She pushed open a door.

     There were no windows to the room, but it was lit perfectly well by the walls themselves. Down the middle of the room  was something  like a display case, its lid gaping open. Bits of card littered the floor.

     She reached down and picked one up  and read: 'Thomas Ague, aged  4 and nearly  three quarters,  9  Castle View,  Sto Lat'.  The  writing was  in  a meticulous rounded script.

     She crossed the passage to another room, where there was the same scene of devastation.

     'So now we know where the teeth were,' she said. 'They  must've taken  them  out of  everywhere and  carried  them downstairs.'

     'What for?'

     She sighed. 'It's such old magic  it  isn't even  magic any more,'  she said.  'If you've  got a piece of someone's  hair,  or a nail clipping, or a tooth you can control them.'

     The oh god tried to focus.

     'That heap's controlling millions of children?'

     'Yes. Adults too, by now.'

     'And you... you could make them think things and do things?'

     She nodded. 'Yes.'

     'You could get them to open Dad's  wallet and post the contents to some address?'

     'Well, I hadn't thought of that, but yes, I suppose you could...'

     'Or  go downstairs  and smash all the bottles in the drinks cabinet and promise never to take a drink when they grow up?' said the oh god hopefully.

     'What are you talking about?'

     'It's all right for you. You don't wake up every  morning  and see your whole life flush before your eyes.

     Medium  Dave  and Catseye ran  down the passage and  stopped  where  it forked.

     'You go that way, I'll...'

     'Why don't we stick together?' said Catseye.

     'What's got into everyone? I saw you bite the throats out of a coupla guard dogs when we did  that job in Quirm! Want me to hold your  hand? You check the doors down there, I'll check them along here.'

     He walked off.

     Catseye peered down the other passage.

     There  weren't many doors  down  there.  It wasn't very  long.  And, as Teatime had said, there was nothing dangerous here that they  hadn't brought with them.

     He heard voices coming from a doorway and sagged with relief.

     He could deal with humans.

     As he approached, a sound made him look round.

     Shadows were racing down the passage behind him. They cascaded down the walls and flowed over the ceiling.

     Where shadows met they became darker. And darker.

     And rose. And leapt.

     'What was that?' said Susan.

     'Sounded like the start of a scream,' said Bilious.

     Susan threw open the door.

     There was no one outside.

     There was movement, though. She saw a patch  of darkness in  the corner of a wall shrink  and fade,  and  another shadow slid around the bend of the corridor.

     And there was a pair of boots in the centre of the corridor.

     She hadn't remembered any boots there before.

     She sniffed. The air tasted of rats, and damp, and mould.

     'Let's get out of here,' she said.

     'How're we going to find this Violet in all these rooms?'

     'I don't know. I  should  be able to... sense  her, but I can't.' Susan peered around the end of the corridor. She could hear men shouting, some way off.

     They  slipped  out on to  the stairs again  and managed another flight. There were more rooms here,  and in each one a cabinet that had been  broken open.

     Shadows moved in  the corners. The effect was as  though some invisible light source was gently shifting.

     'This reminds me a lot of  your... um... of your  grandfather's place,' said the oh god.

     'I know,' said Susan.  'There aren't any rules except the ones he makes up as he goes along. I can't  see him being very happy if someone got in and started pulling the library apart...'

     She stopped. When she spoke again her voice had a different tone.

     'This is a children's place,'  she said.  'The  rules are what children believe.'

     'Well, that's a relief.'

     'You think so? Things aren't going to be right. In the Soul Cake Duck's country ducks can lay chocolate eggs,  in  the same  way  that  Death's country  is black and sombre because that's what people believe. He's very conventional about that sort of thing.  Skull  and bone decorations  all  over the  place. And  this place...'

     'Pretty flowers and an odd sky.'

     'I think it's going to be a lot worse than that. And very odd, too.'

     'More odd than it is now?'

     'I don't think it's possible to die here.'

     'That man who fell down the stairs looked pretty dead to me.'

     'Oh, you die. But not here. You... let's see... yes... you go somewhere else. Away. You're just  not seen any  more. That's about all you understand when you're three. Grandfather  said it wasn't like that fifty years ago. He said you often couldn't see the bed for everyone having a good cry. Now they just tell the  child that Grandma's gone. For three weeks  Twyla thought her uncle'd  been  buried in the sad patch  behind the  garden shed  along  with Buster and Meepo and all three Bulgies.'

     'Three Bulgies?'

     'Gerbils. They tend to die a lot,' said Susan. 'The trick is to replace them when she's not looking. You really don't know anything, do you?'

     'Er... hello?'

     The voice came from the corridor.

     They worked their way round to the next room.

     There, sitting on the floor and tied to the leg of a white display  case, was Violet. She  looked up  in apprehension, and then in bewilderment, and finally in growing recognition.

     'Aren't you...?'

     'Yes, yes, we see each other sometimes in Biers, and when you came  for Twyla's last tooth you  were so shocked that I could see  you I  had to give you  a drink  to get your nerves back,' said Susan, fumbling with the ropes. 'I don't think we've got a lot of time.'

     'And who's he?'

     The oh god tried to push his lank hair into place.

     'Oh, he's just a god,' said Susan. 'His name's Bilious.'

     'Do you drink at all?' said the oh god.

     'What sort of quest-'

     'He needs  to know before he decides whether he hates you or not,' said Susan. 'It's a god thing.'

     'No, I don't,' said Violet. 'What an idea. I've got the blue ribbon!'

     The oh god raised his eyebrows at Susan.

     'That  means  she's a  member  of Offler's League  of Temperance,' said Susan.  'They  sign a pledge not to  touch alcohol. I  can't  think  why. Of course,  Offler's  a crocodile. They  don't  go in bars  much. They're  into water.'

     'Not touch alcohol at all?' said the oh god.

     'Never!' said Violet. 'My dad's very strict about that sort of thing!'

     After a moment  Susan  felt forced to  wave  a hand across their locked gaze.

     'Can we get on?' she said. 'Good. Who brought you here, Violet?'

     'I don't know! I was doing  the collection as usual, and then I thought I  heard someone following me, and then it all went dark, and when I came to we were... Have you seen what it's like outside?'

     'Yes.'

     'Well, we were  there. The  big one was carrying me.  The one they call Banjo. He's not bad, just a bit... odd. Sort of... slow. He just watches me. The others are thugs. Watch out  for the one with the glass eye. They're all afraid of him. Except Banjo.'

     'Class eye?'

     'He's dressed like an Assassin. He's  called Teatime. I  think  they're trying to steal something... They  spent ages carting  the teeth out. Little teeth everywhere...  It  was horrible! Thank you,' she added  to the oh god, who had helped her on to her feet.