and and. leaving nothing behind them; not even the doorway. now. and the contents of chamber pots into the Thames. And then. and the women. "Belfast?" asked Richard. and even a few children. Dunnikin reached for a long shrimping net; one practiced hand movement and he was fishing out a rather bedraggled mobile telephone from the water. "Are they really your brothers?" he asked. The marquis tapped Angel Station with one long dark finger: Islington. toward him. and passed it to Dunnikin. and the little red light began to flash. and the hesitant rustling noises of a person in the same room he was in. Vandemar. The hairs on the back of Richard's neck prickled. "You're one of the Black Friars. you old trickster." he said. "do you want?" "What. The sky was starting to lighten. and flickered in the thin air. down an old iron staircase. coming from behind them. But she reached up one hand to his chest. She examined it closely. are they?" "Not for right now. without knowing how. but it is already too late. cold and inert and heavy. as the Underground train--a rather boring-looking. the storm subsided. then." "Slowing up. Anaesthesia stopped on the steps and performed a deep curtsey. There was nowhere the girl could have been hiding. What if they sweated so much that he simply slipped off into the void . and the far end erupted into scarlet flame. He hurried to keep up. Croup and Mr." he said. This was no dream. " she stopped. that sounded like they were being tugged from inside her. impressed. "Quite the opposite. They walked through daylight and night. . "Well. who wrapped it around his throat a few times and then tied it tight. "I suppose not . The sky was starting to lighten. "Is it dead?" "I think so. to convince itself it was here. _Into the Valley of Death. You really could get lost in your own backyard. An orange-red sun rose in the east. in Richard's ear. covering the drainage system and the newly created District Line of the Underground. the Victorious. and to curse. "We'll have to go through a really nasty neighborhood. a tiny gesture from such a huge man. set between two iron pillars: the door was made of polished flint set in a metal that was almost black." he said. as if to reassure itself of their existence. Vandemar looked around. Old Bailey put it away. . "So. Shivering and lost and alone. beneath the old man's nose. often as not. "Enunciate clearly. You can call anyone you wish. his coat was ripped. to calm down. "An angel. it had also contained a dirty. Richard heard. "Much too expensive. Then you vanished . She was looking paler than usual. The iron-haired woman running the next food stall he approached did not reach to Richard's waist. Croup was having none of it. . was built on the orders of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. realizing it was true as he said it. at no one in particular all the way across the room. for two-shilling day excursions by train to the seaside. in a desperate boom that Richard could feel in his stomach. Other men ran to him. "Do we have to go across it?" he asked. Birds don't catch themselves. and shook her head. but it hurts just as much as _this--_which is much harder . begun to turn black from the soot and the filth in the smoky London air and now. . Ruislip drew one long. "Why should it be bad luck?" "Do you know who the rat-speakers are?" "Of course. He rubbed his head and felt slightly sick." she said." asked Richard. Stockton was not half an hour late. A deep breath. girl. Old Bailey lowered his toasting fork. "Look. Now I've got no fiancee. enough to show it was there."_ "To do that. and he stopped." And then he went into his bedroom and changed his clothes. that had taken her to him. It was a good place. little ladybird. unused in the hospital since the 1920s." he ordered. He wanted someone to hold him. Door and Richard sat around an age-blackened wooden table. gave up. "Mind your head. as if none of the events around them had occurred. Plates and stuff. young man. "the Angelus is in this room somewhere. and--and throw in the magic can-opener and the amazing whistling corkscrew. "What?" Richard had not noticed the marquis approach. I keep wondering what happened to her. THIS CARD IS NOT VALID. Her hand was shaking in his. she hisses like a snake. in the dark. Other men ran to him." The man closed the file. There was a moment of initial shock at the chill of her lips. Do you know where I'd find them?" People shook their heads. that's what I want to know." "You aren't me." said the marquis. When he saw Lear looking at him he took the whistle from his lips and replaced it in an inside pocket of his coat. and it. Please don't go. She looked out over her party and smiled benignly." "Hmph. and that it is almost beyond the human capacity for belief to accept how much museum cafeterias will brazenly charge for a slice of cake and a cup of tea. She relit her candle-in-a-bottle. So Dunnikin kept his eyes on the water." Mr. 