Jackson tossed his bag onto the bed and took a deep breath. It smelled like fresh paint, carpet, and clean linens. A smile stretched across his face as a jolt of giddy excitement passed over him. He was here! He’d been accepted as a tamer in his region’s Bronze League Training Camp! Still elated, Jackson parted the curtains and walked out onto his small balcony. The view stretched out over the fields into the endless forest beyond the camp boundary. To his left and right, he saw rows of similar balconies for the other rooms stretching in both directions of the rectangular barrack.
After one last look around, Jackson closed the sliding door and flopped down on the bed. He sank down just the right amount and felt the smart mattress beneath him make little whirring sounds as it analyzed his posture and position to determine the firmness needed for each pressure point of his body.
A few minutes passed and Jackson felt himself dozing off after the stressful morning. He’d almost drifted off to sleep when his mind kicked back into overdrive. Maybe he needed to double-check the schedule — was there something else going on tonight? He tried to push the thought from his mind but it had already taken hold. With a sigh, Jackson sat up in the bed and opened his welcome packet up on the watch projection. After scanning up and down the screen three times, Jackson allowed himself to relax a little. There truly was nothing else on the agenda for the day, except…
A small note at the bottom caught Jackson’s eye. He browsed over the words and felt a stab of panic. There, in fine print at the bottom of the projection, next to an asterisk, was a line of text instructing all hometown and sponsored coaches to be available at nine that night. Jackson had no idea how far away Briggs and his favorite local bar were, but knowing his mentor, there was no way he would be back by nine. Jackson wasn’t even sure if he would be back at nine the next morning…or the following night. He read the whole page again, looking for anything that might clue him in to this strange, barely-mentioned meeting. Finding nothing, he allowed himself to relax again. Then a knock sounded at the door.
Jackson felt tempted not to answer. He’d just barely settled in and had enough jitters for a dozen tamers. The last thing he wanted to do was get sized up by some of the competition. Although the welcome packet mentioned that each barrack would be partially scored as a team, Jackson knew better than to think they were all one big happy family. Sure, they would have to work together to succeed at some aspects of the camp, but eventually, it was every tamer for himself. The knock repeated.
Sighing, Jackson rolled out of bed and opened the door. A woman somewhere around her forties stood in front of him, an awkward smile on her face.
“Uh…hi?” Jackson said.
“Hey there, it’s good to meet you,” the woman spoke in short, crisp tones that made Jackson think she must be some sort of DBL official. “My name is Avril Harcrow.”
“Jackson Hunt.” Jackson shook the woman’s hand. At first glance, he didn’t think she was wearing anything resembling a uniform or DBL apparel in general. “So…”
His voice trailed off but this Avril lady seemed to catch on to his confusion. “Oh, I’m not one of camp staff,” she said in the same clipped, hurried voice. “I’m one of the tamers. I’m from a fringe town on the edge of the region that typically never sponsors a tamer. I’ve always wanted to be one and finally decided to quit the legal field to see if I had what it takes.”
“Oh, cool!” And Jackson meant it. He respected anyone willing to chase their dreams and sacrifice to do so. Even if they were old enough to be his mother. “Well, it’s good to meet you…”
He put a hand on the side of the door — what he thought was a clear signal that he wanted to retire to his room. Avril didn’t seem to get the hint or ignored him.
“I’ve been going around introducing myself to everyone on our floor,” she said. “A few tamers mentioned they’d be getting together in the commons downstairs. Wanna come? I think we’re going to head over to dinner after.”
Failing to think of an excuse, Jackson found himself in the elevator down to the ground floor with Avril. The woman didn’t stop talking during their walk down the hall or the descent.
“This is completely crazy, don’t you think? I mean, I always knew the DBL had big money — I’ve even represented some Silver League tamers before but this — this is crazy! This League generally doesn’t even make money for the DBL. It’s essentially a program meant to groom the next batch of tamers.”
“And apparently spoil them,” Jackson said. “I know it’ll be hard going back home after this.”
