Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  “Hang in there, Rebel, we got this!” Fiona called out.

  Jackson looked up at Fiona. They got this? Fiona gave Jackson a quick smirk.

  Asena, Attack! Take him down before he has a chance to get up!

  Rebel flew up before Asena could hit him — he did so wearily, but he did so nonetheless, narrowly dodging Asena’s attack.

  “Rebel! Rejuvenation Song!” Fiona called out.

  The soot-covered Megala lifted its head and released a series of long, harmonious notes. Jackson watched in horror as the Megala’s health bar started to fill.

  “No!” he screamed. “Asena! Attack!”

  Asena slammed directly into Rebel’s body and knocked it to the ground, but the feathered Djinn quickly regained its composure and launched back up into the sky, out of reach. Rebel then did a spin and jettisoned more quills into Asena’s face and back.

  Jackson’s holo-watch beeped. He looked up at her Status:

  Bleeding.

  Crap! This meant the Lyote would be hemorrhaging HP until it had those quills removed and healed up. He looked down at her stats. She only had 2 Elemental Power left, meaning there was not enough left to summon even a Fire Growl. He’d have to settle for physical attacks until then.

  Asena, Attack! The Lyote obeyed, but between the quills lodged in her face and back and how high the Megala was above her, she was unable to reach him. Instead, what audiences saw was an almost-laughable scene of Asena jumping back and forth, trying to attack a Djinn that was just out of reach.

  Just then, there was another alert on Jackson’s holo-watch — this time for Asena’s health. It was at 5 percent. The quills had done their work much quicker than he anticipated.

  The Lyote’s entire body shuddered. The quills still buried in her body oozed out her remaining health. Rebel launched itself from the ground and released another small spray of needles. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a weak, insignificant attack, as an Earth move against a Fire Djinn did less than half damage, but in Asena’s weakened state, that’s all it took.

  Asena collapsed on the ground.

  Jackson battle chart started flashing and his watch buzzed over and over until his wrist shook.

  He’d lost.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “That’s the last one,” Jackson said, hefting the final box into the back of their moving truck.

  He looked back at the house and the dull ache in his chest flared back to life. Before he could dwell on it too long, however, Jane put an arm around his waist. At his side, Asena — now fully recovered from the tournament — whined and gave Jackson’s hand a gentle nip.

  “It’s going to be okay, Jackie,” Jane said.

  Jackson stared at the house for a long time: the neat lawn out front where he’d first met Kay and where his mom used to play with him during her time off-expedition; the small front porch where he’d sat on the steps with Jane on summer evenings; the tree out back that he’d fallen out of while trying to build a fort— memories everywhere.

  “You’re right,” Jackson said. He looked from Jane to Asena and shook his head in disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his grandma and the Djinn he owned would be standing together with him. “Maybe it all worked out for the best this way.”

  “Yeah, except that whole part about you not listening to me and losing your job,” Kay chimed in.

  It had only been a week since the tournament, but Kay had a strange knack of knowing when Jackson was far enough over something to start teasing him about it. This time, she toed the line pretty close.

  Jackson sighed. “How many times am I going to have to tell you that you were right and I was wrong?”

  Kay grinned and gave him a soft punch. “I dunno. How many times is it going to happen?”

  Sunshine yipped in agreement and Asena came to her tamer’s aid. The two Djinn raced around the front yard, Sunshine always just out of Asena’s reach. Jackson recalled their first fight together in the fields at the beginning of summer and couldn’t help but smile.

  “Come on, you two!” Kay yelled. “It’s time to go.”

  Both Sunshine and Asena ignored her, but the sound of a car pulling up distracted everyone from the two Djinns’s revelry.

  Jackson smile fell when he saw Fiona step out and shut the door.

  “All set to go, huh?” she asked in a neutral tone.

  “Yeah,” Jackson said. He didn’t know what else to add.

