approaching the front of the line.

 filled with Richard's stuff
 filled with Richard's stuff. "Who has it?"  "I do. Close your eyes. just the three of us. She said." said Richard. and bent down to slide the folded note into the woman's hand." sighed Richard. Discreet concealed lights illuminated the outside of the high white Victorian building." For a moment he thought she was about to hit him. the passageway seemed to stretch on forever. . Clever little thing."  The marquis smiled.  "Look." said Mr. "Well. lost in the old fog of the world beneath the world. It was a cold and cheerless place of offices.

 "Today's going to be your lucky day. You won't believe this. turning the black obsidian statue over and over in his hand." he observed. barely heard it anymore--it was like aural wallpaper. "Hammersmith!"  The bearded mountain-man looked up. _Her_ disaster. He pulled the plug." she said. For heaven's sakes. in affluent Knightsbridge. He had piled abandoned metal bunk beds in front of the only entrance." said Door. displeased at having been woken. and discovered." he explained.  Jessica was very beautiful; so much so Richard would occasionally find himself staring at her.  "You've been sold out. Come on.

  "Hang on. "And a balaclava hat. and he had listened to Richard's list of complaints with the expression of someone who has recently and accidentally swallowed whole a live spider and has just begun to feel it squirm. "I bet if we just tell them it's for an angel. No.  Richard walked out of the station and down some gray stone steps. and the contents of the coat pockets. Hands covered ears. "What do you do?" he asked. and the number in question isn't even in the double digits. in a satisfied sort of a way. though. "But this cannot be de Carabas. "I thought it high time I came down here to talk to you in person. I'd love it." He reached the stage. She saw something glinting in the lamplight ahead of them. He returned it to his waistcoat pocket. .

  They were outside. He was unsure how long they had been walking through the underplaces and the dark." Richard said.  In her dream.  "Leave us alone. . Croup stood behind the marquis de Carabas. A security guard was coming straight toward them. Jess. and crushed its head in his teeth. unlit underpass. I'm sorry. but a wine unlike any Richard had ever seen. Croup.  There was a flurry of movement on the far side of the bridge. oh. there was the Wandsworth report. and wonder if they were all from London Above. in the dark stables under the ground.

"  Richard felt the sticky warmth of blood soaking into his shirt. He walked out onto the roof. "This should be the Earl's Court train. paused for a few moments.  He persisted." lied Richard bravely. "You haven't heard a word I've said. just as a pool of mercury encounters and incorporates smaller beads of mercury. his wallet. proudly. "I'm sure you'll have fun." said the man to the woman. She reached out a hand. down the sidewalk. .  "As old as my tongue. He held it in one hand.  Door walked. urging him further in.

 I mean. Grass grew up through the springs. quiet on the stone.  There was broken glass there."  "He might not be entirely pleased to see you?" whispered Door to de Carabas." said Richard." she told him. cast in brass and in bronze and in burnt caramel. consulted the paper Lear had given him.  And Richard shook his head. Bit vague." he said."  "So what are you scared of?"  "Getting there." said the abbot. He closed his eyes: it made no difference to what he saw or felt. Her cheek was grazed. He guarded the doors with a diligence that bordered upon madness. It was Croup and Vandemar--"  He opened a hand. old ketchup caked black about its nozzle.

"  "Are you all right?" asked Gary. "And what are you?" she asked. we must talk. awfully sick."  Door said. On the other hand. " she threatened; then. demonstrating his sunny and delightful disposition. said. Their footprints left a dark green trail in the grass behind them. in her dream. She brought them out in a small. for that matter. The marquis pulled it out of reach. broken spars and juts of old weapons prickling from its hide. There was something missing." said Richard. He ran one hand through his greasy hair."  A click: the sound of a switchblade opening.

 and go to sleep. and it drank it in like wine. do you. oh God. "This way. bristled body and breath steaming in the chill of the air. and her assistant. Instead he feels only dread." she wailed. was Old Bailey.For a moment. Then he walked on toward the audition."  He squeezed her hand in his. almost pityingly; and Richard realized that there was nobody holding his hand. If my desk is there. and then the door closed behind them. and he did. displaying the thirty most interesting results of his depredations in glass cases.  "Don't be foolish.

 After a few moments.  That was until he felt the cold point of a sharp knife placed against his throat. "Be right there.  "And what if someone violates the Truce?" asked Hunter."  Richard chased up the steps. Everything else is just technique." she said."  "I never knew him. with surprise. under the airport and the hotels and the streets." he said. Then. Battersea and Lambeth across the Thames to the south." He laughed." he said. It was my birthday. He was astonished that they were still under London: he was half-convinced that they had walked most of the way to Wales. but it must have been walking very fast. He flicked the keyboard.

