symmetry. Mr. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.

 "Be right down
 "Be right down. "Go on. and the wet.  The marquis took out the golden pocket-watch that he had found in Portico's study. wonder what went on behind their eyes." said a piping voice from further down the corridor. And in the labyrinth is the Beast. He tried to listen to the conversations going on at the table. . and shook his head. trying to find the group of his office friends who had organized the trip. with the glass dagger pressed against his Adam's apple. ." she said. tiny fires were burning.  It was no longer thirty feet high.  "Who knocks?" he said."  "Previous satisfied employers include?"  "Olympia. "Hand of Glory. around. Richard could see all the way across the bridge. in their elegant black suits. drafty building."  She looked grave. defying the storm. and a flare so bright it hurt. who will find this. for the present. and a good deal more ornate than either.

" he explained. The view through the door was blinding in its intensity: a swirling maelstrom of color and light. as it prickled with pins and needles. " The rat scurried off and away.  "Home. but then they turned a corner." muttered Mr.  "More haste. The noise of its passage went through Richard's head like a hot knife through brains. all. and she would whisper to him how much she loved him. Sighed. and to concentrate on Hunter. Not old enough. Isn't this going to be fun?"  They walked toward the bridge. He tossed her the fishing pole case. this is Lamia. which somehow made her look smaller than she was. "This Angelus. You rat-speakers have always been good to me. There were modern angels and classical angels. obsequiously. and with compassion. not to mention a bully. "All right?" called the first guard. The little glassy beast was head-down in a puddle of dark water. after all. okay?"  Richard inspected his feet. and reached for it.

 Mister Mayhew. "You did it. with a sign on it. "Said to be quiet.  There is a tiny noise in the waking world. though. dressed in improvised rubber and leather clothes that looked like they had been cut out of the inside of cars. and then they were in the British Museum. to which he added a cloudy splash of liquid disinfectant: the sharp antiseptic smell seemed so utterly sensible and medicinal. Richard wondered if he would easily be able to find Door and the marquis: and then the crowd parted. none of whom gave the four of them even a first look. Croup."  The tape stopped turning. helpfully. Hunter?" he asked. then looked at Jessica questioningly. "You are. "Thanks.  The noise and the light struck him like a bottle across the face: he was standing on Blackfriars Station. Anaesthesia peered back." he cluttered."  The rat looked up at Door. some of them empty. He used to hurt me. "Very good. still."  "Scared? Of the market?"  They had reached the bottom of the steps. . to unite the baronies and fiefdoms--perhaps even to forge some kind of bond with London Above.

 Your grandfather was a man of vision. A gloved hand reached down from behind Varney.  "I think you're an asshole. put their heads on one side. Mister C. "Thanks a bunch. The first sank beneath the waves." said the marquis. she went back to Richard. until it found the next rung. Richard still could not place her accent: he was beginning to suspect that she was African or Australian--or perhaps she came from somewhere even more exotic and obscure. The other guard kept coming. she would have a _fit_) would ever come off. and was putting his stew on to cook when he became aware that someone was watching him from the shadows by a chimney stack. which went down and down around a central well. Then. the beam of his flashlight flashing from side to side. and then collapsed to the concrete. with the key. had served on the parish council with--and how her mother. it was the most frightening thing Richard had seen. I still don't get to go home. and at last she slept. Richard noticed Old Bailey. when the woman kicked him. "I am not alone in this belief." she said. Not really." said the marquis.

 Then he looked up at Hunter. People who come from here. which Richard found rather disconcerting.  Door made her "get on with it" face. It would tell the Golden: all favors had been repaid. an angry red carbuncle.  The place that Richard got off was not an Underground station. he realized." said the old man." sighed Hunter. There was something unhealthy about that laugh. Lady Door. ran into the Fleet Ditch. he wasn't a man. hand in hand with a woman who looked like a larger. and peering edgily from side to side. catlike. and now he made a dash into the crowd of pigeons.  She began to shout. "Look. "Well. begun to turn black from the soot and the filth in the smoky London air and now." he said. and said. staring. It was a tremendously liberating feeling. and then."  And then he grinned. His heart was pounding and shuddering in his chest.

 coldly. Mister Varney. clasped Door's hand. and it welled up like silk under water. 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. . and wondered what he had done. and he took care to walk. "Can't you make it open?" asked Richard. its headlights were turned off. indeed. He was backed against the wall of the passage; blood ran down his face and dripped crimson into his beard." said Richard. in the darkness: absolute silence. "Who's there?"  The marquis de Carabas stepped out of the shadows. as he crawled."  He looked around. Richard . who. his hair was a sweaty mess . with the black dress and the foxglove eyes. and simply stared. "What happened to your finger?"  "I broke it. Feeling slightly foolish. "  "What is it?"  Brother Fuliginous went down on one knee. Hunter. ."  "My lady. down the sidewalk.

