Croup." Hunter told him. "Oh yes. "Door?" he said.

 . Mister Vandemar. politely.They walked for hours in silence.  To say that Richard Mayhew was not very good at heights would be perfectly accurate. by the third rail: a small splash of purple." said the middle-aged man. like an addict catching a plastic baggie filled with white powder of dubious legality. twisted his head around on his neck. It's you.  "No. "Of what?"  Gary realized Richard had not heard a word he had said." pointed out Richard. wrapped in wax paper. burnt out. sitting on top of the plastic garbage cans at the back of Newton Mansions." said Door. to Hunter. "They now have the key. "Any sign of the marquis?"  "Not yet. And then silence. although he knew what was inside it.

 We're here to make things more interesting. I didn't go to Majorca. Then he put his left hand against the wall."  "I'm sure that will remedy itself as the day goes on.  Door curtseyed."  De Carabas grinned to himself. "Have you ever got everything you ever wanted? And then realized it wasn't what you wanted at all?"  "Can't say that I have."  "Thanks. They are all linked. quietly. Croup sighed. "That's you. They were standing on the Embankment." she said. she had pushed the leather arm-shield into its mouth and crushed its skull with the leaden throwing stick taking care not to damage the pelt."  "My lady. but she got a bit funny in the head. just then. rare.  "I didn't have anywhere to go. and. Melanie.

 and coughed weakly. ." said Mr. Richard grabbed a washcloth and draped it in front of his crotch. as if at a private joke of his own.  The wasp-waisted woman was now standing next to Richard.  "How do you know?"  "I know. then. dark blood. but the night sky was a riot of crisp and glittering autumn stars. . and Croup and Vandemar walked behind him.  The hush was broken by the marquis's voice. reading a copy of _Mansfield Park_ that Richard was certain the friars had not previously known that they had. widdershins'?"_  _"Widdershins means counterclockwise. And as she fell beneath its monstrous weight. constructed of old brass and polished wood. (Well. for emphasis. "I'll open your door. and he was discovering.  _He saw a figure falling toward him through the night.

 "They listen to the earl."  "Right. It's twenty past eight already."  It handed the glass to Door."  "How did you know that?"  "People tell me things. you or any of the Velvet Children. sir.  Then Door let go of Richard and ran to the abbot. turning it over and over in his hands. ran her hands through her reddish hair until it was sticking up in all directions.  Richard nodded." said the earl.  "Gone. Little Comden Street . . feeling like a small and ineffectual dog yapping at the heels of a postman. defying the storm. Then he tapped the jester on the shoulder and whispered."  "See that she is. standing alone in his darkened flat. It was cold to the touch. Your guide was .

"  And a weak voice said. Croup fell upon him. magnificently slowly." said the abbot to himself. hoarsely and honestly. its doors padlocked shut. and high buildings: somewhere not far inside him was the fear--the stark.  Huge waves were rising and crashing over the city; the night sky was rent with forks of white lightning from horizon to horizon; the rain fell in sheets. "Thanks. long time ago. and it had been set up next to Harrods' gourmet jelly bean stand.  The Golden had made their lair in a pile of bones." said the woman. made of steel."  The marquis sighed. The old man was larger than life in every way: he wore an eye-patch over his left eye. It was a dangerous. on the inside. She tried to bite his thumb as he did so. Late-night cars. It seemed such a stupid thing to say." Then Door looked down at her scroll some more and looked around the hall.

 and saddened." said Richard.  "Are you all right?" asked Richard. was not listening. now that she had the scroll. with one decisive motion. which had for a long time been neither particularly ornamental nor a fountain." said the marquis. across the central well. I did warn you. _Brrr. The two men and the girl walked over cobbles. Mister Mayhew. exasperated. then yawned. . Richard shut his eyes. And might I say how your telephonic confabulation brightens up and cheers our otherwise dreary and uneventful day?" Another pause. in a whisper. Daddy. Then he said it again.  First they saw a film on the huge screen of the Odeon.

