Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  “Hey, g-good to meet you too — I mean, uh, you’re welcome!” Jackson felt his face redden. The younger Kaleo smirked. “I mean, thanks!”

  Lei pretended not to notice Jackson’s blunder but didn’t carry the conversation further. He nodded at them politely and then headed for the door. Jackson watched him go, his whole head on fire with embarrassment. The younger Kaleo smirked again and followed his father, without a word to them. The pair had just reached the door to the visitor’s center when they ran into Cassius Briggs.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Lei Kaleo said. He sounded more surprised than excited. “Cassius Briggs. What are you doing up here at Rocky Point? I figured you would have sold off your taming license to the preserve years ago.”

  “Lei,” Briggs gave a nod of his head. He kept a cool expression on his face that showed no joy from running into an acquaintance.

  If Lei was bothered that Briggs didn’t answer his question, he didn’t show it. “How long has it been? I can still remember the day you announced your retirement — came as quite a shock to all of us. But then again, I didn’t much like getting hammered by McAllister left and right either. I guess after so long, calling it quits sounded better than losing all the time, eh?”

  “Something like that,” Briggs said in a gruff voice. He tried to shoulder past the Kaleos, but Lei was having none of it.

  “Ha! Sorry, Briggs, just a joke. Are you really heading into the preserve to go taming? I can’t believe it! That’s quite the coincidence, you know. I’m just taking Akamu out to get his first secondary. He was accepted into Bronze League Training Camp this year for the Granite Region.”

  “That’s great to hear,” Briggs said. “I didn’t realize you were from the Granite Region.”

  “Well, I’m not,” Lei said. “But Akamu mostly grew up in Shale, and it really helps that the competition there is pretty damn sparse.”

  Jackson thought Briggs would have punched Lei in the face, but the other tamer finally moved aside. However, he still wasn’t done.

  “We’ve booked out Red Pine Outfitters for the entire week,” Lei continued. “The whole lodge — I didn’t want anyone in the area competing with Akamu.”

  “Fantastic,” Briggs muttered. “Be seeing you now.”

  “Be seeing you, too, Briggs!” Lei called after him. “Maybe out in the wilds this week, eh? I see you’ve still got a ring on — I wouldn’t mind knocking some of the rust off for you!”

  Briggs ignored the jab and continued limping toward Kay, Jackson, and Asena. He scowled at the monitor displaying the ad for the Red Pine behind them and motioned for the trio to follow without so much as a gruff word.

  “Good luck, kid!” Lei called out to Jackson. “You’re going out with one of the greats, you know!”

  Jackson couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought he detected a mocking tone in the elder Kaleo’s voice. Hunching his shoulders, he, Kay, and Asena followed Briggs to the truck. Apparently, Lei and his son hadn’t gone inside, though, because when Lei saw Briggs open the rusted door of his pickup, he called out to them again.

  “Is that what you’re driving these days, Briggs?” Lei asked. “Surely the cost of beer can’t be so much that you can’t afford a new ride?”

  “Hey!” Jackson wasn’t going to take anymore. He stared down the Kaleos with clenched fists, not caring that the older one was a famous Gold League tamer. “Lay off him, all right, dude?”

  “I think you’re the one who’d better lay off…dude.” It was the first time that Akamu had spoken to them. His voice matched his sneering attitude. Jackson also noticed the younger Kaleo’s size for the first time. He was built like a brick — a couple inches taller than Jackson with plenty of muscle packed onto his frame.

  Even so, Jackson never backed down from a fight, and he wasn’t about to back down from this one. Asena growled at Jackson’s side, the hair on the nape of her neck bristling.

  “Looks like that Lyote of yours wants a beating too,” Akamu said.

  He raised his hand and Jackson saw a Djinn ring on his forefinger. Before he could summon his Djinn, however, his father caught his wrist and pushed it down.

  “Hold on, there’s no need for everybody to get excited,” Lei said after releasing his son’s wrist. “Briggs and I go way back — it’s just a little joking between friends. I’m sorry if I took it too far.”

  Jackson didn’t think Lei’s apology sounded all that sincere, but Briggs grunted and tipped his head. “No big thing, Lei.” He waved his hand for Jackson, Kay, and Asena to get in the truck. “Be seeing you.”

