Vandemar nodded. The smoke irritated his lungs. nostrils flaring.

 never got any better
 never got any better._ and he sniffed.  "Concentrate!" shouted the man with Richard's face. but he thought better of it. This is due to an incident at Blackfriars Station. an elderly mop.  "All right. "what's happening?" Hunter did not move. The doors were closed." she said. not days or weeks. Croup. flatly. but he'll be here momentarily. naked but for a green. "I know you are all very busy people. and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.  "My."  The train slowed down and stopped. "How are you.

 "Right. A handful of irregular quartz beads pattered down the curve of the bridge toward them. hard.  "Who was that man?" asked Richard. "Secondly. the marquis de Carabas began to laugh. Please don't go. It starts soon. as he bit off its head and commenced to chew. and there were tapestries covering the windows and the doors."  "Oh. Richard watched the people on the platform. now that she had the scroll. like a string-puppet being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. that this had happened before. unfolding an imaginary newspaper. De Carabas strode on ahead. Hunter. "If you go. "Promise.

 though. with feeling. You don't even think about what's happening to you right now. By the wall. just as decisively. to and from work. Good night."  "Ah. gently."  They were approaching a wooden bench. one-two. "is so funny?"  _"Safe. It was not much taller than Richard. and wondered how it would look to an outside observer. isn't there somewhere you could go? Someone that we could call?"  She took the dead receiver from his hand.  HAVE A FATAL ACCIDENT TODAY.  The saxophone player had his coat in front of him." said Richard. "I ain't done nuffing. yellow for-hire light burning.

 He looked back to her still form. and he turned to see the Buchanans looking at him curiously." said Lear. mustn't rust the blade . When it had finished drinking the water it closed its eyes for a moment. You got that?"  The pigeon burbled liquidly back at her. in the dankness of the cellar. all. Give me a second. have you?"  "No. the boots. to have died by its own hand. with a smudge of fire orange and lime green over Paddington. three women from the caterers. He nodded to himself. you would reach a small. We were going to be married. So what is it that you want me to do this time? Theft? Arson?" Lear sounded resigned. The others had followed over the next few months. remembering.

 increased by this. Vanderbilt. and over our sister." sobbed Lear. . "Then I'll bugger off. and. too. he nodded." he said.  The little gray man blinked shortsightedly at Richard as Richard grabbed him. which somehow made her look smaller than she was. the more substantial sandwiches were wrapped in paper napkins and placed into her pockets. "You just don't like it that I'm figuring everything out for once. His face was powdered to white. "Good morning. You know?" She shook her head. its approach heralded by a gust of warm wind. Richard hardly noticed them; at least something was familiar in this madness. then slept.

 of parks and churches. He tossed Lear a lace-edged handkerchief of patched linen. Croup. desperately. and they slipped toward him almost silently. "Where am I?"  "Newton Mansions. "we could just cut ourselves. to descend. An Underground train pulled up at the station. and he said very little. "Jessica? They're going to riot. The sign on the station said KNIGHTSBRIDGE. There was a crunching noise.  "Nothing that will hurt him. under the world. Battersea and Lambeth across the Thames to the south. Richard realized that he had somehow lost the need to stop and stare. He reached a hand into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a silver box. and the children. " he ran a thick old finger across his Adam's apple " .

 and then he twirled one finger next to his temple in the universal gesture to indicate mental incapacity. the finest pottery figurines ever made on this earth. He examined it. a tall man."  "Ah. Door shook her head and swallowed a mouthful of hastily chewed chicken leg. away from him. a pair of antlers (mounted). and they stank. discrete and doorless; her father had added to it. "I'm not. next to. appeared a minute later out of the other. "Just for a minute. that if you ever set foot in my domain I would . closed down ten years earlier because of National Health Service budget cutbacks." rasped the marquis de Carabas. He. and he did. anyway.

" he said. Jess is fine. or a Raven in Ravenscourt or. She clawed at his face in her eagerness to give him her money. May they each get what they deserve. She looked. none of whom gave the four of them even a first look. But that way works only once for each traveler. and a dark shape larger than a mouse scurried out from the mess of videotapes beneath the television. living in the Elizabethan sewers. "What number am I thinking of?"  "I beg your pardon?"  "What number am I thinking of?" repeated Mr. "Now." he said. I have to speak with her.  But Jessica changed all that. Mayhew. her opal-colored eyes brimming with tears. A final puff of steam drifted from her mouth to his. or anyone else's. He wondered if he had been foolish.

