Luckily, Appleby’s match was about to start. When the referee signaled the start, Jackson cheered and clapped for his friend. He focused on the match — the perfect way to avoid another lecture from Kay.
Once again, Appleby and his Moldune resorted to their hit-and-run burrowing tactics. Knowing he might be facing Appleby, Jackson had done his best to prepare Asena for the confrontation with the dodgy underground Djinn. It looked like Appleby had upped his game, however. Not only did Wacky, Appleby’s Moldune, confuse his opponent by popping up where he was least expected, but it looked like he had learned some extra Earth-Elemental moves as well. At one point, he spat a long stream of sand into the enemy Djinn’s face and followed it up with some type of mini-earthquake move.
For a tamer completely unprepared for Appleby’s strategy, the opposing girl didn’t do too bad, Jackson supposed. By the end, she and her Djinn started to get a sense of Appleby’s timing, but by then it was too late. The bell rang, and Jackson knew right away his friend would be the winner.
“He relies too much on all that digging around,” Fiona said. “If you watch, he’s completely predictable.”
“Oh yeah?” Jackson said, feeling a little irritated at Fiona for bashing on Appleby after they’d all just had dinner together the night before as friends. “What’s so predictable?”
Fiona laughed. “Like I’m going to tell you! You’re in the blue bracket, so Appleby would have to get past me to face you, but I don’t want you giving him a tip before I get a chance to exploit him.”
“Exploit” seemed like a very unsportsmanlike way to put it, and Jackson didn’t know if he should be offended that Fiona thought so little of Appleby, or pleased she thought they’d be facing off for the championship later in the day.
“I’m sure he’ll give you a run for your money,” Jackson said in an icy tone.
But Fiona just smiled. “Nah. He’s toast.”
Jackson about had his fill of Fiona’s bravado. He got plenty cocky sometimes, but Fiona wore her confidence like a mask that never came off during competition time. It got old really fast. Jackson made an excuse about needing to check the bracket again before his match. He and Kay excused themselves and headed down to the projector board where Jackson examined his next opponent again.
Her name was Rachel Crupe and she had a Ladon, which was a Wind-Elemental. Unlike most Djinn that resembled the Titan-esque dragons of legend, Ladon featured no fire-breathing properties, though that didn’t make it any less dangerous. He counted his blessings that the Ladon was the basic form of the Djinn.
The basic stats showed it was, like Asena, Level 10, though the board didn’t show off any other vital stats.
A familiar nervous feeling set in as soon as Jackson let Asena out on the warm-up field. Once again, they went through the same routine as before each of their fights. This time, however, it didn’t comfort Jackson as much as it had leading up to the previous two battles.
Thanks to their brutal conditioning with Briggs, Asena didn’t show any signs of fatigue from the previous fight, but facing an opponent of equal level and ability negated their advantage. The match would be won or lost by the tamer’s abilities. Since Jackson had no idea how skilled Crupe was, he naturally assumed the worst. Once more, an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy gripped him.
Jackson tried to distract himself by looking into the crowd, but that didn’t help. Although the mediocre audience had actually shrunk from the previous day — most likely because they were down to the final four contestants — to Jackson, it felt like an entire stadium. Where once he’d dreamed of being in a massive spotlight, now he could think of nothing but wilting under the pressure.
A familiar face and a flash of gray-blonde hair caught his attention. Was that…?
No. It wasn’t. It was just some other old lady in the stands carrying a basket of fries for her husband. Jackson shook his head and looked away from the crowd just as the announcer called for him. He knew for sure that he needed to get a grip. His grandma’s call had put him in a state of paranoia. He needed to focus.
Focus. Focus. Focus.
Jackson forced a nervous laugh and then put the thought aside. If the rest of his doubts and insecurities were as real as Jane Hunt in the stands watching her grandson compete in a Djinn invitational, then maybe he was overreacting.
