“Please, Mr. Sato,” Jackson begged. “Don’t get mad at Fiona. After all, she is licensed to give out bills of health. She only kept it from you because I told her if she didn’t, I’d tell you about the Under —”
Jackson realized what he’d almost said and stopped. But his expression of horror betrayed him. Jane shook her head in disbelief.
“Go on,” Yuki Sato said. “What were you going to say?”
“I said nothing.”
“You said ‘under.’ ‘Under’ what?”
Jackson bit his lip.
“Your complete honesty would be much appreciated,” Mr. Sato added.
Jackson thought of Fiona fighting just behind him and felt lower than dirt. In trying to bail her out, he’d only made it worse.
“I…umm… I told Fiona if she wouldn’t sign my bill of health for the invitational without telling you, I’d tell you she was fighting in the Underground.”
If Asena had been a Moldune, Jackson would have had her dig a hole and bury him to die.
“I see,” Mr. Sato said. He looked behind Jackson toward the ring where, from the sound of it, Fiona was obliterating Appleby. Jackson cringed when he thought of the nasty surprised she was in for. “It seems there is more to this story than we first thought, as hard to believe as that is.”
“Mr. Sato —” Jackson pushed on, talking fast so he couldn’t be interrupted. “I’m so sorry for everything.” He looked between his grandma and the Satos. “I just wanted to save our house so bad and when I found a Djinn, I thought it was the right thing. I never meant for any of this to happen or to betray your trust.”
Neither Jane nor the Satos spoke. Jackson didn’t know if they were purposefully trying to torture him or not, but it was working. Asena looked at Jackson, her tail tucked between her legs. The buzzer sounded and the loudspeaker announced Fiona as the winner. Jackson braced himself — Fiona would walk right out into them after Rebel cleared his health check.
In the back of his mind, he realized without excitement that he was going to — or would have— faced Fiona in the championship. His downcast eyes looked to his left and found Kay. She noticed and gave him and small, forced smile. It made Jackson feel worse — she looked almost as scared as he did.
“I am surprised by you, Ms. Watts,” Mr. Sato said. “What was your part in all of this?”
“I —”
“Kay didn’t do anything, Mr. Sato,” Jackson interjected. He’d already ruined things for Fiona — he wouldn’t let Kay take a fall for him, too. “She told me all along this was a bad idea. She wouldn’t have gone along with anything, but she wanted to make sure Asena didn’t get hurt!”
As if to add her testimony, Asena pushed her way between Jackson and Kay and licked the girl’s fingers.
“Is this true, Miss Watts?” Mr. Sato asked Kay.
Kay gave a small nod. “Mr. Sato, Jackson only did —”
“Oh…shit.”
Fiona’s disbelieving voice caused Jackson to turn. She stood a few paces away behind them, a look of horror plastered across her face.
“Fiona!” Mrs. Sato said, aghast. “Watch your mouth!”
“We need to speak with you, young lady,” Mr. Sato said in a stern voice, “about your recent involvement in the Underground and signing a bill of health without our knowledge, among other things.”
If looks could kill, Fiona’s would have hit Jackson like a monorail train at full speed…and proceeded to reverse and run over the remains of his mangled corpse.
“Mr. Sato, I told you, Fiona only kept it from you because I blackmailed her!” Jackson insisted. “This is all my fault, not Kay’s or Fiona’s.”
Fiona came to a halt next to Jackson. He could see her jaw clenched and a vein bulging out in her neck, ready to explode. Her mouth opened, but then she sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Dad, that’s not true. Jackson didn’t blackmail me. I signed the bill of health so I could face him in the tournament. I kept it from you because Jackson was worried you would mention it to Mrs. Hunt.” Fiona turned to Jane. “Sorry, Mrs. Hunt.”
“And the Underground?” Mr. Sato asked.
“It’s true,” Fiona said. She offered no justification.
Another awkward silence stretched between all of them. Mr. Sato studied Jackson and Fiona but couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking.
