as they slowed down. twisted and bloody and wretched." he told her.

without any question at all
without any question at all. and chill. rods and nets and improvised hooks beside them. "We'll take it. " and then she thought. Take me somewhere safe. swampy place; and then pulled open a half-rotted wooden door. which reflected the darkness and the decay back toward the rotting ceilings. "I wondered. was a tall figure. . why did some people think you were dead?" The marquis looked at Richard with eyes that had seen too much and gone too far. but it was an emergency. Gary. clearly and distinctly." "The previous tenant must have left some of his accoutrements behind. carry the offending substances out to sea." Gary was wearing a suit and tie. It was far away. he assumed." Richard thought about pointing out that _anyone_ could have confused the National Gallery with the National Portrait Gallery. The big man with the very bad teeth. blow someone's head off with it. He puffed.

" said Hunter to Door. eh?" He leered at her and touched her tangle of hair with his old fingers. "Of course." he said. he felt increasingly guilty about not unpacking them. de Carabas. When they reached Windmill Street. an unfamiliar edge to her voice." she said. Miss Door does not strike me as someone who will easily change her mind. He held it at the blunt end. Richard had no idea who he was. Vandemar found the telephone. His skullcap was gone. I'll wager. he assumed. But I'd come up the big steps to the museum. tightly. The key has power. perhaps we could talk about--" But the caller had hung up. Quickly. with grey muttonchop whiskers. "To business. as.

the phone did not ring . "Good evening." said Mr. And they walked away together. "I was just thinking of the expression on the marquis's face when we tell him we got the key from the friars without his help. PLEASE KNOCK. although not a one of them noticed it." "And you never will again. "Do it. "Hunter. hoarsely and perhaps a little sadly. "Come on. and that made him irritated. "You're sitting on Blackfriars Station at rush hour. . wondering. "Thumbscrew? Spleen?" _Squee. then put my hand up through his throat and wiggled my fingers about." A small figure dashed past them. . maybe them. In her dream. a decent." The angel looked at him then.

a little more rhetorically." she said. Plates and stuff. displaying a vast and ratty expanse of piebald tongue. The Lord Rat-speaker stood up." "Vel-vet. . toward him. "The place you visited is Islington's citadel. . she would tell her friends. pathetically scared of the bridge itself. self-made caricature of a man. Is Monday okay for you?" "Sure. by a process of osmosis and white knowledge (which is like white noise._ Door began to talk." said Richard. "Hello. the finest pottery figurines ever made on this earth. who stood." said de Carabas. touch the Beast's blood . once-white umbrella--were tied together with string beside her. full of ideas .

anymore; no idea what was or what was not true; nor whether he was brave or cowardly. correctly. There was something deeply tribal about the people. Croup put his left hand against a wall. covered in a thick layer of something that might have been mold and might have been a petrochemical ooze. not wishing to find out what a Hand of Glory was. Richard tended to stay a couple of paces behind them." he said. who laughed. and he brooded._ He walked into the large room full of cubicles he had worked in for three years. "But if you two don't get out of my apartment this minute. "Richard." Hunter told him. face down. it shook its beautiful head. It was a painting of Hunter and Door and Richard." She ran for the stage. utterly irritating. She reached out a white finger and gently stroked Hunter's brown cheek with it. the frailty of all mortals born to suffer and to die. "I'm no warrior. He shrugged." She bit her lower lip.

_Earl's Court. "Then. and a book of matches he had forgotten he had. He put on his spectacles and peered at it. She holds a weighted throwing stick in her right hand; a leather shield covers her left forearm." barked Mr. She put the palm of her right hand on the door." "Anywhere?" Door munched a papadum. Richard wondered if he was deaf. I said. Then he raised his hand and snapped it. dirgelike. true." being played more or less competently. . _Perhaps he won't notice me. lowered them into the clear water. and with compassion. "Come on. and the lights came on all over the city." said Richard. Open doors that were never meant to be opened." said an amused voice above him." he said.

making all of his bruises complain violently. The girl pushed the silver key into the keyhole. like a man smelling something odd or unpleasant. I'd turn him into a blindworm. and observes that it is not his hand: the arm is furred with dark hair. "Some of them. perhaps. "We'd better go. and it scrutinized its surroundings suspiciously. Vandemar nodded. when the phone rang loudly. Old Bailey. _"Somebody. Door whimpers softly. She never did. too. "Information! Information!" he announced to the crowded room. And walking toward them. making Richard squint and stagger. Croup looked at Door. "Not yet. but whatever kind of outer garment it was. A thin. Up there.

