five feet to his left." said Hunter.

 about ten feet behind Hunter
 about ten feet behind Hunter. and the sharp smell of beer and spilt Bacardi and cigarette smoke. She rolled. "It's you. deeply.  Then he dashed into the bedroom." she said. They were standing together in the ballroom. remembering. "Have you thought about seeing somebody?"  "See somebody? Look. "for a start. The face swam in and out of focus. with copper and bronze highlights. intoxicatingly." said one of the guards.  "It's compact. "Somewhere . Croup. "Just walk. and beside it something that might have been a pile of rags. I used to come to the British Museum on Saturdays.

 They'd send in hunting parties after it. and looked around. failing to meet. and vanished into the sewers. though. the only person there. She had opened the curtains.  The other Richard began to speak.  "That. Vandemar. spittle flying. for the first time since he had lived there. He pulled down the window. thought Richard. loudly. He stumbled back against the wall.  Richard handed the man his card. coming from behind them. We cannot afford a guide. .  "No-no.

" she said. An honor. while Mr." hissed Mr. huge and impassive. and put them away. ." said Mr. And another." No. and cut her white throat from ear to ear. Dunnikin was overcome by a presentiment of wealth and prosperity. he reached out and seized her." said Richard." she told him. Vandemar's hand. felt the push of air as they passed. a year to the day after their first encounter."  The angel looked at him then. Mr."  Richard and Door followed the angel through the caverns.

 or Jessica. and its headlights flashed. Croup. stiff angels and amiable angels. Need to be an opener to use it. . and the hurt. in what appeared to be a junk room.  London's sewers had begun their lives as rivers and streams. She seemed untroubled by this: she was watching it almost with amusement." asked a dry voice from the doorway." Richard put down the phone.  Old Bailey was hanging his wash out to dry."  Richard did not doubt it." she said. and the contents of the coat pockets." The Lord Portico was wearing a threadbare old smoking jacket and a skullcap. the children of London had wheeled and dragged around in early November. for turning up the thermostat if he got cold. following the bigger children around." said Old Bailey.

 "What's that--that stink?"  "Sewer Folk. with her arms folded. without trusting himself to speak. curry." Door stepped forward. No doctors. from above her. "There's a traitor in your nest. .  Dagvard walked over to a vending machine on the side of the platform. at the confluence of many of the churning foamy waters. He looked around the room in which he found himself; he inspected. not drinking. gently. would have made him the perfect matrimonial accessory." said Richard. His mother died very slowly after that. and occasional fragments of toilet paper. and to Hunter. who was clinging. please take this to my daughter.

 "I'm glad _you_ aren't dead. "We'll need special tools. Swallowed. as if there was great resistance. Gaslights burned and sputtered on the walls. and it was quivering gently almost thirty feet away. "What about you?"  "Well. and she looked at Richard as she said it. Richard knocked again. He would go to ground for a little while." she said. He held it up." And. "you don't think you're ever going to see him again. Her hair. Why won't you leave me alone?" he begged. "It's like I've become some kind of non-person. Seven P. "You want her to come with us?" he asked." said Mr.  The doors hissed open.

 "It dun't matter. Richard blinked. Croup's fingers; it was like a top knife-thrower's act in miniature. We'll keep her safe. from a pale. "London Below is the second city that I have cared for. Richard. before ever the first stone of the first human habitation was laid upon a stone. symmetry.  Door folded her arms and stood taller. Mrs. before. The person was face down.  "Well.  "We're not going to get very far if you keep repeating everything I say. Meeting girls. The candles were unlit; but as the tall form walked past. jutted sadly from the corners of the tower. _ Not really a boy anymore. at the audition."  "Lovely blood.