“Fiona Sato and Jackson Hunt, please report to the bullpen in thirty minutes.”
The announcer’s voice over the loudspeaker cut through them. A bolt of sickening realization struck Jackson: he’d made it all this way only to get pulled from the tournament right before the championship match.
“Mr. Sato.” Surprisingly, it was Jane who spoke up. “Given the circumstance of the situation, I leave judgment in your hands.”
Ken Sato folded his arms and sighed. “Jackson, your grandma explained your financial situation to us on the train ride here. If you had come to me, instead of going down this path, we might have been able to work out an arrangement with you. As it is, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do at this point.”
Jackson nodded. It seemed obvious in retrospect, but he’d never considered speaking with the Satos before even though he’d ironically told his grandma he’d been working extra hours for them.
“You understand that I must end your employment at Sato Breeders.” Mr. Sato said.
“Dad —”
“It’s okay,” Jackson said to Fiona. His throat grew thick and he felt like he had a ball of molten iron in his stomach. “I understand… am I going to jail?”
“Jail?” Mr. Sato almost seemed to suppress a laugh before turning deadly serious once again. “No, Jackson, I don’t think that is necessary. What Fiona did was wrong and dishonest, but technically, she has the qualifications to sign a bill of health. Though we did set a system in place where she should have told us about every one that was signed. This is a tremendous betrayal of our trust. Were she still a minor, I would pull her from this tournament at once. As it is, we’re going to have a long talk tonight.” He gave Fiona a stern look.
Fiona turned her head away from her father and stared at the ground.
While not going to jail was nice, the way things turned out didn’t make Jackson feel much better. He’d lost his job, would lose his mom’s house and now, to top it off, Fiona would win the invitational by forfeit. He didn’t even dare to ask Jane if he could still compete.
“Can I go get my things from the hotel?” Jackson asked. “Then I’ll be ready to go.”
Head down, Jackson walked past the group. Asena trailed behind him, her tail tucked between her legs, mirroring her tamer’s emotional state.
“Jackson, stop.” It was his grandma. “Don’t you have a match?”
“But…” Jackson’s brain couldn’t process what she was saying.
Jane separated herself from the rest of the group to talk to Jackson. “When I came here, I had every intention of pulling you from the tournament. I couldn’t believe you’d done this to me. But then I saw you competing…and it felt like a part of Jessica was out there with you.”
She paused and reached down to pet Asena on the head. “I may have a hard time with it, but I can’t keep you from doing what you love…I know that now. It might be hard, but I can come to accept it if this is the life you really want.”
Jackson couldn’t speak, just nodded, tears running down his face. He pulled his grandma in and gave her a tight hug. “I’m sorry for everything,” he told her again.
“I know,” Jane said. She knelt down and ruffled Asena’s fur then smiled at Jackson. “Now…go show them what it means to be a Hunt!”
Chapter Thirty
“You know I’m going to destroy you, right?” Fiona said. They were waiting in the bullpen. A clock on the screen to their right showed a counter ticking down just under five minutes until the championship match began. “I was going to destroy you anyway,” Fiona continued, “but then you were a complete dumbass and screwed everything up. So now I’
m really going to destroy you.”
“I said I was sorry!” Jackson said. Fiona had every right to be angry, but Jackson couldn’t wait for the match to start so he didn’t have to listen to her rant anymore. “I told you I didn’t mean to tell them about the Underground, I was just trying to cover for you!”
“Yeah, well nice job, moron,” Fiona scoffed. “You’re just lucky I didn’t get pulled from the tournament. Remind me never to do you a favor again.”
“Right back at you,” Jackson muttered. Just then, a realization hit him — in the chaos of getting caught, he’d completely forgotten about leveling up, and as such, he still had two new DJP to allocate. He pulled up his holo-watch, and was greeted with another notification.
New Move Learned!
He pulled up Asena’s stats.