taken by the night . waving Richard's handkerchief to and fro. The leather woman looked him up and looked him down. Richard picked up the remote control and turned on the television. very badly. actually." said the marquis." she said. As the darkness took her. Vandemar had found half a shrimp and lettuce sandwich in a garbage can. Good._ She did not look up as Richard came over. Vandemar pondered this for a moment. with the aid of some rainwater. "What?" Mr. "Who is it?" asked the earl. a bar of soap. Croup and Mr. "Look. He could hear trains echoing through tunnels nearby. You aren't meant to be back in till tomorrow anyway. Mr. . She said nothing more.

as an immense. "Well. By this time she decided he should buy her an expensive French sandwich and some overpriced carbonated apple juice. Messire Marquis. Richard was blinded by the sudden light. weakly. His shirtfront was soaked in blood. now. "See?" she said. waggled his fingers." said Mr. "Off. my fine friend. Richard said. Mr. Then he caught sight of Door. "Are they really your brothers?" he asked. . Richard began to whimper. "Come on. where it sat. De Carabas'll turn up. She looked up at him guiltily. in a mousy.

" He pulled on a coat. "Baroness. The abbot was coming down the passage toward him. and he ran from the room." explained Mr. Old Bailey lowered his toasting fork. that this had happened before. See you on Monday." The marquis held up the token. Vandemar stepped out of the bathroom and pushed open Richard's bedroom door. no. you would reach a small. Varney fumbled for his knife: cursed. She put it back in its cradle. and he had been trying to think of things to do with them. and her psychotic grand vizier. in one smooth movement. The Beast was waiting for him." "He's still alive?" Hunter pursed her lips. Mr. IT'S TIME FOR OLD BAILEY!! Richard found himself thinking of the man he had seen when he had first come to London." she said. He seemed pleased that Richard was alive. "this wouldn't be a good time to point out that I'm really bad at heights.

Hunter was in the lead. he decided. but certainly impressive in its eclecticism" _(Time Out). through the streets of London. all this nonsense . licked her lips. Reading a Sunday paper would." he said. in the dark stables under the ground. with dignity. "There's a first. through gaslit streets. "Eyes gouged. Then he muttered. "Three drinks. Is it?" She looked around the office. "We'll take it. "on this fine and beautiful day. It touched the cold smoothness of the flint. quiet on the stone. hold on. "Hang on--I knows you. The next time the floors were washed. "Him?" he said.

eh?" he said. for the wilderness of Thailand has retreated deep beneath the ground. "Old. Plans and plots whirled through his head. A voice came over the loudspeaker. "No. " "We set your finger. "Richard. too." "No. Mr. "Yes. The silver key hung from it. cold and dripping and wrapped in his towel._ thought Richard._ _And it charged. The light caught the polished glass and glinted from the brass and copper fittings. resonant and real. with her back to him. and 78s). . on the temple. "See?" she said. and he walked out of the office.

and began. although it had changed the way he perceived the city." The guards walked out of the hall together. Three pieces of string." he told her. "But then. went off into the distant dark. ?" "No." said the man. and it framed her face perfectly in corkscrews of chestnut curls. he thought. He said it anyway. while she attached a message to its leg. he might have been in another city: Hanway Street was empty. in Jessica's brass bed with the crisp white linen sheets (for Jessica's parents had told her that down comforters were decadent)--in the darkness. Richard noticed Old Bailey. And Islington woke. "You could kill her. and said. "Now. the Fop's opponent. There was no longer a feather by the curb." said Richard. Soon the two shapes merged into one little blob of blackness in a sea of churning purple and white and orange light.

" he said. "You. But if this is all there is. Croup._ There. as if she were satisfied with what she felt. "Stand back over there. And the subject had indeed come up. everything will be fine. impossible to get rid of. covered in handwritten correspondence. her eyes stung with tears. Annul. and she is sweating. "Why don't we stay down here? We can find the marquis. we're just here to worry you. . "Memories. and to Hunter. "He's a little bit dodgy in the same way that rats are a little bit covered in fur. graciously. Croup put his left hand against a wall. Mr. sang.

. There was an Underground train waiting at the platform." said Mr." Richard stared at the marquis." he said. You really could get lost in your own backyard. and closed his eyes. There was a crunching noise. Richard could see himself. ." Mr. Croup began to walk down the hall. Door stroked its side with her finger. the picture remained unchanged: the desk. And you've sent everyone involved off to some distant corner of nowhere. ." And then she laughed; it was a strange sort of laugh. can I ask--?" But she was asleep." said Richard. He darted a hand into._ thought Richard. then something would take over and he would find himself walking to the edge of a clifftop and stepping off into space. through the inside of the sewer. then he pressed a button under his desk.

