Lex Trent versus the Gods Read online

  As soon as the Game was finished he would get stuck right back in with his thefts and his scams, but he would drop the Shadowman and come up with something else. A new name, a new identity and a better calling card next time - one that could not possibly be replicated by some contemptible copycat who wasn’t original enough to come up with his own alterego.

  But for now all that could wait. He was in the Golden Valley. Finally he was going to see it with his own eyes. He left the others dawdling about in the observation room and legged it up to the deck.

  Humans liked being kings for it made them feel closer to Gods. There had been a time, before the physical split of the Lands Above from the Lands Beneath, when humans all over the Globe had started proclaiming themselves as royalty, commanding over anyone who would listen and making their own crowns out of twigs and coloured glass and beads and anything else they could find. In the end, the Gods had been moved to put a stop to it. There could only be so many kings, they said. To limit the number, the Gods presented humanity with twenty crowns. Only the wearers of these twenty could be considered true kings - the missing link between divinity and humanity. And so the bloody battles commenced until the day when the kings were kicked out once and for all.

  Lex had heard stories of these twenty crowns. His grandfather had even seen one once, from a distance. They were not made from gold, it was said, but from something even more beautiful. Just the joy of being able to brush one with his fingertips would have been immeasurable to Lex.

  As an appreciator of beauty, it had always been Saydi’s sun that Lex had loved the most, for, as Goddess of Beauty, she was a deity after Lex’s own heart and she could do the most breathtaking wonders with her sun. Sometimes she cooled its rays enough for a soft, powdery snow to fall whilst the sky remained blue and bright, and at others she painted the sky with rainbows and golden-hued warmth or scented the air with honey and pollen and summer. Saydi seemed to understand that, in order for beauty to be appreciated in full, it must not impact on comfort and so her sun always heralded the most amenable weather on the Lands Above. There would never be any sunstroke or frostbite whilst Saydi’s sun was in the sky and Lex would have loved her for that alone. He recognised her sun as soon as he stepped out onto the deck of the enchanted ship on the morning they arrived at the Golden Valley. The air was clear and cool and beautifully fresh. It seemed incredibly sweet and oxygen rich - as to normal air what distilled spring water is to sewage. The gentle, golden light from the sun had liquefied in its purity and was splashing down upon the deck in soft smatterings of what the people knew as sun drizzle - a kind of golden rain that gently warmed the skin rather than wetting it.

  The day was beautiful, as one would expect from Saydi. But what Lex had not been prepared for was the utterly astonishing sight of the Golden Valley. He had always had a greedy streak, even as a child, but he had never realised until now just how savage greed could be. His fingers itched at the sight of what lay below.

  ‘Like it?’ Lex’s Goddess asked, appearing at his side.

  Lex nodded speechlessly.

  ‘Saydi’s sun adds magnificence to an already spectacular sight,’ Lady Luck said.

  The valley was full of white palaces. Lex loved palaces and fully intended to own at least ten before he died. They were made out of white gold and were of all different shapes - the western kings preferring spires and turrets and sparkling turquoise moats, and the eastern kings favouring jewelled domes and carved images of spirit-hosts and huge glittering stone elephants. There were fountains and emerald walkways and a vast enchanted forest for the kings to hunt in.

  ‘Can I have it?’ Lex asked - because if you don’t ask you won’t get. ‘Please?’

  Her Ladyship laughed. ‘The Golden Valley belongs to kings, Lex; you know that. You can’t have what’s down there unless you happen to be royal.’

  She turned away from the railings with a strange little smirk, telling Lex that he’d better go and get ready before he ran out of time. So Lex went back down to the observation room and ate a hurried breakfast with Schmidt before checking and rechecking his bag and then going back up to the deck with the others.

  The prophet arrived a few minutes later, landing his desert bat on the deck of the ship, looking a little bedraggled after what must have been a long and harrowing journey. The Judge appeared on the deck beside him instantly.

