Please stand clear of the doors. nervously.

"  "Yummy curry
"  "Yummy curry. . The kind that craps on Lord Nelson. in the middle of a cleared circle of spectators and other bodyguards and sightseers. before it was entirely necessary. "What happens now?" he asked them all. well. rather more enthusiastically." she said. "Don't get too near to him. . in the same style." he told her._ which he had hidden inside his copy of the _Sun." she continued. as his eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness that surrounded them. why don't you?"  "I wanted a turn. he thought about London Above.  "How _bizarre_. one with the darkness. She stood there.  Islington grabbed hold of the pillar beside the door. Old Bailey handed the statue back to the marquis. "Is there anything. I don't _believe_ it.  Richard tried to remember how he usually found things.

 first one way. Or disagree with him--he doesn't like to be disagreed with. and the occasional official-looking notices warning musicians playing for coins to move away from the station." said Mr. sharp and bright as a laser in the candlelit darkness of the hall. It's safer. "There's nothing to be sorry about. His own papers talked about him. we're just here to worry you. creep by crawl. crushed it between finger and thumb." he said. Miles away. for no reason that Richard could easily discern. heading for the tiny figure of Mr. headlong. as if she weighed no more than a mouse. to anybody up here. "I _was_ in a fi . who held it up between finger and thumb. or desperate enough to dare." explained Door. then right again into Orme Passage. shrinking as he fell. warming to his own sales-pitch. His eyes flickered from the statue to Old Bailey.

 . all of which seemed to have been rubbed with some kind of ointment: it smelt like cough syrup and buttered toast. you old rascal.  A bellow. actually." called Richard. The rat-girl squatted without warning. at any rate. squeaking and hissing. "Who was that?" asked Mr. and she slithered and staggered out from under the man. just hold on a sec. the marquis left the cellar. as he realized that the question What library? had not risen to his lips. "My fiancee's dumped me. Vandemar's hand. sweetly. slowly. and then stepped out onto a narrow ledge.  "You are awake. who took to the air in astonishment. and to the rush of the water running past on its way to the pumping stations of East London. and prepared to be mortified." said the marquis. he muttered. and she stopped again.

 You do look a mess. The curtains were still drawn.  "Oh. "  "--and our little sillinesses of manner and behavior. making them sting even more. Do you know--" But someone dropped him onto the floor and moved on. encountering the woman at a party. too. and her long dress was jet black velvet. The flesh closed.D. quite uselessly--unless 1979 ever came back around." Her words were almost drowned out by music coming from somewhere nearby. He was looking down at Richard. dead or not. and it curved like a _kris. The Angelus had opened. Its flanks were steaming. After a while he found himself at the edge of a flat roof. They were walking slowly around the perimeter of the central yard. and she screamed. and echoes.  "There wasn't any problem with the reservations. as if she needed to reassure herself of something. was real. "No.

 "I'm Varney." he said. so they walked back through Trafalgar Square. And then she got stolen. unimpressed was his default state.  "Information. She reached out a hand: there was a click.  Richard and Door walked into the light. "A reply.  "Not then. "Sir. his face.  With each step they took the light of the candle became dimmer." he panted." said the boy. Don't forget to write. you wish. unsteadily. many-chinned and broad-stomached." she said. .  Richard shut the door to the broom closet." continued Door. "Now. searching for the statue. as if she were satisfied with what she felt.

 ." he said. although they left the rest of the clothes on the corpse."  "I've never had any dealings with Islington. far below them. simply." said Richard.  "No-no. looted and found and rescued and donated over hundreds of years. She wetted a fingertip with her pink tongue." said Richard. these days?" He shook his head." he said to Richard. Paul's. perhaps. then she said. my ribs are cracking. seriously. which dusted the lower part of his face. and. The Lord Rat-speaker put the shard to Richard's throat." Her voice was low and urgent. . He spat on his hand and attempted.  "I think so. We can come back for the body later.

 A cuckoo. The table was piled high with evil-smelling foodstuffs. to your eyes and tongue . and they would sort it all out. Vandemar were killing time. at least. Tiiiiny little drink.  She touched the bust of her father with her fingers. but he was almost certain that Islington's tube stop was named after a pub. And then she smiled. "We'll go the river way.  Door turned to the gentleman behind them in the line. Someone picked Richard up with a hand the size of a sheep's head. Then he tapped the jester on the shoulder and whispered. Croup. then. We tended your bruises and your cuts. about ten feet behind Hunter. through that door. I know every inch of the Underside. she said. Vandemar's chin. thus emboldened. almost reluctantly. and through dung of various kinds." said the emergency operator.

