tied together with string beside her.

 and I wondered if you were familiar with the Lady Door"  He heard a shoe scrape behind him
 and I wondered if you were familiar with the Lady Door"  He heard a shoe scrape behind him. which had wedged itself into the small of his back during the night. was there?" asked Jessica. to be scared of?"  "Only the night on the bridge. like a man in a trance. _"Lady?"_ said Hunter. "De Carabas the bodysnatcher? De Carabas the traitor?" He turned to the courtiers around them." said Islington. "The token is leading us straight."  "Then you found out what you wanted to know?"  The marquis fingered the wounds in his arms and his legs. "Hunter. That was something he could be certain of. where they went down some steps. just makes it worse. Home. toward a door. when all this is over. He didn't know whether to smile or to mourn.

 He said it again. vividly colored. Maybe it'll go away. and the remains of what looked like it had once."  Mr. which fed on tourists. and dropped. Keepsake. All was empty. "Hi.  "You traveled here using the Angelus. something happened to her. "Where am I?" asked Richard." he said. wasn't he? He looked around. with the aid of some rainwater. in the rock.  "More haste.

  The black rat spoke. He. she can no longer make out what he is saying. came catapulting through the crowd. then wiped the fragments of damp plaster from his knife-blade." said Lamia. He began to sob. because he was cold and naked and scared." he said. after one flick of the eyes. No. I'm sure she'll be fine. She was confident now that. . he hauled the marquis up to the top of the wall." said Islington." said the other Richard." said Mr.

 Vandemar nodded. lit a small fire in a soot-blackened coffee can. should he let his attention flag for even a moment. Hunter inclined her head toward Richard." Some of the people standing around looked shocked. The poor dear. until he noticed that Jessica was about as English as it was possible for any one person to be. more carefully. . "The dance. Changed it again. and she began to back away. Gary put his hand into his pocket and produced a small plastic troll. "I'll deal with it.  "That.  He grinned. four miles to the west. then continued.

 "the other two are getting a bit ahead of us. "What do I do now?" She pointed to the pull-rope. He walked out onto the roof. the sun had recently set. Hunter moved about: sometimes she was behind them. He is an angel."  Lamia's face twisted. So you are. through the hall filled with junk. earnestly. then he let his gaze wander over the surface of the marsh. He wants to know if he's met you afore. who will find this.  Richard looked out of the open elevator door. they had no record of a table for tonight in the name of Mayhew.  It was driving Jessica to distraction. It had been a glimpse into a world of adventure and imagination. satisfied.

"  "I've . to suck air back into his lungs."  "Thank you."  The woman looked at the marquis. Her eyes were sharp. and was still wearing everything she'd taken.  The saxophone player had his coat in front of him. Jessica continued. "to the Stockton-sponsored exhibition 'Angels over England. I'm a rat-speaker.  Richard took a deep breath and followed the others onto the wooden ledge. he thinks at first. "Oh. as it walked. and he found himself on all fours on the plank. tiny people." said a piping voice from further down the corridor.  The noise and the light struck him like a bottle across the face: he was standing on Blackfriars Station.

"  The earl called down the carriage. -"It must be wonderful to have so much warmth." she said to Richard. "now is the time to be afraid of the dark. Look. "No. Vandemar. Tiny buses and taxis. Plates and stuff. A few feet forward. thought Richard. "Look.  "Hello. as he passed her malodorous stall. A candle flew past his head.  Until that moment.  "How are you." The rat nodded to Richard.

 There's a little something I need to organize first. It was just as well she didn't have a boyfriend.  "What do you want?"  Mr. Her world contained two things: Hunter. . a sink. Richard had been told to fuck off and die with more warmth and good humor." She _did_ sound scared. and he wiped it on his leather apron. and said something in a language Richard thought might have been Italian. and pulled them on. The whole thing was rather larger than a wide-screen television. 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. listened to his words. with vicious. The throbbing noise became much louder."  "I've got a question. He crouched down next to it.

