Jackson squeezed back even harder. Muscles borne from working on a Djinn ranch made Akamu wince before they released the handshake. “I’m counting on it.”
With that, Akamu spun and stalked out of the circle toward his father. Jackson watched him go, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Right before Akamu reached his father, Lei Kaleo gave Jackson a long look and then nodded once. With that, father and son turned and left the field.
A giddy scream cut through the crowd’s cheering, and a second later, Kay crashed into Jackson. “You did it, you did it!”
Jackson laughed and returned the hug, then picked up Kay and spun her around. He felt…exhilarated. Like he could do anything he wanted.
When he let go of Kay, Briggs was waiting. The crusty old tamer had his muscled arms folded across his chest and the ghost of smile on his lips.
“You’re all right, Jackson Hunt,” Briggs said. “We might make a tamer out of you yet.”
Jackson laughed and walked toward Briggs, who extended a hand. As soon as Jackson took it, Briggs yanked him into a rib-crushing hug.
“Thanks for reminding me what this sport is all about.”
When they pulled back, Jackson thought he caught the glimmer of tears in Briggs’s eyes.
The next several minutes passed in a blur. Jackson returned to the locker room and had his Djinn treated in the healing tanks. Jane showed up and they shared a long hug. She openly cried, shaking her head and smiling.
“I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it,” she said to anyone who would listen. “My grandson is a real professional Djinn tamer.”
“Semi-professional,” Jackson said. “The Bronze League, at the end of the day —”
“Jackson, can’t you let yourself have anything?” Jane said with a roll of her eyes. “You’re getting paid to do what you love, aren’t you?”
Jackson opened his mouth to argue, but stopped himself. “Yeah,” he smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
A handful of matches remained until the award ceremony, giving some of the other tamers from camp the chance to congratulate Jackson. When he saw Appleby approaching, Jackson’s excitement waned just a little.
“I’m sorry you didn’t make it,” Jackson said. “You deserve to be here as much as me.”
Appleby shrugged. “Thanks, man. That means a lot. But no, I don’t. I was one and three. Clearly, there’s something more I need to be doing. It wasn’t even close. Nothing to be sorry for, though — at least this way I’ll know what to expect next year!”
“Listen, Appleby, if there’s anything I can do to —”
Appleby waved a hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. I appreciate the offer. Maybe we can still train together once in a while?”
Jackson enthusiastically agreed and they planned a handful of times and dates before Appleby left to find his family.
By the time the congratulations ended and Jackson received both of his Djinn back, only one fight remained. Jackson took a look at the standings to catch up on the battles he’d missed and his mouth fell open in shock.
Fiona had finished 2-2 in her group. She wouldn’t qualify for the Granite Region roster.
He asked around to see if someone could tell him what happened since he’d missed the fight. Apparently, things had gone completely south in Fiona’s final match — she’d been pushing her Djinn too hard in the earlier battles, they said. Halfway through the fourth match, both Rebel and Fiona’s Donkick completely fizzled out.
I bet she was going hard to win 4-0, Jackson thought. Sometimes just winning wasn’t good enough for Fiona. In the end it had backfired.
Jackson tried to call her on his holo-watch, but it went straight to her recording. Fiona wasn’t anywhere in the locker room — someone said she’d left right after healing her Djinn. He sent her a text as well, writing and rewriting it several times to try and sound empathetic without coming off as pitying or cocky.
Hey…hope everything is okay. You’re a great tamer. I’m here if you need anything.
He didn’t receive an answer. Before Jackson could dwell on it much longer, however, the top tamers were called back onto the field for the recognition ceremony.
Jackson walked down the tunnel once more, still strangely nervous, although he had no idea why. When they came out onto the stadium field, a series of cheers and applause met them, much more controlled but not less loud than during the match. The tamers took their places on a podium based on their overall record from each of their groups.
Although Jackson beat Akamu, he technically still took second place in the pool due to the tiebreaker scoring format based on how long each match took and how much health the winning party’s Djinn had upon victory. Jackson didn’t care — he’d made it into the Bronze League and also ruined Akamu’s perfect record — they didn’t give out medals based on place anyway.
On by one, the announcer read of the full name of each tamer, their Djinn and their coach. The head coaches from each camp barracks went along and shook everyone’s hand after their name had been read, much like a graduation ceremony. When they reached Jackson and called his name, Coach Vanova gave him a wink as she passed by and an extra pat on the shoulder after they shook hands.
“Knew you had it in you, Hunt. Congratulations.”
She only had stiff words for Akamu, who stood next to Jackson and refused to look at him. He all but radiated hatred toward Jackson, but apparently whatever dressing down his father gave him between their match and the ceremony was enough to keep him quiet.
They passed down the line to Moto Rine, who had, unsurprisingly, swept her pool, which included Fiona’s second defeat. She didn’t register any happiness or pride when they called her name, though, and almost looked… Upset? Mad? Jackson watched out of the corner of his eye, bewildered. The barrack coaches continued to the remaining tamers. Jackson kept watching Moto. She looked like she wanted to speak, like she was fighting to hold something back.