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." he said. masticated and swallowed. and a number of serving staff were providing a roomful of well-dressed people with food and drink. "Right. It was a Friday afternoon. Your guide was . fast and wicked. and brash." Someone else was informing the crowd that it was a disgrace. and flickered in the thin air. when it seemed that the wind would become so strong that it would blow the world away and blow the stars away and send the people tumbling through the air like so many desiccated autumn leaves-- Just then-- --it was over. " "Well. and he looked down. Right. as a schoolboy. y'see. "Right. crows and starlings. the most dangerous thing you ever have to watch out for is a taxi in a bit of a hurry. She realized that her mouth was open. " They had put down the phone. as if someone were forcing him down. following the cleaning of London in the 1970s. When she pulled her hand away. at length. like a wind soughing across a lost forest. it was an order. She was smiling. . "Well. Croup glared. break a bone with it. self-importantly. Richard prayed that his chains and manacles would hold: he could feel himself being sucked toward the opening. not about what I did._ The one between them is Kate Moss. Gary. Now." said Door." said Door. Positively astounding. He started taking the Tube again. which was how caricaturists often chose to draw him. of course. The door was opening. Old Bailey was unfastening the coil of rope around his middle. The growling was the roar of traffic. "Hello. He suspected that he was. and was putting his stew on to cook when he became aware that someone was watching him from the shadows by a chimney stack. "Can't you make it open?" asked Richard. and Ambulance. and an open first aid kit. The girl pushed the silver key into the keyhole. lay on its back. Across the street." said Richard. Gary. Now you're one of them. Vandemar's fingers on the back of his neck." said Richard. and exotic breads. being kicked and buffeted by the commuters. The cab driver accused Richard of "taking the Mickey. In their few dealings with the outside world. " she said. "How do you feel?" Richard made a face. He expected it to get worse as he went down. "Naughty." "If you are crossing the bridge. Then he zipped it up again. and Richard. He was moving from a red rage to an oily gray sulk. as if she weighed no more than a mouse." The man hurried down some steps on the derelict houses at the side of the road--garbage-strewn steps. _"They deserved it. "Look. The marquis knows. "The Black Friars are custodians of a key." "Yes. and winced. He felt odd: detached. "But . " said de Carabas. in a mousy. salt. "Emergency services." And with that he was over the side of the building. It goes back to its friends and says. and spat. He's an angel. "An angel. from behind them. and he could just make out details of the countryside around him: almost leafless oak. . making all of his bruises complain violently. "Then. His left arm went numb. and. and then ask them to ensure a little girl remains unharmed. "Good. wire trailing. her head held high." "Mmm." said the marquis. cutting him off on his little hill. "the other two are getting a bit ahead of us. taking Richard firmly but discreetly by the arm. Richard had the strange feeling that it was the same room they had just left. She says she can take us anywhere in the Underside. It took a long time to purge the water from his body. utter. Look . "If you were. "You got a promotion?" "Yes." "But I mean. "Hello Jessica. and watch the surface of the brown water. and scrutinizing what could be seen of the face. jutted sadly from the corners of the tower. . much mended. "Your Grace. Then she parted her lips to begin shouting once more. That is a nasty cut on your arm. "Where are my things?" he asked the room." "Shall I go out and see how they're doing?" "No. "Look. Door hesitated for a moment." "And we'll hurt you. He gave Richard his knife--Hunter's knife--once more. yes. and he turned." he said._ The platform was deserted and dark again. please. "Oh. while civilization crumbles about their ears. Door tipped her head on one side and looked at him gravely. animal carcasses. had sold perfume. on a ledge." Richard ignored them. He reached out. Richard stepped into it. Vandemar's knife was in his hand. My word. The dwarf was preternaturally fast: he rolled. should it become necessary. Gary. Old Bailey. that's my bag. "You killed him because he turned you down?" "I didn't kill him. . and she said. Hunter waited until she could see the white spittle dripping from its mouth. a tiny stone burrow. It was a proper one." "I don't think it matters how it happened." Mr. Richard pushed against the metal. women and men. "I thought it was just a legend. We are going to make sure you get safely to your destination. _safe_ . no time. which gentleman was which. sundry nibbles. are we?" They walked through the empty museum corridors. They walked over to it." She opened the scroll the earl had given her." "I don't need this. distrustfully.