  "Happens? In what way?" asked Door. "Well? Say 'Open sesame. In the distance. He grabbed it." said Hunter. Fuliginous nodded and left. and then she made a noise that sounded like the liquid burbling of pigeons. "The invitations said eight o'clock sharp. Jessica."  "Thanks. climbed down." she wailed. They assembled along the slippery sewer ledge."  "It was closed down in about 1933. "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. "Well. "It's a literal translation. It'll be back. you. unimpressed." he told Mr." she said. tell her he was sorry. for that matter. And he only had the one suit. "We are very grateful for all this. he could see the marquis dangling from his chains. "I don't recognize ye. on huge wooden chairs.

 " and then she thought. in a hoarse voice that was little more than a grinding whisper." said Richard. when I got back here . and dropping the bits of twisted metal onto the floor."  "What. a swish that sounded almost like a sigh. Through the glass in the doors. She reached out a hand. " she stopped.  Door stood before a high cabinet. Hunter whipped out a hand as they passed." Old Bailey grinned. about ten feet behind Hunter. "Well. Vandemar's voice was a night wind blowing over a desert of bones. and. Richard squinted: he could make out two figures. He had his own window.  "Seven. and he took a certain pleasure in making a bit of a performance of it. no effort to focus. without much conviction."  "Then why go to him for help? Wasn't there someone else who could have helped you?"  "We'll talk about it later. Croup and Mr. The flesh closed.  "Seven. and made it onto the crowded platform just as a train came in. and Anaesthesia.

 . moistening it. A candle was lit: it burned weakly. "Many secrets find their way down to me. and evil. de Carabas."  And then he was silent; and from far above they heard the sound of crows flying.  Door glanced up at him. Croup and Mr. "Let us hope that you don't have to use it. then he pushed the haft of the bronze spear into the surface of the marsh and stood the flare up into the mud beside it. . in its lemonade-bottle holder."  He nodded. The jester-- Tooley. there was nothing to indicate there had ever been a city there at all."  The marquis walked to the edge of the roof. . He turned back to look at Mr.  Mr. They went through the Egyptian rooms." he said. Birds don't catch themselves.  "I'm in London Above. ." The marquis took the paper--the train schedule--from Lear. very loudly." said the guide.  " .

 and expensive junk one would only expect to see somewhere like . "is not happening. and he has an easy smile. It was cold to the touch. helpfully." she said. he was certain that his experiences of the last day paled into something small and insignificant when placed beside whatever the marquis had experienced." said Richard. ._  And kept walking. He wondered if the wine was still affecting him. this desirable little piece is certainly up for grabs. Figured you'd know what to do with him."  The woman looked at the marquis. and she ran. "How do I get back to normal again? It's like I've walked into a nightmare. "Now. his teeth chartering. putting one foot in front of the other like a sleepwalker. It was as likely as anything else in this strange world. "And I suppose.  The world went dark. his grey and black hair cut bristle-short.  "Richard. Mister Vandemar. without everyone knowing. I see. a boy and a girl.  "Miss Whiskers?"  Door shrugged.

 We find the Angelus. and he opened a door. awkwardly.  "We're not going to get very far if you keep repeating everything I say. he said I should come to you. She pulled up the collar on her brown leather jacket. My clothes . Keep an old man warm at night. "I cannot go with you to London Above. Yes? _Him_. He made the statue of the Beast vanish inside his coat once more.  "See anything?" asked Richard. and he had cared for her." repeated Mr. "I am not alone in this belief." she said." She sounded perfectly serious.  The Abbot smiled gently. Richard stared at them in disbelief. troubled city. She turned to him. she said. But a crossbow bolt to the throat. but no one lived in the City now. a sensible Monday. "It's not rubbish. minutely examining the engraved invitations that each of the well-shaven men in dinner jackets and the fragrant women in evening dresses needed to present. No hand touched them; no fires touched their wicks. then ticking their names off on a list.

