“Two,” Fiona said.
“THREE!”
As both tamers shouted, they shoved their fists forward. Scrappy and Rebel appeared, in a burst of purple and emerald light. It took less than a second for Jackson to mentally convey what was going on to his Scoundrook and the two avian Djinn charged the Arkodon pack.
Jackson didn’t have time to watch what unfolded next or even issue specific commands as he would in battle. Trusting Scrappy to keep himself out of serious harm’s way, he sprinted into the water, Fiona at his side. The pool quickly deepened until they were forced to swim. Meanwhile, the calls of Scrappy and Rebel mixed with Sabrina’s bray and the angry screeches of the Arkodon as the attacks commenced.
Swimming as hard as he could, Jackson reached the rock just ahead of Fiona. He turned in time to see her recall her Donkick back to his ring as the poor Djinn bucked and kicked with two Arkodon clinging to its back. Jackson stretched as far out of the water as he could and managed to find a handhold on the rock. Straining with effort, he hauled himself out of the water and on to the flat top of the rock. When he turned around, Fiona was scrambling for purchase below, a trio of Arkodon charging through the water toward her.
“Give me your hand!”
Jackson leaned over as far as he could reach and managed to just grab Fiona’s outstretched hand. He pulled back as hard as he could, ignoring the screams of protest from his shoulder. Fiona used the leverage to propel herself up the side of the rock and landed next to Jackson. But they knew they weren’t out of the woods yet, and Fiona rolled over to see how Scrappy and Rebel were faring. Both Jackson and Fiona pulled up the stats of their respective Djinn.
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Scoundrook
Level: 22
Name: Scrappy
Element: Wind
Species Rarity: Fairly Common
Tamer: Jackson Hunt
HP (Hit Points): 150/295
EP (Elemental Power): 75/110
XP (Experience): 419 to Next Level
DJP (Djinn Points): 0 Unallocated
Attack: 109
Defense: 120
Speed: 195
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Bond: 76%
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
Had they not been in such a dire situation, Jackson would have glanced over to see Rebel’s stats, but at this moment, the less than 200 remaining HP was all he needed to see for panic to rise in his gut. Sure, it wasn’t too bad, but these Arkodon were strong, and Scrappy and Rebel could only hold them off for so long.
The two avian Djinn continued to harass the Arkodon with their ranged attacks and quick Dive Bombs that even the fast Arkodon were unable to avoid. At the base of the rock, the three Arkodon who had charged after Fiona tried to claw their way up the face of the rock. Luckily, the water was deep enough that they couldn’t push off the bottom to get leverage.
“You know…” he said in between breaths. The flurry of swimming, climbing, and hauling up Fiona had left him winded and shaking with adrenaline. “I was hoping they didn’t like the water.”
“Just…our luck,” Fiona said, breathing just as heavy. “Now what?”
They recalled Scrappy and Rebel to the rock but left them out of their rings in case one of the Arkodon somehow managed to make its way up the rock.
“For starters, we hold these ones off.”
Go get ‘em, Scrappy! Jackson called out to the Wind-Elemental.
Fiona’s face became similarly-focused, and as if in unison, the two began a coordinated attack on the Arkodon in the water.
Dive Bomb! Jackson commanded. Under normal circumstances, Jackson wouldn’t have risked an attack on a potentially-high-level Djinn like these Arkodon, but without any real leverage to fight from, their predators were at a distinct disadvantage.
Scrappy flew down and scored a Critical Hit against his first victim.
Rebel did the same, and as persistent as the Arkodon were, Jackson and Fiona were clearly at an advantage. But still, the Arkodon pushed on, and while they couldn’t yet climb onto the rock, it seemed like only a matter of time before one of them did.
Then Jackson had an idea. “Does Rebel know the Mini-Twister attack?”
“Please. He knows a full-on Twister attack.”
“What?” Jackson turned his head. “When did he learn that? How?”
“Now’s not the best time, Jack, but I think I know where you’re going with this,” Fiona said. “On three?”
