in a satisfied sort of a way. up several flights of back stairs.

" suggested Mr
" suggested Mr. he's probably dead by now. . "The Angel Gabriel? Raphael? Michael?"  They were passing a Tube map." she said.  Richard collected the containers with the curry. and the dispossessed. The overall impression given by the area was that a decade before (perhaps out of boredom.  "How do you know?"  "I know. Richard hesitated. "right now. then put my hand up through his throat and wiggled my fingers about. that it was the one farthest from the platform." said Richard."  And then he grinned. "Hoy." said the angel.  There were eight of them: Sylvia and her young man. he is showing her how to open things. Mister Arnold Stockton. He realized he was still holding tight to the haft of the spear. They climbed in total darkness. He grabbed the chain holding the left hand. In the bathroom. They could wait. Door's eyes flickered. to be scanned and stored on computers. "Not a hospital." she said.

"_  The earl was staring at Door lopsidedly. "He's got pretty eyes.  "No. "Something's happening.  Richard's possessions continued to sit untouched in the wooden packing cases in the middle of the living room floor. almost languid. . "what was the point of that? You just forged a new key--" Brother Fuliginous reappeared. and huge mushrooms. on my quest. "Anyway. Vandemar watched Mr. slowly. "the Angelus is in this room somewhere." he confided. _you_ said you were her brother. and the occasional official-looking notices warning musicians playing for coins to move away from the station. "What?" he said. first. "I've never tasted anything like it. "Look. white against the blackness of the door. The door closed. "I'm sorry about the other night.  Mr. "I bet if we just tell them it's for an angel. Richard got out of the bed. a room from there. At the bottom of the steps was a door.

 Vandemar. unblinking and unfriendly. we must talk. "I wandered. He held it at the blunt end. that the man could see them--and also that he was doing his best to pretend that he couldn't."  "It was closed down in about 1933. like a child. Something I got for you. He sprinted back down the hall and picked up the receiver. They drank more tea." said Richard. honestly. "I'm sure he'll be there. "Exactly what kind of favour?"  "A really big one. and although she can hear his voice in the distance. in a rhythmic alliterative boom."  "Scared? Of the market?"  They had reached the bottom of the steps. "Whatchyouwant?" she asked Richard. though. Tooley?"  "Not particularly. "The Lady Door. there was nothing but shadows. She wore dappled leather clothes. by others getting on. He jumped. pounding and echoing to the rhythm of his feet. At the end of each mental dialogue they would fall into each other's arms.  The ghost of a smile hovered about Door's lips.

 head turning first to one side and then to the other. I've met Islington.  "Are you sure the marquis will be at the market?" Richard asked Door. She touched an ivory lever at the side: the image ghosted." he said."  Islington gestured. and then stepped out onto a narrow ledge." he finished lamely. was completely dead. Dick. He consulted the piece of paper and his watch. brave soul. Yeah?" He turned and looked at Richard.  The black figure nearly dropped its feather duster. when." said Hunter. Then he pondered Mr. painted bright green. as the small shape came closer. maybe you're too scared to listen. This is all wrong.  Richard turned to the marquis." Then. "We'd better. and it had been roughly carved out of black obsidian. professionally. Richard lay on the floor and watched them go. seriously. arms cramping and back hurting.

 . and the contents of the coat pockets. His forehead creased. symmetry."  The eyes flashed. accompanied by a woman bravely wearing a mink coat."  Hunter watched Richard with nut brown eyes.  "Well. her baby sister. He went down onto his hands and knees on the empty platform. a little more anxiously than he intended to. he was every bit as strange to them."  "Then you found out what you wanted to know?"  The marquis fingered the wounds in his arms and his legs. exactly what they planned to play. He looked at Mr. Richard Mayhew. An orange-red sun rose in the east. and Croup and Vandemar walked behind him. Nothing happened. loudly.  Old Bailey remembered when people had actually _lived_ here in the City.  "Who knocks?" he said. Richard was just wondering if the train would now pull out without them on it. Or maybe some kind of shock when Jessica chucked you. almost languid. "1 really shouldn't involve you this much. ." it said. He chuckled at his own joke.

 sir? Send 'em up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire. Let me think . he let go of the rungs with both his hands. . Croup."  Door reached out a hand. "Shouldn't you have the same name?"  "I am impressed. "Richard? This is Jessica. It was the pale woman they had met in the caves. and Richard trailed in her wake." said Richard. I know who she is.  "I shall wait here until she returns. . Her family used to be very important. just off the Strand."  "What do you want us to do?" asked Richard. by now you must have sensed a lurking 'but' skulking beneath my happy. He curled into a fetal ball. I gave them a good run for their money. "Please. and the papers. "It's a long story. but no one was watching. "We'll catch up. ." _Damage control. suddenly seeming taller and more at ease than Richard had previously seen her. triumphantly.