 clearly. Perhaps the mud was disturbed by Richard's approach; more likely. clean river meandered gently through the green countryside. under the airport and the hotels and the streets." But he knew he was lying to himself. "I know you are all very busy people. like most Londoners. "Very bad. "Ooh. Brought him to you. licked the powdered clay from his fingertip. There was a fluttering in the half-dark. . and soon they were gone. Tis not a man. His long finger brushes away a tear from her cheek. Croup's voice." said Richard. the London Wall. He rubbed his forehead. He pointed to a place on the platform. he really does mean it.

 and why she was living on the streets and--  "What's your name?" she asked. At me. sick. as the bird shrank in the sky and vanished behind some rooftops. at the top of something that reminded Richard of a painting he had once seen of the Tower of Babel. "I like it when the eyeballs fall out. Vandemar held the pigeon up to his face. "--Oh. anticipating this. The voice at the other end of the phone was unfamiliar. . none of whom gave the four of them even a first look. Anaesthesia took her hand from Richard's mouth. down the corridor. and a tusk sharper than the sharpest razor blade opened her side. in a rhythmic alliterative boom. she said. but Richard found himself placing one foot in front of the other. five popes. in triumph." he heard Door say. his eyes never ceased moving.

 useless and lonely. Instead. Richard wondered if they were as embarrassed as he was." and let go of the table leg. and bills fluttered to the floor." she said urgently. "He's not just saying it. The rat looked at Richard. He was splashing through six gray inches of the Tyburn. She reached out a hand: there was a click. whether it was someone he had met before." Food and drink dealt with. "Door."  "Excuse me. our chief executive and chairman of the board. then the door slammed behind them and Richard stood in the hallway of what used to be his apartment. quite dead. He could see security cameras affixed to a wall. I may not be the only one of my family left. by others getting on. "Look. "you just creep up behind them and put your hand round their little crow necks and squeeze until they don't move anymore.

 if it were five and a half feet high and had a weakness for human flesh--while Mr. large cars were drawing up. "  "Can you speed it up?" asked the marquis. . Richard felt no pain--perhaps. vol-au-vents.  The marquis de Carabas reached out his hand and closed her eyes. Mr. he ran straight and true through the labyrinth. the enormous cathedral door. sat down. which illuminated the stone walls and the mud. the more substantial sandwiches were wrapped in paper napkins and placed into her pockets. and in the process lost all my personal possessions. and arranged them around the office.  "Gary?" he asked. But yes. mentioned to him quite casually how disappointed they were by Richard and Jessica's engagement.  "We are conducting a personal enquiry of a delicate nature as it were. "I do not eat . Light comes in flickers. PLEASE KNOCK. No sugar.  "You knew. yes. it opened. "Magazine . The marquis edged a little closer. I broke off our engagement--you'd been acting so strangely.

 each house filled with noisy people. He wished he could be of more use. "Thirty pieces of silver?" She pulled it. as was her cellular phone. Immediately behind them in the line waited a gray-bearded man with a black-and-white kitten sitting on his shoulder. Then he said. Stockton. "You know what you're doing. "should you wish to break your fast. slid the watch into his vest pocket." He put Door down at eye level. " and the boot rammed into Richard's side like a cannonball. It followed patterns. _Now._ "You can't. and staggered around the beast." said Richard. quickly. at length. who live in the cracks."  Richard opened his mouth. The exhibit was closed after the artist sold _Stolen Cadaver Number 25_ to an advertising agency for a six-figure sum. He knew then. produced a phenomenon known at the time as the Great Stink: the Thames itself had become an open sewer. flew through the air and jammed in the open doorway. There was a locked door in front of them. as loud as the wind had been." said an elegant voice. Each tunnel he goes down.

 I had a friend lost a head to one of them. In a moment. and at the bottom of this mess. toward the sunrise and the sewage works. untroubled. to plaster his hair back. while her ice-cold spittle ran down the marquis's cheek. He was about to turn and run when someone handed him a cup of tea in a Styrofoam cup."  Old Bailey leaned over."  The marquis was still some yards away.  "Hush.  "Mayhew."  The rat made a rude noise. Look. and then returned his gaze to the action in front of them. "So. experimentally. who sauntered to the front of the train. grab a harp and on with the hosannas'?"  Islington's gray eyes were bright. the kiss of death. probably end up reminding him of the dinner he had failed to attend on Friday night. Vandemar fashioned the rings he wears on his right hand out of the skulls of four ravens. Thirsty. Then he turned away. all spinning and tumbling through the air. "It was my father's. He was a horse. then tell them you live south of the river. circling him.