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Cast a Mini-Twister all around us, boy! Jackson commanded. Scrappy obeyed, unleashing a powerful series of gusts from his wings. The gusts coalesced into a large twister that spun around the rock, picking up water to become a waterspout. It picked up a few Arkodon along the way, and tossed them back onto the other side of the pond.
Rebel did the same, only on a slightly larger scale, a handful of Arkodon getting violently tossed back along the way. The message Jackson and Fiona were sending to the predator Djinn was clear: this was their territory.
And just like that, the water directly surrounding the rock on which the two tamers stood became free of Arkodon.
But rather than stalking off in search of easier prey, the Arkodon made a ring around the three quarters of the pond that wasn’t backed up against the falls. Each of the twenty-odd Djinn sat down and did nothing but watch Fiona and Jackson. The tamers were trapped.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Jackson said. “They’re smart. They know we can’t go anywhere so they’re just going to wait us out.”
Fiona growled in frustration and threw a rock at the Arkodon pack, but it fell several feet short in the water. “Go away! You can’t eat us!”
An hour passed, then two. Then three.
The Arkodon showed no sign of moving. With nothing else to do, Jackson and Fiona took turns napping until the sun rose once more, turning the surface of the square rock into an oven. Finally, plagued by thirst, Jackson took a chance and lowered himself back down the rock to get drink and take a quick dunk to cool himself off. The Arkodon perked their heads up at this, but made no move to attack.
Fiona did the same, but it wasn’t long before they were both roasting again. Rather than get caught off guard without anyone on top of the rock to provide a boost up, they had to take turns in the pool. As soon as they got out, the rock dried them out in no time. Meanwhile, one or two Arkodon would slip off into the shadows. At first, Jackson took this as a sign that they might have lost interest, but it seemed the Djinn were only swapping out turns at guard duty. When a couple of the Arkodon returned, two others would take off.
“This would be a fascinating case study if we weren’t their prey,” Jackson said, a little bit of his mom’s Djinnology passion coming out in him. In spite of the water, his lips were dried and cracked, and his face was tender from the pounding sun.
“We’re going to have to think of something,” Fiona said. “They might not eat us but we’ll get cooked to a crisp if we have to sit here another day. Plus, we don’t even know if we can get in touch with Black to let her know we won’t make the meet-up.”
They’d tried contacting their guide on Jackson’s holo, but nothing came through. Other options didn’t seem much better. Jackson suggested they attempt to climb up the falls themselves, until Fiona pointed out that the water behind the falls was shallow and the Arkodon could reach them if they made an attempt. On top of that, the fountain that the Splitrock’s water came out of was a giant cone-shaped hunk of rock. If they did make it up, they’d just be trapped in another location.
Even with their combined strength, Scrappy and Rebel wouldn’t be able to carry them one at a time to safety. They made a desperate try at this, but the Djinn could only fly a few feet off the ground and not for very far. In the end, they decided to wait things out and hope to hear from Black the next day.
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“Then what?” Fiona asked. “If she can’t get through to us, what are we going to do?”
Jackson had no answer. They’d even tried using Scrappy and Rebel to draw the pack away, but no matter how much their two Djinn pestered the Arkodon, only one or two of the predator Djinn gave chase. The pack knew what they had on the island and weren’t about to give it up.
Day passed into evening and, with that, the blissful descent of the sun. Jackson’s head pounded and every part of his skin not covered in clothing — face, arms, and legs — felt like it had been the recipient of one of Asena’s Fire Bark attacks.
The sun sank into the ocean again and the silver moon rose once more. It was so large Jackson knew it was only a day or two away from being full. He felt guilty that he’d left Asena in stasis within her Djinn Ring since the previous night, but there wasn’t really room for her on the rock. More importantly, Jackson didn’t want to take any chances at night. As if to confirm his fears, several forlorn Lyote howls drifted on the wind. The sound came from so far away that Jackson guessed they were on a different island. The Arkodon certainly paid them no attention.