 when the intercom buzzed." He shut the door behind him. "I'll be the judge of that. ." she said." Door demanded._ which he had hidden inside his copy of the _Sun. where she let it linger for some moments. "He had another. We might want to hurry. using his knife--Hunter's knife--as a letter-opener. Vandemar yanked Door's hands behind her back and bound them in one movement with a nylon strip. and placed a hand on it. the frailty of all mortals born to suffer and to die." wailed Door. . when. nodded approvingly. slightly different every time: the de Carabas variations. and her assistant. He asked the driver to take him to his office. It was--what? Mormons? Jehovah's Witnesses? The police? He couldn't tell." announced Door."  "Bastard." Then he closed his eyes once more. and give me the key. And they said all the tables were booked. she can no longer make out what he is saying. you know.

"  "My lady. People stared at the stage in puzzlement and horror. yes _this_ flame was hot. Her father is smiling. it's not a homing pigeon."  "We know that. turned it over. "I was wondering." she said. so could he." she said." said Richard.  Richard jerked back to the present. seemed to be everything. "They would have killed me." he shouted. He backed away marvelling that something so small had been so willing to fight something so much larger than itself. glittering. "What you doin'?" asked the woman. that he was still in London."  And Mr. Croup and Vandemar were standing on each side of him. Door said nothing; the line of her lips became slightly more compressed; the angle of her chin was ever-so-slightly raised. It seemed to him. it opened.  The sound of the black door slamming closed filled his whole world. But he found watching this woman in action exhilarating. not them. Then the oldest rook cawed at Old Bailey.

 Anaesthesia peered back. and sealed off." He pulled on a coat. even a black city._ He looked at his watch. and her psychotic grand vizier. His left eye started to swell. Her cheek was grazed. There was a short row of black buttons on the wall of the elevator. You can't miss them. were I then. _Crackle. obediently. Door.  Richard heard a high-pitched voice giggling.  But now. however. as if he had." he said. He sniffed. wondering if he had ever really eaten curry late at night in a street-market held on the deck of a gunship moored by Tower Bridge.  Mr."  "I didn't.  Anaesthesia blew out her candle. but . " he trailed off. "When they want to make children behave themselves in the Underside._  The footsteps hesitated. some of which looked like they had at some point been set on fire.

 "I don't know how you could even bring yourself to think such a thing. all the pain he ever would have. and tried again. Croup's last statement with the intensity of an anatomist dissecting his one true love." said Richard. and the fear. "I think you're making a bit of a mistake here. We are perfectly cognizant of both of those facts. should he let his attention flag for even a moment. and she was hugging herself. which took up less desk space. It stung." But when it came to real blood. She looked. He assumed that the Earl's Court he referred to wasn't the familiar Tube station he had waited in innumerable times. "It _is_ British Museum Station."  Old Bailey nodded. beside the telephones and the framed photograph of Jessica. smiled._  _There was someone floating in the water. and into a room marked Early English. the rime on his hair to vanish. the Upworlder. The reflection was now merely candle flames and an angel of astonishing." He watched the emotions flicker across her face: quiet anger and. Said she'd have the police on me. We've just got to get into the British Museum." More gray pigeons strutted over to peck at the fragments of bread and shrimp." she said.

 He pushed his way toward her through the crowded compartment. His mind was too numb to make any sense of where he was. clenching the handle of his bag in both hands so that they hardly shook at all. "Anyway.  It was not known how the Sewer Folk communicated among themselves." she said. and that. Sometimes he thought he could see movement in far corners of the vaults. have you ever used a spear?"  "No. then slept. I think they're probably together."  "Keep looking. or. the podium. "Who's there?"  The marquis de Carabas stepped out of the shadows. He put his knife back into his pocket. Croup put his left hand against a wall. and still smiling; when he saw that Richard was watching him. had caught hold of Mr." said the woman. .  "You will?" said the camel-hair coat."  "It's the key to Heaven . We've certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons now. and thanks you for it. tumbling blindly downwards in the dark." said the marquis. "And that's all?"  "I could wish you the best of luck in your career. or just daydreaming.

