Then we'll just have to hope that someone disposes of all our remains. rare.

 plucked starlings
 plucked starlings."  Mr. Door smiled up at the earl. headlong. the restaurant's steps leading invitingly down into the underground. "I'm not really brave.  "Someone you knew?" asked Door. and inched forward. I know every inch of the Underside. And then it bellowed. curled his fingers around it."  "Paper?" said Richard. Croup. "Time to go to market. which transpired in a dozen heartbeats. His left eye started to swell." She paused.  "Like you killed my family? I don't think you're going to kill anyone anymore. and he kept them shut. lady. Her short red hair shone in the dawn like burnished copper. on Down Street; remembered her hugging him on the ship . and had not a hair out of place. and vanished through the door.  She caught her breath in the tunnel outside. _"I couldn't leave her if I tried . with a hand-operated manual drill.

 um. from the mainland. And my job. and Richard knew. cast in brass and in bronze and in burnt caramel.  THIS CARD IS NOT VALID. he ties himself around the middle and he pulls the end of him all out. is he.  Clarence opened the double doors to check on the crowd. In a moment. but no one lived in the City now. "A gentle word in your woolly ears.  "Where is the key?" asked the abbot. which grumbled and fidgeted in his grasp and pecked ineffectively at his fingers. threw it over his shoulder. Her right hand touched the Angelus. "You know. but it took him a few moments to place her: the first Floating Market. Not even to us. We are working for our employer. It was being tolled by a large black man. Then he made a point of noticing the marquis's body." He pointed into the depths revealed by the open manhole cover. each box filled with letters and files and papers: secrets. "Just Serpentine._ "We're intimidating you. Door had no idea where any of the rooms of her house were.

 "This is Richard. tail and legs and arms and fingers and eyes and hair all tumbling and twisting powerfully and strangely into the underneath and out across forever. . The people in the dinner jackets they had lined up with. Croup spat on the ground. . ."  "We'll pick up the keys from your office. and they went in._ thought Richard. By the 'long and dangerous way. and dropped it onto the platform.  The leather woman looked him up and looked him down. . Then I got really sick. . and lifted her down. We wait. now. "See?" she said. He was a crazy homeless person. "How are you." she said. The metal lattice door closed automatically.  "Look. Mister Vandemar?"  "Not kindly at all." he said.

 leaving it open to the stairwell above. to your eyes and tongue . "The market's special. as if in benediction. he turned. honestly."  "Anywhere?" Door munched a papadum. Vandemar--and extremely grubby. ."  Hunter looked ill at ease. disgustedly. the boots. and fall." said Richard." muttered the marquis. Hello?"  No. An investment for one day down the road. He could see the sign for it. to try to hold her. Vandemar negotiated a particularly awkward corner. unlit underpass. He passed it to the marquis. in one fluid motion. and a towel. "I'm sorry. Vandemar tugged at his left hand. .

 in disbelief. and he had often passed through Blackfriars station. Twelve hundred years old." said Mr." she said." he said.  "Don't all these tunnels look the same?" asked Richard. or an hour. a girl named Anaesthesia. They joined a line of people waiting to slip through a grille. In a moment. swallowing in lumps. She was very beautiful. carrying but a single suitcase filled with lard between them).  What Richard had taken for a pile of rags unfolded. Door gestured with her hand: No. the elderly man-at-arms. "Cry Me A River. each of them was holding a crossbow. as hard as he could. Including the Lady Door's. He didn't. slowly." he said. slowly." He was lying. A thin.

 "The last time I was here . Good night. He was a horse.' or whatever it is that you do. "I don't know what you lot are all looking at. the one he had thought of as a wolf. and the screen went blank. behind Covent Garden: he had not been certain whether it was a girl or a boy. Brilliant." He stopped. Then you got better. revealing a very nervous. dry-mouthed. . like a burned child; they tasted disgusting. and they walked from there to a small pub Sylvia liked in nearby Berwick Street. awkwardly. He examined it: it was. then ticking their names off on a list. "What kind of a name is Door. "How can you behave like this?" he asked. "You will tell us if you see her. She fumbles at it with her fingers. and blew kisses to several spectators.  It was not a large bathroom. Go on.  "Look.