  This was Lady Luck’s round and although Lex had pestered her for some kind of hint as to what to expect, she had staunchly refused to tell him anything until everyone had reconvened at the Golden Valley. Lex was currently in the lead, of course, having won the first round as well as losing Lucius his companion. To Lex’s delight, Lucius had actually made a little halter for Zachary, complete with nametag and shiny, sparkly studs. Although not usually completely stupid, Lucius did seem to have something of a blind spot when it came to small, soft animals, no matter how sharp their teeth might turn out to be. The ferret looked ridiculous in the halter and, what was more, it was quite clear that Zachary knew it. He had tried to bite Lucius when the halter was first put on before finally being persuaded to wear the thing and thereby bid farewell to whatever last scrap of dignity he might have been vainly hoping to retain. The ferret was now slumped moodily at Lucius’s feet in such a stance of hopelessness and embarrassment that Lex almost . . . almost felt sorry for it.

  The Goddess of Luck cleared her throat and glanced round at everyone, looking well pleased with herself. ‘As we all know,’ she began, ‘royalty is blind. It is not based on intelligence or valour or merit. It is based on blood. It is based on luck, in other words.’

  ‘Royalty is valueless, in other words,’ Jezra said contemptuously.

  The God was in a foul temper that morning and it was not difficult to understand why. Jezra was a master gamesman but in this case it seemed all too clear that not only was he going to lose but he was going to lose spectacularly . If he had nurtured some faint hope that Lucius might turn out to be more like Lex than people thought, he had been sadly disappointed.

  ‘There are twenty royal crowns left on the Globe as I’m sure we’re all aware,’ the Lady went on, completely ignoring Jezra’s petulant comment. ‘At the end of this round Lex will be one of the Globe’s Kings.’

  She paused, hoping for a dramatic outburst of protest from the others, but a slight raising of the eyebrows was the only response she got from Jezra; the Judge’s face was hidden behind his expressionless mask; Lucius looked like he couldn’t have cared less about anything that was being said; the prophet was incapable of speaking and no one was too sure about exactly how much Zachary could understand in his current . . . state.

  The Goddess of Luck sighed, apparently deciding that everyone’s lack of enthusiasm had rather taken the fun out of the thing. ‘All right, there’s a crown hidden in the depths of the Royal Forest.’ She pointed down at the valley below. ‘First one to put it on is King.’

  Once again, apart from Lex’s broad grin, the others seemed distinctly unimpressed.

  ‘Was there a royal death last night of which I am as yet unaware?’ Jezra asked, in an exaggerated tone of politeness. ‘Because if not then where has this crown come from?’

  ‘I was granted special permission to create one for the purposes of the Game,’ Lady Luck said sweetly.

  ‘By who?’ Jezra demanded. ‘The only God who could give you that permission would be—’

  ‘Goban,’ Lady Luck said with a smug smile. ‘God of Royalty. Yes, he gave me his permission. Do feel free to ask him if you don’t believe me, but I think we’d all like to get on with the Game now.’

  ‘Well, what use is it anyway?’ Jezra asked, throwing up his hands. ‘When the winner will only be subject to an instant and permanent exile?’

  The smile faded from Lex’s face, for Jezra was right. All kings were exiled to the Golden Valley and were never allowed to leave. It was hoped that one day they would eventually die out although the royal bloodlines seemed to have been doing well
so far.

  ‘Goban has agreed that, in this case, the royalty will only be temporary. The winner will be allowed to leave the Golden Valley after they have removed the crown.’

  ‘I must say there seems to be a lot of rule bending going on!’ Jezra said sharply. ‘Aren’t you even going to say anything?’ he said, rounding angrily on the Judge. ‘Are you just going to let her do this?’

  The Judge spoke out from behind his mask then for the first time since the Game had begun. It was a deep, velvety voice that sent shivers down Lex’s spine. ‘If Goban has given his permission, I do not see that there is anything we can do.’