“And even that’s a part of their strategy,” Avril said. “To keep us reaching for that carrot no matter the difficulty. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”
The elevator dinged as they reached the first floor. The common area had a handful of tamers in it now, all separated off by themselves in groups of two. They stopped and stared at Jackson and Avril as they entered, but Avril didn’t seem to mind at all. When she started talking to a tamer off by himself near a window, Jackson slid away to a nearby couch. He flipped open his Djinncyclopedia out of habit. Whenever he had a spare moment, he read through the stat sheets of all the Djinn he’d had Asena and Scrappy fight in the past. He wasn’t sure how useful the extra info would be, but he figured some of the same Djinn were bound to pop up again and wanted to be ready. That lasted for a few short seconds until Avril and the other tamer joined him on the couch. Soon all the new arrivals gathered round.
As each one introduced themselves, Jackson tried to remember their names. In addition to Avril, there was a sort of odd dude named Miguel who hailed from the eastern part of the region. He’d been city-sponsored just like Jackson. Then there was Hayden, who had a private sponsor but wouldn’t say who. He kept up a stoic expression throughout introductions and didn’t have much to say after the conversation moved past names to speculation about camp.
The last person in the commons was a girl around Jackson’s age named Lucia. She had a bubbly personality that Kay would’ve rolled her eyes at but seemed to know quite a bit about taming just from the first few things she said. Jackson was listening to Avril and Miguel guess about what their first day would be like in the morning when the doors to the barracks whisked open and the last person in the world Jackson expected to see at Training Camp walked in.
Chapter Fifteen
“Well, well, well, Jacky boy — how the hell are you?”
Tak Rito sauntered up to Jackson, ignoring the other four tamers. He held out a grease-lined, callused hand. Jackson wasn’t sure if he should grab it and throw Tak to the ground or just punch him in the nose. Tak’s cocky smile faded when he saw the look on Jackson’s face. He lowered his hand and took a step back.
“Whoa — good to see you too. Hey, man, nothing personal, right?”
“You cost me and my grandma our house, Tak!” Jackson snarled. “It doesn’t get any more personal.”
Tak shrugged. “All right, you got me there. But, for what it’s worth…sorry?”
Jackson ground his teeth together. The only thing holding him back from pummeling Tak’s face into mush and then letting Asena fry his bloody remains was the realization he’d probably be kicked out of camp before the first day even started.
“What are you even doing here?” Jackson asked instead.
“I’ve gone clean, man!” Tak said with a wink that made Jackson think his old cohort was anything but. “Besides, I’ve always dabbled a little in taming on the side — when I moved out of town to Jasper, they didn’t have any applicants. I figured hey, why not me?”
“Yeah…why not you?” Jackson muttered. He wondered how Tak had managed to bribe or cheat his way in but didn’t think he wanted to know the answer. In fact, he didn’t want to have anything to do with Tak. Aside from his friend’s betrayal that had cost Jackson all of his savings in the Underground fights — savings he had put in in hopes of paying off the bank so he could keep his house — if Tak got caught for something shady at camp, Jackson had no
doubt he’d try to pin it on his old pal, Jacky boy.
Further conversation was saved when the doors opened yet again. Jackson was torn between delight and frustration at the sight: Fiona Sato. Though he had nothing personally against her, the fact that she had come in with Vance McAllister as her sponsor wasn’t something he could easily look past without envy. She flashed an unexpected smile when she spotted Jackson — a smile that immediately turned into disgusted loathing at the sight of Tak.
“You working as a janitor?” she asked him as she walked up. Jackson grinned at Tak, who just gave an oiled smile in response.
“Long time no see, Sato.”
“Wait,” Avril cut in. “Do you all know each other?”
Fiona, Jackson, and Tak looked at one another. “You could say that,” Fiona said. “Didn’t you all realize the barracks are sorted primarily by where your city is located in the region?”
“C’mon guys, even I knew that!”
