East at the teashop.
‘What is-’ Jeremiah began.
‘Your mother’s purse,’ Lex replied. ‘I pinched it, back at the Sea Volcanoes.’
Jeremiah stared at him, speechless for a moment, before putting the purse in his pocket. ‘The next time I play against you, Lex,’ the nobleman said quietly, ‘I will win.’
‘Well, I doubt that very much,’ Lex replied airily, ‘but dream about it, if you like. Let’s not spoil the moment by arguing. I don’t much like you, Jeremiah, and I daresay the feeling’s mutual. But for the sake of our grandfathers? who were both fine men? let’s try to part on good terms.’
Jeremiah looked suitably serious at the mention of their grandfathers and nodded. ‘Agreed,’ he said pompously. ‘For their sake, if not for ours.’
Lex smiled. Moulding people was so easy that, really, it was like they were made of clay half the time. When Lex stepped forwards to embrace Jeremiah, the nobleman looked taken aback and not best pleased, but he allowed it for a brief moment? clapping Lex awkwardly on the back before hurriedly releasing him. But that was all the time Lex needed. He said goodnight and goodbye to Jeremiah and then walked back to his own ship with the nobleman’s white Dragon of Desareth nestled securely in his own pocket. After looking it up in Erasmus Grey’s book, Lex had found out that the white Dragon could transport the wisher back to his home instantly? no matter how far away he happened to be from it at the time. Lex couldn’t very well allow Jeremiah to walk off with something so useful. The opportunity to pinch it was just too good to pass up.
All in all, it had been a profoundly satisfying victory. Lex set sail that very night and, by the time Jeremiah noticed his Dragon was missing, Lex was far, far away. The only thing that marred his pleasure was Jesse? the dratted cowboy had done a runner. And he had taken Lex’s book about Desareth’s Wishing Creatures with him.
Lady Luck had presented the cowboy with the grey pearls as soon as they got back to the Wither City but he had declined to go to the celebratory feast under the guise that he’d had enough of the Game by then, and was glad to be done with it. But when Lex got back to the ship, Rusty was gone and so was Jesse. Lex was only mildly miffed about this at first. After all, if another Game were to arise then he could always track the cowboy down and invite him along, but the speed and stealth with which the cowboy had left alerted Lex to the fact that something was most definitely up. So he carefully combed through the ship until he found the thing that was missing.
The Wishing Creatures of Desareth, by Erasmus Grey, had been securely tucked away in the safe Lex had had installed in his bedroom on the ship. But when he opened it, all that remained was a note from Jesse that read:
Howdy, partner,
Here’s a piece of friendly advice, kid: you need a better safe. This one is pathetic.
Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the book. Seems only fair, seeing as you have four of the Wishing Creatures of Desareth, and I ain’t got none.
Thanks for all the fun and, hopefully, we’ll see each other again sometime (but not too soon, eh?). Give my love to the griffins.
Your friend and mentor,
Jesse Layton.
Lex stared down at the letter in his hand. ‘Friend and mentor, my foot!’ he muttered darkly to himself.
He stood there a moment longer, waiting for the hot, horrible anger to sweep over him at the fact that someone had stolen from him for a change. But it never came. Instead, all he got was a strange feeling of thrilling excitement. What Jesse didn’t know was that Lex had an almost photographic memory and could therefore remember practically everything he’d read in the book. He also had the black Swann of Desareth, with which he should be able to track Jesse down. He would find the cowboy eventually and get his book back. After that
… if Jesse wanted to compete against Lex for the other Wishing Creatures out there, well… the cowboy would certainly be a worthy adversary, and Lex was in permanently short supply of those.
He read through the letter one more time, his smile growing wider at every word.
‘Perfect,’ Lex said gleefully as he put the letter in the safe and slammed the door shut. ‘Just what I always wanted: a brand new challenge. And with a half-decent opponent, too. Bring it on, Jesse. I’ll be ready for you.’
