Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  Emotion welled in Jackson, clogging his throat. He paused and took a deep breath.

  “I want to thank my mother, Jessica Hunt. Without her, Asena and I never would have been brought together. Thank you.”

  He bent down and gave Asena’s thick fur a hearty rub with one hand and then made his way to the edge of the stage.

  “Congratulations, Mr. Hunt!” Commissioner Belmont said. “Good luck to you in the playoffs.”

  “Th-thank you sir,” Jackson said, shaking from the adrenaline and emotion coursing through him. He wasn’t nervous but wanted to get out of the spotlight. Back at the table, he almost fell into his chair, face aching from the smile that wouldn’t leave his face.

  Everyone offered their congratulations again, and after the final applause faded, Valerie returned to the podium to introduce the final award.

  “Many say a Djinn makes the tamer, but without strong guidance, quick reflexes, and a cool head, a tamer won’t get far even with a talented Djinn. This last award recognizes the Bronze League tamer who had brought everything together: teamwork, compassion, and strategy, to rise to the top of the League. Here are the nominees for Bronze League Most Valuable Tamer!”

  Once more, the names of tamers scrolled across the Djinn. All of the Fab Four were included, along with two older tamers Ariana Aziz and Mateo Alba. In spite of everything he’d done to tell himself not to get his hopes up, after winning an award, a larger part of Jackson wanted to win again, to prove to everyone he was the real deal.

  “And the winner is…Fiona Sato!”

  Rather than being mad, Jackson laughed and shook his head, rising with Briggs and Vance to cheer on Fiona. For her part, Fiona, seemed genuinely surprised at the award and glanced around in shock before making her way to the podium.

  “My, my, Fiona,” Valerie said, “How does it feel to be named League MVT? As vaunted as their careers are, neither of your brothers ever earned this honor!”

  “It’s incredible,” Fiona said. Jackson could tell she’d let the competitor façade slip just a little and seemed to be unsure what to say or how to present herself. “This is a huge honor and I want to thank everyone — my family, my mentor, Vance McAllister and, as Jackson put it, all of the other tamers in the league, for helping me be the best. Bring on the playoffs!”

  “Always has her eyes on the prize,” Briggs leaned over to Jackson and said.

  Fiona returned to the table, face flushed. Jackson stood and pulled out her chair for her without thinking. Before he could offer his congratulations, however, Commissioner Belmont was addressing the crowd once more.

  “My, what a talented group of tamers we have in our midst! I’m sure they’ve all got bright futures ahead of them. But between now and then, we’ve still got to crown a League champion!”

  The crowd shouted and cheered. The overview of the playoffs — this is what everyone had really been waiting for.

  “The Bronze League’s officials and advisory board have worked hard to make this year playoffs one to remember,” Belmont continued. “We’re confident that the experience — for tamers, Djinn, and viewers — will be unlike any other. “

  As he spoke, a series of images featuring a small island appeared behind the commissioner, along with drone footage panning across the same island. Jackson guessed it was no bigger than a couple square miles but featured a variety of landscapes, from forest, to grasslands, rock fields, lava vents, and a beautiful series of waterfalls and pools coming off one side of the solo, central mountain. In short, the island featured terrain for every core Djinn Element, Solar and Lunar-Elementals notwithstanding. Jackson’s heart pounded with anticipation — what in the world had Belmont cooked up?

  “Rather than the standard playoff bracket, single elimination tournament, this year’s contest will be a Battle Royale event. All tamers who earned a playoff spot will be placed on the island you see behind me at random locations. Over the course of a single day, tamers and their Djinn team must work together to defeat and eliminate as many other tamers as possible. There are no rules regarding the formation of teams or alliances. However, only the final two tamers will be taken to compete in a battle for the Bronze League Championship. More information will be sent to tamers and the media in the coming weeks, but for now, this is all the information we’re revealing today. We’re confident this new format will be an exciting challenge for Bronze League Tamers and their Djinn!”

  As soon as Belmont left the stage, the ballroom erupted into loud conversation from each table.

