Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy

by Derek Alan Siddoway

Speed: 116

  Accessories: None

  Items: None

  Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>

  GENERAL OPPONENT STATS

  Djinn: Smilaguar

  Level: 15

  Name: Miguel

  Element: Earth

  HP (Hit Points): 120/130

  EP (Elemental Power): 35/45

  Attack: 50

  Defense: 40

  Speed: 105

  Accessories: None

  Items: None

  Status: Neutral

  “Shall we?”

  “Don’t you want to heal your Djinn first?” Jackson said.

  “This guy’ll be fine,” the woman said.

  Jackson grinned and turned his hat around so it wouldn’t impede his vision. He knew this wouldn’t be a cakewalk. Be ready, girl, he said to Asena via their connection. That thing is fast, but nothing we can’t handle. Don’t expect them to make any mistakes.

  Out loud he said, “We’re ready if you are!”

  The woman nodded and her Smilaguar shot forward with the same uncanny speed. Even though its Speed stat was a bit less than Asena’s, Jackson could have sworn it was moving much faster. Rather than trying to hit the quick Djinn, Asena dodged to the side and the Smilaguar missed by a few mere inches.

  Good, let’s keep dancing around. Be patient — we’ll get our chance to attack.

  The two Djinn leaped and snapped at one another, neither fully committing to an attack, seemingly waiting for the other to make a mistake. A cloud of sand rose up and Jackson coughed, shielding his eyes to see Asena and Miguel through the haze.

  Jackson acted fast. He’d seen what the Smilaguar could do if left too long and allowed to whittle down its opponents hit points. The two Djinn wrestled and fought in a melee of physical attacks. Asena was a bit smaller, but had the benefit of a higher level on her side and superior statistics. Also, Speed was one of her natural advantages, so it certainly helped bridge the gap between their taming skills. This lady was no joke.

  As soon as the two Djinn pulled apart, Jackson commanded Asena to strike with a Fire Bark. The Smilaguar was fast and dodged the full brunt of the attack, but the flaming stream still caught it on its hindquarters and spun it around. Before it could recover, Asena struck with another Fire Bark. This one struck the Smilaguar full-on and it dropped to the sand, panting.

  “Do you yield?” Jackson asked. He didn’t want to risk injuring the lower-level Djinn now the battle was in hand.

  The old woman gave a small nod of her head in respect and returned Miguel to his ring.

  “That was well done. Your friend could learn a thing or two from watching you fight.”

  Jackson didn’t look back at Heath, but he imagined the older man wasn’t pleased at the outcome.

  “Well done, Jackson,” Vega said, strutting toward the old woman like he had been behind the victory. “Maybe I should have you on my payroll.”

  The woman ignored Vega’s approach and remained focused on Jackson. “Can I ask you where you got that Lyote?”

  “She was a gift from my mom,” Jackson said. “That’s why we’re here — to hopefully find a way to help get her to the next level.” He didn’t think it was worth explaining his desire to find Everore.

  Nodding, the woman looked him up and down for several moments and did the same to Asena, who was now seated on her hindquarters at Jackson’s side. “That’s a rare and special Djinn you have there. I think you know that they’re on the endangered list and no longer allowed to be taken off the island — treat her well.”

  “Yes, yes, a very special creature indeed,” Vega said with an oily smile as he clapped his hands together. “Now then, about that ferry ride…”

  “You’ll get your ride, pretty boy,” the woman said. She walked past Vega and extended a hand to Jackson. “The name’s Black — it was good to share a battle with you.”

  Jackson took the hand and found the woman’s grip was much stronger than he thought. She flashed him a little grin as they shook as if she was pleased to surprise him. She then began shouting out orders to the rest.

  “All right, everyone! Most of the time, I’m a one-woman operation, so if you’ve got equipment to load and that sort of thing, you’d better hop to it. You won’t be getting any help from me or my Djinn in that regard. Mr. Vega, I’m also going to need to see a copy of your human and Djinn vaccines. Once the ferry is loaded and everything is taken care of, we’ll go over a couple of rules and then be off. Let’s move it! The tide can get nasty around these parts if you don’t hit it right!”