“I’m sorry,” Jackson said in the middle of one of their long pauses in conversation. Aside from discussing ways to get off the rock, neither of them had much energy for small talk, and the day had passed in relative silence that made sharing a small space with another human surprisingly lonely.
“Don’t be,” Fiona said. “I know I’ve been giving you a hard time but it was my choice to come. I…if we’re being honest, I thought this trip might give me an advantage over you in the Battle Royale. I thought if I got a good look at you and your Djinn together outside of the battle, I could find a weakness to exploit.”
Jackson didn’t say anything. A part of him knew all along what Fiona had just confirmed, but another part hoped that she came along out of a genuine desire to help him out. He wasn’t surprised, but more disappointed than expected.
“Why?” Jackson asked.
Fiona shot him a confused looked.
“Why are you always so obsessed with winning? I swear, it’s all you think about.”
“We all want to win,” she said.
“Yeah, but you really want to win,” Jackson said. “Even in things that don’t matter.”
“I just —” Fiona cut herself off and frowned down at the rock beneath them. “My brothers are so much better than me. They’re in the Silver League. My parents are crazy successful breeders. And me? I’m just a Bronze Leaguer.”
“One of the best Bronze Leaguers.”
“Doesn’t count for much in my family.”
“What, do they expect you to jump straight to Gold League?”
“I don’t know if they expect anything. That’s kind of the problem. Every so often, I just get a hint that they really just want me to help take over the ranch. I guess I just want to prove that this is my true calling,” Fiona said softly. “I let it go too far sometimes. Vance doesn’t help — he’s even crazier than I am. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if it’s healthy to be training with him.”
Jackson laughed. “It can’t be any worse than Briggs. Sometimes I think he does things to me for his own twisted entertainment. They’re certainly a pair.”
Fiona smiled. “Who would have thought two kids from Tyle would end up being coached by Cassius Briggs and Vance McAllister?”
“We’re kind of awesome, aren’t we?” Jackson said. It was something he’d never thought to say aloud before. In the world of taming, such declarations of confidence were reserved for the Lei Kaleos of the world. But if he couldn’t say it to himself now, then when could he?
“Yeah,” Fiona said. “I think we kind of are. Maybe. Is it bad to say that?”
During the course of the conversation, they’d somehow ended up closer to each other. As Fiona’s shoulder brush against his, Jackson felt his chest tighten. All at once, nothing seemed to matter but sitting on that rock with her. Not the Arkodon, not Asena’s evolution, not the Bronze League Championship. Nothing.
Their eyes locked once more and Jackson felt himself leaning in. His heart nearly burst through his chest when Fiona did the same. A moment before their lips met, Fiona sucked in a quick breath of surprise, then it happened.
Jackson had kissed plenty of girls throughout high school, but when he kissed Fiona Sato, it was like nothing before. All of her passion and drive radiated in the kiss and hit his lips like lightning. Their mouths parted and she leaned forward, pushing against Jackson so hard he had to throw an arm out to keep from falling back and hitting his head on the rock. They came apart for the briefest instant. Breathing heavily, Jackson pulled Fiona close to kiss her again.
Before he could, the water exploded all around them.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jackson instinctively ducked down as the sound of loud splashes erupted around him and Fiona. Droplets of water cascaded through the air, followed by a fine mist. Jackson clenched both his fists, readying to fight for his life against whatever new Djinn had decided to attack. When the mist settled, however, Jackson let out a crazed laugh of relief. In the pale, silver moonlight, dozens of equine forms took shape. The Aquestria herd had come to Splitrock Falls.
“Are those the Djinn that rescued you from the water?” Fiona asked. For the first time Jackson could remember, Fiona’s voice took on a reverent, girlishly adoring tone. “They’re gorgeous! I’ve seen pictures but it doesn’t do them justice.”
