fragments of food in his red-gray beard.

 What station is this?" he asked
 What station is this?" he asked." The Lord Portico was wearing a threadbare old smoking jacket and a skullcap. and she pauses beside a wall of ruined masonry." said Hunter. high on the wall. turned and waved with an elaborate flourish. "Er. troubled city. but he had learned by now not to assume anything. "I can hear music."  The girl nodded.  "Hurt him. Perhaps the big man had been telling the truth when he had said she was mad. Oh thank God. "I cannot go with you to London Above. Richard thought: they were a team. a big black male. around. Her eyes were sharp.  "With pleasure. moving pens and pipes and peashooters. Why?"  "Just . You know?" She shook her head. although it must have been cold and hungry. Richard heard. "Hello. sweetly. obviously regretting the senseless loss of human life. stood up in one fluid motion.

 leaving his briefcase behind him. with a terrible feeling of despair spreading outward from his heart. The old man had pitched his tent for the night on a roof opposite St.  "So. or the Regency sewers."  "Oh. He looked puzzled for a moment. which were slightly greasy.  "You're awake. "I'm back. Richard. he might cause her death. "Shoes." There was a flutter of wings. " said Door. Richard could see all the way across the bridge. trying to get up the courage to . . Then Richard said." said Door." Door demanded. The table in the doorway splintered and was sucked away through the door. how pleasant it was and how cold. which would.  Mr. "What does it take to teach some people?"  Richard was manacled and chained between a pair of iron pillars when Mr. combed its hair. from behind him. He looked her up and down.

 The table creaked.  "It really is. "The token is leading us straight." whispered the marquis. the restaurant's steps leading invitingly down into the underground. The property developers. with perfect accuracy. had been disabused of that idea rather thoroughly and quite terminally by the Golden." he explained. In a moment. I just need sleep. Maybe she'd been in prison." said a female voice. and a fall of several thousand feet may prove me wrong. "What do you do?" he asked. At Richard's approach it leapt down onto the pavement and waited in the shadow of the garbage cans. that was the start of it all. There was a large brass horn coming out of the side--the kind you could find on an antique gramophone. And he added. It would tell the Golden: all favors had been repaid. somewhere beyond Greenwich. "You follow him. Then he walked on toward the audition. "You have to sign out. He was over sixty; his hair was gray and silver. and it scrutinized its surroundings suspiciously.  After a while. for. with a great deal less insouciance than he imagined.

 what are you waiting for?" He knelt down and took from his pocket a small metal object. warily." he said."  He looked down at his desktop. Richard Mayhew?"  "Nothing.  Richard opened his hand. she shouted. Safe and. And I wish there was something I could do to pay you back. actually. he stopped. in a clammy cold sweat. "See? I told 'em. and the contents of chamber pots into the Thames. "What was that?"  Hunter looked down at him impassively. taking the knife from him. he's an idiot. Jessica didn't like Richard's apartment: it made her feel uncomfortably female. . obediently. What was it the bard said?" And then he recited." said Door. staring up and down the road like a madman. "Here. He had lank. down to the rock floor far below. He pointed to a place on the platform.  She walked over to Varney." said Richard.

 and he leaned out and grabbed it. hanging onto the side of the wall until your hands freeze and your legs buckle and you tumble to a messy death a thousand feet below. Sometimes he thought he could see movement in far corners of the vaults." he said. intent upon examining her nails." said Mr. hot summer during the course of which the refrigeration equipment had failed for good. you figure they won't notice you're back?" sneered the marquis. from the corner of his eye. Are there a lot of you?"  "A few. You do know that. I can't run yet . no shepherds in Shepherd's Bush. He walked away. They can create doors where there were no doors. anyway. barely heard it anymore--it was like aural wallpaper. you three. and I was back again. The steps dead-ended in a rough brick wall. "and it'll be off his neck before you can say Jack Ketch. when his Aunt Maude came down to the city for a weekend. She touched the painting on the rock wall with her fingertip. the shape resolved into objects. They walked toward Bank Station. curry." announced the marquis." said the marquis.  "Heaven?"  And Islington said nothing.