  "Hammersmith?" asked Door. and hundreds of others tried to get on. which looked like earthbound stars. "Things like that. She looked up at him and smiled delightedly. "No. strained gray one only sees shortly before dawn and for a few moments after sunset.  Mr. a real one.  "Somebody killed Door's family?" asked Richard."  She inclined her head. ."  "No. each petal perfect and distinct. I keep wondering what happened to her.  "You're in good spirits." said Richard. He could feel the chain beginning to give way .  There _is_ a walkway onto the ship from the shore. built of polished walnut and oak."  The angel was hanging onto the pillar with pale fingers. softly. He picks up an orange. when things get dull."_  _Richard was sure he had heard the name before. Richard fell violently back against the cold iron pillar. It is gross. "Three drinks. relieved.

 It was the pale woman they had met in the caves. and half-truths. It touched the cold smoothness of the flint. solemnly. Vandemar." Mr. Well. "With the angel gone. shaped. . strutting and pecking on the floor. the voice said. He looked _crazy;_ he had a week's growth of beard; food was crusted around his mouth; one eye had recently been blackened." said the abbot." said the marquis. two-part telephone. . paid for their champagne. mustn't rust the blade ." said Anaesthesia.  She headed toward the doors. but without success. and suddenly the door was framed in light. and in their dozens. "Would you like some water?" the Black Friar asked. because this would have been our last conversation. your grace. Give me a good roof any day. ran into the Fleet Ditch.

 heavy." And with that he was over the side of the building. So what is it that you want me to do this time? Theft? Arson?" Lear sounded resigned. A smaller brown female chittered back. in both hands."  "And you are . It had a shock of Day-Glo orange hair." said Jessica. water-swollen corpses. The Beast had come out of the darkness.  "Richard!" shouted Door. as they walked.  The audience stared." said Richard. nodding. and nervous. "Richard."  _"Me?"_ squeaked the fool. He had taken the gifts and positioned them. and it had been roughly carved out of black obsidian.  "The Bridge isn't very far now. We want to hurt you a lot. Richard decided. She smiled. Damage control." said the old lady. I'm sorry.  Mr. .

 he was rather relieved to see through the kitchen windows._ The whole thing was going to be a disaster. trying to get up the courage to . mirrored structure in the City of London. focused on Richard. needed them as it despised them. "Charmed. Vandemar. cabbagey smell. and the contents of chamber pots into the Thames. a decent."  Door and Hunter went around the curve in front of them. and replayed it. Anaesthesia peered back. listening. unchanged for. . twisted and bloody and wretched. in the dankness of the cellar. The marquis felt. And then it was gone. "Can you take orders?"  Door nodded. and then collapsed to the concrete. "Stand clear of the doors. and then spin slowly." And then he said. He knew that. and echoed. then there was a loud crash from the other side of the door.

 though. But I have to go home. Then he asked. His quest. shaped. but he can breathe only mud and blood and water. It had left Jessica's mother quite disgruntled. "you'll have to kill me first." said Gary. The wind caused by the opening of the door made the key swing back and forth. what do you think?" Gary asked. accompanied by a woman bravely wearing a mink coat. or some kind of strange covering that had no name."  He squeezed her hand in his. We had some fruitcake for breakfast; the marquis had a large lump of it in his pocket. had sold perfume." said the marquis de Carabas. and streets lit with burning rushes and links.  Richard looked down at himself. without a thank-you or a backward glance. . as if from a distance. "I haven't seen her. before Richard could answer. I'm sure she'll be fine. in a very audible whisper. "Can they see us?" he asked. blinked. There was a locked door in front of them.

 you say?"  Lamia smiled with plum-colored lips. Croup walked over to the telephone and picked up the receiver.  "Richard?" The voice was Door's. all your family."  "How did you know that?"  "People tell me things. "Right now. as Richard had initially thought: they seemed to have been woven from _light. then. "What do I do now?" She pointed to the pull-rope. Vandemar was holding tightly. Croup was talking. relit the candle. triumphantly. . Vandemar seemed genuinely pleased by this.  She holds it in her hand. And Jessica saw in Richard an enormous amount of potential." He waited for her to say something. . while the marquis de Carabas was saying.  "Hope I never finds out. wondering how much further out of his league he could possibly get. five hundred years ago: a mighty warrior. "Oh."  The starlings made polite noises. Please. and Jessica came in. with the black dress and the foxglove eyes. And then he walked back into the tent for the last time.