  After a moment when it looked like it might go either way, Jezra bit his tongue and was silent though the expression on his face made Lex distinctly uneasy. This was the God of Wit and Daring. Ultimately, the Goddess of Luck was no match for him in the Games, for luck could only last so long. Jezra was becoming angry and it was Lex Trent upon whom he was likely to turn his anger.

  ‘What do you think I should pack?’ Lucius fussed once they were back inside the ship.

  ‘Pack whatever you like,’ Lex said dismissively. ‘What do I care?’

  ‘But Lex!’ Lucius whined. ‘You’ve got more of an idea about what to expect than I have. I might run into trouble down there.’

  ‘I very much hope you do,’ Lex said, stuffing food into his bag. ‘We’re not on the same side.’

  Lucius sighed. ‘All right. Well, I’ll just take some food and water then but if I—’

  ‘No, you don’t,’ Lex said sharply as Lucius reached out for the sugary energy cake on the middle shelf. ‘That’s my food.’

  Lucius stared at him. ‘But you’ve got more than enough here for everyone!’

  ‘That’s hardly the point,’ Lex said. ‘We’re competing against each other, Lucius, you twit! I’m not going to do anything that might help you.’

  ‘Well, it’s not like I’m going to win, is it?’ Lucius replied huffily.

  ‘Lucius,’ Lex said, turning towards his brother, ‘loath as I am to offer you any kind of advice at this stage, you’d better at least try to win or else Jezra is going to be very angry with you indeed.’

  ‘Can I at least take some water?’

  ‘No!’ Lex snapped, his voice turning hard. ‘If you were anyone else I would have sabotaged you by now. I’ve suppressed the urge to do that out of respect for the fact that we’re related, but I won’t go so far as actually helping you. I’m far too good at Games for that sort of weakness. I’m ready now, so I’m going to go ahead and start. Stay on the boat for as long as you like, but don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you. Come on, Monty,’ Lex said to Schmidt who was lounging by the kitchen door.

  With a shrug, Schmidt turned and followed Lex out along one of the mirrored corridors. ‘You really are a mean little sod, aren’t you?’ he remarked as they came out onto the deck. ‘You lost him his transport and his companion and yet still you would begrudge him having just a few bottles of water.’

  ‘I’ve done him a favour,’ Lex grunted. ‘Because he had no drayfus, he got to come with me, which means he’s well rested for this round rather than exhausted as he would have been if he’d travelled here on the drayfus, and to be perfectly frank, he’s better off without any companion at all than he was with Zachary.’

  ‘What do you have against the man, anyway?’ Schmidt asked curiously.

  ‘He thought he could tell me what to do,’ Lex said simply.

  Eventually Lucius had asked Zachary to move into the farm house to help out on the occasions when Alistair became agitated. And Zachary had duly decided that this gave him the right to interfere in private family matters whenever he felt like it.

  ‘I know you’re busy,’ he said one day, after rudely barging into Lex’s bedroom where he was trying to study. ‘But if you could just help Lucius sometimes with your grandfather it would help him enormously—’

  ‘Sod off,’ Lex said, without looking up from his textbook. ‘I’m trying to learn how to be a lawyer here.’

  ‘Alistair won’t be with us much longer,’ Zachary said quietly. ‘So if you don’t make time for him now, you won’t get another chance to say goodbye.’

  ‘Let’s not talk as if he’s already dead, shall we?’ Lex asked in a loud voice. ‘I realise you’re earning yourself some serious brownie points with my brother right now but that doesn’t give you the right to forget your place. You’re a servant! And you’d do well to remember it if you don’t want to lose your job!’

  Lex was pleased to note that Zachary reddened slightly at that. ‘You can’t fire me,’ he said stiffly. ‘I’m employed by your grandfather, not by you.’

  ‘Yes, but he’ll kick the bucket soon, won’t he?’ Lex asked, standing up suddenly. ‘Then guess who’ll inherit the farm? When he’s gone, I shall make it my personal responsibility to see that you go, too!’