  Jackson hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was back down in front of Lei and his son. Asena was still growling and baring her teeth at his side, ready for a fight.

  “Jackson!”

  Briggs’s voice was firm and Jackson knew he’d be in big trouble if he didn’t go. He gave Akamu a once over, scowled, and then headed for the rusted pickup.

  “Don’t worry!” Akamu shouted after him. “I’m sure you’ll get the chance for me to kick your ass sometime soon!”

  Jackson’s face reddened once more, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment. Kay shot Akamu a scathing look and then gently took Jackson’s arm. “C’mon, Jack. He’s trying to get you riled up because he knows it bothers you.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Pulling his arm away, Jackson hopped into the truck. The rest of the trip passed in silence. Jackson could tell Briggs was almost as pissed as he was, and Kay seemed to know better than to try and smother their anger in small talk.

  After another thirty minutes of driving, Briggs veered off from the main thoroughfare that tourists took through the preserve onto a smaller, two-lane gravel road. The flickering yellow lights of the green pickup showed a winding path flanked on both sides by trees of all kind. Once or twice, Jackson thought he spotted pairs of glowing eyes staring at them from the darkness off the side of the road.

  Another hour passed and the sun went down completely. The road turned into a single dirt path through the forest with plenty of ruts and rocks to make it the bumpiest ride Jackson had ever been on. At last, Briggs stopped in an opening. When the truck’s rabid engine dropped into a whine, and then sputtered to a stop, Jackson could hear the steady sound of water running nearby.

  The surroundings melted away the rest of Jackson’s anger and the fatigue from the long drive. He looked around the clearing and sucked in a deep breath that smelled like new grass and fresh growth.

  “Wow,” Kay said in a hushed tone. “I thought we had good stars in Tyle, but they’re nothing compared to these!”

  Jackson looked overhead at the millions of tiny silver lights flickering in the night sky. He had to admit the scenery alone almost made the trip worth it, no matter what Djinn he might tame.

  “Yep. Sure is pretty,” Briggs said in a low, trancelike voice. He shook his head and started unpacking things from the back seat of the truck. “The two of you can sleep in the bed of the truck, I’ll take the cab.”

  “What about the tent?” Jackson asked. His inner child had been looking forward to camping — something he hadn’t done since before his mom died.

  “It’s too dark to set up,” Briggs said. “At this hour, there’s wild Djinn roaming the forest around us. We’re plenty safe, but it’s best not to tempt them — sleep in the truck tonight. We’ll do some scouting in the morning and pick a real campsite tomorrow in the daylight.”

  Too tired and drained to argue, Kay and Jackson unrolled their sleeping bags and foam pads in the bed of the pickup. The night was chilly but with Asena squeezing into the bag with him, he was plenty warm.

  Long after the others were asleep, Jackson continued to stare up at the night sky. A whirlwind of emotions made it impossible for his mind to relax.

  He kept thinking about all the different Djinn he might find and tame in the morning and how good it would feel to use them and Asena to wallop Akamu. Although it had lessened since leaving the visitor’s center, Jackson could still
feel the sting of Akamu’s words. He promised himself he’d make the young Kaleo regret them.

  Chapter Nine

  “Wake up. WAKE UP!”

  Jackson groaned and opened his eyes. Although he was toasty warm inside his sleeping bag, the forest air was frigid and a layer of dew covering everything, including Asena, who had scurried out of his sleeping bag in the middle of the night. She let out a lazy whine, then stood and shook, spraying them with droplets and the odor of wet Lyote.

  Rubbing his eyes, Jackson tried to find the sun. Instead, he was met with a faint gray light. He could only guess the hour. Next to him, Kay mumbled into her pillow and pulled the lip of her sleeping bag up over her mess of red hair. Sunshine retreated deeper into the confines of his owner’s sleeping bag with a yip.

  “Rise and shine, kids,” Briggs said. He stood next to the truck and pounded on the rusted-out bed for good measure. “We’re burning daylight and there’s work to get done!”

