Rivals

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  Asena barked in understanding and set off at a hurried pace, her nose to the ground right on the edge of the water. It wasn’t too long before she barked, indicating she’d found something. Jackson and the others hurried to catch up.

  “Man, that looks like a big one,” Jackson said. The slide mark and skin Asena had stopped at were almost twice as wide as the ones they’d seen before. In addition, the skin looked slightly different shaped than the others — a longer tail and faint red markings in with the blue-green.

  Briggs gave a low whistle. “I think this might be that Tandile our pal Lei was talking about,” he said. “That’s what they’re after, I’ll bet. Tandile is the Intermediate-Form of Groggle — he wants to give his son an advantage with an evolved Djinn.”

  “Well, that’s too bad for them,” Jackson said. “Because that’s the Djinn I want.” It was extremely rare for certain Djinn to evolve on their own in the wild and Intermediate and Advanced-Forms had all sorts of advantages over Basic-Form Djinn.

  Briggs grinned. “It would be pretty sweet to snatch it right out from underneath Lei’s nose. These tracks are pretty fresh — if we get some luck and get a move on, I think there’s a good chance we can find this big boy tonight.”

  The farther south they went along the river, the thicker the willows and cattails became. The shore also eroded from the rocks and pebbles they’d taken advantage of so far into open glades with ferns and boggy ground. A couple of wrong steps later and Jackson found himself sunk up to his knees in dark, black mud. When Asena ran to his aid she too sank and buried herself.

  By the time Jackson managed to crawl out of the bog onto solid ground, his pants and shoes were soaked. Worse, he stank like wet, moldy compost. Asena came out completely covered in the dark mud from the tip of her nose to her tail. Unlike Jackson, who wanted to scream, she panted happily.

  “Wait, girl — agh!”

  Before Jackson could escape, Asena shook vigorously and covered him with flecks of the stinking mud and water. From a few feet away, on safe, dry ground, Kay burst out laughing. Completely oblivious to her tamer’s irritation, Asena wagged her tail and looked back and forth between Kay and Jackson, soaking up the attention.

  “Will you quit screwing around?” Briggs shouted. He appeared to have run into a bog hole just like Jackson, except he’d only sank up to his ankles. Either way, he didn’t look very pleased with his predicament. “We’re getting close and —”

  A cacophony of shrieks and caws cut him off. Jackson looked at a strand of dead trees along the river at the same time a cloud of black and grey shapes burst into the sky. Rather than flying away, the flying Djinn circled a small area, diving at something hidden from sight on the ground below.

  “Come on,” Briggs shouted. With surprising speed for a late-middle-aged man with a limp, he took off through the swamp. Jackson followed suit, sloshing through the water and the mud as fast as he could while Asena streaked past him, her four legs and lighter weight keeping her afloat.

  A few moments later, Briggs came to a stop and bent over with his hands on his knees. “I’m…fine,” he said between heaving breaths. Sweat poured down his face. “Keep…going…think it’s…Groggles.”

  Jackson needed no encouragement. He shouted to Kay and took off again. In a few moments, his muddy, wet hiking boots hit dry land again and his trudging turned into a sprint. Asena looped ahead, staying within a dozen feet of Jackson as she’d been trained to do, but he could tell the excitement of the chase was trying her patience. She put on a burst of speed ahead and then stopped, barking and jumping until Jackson caught up and she could continue again.

  Asena, be quiet, Jackson commanded. They couldn’t afford her to have her scare away the Groggles with her barks.

  The stand of dead trees loomed ahead. As Jackson drew closer, he could see that the Djinn were a group of Magglecaws — dozens and dozens of them. Their cackles and cries overwhelmed Jackson’s ears, but he couldn’t see what all the ruckus was about. The Magglecaws continued to dip and dive over an area hidden by a thick bunch of willows. Then an angry roar punctuated the Magglecaws’s din.

  Heart pounding, Jackson called Asena back to him and they continued forward at a steady jog. The last thing he wanted to do was run right into a battle between a Groggle and a flock of Magglecaws. He’d been chased by the same type of angry Djinn back at Sato Breeders before. Although small, they proved to be more than a nuisance when they joined together to dive-bomb an enemy.

