“Mr. Sato.” Surprisingly, it was Jane who spoke up. “Given the circumstance of the situation, I leave judgment in your hands.”
Ken Sato folded his arms and sighed. “Jackson, your grandma explained your financial situation to us on the train ride here. If you had come to me, instead of going down this path, we might have been able to work out an arrangement with you. As it is, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do at this point.”
Jackson nodded. It seemed obvious in retrospect, but he’d never considered speaking with the Satos before even though he’d ironically told his grandma he’d been working extra hours for them.
“You understand that I must end your employment at Sato Breeders.” Mr. Sato said.
“Dad —”
“It’s okay,” Jackson said to Fiona. His throat grew thick and he felt like he had a ball of molten iron in his stomach. “I understand… am I going to jail?”
“Jail?” Mr. Sato almost seemed to suppress a laugh before turning deadly serious once again. “No, Jackson, I don’t think that is necessary. What Fiona did was wrong and dishonest, but technically, she has the qualifications to sign a bill of health. Though we did set a system in place where she should have told us about every one that was signed. This is a tremendous betrayal of our trust. Were she still a minor, I would pull her from this tournament at once. As it is, we’re going to have a long talk tonight.” He gave Fiona a stern look.
Fiona turned her head away from her father and stared at the ground.
While not going to jail was nice, the way things turned out didn’t make Jackson feel much better. He’d lost his job, would lose his mom’s house and now, to top it off, Fiona would win the invitational by forfeit. He didn’t even dare to ask Jane if he could still compete.
“Can I go get my things from the hotel?” Jackson asked. “Then I’ll be ready to go.”
Head down, Jackson walked past the group. Asena trailed behind him, her tail tucked between her legs, mirroring her tamer’s emotional state.
“Jackson, stop.” It was his grandma. “Don’t you have a match?”
“But…” Jackson’s brain couldn’t process what she was saying.
Jane separated herself from the rest of the group to talk to Jackson. “When I came here, I had every intention of pulling you from the tournament. I couldn’t believe you’d done this to me. But then I saw you competing…and it felt like a part of Jessica was out there with you.”
She paused and reached down to pet Asena on the head. “I may have a hard time with it, but I can’t keep you from doing what you love…I know that now. It might be hard, but I can come to accept it if this is the life you really want.”
Jackson couldn’t speak, just nodded, tears running down his face. He pulled his grandma in and gave her a tight hug. “I’m sorry for everything,” he told her again.
“I know,” Jane said. She knelt down and ruffled Asena’s fur then smiled at Jackson. “Now…go show them what it means to be a Hunt!”
CHAPTER THIRTY
“You know I’m going to destroy you, right?” Fiona said. They were waiting in the bullpen. A clock on the screen to their right showed a counter ticking down just under five minutes until the championship match began. “I was going to destroy you anyway,” Fiona continued, “but then you were a complete dumbass and screwed everything up. So now I’m really going to destroy you.”
“I said I was sorry!” Jackson said. Fiona had every right to be angry, but Jackson couldn’t wait for the match to start so he didn’t have to listen to her rant anymore. “I told you I didn’t mean to tell them about the Underground, I was just trying to cover for you!”
“Yeah, well nice job, moron,” Fiona scoffed. “You’re just lucky I didn’t get pulled from the tournament. Remind me never to do you a favor again.”
“Right back at you,” Jackson muttered. Just then, a realization hit him — in the chaos of getting caught, he’d completely forgotten about leveling up, and as such, he still had two new DJP to allocate. He pulled up his holo-watch, and was greeted with another notification.
New Move Learned!
He pulled up Asena’s stats.
{{{}}}
GENERAL STATS AND INFO
Djinn: Lyote
Level: 11
Name: Asena
Element: Fire/Earth
Species Rarity: Rare
Tamer: Jackson Hunt
HP (Hit Points): 195/195
EP (Elemental Power): 92/92
XP (Experience): 350 to Next Level
DJP (Djinn Points): 2 Unallocated
Attack: 68
Defense: 37
Speed: 58
Accessories: None
Items: None
Status: Neutral
Bond: 71%
Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>
{{{}}}
Jackson swiped left.
{{{}}}
MOVE SET
Fire Elemental: Fire Growl (5 EP), Fire Bark (NEW) (15 EP)
Plain Elemental: Attack, Headbutt, Wild Bite
{{{}}}
This new move couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The only downside? It used up 15 of Asena’s Elemental Power, so he’d have to use it sparingly — or hope that it was effective enough to take down his enemy quickly.
“Are you seriously allocating Djinn Points right now?” Fiona said, the annoyance clear in her voice.