  Zachary narrowed his eyes angrily. ‘I know you were very close to Alistair,’ he said at last. ‘But he would be ashamed of you and the way you’re behaving if he could see you now.’

  After an uncomfortable spasm of shocked, angry guilt, Lex lunged forward, knocking things over in his haste to hit Zachary in the mouth. Lex didn’t tend to get involved in physical fights because he knew he wouldn’t win them. He wasn’t stupid - Zachary was a large, broad-shouldered forty-year-old farmhand and Lex was a skinny fifteen year old who’d never done a day’s hard labour in his life. Fortunately Zachary did not hit him back, although he very much looked like he wanted to. He just stalked away, one hand held to his bleeding lip, and never said another word about it. But the already strained relationship was certainly not improved by that incident.

  ‘Now shut up so I can land the ship,’ Lex snapped at Schmidt. ‘I fully intend to find that crown before the prophet does.’

  He stomped off to the prow, took a couple of deep breaths to collect himself and then closed his eyes and threw out his arms in a dramatic pose because he knew it irritated the lawyer. He concentrated all his thoughts on visualising what he needed to do and then slowly and expertly brought the great ship down to the valley floor. He was very adept at controlling the ship already and it landed gently with barely a tremble of impact.

  ‘Is there nothing I can’t do?’ Lex asked, turning back to Schmidt with a broad smile, all irritation now properly suppressed.

  Lex made Schmidt go down the ladder first this time so that he could go after him, treading on his fingers where necessary to speed him up a little. It went without saying that Lucius wasn’t a threat, he was still messing about inside the ship, but the prophet was already in the Royal Forest and Lex knew it would be dangerous to underestimate him just because he’d lost Theba and then made a silly mistake with the quicksand in the last round. After all, he was the Judge’s player, so he couldn’t be totally incompetent. When he jumped down onto the ground, Lex ignored the glare the lawyer was giving him as he pointedly rubbed his bruised fingers, and set off down one of the emerald pathways towards the forest.

  Winning the first two rounds of the Game was not as important as winning the third one. The last round was the most dangerous and the real decider of who won the Game for the points accumulated during the first two rounds were wiped clean before the third round even began. The only thing those points were actually good for (aside from earning the player a good reputation and some adoring fans) was that they gave the winning player a headstart for the all-important third round. Therefore, Lex could have conceivably lost both the first two rounds and still won the Game overall if he was able to triumph in the third round despite the disadvantage of a late start. But it was not just about winning the Game in the end; it was about winning the Game all the way through, and Lex would have felt that way even if a royal crown hadn’t been involved. But now that he knew about it, he was, if possible, even more determined to win than he’d been before.

  All the paths in the Golden Valley were made of pebbled emeralds that had been embedded into
the ground and sparkled underfoot. Lex wondered how easy it would be to prise some of them up and decided to give it a go on the way back if there was time. The emeralds would fetch a handsome price back in the Wither City or anywhere else in the Lands Above.

  Some of the kings came to the windows of their palaces as Lex and Schmidt passed to stare out at them curiously before disappearing hurriedly back inside again. They did not get many visitors in the Golden Valley since it was a forbidden place to all but royalty and their servants under usual circumstances, and inbred fears of assassins resurfaced as soon as the kings caught sight of strangers. They probably wouldn’t even stop him if he started chipping gold off the walls outside as long as he didn’t actually try to get in. It would be so painfully easy, it would be almost sacrilegious not to line his pockets before he left. Lex promised himself that he’d see what could be done about that after he’d found the crown.

  He paused at the entrance to the Royal Forest. It was kept well stocked with deer for the kings to hunt. But it was also enchanted. There were talking trees and it was also said that many fairy godmothers retired to the forest because the only people who lived in the valley were kings and they were a contented lot, having already fulfilled their life’s dreams. This was probably the only forest on the Globe where the fairy godmothers were not likely to be bothered by any poor woodcutters or lost children whining about wishes.