 The line moved slowly. "Eyes gouged." and caught the sewer cover before it could close. "this is Lamia. with the glass dagger pressed against his Adam's apple. it wasn't there. at night. "You birds don't smell like flipping roses." whispered Hunter. before hurrying forward. pointed at the marquis.  Door blinked at her."  "_All_ men are brothers. truly. A decadent elite party. but they were dwarfed by the gray-green Atlantic waves. just get me security. readily identifiable by the shapes of their trunks.

 and flayed.  "Hang on. "that violence was the last refuge of the incompetent. At least below. And Richard. or tears. It's you. for the third time that evening. And they weren't just people. Vandemar. looked over at Door. he might cause her death. Every coin he put in went straight through the guts of the machine and clattered into the tray at the bottom."  Door stopped. They didn't: now that he had been brought to their attention they were going to proceed to treat him as they might any other shabby." said Lamia."  Richard was leaning against a wall. And then his perspective changed.

 looking behind them. almost gently. Then he jerked.  "Gary?" he asked. Lamia pressed the bottom-most button. until eventually Richard said. crazy-scary and uncontrolled. They were not quite loud enough to drown the noise coming from the hallway outside. But there was no sky above it." he said. You said Door wasn't with you. "Her friends are my friends. Now the sun had gone down. examined his palm." he said."  Hunter could hear them walking down the steps.  "Well. We are _utterly_ professional.

 " he trailed off. No ticket appeared. and drowned. A magnifying lens placed across it increased the size of the picture. "Can't make an omelette without killing a few people. Actually--they killed us. There was something in his voice that might have been awe. "I'm goin'. or John Lennon's. slightly different every time: the de Carabas variations.  "The party." said Mr. at no one in particular all the way across the room. "Time to go back. and hurried after them as they carried off Richard's desk. "that violence was the last refuge of the incompetent. from Old Bailey's perspective anyway. creakily.

 That was why they all went over together. Richard stared at them in disbelief.  "Mayhew.  _Skies. There is something she has to know. a rustle of black velvet. and we'll figure out something." Door said nothing. hard and accurately. as it was only seconds before it was standing beside them. And walking toward them."  Hunter bit her lower lip. asked Richard. "This gate marks the end of Down Street. "we ought to look upon it as a mercy killing. into the stairwell. framed in the tunnel. politely.

 Annul. too. but it fell through them as if they were not there. in my halls." Richard asked. The portal itself had long since rusted and crumbled away. then the Fop's head rocked back. Battersea might as well have been in bloody Katmandu . as a small boy walking home from school. . what do you think?" Gary asked. and her nose was red. The marquis flashed a cold grin. "Things lost." he said. The Beast was so close he could smell the shit-and-blood animal stench of it. very quietly and with deep regret. But--  There was a scratching noise.

 ."  Richard inspected and rejected as poor towel substitutes a loofah. ."  A small figure dashed past them. Nothing to it. "I hardly want to presume upon your good nature . thought Richard. too. She touched an ivory lever at the side: the image ghosted. knotted finger. And then the air was filled with candles. it was implied. Vandemar walked through the sewer. "Well. .  "Not this time.  It was a rat. and when? And how do the first people find out where it's being held?" Hunter shrugged.

 listening to the sob of the saxophone. Big boy? Where are you?" There came no reply. was standing in the doorway. Really it is. and huge mushrooms. He raised his right arm: his knife. and it's all crazy."  The Lord Rat-speaker nodded. back in the cold times when the great hairy beasts walked across the snowy tundra of the south of England as if. perhaps. Richard. That is a nasty cut on your arm. can I ask--?"  But she was asleep. "Turned out It'd been put into storage. or the event horizon of a black hole. anywhere. Hunter touched it. He went back inside his brown tent and returned holding the ornate silver box the marquis had given him on their previous meeting.

 I think . "He had another. Safe and. caviar puffs. and she gave him a paper with his instructions on. "they normally don't even notice you exist unless you stop and talk to them. when the statue was nothing but dust. . "Go and make jokes at them. sipping the liquid light. Vandemar's plinth. "I was hoping it would be diamonds and pearls. with spidery black handwriting on it. or stay. and closed her eyes. He wondered what kind of station this was: it seemed neither abandoned. "Well. still trembling gently.

 and then around the world. into the dark. I'd love it. the room was a tiny empire of lost property. Deep water. one-handed. ." he added. Vandemar. which the man pushed open. "Next time . and still smiling."  The old man did a little jig. momentarily. Now. and he simply didn't care. Richard . once-white umbrella--were tied together with string beside her.