In her dream." Then she went back to Jane Austen. are you?" she pointed out. "He says he was discharging an obligation to the marquis de Carabas. . "That's nice. the marquis examined the objects on Portico's desk." Richard shivered. It was a white wine." "Excuse me. "Richard--stay where you are. A glimmer of a smile breathed across her face. Then I got really sick. "It's not. "Listen. "Yes. you can trust Islington . and the high. At Door's touch. The chain snapped. . Seven P. Then she turned to Hunter. A hand found his hand.

slowly. and unbalanced. Door began to walk up the next flight of steps. or silk scarves. Vandemar nodded. "This is Richard. but it made him feel like a little child. . She stared intently at her nails. Richard did not look up." "Hmph. slowly. "The marquis. spittle flying. "You traveled here using the Angelus." he admitted. ." he said. . She didn't look up." Just at that moment. in a hoarse whisper. picking his words with care. "I want my life back.

probably. she walked over to him. to the cellars beneath the hospital. meditatively." he repeated. true. it said." A huge old rook croaked a question. child. "The dance is not yet over. Like something you walk through to go places. We have assassinated a dozen kings. and she stepped off. "Mister Croup here. And it came to him then. redoubling his mental assault. . "Richard." said the marquis. It was a city in which the very old and the awkwardly new jostled each other. and the leaves. . "Will you help me down?" He looked shamefaced. I think this must be some kind of storage space or something.

to snatch a kiss. the weasel is reaching out a forepaw toward her. Door's eyes flickered. The marquis stared at it. Mr. the one that was empty of water. the point of the blade next to his eye. as friends kiss friends. and she smiled warmly at him." The marquis sighed." And they did. Vandemar. his eyes: a deep. isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow. Old Bailey. "Hello?" said Richard. somebody with a camera isn't about to leap out from behind a screen or something and tell me I'm on _Candid Camera_?" "I sincerely hope not. The marquis reached for it. "That's all. "Well. thirty. who each took an end of it. that two cities should be so near. he had forgotten about it completely and utterly.

"Okay. "Did I tell you this already?" "Yes. . 'best bravo and guard. or brown." "Don't worry." Hunter looked ill at ease. he had stopped laughing. unless you do something stupid. turned back toward Richard. or grey; they reminded him of fire opals: there were burning greens and blues. then he'd take Vandemar_ . and saddened. . twisting it as he did so with implements Richard assumed. Was it expensive?" "I swapped some stuff for it. Then she looked back at her mother." said Lamia." said Mr." said Richard. reading a paper. bought for him by. Once she's slept it off. You know the Lady Door.

Islington grabbed hold of the pillar beside the door. When she pulled her hand away. The bodyguard was awake when I went to sleep. Police." she said." "Richard Oliver Mayhew. "If we can find it. and the door collapsed into darkness." she said. Richard tended to stay a couple of paces behind them. Hunter sleeps standing up. or a huge black panther; and at the end of the stretch he was standing up. swaying gently. He was standing in a huge." said Lamia with a sweet smile. The jester-- Tooley." said a familiar voice." explained Anaesthesia. We'll never be seen again. Mr. Pancras Station--there was something similarly oversized and mock-Gothic about the architecture. like a ghastly Guy Fawkes. like the maddened growling of a thousand enraged beasts." The marquis smiled.

. his troll. Eventually Mr. Vandemar said. He closed the box. Hunter dropped Richard Mayhew's unconscious body into a pile of straw. anyway. Now . and offered a compromise. She was trembling. Croup. "Richard. He had thought he would have known what to do when he got to this point. miracle of miracles. It stared at them. as my payment. ." The marquis was checking the time on a large gold pocket-watch. Turning you into a cold thing like her. "Bless me." "Anyway. Dunnikin spotted something in the water. the gold pocket-watch." he whispered.

Door whimpers softly. "So. She danced much better than Richard did. The throbbing noise became much louder. shuffled toward him. nuncle. who was demolishing a small hill of pickled herrings. Vandemar murmured. Richard could hear breathing._ thought Richard. a drugstore and a liquor store--below them. anyway?" The moon was bright and small and high in the cold night." said Richard." It got up. "I ain't done nuffing." said Door. but it was locked from the other side. a squirming. But Father . Shook his head. confused. "is about as useful as the ability to regurgitate whole lobsters. "Us?" He curled his hand into a fist. "You'd have to be mad to go in there.

"Come on. Three people walked into the bathroom: a young man in a camel-hair coat. Perhaps there was nothing she could trust herself to say. "I was here. which grumbled and fidgeted in his grasp and pecked ineffectively at his fingers. and only healthy people should even think about attempting it. Except. "No-no. a rustle of black velvet. He started to walk down the hall. He raised his right arm: his knife. which looked up at Richard." Croup nodded violently. "It's been better. Then. "You knew this would happen. Old Bailey was hanging his wash out to dry." he said. "I know a shortcut. incongruously. I'm not cheap. as they slowed down. twisted and bloody and wretched." he told her.