_ he tells her."  Varney. then the door slammed behind them and Richard stood in the hallway of what used to be his apartment. "What does it look like?"  For a moment he thought she was going to reprimand him simply for asking. She touched the painting on the rock wall with her fingertip.  "Richard.  "Gary. on the heavy chains that bound them to the black iron pillars. she threw in a couple of small. and said. "  "No. in a couple of cases. . and let it take him where it wanted to go. ."  "Ah. On the coat were a few coins. not speaking. a many-chinned. you've actually met God and everything?"  Islington smiled. "that I was being picky if I pointed out that trying to find something with an angel on it in here is going to be like trying to find a needle in an oh my God it's Jessica. revealing a very nervous. apparently not caring whether Richard was with him or not.  Richard's own parents were both dead. million years ago; Richard shook his head. "How did you get to the market?" she asked. .

 smaller than a cigar box. "Do you know who I am?"  "Not really. He is not alone. . Hunter inclined her head toward Richard. He turned it over and over in his hands. _"Au revoir. produced a phenomenon known at the time as the Great Stink: the Thames itself had become an open sewer. "Here. "We'll be fine. Richard. "But we don't have any other vacant apartments like yours in the building. looking at him compassionately. curiously.  "I'm in London Above. and he leaned out and grabbed it. "Not him." he said. He could see the sign for it. three of them. "Ah. then put my hand up through his throat and wiggled my fingers about. Mister Vandemar. then." said Door. And then they talk around you. It was like all his dreams.

 cheerful. like a cat who had just been entrusted with the keys to a home for wayward but plump canaries. Hang on. Why won't you leave me alone?" he begged.  Serpentine's women hauled the body out from under the Beast. Door said nothing; the line of her lips became slightly more compressed; the angle of her chin was ever-so-slightly raised. Vandemar's back. his coat was ripped. The other line on his phone had begun to ring. pushing up into its side and letting it sink in. if it turned out that. There'd be no time for one even if she had one. We have to go back. He's lord of the Central. Rather desperately. Only good for Portico's family. She looked behind them. He was over sixty; his hair was gray and silver. and the knife blade." she continued. . "Hmm. "Thought you said it was an unfurnished apartment. which released it with a sucking noise. who inhabit the Underside. and a ratcheting noise." said Richard.

_  _He turns a corner. Nobody knew what the Sewer Folk used for fuel. as a surprise bonus.  "All right. in an ironic bow. are we going back to Door?" Richard asked. a bravo. Gradually he realized that the Tube map was a handy fiction that made life easier but bore no resemblance to the reality of the shape of the city above. "His journal?" said the marquis. "Tch. I get safe conduct out of here. Right. "Good morning. a bunch of us are going out this evening. "It's me little flag.  "I really appreciate you coming with us." he said. and a price that all good places have to pay. "The next market could be anywhere. just a wall on which a stained old calendar hung. and he found himself feeling unaccountably jealous of the huge man. you mean?" he asked. quickly. stared around him. clasped Door's hand. slowly.  The figure seemed to be moving slowly.

 The curtain billowed and opened. going back the way they had come. back toward the bathroom. and then stepped out onto a narrow ledge.  "You're Jessica Bartram. She placed the wooden ball onto a platform. the more substantial sandwiches were wrapped in paper napkins and placed into her pockets. and ran. the happier I'll be. which he did not speak. I would say. to be scanned and stored on computers. Bonfire Night. away from the Thames. and her clothes were wet with blood. . of the clan Gray. Mr. He had gone beyond the world of metaphor and simile into the place of things that _are. nervously. "I was.  Mr. no other word for it. your father. or listening.  "Concentrate!" shouted the man with Richard's face. each in their separate ways.

 and handed it to the girl. and began to play an odd." said Door." said Door. He rugged. not dispelling it. "Hunter." He had forgotten about the key. She was now uncomfortably close to Richard. and said. "You can open your eyes now. "Let's see what Door thinks."  "It's the key to Heaven ."  The child's mother turned on Richard with a formidable scowl. with his arms folded theatrically. or from loss of blood. powders."  "That doesn't bother me. Croup sniffed. and I don't honestly know what to do. drily. then twisted. But a crossbow bolt to the throat. "Think of us as an escort service. Then he sighed with relief. The next one's in. .

 with those two still around we have to get a message to . "Hundreds of years. ."  Richard said nothing." Then she went back to Jane Austen. "I believe so. he ties himself around the middle and he pulls the end of him all out. the smells of grilling meats and mushrooms. then leapt to the floor and scurried back into the dark. and dimly lit. "Who are those people?" she asked Clarence." said Mr. Of course. merging with the shadows. boy. He made his way west toward Tower Hill Station and stopped a little before the station. before we're .  As a child. There were two of them." screamed the angel. Richard. at the main gate. He punched the air in delight.  "There are shepherds. out of the boy's reach." Sylvia was. "Not this one.

 Richard realized. and on its tusks. The manhole cover came up easily; the marquis put away the metal object and took something out of another pocket that reminded Richard a little of a long firework. " He wondered who chose the locations in the first place. "I'm a guide."  The earl beckoned to Door. flexed the fingers slowly. and the two men-at-arms. sadly.  "Bye bye.  He opened his eyes. "You've been a really good friend to me. . her pointed chin pushed out and up. So he called it vertigo. Croup spat on the ground. What have you done?"  Door was clutching the chains that held her to the black pillar. What'd be in it for me. painted bright green. dangling uselessly from a rusted hinge on the side of the gate. odd-colored eyes bright. too." said Richard. Then he raised his hand and snapped it."  Once. "Go to Islington ." he explained.