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Lyote
Level: 11
Name: Asena
Element: Fire/Earth
Species Rarity: Rare
Tamer: Jackson Hunt
HP (Hit Points): 195/195
EP (Elemental Power): 92/92
XP (Experience): 350 to Next Level
DJP (Djinn Points): 2 Unallocated
Attack: 68
Defense: 37
Speed: 58
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Bond: 71%
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
Jackson swiped left.
MOVE SET
Fire Elemental: Fire Growl (5 EP), Fire Bark (NEW) (15 EP)
Plain Elemental: Attack, Headbutt, Wild Bite
This new move couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The only downside? It used up 15 of Asena’s Elemental Power, so he’d have to use it sparingly — or hope that it was effective enough to take down his enemy quickly.
“Are you seriously allocating Djinn Points right now?” Fiona said, the annoyance clear in her voice.
“What, should I just not do that?”
“No, fine, go ahead.”
But how would he allocate them to best face off against Rebel? Jackson paused for a moment, unsure of the best way to handle those last two DJP, given his opponent’s strengths.
He paused a moment too long.
“Okay, you two, you’re up!” the ref’s voice said.
Jackson’s mouth dropped. He was out of time. Should he allocate them now or save it for —
“Mr. Hunt, please follow me.”
Jackson closed his holo-watch, points unallocated — hopefully that wouldn’t be a decision he’d regret.
He couldn’t help but notice Fiona’s cocky smirk as they made their way into the ring, and he also couldn’t help but hate her just a little bit in that moment. Had she thrown him off on purpose?
“First of all, congratulations on reaching the championship round!” Jackson couldn’t believe the dude hadn’t lost his voice yet, but he bellowed as loud as ever. “The rules for the match are the same as the previous rounds in the tournament with two exceptions: the match will continue until one Djinn is knocked out, and the size of the ring has been increased to standard DBL measurements. Is that clear?”
“Good,” Fiona said.
Jackson just nodded. He couldn’t tell what he felt: relief, anger, nervousness? All of his emotions swirled together — he just wanted the match to start.
“Tamers, take your places!”
“Don’t make this too easy for me,” Fiona said. Before Jackson could answer, she spun around and strode to her end of the ring.
Jackson found himself strangely aware of his surroundings: the pressure each step his foot made in the dirt ring, the excited buzz of the small crowd, the smell of sunshine beating down on the earth from overhead, and the glare it made off of the pavilion rooftops.
When he turned around, the referee pointed to him and Jackson gave a nod to show he was ready. He felt like someone had hooked a line to his belly button and was cinching him up into the air by it. Looking down, his ring hand quivered against his side.
“Tamers, release your Djinn in THREE —”
Jackson clenched his clammy hand.
“TWO!”
His heart hammered in his ears louder even than the ref’s voice.
“ONE!”
Jackson’s hand shot forward and Asena materialized before him, running at a full sprint toward Rebel. The Megala pumped its wings hard and rose a few feet off the ground, spraying the ground in front of Asena with needle-sharp feather quills.
Watch out, girl! Jackson warned.
Without breaking stride, Asena wound her way through the maze of needles. For some reason, Rebel, continued to hover, but didn’t spray out anymore quills. Almost as if he was watching…
Look out!
Jackson’s warning came too late. Rebel’s spray of quills had forced Asena down a certain path. Just as the Lyote prepared to spring at the Megala, Rebel unleashed another spray of quills.
The focused projectiles peppered Asena’s back, neck, snout and paws.
Asena’s health drained from 195 all the way to 145 — Just how strong were those quills?!
But the Lyote didn’t let that stop her.
Without breaking stride, Asena leaped at Rebel and struck him hard, bearing them both to the ground. While Rebel buffeted Asena with its pointed wings, Asena’s fangs snapped and snarled, trying to grab hold. Just before Rebel broke away, Asena’s jaws clamped down tight on his wing.
Jackson’s battle chart showed about a quarter of Rebel’s hit points disappear.
The two Djinn sprang apart and circled one another in the middle of the quill-covered ring.