Yet another familiar voice joined in and Jackson spotted Antony Barranco walking in, an over-sized bag under each arm. Although the afternoon was mild outside and the common area climate-controlled, a sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Jackson couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen his friend not sweating.
“What’s up, Appleby?” Jackson rose from his seat and went over to fist bump his friend. They’d met in his time in the Underground several months back and Appleby had gone on to fight in the Vance McAllister tournament as well — though he was clobbered by Fiona in the semifinals. Being clobbered by Fiona was apparently something both Jackson and Appleby had in common.
Another girl had walked in the same time as Appleby and Jackson gave her a wave. She waved back but didn’t seem overly excited to meet anyone. Unlike most of the other newcomers, who had a look of awe or at least excitement when they first saw their new home, this girl looked almost bored.
Jackson introduced himself anyway, not wanting to appear rude after he’d stood up to greet Appleby. When the girl gave him her name, Jackson and a couple others made a short, gasping sound.
“Wait, you said Moto Rine, right?” Miguel asked. “Are your parents Sho and Tomo Rine?”
“That’s right.”
“No way!” Jackson could barely contain his excitement. “That’s so cool! I love watching some of their old matches — especially eight years ago when your mom set the DBL Gold League record for most knockouts in one tournament! I can’t —”
“Easy there, dog boy. I don’t think the girl’s interested in your slobbering all over her like that.”
Akamu Kaleo swaggered across the room and dropped an expensive duffel bag onto the couch.
“Whatever,” Moto shrugged. “No harm done, Akamu. And I’m sure my parents would appreciate the recognition.”
But Akamu wasn’t listening. He scanned the group of tamers but didn’t bother to introduce himself or even so much as say hello to anyone. Next, his eyes roved around the common area and his nose curled up in apparent disgust.
“Man, this place is a dump.”
“It wasn’t so bad until you walked in,” Tak said. “This is actually the nicest place I’ve ever stayed.”
Jackson couldn’t argue with Tak there, and he couldn’t help but respect the guy for coming out and admitting it to someone like Akamu, who was clearly born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Akamu scoffed. “That goes to show just how hard-up for contestants the Bronze League is these days.”
“Are we supposed to know who you are or something?” Tak said. “You act like you think you’re some big shot, but I can’t help but think maybe you’re overcompensating. You know what I mean, Jackson?” Tak gave Jackson nudge, but Jackson didn’t respond.
“Huh.” Akamu only spared Tak the briefest glance. “Looks like we’ve got a funny guy.”
Tak and Akamu stared one another down. Given how much Jackson disliked both contestants, he wouldn’t have minded if the two of them went at it right there and both ended up getting kicked out. Unfortunately, the tension was broken by an unlikely candidate.
“Don’t be an ass, Akamu,” Moto Rine said, stepping between the two glaring guys. “This is Akamu Kaleo, everyone. His dad is also a Gold League tamer. Don’t take anything he says personally.”
“Not being an ass,” Akamu said. “Just being honest.”
Unlike when Moto had introduced herself, nobody seemed overly eager or impressed about Akamu’s heritage. Jackson grimaced when Avril crossed the room and extended a hand to Akamu, who didn’t bother to shake it.
“What’s someone like you doing here?” Akamu asked. “Did they take the wrong turn on the way to the nursing home?”
Avril’s smile faded and the older woman stepped back. Jackson and the others frowned. He might have found Avril’s bubbly, chatty personality annoying, but she’d been nothing but friendly.
“How about you just go find your room?” Fiona asked Akamu.
Akamu looked at both Moto and Fiona in surprise. “You two ought to know better — everyone knows that the non-legacy tamers who come to camp are just meat shields for the real pros. I think it’s a little insulting that the camp wants me to fight some lady who gave up knitting to supposedly be a tamer.”
Avril looked like she might cry but Tak beat Jackson to the punch when he tried to intervene. “If you think I’m just another meat shield how about we warm up our Djinn outside?”