“What, should I just not do that?”
“No, fine, go ahead.”
But how would he allocate them to best face off against Rebel? Jackson paused for a moment, unsure of the best way to handle those last two DJP, given his opponent’s strengths.
He paused a moment too long.
“Okay, you two, you’re up!” the ref’s voice said.
Jackson’s mouth dropped. He was out of time. Should he allocate them now or save it for —
“Mr. Hunt, please follow me.”
Jackson closed his holo-watch, points unallocated — hopefully that wouldn’t be a decision he’d regret.
He couldn’t help but notice Fiona’s cocky smirk as they made their way into the ring, and he also couldn’t help but hate her just a little bit in that moment. Had she thrown him off on purpose?
“First of all, congratulations on reaching the championship round!” Jackson couldn’t believe the dude hadn’t lost his voice yet, but he bellowed as loud as ever. “The rules for the match are the same as the previous rounds in the tournament with two exceptions: the match will continue until one Djinn is knocked out, and the size of the ring has been increased to standard DBL measurements. Is that clear?”
“Good,” Fiona said.
Jackson just nodded. He couldn’t tell what he felt: relief, anger, nervousness? All of his emotions swirled together — he just wanted the match to start.
“Tamers, take your places!”
“Don’t make this too easy for me,” Fiona said. Before Jackson could answer, she spun around and strode to her end of the ring.
Jackson found himself strangely aware of his surroundings: the pressure each step his foot made in the dirt ring, the excited buzz of the small crowd, the smell of sunshine beating down on the earth from overhead, and the glare it made off of the pavilion rooftops.
When he turned around, the referee pointed to him and Jackson gave a nod to show he was ready. He felt like someone had hooked a line to his belly button and was cinching him up into the air by it. Looking down, his ring hand quivered against his side.
“Tamers, release your Djinn in THREE —”
Jackson clenched his clammy hand.
“TWO!”
His heart hammered in his ears louder even than the ref’s voice.
“ONE!”
Jackson’s hand shot forward and Asena materialized before him, running at a full sprint toward Rebel. The Megala pumped its wings hard and rose a few feet off the ground, spraying the ground in front of Asena with needle-sharp feather quills.
Wa
tch out, girl! Jackson warned.
Without breaking stride, Asena wound her way through the maze of needles. For some reason, Rebel, continued to hover, but didn’t spray out anymore quills. Almost as if he was watching…
Look out!
Jackson’s warning came too late. Rebel’s spray of quills had forced Asena down a certain path. Just as the Lyote prepared to spring at the Megala, Rebel unleashed another spray of quills.
The focused projectiles peppered Asena’s back, neck, snout and paws.
Asena’s health drained from 195 all the way to 145 — Just how strong were those quills?!
But the Lyote didn’t let that stop her.
Without breaking stride, Asena leaped at Rebel and struck him hard, bearing them both to the ground. While Rebel buffeted Asena with its pointed wings, Asena’s fangs snapped and snarled, trying to grab hold. Just before Rebel broke away, Asena’s jaws clamped down tight on his wing.
Jackson’s battle chart showed about a quarter of Rebel’s hit points disappear.
The two Djinn sprang apart and circled one another in the middle of the quill-covered ring.
Fire Bark! Jackson called out to Asena, hoping this EP-heavy move wouldn’t go to waste.
Rebel ducked aside, showcasing superior agility. The stream of fire hurtled past and dissipated in the air. Jackson ground his teeth. Asena had an Elemental advantage over Rebel, but it would do no good if they couldn’t harness it.
Asena ducked low to the ground, warily waiting for her opponent’s next move, but Fiona kept Rebel at bay.
Fire Bark! Jackson commanded again. Once more Rebel dodged aside at the last moment.
This time, Fiona and Rebel didn’t hang back. As soon as the fireball passed by, the Megala scurried forward, head low to the ground. Asena ran to meet her, but before the two collided, Rebel pulled up at the last moment and shielded itself with its wings.
No — stop!
Carried by the momentum of her charge, Asena ran right into Rebel’s shield of wings and spiky quill feathers. But Rebel didn’t escape unscathed. Despite taking significant damage, Asena’s blow hit Rebel hard. The Megala’s combination of high agility and low defense finally worked in Jackson’s favor: Rebel had just two-thirds of his health left.
Fire Bark!
The attack caught Megala square in the body, and he let out a pained screech as his health took a dive. But then, in a swift flap, it shook off the flames. It may have caused a good deal of damage, but the Megala was all too quick to recover.
Attack!
Asena obeyed, but in his quick attempts to hit the Megala while it was down, he hadn’t noticed that while shaking off the flames, it had set itself up for another quill attack. Several arrow-sharp feathers stabbed Asena in the face.