  All at once, the scene of the battle came into view. What looked like one of the largest Groggles in the world struggled against a group of twenty or so of the flying Djinn. The Magglecaws circled the Groggle, swooping down and pecking at the Water-Elemental Djinn’s thick hide to little effect. At first, Jackson had no idea why the Magglecaws were even bothering to attack the much larger and stronger opponent. Then he saw what looked like the remains of a Deerun carcass half buried in the swamp mud and understood. The two sides were fighting for a meal.

  Jackson didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to let a Groggle of that size get away. But in the complete chaos of the Magglecaw attack, the last thing he wanted to do was send Asena into the mix. A few moments later, Briggs and Kay showed up, both of them liberally covered in dark black swamp mud.

  “A Tandile!” Briggs said between huffs. “I’ll be damned!”

  “That’s a Tandile?” Jackson took another look at what he thought had been the extra-large Groggle and his mouth fell open. Upon closer inspection, he could see the telltale golden line down the creature’s spine and the red ridges on its back that marked the Djinn as the evolved form of a Groggle. Somehow, his heart pounded even harder. He tried to steady his arm to raise his watch and scan the creature.

  Djinn: Tandile

  Element: Water

  Tandile is an Intermediate-Form, Water-Elemental Djinn. Like its Basic-Form counterparts, Tandiles were once on the verge of extinction, and even today, it is especially rare to see them in the wild. Tandiles are exceptionally aggressive Djinn, but unlike Groggles, have a tendency to attack humans when provoked.

  “Check its level,” Briggs said, seemingly more out of curiosity than out of a desire to help.

  “How do I do that?” Jackson said. “I didn’t know you could check levels.”

  “Only on wild Djinn,” Briggs said. “Tamed Djinn have those stats hidden — or at least most do — but for wild ones, just swipe to the right — there you go.”

  The Tandile was Level 16. That was two levels higher than Asena!

  “What do I do?” he asked Briggs, the words tumbling out in a stream. “I don’t want it to get away!”

  “We’ve got a minute, kid,” Briggs said. He wiped his forehead and winced at the cacophony of Magglecaw cries. “Neither of them are going to leave that kill unless…”

  As if to prove Briggs’s point, the Tandile lunged up in the air and caught one of the Magglecaws by the wing. It shook the unfortunate Djinn in its teeth before flinging it across the swamp field where it landed with a plop in the mud.

  “If the Magglecaws lose enough of their flock, they’ll give up,” Briggs said. He motioned for them to take a few more steps backward into the cattails. “We better keep from interfering and let this run its course. The Magglecaws might even help you whittle down the Tandile’s health. Just stay calm and remember what we talked about.”

  Asena let out a whine at Jackson’s side, clearly eager to get in on the battle. Jackson placed a calming hand on her head, ready to grab his Djinn by the loose fur on the nape of her neck if she tried to be a hero. Following Briggs’s instructions, they watched the battle play out as the Tandile felled a couple more Magglecaws with a sweep of its thick, muscular tail or a well-timed snap of its jaws. The Magglecaws stopped diving on the opposing Djinn as much and now settled for circling overhead as if their protests alone could drive the Tandile away from their easy meal.

  “Now!” Briggs said, giving Jackson a slight push. “While it�
�s still distracted, get out there! Just keep Asena close — you don’t want her scrapping with that Tandile, it’s out of her league.”

  Jackson felt like his legs were rubber as he ran out of the cattails toward the battle. The sight of the fallen Magglecaws made him sick, but he tried to push their battered forms out of his mind. He had a job to do.

  When Jackson and Asena approached, the Magglecaws, unfortunately, took it as their cue to leave. As their raucous calls faded into the distance, the Tandile turned around slowly and stared at Jackson and Asena. The Djinn let out a low hiss and a rumble sounded from within its long, scaly snout. Although it was covered with nicks and cuts from the assault, it looked prepared to defend the carcass to the death.

  “Careful there, newt! You’ve got a live one on your hands!”

  The sound of Akamu Kaleo’s voice was the last thing Jackson expected to hear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the three kayaks paddle up a side stream that emptied into the river. They stopped about twice as far away as Jackson was and laid their paddles across their laps to watch.

