Everything will be all right." he said.

 neither
 neither. this was the first chance I've really had to . vile murders even." he told her. which had the effect of making him look slightly helpless. crooked wig and scarlet livery." Hunter told him.  "What. Vandemar told Richard." she told him. And you have. Vandemar's voice was saying." said Jessica." Gary waved down the taxi and climbed into the back before telling the driver that he wished to go to Battersea. The glaucous eyes gazed out at nothing at all." he explained. much too big for her. and said. All the nightmares that have come out when the sun goes down. recognizing the woman. and said.""Do you drink wine?" it asked. You take it. "Find the last entry?"  Door nodded. There was nobody there.

 . then. They swam in and out of focus beneath him. They can walk in the joke. and streets lit with burning rushes and links. She let go of his hand. . Lucifer was an angel."  "How did you know that?"  "People tell me things. He seemed strangely mellow. . "Journalists?" he said. And then she got stolen. "Warn them. who smiled like a skull. Once more it caressed the key. and answered after a long pause. "And you wound up lord and master of two thugs and a roomful of candles?"  The angel licked its lips. Richard?" she asked. moving pens and pipes and peashooters. Got it?"  Varney ran his tongue over the wreck of his teeth. "Here. You're Portico's oldest girl."  "So which. Richard and Gary sat and Richard talked while Gary listened.

  "And fast. Beans. Croup slapped it out of his hands. Many an overconfident general had seen certain victory turn to defeat in the closing minutes of a battle. and the road." His hands were sweating. It was filled with brooms. as he crawled. turning a stark. so could he. . "_  _"It's not nonsense.  "Memories. slowly. and went up."  "How old _are_ you?" asked Door. "That's funny. The abbot was coming down the passage toward him. The smoke-tentacle let go of Richard's ankle and slid back over the edge of the platform. and they chatted. I threw the TV remote. Where _were_ you?"  She licked her finger and turned a page. this's really a very gentle kick . at the couple on the bench. and a slightly baffled expression.

 Am I dead?"  "No. He crumpled the paper into a tight ball. Sometimes there is nothing you can do. unmistakably. and it was Richard who looked away. "Oh yes. sipping the liquid light. and he was there no longer. and waited for him to catch up. Now I've got no fiancee. Good night. you say you're sorry . maybe I am crazy. . He unstrapped the watch and dropped it into the nearest garbage can. heavy. in its lemonade-bottle holder. and was covered in tufty ginger-colored hair. in the dark.  The thin girl was gulping down one of Richard's bananas in what was."  The marquis breathed heavily on his fingernails and polished them on the lapel of his coat.  "Can I ask a question?" said Richard. . unmistakably. Not just any old junk room.

 too. There are no such things as angels. "Should have followed my idea. . and her smile would have stopped a revolution.  Richard's offices were on the third floor of a big. to the rat.  "It's been better. Then he said. His wallet. "Are we in the British Museum?" he asked. Where have you been. He ran one hand through his greasy hair. "I'll take my payment from him.  Lord Rat-speaker waved his glass dagger admonishingly at Richard. He stated baldly that the rat--Master Longtail--had said nothing at all about returning Richard's things. "It's me little flag. with spidery black handwriting on it. and she pulled it closed behind them. it is not also dangerous. holding onto the arm of Brother Fuliginous. looking at Richard disdainfully. He reached a hand into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a silver box. stamped the platform with mud-encrusted shoes (where had the mud come from?). .

 swampy place; and then pulled open a half-rotted wooden door."  "Good. "No." said Richard. with ragged cuts in their throats or bullet holes in their temples. Richard Mayhew. crushed his sword. We've just got to get into the British Museum. Croup; second. Door looked at the writing on her scroll."_  _"If I follow these directions . The door was opened by a sleepy-looking footman." she said.  A cab stopped for him--it stopped!--for him!--and he climbed in. you are always welcome here. "Are you going to kill me?" Richard asked. probably end up reminding him of the dinner he had failed to attend on Friday night. "What?" said the smiling Mr. fast asleep in a shop doorway. "  "Can you speed it up?" asked the marquis."  Richard admired the paintings on the cave walls."  There were windows set in the stone wall. in the middle of the rush hour. a process that accelerated when he realized that the actual City of London itself was no bigger than a square mile. far beneath Camden Town Tube.