  “Can you believe this, Briggsy?” Vance asked. “What in the world is old Belmont playing at, eh? He’s completely shaken up the integrity of the Bronze League with a publicity stunt!”

  Briggs nodded in agreement. “They should have at least announced it at the start of the season, not weeks before the playoffs.”

  Jackson wanted to point out that the surprise announcement seemed like the whole point, but decided not to step into the heated conversation between the two Gold League legends. He caught Fiona’s eye and she nodded toward the balcony doors. Glad for an escape from the ballroom, he followed her from the table, but stopped as a voice called after him.

  “Hey, Jackson!”

  Chapter Twelve

  Jackson shot one last glance at Fiona heading for the balcony before turning around to see who’d stopped him. It was Andrew Evans — another first-year Bronze League Tamer who’d been in and out of the top ten rankings for most of the season. He had a solid team but wasn’t the greatest strategist around, especially when he faced Djinn with Elemental advantages against his own. He’d always been friendly enough, but Jackson wasn’t really in the mood for socializing, no matter what everyone expected.

  “Congrats on the award,” Andrew said, taking a sip of his drink. “You must think you’re pretty hot stuff now, huh?”

  Jackson flushed and worked to control his irritation. “Oh c’mon dude, you know that’s not —”

  Andrew busted out laughing. “Dude, I’m just kidding,” he said. “You should have seen the look on your face. Don’t worry — I know you’re not that kind of guy. Anyway, I just wanted to say congrats for real and wish you good luck in the playoffs. I mean, I guess playoffs, if you can even call it that anymore. Battle Royale. Is that what we’re calling it now?”

  “Yeah, same to you,” Jackson said with a nod, though he really just wanted to get out on the balcony, away from the lights and cameras and —

  “You’re both going to need all the luck you can get next month.”

  Jackson suppressed a groan as Akamu swaggered up and joined them. While he didn’t seem to openly hate Jackson anymore — Jackson guessed he’d somehow proven himself to be a worthy opponent in Akamu’s warped, competitive mind — that didn’t mean the young Kaleo was any more pleasant to be around.

  Andrew and Jackson shared a glanced before Akamu slapped them both on the backs. “What a night, eh boys? Some of these lady tamers don’t clean up half-bad. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go introduce myself to the local wildlife, if you know what I mean.”

  Before Jackson or Andrew could say anything, Akamu sauntered off toward a group of tamers gathering around an ice sculpture of a Eskiflurr in the middle of the room.

  “Dude’s not even subtle,” Jackson said.

  “But I guess you don’t have to be when you’re a Kaleo,” Andrew said.

  Jackson patted Andrew on the shoulder. “Good luck, though. I’ll see you on the island.”

  Jackson headed to the balcony once more, but at the marbled columns, another familiar face cut him off.

  “Hey, Ron,” Jackson said, shaking the other tamer’s hand. It was the first time Jackson had run into Shakur since their match. He tried not to hold the loss against his fellow tamer but the embarrassing defeat still stung a little.

  “Congrats on the win tonight,” Ron said. “You would have had my vote.”

  Jackson didn’t know what to say to that, so he smiled and nodded.


  “I also wanted to say that I didn’t know my Glauco would evolve during the fight.” Ron continued. “It feels sort of unfair. You probably would have beat me without that.”

  “Hey, a win is a win, “Jackson said. It almost sounded like Ron was apologizing and Jackson didn’t want him to think he was mad at the outcome. But, if he was being honest, it did make him feel just a little bit better that the evolution wasn’t premeditated. “You and your Djinn put up a good fight. I had an evolution help me out in my fight at Training Camp against Akamu. It happens.”

  Ron seemed to be relieved. “Thanks, it was a good match. I hope you know, I’ve been working double-time to get ready for the playoffs. I’m hoping we can get a rematch but with this new format who knows, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Jackson said. He glanced outside and didn’t see Fiona anywhere.