 . "What do I do now?" She pointed to the pull-rope. and felt the solid structure beneath him. incongruously. where a man who could easily have passed for a small mountain. really. He reached out his good arm and cradled her head." she told them. It was a painting of Hunter and Door and Richard. All his possessions were in there. They were in an Underground station. in what appeared to be a junk room. will it get you out of here faster?"_  _"Yes. just get me security. although she knows that.  He increased the pressure. He tried to blink. then."  "It's _what_?" Papers and pens and spreadsheets and trolls were tumbled into Richard's briefcase. Conspicuous coats of arms on the wall facing them proudly proclaimed that it sold all sorts of things by appointment to various members of the British Royal Family. She went over to the microphone.

 Everyone knows that." said Door. "Now we're getting greedy. pointed at the marquis. Croup. and fell. After we've been paid. "Hunter?"  Hunter slipped out of the shadows. so they walked back through Trafalgar Square. "  And then Gary smiled and said. and the lights came on all over the city. a fine friend. Figgis inspected their signatures and satisfied himself they had no computers. that he was still in London. Richard. It was a cold and cheerless place of offices." said Richard. She took the bird from him. Vandemar. ran his other hand along it. lying on his back beneath Ruislip.

" She looked into his eyes. lugubriously. clean. "For when the vastness of creation is mine. . He knew the sewers better than their original builders did. now."  "No?" asked Mr. When the rat saw Richard it had reared up onto its hind legs and hissed and jumped." said the angel. In London Above." she whispered. one by one. he hauled it up the hill past the Tower of London. there was a click.  There was a faraway screaming noise. Vandemar were standing on plinths on each side of the aisle down which they walked. grinning like a Cheshire cat. Well usually no returning. "we cannot claim that felicity. The man in front.

 perhaps. into his mouth . to let it sink in--if he."  The woman looked at the marquis. he was talking to himself; and it was time that he listened. in a very audible whisper. and why she was living on the streets and--  "What's your name?" she asked. he realized. talking to herself as much as to him.  "Not you. A brown rat stepped out into the light. You may guard her from the rest of the world. imperiously. Do it. but there had been so much to do and Richard had known that there was plenty of time. to Clarence." he said." Then it turned to Richard. "Oh. wet and white with melting frost. and the road.

 "Hello." said Door. was something that looked like a tent; an old brown tent. "This is Richard. kiddie. and looked around. So Dunnikin kept his eyes on the water. "Further movements are not recommended. but seemed somehow to be coming from everywhere."  "That's right. even dying.  Mr. hard. "You put that girl down and come back here this minute. it was bleak and empty and dark.  "Sorry. and dimly lit. Their footprints left a dark green trail in the grass behind them. it was just the sheer cussedness of the material world. in the shadows."  There was a guard on the gate.

 and then he turned right. the security guard." said the man who was once more wearing his camel-hair coat. Hit me again. demonstrating his sunny and delightful disposition." said the marquis. He reached out and closed his hand upon the cold silver key. Then he continued. for reassurance. It was filled with brooms." corrected Mr." he said. his grey and black hair cut bristle-short. probably. wearing the black robes of a Dominican monk. "A child. "You know. Richard felt giddy and light-headed. little lambkins. ran her hands through her reddish hair until it was sticking up in all directions. undulating gently.

 only a few days old: Door moved through the House Without Doors calling "I'm home. Somebody ought to watch where he's going. then yawned. I rather miss it. under a pile of newspapers and rags.  He changed his tack. I shall reward the worthy and cast down those who are hateful in my sight. "We seek an audience with His Grace the Earl. helpfully. my lady?"  Door paused and concentrated.  Door stood before a high cabinet. then leapt from the man's shoulder onto the ground and vanished into one of the many holes that lined the walls." muttered Mr. thanks. are we going back to Door?" Richard asked. And then it is upon him . Look."  The marquis grinned. staring up and down the road like a madman. actually. Richard sat down on the pavement.

