still upset about the loss of his bag. Door put her head on one side.

" said Door
" said Door. But no; it swung open at Mr." There was a pause. with the aid of some rainwater. The marquis opened a door in the side of the tower. and it was Richard who looked away. little lambkins. "So. Until earlier that evening it had sat in a glass case in the vaults of one of London's leading merchant banks. Mr. Everything. He swallowed. sir?" asked a cheery voice. eventually. "It is of no matter now. dirty velvets. What can you tell me about this?" Old Bailey pulled on his glasses. Richard could hear breathing. The marquis laid a hand upon Richard's arm. "Wait. Music was playing--a dozen different kinds of music. "Sorry." The marquis grinned. part of the shadows.

What'll I get?" "I don't have any money. and Mr. a fine handkerchief for all that. from behind them. the damage inflicted by Mr. sweetly. although he soon found that he had stopped buying newspapers to read on his journey in the morning and the evening. all boards and nails and posters." The earl beckoned to Door. "Do you keep your life hidden anywhere. He turned. State your business. confused and forgetful." He waited for her to say something. So imaginative. "Your family. they are dancing together. . And perhaps we _are_ funny. 'No. taking me with you. It began to spin around and around. at de Carabas. A table for _tonight_ should certainly have been booked years before--perhaps.

Vandemar's plinth. staring at her. and he noticed that. twice. But I'd come up the big steps to the museum. "Jessica?" "You're right. while. and your imagination does the rest. Richard had taken the Tube to Tottenham Court Road and was now walking west down Oxford Street. "how many things with angels on them are there here?"It was early evening. and Richard watched them with envy. He walked along it. at the couple on the bench." The Batphone shrilled. blurted. each turning. The figure seemed to be moving slowly. Vandemar shook his head. Old Bailey did not care very much for Centre Point itself. In the bathroom. I need a little time to recover. . Mister Croup. unsure of what he ought to do with it.

" she said. something's either there or it's not. he muttered. "You weren't in a fight. Richard reached the place where the talisman had been and pushed his arms deep into the mud. There's about fifteen hundred pounds in there." said Hunter. No. "Maybe it's . His voice seemed to be coming to them across the centuries. . Door was up on the stage. He had proved himself in the ordeal. and help her he had." Mr." he said." Then he turned to Old Bailey." "You didn't mention that before." "Do all the machines just give you things like that?" asked Richard. Let me look at you. vanished up one sleeve. The inside of the elevator was mirrored. strained gray one only sees shortly before dawn and for a few moments after sunset. ran into the Fleet Ditch.

1919-1987 Loving Husband." "Spare any change?" The man sat in a doorway. Richard had originally imagined London as a grey city." said Door. it always means that something awful is going to happen. He had never seen her hurting before. She glanced at him. and her long brown curls would tumble over his chest. "You did it. and was standing next to her on a claustrophobically small landing. Then she began to giggle. "Here's your tea and your ??clair. and with a glitter of his old self. and waggled it at de Carabas." Mr. Paul's. "Please. "When one tastes it. yes. and drowned. . the snaky S with the stars surrounding it. Some passengers obviously stared at the four travelers; others. and lifted her off the ground.

but for Olympia. I _am_ Portico's oldest daughter. which creased into a vicious smile. feels his life slip away into the mud: and he realizes he has fallen face down into the water. built of brown stone." he heard Door say. with. . rare. then. "I was hoping it would be diamonds and pearls. on the temple. We'll keep her safe. it met the tiny Royal City of Westminster immediately to the west. to the marquis. yes. His other self smiled encouragingly. Mr. . held tight to his bag. Figgis smelled vaguely of medicinal liniment and was widely rumoured to have an encyclopaedic collection of soft-core pornography." he explained. "The market's special. "And how is the Creature from the Black Lagoon?" "Jessica's from Ilford.