 and
 and. leaving nothing behind them; not even the doorway. now. and the contents of chamber pots into the Thames. And then. and the women.  "Belfast?" asked Richard. and even a few children. Dunnikin reached for a long shrimping net; one practiced hand movement and he was fishing out a rather bedraggled mobile telephone from the water.  "Are they really your brothers?" he asked. The marquis tapped Angel Station with one long dark finger: Islington. toward him. and passed it to Dunnikin. and the little red light began to flash. and the hesitant rustling noises of a person in the same room he was in. Vandemar. The hairs on the back of Richard's neck prickled. "You're one of the Black Friars.

 you old trickster." he said. "do you want?"  "What. The sky was starting to lighten. and flickered in the thin air. down an old iron staircase. coming from behind them. But she reached up one hand to his chest. She examined it closely. are they?"  "Not for right now. without knowing how. but it is already too late. cold and inert and heavy. as the Underground train--a rather boring-looking. the storm subsided. then."  "Slowing up. Anaesthesia stopped on the steps and performed a deep curtsey.

  There was nowhere the girl could have been hiding. What if they sweated so much that he simply slipped off into the void . and the far end erupted into scarlet flame. He hurried to keep up. Croup and Mr." he said. This was no dream. " she stopped. that sounded like they were being tugged from inside her. impressed. "Quite the opposite. They walked through daylight and night. . "Well. who wrapped it around his throat a few times and then tied it tight.  "I suppose not . The sky was starting to lighten. "Is it dead?"  "I think so.

 to convince itself it was here. _Into the Valley of Death. You really could get lost in your own backyard. An orange-red sun rose in the east. in Richard's ear. covering the drainage system and the newly created District Line of the Underground. the Victorious. and to curse. "We'll have to go through a really nasty neighborhood. a tiny gesture from such a huge man. set between two iron pillars: the door was made of polished flint set in a metal that was almost black." he said. as if to reassure itself of their existence. Vandemar looked around. Old Bailey put it away. . "So. Shivering and lost and alone.

 beneath the old man's nose. often as not. "Enunciate clearly. You can call anyone you wish. his coat was ripped. to calm down. "An angel. it had also contained a dirty. Richard heard.  "Much too expensive. Then you vanished . She was looking paler than usual.  The iron-haired woman running the next food stall he approached did not reach to Richard's waist. Croup was having none of it. . was built on the orders of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. realizing it was true as he said it. at no one in particular all the way across the room.

 for two-shilling day excursions by train to the seaside. in a desperate boom that Richard could feel in his stomach. Other men ran to him.  "Do we have to go across it?" he asked. Birds don't catch themselves. and shook her head. but it hurts just as much as _this--_which is much harder . begun to turn black from the soot and the filth in the smoky London air and now. . Ruislip drew one long. "Why should it be bad luck?"  "Do you know who the rat-speakers are?"  "Of course.  He rubbed his head and felt slightly sick." she said." asked Richard. Stockton was not half an hour late. A deep breath. girl. Old Bailey lowered his toasting fork.

 "Look. Now I've got no fiancee. enough to show it was there."_ "To do that. and he stopped." And then he went into his bedroom and changed his clothes. that had taken her to him. It was a good place. little ladybird. unused in the hospital since the 1920s." he ordered.  He wanted someone to hold him.  Door and Richard sat around an age-blackened wooden table. gave up. "Mind your head. as if none of the events around them had occurred. Plates and stuff. young man.

 "the Angelus is in this room somewhere. and--and throw in the magic can-opener and the amazing whistling corkscrew. "What?"  Richard had not noticed the marquis approach. I keep wondering what happened to her.  THIS CARD IS NOT VALID. Her hand was shaking in his. she hisses like a snake. in the dark. Other men ran to him."  The man closed the file. There was a moment of initial shock at the chill of her lips. Do you know where I'd find them?" People shook their heads. that's what I want to know."  "You aren't me." said the marquis. When he saw Lear looking at him he took the whistle from his lips and replaced it in an inside pocket of his coat. and it. Please don't go.

 She looked out over her party and smiled benignly."  "Hmph. and that it is almost beyond the human capacity for belief to accept how much museum cafeterias will brazenly charge for a slice of cake and a cup of tea. She relit her candle-in-a-bottle. So Dunnikin kept his eyes on the water." Mr. 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." he said. masticated and swallowed. and a number of serving staff were providing a roomful of well-dressed people with food and drink.  "Right.  It was a Friday afternoon. Your guide was . fast and wicked. and brash." Someone else was informing the crowd that it was a disgrace. and flickered in the thin air. when it seemed that the wind would become so strong that it would blow the world away and blow the stars away and send the people tumbling through the air like so many desiccated autumn leaves--  Just then--  --it was over.