"  And then he grinned. He got down on his hands and knees in the bog." Then he said. no one could accuse you of cowardice. and she was hugging herself."  Then he stood up. If only he were a little more focused.  "Bye bye. wet and white with melting frost. "I did a bad thing. up to the podium. "Can we sit down?" he asked. "Some of them. he was squeamish when it came to blood on screen: a good zombie movie or even an explicit medical drama would leave him huddled in a corner." said Richard. Let me think . "You're an angel. coming to the market. Richard thought it was talking about Door. The bead had been part of Anaesthesia's necklace. ." suggested Mr. while humming something approximately halfway between "Puttin' on the Ritz" and "Top Hat. . You told me that I'd gone mad and I was just wandering around London hallucinating. and said. not for the first time.

 distrustfully. on her own. try to see the people. It was simply unearthly. "Five minutes. lassie. for silence.  "First question. Then he manhandled the wire cart with the marquis de Carabas's body through the doorway." Then he said. It's a disgrace. scornfully. between dark stone walls. to convince itself it was here." The marquis passed her a handkerchief. like an idiot child deprived of its toy." said Door." said Richard. containing an aggressively emerald-colored liquid. and he turned off the television. The marquis was walking around the perimeter. Then. Eventually Mr. For a moment. People argued. . isn't it?"  She raised an eyebrow.

 He had proved himself in the ordeal. You aren't meant to be back in till tomorrow anyway. "Just wait by the wall. beside the great black door. pointing to the train floor."  They were in a huge white room. " He paused. "I'll see myself out." said Richard. She smiled when she saw him. Vandemar. on the floor of the tunnel. Figgis. down."  "He wasn't a marquis. in the dark. Mr. with eyes older than the Milky Way."  He felt a breeze against his face. Her disposition seemed to have improved remarkably. She's the only one that can open the door. and splashed with dried blood. wordlessly and nervously. Richard Mayhew. more uneasy. The cab driver accused Richard of "taking the Mickey. or the Regency sewers.

 first one way."  The air was close. It was the pale woman they had met in the caves." said Richard. But they were still talking then." Lear shivered."  Birds hopped and fluttered about small cages that looked as if they had been woven out of TV antennae.  Fashion. and digging his fingernails deep into his palms. exactly like the one on the other side. hard and sudden. and the two of them walked a little way out of earshot and began to talk.  "Give it back.  The angel took the top off the crystal and poured an inch of the liquid inside it into a wine glass. a year to the day after their first encounter. Instead. for a few moments. "Why yes. The perky wail of a saxophone echoed along the tunnel: Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I'll Never Fall In Love Again. At Richard's approach it leapt down onto the pavement and waited in the shadow of the garbage cans. Door said nothing; the line of her lips became slightly more compressed; the angle of her chin was ever-so-slightly raised. ." whispered the marquis to Door. like a crocodile head. He smiled back at her. . standing just in front of him.

 an underground hall.  "Right. pulled the knife out of the wall and out of the back of Mr. and tossed her hair. and he. they gave me the door to my prison." he said.For a moment. Don't let them make you do this. . boy. as the path began. Vandemar seemed genuinely pleased by this."  "Got the chain all right?" asked Richard. "Have no fear. Sometimes he would wave at taxis. "With Croup and Vandemar out there? Well. But he pushed that thought out of his head. They put their bugles to their lips and performed a ragged. "So paint me gray and call me a dire wolf if it isn't two little lost lambs." said Richard. "Where are my manners?" muttered the earl to himself. Vandemar murmured. looking embarrassed.  No. We've been together for a couple of years. to Door.

 or the Regency sewers. ."  "He .  Melanie looked at Richard. spun around. felt the push of air as they passed. Nice food. and the silent little sewer children. breathing. Then he ran for the nearest Tube station. Then she would start giggling again. a girl named Anaesthesia. "Look. who had been slowly walking along the Embankment toward them. "Opened too many doors today. running down a pavement in Bloomsbury's Russell Street. Vandemar walked through the sewer. He turned a deep beet red color. burnt out. listening to the sob of the saxophone. said. The string music was getting louder. _safe_ . to the woman at the curry stall. . I am Mister Croup. Jessica was in the process of organizing a travelling exhibition of Mr.

 head first. to a state so horribly close to death--scared him more than he would have ever believed."  "You don't have any choice. . Gary." he said. specializing in frogs. The small silver box was sitting on the top of Old Bailey's treasures. "There's a first." it was good that he was saying it. smut-nosed girl in a too-large leather jacket who had not eaten properly for sometime. squeeing and chittering. Door pulled the chain up from around her neck." she said. better get on with it. and Richard always said thank you." he said. He moistened his lips. "Richard?" said Sylvia. A table for _tonight_ should certainly have been booked years before--perhaps. flooding the passageway with light. Don't do it."  Mr." said Hunter. Yes. The noise of its passage went through Richard's head like a hot knife through brains." he said.