  The group burst into a flurry of activity. While Heath and Sloan unloaded Vega’s copious gear, Kay took out a spray bottle of Djinn-Aid and squirted it over Asena’s minor wounds.

  “Good fight,” Fiona said, her bag and backpack already at her side. “But don’t feel too good about beating up an opponent nearly half of Asena’s level.”

  Jackson fought the urge to give a snarky reply, but Fiona’s comment reminded him again of Asena’s impending level cap. He pulled up her chart to take a quick look at how much Experience he gained and swallowed hard as he noticed she only had 765 left until the next level. That battle alone had gained him 50 XP — much more than he’d anticipated. Still, he supposed it was a good lesson to learn then instead of when it pushed Asena over the brink.

  Looking at Asena’s stats made him realize he would only be able to use her sparingly on the archipelago. If they encountered any high-level wild Djinn, Scrappy or one of the other tamers would have to handle them. He didn’t want to come all this way only to lock out his Djinn’s future capabilities at the last minute in a meaningless fight.

  They loaded all of their gear into the medium-sized flat-bottomed aluminum boat Black called her ferry. When he’d heard the words ferry, he thought of something that could hold hundreds of people. This one was more the size of a small houseboat. Much like the clapboard building and wooden dock, it looked like it had seen better days. Numerous minor dents covered the entire craft and it took Black several minutes of pulling the drawstring and spraying starter fluid into the motor before it finally whirred to life with a crackle of magnetic energy. Jackson was surprised it wasn’t a gas motor, as old as everything else seemed.

  The boat — apparently named Lula, judging by the faded orange paint on the side — had a battered canvas canopy and a handful of cracked wooden benches to sit on on the top deck. The bottom level featured a full kitchen — or, as Black called it, a galley — and an open area with a wraparound sectional couch made of some kind of rubberized material that looked like it would repel water. The back of the ferry held the wheel and an old-fashioned navigation screen rather than a holo-cast.

  Black, who was very particular about where everything was placed in the boat, took on a captain’s aura at once, making Heath and Sloan move things several times before she was satisfied with the weight distribution. Part of Jackson thought she might be doing it just to mess with the pair, but he kept his mouth shut and his head down. When at last everything was placed to her satisfaction, Black called them back up onto the dock and made them get into a line.

  “There are a few rules we need to go over before we leave,” she said, pacing back and forth in front of them. “The first is that you aren’t going to a local park for a picnic. Lombardia is wild, remote, and dangerous. If you get yourselves into trouble, help is at least four hours away under the best conditions. Twelve or more at the worst. I’m not responsible for your safety.”

  She held up another finger. “Second, Lyotes or any of their evolutionary forms are not allowed to be tamed, under any circumstances. I understand this is a research trip, but anything beyond that is strictly illegal and believe me, the National Djinn Rangers keep a close eye on Lombardia, whether they’re there in-person or not. Third, as a party, you’re allowed to take any non-endangered Djinn from the island as long as you limit it to one per two people, but judging by what I’ve seen so far, you should be more worried about
the local Djinn eating you than you taming them.”

  She smirked and looked at Heath. “Break any of those three rules and best case scenario is you’ll end up in prison and, for you pro tamers, have your license revoked. And prison too. Worst case scenario, you’ll get killed. Believe me, there are a thousand different ways. Any questions?”

  The group was completely silent. Black locked eyes with each one of them then broke into a smile when she’d concluded.

  “Great! What are we waiting for?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  It turned out the short ferry ride Vega made their voyage out to be was actually a twelve-hour trip across open water. Everyone settled in to their preferred spots: Heath and Sloan at the front of the craft, as far away from Black as they could manage, Kay on the side taking photos, and Fiona downstairs in the small bathroom, doing her best not to lose what remained of her breakfast.

