King Rat slipped outside the club’s arc. It hit the floorloudly.

‘Tell him to follow me, unh?’ Slam. ‘What was he going to do — report back?’ Slam. This time the wood connected and King Rat yelledin rage.

King Rat growled and slashed at Saul with those claws, and Saulbellowed and swung the club wit renewed venom. The two of themskittered around the dark room, slipping on mould and food, movingnow on two limbs, now on four. Saul and King Rat moved like liminalfigures, hovering between evolutionary strata, bestial andknowing.

‘So was Loplop going to send a message, unh? bird? Little birdgoing to let slip where I was, then?’

Again the attacks came, again King Rat moved, refusing to engagein battle, content to draw blood and slip away, his teeth stillvisible and wicked.

‘What if Loplop had accidentally told someone else where I was,unh? Was I fucking bait?’ King Rat caught the club with his righthand and bit at it suddenly and savagely, and it dissolved in a burstof splinters. Saul did not pause, but grasped King Rat’s filthylapels and carried him down into the muck, straddling him.

‘Well you needn’t have bothered, you fucking shit because thePiper was there and look what he did to me, you shit. You justweren’t ready, you and Nans so poor old Loplop had to take him on hisown.’ Saul pinioned King Rat’s arms to the brick floor and begansystematically to punch his face. But even trapped lit that King Ratwrithed and slipped under him, many of the heavy blows did notland.

Saul thrust his face right up to King Rat, and stare through theshadows on his eyes.

‘I know you wouldn’t give a fuck if I’d died, as long as I tookPiper-man with me,’ he hissed. ‘And I know you killed my dad, youfucking shithead rapist, you piece of crud — not the fucking Piper…’

‘We.’ King Rat shouted the word out and convulsed, throwing Saulfrom him and sliding in a single movement until he stood incharacteristic pose by the throne, skulking and aggrandizing, butthis time with his claws bared and his teeth dangerous, coated inslaver like a wild animal. Saul moved backwards in the dirt, foughtto right himself.

King Rat spoke again. ‘I never bumped off your dad, stupid. Ikilled the Usurper.’

The word stayed in the air after he had spoken it.

King Rat spoke again.

‘I’m your dad…’

‘No you fucking aren’t, you weird old fucked-up spiritualdegenerate,’ replied Saul instantly. ‘I might have your blood in myveins, you fucking rapist bastard, but you aren’t shit to me.’

Saul smacked himself on the forehead, laughing bitterly.

‘I mean, hello? "Your mother was a rat, and I’m your uncle."Jesus, nice one — playing me like a fucking idiot! And…’ Saulpaused and jerked his finger viciously at King Rat, ‘and, thatgoddamn fucking lunatic Piper who wants me dead only knows about mebecause of you.’

Saul sat down hard and held his head in his hands. King Ratwatched him.

‘I mean, I keep saying I’ve sorted it out, right?’ Saul murmured.‘And I just can’t stop thinking about it. You killed my father, yourapist shit, and when you did that you let some fucking spirit ofdarkness out after me, you gave him my fucking address, and, what,I’m supposed to go "Daddy!"?’ Saul shook his head in disgust. He felthis gut twist with contempt and hatred. ‘You can fuck off. It doesn’twork like that.’

‘So what’re you after, an apology?’

King Rat was scornful. He moved towards Saul.

‘What do you want? We’re blood. It was half an age since I left,since you were a little Godfer in the fat man’s arms. I could clockyou getting flabby. It was time to join your old dad, the cutpurseking. We’re blood.’

Saul stared up at him.

‘No, fucker, I don’t want shit from you.’ Saul stood. ‘What I wantis out.’ He moved off behind the throne, turned to face King Rat.‘You can deal with the Piper on your own. He only wants me because ofyou, you know? You’ve been bragging about me, you stupid shit. Youdon’t give a fuck about family. You raped my mum so you could haveyour weapon. The Piper knows it; he called me the secret weapon, knowwhat I mean to you. I know I’m a good way on getting at him, becausehe can’t control me.’

‘But he only wants me dead because of you. So, tell you what.’

Saul moved backwards as he spoke, towards the room’s peculiarexit.

‘Tell you what. You deal with the Piper as best you can, andI’ll look after myself. Agreed?’

And Saul looked King Rat in the eye, those eyes he could still notsee, and he left the room.

Up above the sewers: in the sky, over the slate. Out in the air.Saul fingered the skin over his bruises and felt it stretched outtaut and split. He gazed at London, spread out before him, unfolding,the underworld threatening to burst through, to rupture its surfacetension. It was dark; his life was always dark now. He was becoming anight creature.

His body hurt. His head ached, his arms were scratched andstretched, his muscles burned with deep bruises. But he could notstay still. He felt a desperate eagerness to work through it, to burnthe pain out of his body. He swung meaninglessly around girders andantennae, loose-limbed and elegant like a gibbon. He was suddenlyvery hungry, but he remained on the roofs for a while, running andjumping over low walls and skylights. He straddled the intricacies ofSt Pancras station, and sped along the spine of roofs which juttedout behind it like a dinosaur’s tail.

This was the realm of the arches. Weird little businesses waged abattle against empty space, cramming into the unlikely hollows belowthe railway lines. They proclaimed themselves with crude signs.

OFFICE EQUIPMENT CHEAP.

WE DELIVER.

Saul descended to street level. He was fighting to channel theforce of elation which had flooded through him at his renunciation ofKing Rat. He was fragile, ready to burst into tears or hysterics. Hewas captivated by London.

Someone approached him from around a corner: a woman in heels, hecould hear, a brave soul walking this area alone at night. He did notwant to scare her; so he slumped against a wall and slid down to thefloor, just a comatose drunk.

The associations of homelessness struck him and, as the heelsclicked by him unseen, he thought of Deborah and he felt his throatcatch. And then it was easy to think of his father.

But Saul did not have time for this, he decided. He leapt up andfollowed his nose to the dustbins of this odd realm, a world wherethe streets were empty off houses, where the only things thatsurrounded him were the peculiar businesses, Victorianthrowbacks.

The bins were not rich in pickings. Without domestic rubbish therewas little to them. Saul crept back towards King’s Cross. He foundhis way to the dumping grounds of the all-night eateries, and amasseda huge pile of food. He played games with himself, refusing to allowhimself to eat a mouthful until he had collected everything hewanted.

He sat in the shade of a skip in a cul-de-sac by a Chinesetake-away and fondled the food he had collected, chunks of greasymeat and noodles.

Saul gorged himself. He ate as he had not for days. He ate to fillall the cavities inside him, to drive out anything that had been leftbehind.

King Rat had used him as bait, but the plan had gone wrong. ThePiper had pre-empted his plan.

As Saul stuffed himself, he felt an echo of that surge of strengththat had coursed through him the first time he ate reclaimed food,found food, rat food.

The Piper still wanted him dead, of course, now more than ever. Hedid not think he would have to wait too long before the Piper camefor him.

It was a new chapter, he reflected. Away from King Rat. Out of thesewer. He ate until his belly felt dangerously taut, and then resumedhis position in the skyline.

Saul felt as if he would burst, not from food but from somethingthat had been released inside him. I should be mad, he thoughtsuddenly, and I’m not. I haven’t gone mad.