Jackson reviewed everything he knew about the Ladon. A strong Djinn, even at an early stage, it had high defense due to its scales and increased mobility from flight. Luckily for Jackson, he’d focused on increasing Asena’s attack with his DJP. So far, that was a move that had been paying off in spades. It was also a plus that the invitational rules stated that the competing Djinn had to stay within five yards of the ground at all times — the Ladon would never be able to fly out of Asena’s Fire Growl range. On the flip side, it would be able to fly out of range of his physical attacks. Jackson would have to go mostly Elemental in this fight.
Rachel looked all business, too. She leaned against the rail, watching the end of the match before them. When Jackson tried to wish her good luck, she only replied with a terse nod.
“Aaaaannndddd now, competing for a spot in the McAllister Invitational’s top two, Jackson Hunt and his Lyote, Asena versus Rachel Crupe and her Ladon, Scale!”
Jackson grinned when he heard Kay’s piercing whistle behind him, followed by Appleby’s overenthusiastic cheers. The fingers on his left hand wiggled and twitched like a gunfighter as the referee finished explaining the rules and counted down…
“Release your Djinn!”
“Go, Asena!” Jackson’s hand shot up and the Lyote appeared in a flash of vermillion light. Rachel did the same, and the Ladon hovered a few feet away and above Asena. A horn sounded.
Asena’s Fire Growl collided with a blast of air from the Ladon. A wave of heat washed over Jackson and the two attacks dissipated. The sudden ferocity of the match took Jackson aback and he barely regained his composure quickly enough to order Asena to dodge another blast of wind.
The Ladon might not have been able to fly far from the ring, but it still put Asena at an immediate disadvantage. Two more blasts of wind followed, one striking Asena and knocking off 42 hit points.
It didn’t take Jackson long to see why Rachel and Scale were among the final four contestants: the timing of their attacks and execution was razor-sharp. The Ladon also had a much wider array of Elemental attacks than Asena, including a wicked cyclone-type move.
The attack was sporadic and somewhat uncontrollable, but the second time, the Ladon’s whirling body struck Asena hard and sent her flying. She landed hard, another 55 hit points gone.
Jackson glanced at his battle stat screen and grimaced.
{{{}}}
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Lyote
Level: 10
Name: Asena
Element: Fire/Earth
Species Rarity: Rare
Tamer: Jackson Hunt
HP (Hit Points): 90/187
EP (Elemental Power): 83/88
XP (Experience): 35 to Next Level
DJP (Djinn Points): 0 Unallocated
Attack: 65
Defense: 34
Speed: 54
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Bond: 71%
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
{{{}}}
Asena only had 90 hit points left and the Ladon had nearly two-thirds of its total. While Asena tried to reorient herself after the critical hit, the enemy Djinn started spinning in preparation for another cycle. An idea struck Jackson.
Okay girl, this is it! I know you’re tired but just give me one last Fire Growl!
The Ladon spun until it was no more than a blue-gray blur careening toward the Lyote.
Wait…
Asena crouched lower, flames flickering out from between her fangs. She tensed as the Ladon whirled toward her and almost fired too early.
NOW!
Now girl, use your Wild Bite!
Before the Ladon could recover, Asena pounced. Summoning the remnants of her stamina, she sank her fangs into the Djinn’s scorched wing and shook with all her might.
Composure abandoned, Crupe screamed at her burned Djinn to get up. The Ladon fought with the last of its feeble strength, but Asena’s iron jaws held firm, crunching, shaking.
The buzzer rang and a second later, the Ladon went limp.
Jackson realized his fists were clenched and shaking. It took a moment for him to process. They’d won.
“YES!” Jackson shouted. He hurtled toward Asena and scooped her up his arms spinning her around. Weariness fell away and Asena yipped along with her tamer, smothering his faces with kisses.
His holo-watch buzzed as it indicated a Level Up. He’d have to remember to check on that once Asena finished her checkup.
Jackson put Asena down and hastily shook hands with Rachel then ran for the sidelines past Fiona and Appleby, who were waiting to fight next in the bullpen. Fiona rolled her eyes at him, but Appleby gave a cheesy grin and a thumbs up.