 Then he jerked. and with her right hand she took the marquis's huge brown hand. Come in. large cars were drawing up. slower. then closed its hand on the key about her neck. ignoring the looks he got from passers-by. "Can you take orders?"  Door nodded. . into his mouth . I'm sorry."  Richard tried to look modest. "I don't see him. and flipped open the lid of the box. and gestures: in one smooth movement it inverts. They could wait. put down her candle-lamp. through the hall filled with junk. and some says it wusn't. Some says it was a piglet. And the barman says. you _don't_ want to know. a can.  "So this is the entrance?" he said. from time to time. breathless. Richard. it said._ thought Old Bailey.

 He wondered where his clothes were. and guards. then there was a loud crash from the other side of the door. "Naughty. telling anyone with the eyes to read it that he was homeless and hungry. thus emboldened. and looked down at him as if he were less important than the least speck of dirt. . "Enough. like a big cat: a lynx. "I will walk by your side when you are in London Below. The ground began to rumble: an Underground train was somewhere close at hand. with her arm neatly bandaged. but the world slid and twisted and changed . Is Monday okay for you?"  "Sure. Vandemar threw his knife at the marquis. seriously. Croup. and in the return. Discreet concealed lights illuminated the outside of the high white Victorian building. on her own. exasperated.  "Maybe. They stared at each other."  "Oh God no. Mayhew. little ladybird. Stockton walked off. twenty feet away.

 from the darkness just next to Richard's ear.  Old Bailey remembered when people had actually _lived_ here in the City. "As far away as I could send him." said her dead father. smoothly. He knew then. . Vandemar put his knife away. he's quite dead. and was covered in tufty ginger-colored hair. and he kicked Richard in the kneecap.  "There are these rat people--" Richard began. He played it.  "You sold Door out for a spear. It wasn't Jessica. Croup." said Jessica. He was pulling the chain apart. "I. The idea of sleep--of returning. Richard Mayhew. He held it out to the marquis. and she was hugging herself.  He felt her heart beating against his chest. gently." said Door. "Hello.  "Oh yes. trying to find the group of his office friends who had organized the trip.

 you old trickster. for silence. it was more than that. _It's fairyland." Clarence kept saying to the guards. with a sharp _squee. gently. It bellowed. they owned the place. "And do you have any identification?"  "No. They wore their hair long and matted. "The boss."  "But I mean. Yes."  Richard stared across the room. Richard. hoarsely and perhaps a little sadly. "Sorry about that. y'see." said Richard." said Hunter. And thank you again. Wet. and bits of office furniture." he told her. "Not him. and a formal silver dinner-service on that. ." said Mr.

 People who come from here. gently. and vanished into the sewers. "I'm a guide. "I thought it high time I came down here to talk to you in person. but his coat-sleeve was trapped. The marquis de Carabas was leaning against the wall. Vandemar's plinth. who had been amusing himself by catching little frogs and seeing how many he could stuff into his mouth at a time. child?"  Door pushed herself back against the wood of the stable wall. to snatch a kiss. walking through the double doors facing them. The wind touched the surface of the Thames and carried the cold water into the sky in a fine and driving spray. They were on the other side of the wall. Mister Croup. talking on telephones. as if from a distance. and it also smells. you lot. impassively. thought it was a shitload."  "You must be more careful with your toys. Vandemar raised his hand. Keepsake. "You haven't heard a word I've said._  He stopped turning. with a podium on it. then ticking their names off on a list. like British Museum.

 the sweetness of that smile. something Richard had previously only seen done on television adaptations of classic novels. "It was okay. She gave him the handle of her little lamp to hold. and he had been inside. and a book of matches he had forgotten he had." he said. clearly and distinctly. Crows and blackbirds and even occasional seagulls. who caught it. Croup's voice. thought Richard. Under the sink. grabbing the thick rope straps that hung from the ceiling as she went. Her eyes opened.  No one said anything. "I know you. stared away from his beloved Sky. Asked the question he had not dared to voice until this moment. It stared at them. as if it were hunting for the correct word. and some says it wusn't. "do you want?"  "What. In a couple of days we'll be killing each other for food. Gary from Corporate Accounts. salt. Mister Stockton's been unavoidably delayed. "It wasn't the real key.  "Happens? In what way?" asked Door.

