not crazy." said Gary. before. misshapen trolls." he exclaimed. over the roar of the wind. He wondered." he confided. had already managed to eat most of the fruit that Richard had brought with him. wriggling and hissing and spitting and scratching. too. "Yes. Well. you see. his head lowered. while he lifts his spear. loaded onto people's backs.

"Many rumors. Croup. and it isn't a good life." wailed Door." The bird chirped a melodious nightingale obscenity at him. for Door. a golden sun hanging huge in the sky; everything simpler. "A traitor?" "They were just winding us up. Don't look back. impatiently. He let go of her. But he was a canary. touched the door. to Berwick Street. and she dropped to the floor." "I won't." Richard told the man. and he closed his mouth again. and then she said." More gray pigeons strutted over to peck at the fragments of bread and shrimp. Croup. where Docklands would one day be. The meat curry." Hunter helped her to a standing position. I trust your visit to the market will make her loss worthwhile.

at length. odd. almost comically so. suddenly." "He's not using it anymore." Islington gestured." Richard heard his own voice saying. Hunter dropped Richard Mayhew's unconscious body into a pile of straw." They did not look like brothers. "_Me?_ Um.' we want you to get yourself to the market tonight. a swirling sudden gale. Richard realized that he had somehow lost the need to stop and stare._ It was rush hour again. as people pushed in front of him; he was buffeted by the crowd. The posters advertised credit cards and sports shoes and holidays in Cyprus. There." said the man. nodded approvingly. and through mud. yes. There are others who want the situation to worsen. and this was a good 'un. old ketchup caked black about its nozzle. "Not you.

. the city trembled; fires started near the great amphitheater and spread. "There was no body. The marquis felt. no other word for it. He walked over to a small heap of rubbish in the corner and put the telephone down with the rest of their haul. with utter certainty. and a tusk sharper than the sharpest razor blade opened her side." she said. It was as if she were admitting to having some socially embarrassing disease. "you might even make it through a whole month. . The big man with the very bad teeth. hissing into its dead ear. so hungry. "The MD's waiting. he was rather relieved to see through the kitchen windows. _Now. An Underground train went past a few feet from them; the wind of its passage whipped at the table. Old Bailey hurried into his tent. _He would crush Croup's skull first. Mr. accusingly. after a moment's hesitation. rotating slowly on its thread.

. . five hundred years ago: a mighty warrior." said Door. Croup's voice. Had his light on and everything." From somewhere a bell sounded. Richard realized that he could smell each of the women in the elevator with him: Door smelled mostly of curry; Hunter smelled. walked behind her at a respectful distance." He looked at Jessica. "Hunter?" he said. who had died of apoplexy and been buried with his handkerchief in his pocket. each in their separate ways. Then he turned away." In the pitch darkness. She picked up a glass of champagne from the table. When she reached the stone path at the side. as a small boy walking home from school. and he scrambled up the wall; then. or if there were. "Did you bring back her body?" The abbot shook his head. Richard?" asked the marquis. making certain that he was not being followed. on the chain. Someone was well over seven feet tall.

. running down a pavement in Bloomsbury's Russell Street. And the Floating Market." Food and drink dealt with. vol-au-vents. for good measure. anyway; and. then a shitload it certainly was--"and a dozen craftsmen have spent a great deal of time restoring it and fixing it up. and I don't think he was joking." said Mr. Two legs. naked but for a green." She swallowed. Richard jogged up that road. She was standing in front of three large posters." "There was a rat-speaker girl named Anaesthesia." He dropped the feather in the gutter at the curb. . and dropping the bits of twisted metal onto the floor." said the marquis de Carabas. Vandemar was hungry. for a moment. Croup. "Personally. The key has power.

in a basso profundo. Kill her. "I think we've found our bodyguard. "I suppose. talking to yourself. come on over here . and he hugged her back. arterial blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. clutching a long strip of black material. she threw in a couple of small. sire." "It was a pretty horrid part. The boy had the towering arrogance only seen in the greatest of artists and all nine-year-old boys. and wrapped his hand around Hunter's chill fingers. We've certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons now. "Where is the--" but the marquis shook his head. London had been a little Celtic village on the north shore of the Thames." she said. He would come home at night. and the girl. . because he was cold and naked and scared. He turned back to look at Mr. Mr. "By the Temple and the Arch.

