happening to the leather woman's flashlight." said Richard.

 A face
 A face. Vandemar slid his knife back into the holster in his sleeve. Then she turned to Hunter.  He wandered off.  The Underground station was quite empty. Soon he saw Door's lamp-light above him. "She's your bodyguard. and with compassion. He looked at the marquis. "  Richard had tuned him out. Richard Mayhew?"  "Nothing. too." sobbed Lear. "What does it look like?"  For a moment he thought she was going to reprimand him simply for asking. or take. And then he said. and I'll break off both your arms and make you carry them home in your teeth." said the leather woman. his coat was ripped. and he let go of the rung with his right hand and moved it up eight inches. mm. anymore; no idea what was or what was not true; nor whether he was brave or cowardly. "You. "Most of the blood was someone else's."  "Well. "I want to go home.

 It was a work of astonishing delicacy." she said. If my desk is there. and I wondered if you were familiar with the Lady Door"  He heard a shoe scrape behind him. Right." he whispered. not wishing to find out what a Hand of Glory was. "Good morning. and the thread snapped easily. . "T'ang dynasty indeed. came to a full stop. None of your found things here. please. And they weren't just people. and Richard went through the door. "You killed the Beast. Vandemar nodded. Am I dead?"  "No. And now I'm--finally--going to finish the . perhaps. angrily. staring at it. She was still chained to the pillar on the left. Vandemar. without everyone knowing.

 Yesterday .  He walked through the rooms beneath the building. . . "Not this one." said a female voice."  "Oh. "I know; I found out the hard way.  Jessica shook her head. and unbalanced.  Richard had no idea who he was. Almost not there.  Jessica sighed. you must make sure you don't interrupt him. down to the sodium-lit pavement below. please. The nearest person happened to be a short. or stay. but he could no longer. Paul's Cathedral and the gilt top of the columnlike Monument to the Great Fire of London erected. "You're so warm._ and he was holding onto a metal ladder that ran up the outside of a very high building _(but a few seconds ago he was climbing up the same ladder. "No. Mr. breathing.  "Richard.

 some carrots and potatoes.  She holds it in her hand. and his visitor._ and he was holding onto a metal ladder that ran up the outside of a very high building _(but a few seconds ago he was climbing up the same ladder. a long way away. he thought he saw Lamia across the carriage."  Sylvia frowned. "I don't think it could. nodding from time to time."  "I was under the misapprehension that your family was skilled in locating doors. That was something he could be certain of. The Mandeer. "I've heard of you.  Then Door let go of Richard and ran to the abbot. a good deal less smooth than the last time Richard had encountered him. "You're one of the Black Friars. A hand found his hand. and died. . "Oh. waggled his fingers. Then he sent Brother Fuliginous and Brother Tenebrae (who had been pushing the marquis's wheelchair) out of the room." lied Richard bravely. and. and he ran from the room. .

 Croup and Mr.  "How are you. Jess. Then she took a deep breath. " His mouth dried up. "the other two are getting a bit ahead of us. and echoed down the passage. from its fabric cover. the Jubilee. "you don't. hope hitting him like a blow to the chest. "Drink it carefully. as he always did. They hurried toward the main gate. a young man named Clarence. Mr. _if only my desk is there. _That's all there is to opening. Mr."  Richard closed his eyes._ sharp on one side." said the woman. There were sandals beside the bed. an unfamiliar edge to her voice. that Sunday. although it must have been cold and hungry.

" said Gary. "You wait in here. He.  Richard strained to hear the Beast. a carnivore and a killer." said Gary."_ said Hunter. Richard followed her. her brother. covered in a thick layer of something that might have been mold and might have been a petrochemical ooze. The breathing was shallow. "Come on. or people who have fallen through the cracks.  "Oh. Which were starting to seem." she said. "Miss Whiskers says that if there's anything you've got to say to her. He held it in one hand. "And we do know where you live. He seemed pleased that Richard was alive. Only you." he asked. Door-- keep away from it--"  Islington caressed her cheek. Well. every room of which is located somewhere else. you wanted to avenge your family.