  Fortunately, someone chose to call his holo-watch right at that moment, giving him the escape he was looking for. After a quick goodbye to Ron, Jackson stepped out onto the balcony. He didn’t recognize the number, but wanted to make sure it didn’t look to Ron like he’d just been trying to get away, so Jackson answered.

  A portly man with a round face, balding hairline and thick glasses answered the phone. Even through the holo-projection, Jackson could see sweat beading on his forehead.

  “Uh, hello, is Jackson Hunt there?”

  “This is he,” Jackson said. “…who is this?”

  “Ah, excellent!” A hand appeared in the holo-projection and a handkerchief mopped at the sweat on the man’s brow. “My name is Dr. Carl Williams. I work at Crevajo College and am returning your call.”

  It took Jackson a moment to put together what was going on, until he remembered the voicemail he’d left at his mom’s old university. “Dr. Williams! Thanks for your call. I take it you got my message about the Lyote research, then? Any information you have to offer would be a huge help to me.”

  Dr. Williams nodded vigorously. “Yes, exactly! I-I definitely have some valuable information for you regarding the Lyote species. That’s why I’m calling.”

  Jackson waited for Dr. Williams to continue talking, but the bald man just continued to nod.

  “So…what is it?” Jackson finally asked.

  “What is — oh, right! First, I want to give my condolences for you mother.”

  “Oh, it’s okay. It’s been a long time,” Jackson shifted awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. He didn’t recognize Dr. Williams, but it had been around a decade since he’d seen him.

  “I know, but it’s just that…she would have been proud to see you following in her footsteps is all.”

  “Well…” Jackson almost didn’t have the heart to tell him that his call had almost exclusively to do with taming and nothing to do with research. “It’s actually more to do with my career as a tamer.”

  “A tamer, huh?” Dr. Williams said, though the comment didn’t seem to resonate with the man as much as Jackson had expected. “Well, I guess this makes a lot more sense now for someone your age. Anyway, you asked for some really specific stuff, and at first I was prepared just to tell you I couldn’t find anything, but luckily, there was one thread of her research that was pretty easy to follow once I used ‘Lyote’ as a key word, as the topic was one of three pitches for research funding. So what I have here is a proposal she sent to the board, but it never went any further because she was never able to follow up her hypothesis with a trip to Lombardia. But assuming she’s correct, it could be the solution you’re looking for.

  “On Lombardia Archipelago — according to your mother — there is a material known as Everore that can be found within the area’s active volcano. She was the first to test this — but from all the preliminary results conducted in the field, it would appear this Everore substance has chemical properties that allow Lyotes, and possibly other Djinn, to retain their current form but still increase their stats and move sets as if they have evolved.”

  A rush of excitement filled Jackson. “Are…are you sure?” A thick coat of skepticism covered his voice.

  “Well, you can never be one hundred percent at this stage,” Dr. Williams said, “As I said, she was never able to follow this up with a trip dedicated to proving her theory. But it was something she seemed eager to test. Based on the field test information in the paper, this may be the exact thing you were looking for.”

  Jackson’s heart sank almost as quickly as it had grown elated. If the ore could only be found on the island, he had no way of accessing it before the playoffs. He explained the rest of the situation to Dr. Williams, emphasizing his predicament with Asena and the offer to take a trip to Lombardia.

  “What happens if I use the Everore after Asena has passed the level where she’s supposed to evolve?” he finished. “I can’t not use her in the playoffs but have no idea how I could get to Lombardia before then.”

  Dr. Williams wiped the sweat from his forehead again and scrunched his face into a look of severe concentration…or constipation. Jackson thought it could have worked for either. “I’m afraid that nothing in her proposal or notes indicate one way or another what would happen if the Everore is used after the evolution level. My guess — and this is just a hypothesis based on what I’ve read — is that the change in your Lyote will become permanent after the specified evolution window is passed. I can’t say for certain, but I wouldn’t rely on being able to use the Everore after that. Sorry, that doesn’t help.”

  Jackson bit back a sigh. “That’s okay.”

