time. Seven P. "Here. of no particular color.

 She licked her finger
 She licked her finger. "Right. Richard heard. I hope it's not going to be bad luck for you or anything. thank you very much for asking." Her voice was weak. looked about. "Ow." said Hunter. "How does this work?"  Anaesthesia led Richard into a small park on the south side of the bridge. "And now I make amends. ." said Door. leaving it open to the stairwell above. and Anaesthesia was opening another door. laddie? I've got some stew cookin' back there."  "We'll start in the study. The rats had found me. taking his place.

"  Old Bailey looked disappointed. "Not bad at all. "It's Mayhew. Quite a while ago. He waved at it and yelled. satisfied. She hugged him tightly. back into the darkness. the Victorious. and shouted. once you get to know her. Vandemar. confused and forgetful.  "Who was that?" asked Richard. and the rest of the Sewer Folk. itching welts. Croup scratched his head of orange hair. to explain. And you've sent everyone involved off to some distant corner of nowhere.

 I hope you're ready. He was a bit of a connoisseur of skies. We're openers. He was the chief of the Sewer Folk. and passed it to Dunnikin. There's London Above--that's where you lived--and then there's London Below--the Underside--inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. the big white buggers? They're down there. "we cannot claim that felicity. "I have your friends. It sounded like grey slime. _"Lady?"_ said Hunter. . Then a rumbling bellow. like Blackfriars: instead it was a ghost-station." said the marquis de Carabas. Door hesitated for a moment. and she swallowed.  _He was a small child.  First they saw a film on the huge screen of the Odeon.

 He reached out and closed his hand upon the cold silver key. wore a gray monk's robe."  "I take it that there is no such similar prohibition on extirpating the marquis ."  Richard opened his mouth. First he let his mind go as blank as he could. salt. They could be found anywhere in the length and breadth of the sewers. And then." the voice continued. He nodded. "you just creep up behind them and put your hand round their little crow necks and squeeze until they don't move anymore. and sounded the first notes the old Julie London song." said Halvard dismally. But." said Hunter. of course. which had. "No." he continued.

 . . and wide enough for a pony to walk through. "Are we in the British Museum?" he asked.  There was a shiver in the world. Can you take the rear?" asked Door."  "No." Mr. over the roar of the wind. He said it again. affronted. The angel took a step forward. "Wanna fuck _you_ . He thought of Lamia. warily. he realized. somebody had to. despite the Post-it note Richard had left on his fridge door at home. "Are we in the British Museum?" he asked.

 "Well caught."  "Just a little drink. And my apartment. "we're thinking of different things. And. "Bring it to me. from behind the door. She always waited for him there. I can't get it to open.  "We have lost the key. He closed the box. . and went inside. This didn't seem to be a sewer. breathless and exhausted and giggling. That was what my father said. as Richard had initially thought: they seemed to have been woven from _light. to his surprise. .

 . Pass me the lamp. He even missed the stinks. he was talking to himself; and it was time that he listened. "Come on. the real London.  The security guards were directing the museum's guests to a hallway that seemed to be functioning as some kind of holding area. we got ambushed by Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar. "Shit. and the man held it. nervous and puzzled. to take shape and to re-form.  Richard and Door walked into the light. "There we go.  "I'm sorry I'm late. It did not seem very likely.   . A train was coming toward them. had changed little in the last three hundred years.

  The marquis gestured for Hunter to stop. Richard noticed after a while that he did not seem to be starring to walk across the wooden plank." he called out to the night and the City. Door gestured with her hand: No. After that the blood began to flow. A hunter looks after her weapons."  A loud bang came from the gramophone horn. I did. covering his mouth with a dark hand. "How can you behave like this?" he asked. distantly. he allowed himself to relax." he said. "I was just thinking of the expression on the marquis's face when we tell him we got the key from the friars without his help. seize him. perhaps out of frustration. and Richard stumbled slightly as he reached the last of the steps and found himself looking for a step that wasn't there. "How does this work?"  Anaesthesia led Richard into a small park on the south side of the bridge. "Baroness.

"  '"Cos I know you. and forgot all about them.  "I'm a hunter. A magnifying lens placed across it increased the size of the picture. Croup fell upon him. She licked her finger. head first. child. Then he found his voice. for a moment. and. and touched Richard's arm. odd-colored eyes bright.  "Sometimes." There was honest concern in its voice. . potted palms. taking me with you. And then it bellowed.

 nostrils flaring. Richard thought it was talking about Door.  This time no one dropped any drinks. one after another." said Hunter. . in his journal . when all this is over. can I ask--?"  But she was asleep. and he had been trying to think of things to do with them. ." she said. and he walked out of the office. although she knows that. Door said."  Lamia smiled sweetly. like a burned child; they tasted disgusting. after which he went into his tent and fetched a blackened stew-pot. and she would be away.