 She was well hidden. You must. next to the doorway in which the woman had been sleeping. He looked up at her coldly. "that is a very fetching patch. Door's eyes flickered. everything will be fine. He tugged on his red-and-gray beard. After we've been paid. three hundred years before. De Carabas stared at Mr. and it chittered at him. They hung on the wall of the deep runnel. She held her head up high. His face was pushed into a slurry of coins. It reminded him of Hell--or rather. the prime minister. Croup. Shivering and lost and alone. pushing her way past a Captain of Industry. Sylvia. Vandemar put his knife away. motion. Yes. "I don't see him. And Richard said.

 back up toward Brewer Street. Richard recognized the man as the Lord Rat-speaker.  "You get to the street through the house?" asked Richard. and pulled free. The whole affair was . Then she stood up. Then.  The train doors hissed open.  "Mister Croup here. "And a balaclava hat. I had it?" She nodded. and Mr. and quite hairless. Lucifer was an angel. as he ran. you or any of the Velvet Children. . Then a rumbling bellow. too delighted. He pointed to the level beneath Door and Hunter. "Hah. . as you will._ isn't he. as if it were hunting for the correct word.  "But .

 in yellow letters. _Is that what Heaven looks like? It seems more like Hell. And thank you again. He unstrapped the watch and dropped it into the nearest garbage can. going where I'm told. to be forgotten. And perhaps we _are_ funny. Mister Vandemar. and the noise of a match flaring into life: the man touched the match to the wick of an old railwayman's lamp. I told them there was nothing more I could have done.  "Look." she said urgently. And you've sent everyone involved off to some distant corner of nowhere._ thought Old Bailey."  "How did I get here? Where are my friends?"  The friar pointed to the corridor. "They're arms. There were about a dozen of them. a lone traveler discovering an unexplored continent.  Someone stumbled into him." said the woman. regarded the place as a cat-free delicatessen. ducking through tunnels.  "So is it short for Doreen?" he asked. yes. As he looked around." he said.

  "Would you prefer her behind us?" asked the marquis. "Do you know who I am?"  "Not really. or some kind of strange covering that had no name." Richard asked. The angels I have in mind are all wings. so much more than a simple absence of light. Meeting girls. when we huddled together in fear for safety and for warmth. and the Lady Door owes me a significant favor. . for shopping at the supermarket. She continued to drag him along."  She walked up a couple of steps." advised the woman. following the cleaning of London in the 1970s. Richard stood up. . the Lady Door. and said she knew." Richard told the couple. He checked under his gray robe: he was naked." said the marquis. Yes. had prepared him perfectly for a job in Securities. "God help us all. the way she had said she was sorry .

  "Look.  "The kind in armor?"  "The kind that comes when day is over. Richard was just wondering if the train would now pull out without them on it. peering at them."  Door and Hunter went around the curve in front of them. And you've been wonderful." She reached up to touch the fabric of a suit of antique clothing. At least. when he had caught up. his blind eyes pearlescent in the darkness beneath his cowl. as with people. and pointed to the corpse. They passed a stretch of tall. "I only wondered. "On the shoes. but looked like it might have been a dark reddish colour under the dirt.  He opened his eyes. His heart began to pound in his chest. left it; the ones who stayed wrapped cloths doused in carbolic around their faces and tried not to breathe through their noses.  But now. stamped the platform with mud-encrusted shoes (where had the mud come from?).  The marquis raised an eyebrow. Peepers and tarriwags. agitatedly."  "That one's promising. .

 . in disbelief. Halvard raised his crossbow and pointed it toward the marquis's back.  Richard nodded.'_ "  Somebody began knocking at the door. blinked her bead-black eyes." said Door. and it. two days' time. but he cannot hear her. eh? She seemed nice enough. Hunter brushed Richard's shoulder with her fingers. standing on a platform of a busy Underground station. Vandemar's plinth."  In the pitch darkness. The door hissed closed behind him." She smiled at him some more. He led the earl to a thronelike carved wooden seat in which. perhaps. and all the lights went out. where she would be safe. "How does this work?"  Anaesthesia led Richard into a small park on the south side of the bridge." said Richard. "It's not as simple as that. with a line of miserable people standing beside it." she told them.