  “You might have bit off more than you can chew there, Briggs!” Lei shouted. “Are you sure you want your protégé messing with an Intermediate-Form Djinn?”

  “He’ll be fine,” Briggs said. His gruff reply calmed Jackson’s frazzled nerves and Jackson turned his attention back to the Tandile. It was clear he’d need to weaken it further before attempting to throw the ring’s energy lasso.

  “Asena,” Jackson began. His voice felt high with excitement and nerves.

  Fire —

  Jackson’s command was cut off by an angry caw. Out of the mud, one of the supposedly-dead Magglecaws— and one that was significantly bigger than the ones that had flown off — struggled into the air and shot at the Tandile again. Jackson didn’t know how the creature was alive — he was pretty sure it was one the Tandile had struck with its tail. Nevertheless, the Magglecaw swooped and pecked at its enemy, even without the help of its fellow carcass thieves.

  The Tandile turned its attention away from Jackson to the immediate, if only annoying, threat of the pesky Magglecaw. But whenever the Tandile snapped at the air or swung its tail, it was always a second too late. Jackson couldn’t help but admire the grit and tenacity of the Magglecaw, even if it was fighting a hopeless battle.

  “What are you waiting for?” Akamu Kaleo called from his Kayak.

  A terrible squawk saved Jackson from answering. The Tandile snapped the Magglecaw out of the air. Long, vicious teeth closed in on one wing and shook the poor Djinn like a rag doll. When the Tandile at last let go, the Magglecaw fell in a heap in front of its enemy’s deadly jaws; its right wing looked completely mangled.

  “Now, kid!” Briggs shouted. “Do it!”

  Jackson raised his right hand and punched the air in front of him. A whip-like beam of white light shot out of the Djinn ring stone. The light wrapped itself around its mark and completely enveloped it. Jackson felt a tug from the energy rope and jerked his arm back, stopping when his hand was at his hip. The Djinn disappeared, sucked into the light which coursed back into Jackson’s ring.

  Jackson felt a faint pulse from the second ring. The stone blinked, changing from a clear diamond color to the look of obsidian. Jackson stared in disbelief. No one else spoke either.

  The Tandile decided it didn’t want anything to do with six humans surrounding it and gave up its dinner. Faster than Jackson would have imagined, it coursed through the swampy ground and slid away into the river.

  “HA!” Akamu’s laugh cut through Jackson’s shock. “I can’t believe it! You captured a freaking Magglecaw!”

  CHAPTER 11

  “I told you he didn’t have what it takes,” Akamu said to his dad, still laughing. “How do you miss something the size of a Tandile?”

  Rather than wanting to punch Akamu in the face, Jackson just felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Kay and Briggs for assistance. Kay gave him a small smile that didn’t have much behind it, and Briggs gestured for him to come over.

  “Let’s head back to the camp,” Briggs said in his usual gruff voice. “Time to get packed up and head home.”

  “Wait, can’t he just let this one go and try again?” Kay said.

  “Maybe with more expensive rings,” Briggs said. “But with the one Jackson could afford, it can only be used on the first Djinn it brings to stasis. For better or worse, this is the Djinn Jackson has now.”

  “Expensive rings?” Kay said, holding up the one on her finger. “Like the one Sunshine’s in?”

  Briggs nodded.

  “Then why didn’t we let Jackson use this one?”

  “If I’m being honest, this was one circumstance I didn’t foresee.” Briggs looked back up at the Kaleos. “Best of luck, you two.”

  “It was good to see you again, Briggs,” Lei called to them. “Stay in touch!”

  Nobody said a word even after they made it back to the truck. Jackson’s insides twisted every time he looked down at the ring. What had he been thinking?

  Once everything was packed up, the three of them and Asena loaded up in the truck and headed back down the forest road. Even with both windows down, the stench of the swamp bog on their clothes and in Asena’s fur made it hard to breathe.

  “We’ll have to take your Djinn to the center on our way out,” Briggs said. “They examine and register every Djinn that leaves the park.”

  Jackson almost winced at his words. He could tell Briggs wasn’t happy, and he hated disappointing his mentor no matter how crotchety he could be.