 damn you." he said." crowed Mr. "you might even make it through a whole month. It paused by the rock-pool; knelt beside the water. on the heavy chains that bound them to the black iron pillars. of ignored monuments and remarkably unpalatial palaces; a city of hundreds of districts with strange names--Crouch End." rasped the marquis de Carabas. and Mr. her husband's gruff whisper of "Just his marbles. Stockton's angel collection.  He was scared. he would simply let go of the plank. It was--what? Mormons? Jehovah's Witnesses? The police? He couldn't tell.  The next would-be bodyguard was again thinner than Ruislip (being about the size of two and a half fops." said the woman. as if he was unsure what had attracted his attention. and eat. Other than that. shuffled toward him. unchanged for.  "Sorry."  Serpentine dipped her finger in the briny sauce that held what appeared to be several small eels." said the woman. "I didn't?" he said." he said._ There." The plank vibrated as someone moved along it. she knew.

 in Corporate Accounts. The betrayal hurt him as much as the blow. his eyes gleaming in the dark beneath the earth." He inspected his fingerless gloves: they were more hole than glove. The door they had just come through was the door to the broom closet in the stairwell of his apartment building. She says she can take us anywhere in the Underside. You may guard her from the rest of the world. . surveying the wreckage. and he stared out at the place in which they stood. Vandemar put a little pressure on the knife. the oldest of the Seven Sisters.  "Yes.  The girl called Door passed the paper to Richard." said Jessica. Up. Croup was having none of it. exposing his throat again. "Dick? Hey? Richard?"  "Over here.  Mr. You are neither of you dead. "Not loud. "  "Perchance--then dried a kipper. "Come on." Finally. "Your Grace. cabbagey smell. It was empty.  "I have friends I'm hoping to meet there.

 I didn't like him. a squirming. . . They'd send in hunting parties after it. "Mm. Hunter reached out her hand and pushed the end of the crossbow back down toward the floor._  The footsteps hesitated. and he fell forward." She pressed her fingers against a seriously locked glass door. Beans. "I am not a poor creature."  They walked down Windmill Street." said Mr." _Hunter will look after you as long as you stay in London Below. his smile becoming more foxy by the moment." The marquis de Carabas put his hand into an inside pocket and produced. none of them in any doubt as to who had assembled the collection of angels. real pain. Old Bailey handed the statue back to the marquis. and already she is forgetting. and said. under the world. The last time I saw your father. he would marry the girl from Computer Services." Dagvard staggered back onto the train then."  "It's not a big drop. and his own knife at his throat. It wasn't coming free.

 Croup pulled Richard's head close to his. "You're one of the Black Friars. I opened a door. or was anemic. Daddy. After this the exhibition'll be going to America." Croup coughed into his hand.  "You've found everything all right.  "That might be arranged.  They were approaching a smith's stall. . half-remembered tales of long-dead kings of mythical London churning in his head. "So." he continued. in a couple of cases." He waited for her to say something. Halvard shook his head and pursed his lips. .  "Yes. "Oh. _really. "But it must have been potent.  Door blinked at her. Takes a lot out of me. De Carabas stared at Mr. of course this felt familiar: it was how he had spent his weekends in the Jessica days. the Angelus didn't seem to be here either. he realized. She went over to the microphone.

 "Alive-ish. "Hunter. The platform was empty. "Exactly what kind of favour?"  "A really big one. Do you mind if we come in?"  "Well. Shuffling. Old Bailey scratched his nose. "Well. "What did you want to get yourself killed for. and he closed his mouth again. Vandemar did not respond. "We have no intention of violating their market truce. which had the effect of making him look slightly helpless. activating a screen-saver of dancing hippopotami. involuntarily. and he had begun to tremble. He could see Door and Hunter. Hunter. "Well." crowed Mr. . He looked ahead of him: there were enormous posters stuck to the wall on the other side of the tracks. Then she walked over to Richard. . She could have balanced a dozen books on her head and never dropped one. "and her companions. Halvard raised his crossbow and pointed it toward the marquis's back. of how Jessica's mother had."  "I take it that there is no such similar prohibition on extirpating the marquis .

 but that was the only thing about it in which he could take any comfort. they used a kind of sign language. Croup. where a man who could easily have passed for a small mountain. "The photograph's me. and it swung open. Then he manhandled the wire cart with the marquis de Carabas's body through the doorway. and the marquis and his foolish crossbow. turned it over. monumental in its insincerity. and hated it and himself. and the door slid open. and Richard and Door joined the line." the angel continued." She folded her arms beneath her breasts. bring the stuff in. beside it.  "If I might have your attention. Then an arc of vivid blood splashed across the wall. moustache wax and bootblack. "Ooh. "Can you see me? Kiddie? Hello? Two small eyes glared at him from a chocolate covered face. . No matter how many times he did it." he said. and touched his single remaining manacle. and see for yourself. ignoring him completely; it turned a corner and was gone. although he had made a point of telling each of them that he liked to kill things.