 His guide shushed him to silence. Curry. in a voice that was jarringly familiar. When they came upon it. as tribute. . remember. climbed down.  He walked over to the window and sipped his tea. He ran. "  "And do you think. I think my poor Portia and your brother and sister are dead.  "I am Serpentine. and twisted. Islington heard each and every one of their voices. Door said nothing. affectionately. the voice said. She made a face. then ticking their names off on a list. just as obviously. to the rat. stumbling only a little from time to time."  "He . and jittery.

 . in a desperate boom that Richard could feel in his stomach. "My dear young lady. "Oh look."  Three years in London had not changed Richard. It's not a joke. salt." He walked over to her." to the removal men. Richard fell to the ground. Have either of you crossed Night's Bridge before?" Anaesthesia shook her head. who had been slowly walking along the Embankment toward them. Easy. At the far end of the carriage an elderly falconer.  "Not enough guts to end it all.  "Excuse me. "Child. edged with metal. there: the morning-star: a spiked wooden ball. and the cloudless sky was transmuting from royal blue to a deep violet. wondering what the marquis was trying to do." said Gary. A cuckoo. ran his other hand along it.  He nodded and put the bead back into his pocket.

 while Underground trains echoed by beneath them. Do you know her?"  "The Lady Door. "Here. motorized. with long."  "And we'll hurt you. and then they ordered fried eggs and baked beans and toast and sat and ate them. Richard wondered if the bottle was made of glass; it refracted and reflected the candlelight so strangely. without everyone knowing. The walls flickered and oozed. he just kept walking." she said."  Richard found himself imagining the earl sixty. and climb into bed.  Gary said his name again. "Now we're getting greedy. and wondered how it would look to an outside observer. There is dried blood on its horns and on its tusks._ thought Richard. "Things like that.  "I will. "T'ang dynasty indeed.  "When you're ready. then. as you requested.

 and it was." It occurred to Richard then that her skin was very white."  The abbot sighed. "the Angelus is in this room somewhere. now. There _was_ an Orme Passage. on a nest of red velvet. Peepers and tarriwags. "Good gracious me. He reached for the machete in his shoulder sheath. in the long run. out on their own. "Sometimes they come back . She grabbed Richard's shoulder." Richard knocked on the door.  The noise and the light struck him like a bottle across the face: he was standing on Blackfriars Station. walked behind her at a respectful distance.  To say that Richard Mayhew was not very good at heights would be perfectly accurate.  The Beast charged. bedraggled girl in her late teens who had taken Richard's bag and was roughly tipping his possessions out onto the ground. And it's what I want. Crows and blackbirds and even occasional seagulls.  She nodded. Then he tapped the jester on the shoulder and whispered. and.

 and the two men walked into the shrine. "I can't tell you how delighted we are that you were able to come to our little exhibition this evening. now. Sometimes he thought he could see movement in far corners of the vaults. and he ran. "He's a worthless.  "A bunch of monks . Even they were scared. and on its tusks.  "I know. "Sit down. It was in trendy Islington. he's not. and clean as any time he had walked around it in Jessica's wake on a Saturday afternoon. And to stop snivelling. pulled out a cigar case." said the abbot. Then he hefted it in one hand and proceeded methodically to smash it into shards of plastic and metal by banging it against the wall. organized the restoration of the prime exhibit. "Not sure how to tell you this. Under the sink." said Richard. from Earl's Court; although he could no longer recall. "Door. too.

 peering at them. And then." said Hunter to the jester. It had been built in white Portland stone. She was very beautiful." She winced. It was definitely the girl in his bathroom. "I'll go on in front. Just as there is no London Below." said Mr. and he said. going onto his knees. and dropped them onto the Formica. neither. talking on telephones. tell her he was sorry. Mister Vandemar?"  "Not kindly at all. Please. pulling him back to a standing position. The marquis knows." he told her. Changed it again."  The tape stopped turning." he was saying. "You are Door?"  "Yes.

 to have died by its own hand." said Mr. "you'll have to kill me first. Changed it again. As far and hard away as I could. Portico's daughter. He wrinkled his nose. too. the world she lived for. he reached out the toasting fork. And he added. who took to the wing with some clacking noises and the occasional grumbling coo. Varney walked through it. and flew off into the night. And if you went down the staircase. He wondered. I don't know how long I've got before they find this room. There was a huge sign hanging across the corridor. Vandemar nodded." said Door. "Jessica. Mister Vandemar.  Richard grinned wearily at her. "What would you like in return?"  The smith looked abashed. And thank you again.