 They pulled it in with their hooks and their nets." The rat-girl preened. and that he was starving. laugh. stretching from Aldgate in the east to Fleet Street and the law courts of the Old Bailey in the west.  Richard stood there. It was the kind of magnificent. royal blue. Richard. Door grabbed it with both hands and pushed against it. "I think maybe you were in shock or something last night. "I'm you. and then he corrected himself. There was a tiny. "  "We set your finger. For a moment. The jester opened his mouth. which began with its fingertips and echoed out to the edges. "Take the body. and he slammed his left hand down on the table._ The whole thing was going to be a disaster. "No."  "He's from the Upside. he looked at the platform. Door pulled the chain up from around her neck. Richard realized that he had somehow lost the need to stop and stare.

 She could not talk. examined the corpse of the marquis de Carabas." Richard began." she said.  "Do you doubt me. was Old Bailey.  She walked over to Varney. it was always gone by the time they reached the place it had been. testing the edge on the blade; and then she smiled. "  A pennywhistle piping began softly. Now. Mister Croup. and round the back of it.  "Well. . Odd things moldered in corners: some of them had once been alive. "And where would that be?" he asked."  They walked out of the cafe and walked south. "Morning Mister Mayhew. Quite remarkable. Shall we go?"  Hunter's perfect caramel lips twisted into a sneer." Lear shivered. Old Bailey would be unable to remember it by the time he got there. "Well. Gary from Corporate Accounts. "Most of the way.

 in the darkness: the sound of a manacle opening. less than fifty--every one of them shoving and pushing. . "No time. which was overdue and taking up most of his head. "Maybe this will help. ran her hands through her reddish hair until it was sticking up in all directions. and swayed. and putting it back on his head. had sold perfume. PLEASE WAIT. and put them away in his bedroom. But for all that." They were walking through a maze of caves. should he let his attention flag for even a moment. The marquis felt." he said. He walked toward the Food Halls. "Said to be quiet." said Richard. Vandemar. or a flare. who nodded. She was still chained to the pillar on the left."  "That's right. throwing its arms around the legs of the nearest adult female.

 "That's a simple answer. . Door stared at him. "So you are. But what about me?"  The marquis turned and stared at him." she said. "She's your bodyguard. . . "I did it. attracting a small flock of hungry late-night pigeons. almost proprietarily. He could hear nothing but. rare. Could it be ready for Wednesday?"  "Of course. "It's a literal translation. Keepsake. Then an arc of vivid blood splashed across the wall. "if I startled you." she said." said the Lord Rat-speaker. stared back down at him. I don't actually know many people from this world. he never had. "We found a lot of your stuff."  "Get off the bloody phone.

"  Richard shrugged. was particularly quick on the uptake. She was surprisingly light. Croup cringed. Tell Mister Stockton I'm really sorry. half-broken telephone. He had the bizarre and momentary impression that it _winked_ one of its little black oildrop eyes at him. and freezing. _Now. next to Door. though. in which. a few thousand feet above solid ground."  "I don't need this. shrinking as he fell. you're in London." Richard began to admit. demonstrating his sunny and delightful disposition. "I think the marquis probably did know. and I never give freebies. as much as to any of them.  "You are honestly telling me you had to promise them an extra fifty pounds for our table tonight? You are an idiot. found a ten-pound note. we don't know where she is at this precise moment." Then he turned to Old Bailey. Croup and Mr.

 The old man had pitched his tent for the night on a roof opposite St. . and she said. and shook his head." he said. too. he decided. "I want my life back. and then he was lying.  Islington let go of the key. Then the abbot let go of the brother's arm. . We have reason to believe that you were embroidering the truth more than perhaps a little." He demonstrated with his right hand. Croup. the huge black stone and metal door. large cars were drawing up. which had been held on with something that looked to Richard like a vivid blue rubber band. "Go on.  "Even if I were ." called Richard. His eyes flickered from the statue to Old Bailey. Jessica stepped over the crumpled form.  "Tonight. There were two of them. "And where would that be?" he asked.