  "Sorry. symmetry. Richard. "To a rat?"  Door said nothing. at least thirty years. "I don't think it could." Gary waved down the taxi and climbed into the back before telling the driver that he wished to go to Battersea.  "That's her." He had forgotten about the key. placed it beneath her pointed chin." and her tone of voice implied that this was something that might never have occurred to Richard unassisted. She remembers her mother holding her tightly." he admitted. in a mindless mob.  "Felt like an hour. The marquis drummed on the door with his fist. followed by hasty dashes toward Richard. the irony implicit in his words. signs scattered about:  YOU WANTS IT. "to the Stockton-sponsored exhibition 'Angels over England."  Richard walked over to the Angelus. And then. Jessica had.  Richard felt his world spin. It sniffed at Door's hand. She pulled up the collar on her brown leather jacket. like someone attending the theater. and the damp and moldy portable telephone. Vandemar.

 Could it be ready for Wednesday?"  "Of course." said Richard. He was not sure that the same could be said for the rest of the City of London: he peered over the roof.  Richard jerked back to the present. despite the Post-it note Richard had left on his fridge door at home. It ran its finger lightly along the walls." said Mr.  _They were in the conservatory. but just as urgently." said the woman in the hallway. He rolled in the straw. "What did you do to me?" he asked."  And she led him up onto the little stage. and up again. Ratty."  Richard talked as they walked up and down the warren of tiny Soho back streets between Regent Street and the Charing Cross Road." he said. and a book of matches he had forgotten he had. The last of the women. his pants torn. shouted and waved. He landed on his hands and feet in soft. did you know there are still some Roman soldiers camped out by the Kilburn River?"  The marquis had not known this. all teeth and talons and little blades; and Varney never had a chance to scream. But there was no sky above it. Anaesthesia stopped on the steps and performed a deep curtsey. dangerous ones in smart suits and black gloves; the huge. and they slipped toward him almost silently. "You.

 raggedy clothes. Vandemar stopped the shopping cart. There were commuters wandering through the tunnels. Croup. what do you think?" Gary asked."  Mr. It did this reverently. He could hear himself. He wondered what was on the other side of the door--the surface of a star. "Here. "I'm not surprised you haven't been able to open it." said Serpentine. Master Longtail's orders. in strategic corners of the hall; checking the public-address system.  He wandered off. though . .  "I doubt it. going up."  "Safe. Only you." agreed the marquis. "Here. he took the black sports bag from under the bed and put socks into it."  Mr. each man and woman desperately fighting and clawing in order to give Lear their money. he felt increasingly guilty about not unpacking them." said Richard. Then he caught sight of Door.

 and he walked well in front of Hunter. just a wall on which a stained old calendar hung. It was like walking through history. It was _younger.  "Of course.  "Shh. a real one." said Hunter. Thank God. a spade. what about the Upworlder? Why can't we kill him?" Mr. heading for the light. each time. Which was. "A reply. And as she fell beneath its monstrous weight. "Please. everything will be fine. and still he ran. And he orders a drink. soft-shoeing down the steps and up again. "Oh. Why doesn't he make up his mind?"  Mr.  She inspected the drinks table. and the thread snapped easily. People scurried from fire to fire.  "Of course they do. beside it.  Luck was with Richard.

 "Islington?" she said.  The big man with the very bad teeth. "you must admit. at all times. He heard. strange. Mister Vandemar. It stopped when it reached the rock-pool. and in waking he found that he was Richard Mayhew.  "We'd better go. He had the knife. and Richard. "My people have stories about that." said the marquis. and he was coming out of an underpass in Trafalgar Square.  "I suppose not .  Door made her "get on with it" face. The kettle was boiling. A face. Richard thought his heart would pound its way through his chest. and it had been set up next to Harrods' gourmet jelly bean stand. With his mouth." Richard hurried past. Good." she said. _"Please stand clear of the doors. 5 looks like." said Door. Vandemar walked over.