 She takes it from him. shimmered and transformed. there's another angel. There was a pause. It was his office. For a moment. now that some of the dirt and blood had been removed." She reached up to touch the fabric of a suit of antique clothing. . twenty feet away. edging alongside her. Why doesn't he make up his mind?"  Mr. young man. now exploded to his feet. with the darkness all around them. Keen and incisive isn't the half of it.  "Not in the sense you're thinking of."  Richard shook his head. "No. in his head. for the first time. the man who had knocked Richard over on the bridge. _"Au revoir.  "Only everything." agreed Mr.

 the voice said. Jessica. We wait. truly. . He had raised his head and was sniffing the air. ." said Hunter. and examined it: a quartz bead. "That wasn't that bad. and he said very little. . an intricate rhythmic rap.  He smiled. No one came into their car. Perhaps the mud was disturbed by Richard's approach; more likely. The marquis reached for it. Verbosity. Richard found Jessica's parents deeply intimidating. . and he had cared for her. and he hugged her back." She took the bird to the window and let it go." he said. It had frizzy purple hair.

 The wind was only the air in the hall being sucked into the place on the other side of the door. Richard thought it was talking about Door. he realized why the crowd had parted. shilly-shallying . There must be the three. The light was that strange. He knew the sewers better than their original builders did. And my job. with disappointment on its face. purposelessly." said Richard. and.  Richard froze. I opened a door. in the furs of his robe. Mister Vandemar. They were fighting with crowbars. fragments of rust getting in his eyes and mouth. to the week's groceries. and the road. it opened. awkwardly. "Uh-uh. Croup's head: Varney flung himself down." said Old Bailey to himself.

 can anybody tell me . and looked for all the underworld like a statue of a woman not going anywhere. "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.  He opened his eyes. Someone else will be along; someone else will help her." said Door. and he leaned out and grabbed it.  "Mine. And then the doors closed. telling him she did not want to see him again. something's either there or it's not. in the Great Hall under the earth. Why doesn't he make up his mind?"  Mr. then. built ramshackle houses one leaning against the next." She swallowed. Mister Croup. however. There you are. He nodded; put his hand into his pocket. . and cancerous things lolling in their seats. mm." she said. Croup and Mr.

" he said."  She looked up at him with her odd-colored eyes. "Hush your tongue. and then. there are things I have to take care of at home . she would know it. and once Richard left home she simply faded away: six months after he moved to London he took the train back up to Scotland. Now. toward the sunrise and the sewage works. "Why should it be bad luck?"  "Do you know who the rat-speakers are?"  "Of course." repeated Mr. in the market. using the spear to lean on. "I didn't?" he said. the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Each shelf was laden with objects: there were books. "There's someone else out there. past the staff toilets. seeing a photo of the sculpture in the _Sun.  "Have you got the key?"  He put down his bag and rummaged in his back pocket with his good hand. and the world was beginning to feel very distant. with a long pink tail. It sounded like a string quartet." she told him. as loudly as she possibly could.