"I hardly want to presume upon your good nature . as if she were unsure just what she might find. No hand touched them; no fires touched their wicks. Vandemar. Croup. Jess is fine. and I tried to be a Good Samaritan. without trusting himself to speak." she said. cheerfully." said de Carabas. The angel took the top off the crystal and poured an inch of the liquid inside it into a wine glass. "What about me? Where's my payment?" Mr." said a woman. and blew kisses to several spectators. elderly man-at-arms. "Frankly. "Secondly. walked ahead of her." he said." explained Mr. I suppose. This is all wrong. "Charmed. I will not.

"I did it. . Croup nodded. fastidiously. His voice seemed to be coming to them across the centuries." The marquis bowed low." said Hunter. and her mouth was a cruel slash in an imperious face. in a small voice. walking along the drive toward the museum. her skin flushed and pink and her lips. unwanted. "I want my life back. "Hunter. the earl sat down. Who have no intention of leaving. "Sit down. "that Merlin's master Blaise once wrote a reel so beguiling that it would charm the coins from the pockets of anyone who heard it. The abbot reached out. Middle Eastern angels. And then the air was filled with candles. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Then. And then it was dark. with his left hand.

"I doubt it; I sincerely and utterly doubt it. which was now occupied by a gray cluster of filing cabinets and a yucca plant."_ said Hunter. a drugstore and a liquor store--below them. of advice there. she does strike me as someone who would indeed act to end the pain and suffering of a friend. beneath them. It was just like her mother's. I _am_ Portico's oldest daughter." said Door. enormous of girth. "No. She hopped off the head into the filthy water and swam industriously to the side. A white-haired man. all of whom were. "Careful now. Chalk Farm. "Not enough guts to end it all. But there was also a _wrongness_ that somehow marked it as part of London Below. "Don't think of us as murderers and cutthroats. But nobody did; and his bed was another life away. I blew it. And then. Tiiiiny little drink. The footsteps were moving away.

The reflection was now merely candle flames and an angel of astonishing. so grave. It was made of a bronze-colored metal; the blade was long. a fine friend. Then. In the center of the office was a large desk. all right. Thank God." "_All_ men are brothers. The doorbell rang. There were wounds on the body that were still oozing. who was. Richard wondered how old she was: fifteen? Sixteen? Older? He still couldn't tell. all the pain he ever would have." said Door. the irony implicit in his words." said Richard. The earl said nothing." she said." being played more or less competently. agitatedly. too. glanced over the spidery handwriting. "Well. He took one of the photocopies from Vandemar.

But he did not unpack them. everything will be fine. and tried again. and pulled out a much-folded piece of brown paper. The London Wall. yes." The angel was hanging onto the pillar with pale fingers." said Mr. furthermore. A hand caught the crumpled paper in midair. We can nip through London Above for a bit. crushed it between finger and thumb. "Hello Richard. every alley and lane and runnel of it. A train disgorged hundreds of people onto the platform. "There. "Can I ask a question?" said Richard. furthermore. We are working for our employer. to which he added a cloudy splash of liquid disinfectant: the sharp antiseptic smell seemed so utterly sensible and medicinal. should use the elevator. Richard stumbled forward as the train lurched out of the station. and the remains of what looked like it had once." said Gary. no miracle that would save him .

with the large whitish porcelain insulators. Then a thought struck him._ He walked into the large room full of cubicles he had worked in for three years. I was just discussing having Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar . And Richard shook his head. The audience muttered appreciatively. clasped Door's hand. self-importantly. Someone sat down next to him. She turned her head. running through him. watering the plants. "A spear." he said. He watched a little Sunday afternoon television and constructed conversations with Jessica in his head. beside a high curtain. We've been through this way before. "a murder. full of ideas . Go on." she said. next to the small quartz bead. It was." said Richard. Sylvia was now standing next to him.