  For their part, Jackson and Vega huddle together under the canopy, studying a map of the archipelago projected from Vega’s holo-watch as the ferry cut through the waves. Lombardia was made up of a series of fifteen islands — though only four of them were really worth calling an “island” proper — and the one second from the south was the only one with a volcano. According to the research compiled by Jackson’s mother, this was the only likely place the Everore could be found.

  Vega zoomed in on the volcanic island, giving them a 3D aerial map. It looked to be about five miles at its widest and about three miles in the other direction — not exactly massive, but the steep cliffs made from volcanic rock and thick forest would make travel slow.

  “Do you have any idea which islands in the Lombardia archipleago are inhabited by Lyote packs?” Vega shouted to Black over the wind and the buzzing of the motor through the waves.

  Black shook her head, her dark hair whipping out behind her. “Now why would I tell you something like that? I thought you’d done your homework — you’re just paying me to get you there.”

  “Impossible woman,” Vega muttered just loud enough for Jackson to hear.

  “She’s not so bad,” Jackson said, glancing toward Black. Her steely eyes focused on the horizon and Jackson felt a wave of admiration at the way the woman had commanded her Djinn in battle.

  Vega sniffed. “I’m just glad you could beat her. That was well done. You’ve certainly earned your stripes as a tamer. Now, let’s get back to the map…”

  They studied for another half hour or so, until Vega began to complain of seasickness as well and nearly threw up all over Fiona in his haste to get to the small latrine she was already occupying. She came up on deck looking as white as the puffy clouds meandering above them. Jackson started to ask how she felt but was silenced by an accusing glare before Fiona leaned out over the side of the boat, ignoring him entirely. Sighing, Jackson made his way back to the small cabin where Black was now sipping at a glass of iced tea, the ferry set on autopilot.

  “Something I can help you with?” she asked as he approached.

  Jackson shrugged, unsure of himself. “Just looking for some company.”

  Black looked him over a long moment as if deciding if she wanted his company or hoped he would fall overboard and then nodded to a nearby seat. “Help yourself.”

  After he was seated, Jackson stared out the back of the ferry for a long time, watching the mainland shrink on the horizon. It was still warm — borderline uncomfortably hot, in fact — but the ocean breeze kept the shaded canopy cool and made for an enjoyable venture. Fiona retched over the whirr of the magnetic motor. Well, enjoyable for some of us, Jackson thought.

  “Any other advice for us when we get to the islands?” Jackson asked Black.

  She shrugged. “A tamer of your skills should be fine if you keep your head on straight.” Black motioned toward Heath and Sloan seated in the front of the ferry. “And you don’t let them get you into trouble. What’s a kid like you doing dragging your friends into a place like this with people like that?”

  Jackson gave the brief, impersonal version of what was going on with Asena and the research they’d discovered about the Everore. When he asked Black about it, however, she seemed to lose all interest in the conversation.

  “Everore? Never heard of the stuff.” Jackson began pulling up some of the research, but Black waved him off. “Don’t bother. I’ve spent decades out here around the archipelago and there are plenty of things I can admit I’ve never seen and never will see before I die. Maybe your rock is there, maybe it isn’t. Just promise me one thing?” She looked him straight in the face for a moment.

  “Sure?” Jackson said.

  “You take good care of that Lyote.” She jabbed Asena’s Djinn ring. “I don’t think you really understand what a special Djinn you’ve got there.”

  Jackson’s other hand inadvertently closed over Asena’s ring and he nodded. Black turned back toward the horizon and took another sip of her iced tea.

  As evening approached, the faintest outlines of the archipelago appeared way off in the distance, highlighted by the sun setting behind them. The water had grown rougher, but Black had finally relented and given Vega and Fiona a special patch that cured their problems almost at once. The question remained as to why she hadn’t done so earlier, but Jackson wisely didn’t ask. Maybe she liked messing with tourists. Either that, or things were about to get a whole lot rougher. Vega and Fiona were so relieved and exhausted that they didn’t seem to care, though

  As they drew closer to the islands, dark storm clouds started rolling in from the mainland to the east. Flashes of lightning spotted behind them and booming rolls of thunder joined the display. The water grew rough enough that Black had to slow down her motor, even though they were still a good distance from the islands of Lombardia.