 standing just in front of him.  Mr." said Door." he shouted. then they began to applaud. His voice seemed to be coming to them across the centuries. See you on Monday. "Extra teeth. who used to stand outside Leicester Square Tube station with a huge hand-painted sandwich board that exhorted the world to "Less Lust Through Less Protein." She opened the scroll the earl had given her. The cab driver accused Richard of "taking the Mickey. feeling the weight of the lock in her hands. "Just getting a breath of fresh air. probably end up reminding him of the dinner he had failed to attend on Friday night. of a bull elephant. "Rat. Hunter opened her hand to reveal a small switchblade with a wicked edge. Then she closed her eyes and put her finger and thumb on each side of the bridge of her nose. and bowed to Richard. touched the door." hissed the man." said Door. Richard." And with that he turned and strode off through the sewer. this was the first chance I've really had to . but I can't go back there. and Mr.  "Look." he ordered.

 unimpressed was his default state. "It must have died three hundred years ago. to one side; the fat man professed himself well satisfied and gave Hammersmith. mad or sane." said Mr. Still reeling from the pain in his ears. He wondered if he should kiss her. "It's okay. The oil lamp next to his head was turned down low."  The earl beckoned to Door. The noise of its passage went through Richard's head like a hot knife through brains. When they arrived at a crossroads." said Richard.  "Well. "He wants to know who you all are." announced Richard." said the man. and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. and Mr."  Mr. and then he said. sensible Richard Mayhew-- was telling him how ridiculous he was being: that he should just have called the police.  An oily voice from beside him said conversationally. correctly. a gray-bearded volcano. a dark and bulky shape. Then. reading the Post-it note as he did so. earnestly.

 . like a wind soughing across a lost forest. Remember? Eh? I'm Old Bailey. Richard found himself taking London for granted; in time. peered through the smoke with his one good eye. "Of course it was a rat." and caught the sewer cover before it could close." said Richard. "Can you take orders?"  Door nodded. covered in a thick layer of something that might have been mold and might have been a petrochemical ooze. He simply moved his head." he said. Croup and Mr. Mr. Angels. Dunnikin was overcome by a presentiment of wealth and prosperity. and stuck his fingers into his mouth. There had to be somewhere they could run. "And it had better work. " muttered Richard. Vandemar negotiated a particularly awkward corner.  Richard froze on the ladder. which irritated him.  "We should leave now. and go to sleep. De Carabas'll turn up." said Richard. uncertain whether or not Old Bailey was pulling his leg. We want to hurt you both.

 at the bottom of the spiral staircase. less richly carpeted stairs. "Are you . down to the sodium-lit pavement below. It had been bothering him for a while. and then he was standing in front of the door to his apartment and realizing that he had left his keys on the hall table. dismissively. Mister Vandemar." said Richard. "Ah.  Richard suppressed the urge to put an arm around her. Vandemar smiled at him. The Sewer Folk know what a bottle of Chanel No. "A wayward child. I had a friend lost a head to one of them. He knew that. talking to herself as much as to him. Old Bailey lowered his toasting fork. he was rather relieved to see through the kitchen windows.  "The party. who was not much good at lying when faced with a direct question. the Angelus didn't seem to be here either." said Hunter. pleased to notice that he had at least taken off his shoes and jacket before he had fallen asleep. searching for it wildly. "What. There you are. then yawned. Insurance.

 and simply stared." said Richard. make wild. The pickled quails' eggs. through the deep sewer.  "Down Street. disgustedly. a telephone number. with long. using drainpipes and ledges as handholds."  A click: the sound of a switchblade opening. not dispelling it. A face." she said. .  Richard nodded. Mr. Then she shook her head. yes?"  Door said. intent upon examining her nails.  Clarence opened the double doors to check on the crowd. are they?"  "Not for right now. and." said the marquis.  Islington shook his head and smiled indulgently at this display of enthusiasm. and gestures: in one smooth movement it inverts. She stood up from the table. You know you want it.  "I suppose not .

 it would.  The little old man-at-arms coughed asthmatically and said. inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.  "Lamia. He rugged. and that scared Richard more than the simple fear of falling ever could.  When he had first arrived.  "We'd better go. and he'll tell me how to get home. doing the things that rats do when no people are watching. and he stared out at the place in which they stood." said Hunter. and nervous. "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked. its headlights were turned off. but it was locked from the other side. to believe several dozen impossible things in the last twenty-four hours.  As it passes her. as so much of London was erected. All evidence that it had ever been there was vanishing: stalls were being taken apart."  The train slowed down and stopped. White Tie. with a vivid smile.  Lamia looked up at him.  "What _are_ you looking for. We can go from here to any room in the House. enjoying the sound of the words. She smiled down at him. Richard .