All at once, she stepped forward in the line. Jackson sucked in a breath. What was she doing?
“Excuse me, I need to say something,” she said to Mr. Golding, who gave her his spot behind the lectern after a quick back and forth between the two of them.
All eyes on the lectern turned to look at Moto. A moment later, the camera drones and announcer caught on as well. Before she could say anything else, Moto Rine became the center of attention for the entire stadium.
She glanced around and Jackson could tell she was fighting her nerves. When Moto spoke again, her voice was amplified over the stadium sound system.
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been examining my future career as a Djinn tamer. I love Djinn. I love my Djinn. I’m proud of the legacy I’ve inherited from my parents. I’ve always done my best to live up to that name and their expectations. But there’s been something bothering me since training camp started, and I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t do something about it. It also wouldn’t be fair to the other hard working tamers from our region, many of whom care more about the sport of taming more than I ever could imagine. I have been given every opportunity and every break, and while I appreciate the amazing experiences they have afforded me, I have come to realize this simply isn’t the path for me.”
The head coaches glanced at one another, frowning. This obviously hadn’t been part of the ceremony script. Moto looked around, almost like she hoped someone would stop her. Everyone just stared. She took in a long deep breath and then exhaled slowly through a small circle in her mouth.
“And that is why I am officially withdrawing from the Bronze League roster. Consider this the end of my professional taming career.”
CHAPTER 33
A ripple of shock passed through the stadium. The crowd murmured. A couple of people booed.
The camp coordinator Mr. Golding put his hand on Moto’s shoulder and gave her a long, serious look. He waved a hand which resulted in the audio feed cutting out. When both of them spoke, Jackson had to strain to hear.
>
“Are you sure about this, young lady? This is not a decision to be made lightly.”
Moto nodded. To Jackson, she seemed to be growing calmer by the second now that the announcement was out.
“I’m sure. I’ve thought about it a long time. I just — I can’t do this.”
Mr. Golding nodded gravely. He and the camp coaches gathered together off to one side of the podium and talked in a tight group for several minutes. At last, they broke apart and continued down the line as if nothing had happened. When every tamer had been recognized, the camp commissioner took a position in the middle of their line.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in light of the recent development with tamer Moto Rine, the tamer with the next best record will be selected from Group 2. And that tamer is: Fiona Sato.”
A scattering of applause came from around the tournament. Either no one knew what to think of Moto’s announcement or they were less than enthused about Fiona’s appointment. Jackson resisted the urge to whisper a message to Fiona on his watch. Was she still at the stadium? How would she find out the news?
And just like that, the ceremony was over. The commissioner called for one last round of applause and then the winning tamers made their way down the stand back into the locker room. There, the head coaches gathered them together for a final message.
“Training for the season will resume in two weeks,” Vanova told the group. “In the meantime, you are all encouraged to return home and rest up. Remember, you are all representatives of the Granite Region for the Bronze League now. Anyone who does not act according to this honor will not have a place on our roster. Enjoy your break and prepare yourselves. The real work is about to begin.”
By the time Jackson gathered his things and met Jane, Briggs, and Kay outside the stadium, some of the excitement had worn off. He felt drained and wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed for a week and sleep. At the same time, he was afraid if he fell asleep, he’d wake up from the dream.
Once they were outside the stadium, Briggs puffed on a large, reeking cigar. “Hell of a time,” he said with it clenched between his teeth. “I’ve seen more of these ceremonies than I can count, and I’ve never seen anything like that. Gotta respect Ms. Rine, though. She understood the magnitude of her joining the League. Better to give it up to someone else who wanted it more.” Briggs let out an exhalation of smoke and turned to Jackson. “You get five days off, then I want you at my gym bright and early, got it?”
“Bright and early? As in not at noon?”
“I think my sleep-in days are done for the foreseeable future. Gotta earn that minuscule Bronze League paycheck they’re paying me. Guess it’s better than this pro bono BS I’ve been doing with you for the past couple months. You’re lucky. In my day, we had to pay for our coaches out of our own pocket.” Briggs turned away. “Anyway, five days. I should be able to sleep off my hangover by then — see you at first light next Wednesday!”
Jane, Jackson and Kay watched Briggs go. “I do not understand that man at all,” Jane said.
“Me neither, but he gets results,” Jackson said. “I just hope that — hey, Fiona!”
Fiona exited the stadium doors a few dozen yards away and appeared not to have noticed them. When Jackson shouted, she stopped and turned. Jackson shot a glance at Kay and Jane then ran up to speak with her on his own.
“Congrats!”
He actually slowed down and stopped a couple steps away. Fiona looked like she wanted to knock his teeth out. Her eyes were red almost as if she’d been…crying? Impossible. Fiona Sato didn’t cry.
“Don’t give me that, Jackson,” she said in a loud voice. “We both know I shouldn’t be here right now.”