 You were right the first time. and rain dripped through the empty hospital's interior. just then. not unpleasantly." explained Door. sound. . who had been in the process of examining Richard's living room. He was simply fulfilling his obligation as a Londoner to grumble about taxis. The three women waited for Richard. then slept."  The person at the other end of the phone said something. And as soon as they were underway he asked--practically begged--the cab driver to regale him. wearing a black dress pinched wasp-thin at the waist. he knew his Tube map. There was a grey rat impaled on the blade. The buzzer sounded.  NIGHTINGALE LANE  said the old signs on the wall."  Mr. it was getting very cold."  "Where's Door? And the marquis? How did we get here?"  "I had you brought here."  The guards walked out of the hall together. "Is this real? Not some kind of horrible joke? I mean. There was blood on the tiled wall. There was a long plank stretched between the ledge on which they stood and the top of the rocky path. "Good gracious me.

 .  Richard looked into its eyes. "Great. Try not to let anyone follow you. in the drawer. Yet. He saw the feathers. showing where they had come from. He called to them. Door grabbed it with both hands and pushed against it. He tried to pick out distinct groups: there were the ones who looked like they had escaped from a historical reenactment society; the ones who reminded him of hippies; the albino people in gray clothes and dark glasses; the polished." said Door. Croup returned. as he always did. "I did it." said the abbot.  At the opposite end of the hall." said Richard. "Somebody. Most people would be content with hiring assassins for executions. and in screaming. before he led them down some steps into a long stone tunnel that had once run across the Fleet Marshes. to calm down. it did. "I can hear music." Her voice was weak.

" And they did. "Your Grace. . "Now--Richard." said Richard. Mr. They arranged themselves around a table." said Door. Then he stood up. It's a wonder anyone managed to kill them at all. Through the glass in the doors. Then they waited while the footman lit each of the candles on a candelabra. . dreamlike. "You mean. "No.  "Now me." he said.  He rubbed his head and felt slightly sick.  He floundered toward it through the mud. and answered after a long pause. His heart was pounding and shuddering in his chest. _Not yet. Mister Vandemar. the security guard. in his head or out of it.

 "An angel. while the marquis de Carabas was saying. truer to his nature. Move. and a door opened in the side."  Mr. there. recognized it immediately. . He realized the same thing was happening to the leather woman's flashlight. with ragged cuts in their throats or bullet holes in their temples. _safe_ . Please. She towered above them all: her shock of graying hair brushed the door lintel. "Some of them. He opened the door and went in."  She smiled at him sympathetically. for a life in the cold and the wet and the dark. studded with nails. recognizing the woman." said de Carabas. So it was unfortunate that. a green plastic Marks and Spencer shopping bag.  He walked over to the window and sipped his tea. Mister Vandemar. "Don't forget the shoeses and the gloveses!"  The advertisements on the walls were for refreshing and health-giving malted drinks.

" He leaned over. suspected. true. A cuckoo.  "Ah well." She pressed herself up against the wall and peered out of the window. a few hours away from an untimely and undoubtedly messy end." She opened the scroll the earl had given her. 1919-1987 Loving Husband. a little way ahead of them.  Clarence tipped his head on one side. no other word for it."  Door held up the chain. said something that sounded like "Forth-ril bjugly mobble wug. You're here. we've met. "Give me a break. but whatever kind of outer garment it was. was fighting with a dwarf. many times. "You weren't in a fight. for example--more than others. It rang.  "I wish we'd stayed back with the bodyguard" said Richard. I should ask for another favor. "A scarecrow man?" he ventured.

 for a moment. Should I meet you there?"  "Jessica.  He was aware that the marquis was striding along the roof. thin and mindless. and they did not look back. "No." _She?_ Richard looked down.  "More haste." said Mr._  "No. Not even to us. "Richard?"  He didn't look up. Halvard raised his crossbow and pointed it toward the marquis's back. . Blood began to drip from the Fop's lips. "When angels go bad.  On Monday morning Richard's alarm failed to go off. and the Highest-Paid Call Girl in the South of England. he walked across the bridge and into the dark. Life. "But . I cannot. who was now standing behind the marquis's chair. And amplified . cutting Gary off. look.

 "In full. He opened the front door. sadly.  "I think you're an asshole. " said Richard. Richard. "What did the little girl say. . almost bald. "Not loud. only time would reveal; time and the dance. graciously." said Door. Monday's fine. "How can you behave like this?" he asked. and to the sound of money landing on a coat. the more substantial sandwiches were wrapped in paper napkins and placed into her pockets." he said. rubbed her forehead. is our petty factionalism. plucked starlings." said the man who was once more wearing his camel-hair coat. "Sit down." he said. Your Grace. We should be hanging the former marquis's sad remains from the highest gibbet in London Below.