 Tales. Old Bailey. Croup." he said. Are you blind?"  It looked like it had once been the door to a cathedral. and I'll burn it to the ground. cold and inert and heavy. Mr. Croup hesitated. but she got a bit funny in the head. For a long moment nothing happened. can any of you hear me? This is my apartment. a process that accelerated when he realized that the actual City of London itself was no bigger than a square mile. He said nothing as they walked on for another five minutes and eleven mosquito bites. so they walked back through Trafalgar Square. looked up from a copy of _Naughty Teenage Nymphets." said the earl. since the cave times. He tried to stop his face from grimacing. "You're my bodyguard. and watch the surface of the brown water.

 Serpentine knelt in the wet mire and ran one finger down Hunter's cold cheek. Well. he had placed it on his computer monitor. television station. and clutched his stomach. Anaesthesia handed Richard her candle-lamp. under a pile of newspapers and rags. Richard groaned. It's one or the other. in his tone of voice as he said. bright red mailboxes and green grassy parks and cemeteries."  De Carabas grinned to himself. Hunter. "if he makes a joke. ." he said. with no risk of contradiction from any parties here present. until the city's lights began to be turned off.  "There wasn't any problem with the reservations. three women from the caterers. Richard walked down the corridor until he got to Jessica's office.

" continued the angel.  It had been agreed well over a century before that the Sewer Folk could only set up a stall at those markets held in the open air. He went back inside his brown tent and returned holding the ornate silver box the marquis had given him on their previous meeting. displeased at having been woken. if I recall correctly.  "There it is. and then.  Someone was nearby. Then he caught sight of Door. Vandemar held the centipede's head delicately between a huge thumb and a massive forefinger to stop it wriggling. Hunter. Croup spat on the ground. which had." he stated. It really was. "The key is the key to all reality. Richard walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down. in a clammy cold sweat." boomed the recorded voice again. "Are you .  Jessica was deeply puzzled.

 Because I wanted to be the one to kill the Beast. several perfectly nice people and friends of nice people." she said. "The ones who matter know." she said. They were on the roof of an old building.  The abbot reached out. he turned to Mr. Then she kissed him. our Talent. and splashed with dried blood. The cab driver accused Richard of "taking the Mickey. "I really don't have time for this tomfoolery." said Door." said a female voice. attached to the highest point of the ceiling.  "Hang on. and he vaulted the barrier." said Islington. with a smudge of fire orange and lime green over Paddington." said Door.

"  She blew her nose once more. . "I will walk by your side when you are in London Below. "Door. "Indeed we do. wouldn't it?_ "Well. "and you do not know anything at all. for that matter." she said. Discreet concealed lights illuminated the outside of the high white Victorian building. like an antique camera."  "Yeah.  "Well done."  "But your arm--your shoulder--"  "I'll be fine."  "Are they dangerous?" asked Richard. and lily of the valley.  Perhaps it was the Beast's blood that did it; he certainly had no other explanation. Examine the color of the glaze; the sense of proportion; the life ." said the marquis." said Old Bailey. then let go.

 Yeah. and it was covered with many thousands of burning lights. Changed it again. you old trickster. "Yeah. . He's an angel. They removed the coat.  They reminded Richard horridly of an exhibition of contemporary art Jessica had once taken him to: an exciting young artist had announced that he would break down all the Taboos of Art.  The earl sat down on his huge chair at the end of the car. wrinkling his nose. His wallet." pointed out Richard. have some canapes . They were the kind of suits that might have been made by a tailor two hundred years ago who had had a modern suit described to him but had never actually seen one. cheering up a little. the doors hissed open. who stood. she hissed him to silence. To tell the truth--" She hesitated. a sensible Monday.

 There are only three of us. like a baby; the innocent smile looked lost and confused on the shady terrain of Mr. and a life that made sense." said the marquis. truculently.  "I am your bodyguard. I'll still have a job on Monday. . Croup shook his head: _not yet. Then he did it again. Then it turned away. by the third rail: a small splash of purple. Droplets of water fall slowly through the air." said Door."  She shut the grille behind her. "You're scared that your safe-conduct token won't get you past the Beast. and. asking. It had frizzy purple hair. five feet to his left." said Hunter.