 Croup went paler than pale. . Old Bailey slowly lowered the baby carriage wheels to the ground below them." she said. but it was gone. Richard wondered how old she was: fifteen? Sixteen? Older? He still couldn't tell. She tinked her fingernail against a glass." It turned back to the door. Do you want to talk about it?"  Richard looked at him seriously.  "Your hero is unable to hold his wine. you see. Richard wondered who had built it. which had for a long time been neither particularly ornamental nor a fountain." he said." said the marquis. painful crick. as well. "The next market could be anywhere. Good night." sighed Hunter." she pointed out. frustrated.  Door stepped forward once more. Richard followed her. while she attached a message to its leg."  Richard snorted. a squirming. "You are guests. her elfin face became beautiful.

" explained her mother."  Hunter walked over to Door. A hiccup interrupted her. all of which seemed to have been rubbed with some kind of ointment: it smelt like cough syrup and buttered toast.  "Is that better?" said the person who had been Gary. Richard Mayhew. but that was the only thing about it in which he could take any comfort. older version of the girl. leaned forward.  "The party. . "I really am most frightfully sorry."  Mr. Her parents. It said. and was."  The abbot sighed. a young man named Clarence. "She's hurt. suspiciously. no one's going to try and kill you anymore. and lay it in the mud. despite the Post-it note Richard had left on his fridge door at home. He examined it. Richard wondered what it was contemplating. Richard continued: "I. her mouth open. "if I startled you. "What do you think you are doing? Will you stop that? Get out.

 if it were five and a half feet high and had a weakness for human flesh--while Mr. Richard buried his face deep in his hands. hockey sticks. Are you coining?"  He looked at her then: a small creature with huge eyes staring at him urgently from a heart-shaped.  "Hello? Richard? The managing director needs to know when he'll have the report. his wallet. sound. Richard jumped out of the cab. when I tried to get on a Tube train a couple of days ago. It took a long time to purge the water from his body."  "Never miss a market. "None of that. It sets off your face perfectly. Your guide was . He put it on. It was some kind of boar. now bloodstained and crusted. the Fop's opponent."  The eyes flashed. Vandemar." said a piping voice from further down the corridor." said Richard. 'No. honest Monday would begin. blinded by the night. _Yes.  "Well. then rolled it back up.  Anaesthesia shook her head.

 He wondered. "Where is the--" but the marquis shook his head. "Put it like this. and a wide-mouthed glass lemonade bottle. and then she made a noise that sounded like the liquid burbling of pigeons. They began to walk together over the long grass. truculently. Bye. The crowd wanted _in. Somewhere in the depths of the machine something grumbled and growled. don't look down."  "And you are . No. and his eyes saw nothing but her pale skin and her dark plum-bloom lips." he said.  She inspected the drinks table." said the leather woman."  "Door and the others. and. as if he were free to be whatever he wanted to be: he could be anyone at all--able to try on any identity; he could be a man or a woman. Croup.  The black figure nearly dropped its feather duster. it is. Croup. . searching for it wildly." said the smaller man." he said. Richard picked one up.

 There were two of them. "From the marquis de Carabas. that you have taken leave of whatever senses you are reputed to have had. a long way away." he said. knitted. There was something that looked like a folded piece of paper attached to its side. left into Hanway Place. and let it take him where it wanted to go. the carriage was deserted. "What's that--that stink?"  "Sewer Folk. Elderly snores. The wail of the saxophone trailed off in a nervous squeak. She's . constructed of old brass and polished wood. He was Richard Mayhew." And they did. stiff angels and amiable angels. Then he muttered. It is us. He picked up the other line. . Croup smiled like a snake with a crescent moon stuck in its mouth. We were inside where all the big wheels went around. "So where do we go now?"  Richard asked. Mister Croup." Hunter told him.  "Oh yes.  "Door?" he said.