“We’re going to the championship!” Jackson yelled at Kay. She was right where he’d left her on the sidelines, but the look she wore would have been more fitting if Jackson had lost.
He slowed down and the smile faded from his face. “What’s the matter? I won!”
“Yeah… there’s just one problem,” Kay said. “Your grandma’s here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Jackson froze, causing Asena to run into the back of his knee, almost knocking him over. He tried to tell himself he’d heard Kay wrong, but he knew better. His grandmother’s appearance at the tournament only meant one thing: the jig was up.
While the doctor looked over Asena and applied a few Djinn-Aid sprays, Jackson tried to figure out how his grandma could have possibly found out about the tournament. Had Fiona ratted him out in the hopes he would have to forfeit? Had Tak or Briggs shown up at his doorstep and confronted Jane for some unknown reason?
You did this to yourself, Jackson thought. Now you’ve got to face the consequences.
Waiting for Asena to pass her post-battle exam, Jackson thought he might throw up. His heart pounded in his chest and he felt dizzy. He tried to come up with a story that might lessen his grandma’s hurt and outrage, but nothing came to mind. He had to admit defeat. There was nothing else for him to say. For better or worse, the truth was coming out.
“You’re all set to go,” the doctor said. Jackson found it a little amusing that the man had no idea what the young tamer in his tent was walking out into. After squeaking out a thanks, Jackson stepped outside on trembling legs.
He told himself it probably wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined. But then he saw the Satos waiting alongside Jane near the bullpen. Somewhere, sounding like it was a different world away, the announcer introduced Fiona and Appleby for their match.
Sensing something wrong, Asena gave Jackson’s hand a reassuring lick. Jackson looked down at her and smiled. No matter what he was about to face, having Asena made it all worth it.
Jane’s face wasn’t exactly calm, but she definitely wasn’t the picture of fury Jackson mentally prepared for. When Jackson got closer, she glanced at Asena and then looked at him. She held up a piece of paper. The print copy of Asena’s bill of health. Jackson couldn’t believe he’d been so careless. Had he just left that out at home?
“I think you’ve got some explaining to do.”
“I guess I do,” Jackson said, surprised by the confidence of his own voice. It was almost as if he’d been waiting to come clean for weeks now. He could now clear his conscience. So he did.
Jackson spilled his guts. He told Jane everything, from the moment he’d found Asena’s ring in the hidden safe, to fighting in the Underground, training with Briggs, losing all of his winnings and entering the tournament. His grandma remained silent until he finished, her expression an unreadable mask. Jackson’s legs shook — he’d never been more scared in his entire life.
“You’ve made a lot of really terrible decisions, Jackson,” she said. “I expected better of you — I raised you to be better than this.”
“I’m sorry,” Jackson said. “I didn’t mean for things to get this crazy — I just wanted to save the house. I just wanted to help, I swear. I didn’t want to lie to you or hide it from you but —”
Jane’s hug cut Jackson off. For a long moment, the two held one another in trembling arms. Although he was almost a foot taller than his grandma, Jackson buried his face in her shoulder and cried like a toddler.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jane said, patting his back. “It’s all right — it’s going to be okay.”
Jackson pulled back and wiped the tears away from his eyes, burning with embarrassment when he remembered the Satos were standing just a few feet away.
“I was going through your laundry and saw the bill of health,” Jane said. “I was going to call you right away, but then I saw the Sato’s logo on it and I called Ken and Yuki to get to the bottom of things. There’s a few things they’d like to know, though.”
“Jackson, do you realize what you and — and I’m assuming Fiona — have done?” Ken Sato asked. His gray eyes bore into Jackson like nails. “You have broken my trust. As Jane said, I expected better of you — and Fiona.”
“Please, Mr. Sato,” Jackson begged. “Don’t get mad at Fiona. After all, she is licensed to give out bills of health. She only kept it from you because I told her if she didn’t, I’d tell you about the Under —”
Jackson realized what he’d almost said and stopped. But his expression of horror betrayed him. Jane shook her head in disbelief.