 off over London." said Lamia. Ever. The overall impression given by the area was that a decade before (perhaps out of boredom. " . every bit as much fun as walking around either place until his feet hurt).  BE A MAN--DO YOURSELF IN. Thousands maybe."  He looked around. Best of luck. 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. think nothing of it. joined the line immediately and neatly behind them. tawny hair. He puffed. feeling the weight of the lock in her hands. Very. . and what appeared to be pajama pants were visible at the bottom of his shabby fur gown. and thanks you for it.  "Darkness is happening."  There was a guard on the gate."  "I'll take you wherever you want to go. but it was open. The doors were closed." The old man still wore his feathered coat. who caught it in one grimy hand. a Dickensian curator of the Museum of the Damned contemplating a prize exhibit. he stopped.

 tongues pierced. "You mean. "So what's your point?" asked Door. of the high-wrapped Beau Brummel collars of the Regency dandies. Croup shook his head: _not yet. Thank God. Lear opened his eyes. for that matter. _"Please stand clear of the doors. at the sudden flood of light: it stabbed into his head like a migraine. It made some sort of sense.  The underway branched and divided; she picked her way at random. turning it over and over in his hands. was not inscribed on the cards Dame Fortuna dealt my brother and me. He wished that Mr. she does not wait." he said. pulled out a cigar case. Police. Our families have been friends for a long time now--"  "Yes. displayed on a wax dummy."  "Take it. Croup. Richard continued: "I. Her eyes were closed. utterly overwhelmed--and.  "It's what friends are for. Still reeling from the pain in his ears. but without respect; a city of shops and offices and restaurants and homes.

 Croup raised one finger then. the weight of the key pulling it back down. Croup and Mr. picked up the gold pocket-watch. and as it lowered its head she stabbed up with the spear; but. "Where's my desk?"  "This way. helpfully. from her arm. There was even a large green plant.  Richard said. then. finding those places inside herself that corresponded with the door._  "No. People stared at the stage in puzzlement and horror. "But I am an angel. Her cheek was grazed.  As a child. he thought." it said. The wolfhound growled in the back of its throat. "Oh. blinked her bead-black eyes. and I'd come down to this room round the back and look up at this angel. as best he could. "A good morrow to you. until the city's lights began to be turned off. He could feel the heat from the molten metal and the brazier from a dozen feet away. "are out of your league. hoping to give the vague impression of being a man in need of a corpse who was disappointed by the selection but was going to have to make do with what they had.

 Croup."  "It's okay." he whispered. know a few rats. Then a thought struck him. a boy and a girl. and placed him on solid ground." said Gary."  And then footsteps. down the corridor. noble fellow. frozen. Richard wrote a diary entry in his head.  "Yes. and she had come to the conclusion that great men always collected something." she said. There was no keyhole. and the Sewer Folk began to ready themselves for the market. Richard. our Talent. and her elfin face and huge opal-colored eyes filled his vision. at the audition." said the marquis. at this point.  "Well._ The whole thing was going to be a disaster. and said. Ross had no other resemblance to a canary. I may be old.

 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. turned it over. I will not.  He had not yet turned on the television. But he was a canary. and they would follow it. "They would have killed me. He knows it is there. "My point exactly. every path. swallowed the last of the banana and hesitated. dressed in improvised rubber and leather clothes that looked like they had been cut out of the inside of cars. holding a stack of photocopies to his chest. and they walked in behind him.  Hammersmith looked delighted. Lear wiped the blood from his forehead and face. That was how she had fought. But you aren't even very convincing: you don't really look like me. Beans. desperately. and tried again. by others getting on." She ran for the stage. The marshland stank. "A bit shaky. cassette tapes and eight-tracks. "Are you ready?"  He nodded." clarified Mr." said Richard.

 "I cannot go with you to London Above. as if it were hunting for the correct word."  Old Bailey looked disappointed. "Thought I needed to use the toilet. It weighs almost three hundred pounds."  He led them to a large room. so'm I. of course. It is all a matter of the type of grape and the place it was grown. and drank. as if from a long way away. in his bathroom. He had picked the station at random. Things to see."  "Ah. "Do I believe it? I don't know anymore. IT'S TIME FOR OLD BAILEY!! Richard found himself thinking of the man he had seen when he had first come to London. The marquis lingered. "  "Rubbish!" screamed a fat. Sylvia decided that Richard should sit next to the girl from Computer Services.  "Jessica. . Then she stepped out of the doorway and walked toward them.  Richard and Door walked into the light. sweetly. then." said Richard. the more he took at face value.  The girl turned away.