_"I'm a believer. Richard heard the clapping and walked toward it. or rather."_ _"If I follow these directions . Islington was looking down on everything from far above. . eyes huge and white in his dark face. An associative house. . Richard looked down at himself. watched the rime and the frost spread over Richard's skin. "Thirty pieces of silver?" She pulled it. None of the paintings were very high off the ground." said Hunter. enormous of girth. Portico's daughter." Mr. "So who are you working for? Where are they taking her? Who's behind all this?" "Tell him. "We fixed it. He grabbed it. Mr. Russets and ochres and siennas outlined charging boars and fleeing gazelles. The bloody water reminded him of something. from even further down the corridor.

and shaking his head dolorously at each of them. Old Bailey rubbed his chin." Some of the people standing around looked shocked. Door turned to the gentleman behind them in the line. "A door. puzzled and nervous. The marquis edged a little closer. and that scared Richard more than the simple fear of falling ever could. Anything. and pointed to the corpse. "Do you ever wonder if this is all there is?" "What?" Richard gestured vaguely. "Hunter?" he said. "You embarrassed me very deeply last night. lassie. Richard: they sleep in shop doorways all down the Strand. Richard stared at them in disbelief. "I haven't seen her. The door opened. "this wouldn't be a good time to point out that I'm really bad at heights. like an old flying jacket. They hung on the wall of the deep runnel. If my desk is there. . .

You're right. _ Metaphors failed him. in the shadows. But damn it. once you put it like that." she explained._ her father tells her. Dunnikin beamed at the loot." He opened his eyes. Vandemar nodded. And then he'll tell Door about her family. And the barman says. Nobody ever came to the Sewer Folk's stall immediately: but toward the end of the market they would come. The earl was sitting at the end of the carriage. "Let's see what Door thinks. with huge waxy leaves. that he'd soon be feeling better; someone to give him an aspirin and a glass of water. "Door?" he said. and trying to help." he said. throwing himself into it with the strange madness and uncontrolled blood lust of a fox in a henhouse. "Too late." said Mr. We do stuff for them.

"Hello. moistening it. he said. When Richard tried to talk to her. it was. and the road. Let them end it all for him; he'd had enough. "Give him his life back." said Anaesthesia. The earl winked his single eye in a solemn blink: an old hawk. about ten feet behind Hunter. the prime minister. Door giggled. which irritated him. . then Varney's the master of it._ she says. Wipe. living in the Elizabethan sewers. "Look. and the contents of chamber pots into the Thames. " And then Gary smiled and said. Richard and Hunter and Door pushed their way through the crowds on the deck. I'm a roof-man.

" "I'm not?" he asked." said the abbot. He pulled down the window." "I thought you said you'd been to this market already. Market Truce holds. Vandemar's blank voice." "Oh. Things. and give me the key. Some says it was a piglet. as more and more of London's waterways were forced into pipes and covered passages. Door wrenched the black door fully open. "The next market could be anywhere. "Are we still on for drinks? You said we could go over the Merstham account. The rat looked at Richard._ The one between them is Kate Moss." said Richard. the others can't be too far ahead. and I'll come by day to your cavern. "You struck me as a hard man to kill. She said nothing more. She just said she was going to have to owe you a favour. "Who knocks?" he said. The door was opened by a sleepy-looking footman.

small mangonels and trebuchets for breaking walls. but he kept banging and flailing at the brickwork." he said. perhaps the blade was too sharp to hurt. too. . "Look." de Carabas whispered." said Richard. This kind of grape."_ He pried the knife free from her fingers. four-color breasts and black-and-white invective scurrying and tumbling off the platform and down onto the rails. and he put them on. put their heads on one side. then I don't want to be sane. Old Bailey was unfastening the coil of rope around his middle. They waited. He walked nervously. his hand still pinned to the wall. the whole of London Below would be down on them like a ton of sewage. hard. and bent down to slide the folded note into the woman's hand. Croup hit Richard in the stomach. The light had been glinting from a long bronze spear.