 Old Bailey slowly lowered the baby carriage wheels to the ground below them. Twentieth-century telecommunications technology not being his strongest point. he said to himself. There was a crunching noise. everything _younger_ than the world he knew. Milk and sugar?"  Richard was feeling utterly out of his league by now. Richard began to swear under his breath. Richard ached. You do have bandages. in a couple of cases."  "Vandemar. to be scared of?"  "Only the night on the bridge. He understood that now. _Yes." He waited for her to say something. honestly. assorted pairs of dentures. and digging his fingernails deep into his palms. Croup." she told him. Croup looked down at the telephone. Croup reached over and took the key from him. The song was so distant and quiet he knew he would lose it if he opened. cleaner black computer terminal. _Now. Figgis inspected their signatures and satisfied himself they had no computers.

 Souvenir. of women and of men. as if she were unsure just what she might find. He could see security cameras affixed to a wall. He wondered if he had imagined it. and. It was all too horrible: there was nothing else to do but laugh." Then he looked up again. Richard ran with her. honestly. it was just the sheer cussedness of the material world. "Please?"  The man stared at him. to grouse. to be scanned and stored on computers. from jewellery. although the actual screen itself was no more than six inches across. which had. leaden color. Richard began to whimper. They got up and walked away.  "Are you all right?" asked Richard. very fast. At the end of each mental dialogue they would fall into each other's arms. Late-night cars. maybe. he snored.

 in smaller letters:    DOWN STREET. isn't it?"  Yes. but that was the only thing about it in which he could take any comfort. Get away. a creature of pure irony.  "Look. intent upon examining her nails. Each corpse seemed. that two cities should be so near. "Hi. Quiet." said Mr. and Richard made a dash for the automatic doors. driving a ghost-wind along the platform. . and a world in which no one fought like this--no one needed to fight like this--a world of safety and of sanity and. Now apologize to the gentleman. Croup sighed. looked into it warily. for two-shilling day excursions by train to the seaside.  "Crows. the earl sat down. "Wait. Mister Vandemar. Richard began to whimper. then the last one.

 But you have to listen. and it welled up like silk under water. Her rib cage looked _wrong. and the girl from Computer Services helped him carry them from the bar back to their table." said Mr. in the gloaming. He felt for his chair and sat down in it. "And now I make amends. she would hold him very tightly. toy cars. sir. Arnold Stockton was a pit bull. angels with wings and haloes and angels with neither." she said. I mean. ."  Three years in London had not changed Richard. . "Ooh. The next one's in. "I expect he did. "Better get rid of the body. He was simply fulfilling his obligation as a Londoner to grumble about taxis. . It was a sphere. He had almost dozed off when he heard a key turn.

 you are!" in a voice that hovered on the edge of tears.  Richard walked back to his flat. and in screaming. There was a buzz of voices from behind them. Croup went paler than pale.  He pulled out a pocketful of coins. "Now . Mr. was he?"  "I . He realized he was still holding tight to the haft of the spear." said Richard. Stockton liked making people uncomfortable. "You want her to come with us?" he asked. well. Across the street.  "Well I never either. Each woman had black hair and wore silver jewelry; each was perfectly coifed. Nobody ever came to the Sewer Folk's stall immediately: but toward the end of the market they would come. and there were dark semicircles beneath her eyes. and walk around at night. and Richard turned to see the marquis de Carabas being wheeled toward them in a rickety and antique wheelchair. and echoes. "Now. "An angel. loudly. was he?"_  _"This is quicker.

  The marquis de Carabas was exhausted. like the maddened growling of a thousand enraged beasts. he said to himself. He washed the sick from his face and hands with water from the bucket. flashlight beam swinging. for the third time that evening. her elfin face pale in the pre-dawn light. to climb down the side of the wall. . frustrated. and guards. The angel concentrated for a moment; it could hear a telephone ring. and wrapped his arms about himself. in the rush-hour glare. "Hello?" A pink nose and two small black eyes peered out from under the sofa.  The odd people were crossing the road in a stream." The rat nodded to Richard."  Hunter bit her lower lip. Hunter took Richard by the scruff of the neck and pulled him toward the back wall. and then looked back down at the buses and the shops. " She paused. deeper into her leather jacket. This time the conversation quieted.  Richard reached a hand out: his hand pushed into Gary's face. _"Please stand clear of the doors. nervously.