  Kay and Jackson groaned in unison. While they shivered and pulled on extra layers of clothes, Briggs stood next to the bed of the truck. He tapped his hands against the bed to show his impatience. Jackson had no idea how the man had suddenly become such a morning person. In the time he’d known Briggs, his mentor had never been out of bed before nine. Whenever they’d met to train, it was always well after daylight. If Briggs ever instructed Jackson and Asena to get up early to practice anything, they did it alone.

  Prodded by Briggs, Jackson and Kay finally jumped out of the truck, clothed in as many layers as they could fit on. Jackson poured Asena a small bowl of her chow and shoved some water bottles and granola bars into his backpack for himself — he had absolutely no appetite at the ridiculous hour.

  “I’m f-freezing,” Kay managed to get out. She had her arms wrapped around Sunshine, who was zipped under her sweatshirt, to hold in the warmth. The Fenkit squeaked in agreement and buried his nose deeper into the warm fabric.

  “Best thing for that is to get your blood flowing with a good hike,” Briggs replied. He glanced at Asena, who had finished her light meal and was now licking the bowl like she might be able to get more chow if she tried hard enough. “Looks like the Lyote is done — now, there’s a few things I want to go over before we get out there.”

  Briggs held up a finger as he rattled each thing off. “One, you follow my lead and you do what I say when I say it out here. Two, the only Djinn out of its ring is Asena. We might need her to help with the tracking if we get on something. Midnight only comes out in an emergency, and that damn Fenkit stays in stasis.”

  Kay raised her hand. “Problem. I’m not a tamer and I’m not rich, so Sunshine doesn’t even have a ring.”

  Briggs nodded his head. “Right, right, I figured as much.” He retreated back into the cab of the truck, opened up the glove compartment and emerged with a battered old ring with a small, clear gem. “This oughta do the trick.”

  He tossed it over to Kay. Kay looked down at Sunshine, who buried himself deeper into Kay’s sweatshirt.

  “All right, all right,” Kay sighed. Sensing what was coming, Sunshine leaped out of Kay’s arms. He only made it a couple of feet away, however, before a beam of yellow light enveloped him and sucked him into the tamer ring.

  Kay let out another sad sigh as she stared at the soft, pulsing, yellow light emanating from the ring.

  Briggs nodded, apparently satisfied. He looked at Jackson for his next point. “Third, tell me what to do if we come across a Djinn worth taming.”

  Jackson forced his sleepy mind into gear. This was the part of the process that made him the most nervous — the struggle with a completely wild Djinn.

  “I summon the ring lasso,” Jackson said, punching his arm forward to mimic the action. “And make sure not to miss the Djinn. Once the lasso is set, I have to keep the beam of energy steady while it weakens the Djinn and begins the initial stasis process. If the link is maintained throughout the process, the Djinn will be captured in the stone.”

  “Good — don’t forget, the more powerful the Djinn, the harder it is to hold the energy lasso steady and the longer it takes for the ring to set,” Briggs said, apparently satisfied. “It’s one thing to talk about it and another to actually do it when there’s a wild Djinn in your face ready to eat you. Just stick with the plan and you’ll be fine. Probably. Maybe. I wouldn’t worry. Too much.”

  Jackson wished he could tell if Briggs was kidding, but as usual, the older man’s expression was unreadable.

  With that, Briggs set off from the meadow where they’d parked the truck, and it was only then that Jackson could make out the faintest light bleeding out from the edge of the sky. They followed the rising sun east down a wooded slope. The wilderness was growing lighter and warmer with every step they took. Jackson couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty surrounding them. In the daylight, he could see they’d camped on top of a large bluff with a ridge of mountains running north to their left. The trees were too thick for Jackson to guess where they might be headed.

  “We’re looking for water,” Briggs said when Jackson asked him what the plan was. “A Groggle’s a good fit for your skill level and needs — we’re going to stick with that. There’s all sorts of streams that feed off of snowmelt from the mountains — we’ll find one of those and follow it down to the Running Rock River. It’s full of all sorts of fish that the Groggles love to munch on.”

  “What do we do once we find water?” Kay asked. She’d gotten over having to put Sunshine inside his ring and looked to be enjoying the morning as much as Jackson.