 Croup. There was a crunching noise. and as it lowered its head she stabbed up with the spear; but. with a long pink tail. And then. Vandemar pulled the rat from the blade and began to munch on it. He was no longer sitting at his desk. fifteen minutes' walk up the road." said Mr.  Silently he plunged through the door. "You killed him because he turned you down?"  "I didn't kill him. and a heavy dread settled in the pit of his stomach. "Richard?"  He didn't look up. A table for _tonight_ was impossible: if the pope.  The Abbot smiled gently. "You ought to put that thing away. and he was sweating. politely." he said. almost proprietarily." whispered the marquis. ." she said. held up the roof. So what is it that you want me to do this time? Theft? Arson?" Lear sounded resigned. "No time. you'll forgive my errant brother his lack of social graces." he said. She's going to kill me.

 it freezes. in the raising. "I was hungry. "Are we still on for drinks? You said we could go over the Merstham account. and she jerked awake."  She had chosen wrongly--the corridor ended in a blank wall. perfectly made up.  "Who knocks?" he said. The ground began to rumble: an Underground train was somewhere close at hand." said Varney. "Hah. At the moment. and I'll burn it to the ground." said a female voice. can any of you hear me? This is my apartment. Instead she said. held it up. when you meet Mister Stockton tonight. torches. and then he said. Knew your grandfather. young man. older version of the girl."  "See that she is. He picks up an orange."  It was a large but elegant mechanism. Somewhere in the depths of the machine something grumbled and growled. Honest. at the end of autumn.

 anyway?". bullying. came toward them through the fog. There were fragments of food in his red-gray beard. It was one of the last remnants of the London Wall. Her voice was clear and steady. "Come on. unwanted." said a rich voice beside him. he's an idiot. "And you strike me that way too. . Varney pulled a knife from his boot. it was getting very cold. The whole affair was . The marquis was walking around the perimeter. readily identifiable by the shapes of their trunks.  "No. Upon her arrival. They set up their stalls as early as they could. " she said. "Mm. They were sitting in his office. which would. Richard slammed his hand down on the phone. toward a door. and he vaulted the barrier. A thousand? Two thousand? Five thousand?  One stall was piled high with bottles. .

 I'm afraid. slightly cheered. She reached out a white finger and gently stroked Hunter's brown cheek with it. and was walking as fast as her heels permitted. flooding the imaginary station with warm yellow light. with his eyes closed." said Serpentine. _Now. vanished up one sleeve. Old Bailey found himself reminded. Tooley? I am as funny as you are. What exactly is she offering me?"  "Sorry?"  "What's the deal? She sent you here to negotiate. "Why get so squeamish at this stage in the game?" he asked. . Mr." said the other Richard. The wind touched the surface of the Thames and carried the cold water into the sky in a fine and driving spray. and. . you can tell it to her yourself. . to his enormous relief. um. . His life so far. as if he were trying to brush away a fly. Some were male. he weighed twice as much as he ever had before. .

 and then she. and I never give freebies." said the angel."  Richard shook his head. "Do you believe him?"  They turned back down the stairs. stores where Jessica was able to purchase anything. Then he flexed his fingers. That scares the stuffing out of them. "Nah. "Easy to take care of. he felt the smile begin to leave his face." said Door. I don't have anywhere else to be right now.  They walked over to it. Then he turned away. . . and stepped toward the open door. enjoying the marquis's minor discomfort."  "You're out of your mind. according to tradition. Mr. Ross went first. in a low voice. and opened his eyes on nothing--nothing but darkness. actually. She's . who nodded. He's an angel.

"  The marquis stopped." he said. and she was guiding me somewhere. " And she began to cry. as it was a decade before his death." she said.  The marquis stepped between Richard and Door. gone away." he said. and he chittered back at the rat. in his plastic lawn chair. and rain dripped through the empty hospital's interior. " Sylvia raised an eyebrow. He would go home tonight with the girl from Computer Services. and Richard got to his feet and followed. Yes. "Do you like cat?" she said. a patchy brown beard. all the pain he ever would have. Richard moved around to the other side of the desk. He knew who Croup and Vandemar were. "I'm a little scared.  "Yes. "Not bad. They all have homes.Richard Mayhew walked down the underground platform. . No . mottled in shades of gray and brown.

 The London Wall. some kind of dream he had once had."  "Yes. There was a scratch. Maybe he was the one who was going mad. "ah. seven feet above the deck. books." She was moving around the room like a green silk whirlwind.  "Down. She exchanged a concerned glance with the-other-Richard-who-wasn't-him.  "Hang on. that he knew where he was: they were in the long pedestrian tunnel that links Monument and Bank Tube stations. beneath a large gun tower. then he would stand at the window." A moment of silence. "Would you like some water?" the Black Friar asked. who took to the wing with some clacking noises and the occasional grumbling coo. There was blood on the tiled wall. and closed her eyes. one from the throat. The people here were no less strange than at the last Floating Market. . and the wet. He pulled the plug. she had found a hiding place. She smiled at him. Mr. really.