  “Sorry,” Jackson said in a low voice.

  Briggs sighed. “It’s okay — that asshole Lei got me all worked up. Everyone gets excited on their first taming, let alone with Lei and his brat kid distracting you. It’s no wonder you missed.”

  Jackson swallowed hard. “I didn’t miss.”

  Briggs slammed on the brakes. The three of them jerked forward and Asena crashed to the floor in the back. Briggs looked at Jackson with wide, furious eyes.

  “What do you mean you didn’t miss?”

  “I…I didn’t want the Tandile to kill it,” Jackson said. He felt stupid just saying it. “And…well I looked at the Tandile and didn’t think I could handle it. And that Magglecaw was putting up a good fight all alone, so I thought —”

  “I can’t believe this!” Briggs smacked the steering wheel with his palms. “It’s a five-year wait to get to tame at Rocky Point, kid! You just wasted thousands of dollars on a Magglecaw!”

  “I’m sorry!” Jackson said. He wished he could escape the cab — sitting right next to Briggs in one of his rages was the last place he wanted to be right now. His stomach still churned. “I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

  “Pay me back?” Briggs let out a forced, dry laugh. “Oh, that’s a good one. You don’t have a dime to your name! Did you forget why we came out here? So you could find a Djinn to help you compete in the Bronze League. What do you think you’re going to do with that Magglecaw?”

  “I’ll work with it,” Jackson said. Now Briggs had him fired up. “It’s not like it can’t become stronger.”

  Briggs rolled his eyes and started the truck again. “What in the hell have I gotten myself into?” he muttered.

  The silence continued until they reached the Djinn registration office inside the Rocky Point National Preserve Visitor’s Center. By now, Jackson’s ring blinked repeatedly, indicating the Djinn inside was in severe distress. The Djinn clinicians rushed them back into the emergency room and instructed Jackson to let the Magglecaw out of stasis.

  A grayish light sprang from the ring and the shape of the Magglecaw materialized on the table. Before the Djinn could react, a glass dome rose around it and enclosed it within. The very second it came to its senses, it flapped and threw itself against the glass. Throughout the fit, its right wing hung limp at its side. A moment later, a light mist filled the glass globe and settled on the Djinn. The Magglecaw swayed and then collapsed on the table. Th
e dome retracted, allowing the doctors to examine Jackson’s newest Djinn.

  “Looks like most of the Tandile’s teeth just went through the feathers,” the head doctor said, feeling the Magglecaw’s wing with his gloved hands. “The wing isn’t broken, it’s just been dislocated.

  Kay was in her element, gaze darting at everything from the fancy equipment to the doctor and his deft hand movements as he popped the wing back into place. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jackson stared dully at the table, still half-wondering what he’d been thinking when he captured the Magglecaw.

  Once the wing was in place, the doctor did a quick overall examination of the Magglecaw and then administered a series of vaccines to prevent the spread of any potential diseases.

  “Magglecaws are hardier than you think,” he said. “This one probably would have healed itself given enough time. I must say, it’s been a while since I’ve worked on one. In fact, I don’t think I can recall a Magglecaw ever being tagged out of Rocky Point.”

  Briggs fixed Jackson with another icy stare. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  The doctor tactfully ignored the exchange between mentor and student. “Well, that’s that. He should be good as new in a couple of days — although you might want to leave him in stasis until then — the injury recovery won’t go over as well combined with the Bonding process.”

  Keen to avoid Briggs disapproving look, Jackson’s eyes darted back to the table to find the Magglecaw…gone. At the same moment, he saw the tip of a cream-colored tail disappear behind the corner of the examination table. In the hustle and bustle to get the Magglecaw treated, Jackson hadn’t returned Asena to her ring. He’d been so caught up in reaching the doctor that he hadn’t noticed her follow them in from the truck.

  “Asena!” Jackson called, feeling his face flush. Bringing a Magglecaw in for an exam was bad enough, now his other Djinn was wandering around the operating room. “Get over here!”

  The Lyote didn’t respond. The doctor frowned. “Normally we don’t allow any Djinn to roam free in the office, apart from the patients.”