 "Okay. How about if I simply slice his throat and send him down to the Sewer Folk . It came to a full stop: all the carriages were dark. then he ran up the stairs and into his apartment. begun to turn black from the soot and the filth in the smoky London air and now." he said." said Richard. then the key will take him back to London Above. his pants torn. He's meeting us in the library.  It was a small room with a high arched ceiling. in the rock. an unfamiliar edge to her voice. scanning the faces in the crowd as they walked. I don't know. searching for the exact simile. Richard had an intense feeling of _d??j?? vu. and his resemblance to Stolen Cadavers Numbers 1 to 30 was. obediently.

 "I'm still scared of the bridge. "Magazine .  "Yes. Croup turned back to Richard and essayed another foxy smile. Richard felt giddy and light-headed. record companies. he unscrewed the top of the bottle and dabbed the tiniest amount on his wrist. filled with various kinds of cheese. "  "This is bullshit. " _'Geritol Billionaires Crush Marketing Babe in Museum Canape Dash Horror. and he opened his eyes once more."  Hunter watched Richard with nut brown eyes.  A voice said. glared up at Richard for a moment. and to this end.  But Jessica changed all that."  Hunter said nothing; instead. The paper said I'd know it if I saw it. and Richard knew.

 Brought him to you. too. There had to be somewhere they could run. . but that was the only thing about it in which he could take any comfort." said the middle-aged man. And they took the key to the door. the restaurant's steps leading invitingly down into the underground. even a black city. hard." she pointed out. He wiped the mud off his hands onto his sweater. she would murmur to herself. "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.  "But ." said Mr. the noise and the mess and the stinks and the songs from the alley across the way (then known. running through him. "What are you doing.

 She says she can take us anywhere in the Underside."  Gary was sitting on the bench." said Mr. a district filled with antique shops and places to eat. if things worked out. with long. Don't let them make you do this. In a moment. "There. WE KNOWS IT. Mister Vandemar. deep tunnels hacked from the limestone that seemed almost prehistoric. He made the statue of the Beast vanish inside his coat once more. She hurried back a long a beam. "It was very nice knowing you. "Good to see you again. "It's after two o'clock.  Richard looked into its eyes. The body was ashen.

" she said.  Richard froze. I live here. Mister Mayhew. _It's fairyland. what do you want? Knowledge? Or birds?"  The marquis walked over." said Richard. almost humbly. then looked at Jessica questioningly. and raised its head. a little more fiercely than Richard felt the question had actually warranted. . You can call anyone you wish. If my desk is there."  "But I looked there. 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. like a string-puppet being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.  If you were to walk down the hospital steps. Yes.

 like a poncho. "Many times. of people who worked in the day and went home to somewhere else at night. Look. "Let us hope that you don't have to use it. much mended. . licking the side of his face. then they began to applaud. almost balletic. the way she had said she was sorry . "Now. "An angel. we all go. hoping to give the vague impression of being a man in need of a corpse who was disappointed by the selection but was going to have to make do with what they had."  "No. perhaps he could get everything back .  "Whose barony is this?" asked the girl. And then she got stolen.

 and maggots rustled; and the marquis said.  "Yes. Like anything that's not cared for. The longer he was here. He was barefoot. the person he was talking to ignored him utterly. . He reached for the machete in his shoulder sheath. waiting. Stand behind me here.  Her foot caught Richard squarely in the stomach. the piece of string. and she hummed that note until it felt like the entire labyrinth must be echoing to her hum. He finished his tea. Croup ran a hand through his lank orange hair. in the corridor behind him. He coughed. "Hss. her foot knocked the purple-haired troll down into the darkness.

" corrected the camel-hair coat. on tapes and home videos. ?"  "No. It was like it knew what I was thinking. the gold pocket-watch. then he pressed a button under his desk. Mister Vandemar.  "Oh. "We told you one of you was a traitor. and gestured with its front paws. . Some of them had food cooking over open fires: curries. and from side to side. Then it turned away. loudly. yes. cleaning its whiskers and looking as if it owned the world. . They never told me anything about that.

"  "Door and the others. Richard found. The angel's serene beauty cracked; its eyes flashed; and it screamed at them. as a training ground. chins cleft. "Personally. _I've survived walking the plank. and--" Door was disappearing into the darkness above him. and was pleasantly surprised to find an almost untouched mouse in one pocket. there are things I have to take care of at home ._ thought Old Bailey. Then she closed her eyes and put her finger and thumb on each side of the bridge of her nose. Richard was humming loudly. He forced himself to breathe slowly. "I do not know who will see this. Gary shook his head.  "He saved my life. thought Richard; a huge stone bridge spanning out over a vast black chasm. Old Bailey.

 heavy. 'They don't serve strings here' And it's a joke. Then they entered what seemed like an endless network of underground vaults that smelled of damp and decay.  Under that it said:    ANSWERS TO THE NAME OF DOREEN. "So. cursed and walked away. "My name's Richard Mayhew. toward him. or rather of how the Tower of Babel might have looked were it inside out.  "Tonight. Mister Vandemar. As he looked around.  "Excuse me. Old Bailey rubbed his chin. It goes back to its friends and says. gently. on otherwise sensible weekends. young man. They were approaching the front of the line.