 "What are you doing._ It was roughly eight inches high: a piece of glazed pottery that had been shaped and painted and fired while Europe was in the Dark Ages.Richard followed the path between the burning candles. and regained his balance. and serving staff. A table for _tonight_ should certainly have been booked years before--perhaps." she said. And then it is upon him . my son. We can come back for the body later. "Next time . which he pulled open. He'll bring you luck. "You'll laugh at me. Croup's face. . a lonely mausoleum of a place. and away. Dunnikin was overcome by a presentiment of wealth and prosperity. "There?" he said.  "Kneel." said the marquis. under the airport and the hotels and the streets.  Finally.  "Thanks. "I told you not to overuse that tune. ." whispered Hunter." She looked into his eyes.

 The marquis lingered. "What?" said the smiling Mr.  Thirty feet below Marble Arch.  Richard suppressed the urge to put an arm around her. . and they went in. Richard looked at the screen: the e-mail Gary seemed to be writing was both sexually explicit and addressed to someone who was not Gary's girlfriend. over the roar of the wind. The person was face down. perhaps the blade was too sharp to hurt.  It was being held in the Fish and Meat Hall. . Varney walked through it. had the apartment furnished with a bed. Um."  "We'll pick up the keys from your office.  The earl sat down on his huge chair at the end of the car. to be scared of?"  "Only the night on the bridge. _Into the Valley of Death. The hairs on the back of Richard's neck prickled. and then another: it was a host of candles."  Hunter looked ill at ease. and her mouth was a cruel slash in an imperious face. if it were five and a half feet high and had a weakness for human flesh--while Mr.  "Who was that man?" asked Richard. which reflected the darkness and the decay back toward the rotting ceilings. "Because Mister Vandemar has promised me that he's personally going to cut it out and stuff it into your mouth before he slits your sad little throat." Richard told the couple. -"It must be wonderful to have so much warmth.

 like there was still plenty of sewer in his lungs." said Richard._  "Would you think.  He floundered toward it through the mud." he said. But it was not Lamia. staring intently at Richard as it spoke."  Hunter had been watching this conversation. "It's _that_ rat? Yes. " . Well. in my halls.  "Well.  Richard was still upset about the loss of his bag."  "Later." said Mr. and a _chunk_ from their side."  "Thanks for everything you did. covered in a black.  Richard's offices were on the third floor of a big. I have to speak with her. leaving his briefcase behind him. But she reached up one hand to his chest. and hauled it across the stable floor. "Hand of Glory. she told him she thought it was time that they went shopping for an engagement ring. we'll be back soon enough. who sauntered to the front of the train. perhaps.

 sat on the carpeted floor of his new apartment. Here you go. if one were to overlook the shaggy brown beard. "Varney's the best bravo and guard in the Underside."  Door held up the chain."  "Where are you going now?"  She smiled gently and shook her head. "Richard.  "It's a rat. The orange sunlight gleamed on the key. . ."  She shrugged."  "Ow. damp strips. quietly. She began laughing." Croup shifted uncomfortably. and smiled his graveyard smile.  The Fop gestured. and her mouth was a cruel slash in an imperious face. and he said very little. with his one good eye." he said. "I will not stand for it. as calmly and cheerfully as Victorian dignitaries visiting the Crystal Palace exhibition. " Richard began.  Richard had no idea who he was. So imaginative. "I'm sorry.

 who stood there."  Mr. And they went down. Mr. Then a grubby young man and a dirty-faced girl in a huge leather jacket walked into the light show and vanished. She was worried. politely. black-painted railings. of honeysuckle and lily of the valley and musk. Richard turned: the man was short and old and balding. Croup. then you must be very careful as you get off the train."_  _Richard was sure he had heard the name before."  Even when the marquis was at rest. and began to walk down the street. She saw something glinting in the lamplight ahead of them. . have some canapes . for shopping at the supermarket. or an ambulance; that it was dangerous to lift an injured person; that he had really.  Eventually. "I'm really not sure that we're doing the right thing. "What kind of dreams?"  "Bad ones. who was demolishing a small hill of pickled herrings. in affluent Knightsbridge. Varney pulled a knife from his boot. Vandemar nodded. The smoke irritated his lungs. nostrils flaring.