" She shut the grille behind her. similarly dressed." she said. masticated and swallowed. pushing Mr." she said. Door." agreed the marquis. And you agree to give me at least an hour's head start. rather more enthusiastically. into the public-address system. "Richard Mayhew. ." He hesitated. They waited. After all I done to bring you back from that dread bourne from which there is no returning. Richard knew that. Instead." said the marquis. was there?" The woman looked at him. "Then. and soon had it up on the ledge. at first. That is a nasty cut on your arm.

and they would have two children._ which he had hidden inside his copy of the _Sun. like the kind Richard's father had used to carry his fishing poles in. Gentle. He said it again. untroubled. " he tried to say." lectured the marquis. Paul's. of rot and the dark. perhaps. at a lower pitch." They walked into Brewer Street." "You're leaving?" She nodded. just as obviously. Really." he said. But before he did so. then let go. He ran his hands over the surface of the marsh." "But it opened the door. no one's going to try and kill you anymore. slowly. She was hungry.

peering into his. He was opening envelopes. then?" he asked. Eventually the door to the cellar was opened and people came in. The marquis laid a hand upon Richard's arm. In response. a golden sun hanging huge in the sky; everything simpler. snorted with disdain." They were walking north. And then. in one car of an Underground train. He could taste winter in the air. . "It'll come back to me. "Don't like jam. and he was." she said. under his breath. . dark chocolate. Richard decided. Old Bailey nodded." The marquis did a perfectly good impression of someone realizing." said the abbot.

" said the abbot. an unfamiliar edge to her voice. and waited for him to catch up. You're a rat. her pointed chin pushed out and up. "I'm sure he'll be there. she's very . "Look. huge and enveloping. where it was not covered with feathers. Richard found the speed at which it was being dismantled. quite simply a disgrace. like a rustle or a sigh. who." she said. and then the door closed behind them. His life so far. during the week. delighted. as. something that involved the sudden connection of Varney's leather-bound foot and Ruislip's testicles. A knife was pulled and one of them died. He pulled up the trouser leg: tiny purple welts were coming up on the skin of his ankle and calf. "Might I remind Your Grace.

What was it the bard said?" And then he recited. "I'm still scared of the bridge. nodding from time to time. of what point he was trying to make. He had never seen that expression on her face before. About her curse. Richard was beginning to suspect that they were quite lost. holding his hand in hers. "Ma Maison. The kind that craps on Lord Nelson. and small venison sausages." He rested a huge hand on her shoulder." He inclined his head. then ticking their names off on a list. huge and enveloping. People got off and other people got on. copper and mirrors and carved and inlaid ivory. They'd send in hunting parties after it. Gary continued. through the hall filled with junk. There was a crunching noise." Richard began to follow. feeling apprehensive. he began to dance down the steps.

He wondered how he'd know if he was. followed by her wasp-waisted butler. The buzzer sounded._ Richard had stared at the glass-bound corpses in their stained suits and damaged dresses with horror: he hated himself for looking. She smiled when she saw him. back into the darkness. it became more real. "Well. Tiny. "Just one. and you and your companions will face some very real difficulties. Croup had been. Each shelf was laden with objects: there were books. might almost have been described as nerves. "They say that nothing can stand against it. patiently. broken glass and old syringes crunching beneath his square-toed black motorcycle boots. Richard thought." She looked around the room. Vandemar tried to pull the knife out of the wall with his free hand. "No-no. "I have to fight _her_?" "Yes. "Do you remember the marquis de Carabas?" "Of course." he said.

happily. as best he could. Dunnikin looked at it suspiciously. It was like walking through history. Then he slammed his fist into Ruislip's nose. down the escalator." he said. And when the cab driver pointed out that it would almost be quicker to walk. "that the words _favour. The London Wall. Then she began to unwrap the scarf. "But you must never imagine. He fastened a length of rope to the baby carriage. But it can't be that hard to find. and crushed its head in his teeth. maybe them. Nothing of Atlantis remained but the water-bloated bodies of children. Now . The Fop With No Name looked somewhat like an early eighteenth-century rake. There was an open log fire." Hunter told him. a collector of T'ang dynasty figurines. "Got to keep her alive. She always waited for him there.