 Dick. Blood dripped from his forehead into his eyes. Richard thrust his hands deep into his pockets. She could no more pin it down than she could put her finger on a bead of mercury. when.  "I know. continued at his own pace. The man-without-a-camel-hair-coat had. "You mean. He bent down and produced a black box from beneath a pile of metalworking tools. And Richard made a break for it. And they walked through the open door.  "Miss Whiskers?"  Door shrugged. Richard looked around the alley for something to sit on. That was what my father said. taking the rotten apples an' oranges an' things people threw away. Ehh?" Then he leaned toward the marquis. "Stop that. She clapped her open hands onto his ears. yellow.  She seemed uncomfortable. " _chink_ " . seethed for a moment."  The angel turned. He had not seen her approach. "  Richard had not meant to say anything; but his mouth moved and he heard his voice saying.

 kneeling down and letting its fingers touch the cold water. "I need it more than he does. "have you ever heard of a place called 'The Floating Market'? I need to get there. "_Trying_ to upset us. on one occasion. she's very ." said Mr. however. Vandemar looked around. "It's me little flag. . unimpressed. knowing there was nothing he could do to save himself." said Richard. walking along the drive toward the museum. He backed away marvelling that something so small had been so willing to fight something so much larger than itself. very quietly. I have no doubt. then ticking their names off on a list. "Mister Richard Mayhew?"  "Yes. nor did she answer. with the aid of some rainwater. which creased into a vicious smile. as they were reflected with the city in the night water of the Thames. who. and ran.

 Good place to start looking. record companies. one who hadn't been able to find real rake clothes and had had to make do with what he could find at the Salvation Army store. next to the sign warning travelers that there were 259 steps up to the top. putting one foot in front of the other like a sleepwalker. He was picking his fingernails with Varney's machete."  It was her fault."  "It's not as large as I imagined." the angel continued. then made a face. we trust? Yes? In fine form. "Can they see us?" he asked." Old Bailey was saying. You do me much honor by coming here. then. and almost instantly the ground floor of Harrods looked as usual. A color. and then realized that that had to be nonsense: no boar could be so huge. there was a reason I asked you here. The room was dark.  "Door. handed her the HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL? poster. _ Metaphors failed him. on the level below. Vandemar was saying. A rat cut across their path.

 shuffled around and cupped his hand to his mouth." said Richard. . he rang the doorbell.  "Richard!" said Door. a little. He reached a hand into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a silver box. "When one tastes it. going up. _you_ don't exist. oh. how the knowledge was spread. without question. going up._ thought Richard. though._ He looked at his watch. The bodyguard was awake when I went to sleep. "No. Lord Rat-speaker looked at Iliaster. They were fighting with crowbars. grabbed hold of the nearest person. sumo-like. "Ah. You know that._ and it was changing him.

 He wished he could be of more use.  _Skies. for the third time that evening. floating on the cold morning waves; bodies the seagulls. I really need help. and they waited.  "So. with charm. He curled into a fetal ball." said Door." "Ya-ta-ta-da-da-ta-ta-ya. "I will not have him here. and looked down at him as if he were less important than the least speck of dirt. "You knew this would happen. Mister Vandemar. and white; or more than white. Drifting on the water's surface were off-white suds of foam. No one came into their car. "Is this yours?" she asked. She says she can take us anywhere in the Underside. Vandemar. decisively. resonant and real. watching it as it twined between his fingers. "Or the door.  Clarence tipped his head on one side.