The moonlight reflected the dark blue of the aquatic equine Djinn so that each shone like a sapphire. While some of the bigger members of the herd swam around the square rock Fiona and Jackson were standing on, groups of younger, Basic-Form Ponizus whinnied and nickered to one another while diving and splashing beneath the falls.
“Where did these guys come from?” Fiona said, peering into the water.
“Uh-oh,” Jackson said. He felt a sinking pit in his stomach at the sight of several Arkodon who were prowling around the edge of the pond beneath the falls, where the water wasn’t as deep. The Aquestrian herd had just caught the scent of the Arkodon pack and issued a series of nervous whinnies. What Jackson guessed were the mothers of the Ponizus gathered them together in a protective circle. At the same time, the larger stud members of the herd — including one that Jackson could have sworn was the same he’d seen on the beach — made wider circles toward the shallow edges of the pond. A fight appeared inevitable.
By now, all of the Arkodon pack and the Aquestrian herd were well aware of one another and were starting to size each other up. The Arkodon advanced as far as they could stand into the shallow parts of the water on all sides. In response, the Aquestrian herd pushed further into the deep water, surrounding Jackson and Fiona’s rock. The problem was the herd was so large that several of the Water-Elemental Djinn were still within striking distance of the Arkodon. If the predator Djinn decided to attack, they wouldn’t be wanting for targets.
“I don’t think things got any worse, but they really haven’t improved much, either,” Fiona said.
Jackson silently turned around to take in the scene. He felt certain the Aquestria wouldn’t hurt them, but they’d also rekindled the interest of the Arkodon pack, which didn’t work in their favor.
“Maybe if they start fighting we can make a break for it?” Fiona suggested.
Jackson shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea — even if we didn’t get attacked by the Arkodon, we’d probably be trampled or drowned by the Aquestria in the chaos by accident. Actually, maybe not even by accident. If we startle them by jumping in, they may see us as a threat.”
Fiona looked like she wanted to argue, but stopped herself. After working with Djinn all her life, she’d know the dangers of spooking wild Djinn. A smile came over her face.
“What?” Jackson said.
“Nothing.”
“Seriously, what?”
“It’s a stupid idea.”
“I can go for stupid right now,” Jack
son said. “It beats the zero ideas I have in my head.”
“It wasn’t an idea, I just thought about how fun it would be to lasso one of these guys and ride them out.”
Jackson gave her an inquisitive look, his eyes narrowed.
“I know,” Fiona said defensively. “It’s a stupid —”
Jackson held up his hand to cut off Fiona. “No, I think it’s a great idea!”
She looked at him like he’d gone insane, but the next thing she said was, “Where would we get the rope?”
Jackson laughed and reached inside his shirt. He pulled out his spare Djinn ring, grateful he hadn’t lost it in their many adventures since falling off of the ferry. “I’ll catch one of the Aquestria and we’ll make a break for it!”
“That’s crazy.” Fiona had to raise her voice to be heard over the din of yowling Arkodon and the angry screams of the Aquestria as the battle between the two groups of Djinn came to a head. “But better than nothing, I guess!”
Jackson studied the herd in the tumult of their struggle against the Arkodon. Although there were plenty of Aquestria to choose from, Jackson definitely didn’t want to capture one of the smaller Ponizus — it would have been easier, but he doubted they had the strength to carry both of them. The females in the group were larger, but still slight of frame and Jackson definitely didn’t want to separate a mother from its offspring. That left…
A dozen or so of the big herd studs led the defense against the Arkodon. Jackson studied them closely, heart in his mouth as the Arkodon sought to overwhelm and pull the big Aquestria down for the kill. Luckily, each time one of the predator Djinn grabbed a leg or jumped on the back of the equine Djinn, another member of the herd was there to send it off with a strong kick or vicious bite. A few brief moments of intense battling ensued and then the Arkodon pack broke off their attack. Both sides had taken injuries and one Arkodon floated in the shallows where it had been trampled by a pair of male Aquestria.
Djinn Tamer - The Complete Bronze League Trilogy Page 69