  They’d shaken hands after the match but hadn’t seen each other since. Even though Fiona didn’t rub it in and seemed anything but smug with the outcome, Jackson wished he could have been anywhere else during the award ceremony. The second place medal was something to be proud of — at least Kay and his grandma thought so — but to Jackson it only represented how close he’d come to his goals. Sure, it had resulted in a monetary reward, but the suns offered could only be utilized for his actual Djinn taming. So it was great overall, but did nothing to save the house.

  As soon as the local paper got their pictures, Jackson booked it for his hotel room, ready to be out of Cormick and the roller coaster ride from those past two days.

  “Tough break.”

  Jackson spun around and found Vance McAllister leaning against the door frame of his hotel room. Jackson had propped it open while he stuffed the last of his things into his bag.

  “Yeah,” Jackson said. The loss still felt like a dagger in his heart, but he figured without Vance he wouldn’t have been there in the first place. “Thanks for giving me a chance, though.”

  “I didn’t do anything, Jack,” Vance said. Jackson didn’t know why or when he’d decided to call him Jack. Maybe he’d forgotten that his full name was actually Jackson. “You put in all the hard work with your Djinn. You deserved to be there.”

  “Well, thanks,” Jackson said. He shouldered his bag and walked to the door, but Vance didn’t move.

  “You’re not going to let this stop you from taming, are you?” Vance asked.

  Jackson shook his head. “No…but I’m not sure where to go next.”

  Vance placed a hand on his shoulder and his sharp, hazel eyes cut into Jackson. “Just keep training. It’s better to lose now and take your lump — it’ll make you a better tamer down the road. Trust me on that one.”

  Jackson almost asked what the legendary Vance McAllister knew about losing but held back. Vance seemed to read his mind anyway.

  “It took me five years to get past the Bronze League Regionals,” Vance said. “I got my tail handed to me over and over. Four times I failed to make the cut. But if it hadn’t been for that, I never would have made it to the top. You learn more from losing a match than you do winning one. I hope I’ll see you around.”

  With that, Vance was gone.

  Aside from never wanting to lose again, Jackson didn’t know what other lessons or insights he’d gained. Even so, he’d requested a replay of the fight, and although he hadn’t worked up the nerve to watch it yet, it wasn’t like he was completely empty-handed.

  He had some cash to put towards his passion. As far as real money went, he’d put in an application at the hardware store that their new apartment sat above but wouldn’t know if he got it until the seasonal help left in a month at the end of summer.

  Jackson considered calling Fiona to congratulate her, but couldn’t find it in himself to follow through with it. The wound was too fresh. Even as she stood in front of his house, he wasn’t sure how he’d take anything she said, but he tried to assure himself that this was all for the best.

  “I know it won’t help, but I wanted you to know that my dad made me forfeit the prize money,” Fiona said. “It all went to a Djinn Protection Foundation we work with at the ranch.”

  “That’s a good cause, I guess,” Jackson said. His previously improving mood had taken a downward spiral since Fiona showed up. “Is that what you came over to tell me?”

  “No,” Fiona said. “You know it’s not my style. I just came to
make sure you weren’t going to start slacking off in your training. We’ve only got a few months before the Bronze League Regionals — I didn’t want you to lose your edge. Everybody needs a good rival, after all.”

  A small, wry grin made its way onto Jackson’s face. “Good point.”

  “I also have a message from my dad,” Fiona said. “I talked it over with him and… he’s decided to give you your old job back, if you want it. As long as you promise not to train Asena while you’re working. Oh yeah, and no more secrets like before. He recognizes what I did was legal, which is why he agreed in the first place, but don’t expect him to go so easy on you next time. Consider this a stern warning.”

  Jackson didn’t know what to say. It was the last thing he’d expected. “What? Are-are you sure? I mean I totally understand him firing me after everything and —”

  Fiona raised a hand. “Jackson, chill out. Just say yes.”

  “Yes!” Jackson said. “Of course! Thank you!” He fought the urge to grab Fiona and crush her in a celebratory hug but knew that wasn’t her style.