Akamu sneered. “I’m not going to get kicked out of camp for beating up whatever trash Djinn you managed to catch.”
Tak’s hands curled into fists. “Well then how about —”
“Welcome everyone!”
A new voice stopped the possibility of a fight. Everyone turned to see a stern-looking woman walking down the length of the commons. She wore official DBL attire and had a tablet tucked under one arm. For some reason, Jackson didn’t think she’d come just to wish them best of luck at camp.
“My name is Natalia Vanova. I will be the camp coach assigned to Barrack 4 for the duration of this camp. You may call me Coach Vanova or Coach V. It is my job to make sure that all tamers in this group perform to the best of their abilities. In the end, only the most skilled and dedicated tamers will make the cut to the Bronze League. Your first test begins this evening. You have one hour to prepare yourselves before we meet back here. Any questions?”
All of the tamers looked at one another. The way Coach Vanova said it, Jackson thought questions were probably highly discouraged.
“Excuse me, uh… Coach V?” Lucia, a girl Jackson had pegged as a bit of an airhead, surprised everyone by speaking up. “So like, the welcome info said we didn’t have anything going on until tomorrow morning…?”
Vanova looked down at her tablet and flicked her fingers across a couple of screens. “Scofield is it? Well, Ms. Scofield, consider this sort of a pop quiz. You have one hour. Any other questions?”
This time, Jackson was sure the coach wasn’t taking any more questions. In the face of Coach Vanova’s intensity, the small group of tamers dispersed to their rooms. Hoping to avoid more socializing in the elevator, Jackson went for the stairs. Unfortunately, so did Akamu.
“My dad told me about this,” the younger Kaleo said. “This is when they start weeding out the tamers. If you don’t do well in the initial evaluation, they send you packing.”
Jackson didn’t say anything. He really had no desire to talk to Akamu and wanted to keep his focus on whatever lay ahead. He passed the second floor and much to Jackson’s disappointment, Akamu continued climbing as well.
“You nervous?” Akamu said. “It would sure be depressing to get an invite to camp only to go home before you even unpack your bags. But then again, you’re probably used to that on some level, aren’t you?”
“What’s your problem with me?” Jackson asked.
“You personally? Nothing,” Akamu said. “I just don’t like this stupid ‘anyone can do anything’ mentality being peddled by the DBL these days. There are some people who a
re meant for taming and some who aren’t.”
Jackson felt his blood start to boil and wanted nothing more than to turn around and kick Akamu down the cement stairs. Instead, he pressed on and tried to block his newfound nemesis’s words out. Akamu stopped on the third floor but managed to get in one more parting shot.
“One last thing. And don’t take this the wrong way,” Akamu said. “I already know which of the two you are. But don’t feel bad. Most of the clowns downstairs are the same way.”
Before Jackson could say anything, Akamu disappeared inside the hallway door. How in the hell was he not supposed to take that the wrong way? Alone in the stairwell, Jackson gripped the handrail as hard as he could, wishing he could crush it in his hands. When they finally went numb, he took a deep breath and headed for his room.
Slamming the door helped, but then he paced back and forth — a complete basket case. In desperation, he tried to call Briggs, but the holo-line went straight to his visual mail. Jackson tried Kay instead. She picked up right away and they chatted right up until Jackson had to head back downstairs to meet with the other tamers and Coach Vanova. Though they were pretty much exactly what he expected from Kay, her words calmed him down and, just as important, made him feel like he wasn’t a pretender.
“You’re going to do great,” Kay said. “Don’t let Akamu get to you — save it for the battlefield. You got this.”
“Thanks, Kay,” Jackson said and sighed. “I’ll shoot you a message later and let you know how it goes — I sure hope they’re not actually cutting people tonight.”
On his way out the door, Jackson stopped in front of the mirror and looked himself over. The same scrawny boy from Tyle looked back at him, but one thing was different: his hands each bore a tamer ring on their index fingers. Less than two years ago, Jackson would have thought he was dreaming.
Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy Page 36