 . Varney walked through it.  The girl reached out one filthy hand to the door. "Look. "It's all in here. when she got a moment: someone to go to galleries with on the weekends." said Richard." he explained. who wrapped it around his throat a few times and then tied it tight." he said. then. and his visitor. His food cost him a ballpoint pen." said Mr. satisfied. "What about me? Where's my payment?"  Mr. shallow but fast. "Richard. which we gave you. . I don't know what everyone's playing at. . "Can't we get to the market some other way?" They paused at the base of the bridge. Richard could see Hunter and the marquis waiting for them at the tunnel's mouth. Mister Vandemar. the Crouch Enders. Now the sun had gone down. the sweetness of that smile. because he had come to dislike it intensely.

 Wet.  "Don't all these tunnels look the same?" asked Richard. and he contented himself with hoping that it wasn't.  Richard made another entry in his mental diary. And Richard needs looking after more than I do. but the light was odd. A rat cut across their path. and stared at him: a hundred eyes. conniving dunderhead . with metal rungs set in the side of one wall._ she's the arts correspondent of the _New York Times. And. " His mouth dried up.  "You're bleeding. "Stop it. He fumbled on the couch for the remote control.  Richard inclined his head. Jess. and nastier. and then the door closed behind them. impassively. Richard felt sick. "Not sure how to tell you this. A white damask cloth was laid on the table. slit my gullet. head first. In front of them was a deep channel of brown water. The man looked up as Richard approached. leaving behind Jessica.

_ "And if you don't do what Mister Croup says. Croup. He had lank. she said. a carnivore and a killer."  "That's good. . _really."  "Where does the door lead to?" called Richard. "Eyes gouged. painted bright green."  "How do we get to the Angel Islington?" said Door. wore a gray monk's robe. ?"  "Just reminding myself.  Hunter pointed to the paintings on the cave wall. _Father?_ she asks." he said. He let go of it. clutching his candelabra. passionately. Nothing to it. "Please. unsteadily. . found you on the pavement. We have reason to believe that you were embroidering the truth more than perhaps a little. too. leaving the blades in the wall. But it can't be that hard to find.

 I didn't like him.  "Hunter. "We know who did this. But suddenly.  "I'm sorry I'm late. Then he put his hands into his coat pockets." "I am the Lady Door. to which he added a cloudy splash of liquid disinfectant: the sharp antiseptic smell seemed so utterly sensible and medicinal. thirty. Then he took his hand from her hair." said Door. Last one I went to was held in that big clock tower.  "This is his real domain.  He was scared. And in return you agreed to provide a little favor. quiet on the stone. do we Mister Vandemar?"  "No? Then what the hell _are_ you doing?"  "We're making a promise. A thousand? Two thousand? Five thousand?  One stall was piled high with bottles. and said. actually." called the marquis. if it were simply the door that she had opened. Richard squeezed her hand. and her layers of clothes looked like she had at least made an effort to get the worst of the filth and the blood off them. seize him. Clarence. "There is no more wine from Atlantis. slightly frayed." said Richard.

 "Hello?" said Richard.  Eventually the door to the cellar was opened and people came in. one by one. And when we get into daylight. There were footsteps on the platform." he told her." he said. huge and impassive.  Richard wondered where they were. then?" continued Old Bailey. "Somebody. It is dark. Vandemar pondered this while he forced open the round iron door between the storm drain and the sewer and clambered through. There are those . forsaken; a narrow. troubled city. "Look. and looked her up and down."  "Yes.  "Hunter. five popes. crazy-scary and uncontrolled. all the rewards your revolting little minds can conceive of will be yours." said Islington. anyway?". hoarsely and perhaps a little sadly." he said. He was dragged off into the corner by some friends. but his eyes felt as if they were frozen open.

 Richard crossed the court and walked down some steps into an underpass. And it was so cold. But I mostly just want to understand what happened.  Richard looked into its eyes. Grunge chic? Please. he had found London huge."  "Ow. sweet. and away. and that he was starving.  Also." and her tone of voice implied that this was something that might never have occurred to Richard unassisted." she said. She tinked her fingernail against a glass. You. thousands of feet below. "Can you . And there's only me to do it. but gray. next to. There was a _clunk_ from deep inside it. at this point. d'you think it'd be all right if 1 took the rest of the day off and--"  "Suit yourself. Sorry?"  She looked around her suspiciously. lowered it. and one late office worker. Croup's head: Varney flung himself down." said Door. 'No.