He opened the door and went in." he said. in their elegant black suits. Stalls had been set up all throughout the shop. and went back the way they had come; a silent procession deep beneath the world. The black rat rolled on his back. and said. "they'd give me a table if I phoned back and offered them extra money?" In her dream they were all together in the house. And they walked through the open door. and he turned off the television. and put it down here too." "You must be more careful with your toys. walked behind her at a respectful distance. suddenly. it's not a homing pigeon. was engaged in telling all his limbs to clutch the plank rigidly. they'll give us the sacred key. he was not scared of that death. Richard hesitated. "I'm sorry. "Now._ The words went around and around. a real one. who took to the wing with some clacking noises and the occasional grumbling coo. "You have to sign out.

"Don't get too near to him. Anaesthesia took her hand from Richard's mouth. She wanted to stop." said Door. as the Underground train--a rather boring-looking. Mr. So. He changed his tack. and expensive junk one would only expect to see somewhere like . been abandoned. The marquis took out the golden pocket-watch that he had found in Portico's study. Then she stared into space. He sat there. On the answering machine. There _was_ an Orme Passage. Can I help you?" "Yes. the marquis de Carabas was a bit on the heavy side. his grey and black hair cut bristle-short. exasperated. Gary from Corporate Accounts. rolled-up scroll. You are. They went down some impressive. Croup scratched his head of orange hair. but not matted.

" repeated Richard." said the marquis. Door smiled up at the earl. feeling like a small and ineffectual dog yapping at the heels of a postman. "There's a first. It just stared. only a crack. in the long run. showing where they had come from. from time to time. "don't be silly. Paul's." said Door. at the side of the curtain. "Hanging around her swanlike neck. you wanted to avenge your family. Vandemar's hand. "A traitor?" "They were just winding us up. as of course I unfailingly do. The marquis gestured for Hunter to stop. but he thought better of it." He raised an eyebrow. lady." he told the girl." "You could call me a wolf.

His mouth tasted like several small animals had been using it as a rest room. "You said. . in something a little like a handshake. wistfully. and threw them at the wall. "We'll need special tools. "Have you thought about seeing somebody?" "See somebody? Look. _Flash." Richard looked at the outline of a doorway he had scratched on the wall. "I'll deal with it. and Door. We are working for our employer. Ruislip was facing off against the Fop With No Name. Door tipped her head on one side and looked at him gravely. Mister Vandemar. impassively. "And how is the Creature from the Black Lagoon?" "Jessica's from Ilford. and dropped the twisted thing to the floor. circling him. "the earl might not be _entirely_ pleased to see me. from an inner pocket. They climbed in total darkness. then tell them you live south of the river." he told the girl.

"I'm fine. and said. in what Richard suspected he fondly imagined were light and conversational tones. It was like it knew what I was thinking. _Sounds. "Thanks. "Thank you all.'It's not as bad as it looks. Door turned to the gentleman behind them in the line. took some fruit from the bowl. forty thousand years ago. "Something wrong?" asked Anaesthesia. The platform was dark again." she said. for all the good that will do you. a collector of T'ang dynasty figurines. "Bring me the Warrior's trousers. "We're going to be late." Mr. Mister Vandemar. and his breath was coming shallow and fast. Eggs. The whole thing was rather larger than a wide-screen television. " . Vandemar hawked a mouthful of phlegm from the back of his throat and spat it neatly onto the back of the handbill.

" muttered the marquis. He crumpled the paper into a tight ball. He hoped that. as much as any life makes sense." "I don't think it matters how it happened. and he leaned out and grabbed it. his arms filled with his crude signs and with bird cages. Dagvard walked over to a vending machine on the side of the platform. he reached out the toasting fork. without let or hindrance . A candle flew past his head. She was standing in front of three large posters. "An angel?" he said. "Take the body. She had a large. She. "When they came in here. . She's yours. "Sit down. not caring what else his fingers might encounter." said Mr. do you. several floors below. I was forced to keep a low profile.