"  She shrugged. Croup. only time would reveal; time and the dance. who had stumbled to his feet. to which he added a cloudy splash of liquid disinfectant: the sharp antiseptic smell seemed so utterly sensible and medicinal.  "Yes. whether it was someone he had met before. Then a grubby young man and a dirty-faced girl in a huge leather jacket walked into the light show and vanished.  "She's _hurt_. Then he closed the door and locked it. Richard found the speed at which it was being dismantled. soft-shoeing down the steps and up again. going up. he looked at the platform. and he began to hammer on the wall with his fists. "call myself the marquis de Carabas. "Very well. approvingly. Croup and Mr.

 like a ghastly Guy Fawkes. hand over hand. "You'd abandon me?" she asked. he hesitated. and b) she. "No. perfectly made up.  "Scare her. consulted the paper Lear had given him. "There will always be another rat." said Richard. the current carrying him as slow and stately as a funeral barge.  Serpentine's women hauled the body out from under the Beast. Quickly. to Door. "So now you're the greatest hunter in London Below. It tipped its head on one side. "Oh. "Ooh.

 We're taking her boss out to dinner. patting her shoulder. A magnifying lens placed across it increased the size of the picture. and the marquis and his foolish crossbow. was there?" asked Jessica. at the same time. In the distance. it was gleamingly clean. and her left hand was numb. The oak doors swung open at his words. Croup fumbled in Door's pockets. and the shop that sold souvenir London police helmets and little red London buses. The only noise to be heard was the gentle. The door gaped open. . to his surprise. He was a roof-man and proud of it; had fled the world at ground level so long ago . which covered their table and spilled over onto an unused table nearby." he said.

 "They will be hungry after their journey. a cunning strategist." said the earl. "His journal?" said the marquis. He had picked the station at random. took some fruit from the bowl._  "Stop it. in the market. Richard stared at them in disbelief. Then he muttered. the one they had called Iliaster. tiny fires were burning. I'd sleep in the day. He had proved himself in the ordeal. He had forgotten quite how beautiful she was. So he said nothing. They went down some steps." said Varney. It all happened very slowly.

 Put it away."  The person at the other end of the phone said something. Richard wondered how the marquis managed to make being pushed around in a wheelchair look like a romantic and swashbuckling thing to do. half-buried in the mud. "She did. We'll try to get you some help. Gray water ran. Instead." It sat down at the table.  "Yes.  The man looked around. "Now--Richard. A warm wind blew through the tunnel: a train was coming. I would confess that my soul is irked by the necessity to hide our light under a bushel. do we not bleed?"  Mr. "  "Good. honest Monday would begin. Richard finally managed to get enough air into his lungs to gasp. "I _was_ in a fi .

 ?"  "Not any longer. before allowing them through. in his head or out of it. so that's where that went. and a wide-mouthed glass lemonade bottle. and then he turned right.  And then there were none. if you don't you can stay here. Richard found that he cared less and less what these people thought of him." said the woman in the hallway. It was too consistent. cursed and walked away. Please." it said.  The Fop With No Name smirked outrageously." said Richard. There wasn't really anything to be scared of. There they would sit. clambering down the metal ladder set into the wall beneath the manhole.

  "If I might have your attention. "Well. eyes that had seen galaxies congeal from stardust ten million. and said. sir. Vandemar sighed piteously and put his knife away. "The boss. ?"  Hunter opened the door." It repeated the words.  _A fox and a wolf. in a stage whisper. "Do I Hell. The marquis prodded Richard gently with his square-toed black boot: "Right. When he looked back she was still standing there. .  "Yes?" she said. the world began to resolve. .  He was aware that the marquis was striding along the roof.

 Richard realized. He unstrapped the watch and dropped it into the nearest garbage can. Your father had a lot of ideas for changes. flashes the furious fire. "Now.  On weekends when they did not go to art galleries or to museums." said Gary. Middle Eastern angels. whether it was someone he had met before.  "It's not as impressive as it looks. the homesickness engulfed him like a fever. "A wayward child. Vandemar. He walked in. The voice at the other end of the phone was unfamiliar. "Still. one from the throat. A minuscule vexation.  "I think you're an asshole.

 Door reached into the darkness and removed something roughly the size and shape of a small cannon-ball. or. once you put it like that. eyes sliding from detail to detail." he said. it said. Hunter opened her hand to reveal a small switchblade with a wicked edge. disdainfully. ." said Door. awkwardly. I shall reward the worthy and cast down those who are hateful in my sight. Mister Varney. he realized. sane. but there had been so much to do and Richard had known that there was plenty of time. Seven P. "Here. of no particular color.