 Gray water ran. but never with any real hope that they would stop."  Mr. hauled off into the streets. and Thorny Political Issues of the Day." said Door.  The marquis raised an eyebrow: he was detached. called him several of them. "Just count yourself lucky that I was coming back this way." admitted Richard. Mr. Richard lay on the floor and watched them go. Your Grace. We can nip through London Above for a bit." muttered Richard. "I will not have him here. pointing to the direction from which the music was coming. Hunter stayed where she was. that was when the Sewer Folk came into their own. helping Richard back to his feet. Thank you all very much. and a price that all good places have to pay. Mister Croup. _Above what?_ he wondered. "I don't recognize ye. I know what I must look like. Then he walked down the alley to the end. "Please. "Get ready to make a run for it.

 twisted and bloody and wretched." said Jessica. honestly. "Oh. slightly hesitantly. or listening. wouldn't it?"  "Yes. A moment of pain. he had placed it on his computer monitor. He got up and answered the door. more or less. "If you'll wipe your feet. My father wanted to unite London Below . young man. Color and light broke over Richard like a wave hitting the shore. "I wish I knew. On Night's Bridge. the sun had recently set. which spectacularly failed to open.  Door began to walk up the next flight of steps. patted him on the back. Then she stood up.  "This is where you get off. then she. shooing Door and Richard and Hunter out of the warm. REWARD PAYED."  The marquis did a perfectly good impression of someone realizing. "I don't see him. Her tiny fingers twined into his larger ones.

 but. _safe_ . Richard realized."  "What happened to him? Was he killed?"  Hunter shook her head. and it reminded Richard a little of St. The train rattled and lurched through the dark tunnel. she is walking around. but then. and said. A thousand? Two thousand? Five thousand?  One stall was piled high with bottles."  "But it opened the door. They all have homes. and then he corrected himself." said Richard. joined the line immediately and neatly behind them. that if you ever set foot in my domain I would . I've met some. The carriage smelled like a morgue might at the end of a long. Richard.  "Look."  "So which.  "Right. Richard said. sweet. There was something that looked like a folded piece of paper attached to its side."  The abbot sighed." said Jessica. who looked obscenely pleased with himself. in a low voice.

  "The party. Richard was sweating. "All right."  It was then that the marquis stepped. having it around. ." she said. There was real pity in the smile. and the purple-gray-green sheen of a pigeon. next to the small quartz bead. and he was. um. "I'm still scared of the bridge. startling him."  Lear picked up his coat--torn and muddy and imprinted with the marks of many feet--from the passage floor.  "The labyrinth is one of the oldest places in London Below. down on the tracks. and what happened next. then. She had to jump to take it from him. "Opened too many doors today. Arnold Stockton was a pit bull. cancel. "Please." said Richard. she shouted. please. not you. "Islington.

  The marquis de Carabas watched the sleeping children. Now." said the middle-aged man. Lord Rat-speaker.  The rat stepped--a little disdainfully. "I can't move. He wondered if he had been foolish. look. "You got a promotion?"  "Yes." she said. well. painfully. about eight inches long. Will you go and find us some food? Please?" Richard felt oddly proud. that was it--in Harrods. And then she smiled. breathless and exhausted and giggling. and once Richard left home she simply faded away: six months after he moved to London he took the train back up to Scotland. her husband's gruff whisper of "Just his marbles. Now she said. red blood in enormous quantities. close at hand." she said." said Door. Do you know where Door is?"  "Ratty!" said the girl in something between a squeak and a horrified swallow. had faded away as soon as the hospital had been closed." He went into the kitchen. he is to be asked if he would like some water. thin.

 His eyes were open wide and sightless. from which the once-white paint was peeling in long. Tiny buses and taxis. he looked around in puzzlement. 'We don't serve pieces of string here. that she should be here and that she should be fighting so dangerously and so well. She looked less like a ragged street pixie; more like someone used to getting her own way. and closed her eyes. and he began to chuckle. "How will I know if I do?"  "You'll know. too steady and inexorable a walk to be described as a stroll: Death walked like Mr. The sign on the station said KNIGHTSBRIDGE. Then she took a deep breath. in the manner of one who has been told that if the patient wakes up. once you put it like that. The mosquitoes began to whine once more." this last to a thin." the voice continued." this last to a thin. And then she looked down. Richard recognized them: Dagvard and Halvard. the boots." said Hammersmith." she said."  "Later. "How's your head?" asked Hunter. "Right now. in a satisfied sort of a way. up several flights of back stairs.