  “I can forward you her proposal and research files,” Dr. Williams said. “Considering she passed away before anything could be done with it, it shouldn’t really matter. If anything, they belong to you.”

  Jackson agreed and a moment later, a ping sounded, indicating the files had made their way through. Jackson thanked Dr. Williams, but didn’t really see how he was any better off than he’d been before. If anything, the additional research only highlighted the evolution issues even more.

  “You said you had an offer to get to Lombardia?” Dr. Williams said after a brief pause. “Sorry, I know it’s none of my business, but it’s not everyday you hear someone with a problem who has a potential solution sitting right in front of them.”

  “He wants to evolve her.”

  “You said he’s a researcher, yes? Us researchers are a flexible bunch. You may not want to evolve her, but your offer of testing the Everore theory could prove easily as fruitful.”

  Jackson nodded to himself, his mind racing. Could it be that easy?

  “Just food for thought,” Dr. Williams said, interrupting Jackson’s thought process. I’m sorry I can’t do more for you.”

  “No. You’ve been amazing. Thank you.”

  “Good luck,” Dr. Williams said with a wave of a pudgy hand. “I see a lot of your mother in you, Jackson. It’s good to know that at least a part of Jessica is still with us.”

  The call ended at once, leaving Jackson with even more decisions. Before he could dwell on them, however, he saw Fiona approaching out of the corner of his eye.

  “Did I hear that right?” she asked. “Are you trying to make a trip to Lombardia before the playoffs?”

  Jackson hesitated. On the one hand, it would feel good to vent some his frustrations about the call since Kay wasn’t around to talk to. On the other, Fiona was a competitor, and if she knew he was working through some issues with Asena, it could potentially give her an edge in the playoffs.

  “I — it was just about some research I’ve been doing with Lyotes,” Jackson said.

  Fiona narrowed her eyes. “C’mon, Jack. I’ve known you long enough to tell there’s more to it than that.”

  Jacksons still wasn’t sure. He knew Briggs wouldn’t want him to go into detail and had no doubt Fiona would take advantage of the information if she could figure out a way.

  On the other hand, Fiona’s family had all kinds of connection in the Djinn world. Maybe she could help. So Jackson explained everything that had been going on
with Asena.

  “I’m sorry, that really sucks,” Fiona said. “I wish there was something I could do — really. If I beat you, I want it to be fair and square, not because Asena isn’t at her full strength.” She said the last sentence with a smirk, to let Jackson know she was joking, then grew more serious. “From what little I know of Lombardia, the whole area has pretty strict access. I don’t know of anyone who could get you out there that soon — most of the access applications take months or even years to be processed and permitted.”

  “It’s cool,” Jackson said. He tried to push the whole situation out of his mind and enjoy the rest of the evening. Even if he made a decision now, he wouldn’t act on it until the following morning, at the earliest. “What are you doing out here? I thought you’d want to be in the spotlight, Ms. Most Valuable Tamer.”

  “Don’t call me that,” Fiona said in a sharp voice. She must have realized she’d sounded harsher than intended, because she winced and when she spoke again, it was in a friendlier tone. “Sorry — I just don’t really like parties. I have a hard time relaxing when I know I could be using the time to train.”

  Her fingers brushed against both of the rings on her right hand. Jackson nodded in understanding.

  “It seems like they should have this thing after the championship. No offense, but how do you determine an MVP when the season’s not over? Or any other category winner for that matter.”

  “Yeah,” Fiona said. “There’s no reason to be partying now. It would be a lot easier to relax after the playoffs.”

  “No kidding,” Jackson said. “They act like we should be celebrating, but there’s nothing to celebrate just yet.

  “Right?” Fiona said. “Plus, Vance really buckled down on me after what happened in Training Camp.” Jackson remembered. It seemed like a distant memory, but Fiona had almost not made it into the Bronze League at all, and it was only after a withdrawal at the very end that she managed to snag a slot. “The season went really well, and I love working with him, but what does it matter where you’re ranking and what the media calls you if you don’t do well enough to make it into the Silver League?”