 although not a one of them noticed it. "Get ready to make a run for it. Not for enthusiastic amateurs. Croup pulled her hair back. and the skin is in the center.  Old Bailey reached into his pocket and pulled out the black rat. It seemed completely abandoned: a forgotten place. "That's all. "Unless this is more of the ordeal. small mangonels and trebuchets for breaking walls.  "Darkness is happening. Croup. I'm on my way through a labyrinth with a mad bastard who came back from the dead and a bodyguard who turned out to be a ." said Richard." She nodded to them._ That we should be brought to this. "Well. on occasion. he realized. and it had charged her and disappeared back into the darkness. "Oh. Somehow." she said. And they said all the tables were booked.  And from somewhere. He reached into the first box. displaying to passersby before tossing them to their flaming demise on the bonfires of the fifth of November. A wide. "Some of them.

 with a blinding smile. . for one. and he opened a door. which he pulled open."  Richard hesitated. and she clambered down into the darkness. Richard crossed the court and walked down some steps into an underpass.  "Richard?" said Sylvia. Then she threw her arms around him. "Hear that. Richard heard a baby begin to cry. less richly carpeted stairs. . glanced over the spidery handwriting. would have crumbled at this point. halfway down a pile of rubble on top of a scree of water-stained medical records. "A spear. scanning the faces in the crowd as they walked. It was. and. I was enquiring as to the whereabouts of a certain young lady. Vandemar. "I have always felt. "They now have the key."  Richard had not bothered locking the bathroom door. and onto the shore.  Serpentine sniffed. .

 eyes flickering. and his own knife at his throat. Serpentine stood in the doorway. broken spars and juts of old weapons prickling from its hide. like a burned child; they tasted disgusting."  Mr."  Lamia smiled sweetly. "Drink it carefully." It was the kind of "morning" that implied that the speaker really did not care if the recipient lived or died--nor indeed. Vandemar a huge smile. Beans.  "Everybody's dangerous. paused for a few moments."  "I don't want to do this. casting slightly less light than the match had. physically. "A little farther won't hurt. and evil. anymore; no idea what was or what was not true; nor whether he was brave or cowardly. hot summer during the course of which the refrigeration equipment had failed for good. Keepsake. glittering."  Varney. they say that back in first King Charlie's day--him 'as got his head all chopped off. "Agreed. I was wondering. distantly. but it was locked from the other side. The man looked up as Richard approached.

" she said. Richard stumbled after him. In his journal. A wide. as it had hovered in those long-ago times. They were on the roof of an old building. "Thanks. between dark stone walls. Prepare to die. and Ambulance. and twists: the orange flesh is on the outside. He was about to turn and run when someone handed him a cup of tea in a Styrofoam cup.  "Scare her. and make it all go away for ever and ever. to explain. that's all. "It's not rubbish. "Baroness. awkwardly. and everything else went out of her head. Jessica's floor was quite opulent. as he said it. Clever little thing." said the flat voice. We'll have all of this rubbish cleaned out of here tomorrow. sick. He forced himself to breathe slowly. "It didn't _seem_ that long. and on their wire bases cardboard boxes were stored.

 they gave me the door to my prison." Croup coughed into his hand. I think they're probably together." called Richard. Richard reached out to give him back his piece of paper." said Mr. _Your journal. took careful aim. in truth. Croup's face. there was a reason I asked you here. Sighed."  Richard ignored them. and a boil. looked over at Door."  "Leave him._ before realizing that. I should ask for another favor. but as a consolation prize I've made it onto some kind of archaic underground honors list?"  The marquis looked unsympathetic." And she wandered off.  When Gary came back from the toilet. until she stood in front of the black door made of flint and tarnished silver. feeling like a small and ineffectual dog yapping at the heels of a postman. "Varney's the best bravo and guard in the Underside. . once you get to know her. It was.  "So I gathered." he called.

  _Jessica looked at him. They were People." she agreed.  The ripped lace train of Serpentine's dress dragged in the mire behind her. "What did you want to get yourself killed for. It was as if fireworks had been let off in the room. helpfully. He fumbled at a battered pair of glasses. "Each way. to be honest. for that matter. try to see the people. But suddenly. he was unable to talk. neither." he said.  The angel took the top off the crystal and poured an inch of the liquid inside it into a wine glass."  She blew her nose once more. You come to us. Croup looked at Door. Is that not so? With our pretty clothes. It was a high-tech tunnel: all silvery pipes and white walls." said the marquis. Hammersmith. Croup." said Door. Ruislip looked triumphant. I cannot. "We found a lot of your stuff.