Fire Bark! Jackson called out to Asena, hoping this EP-heavy move wouldn’t go to waste.
Rebel ducked aside, showcasing superior agility. The stream of fire hurtled past and dissipated in the air. Jackson ground his teeth. Asena had an Elemental advantage over Rebel, but it would do no good if they couldn’t harness it.
Asena ducked low to the ground, warily waiting for her opponent’s next move, but Fiona kept Rebel at bay.
Fire Bark! Jackson commanded again. Once more Rebel dodged aside at the last moment.
This time, Fiona and Rebel didn’t hang back. As soon as the fireball passed by, the Megala scurried forward, head low to the ground. Asena ran to meet her, but before the two collided, Rebel pulled up at the last moment and shielded itself with its wings.
No — stop!
Carried by the momentum of her charge, Asena ran right into Rebel’s shield of wings and spiky quill feathers. But Rebel didn’t escape unscathed. Despite taking significant damage, Asena’s blow hit Rebel hard. The Megala’s combination of high agility and low defense finally worked in Jackson’s favor: Rebel had just two-thirds of his health left.
Fire Bark!
The attack caught Megala square in the body, and he let out a pained screech as his health took a dive. But then, in a swift flap, it shook off the flames. It may have caused a good deal of damage, but the Megala was all too quick to recover.
Attack!
Asena obeyed, but in his quick attempts to hit the Megala while it was down, he hadn’t noticed that while shaking off the flames, it had set itself up for another quill attack. Several arrow-sharp feathers stabbed Asena in the face.
Asena stopped dead in her tracks and began frantically brushing at her face, trying to remove the quills.
Asena, dodge!
But it was no use. Even if she had heard him, she was too preoccupied to know what to dodge. Rebel swooped down and threw himself at Asena without mercy, knocking her onto her side several feet back.
Asena, leave the quills in! Jackson ordered. He couldn’t have her mind focused on those quills the entire match. He thought back to his earlier match with Appleby back at the Underground. He had to keep Asena calm.
Stay focused, girl!
Jackson could tell it was tough, but Asena obeyed, standing up straight and glaring at her opponent
.
Jackson’s eyes darted between Asena and Rebel. He had to win this match. Not only did he just want to win, but at the end of the day, he and Asena had the Elemental advantage over feathered Djinn. They were in the best position to win. He glanced at his holo-watch stats. He had 47 left in Elemental Power. Normally, he would work to conserve that Elemental Power for a rainy day, but why bother here? This was exactly the rainy day he’d be saving it for.
Asena, get up-close!
Asena ran at Rebel at a full sprint once again. Rebel instinctively began flapping a gust of wind at Asena, slowing her down. This was going to be a bit harder than he thought.
Stay back! Jackson commanded, biting his lip. He hated doing this, but he’d have to go back to his wait-and-attack approach, though doing so concerned him since Fiona would likely already knew that strategy by now. But given Rebel’s move to keep Asena at bay, there was little he could do. Her Fire Bark was far too valuable to waste on another potential miss.
Then it hit him.
Asena, Fire Growl to its left, Fire Growl to its right, and Fire Bark down the center!
A ball of flame emerged from Asena’s mouth, and another immediately followed. After taking one big inhale, she let loose a loud Fire Bark, which emanated from her more like a flamethrower than fire ball.
As expected, Rebel dodged the first attack and the second, but was in no position to move when the third one hit. Rebel was immediately engulfed in flames and knocked to the ground.
Fire Bark! Jackson doubled down on that initial Fire Bark, hopeful that Rebel would not have had a chance to move, let alone dodge. Again, Rebel’s feathers caught fire, and the Djinn let out another screech of pain. He tried to flap his wings and once again shake off the flames, but between the two Fire Barks, it wasn’t easy.
Jackson looked down at his holo-watch. He had only 7 Elemental Power left.
Fire Growl!
Rebel still hadn’t moved, and his HP plummeted down to 5 percent of its total as the last ball of fire hit its body.
Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy Page 24