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Through doors, along dank corridors, across unused lines, and through excavations long forgotten by anyone else, Jazz made her way down At one point she paused at a ruined door, suddenly feeling the need to turn left where there was no opening She stared at the curved wall there, closing her eyes and feeling the draw even stronger than before, and when she looked again she couldup a fallen brick fro the corridor, she bashed at the wall a few times Cement ca brickwork, one old, the other even older, and the oldest area seemed to describe the shape of a doorway

"What's beyond?" she whispered Her voice was very loud, and she realized that question must have been asked down here a round was an escape, never a ho the space fro else

She went on, and at one point she heard a sound behind her, ainst stone She stopped and held her breath, hunkered down in the darkness and listening for a repeat of the sound But there was nothing There were always strange noises down here, some of which could be ex-plained, many that could not She supposed such hosts

She found one of the United Kingdouide her down Upon reaching the grand arched entrance to the Palace, she started crying, and try as she ht she could not hold back the tears When amorphous shapes appeared before her, she dropped the torch and held out her hands, welco whether they were alive or dead and not really caring

"Stevie's dead," she said Her voice was cool and blank, de-spite the tears

Harry stepped back as though she'd slapped hiasps of shock from the others --Hattie, Leela, Gob--and she tried not to look their way, because she knew she'd see her own grief ood little ser-vant, and then they chased us and killed him

He saved me firstHe stopped me from" She held her face in her hands and cried some ed him off and walked across the subterranean room

"I never meant for this," Harry said "He ith a task, but I nevercareful what he said, and Jazz realized he didn't want everyone else to kno he and Stevie had conspired It would taint the kids' opinion of hi he was a murderer by inten-tion At first she closed her eyes and tried to judge how heavy that knowledge would be, unshared Did she have the right to shatter their illusions of their savior?

She looked at Harry, his atery eyes, the long coat, and she tried to i Standing at the gates and chanting abuse Knowing that Stevie, Terence, and she were breaking into the wolves' den, and however ood chance one of theood chance

And Jazz realized that, yes, she absolutely did have that right Because the United Kingdom needed to knoho Harry really was

"You sent him to kill thefor aroom at the other kids and shook his head

"Yes, Harry," she said sadly "Yes"

"For Cadge," he said "Poor little Cadge --now, don't you think he deserved soirl?"

Jazz could not answer Tears were threatening again, burning behind her face and filling her throat

Hattie came to her and stood by her side

"It was for him," Harry said

"And what of Terence?"

Harry scoffed "Him and his precious battery? Fool! He thinks he can do what his father before hiirl Now listen --Leela will fetch the first-aid kit and have a look at your legs," he said, gesturing toward her bloodied trousers, though Jazz could have told hi had stopped "And then we'll talk, you and I Have a real good adult chat about--"

"Adult," Jazz said, laughing softly "Stevie was barely that, Harry I saw his head burst open when he hit the ground" She stared at the tall figure of Harry Fowler and tried to see so that would give her a shred of hope for his soul Perhaps it was the poor light in that place, or a blurring fro

"Hour of Screa in from one of the other rooms Her blue eyes ith fear, and she knelt down, covered her ears, and started singing a song

Harry glanced at Jazz "Second ti" He stared at her for ato run at her, strike her Then he sighed and sat down, singing his own sad song Jazz stood and ran She could not bear to share the expe-rience of London's pain with this man or be in the same place as hihosts passing by She went back into the tunnels, passing the place where she had hidden those photos That seeo now, and she al there, picking away broken glass and closing the duainst the wall opposite and felt the screa deep within her bones It always ca, before the true sounds cahosts came from within instead of without, and Jazz wondered whether it was like this for everyone

She hugged herself, eyes open, and sang softly as the Hour of Screah her The air in the corridor became opaque at first, and then the walls see people At first she thought they were soldiers, but then she saw the weary faces and sad eyes --none of thenized kindred spirits These were lost souls, wandering the Underground because day-light would not welco as a line of people walked right through her

Out in the ures had faded away, but there were others now, blurs of motion, movement, and sen-sation that threatened to overwhel that she continue watching She kept singing softly as she followed theed with a connection route between two larger tunnels, and here the iht, because she had the pressing idea that they had so, ready to shout at them to wait for her But as she exhaled, her breath see shapes, as though they were made of little more thandihosts dissipated And as the real screa of London's agonized past to stand before her

Morti raised a pistol and pointed it at Jazz's face Her breath caught in her throat And now she under-stood the smile on his face outside the doain He'd been in no rush to give chase, because he'd already knohere to find Jazz

"You've led us a merry chase, Jasmine Your old ave her courage "I'm sure he'd be pleased you hter too? What a friend

The ic, that But it couldn't be avoided Yourere hunting for We tried to do right by the two of you, for the sake of your father's ured out you were the battery, we caht us, she'd still be alive"

Jazz stared at hiape

Mort frowned "Christ, you didn't know?"