  “Start looking for signs,” Briggs said. “Not just footprints and drag marks from the Groggles sliding into the water — they also shed their skins on a pretty regular basis. We’ll look for those too.”

  Kay made a face. “Gross. Their skin just peels off?”

  “Yep,” Briggs said. “About once a week, depending on how much they’ve got to feed on. Once Groggles are in their more advanced forms, they never stop growing. They just keep shedding skin until they run out of food to sustain the growth or they die. That’s where stasis helps things out for us tamers. It prevents them from growing oversized. Sometimes, you can catch real giants in the wild, as they never go into stasis and therefore keep on growing and growing.”

  Jackson loved the idea of a Djinn that grew bigger so long as you fed it, but didn’t relish the idea of having to pick up shed Groggle skins every time the Djinn came out of its ring. Still, he knew better than to say anything to Briggs about such a minor inconvenience.

  With the sun slowly making its way into the sky, they continued down the hill from the pickup. The trees gradually changed from pines and aspens to open fields of grass. Up ahead, Jackson saw a line of willow trees, which he knew marked some kind of marshland or river. Briggs led them right into it, heedless of the squishy ground. Before long, Kay and Jackson’s boots were soaked through with muddy, freezing cold bog water. They shared an exasperated look but remained silent. Briggs plunged on ahead as if he couldn’t feel the icy mud sucking at his toes.

  They found an opening in the willows that led to the edge of a medium-sized river. Jackson picked up a stone and chucked it across the width of the water as hard as he could. It plopped down in the shallows on the far bank.

  “Let’s hope we can find one on this side of the river,” Briggs said. “Otherwise, you’re going to have to get wet.”

  The way Briggs explained it, the beam of light, called the ring lasso, only extended about ten yards out from the Djinn ring. Jackson would have to be relatively close to whatever Djinn he was attempting to capture when they found it. That meant either Asena would have to wear it down and keep it from running away or — more likely in the case of a Groggle — Jackson would have to stay just out of harm’s way without being too far away from the Djinn he was trying to capture. Once again, he told himself not to think about it.

  Briggs took the lead and they spread out along the riverbank, looking for any sign of Groggle sli
de marks or shed skins. A couple of hours passed with no success. They hadn’t seen a thing, and the only sign that any Djinn were present was the not-too-far-off cackle of a group of Magglecaws roosting in some trees out of sight. Despite Briggs’s assurance that the river was the best place to find a Groggle, they had nothing to show for their efforts besides scratched arms, soggy shoes, and general discomfort.

  Jackson was about to suggest they try a different location when Briggs paused and motioned for them to come look at something on the ground. When Jackson approached, he saw a clear marking in the river mud that looked like someone had slid a log into the water.

  “Bingo,” Briggs said. “We’re in their turf now. Let’s spread out and see if we can find anymore signs. Stay within sight of one another, though. They may be slow on land, but get caught off guard with one of them around, and it may be the last thing you do.”

  Following Briggs’s instruction, they fanned out along the river bank. After another fifteen minutes passed, Kay spotted a couple more slide marks close to one another. Jackson walked over to examine them and paused. A bright blue-green something stirred in the short grass. Curious, Jackson decided to take a closer look. Asena spotted the strange object as well and raced ahead, eager to be the first one to reach it. She skidded to a halt a couple feet away and jumped back.

  Jackson tensed but then realized what the thing was — a shed Groggle skin swaying in the breeze. The peeled layer remained remarkably intact — Jackson could easily make out the outline of the Djinn. This one looked to be decent-sized, almost five feet long from the tip of its long snout to its ridged tail.

  Briggs examined both the slide marks Kay found and Jackson’s Groggle skin and seemed satisfied. “Now that’s more like it,” he said. “We’re in luck — if things go well, we might be out of here by tonight!”

  Over the next hour, the tracks and slide marks became more defined, and the Groggle skins more frequent. Jackson’s excitement continued to grow, and he scanned the riverbank and water ahead of them, expecting to see a Groggle at any time. No Djinn showed themselves, however. He asked Briggs if the Groggles were easily spooked or afraid of humans, but Briggs assured him they wouldn’t run away without first seeing who the intruders on their territory were.