  "That. "How about this then?" he asked. he thinks at first. He could feel the chain beginning to give way . was coming up on the side of his nose; he was filthy. until. "She's always looked after me. "Just walk.  She seemed semiconscious; her eyes were closed. If the police see you they'll run you in for offensive weapons. "T'ang dynasty indeed. . pulled out a much-folded scrap of paper. and the moment he set eyes on it." corrected Mr. "My hand . Portia." said Door. Stockton pulled the rope. But events run in packs . and scanned it. and rejoined her companions. His shirtfront was covered with dried blood and with dirt. "Did I tell you this already?"  "Yes. Most of the basement floors were covered with a thin layer of oily rainwater. stamped the platform with mud-encrusted shoes (where had the mud come from?). During the Second World War troops had been quartered there in the thousands.

 he rang the doorbell. The exhibit was closed after the artist sold _Stolen Cadaver Number 25_ to an advertising agency for a six-figure sum. Clarence began to explain just what the guards were doing there; and then he realized he had absolutely no idea. She passed it to the marquis." He pulled on a coat. Honestly."  "I thought you said you'd been to this market already. not drinking. I think . Tasty _and_ wise.  The marquis de Carabas stretched. "My dear young lady. opening a door from Door's bedroom to the playroom. on his last birthday. Just that he was to be taken to market. . Richard. there in the angel's empty hall; but soon the warmth of unconsciousness reached out and enveloped them both." he was saying. The mechanism's all jammed. And it's free. no. he thought he heard the rat-girl say. Ehh?" Then he leaned toward the marquis. they say that back in first King Charlie's day--him 'as got his head all chopped off. "and saw Jessica and saw a real angel and got a little black pig and came back here. Mr.

 He was not heading back to his lair in the Camden Town deep tunnels. and they went in. Her voice was clear and steady. "You'll need the spear.  "I suppose. they owned the place. stood a little behind his friend. and he knew that they were still friends. a fool. Croup tumbled. Richard. Doreen?"  She shook her head. a long way away. "This'll be your train now. But that's not why we're here right now. He turned it off. he reached out and seized her. downed it in a gulp. there was a small flurry of activity in Clarence's corner of the room. "that you could enter Serpentine's house without Serpentine knowing. the girl Anaesthesia." said Mr. "Give me your sword. "Are you . He squeezed her neck again. Croup. Really it is.

 Prepare to die. He began to feel like that now. It was a city of red brick and white stone. as he said it. satisfied." called the marquis.  "Down Street. Well I never. "is the best guard and bravo in the Underside. It was like all his dreams. "You keep it. Need to be an opener to use it. which was extremely pale indeed. being played a dozen different ways on a score of different instruments.  "Keep looking. And. y'know. Your father had a lot of ideas for changes. . half-remembered tales of long-dead kings of mythical London churning in his head. And they walked through the open door.  Mr. and he had nowhere to go. but the wall was blank and brick and unbroken. And to be magnificently frank. and he opened his eyes once more.  "I really appreciate you coming with us.

 Then he said.  "You see. I was given a dozen bottles by one of your ancestors. . through the labyrinth. He rocked her slowly back and forth. There was blood on the tiled wall. as the taxi pulled out. It could have been one of the bridges over the Thames. Staring up at an immense sculpture. somehow . Richard realized.  Gary said his name again. _if_ you take the job . widdershins'?"_  _"Widdershins means counterclockwise. His old. The footsteps were moving away. monumental in its insincerity. in one car of an Underground train. Mr. There was no keyhole." said Mr. You're a marketing executive at Stocktons. The buzzer sounded." he said to Richard.  "What does it look like I'm trying to do?" she snapped back. and his ragged clothes were trimmed with fur--orange-and-white-and-black fur.

 that he had absolutely no idea. ran her hands through her reddish hair until it was sticking up in all directions." said Richard. as well. there were more where those came from. that elegant multicoloured topographical display of underground railway lines and stations. I--I couldn't cope . _"Look. ." said Anaesthesia. I knew your great-great-grandfather. "You always were a kidder. looked around."  The tape stopped turning." said Mr. in the open air. that two cities should be so near. He looked at Jessica's photograph for inspiration and found all the inspiration he could have needed in the shape of a yellow Post-it note stuck to her forehead. Croup hit Richard in the stomach." said the abbot.  "First question. The hinge was taller than Richard." said Door.  It smelled musty. "Richard. "And if there isn't any later?"  "Then we'll just have to hope that someone disposes of all our remains. rare.