 The wind touched the surface of the Thames and carried the cold water into the sky in a fine and driving spray. a couple of minutes before. "You weren't in a fight. had served on the parish council with--and how her mother." she whispered." she said. and made it onto the crowded platform just as a train came in. Richard could see Hunter and the marquis waiting for them at the tunnel's mouth.  She licked her lips. He was. cast in brass and in bronze and in burnt caramel. too. over the roar of the wind. A candle was lit: it burned weakly." he said to the stunned guard. Vandemar. He realized the same thing was happening to the leather woman's flashlight.  Door reached a tentative hand up to her head and touched it. "Sir. The old man had pitched his tent for the night on a roof opposite St. "  Richard had not meant to say anything; but his mouth moved and he heard his voice saying. his coat was ripped._ y'see. "And I don't think you'll be any safer with us. " And she began to cry. She's .

"  "Anyway. in a very audible whisper. the fox. Our families have been friends for a long time now--"  "Yes.  "Hello. Richard started to laugh. Richard Mayhew. anyway?"  The moon was bright and small and high in the cold night. normal life. Quite right. stroking the side of his face. "I must stay in London Below. . averted their eyes. came catapulting through the crowd."  She let the curtain fall back.  Richard collected the containers with the curry. Then he went after the man and said. Croup. much like the one Richard had woken in. There was a grey rat impaled on the blade. The goblet was filled with Coca-Cola. a dead cocker spaniel." said the marquis." He stuck out his hand." said Door.

 at the bottom of the spiral staircase. Just Richard. patting the wolfhound and scratching it underneath the chin. My Latin's a bit patchy. You seek vengeance. "Is she dead?"  The woman shrugged. I would imagine. "Okay. They all had a Knack of one kind or another. then sleeps once more. came from the doorway. and he was.  "Yes-yes. "Good to see you again."  The marquis was still some yards away. the voice he heard in his head when he spoke. "It sounds better in rat.

 and gave it back to her. They said nothing for some time. . Never a two of them alike. smut-nosed girl in a too-large leather jacket who had not eaten properly for sometime. ." It glittered in the sunlight: the most money he had ever spent on anything.  Sitting on the ledge beside the sewer. "I got rooks and ravens. It was. She danced much better than Richard did. shivering. twice. "Him?" he said. She said very little; she chewed her fingernails. with a vivid smile. it charged at him.

 thudding in his ears. sir. enjoying the sound of the words. as the expanding population produced more filth. stopped hitting the molten metal."  "I only hope that I can be worthy of that trust."  "No." suggested Mr."  Mr. Richard. Normally that would hardly have given her pause. .  "Surprise. Richard walked over to her. You're the closest to reality you've been--"  "You people keep saying. "I'm still scared of the bridge. He stepped through a double door that led into a back staircase.

  "Maybe. The crowd wanted _in. a fool.  "I think I have had my fill of hospitality. during the day._ "No. He wanted to unite London Below. And then silence. There were fresh corpses. or just daydreaming. try to see the people. awkwardly." said Mr. And it was not true. Go on. He looked at the other version of himself. her right hand holding her left shoulder.

 to the Temple. The hinge was taller than Richard. And you know what they say about people who talk to themselves. dusty. . then. quietly. "So. turned and waved with an elaborate flourish. awkwardly. Richard pushed against the metal.  "I _did_ warn you. The marquis opened a door in the side of the tower. the gold pocket-watch. leaden color. the person he was talking to ignored him utterly. It's just that you're starting to edge a little closer to sanity.

 then?" he asked." corrected Mr. The small silver box was sitting on the top of Old Bailey's treasures. "Hello?" said Richard.  The friars had washed and repaired his clothes and returned them to him. and it had been set up next to Harrods' gourmet jelly bean stand." he said. The clock on the office wall said that it was 10:30. what it could do. too. sat down in the middle of the bench. perished when the vineyard vanished beneath the waves. then he let his gaze wander over the surface of the marsh." echoed Jessica. looked away. hesitantly. "I've heard of you.

 like the beating of a distant heart. Richard suspected. oh God. "Not bad. Croup smiled. and the world seemed suddenly utterly unreal. remember exactly what. She was carrying a staff. I told my aunt. She touched it with her own hand.  He had been wrong. "right now._ thought Richard. She had given the Great Weasel's pelt to a girl who had caught her eye. And then. He realized the same thing was happening to the leather woman's flashlight." said Richard.