  “I don’t like the look of those clouds,” she said. “They’ve got the makings of a Djinn Storm in them.”

  “A Djinn Storm?” Jackson said. “I thought those were just stories.”

  Black shook her head. “Not out here they aren’t. There’s enough open spaces and wild Djinn that when a storm gets cooking, it brings all of the Wind-Elementals in. Can stir up the ocean Djinn as well. It’s all well and good if you’re one of them messing around in the weather, but it doesn’t bode well for us if we can’t make it to the islands before the storm rolls over us.”

  Jackson glanced back at the impending clouds. He didn’t know if it was his imagination or not, but he swore he could see small flying shapes darting about whenever the lightning illuminated the darkening sky. As fast as the clouds approached, their chances didn’t look that good.

  “Samu!”

  Black produced another Djinn ring from somewhere and pointed it out over the water. A blast of sea green light stretched out over the water and the shape of a giant maritime Djinn dove below the surface, only its fin and tail showing.

  “Wow!” Jackson had never seen anything like it before and raised his Djinncyclipedia to scan the monster just as it surface and blew a blast of mist out of its blowhole.

  Djinn: Orcys

  Element: Water

  Orcys is a Water-Elemental Djinn. Unlike a good number of sea-dwelling Water-Elementals, Orcyses cannot breathe underwater and have to head to the surface at least once every hour or so. Generally friendly, they tend to gather near humans, and when tamed, they become completely attached to their tamer.

  Samu drifted up next to the boat, heedless of the chopping waves. Black reached out over the back corner and patted his dark blue nose. The Djinn released another pleased burst of air from its blowhole then rolled over, revealing a lime green belly.

  “All right, all right,” Black said in a gruff voice that didn’t hide her obvious pleasure at seeing the Djinn. “You’ve showed off enough. Now be a good boy and circle the boat for us.”

  The Orcys let out a strange almost mooing sound and rolled away from the ferry. Jackson watched for several minutes as the Djinn made wide arcs around them, its dark, blue fin and occasional breeching blo
ws the only sign that it was in the water. He wanted to ask Black about it, but the water had grown so choppy he was forced to sit on the benches in the middle of the craft. Kay, who had been fawning over the new Djinn as well, joined him. The excitement she’d gotten from taking photos and looking for ocean Djinn seemed to have evaporated in the face of the looming storm.

  “Do you want to go down below deck with Fiona and Vega?” Jackson asked her, raising his voice to be heard over the boat and the wind.

  Kay shook her head, a strained expression on her face. “I’d rather be able to see what’s happening.”

  The swells of the ocean continued to grow worse until Jackson and Kay were forced to hold onto the rails or be bucked off of their benches onto the floor of the ferry. Even Sloan and Heath retreated from their spot in the prow and made their way downstairs. Black’s attention was focused on her nav chart and the engine controls. She moved about in a flurry of activity, making subtle little turns with the wheel of the craft to steer them out of the biggest swells. The waves rose higher and higher and began to splash over the top deck of the ferry.

  “You better get down below and grab some life jackets!” Black shouted over the storm.

  “Life jackets?” Kay voice rose to a high panicked pitch. Before she could question further, Jackson placed a hand on her arm and helped her down below the decks. The ferry rolled and heaved beneath them as they reached the latch and he stumbled forward, almost falling down the narrow stairs.

  “Let go!” Kay shouted over the wind. “You almost pulled me over with you.”

  Kay pulled her arm free and made her way down the stair ladder, Jackson close behind. An instant later, the storm hit.

  A blast of rain, lightning, and the reverberations of thunder surrounded them like some primeval Djinn descending upon them. The rain struck like bullets and the sides of the ferry rose and heaved back and forth as Black continued to navigate toward the archipelago.