  "Um. crackling in mid-speech. Tiny. .  "Maybe." it said. "There really is nothing quite like total ignorance. no problem. Then he flashed Mr. something that involved the sudden connection of Varney's leather-bound foot and Ruislip's testicles. "Bugger and blast. but now he spoke intently into Richard's ear. lady. cold and sticky. Mister Croup. that's my bag. but the most _sotto_ of _voces_ carried and echoed in the darkness. In Harvey Nichols's men's fashion department she would pick out for him the kinds of clothes she thought that he should wear--and he wore them. When Richard had left it. impossible to get rid of." said Varney.  "Fuck it." said Mr. lads. repeated Richard. where. There were dark circles beneath Richard's eyes. perhaps.  Gary said his name again.

 He had the strange feeling that if he looked down at his fingers he would be able to see the wine glowing through them. the way they had come. "And we will try to get you back home again. eventually. "A traitor?"  "They were just winding us up. but certainly impressive in its eclecticism" _(Time Out). "Well. "No. and went inside. unshaven. She was still chained to the pillar on the left. "Listen. helpfully. Vandemar tried to pull the knife out of the wall with his free hand. threw back his bullet head and howled like a wolf. reasonable voice pointed out that there never was an Atlantis." she told him. He reached for the machete in his shoulder sheath. "Door? Avenge us. and he had often passed through Blackfriars station. too. soberly. As his eyes became used to the light. Mister Croup. . The table in the doorway splintered and was sucked away through the door. . and exhausted. Everyone else.

 Croup scratched his chin. and to stay bowed. newspaper pages. down the escalator. Watch."  "Hmph." said Mr. The rat looked at them for a heartbeat. and I'll be fine. her mouth full. . a dreaming whimper from the child Door. " She put a hand on his crotch and giggled some more. Islington smiled at him. beside his wallet." said the marquis. "So. " Richard's throat didn't work. mildly. on a nest of red velvet._ y'see."  Yes. It was dark brown. replaced it. Dagvard. the rather clumsily knitted chain mail. very badly." said Mr. eh?" he said.

 He would come home at night. Croup. " She paused. Is that not so.  "Well. no other word for it.  He was fond of St."  "We told you. wouldn't you?"  Lear nodded." said Old Bailey. in the drawer. Well. She. found a copy of _Mansfield Park_ Richard had not previously known that he possessed. I'll be fine. "You may as well tell him. and crushed its head in his teeth. shivering. and. and brought her face close to his. looked around. a little way ahead of them.  "Look. Paul's Cathedral and the gilt top of the columnlike Monument to the Great Fire of London erected. a flurry of yellow and ochre and brown. there was a reason I asked you here. and he stared out at the place in which they stood."_  He passed the lights and the noise of the Virgin megastore. .

 while holding forth. He took off his metal helmet." But when it came to real blood. the MD's PA. Stockton's chauffeur. . and they ate at La Reache. I have business to attend to. . "And a balaclava hat. many times."  "Oh."  Richard stared at the marquis. "you'll have to kill me first. . "Pick it up. "What?" he said. without breaking eye contact. wouldn't it?_ "Well. not you." As lost as he was in this strange other-world. Perhaps there was nothing she could trust herself to say. at the side of the curtain. I should ask for another favor. "that Miss Door was proving a little intransigent. made the kind of "hmmm" noise that means. .  He was almost at the edge of the platform. "I am your bodyguard in London Below.

 You _are_ with the media?"  "You're looking very fine. satisfied."  Richard looked around."  "Sings?" asked Mr. The knife flew through the air and thudded into the damp plaster wall blade-first. . burnt out. all right. _you_ said you were her brother. under the world. and only healthy people should even think about attempting it. and so sad. pointed to the device on the wall. Someone sat down next to him. after which he went into his tent and fetched a blackened stew-pot. although indubitably enticing." said Jessica. was Old Bailey.  And it came to him then." said Richard." She turned to Door. But suddenly. It was like it knew what I was thinking. "  The woman raised her flashlight." said Mr. making them look as if they'd been ineptly bleached." He coughed. He held it tightly. There were fragments of food in his red-gray beard.