  “Don’t thank me,” Fiona said. “Like I told you — everyone needs a good rival to keep them sharp. You start slacking off and I might have him fire you again.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Jackson said, the competitive fire in him blazing back to life. “I’m coming for you, and I want a rematch!”

  Fiona laughed and got back in her car. “Rebel and I will kick you and your puppy’s ass anytime you say!”

  Before Jackson could fire back, she turned on the engine and drove off.

  “That girl is something else,” Jane said as Fiona’s car disappeared at the end of their road.

  “Great,” Kay said. “I just get my hopes up that I can get a coworker that actually pulls his weight and now they give you your job back.”

  “Let’s go get this stuff unloaded!” Jackson said. He sprang into action, yanking down the back sliding door on the truck and jumping into the driver’s seat. “Hurry up, you two — if we can get done in time, I might be able to get some training in this afternoon!”

  “Don’t forget to actually help unpack everything in the new apartment while you’re at it. Don’t go thinking I’ll be handling that alone,” Jane cut in.

  “Fine. Unpack the boxes, and then get to training. What do you say, girl?”

  Asena jumped into the passenger seat and barked in agreement.

  RIVALS

  Chapter One

  To the casual observer, it looked like complete chaos: four monsters engaged in an all-out brawl, stinging, swooping, digging, and biting — not to mention the blasts of fire, miniature tornados, and ground tremors being thrown around. It almost felt as though the forces of nature were inexorably wreaking havoc within a small, fifty-foot radius. On the edges of the fight, three humans yelled out battle commands to their monsters. Known as Djinn, they were imbued with Elemental abilities from Earth, to Water, Wind, Fire, and sometimes even more.

  The fourth human, Jackson Hunt, furrowed his brow in concentration. Unlike the other tamers, he remained silent, though his commands to the Lyote — a Fire and Earth-Elemental canine Djinn with flaming orange fur — were no less effective.

  The Lyote’s three opponents were a Marimot, Vermite, and Falcaub — common low-levels in the hands of relatively inexperienced tamers. The Lyote moved like a flickering flame; in one spot for a flash and gone the next. The efforts of the opposing tamers and their Djinn were in vain. To them, trying to catch the Lyote was like trying to catch smoke between their fingers. The Lyote spun, dodged, and weaved, shooting blasts of fire at all three Djinn in small bursts.

  The Falcaub, a flying Wind-Elemental Djinn, swooped low at the Lyote…right into a blast of fire, which toppled it from the air. Before the Falcaub hit the ground, the Lyote squared her legs and tipped her head back. An eerie howl reverberated through the morning air, freezing the Marimot and Vermite in place. While her remaining opponents cowered in fear, the Lyote charged the Marimot and took out its hit points (HP) with a brutal charge. The Vermite shook itself free of the howl’s lingering effects just in time for a blast of fire to take it full on. The Vermite tipped on its side and let out a clicking groan. Match over.

  Disappointed, Warren recalled his toasted Vermite into the healing confines of his Djinn ring. The young tamer looked at Jackson as he shook his head.

  “Man, Jack, you’ve sure gotten tougher over the last few months. When we first started, we were at least able to put up a fight when all three of us came at you!”

  Jackson stifled a grin. It was true his Lyote, which he named Asena, could mop the floor with three, or sometimes four, opposing Djinn, but with the gap in skills widening between his Djinn and theirs, it wasn’t necessarily the best thing in the world. But none of that took away from the rush that came with each victory.

  “Thanks, Warren,” Jackson said. “That was a tough one — you guys are starting to catch on to my tricks!”

  Joey, who always had a hard time losing, rolled his eyes.

  “I’m serious!” Jackson insisted. “It’s not all about a Djinn’s level, you know.”

  “Yeah,” Joey said. “But you wouldn’t be able to tell the way you throw our Djinn around every day.”

  Joey wasn’t exactly wrong, and it was a difference Jackson started to notice himself. As he took on groups of less experienced tamers, he started to notice the distance between his skills and everyone else’s begin to grow. Jackson almost didn’t want to admit it, but he was starting to outpace everyone at an alarming rate. The thought should have given him comfort, but it only made him that much more lonely in his small city of Tyle.