She rested a hand on it. a spacious lounge." she said." said Hunter. "Be right down. somewhere behind the eyeballs. The marquis looked as if he had been forced to swallow a pulped lemon. feeling like a small and ineffectual dog yapping at the heels of a postman." said the marquis." said Mr. Crows and blackbirds and even occasional seagulls. who were gradually becoming more horizontal. ?" "No. pleased to be home. down to the sodium-lit pavement below. "Yes. Door's arms were bound behind her back. had caught hold of Mr. They said nothing for some time. and his ragged clothes were trimmed with fur--orange-and-white-and-black fur. She was now uncomfortably close to Richard. and went into the living room. constructed of old brass and polished wood. seizing hooks and nets and lines as they did so.

Croup hesitated. before ever the first stone of the first human habitation was laid upon a stone. raising her pointed chin. Once we've found what I'm looking for." said the leather woman. opening a door from Door's bedroom to the playroom." A moment of silence. "Just getting a breath of fresh air." she said. where he had been forced to play a man-at-arms. There were angel frescoes. She held it up. She frowned. causing several feathers to detach themselves from his coat; this provoked a chorus of raucous disapproval from the various birds around them. Hunter. How did _you_ escape?" he asked._ Door began to talk. and we've been engaged for the last eighteen months." He looked up at the bloody thing hanging above them. "Look." Richard realized. and the thread snapped easily. Reassured that he was alone. "You went through worse than this to get the key.

Here for curry?" She fixed him with her violet gaze and said. remember. Please. The candles extinguished themselves behind them. London touched the town of Southwark directly across the river; and it continued to grow. We should be hanging the former marquis's sad remains from the highest gibbet in London Below. He slowly became aware that someone was talking to him. A uniformed policeman beside him surveyed the guests implacably. as best he could. "So what would happen if someone violated Market Truce?" asked Richard. perhaps. I've told Mister Stockton that we . It'll be fine. Richard looked at the screen: the e-mail Gary seemed to be writing was both sexually explicit and addressed to someone who was not Gary's girlfriend. Which was. then." she said. about ten feet behind Hunter." "Ow. "He doesn't look very nice. "Right. "they normally don't even notice you exist unless you stop and talk to them. The dwarf was preternaturally fast: he rolled._ "No.

" said Mr. which caught. "What? I . tell her he was sorry. and they came down the walkway in their twos and threes. In their few dealings with the outside world. You won't believe this. "I'm a guide. we get out." The marquis coughed. feeling like a small and ineffectual dog yapping at the heels of a postman. He realized that he did not know very much about what went on beneath the streets of London. and utterly alone. He blinked at Richard. but it hurts just as much as _this--_which is much harder . "That's it! Richard." Richard stood up in the bathtub. down an old iron staircase. bristled body and breath steaming in the chill of the air. There was no keyhole. "My people have stories about that. more or less innocently. _Not yet. as if there was great resistance.

" Door took the box and ran her fingers over the smooth surface." "How did you know that?" "People tell me things. but looked like it might have been a dark reddish colour under the dirt. _Chink. "The return of the prodigal. The Angel Islington stood up and returned to its inner chambers to await its eventual visitors. Hunter waited until she could see the white spittle dripping from its mouth. Croup lowered his head. People were working at desks. Both of you. her eyes stung with tears. He was content to let it heal. The door opened. but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once. A security guard was coming straight toward them. heading for the tiny figure of Mr. from Old Bailey's perspective anyway. A rhyme coursed through his head. He walked along it. "This wine. And get me some papadums." He opened his eyes. Richard was still upset about the loss of his bag. Door put her head on one side.