“Go on,” Yuki Sato said. “What were you going to say?”
“I said nothing.”
“You said ‘under.’ ‘Under’ what?”
Jackson bit his lip.
“Your complete honesty would be much appreciated,” Mr. Sato added.
Jackson thought of Fiona fighting just behind him and felt lower than dirt. In trying to bail her out, he’d only made it worse.
“I…umm… I told Fiona if she wouldn’t sign my bill of health for the invitational without telling you, I’d tell you she was fighting in the Underground.”
If Asena had been a Moldune, Jackson would have had her dig a hole and bury him to die.
“I see,” Mr. Sato said. He looked behind Jackson toward the ring where, from the sound of it, Fiona was obliterating Appleby. Jackson cringed when he thought of the nasty surprised she was in for. “It seems there is more to this story than we first thought, as hard to believe as that is.”
“Mr. Sato —” Jackson pushed on, talking fast so he couldn’t be interrupted. “I’m so sorry for everything.” He looked between his grandma and the Satos. “I just wanted to save our house so bad and when I found a Djinn, I thought it was the right thing. I never meant for any of this to happen or to betray your trust.”
Neither Jane nor the Satos spoke. Jackson didn’t know if they were purposefully trying to torture him or not, but it was working. Asena looked at Jackson, her tail tucked between her legs. The buzzer sounded and the loudspeaker announced Fiona as the winner. Jackson braced himself — Fiona would walk right out into them after Rebel cleared his health check.
In the back of his mind, he realized without excitement that he was going to — or would have— faced Fiona in the championship. His downcast eyes looked to his left and found Kay. She noticed and gave him and small, forced smile. It made Jackson feel worse — she looked almost as scared as he did.
“I am surprised by you, Ms. Watts,” Mr. Sato said. “What was your part in all of this?”
“I —”
“Kay didn’t do anything, Mr. Sato,” Jackson interjected. He’d already ruined things for Fiona — he wouldn’t let Kay take a fall for him, too. “She told me all along this was a bad idea. She wouldn’t have gone along with anything, but she wanted to make sure Asena didn’t get hurt!”
As if to add her testimony, Asena pushed her way between Jackson and Kay and licked the girl’s fingers.
“Is this true, Miss Watts?” Mr. Sato asked Kay.
Kay gave a small nod. “Mr. Sato, Jackson only did —”
“Oh…shit.”
Fiona’s disbelieving voice caused Jackson to turn. She stood a few paces away behind them, a look of horror plastered across her face.
“Fiona!” Mrs. Sato said, aghast. “Watch your mouth!”
“We need to speak with you, young lady,” Mr. Sato said in a stern voice, “about your recent involvement in the Underground and signing a bill of health without our knowledge, among other things.”
If looks could kill, Fiona’s would have hit Jackson like a monorail train at full speed…and proceeded to reverse and run over the remains of his mangled corpse.
“Mr. Sato, I told you, Fiona only kept it from you because I blackmailed her!” Jackson insisted. “This is all my fault, not Kay’s or Fiona’s.”
Fiona came to a halt next to Jackson. He could see her jaw clenched and a vein bulging out in her neck, ready to explode. Her mouth opened, but then she sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Dad, that’s not true. Jackson didn’t blackmail me. I signed the bill of health so I could face him in the tournament. I kept it from you because Jackson was worried you would mention it to Mrs. Hunt.” Fiona turned to Jane. “Sorry, Mrs. Hunt.”
“And the Underground?” Mr. Sato asked.
“It’s true,” Fiona said. She offered no justification.
Another awkward silence stretched between all of them. Mr. Sato studied Jackson and Fiona but couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking.
“Fiona Sato and Jackson Hunt, please report to the bullpen in thirty minutes.”
The announcer’s voice over the loudspeaker cut through them. A bolt of sickening realization struck Jackson: he’d made it all this way only to get pulled from the tournament right before the championship match.
Djinn Tamer: Starter: A Monster Battling GameLit Adventure (Djinn Tamer - Bronze League Book 1) Page 23