  Joey folded his arms and muttered something, but Maura, ever the peacemaker of the trio, stepped in to diffuse the tension. “Thanks again for the lesson, Jackson!” she said. “We’ve gotta run, though!”

  Jackson waved goodbye to the group and reached down to scratch Asena behind the ears and offer her praise for yet another victory. The Lyote Djinn lapped up the attention, leaning into Jackson’s hand and then rolling over in the dirt to expose her cream-colored belly.

  “Hey!” Jackson said. “I just gave you a bath the other day — don’t go making a mess again already!”

  At the mention of a bath, Asena scrambled back to her feet. As a Fire-Elemental, the Lyote wasn’t overly fond of water in any way, shape or form. Much to Jackson’s chagrin, Asena found dozens of ways to get dirty and stinky, and if she wanted to stick around inside Jackson and his grandmother’s apartment, she had to be at least presentable.

  Jackson laughed. “Don’t worry, girl,” he promised. “There are no ponds around here and I forgot to bring the soap anyway.”

  When the three younger tamers were gone, Jackson grinned and pulled up Asena’s stat sheet from his holo-watch. The notification in the upper right hand corner of the translucent digital screen confirmed Asena’s level up from the battle — a rare thing these days. Jackson felt a rush of excitement. Hanging out around Tyle made it almost impossible for him to get in enough quality training to level up Asena. Each level he earned now represented countless hours of battling against the local wannabe tamers and their low-level, Basic-Form Djinn.

  Jackson scanned Asena’s stat sheet, trying to determine how to best allocate her two new Djinn Points (DJP). In addition to the an automatic increase to the core stats of Hit Points (HP), Elemental Power (EP), Attack, Defense, and Speed, DJP could be allocated to any one of those stats to double down on certain aspects of one’s Djinn.

  GENERAL STATS AND INFO

  Djinn: Lyote

  Level: 14

  Name: Asena

  Element: Fire/Earth

  Species Rarity: Rare

  Tamer: Jackson Hunt

  HP (Hit Points): 250/260

  EP (Elemental Power): 40/115

  XP (Experience): 748 to Next Level

  DJP (Djinn Points): 2 Unallocated

  Attack: 90

  Defense: 49

  S
peed: 72

  Accessories: None

  Items: None

  Status: Neutral

  Bond: 76%

  Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>

  Jackson looked at the stats and couldn’t help but stare at the gaping hole in his Defense. It was a strategy he’d embraced when he started out — focusing more on Attack so as to overpower other similar newts, who often overloaded on Defense out of a sheer fear of losing. Jackson had put a good deal of effort into his Attack, but he felt now was the time to at least pad out the Defense so it wasn’t so embarrassingly low. He allocated one DJP to Attack — almost out of habit — and another to Defense.

  GENERAL STATS AND INFO

  Djinn: Lyote

  Level: 14

  Name: Asena

  Element: Fire/Earth

  Species Rarity: Rare

  Master: Jackson Hunt

  HP (Hit Points): 260/260

  EP (Elemental Power): 115/115

  XP (Experience): 748 to Next Level

  DJP (Djinn Points): 2 Unallocated

  Attack: 94

  Defense: 56

  Speed: 72

  Accessories: None

  Items: None

  Status: Neutral

  Bond: 76%

  Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>

  It looked like these DJP allocations resulted in an increase of four on Attack and seven on Defense. Not half bad. While the number of points added to one of these five stats was random, it generally wasn’t more than eight or so points — though that didn’t stop Jackson from hoping that, one day, one DJP allocation would result in an amazing ten-point increase. Seven points was still about as good as he could ever have hoped for, especially in a weak stat like Asena’s Defense.

  Satisfied with the way he’d spent Asena’s DJP, Jackson swiped over to her move set.

  Move Set

  Fire-Elemental: Fire Growl (5 EP), Fire Bark (15 EP)