“But you are.” Jackson said. “When it comes down to it, that’s all that matters. Moto Rine didn’t want to be here. You did.”
“All that matters is I choked in the most important tournament of my career.”
“Well, technically it’s only the second tournament of your career and you won the first one, so I wouldn’t say you’re doing so —”
Fiona rolled her eyes. “Just stop, okay? Look, thanks for coming over and everything, but I just want to be alone right now. Vance was almost as mad as I was at myself. While you’re sitting on the couch the next two weeks, I’ve got Djinn charts to go over, skirmishes, drills and… why are you looking at me like that?”
Jackson grinned. “I’m just glad to see the mighty Fiona Sato can still keep it together after losing for the first time. It took me until right now to get over losing to you.”
“Wow, that’s comforting,” Fiona snorted. “If you want to rub it in —”
“No, no,” Jackson said quickly. “I’m trying to give you a compliment. Losing isn’t easy, and you’re still handling it…really well.”
“Well, I don’t want to get used to it,” Fiona said, wiping her eyes. “Is this how you feel all the time?”
“Oh, screw you!” Jackson laughed. “It’s not so easy, is it?”
Fiona gave him a look. “Do you really even need me to answer that for you?”
“I’m glad you made it in, though. Really,” Jackson said. He paused, debating if he should say what he’d been thinking next. He went for it. “Seriously! How else would I beat you in a rematch if you didn’t make the rost — ow!”
Fiona grinned. She’d punched him in the arm. Hard.
“Think what you want, Jack,” she said. “I haven’t lost to you yet, and I don’t plan on doing so in the future. Don’t let these tears fool you. I can still beat your ass, with or without my Djinn.”
“Ah-ha. There’s the Fiona I know,” Jackson said with a smile. He out his hand. “Ready to face off in the Bronze League this season?”
Fiona smiled and clasped his hand with hers.
“Bring it on.”
Continue the story now!
Continue the adventures of Jackson & Asena in Djinn Tamer: Evolution!
Welcome to the big leagues.
It’s time to crown a champion. It’s time to evolve.
Jackson Hunt has spent countless hours training his team of monsters and battling rivals as an up and coming Djinn tamer. All his hard work, the stunning wins, and heartbreaking losses lead to one place: the league playoffs.
But what got Jackson where he is won’t be enough to take him to the top.
As the season draws to a close, Jackson and his friends find themselves far away from the stadiums and crowds, searching for a means to take his Djinn to the next level. The strength he seeks lies in a remote, untamed corner of the world, where myth and legend walk hand in hand.
Competition for the championship will be fierce and the dangers of the wild are only the beginning. Is Jackson ready for the biggest battle of his young career?
Skills will be tested, new powers unleashed. Victory won’t come without a cost.
Evolution is the third book in Djinn Tamer, a monster battling, GameLit adventure series for fans of Pokemon, Digimon, and Monster Rancher.
Check out Djinn Tamer: Evolution now!
Want to learn more about your favorite Djinn?
Get an exclusive copy of The Djinncyclopedia by joining our mailing list!
Learn more about your favorite Djinn, get sneak peeks of upcoming monsters and see them come to life in full-color concept art in The Djinncyclopedia. This bonus DLC is ONLY available to readers who join our mailing list.
Become a tamer and download your copy of The Djinncyclopedia now!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
A.J. CERNA is an author, film-lover, and gamer. While his love will always exist for the Nintendo classics like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, his big love of the medium came in the late-90s when he first played Final Fantasy VI for the first time (Though back then, it was released on SNES as Final Fantasy III), and so began his love affair with the JRPGs. He's enjoyed the classics – from Lunar 2 to Chrono Cross – and he couldn't be happier to see the genre re-emerging in a big way. His love of games led to his love of anime a
nd manga, and there you have the start of some of his bigger story influences, with Shōnen manga like One Piece really taking the cake as some of the single biggest inspirations of anything he puts out.
In addition to Djinn Tamer, A.J. is hard at work on writing The Gryphon Outcast Trilogy, which is a follow-up series to co-writer Derek Alan Siddoway's Gryphon Riders Trilogy. This new trilogy is expected to hit in the summer of 2019!
DEREK ALAN SIDDOWAY grew up on a steady diet of Pokemon Yellow and Saturday morning Digimon cartoons. Later on, Monster Rancher Advance was added to the mix. It was inevitable that when he became an author, his passion for monster battling would eventually appear out of the tall grass. It first took the form of the Gryphon Riders Trilogy, an Amazon Bestselling Young Adult Fantasy series. The Djinn Tamer series is the culmination of years of catching Pokemon, drawing Digimon, and training Monsters for the AGIMA Tournament. Learn more at derekalansiddoway.com.
Gryphon Riders Trilogy
Windsworn (Gryphon Riders Book 1)
Windswept (Gryphon Riders Book 2)
Windbreak (Gryphon Riders Book 3)
Looking for more great LitRPG and GameLit reads?
Check out www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books and www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety.
Rivals Page 28