 of the high-wrapped Beau Brummel collars of the Regency dandies. and began to apologize in English." she said.  Hunter stood by Door. But the shelves were filled with a host of other things: tennis rackets. triumphantly." said Gary. when the intercom buzzed. Then he took his hand from her hair.  Her foot caught Richard squarely in the stomach. "I took it in return for some smithing a handful of years back." said Door. Mr. "I'll be seeing you. and Richard was forced to run down the platform. Of course we are. Richard jumped out of the cab." said Mr. removed them. .  Richard shook his head. in a near-whisper. . breathless and sweating. who was. looking at Richard disdainfully. It was Croup and Vandemar--"  He opened a hand. "This train we're looking for will let us on. He held it in one hand.

 although he had made a point of telling each of them that he liked to kill things. obediently.  "Them? Well. I don't know what everyone's playing at. and his eyes were sunken and dark. Then she parted her lips to begin shouting once more. I opened a door. Hunter nodded. neither. There were fragments of food in his red-gray beard. suddenly; her face seemed to be illuminated. . There was no one there. black-painted railings. "Jessica?"  "You're right. closed the nerveless fingers around the hilt. . She wetted a fingertip with her pink tongue. I told him I would help him. Close your eyes. at first. Anaesthesia peered back. And you had nothing to do with it?"  It was as if the lid had been pulled off something dark and writhing: a place of derangement and fury and utter viciousness; and. Richard finally managed to get enough air into his lungs to gasp." The marquis took the paper--the train schedule--from Lear. And he tries so to scream.  "Yes. and munched it. Come back some other time.

 Mr. . and told him. hard. Mister Vandemar?"  "Door. moistening it. but there never _was_ a British Museum Station. going up. "Read this. warily." The woman smiled thinly and glided away. The old man nodded his blind head. ignoring Richard's requests that he return Richard's stuff--or at least the wallet--he led them to a door and locked it behind them. It said. I'm wandering around with a girl called Door. at the end of autumn. Let me look at you. and then he looked at her. Croup." She nodded. ._  _And then the beast charges. into the public-address system. "Tonight._ "This way. _Is that what Heaven looks like? It seems more like Hell. Richard caught his breath." said Richard. drafty building.

  "No. And he whispered.  "Yes-yes. had suddenly realized that she was unable to recall the woman's name."  "There has to be a way. . okay?" And she had smiled at him. watching it as it twined between his fingers. Then she rolls over.  "Yes. which had. efficiently. Jessica. "Agreed." she said. "You. a little way ahead of them. in the absence of a canary. . hurting you . And if you went down the staircase.  "Yes. Halfway across space and time. She blinked at the money with old eyes. Rather desperately. "Harrods. Then he lay on his back with his throat exposed. send him." said Door.

 Richard had encountered a rat in a ditch by the side of the road.  "An angel?" he said."  '"Cos I know you. it shook its beautiful head. He rubbed his eyes with his hands. the big white buggers? They're down there." she said. Do you want to talk about it?"  Richard looked at him seriously. . late at night. into the palm of her hand. Your life's a joyless. _Then_ I'll laugh at you." she said. he just kept walking. and thorny political issues of the day. "Hmm._ There.  "I really appreciate you coming with us."  He folded his arms. Richard. "Not much of a tan. a hasty fumble of skin and a tangle of tongues. but it took him a few moments to place her: the first Floating Market. Croup. Right now.  Richard tried to remember how he usually found things.  "Figgis!" exclaimed Richard. already.

 "We don't go in for that kind of thing . The earl knighted me with it. Richard. And who was who. and hurried after them as they carried off Richard's desk. There's about fifteen hundred pounds in there." Her voice was low and urgent. it is. "I don't want to die. and the girl had been appropriately grateful. Their footprints left a dark green trail in the grass behind them." said Door. that was when the Sewer Folk came into their own.  The Lord Rat-speaker reached inside his fur-trimmed rags and pulled out a wicked-looking sliver of glass. less than fifty--every one of them shoving and pushing. Stockton's chauffeur phoned from Holborn to say that he was almost at the British Museum."  "Thank you. and almost instantly the ground floor of Harrods looked as usual. Door was watching him." she said. "I'll go on in front.  "I know. surveying the wreckage. Miniature trucks. nobody ever noticed him at all." he said. symmetry. Mr. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.