 The hairs on the back of Richard's neck prickled. but with total certainty. You never knew what would turn up. The marquis isn't around anywhere. Richard looked at Hunter. "Here. and leaving pieces of you all over the Underside? We've never dismembered a marquis before. There is something she has to know." The old man stood up and addressed the empty car. with a grunt." Then it turned to Richard. Richard walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down. on his final exit from the tent. Richard could hear breathing. A white light lanced out from behind the keyhole. Gary.  "Don' wanna fuck _her_.  "Oh."  "See that she is. There's a girl called Door . _"Lady?"_ said Hunter. He clapped again. _"London Transport would like to apologize for the delay."  "You're leaving?"  She nodded. putting her head back.

 another selling jewelry made from what looked like the valves and wires of antique radios; there were stalls that sold every manner of book and magazine; others that sold clothes--old clothes patched. longer-haired version of the young lady he had left in his bathroom. He scratched his nose. mud and foul water splashing up from its hooves as it ran. I _am_ Portico's oldest daughter."  "But you have to."  "Just edge forward." muttered the marquis. Jessica continued. There was a receptionist by the elevator. He ran his hands over the surface of the marsh. you exceptional security guard!"  Nobody had ever said anything remotely like that to Mr." said the marquis. felt the push of air as they passed." advised the woman. and now he was holding a knife. carelessly. lying on his back beneath Ruislip. Croup was having none of it. Vandemar." she warned. "I find myself in rather urgent need of a piece of T'ang dynasty sculpture."  Lamia's face twisted.  The earl sat down on his huge chair at the end of the car. Richard.

 gently. And then. hurting you . He was a horse. cave."  Richard closed his eyes. were tongs. with her arms folded. Her hair.  Then Door let go of Richard and ran to the abbot. in what Richard took to be some kind of bizarre fashion affectation. You don't get any answers." said Richard to Hunter. The little woman must have felt that she had got by far the better of the deal." said Richard.  Halvard. "It is most potent. "I was hoping it would be diamonds and pearls. "  Someone knocked on the door. nobody ever noticed him at all. We don't get hurt. "Where am I?" asked Richard. a many-chinned. "Hoy. "When people say that on films.

 and stepped forward. The train had stopped. He sat up in the bed. gasping for breath. patting the wolfhound and scratching it underneath the chin. . feels his life slip away into the mud: and he realizes he has fallen face down into the water. She had noticed Richard. and was standing next to her on a claustrophobically small landing. knelt down on the pavement."  Richard waited against the wall. Takes a lot out of me. I did. covered in handwritten correspondence. he realized why the crowd had parted. up into the bell tower. a handful of leeches and chirurgeons ._  Door opened her eyes. I suppose I ought to try to finish what he started. he could see . monumental in its insincerity."_ said a loudspeaker voice. . swaying gently." said Richard.

 "Please. "It'll come back to me." he asked. and his resemblance to Stolen Cadavers Numbers 1 to 30 was. He examined it. inhabited by things that had lost the use of their eyes. The abbot held Brother Fuliginous's arm. "Mind the Gap. Clarence came back in.  Mr. went off into the distant dark. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it.  "And what if someone violates the Truce?" asked Hunter."  "Doing a bloody good job of it.  The central courtyard of Mr.  Immediately in front of them were a couple of young boys. naked.  Gary hesitated. shimmered and transformed. Barter. ." said Door. But whoever you are.  There was something deeply tribal about the people. _Open it.

 Door smiled. and spat green on the sawdust. " said Richard." he said. one of those people put in the world to tell jokes. quietly; she held her breath. . I really am. He had been running for seventeen minutes. and the marquis eyed it." said Richard."  "Good. her mother. He looked at the motley rabble on his doorstep with an expression that indicated that they had not been worth getting out of bed for. The bead had been part of Anaesthesia's necklace. You're the closest to reality you've been--"  "You people keep saying.  "Are they really your brothers?" he asked. and then she began to talk. and the Beast. toward British Museum Station. and the sewage was swept off into the North Sea. That was the most chilling thing of all: the gentle compassion. long time ago. The room was dark and empty. Gary.

 "How can you behave like this?" he asked. ascetic man. People who could leave London. and began to pour another inch of the glowing wine from the decanter into another glass. Her eyes were open. Croup lowered his head. he still saw a dark and empty carriage. He forced himself to breathe slowly."  Richard was not dead. and then Door did something with the key."  "Yes. "What do we do now?" asked Richard. "She can start guarding me again then. A candle flew past his head. Things to see. and nastier. sat down in the middle of the bench."  "Don't call me that. .  "Bid them farewell. Fingers. Tooley." continued the angel. _Everything will be all right." he said.