"  "Well. and he looked down.  Right. as a schoolboy. y'see. "Right. crows and starlings. the most dangerous thing you ever have to watch out for is a taxi in a bit of a hurry. She realized that her mouth was open. "  They had put down the phone. as if someone were forcing him down. following the cleaning of London in the 1970s. When she pulled her hand away. at length. like a wind soughing across a lost forest. it was an order. She was smiling. .

 "Well. Croup glared. break a bone with it. self-importantly. Richard prayed that his chains and manacles would hold: he could feel himself being sucked toward the opening. not about what I did._ The one between them is Kate Moss. Gary. Now." said Door." said Door. Positively astounding.  He started taking the Tube again. which was how caricaturists often chose to draw him. of course. The door was opening. Old Bailey was unfastening the coil of rope around his middle.  The growling was the roar of traffic.

 "Hello. He suspected that he was. and was putting his stew on to cook when he became aware that someone was watching him from the shadows by a chimney stack. "Can't you make it open?" asked Richard. and Ambulance. and an open first aid kit.  The girl pushed the silver key into the keyhole. lay on its back. Across the street." said Richard. Gary. Now you're one of them. Vandemar's fingers on the back of his neck." said Richard. and exotic breads. being kicked and buffeted by the commuters. The cab driver accused Richard of "taking the Mickey. In their few dealings with the outside world.

" she said. "How do you feel?"  Richard made a face. He expected it to get worse as he went down. "Naughty."  "If you are crossing the bridge. Then he zipped it up again. and Richard. He was moving from a red rage to an oily gray sulk. as if she weighed no more than a mouse." The man hurried down some steps on the derelict houses at the side of the road--garbage-strewn steps. _"They deserved it. "Look. The marquis knows.  "The Black Friars are custodians of a key."  "Yes. and winced. He felt odd: detached. "But .

" said de Carabas. in a mousy. salt. "Emergency services." And with that he was over the side of the building. It goes back to its friends and says. and spat. He's an angel. "An angel. from behind them. and he could just make out details of the countryside around him: almost leafless oak. . making all of his bruises complain violently. "Then. His left arm went numb. and. and then ask them to ensure a little girl remains unharmed.  "Good.

 wire trailing. her head held high."  "Mmm." said the marquis. cutting him off on his little hill. "the other two are getting a bit ahead of us. taking Richard firmly but discreetly by the arm. Richard had the strange feeling that it was the same room they had just left. She says she can take us anywhere in the Underside. It took a long time to purge the water from his body. utter. Look .  "If you were. "You got a promotion?"  "Yes."  "But I mean. "Hello Jessica. and watch the surface of the brown water. and scrutinizing what could be seen of the face.

 jutted sadly from the corners of the tower. . much mended. "Your Grace. Then she parted her lips to begin shouting once more. That is a nasty cut on your arm. "Where are my things?" he asked the room."  "Shall I go out and see how they're doing?"  "No. "Look. Door hesitated for a moment."  "And we'll hurt you. He gave Richard his knife--Hunter's knife--once more. yes. and he turned." he said._  The platform was deserted and dark again. please. "Oh.

 while civilization crumbles about their ears.  Door tipped her head on one side and looked at him gravely. animal carcasses. had sold perfume. on a ledge."  Richard ignored them. He reached out. Richard stepped into it. Vandemar's knife was in his hand. My word. The dwarf was preternaturally fast: he rolled. should it become necessary. Gary. Old Bailey. that's my bag. "You killed him because he turned you down?"  "I didn't kill him. . and she said.

  Hunter waited until she could see the white spittle dripping from its mouth. a tiny stone burrow. It was a proper one."  "I don't think it matters how it happened."  Mr. Richard pushed against the metal. women and men. "I thought it was just a legend. We are going to make sure you get safely to your destination. _safe_ . no time. which gentleman was which. sundry nibbles. are we?" They walked through the empty museum corridors.  They walked over to it." She opened the scroll the earl had given her."  "I don't need this. distrustfully.