Asena stopped dead in her tracks and began frantically brushing at her face, trying to remove the quills.
Asena, dodge!
But it was no use. Even if she had heard him, she was too preoccupied to know what to dodge. Rebel swooped down and threw himself at Asena without mercy, knocking her onto her side several feet back.
Asena, leave the quills in! Jackson ordered. He couldn’t have her mind focused on those quills the entire match. He thought back to his earlier match with Appleby back at the Underground. He had to keep Asena calm.
Stay focused, girl!
Jackson could tell it was tough, but Asena obeyed, standing up straight and glaring at her opponent.
Jackson’s eyes darted between Asena and Rebel. He had to win this match. Not only did he just want to win, but at the end of the day, he and Asena had the Elemental advantage over feathered Djinn. They were in the best position to win. He glanced at his holo-watch stats. He had 47 left in Elemental Power. Normally, he would work to conserve that Elemental Power for a rainy day, but why bother here? This was exactly the rainy day he’d be saving it for.
Asena, get up-close!
Asena ran at Rebel at a full sprint once again. Rebel instinctively began flapping a gust of wind at Asena, slowing her down. This was going to be a bit harder than he thought.
Stay back! Jackson commanded, biting his lip. He hated doing this, but he’d have to go back to his wait-and-attack approach, though doing so concerned him since Fiona would likely already knew that strategy by now. But given Rebel’s move to keep Asena at bay, there was little he could do. Her Fire Bark was far too valuable to waste on another potential miss.
Then it hit him.
Asena, Fire Growl to its left, Fire Growl to its right, and Fire Bark down the center!
A ball of flame emerged from Asena’s mouth, and another immediately followed. After taking one big inhale, she let loose a loud Fire Bark, which emanated from her more like a flamethrower than fire ball.
As expected, Rebel dodged the first attack and the second, but was in no position to move when the third one hit. Rebel was immediately engulfed in flames and knocked to the ground.
Fire Bark! Jackson doubled down on that initial Fire Bark, hopeful that Rebel would not have had a chance to move, let alone dodge. Again, Rebel’s feathers caught fire, and the Djinn let out another screech of pain. He tried to flap his wings and once again shake off the flames, but between the two Fire Barks, it wasn’t easy.
Jackson looked down at his holo-watch. He had only 7 Elemental Power left.
Fire Growl!
Rebel still hadn’t moved, and his HP plummeted down to 5 percent of its total as the last ball of fire hit its body.
“Hang in there, Rebel, we got this!” Fiona called out.
Jackson looked up at Fiona. They got this? Fiona gave Jackson a quick smirk.
Asena, Attack! Take him down before he has a chance to get up!
Rebel flew up before Asena could hit him — he did so wearily, but he did so nonetheless, narrowly dodging Asena’s attack.
“Rebel! Rejuvenation Song!” Fiona called out.
The soot-covered Megala lifted its head and released a series of long, harmonious notes. Jackson watched in horror as the Megala’s health bar started to fill.
“No!” he screamed. “Asena! Attack!”
Asena slammed directly into Rebel’s body and knocked it to the ground, but the feathered Djinn quickly regained its composure and launched back up into the sky, out of reach. Rebel then did a spin and jettisoned more quills into Asena’s face and back.
Jackson’s holo-watch beeped. He looked up at her Status:
Bleeding.
Crap! This meant the Lyote would be hemorrhaging HP until it had those quills removed and healed up. He looked down at her stats. She only had 2 Elemental Power left, meaning there was not enough left to summon even a Fire Growl. He’d have to settle for physical attacks until then.
Asena, Attack! The Lyote obeyed, but between the quills lodged in her face and back and how high the Megala was above her, she was unable to reach him. Instead, what audiences saw was an almost-laughable scene of Asena jumping back and forth, trying to attack a Djinn that was just out of reach.
Just then, there was another alert on Jackson’s holo-watch — this time for Asena’s health. It was at 5 percent. The quills had done their work much quicker than he anticipated.
The Lyote’s entire body shuddered. The quills still buried in her body oozed out her remaining health. Rebel launched itself from the ground and released another small spray of needles. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a weak, insignificant attack, as an Earth move against a Fire Djinn did less than half damage, but in Asena’s weakened state, that’s all it took.
Asena collapsed on the ground.
Jackson battle chart started flashing and his watch buzzed over and over until his wrist shook.
He’d lost.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“That’s the last one,” Jackson said, hefting the final box into the back of their moving truck.
He looked back at the house and the dull ache in his chest flared back to life. Before he could dwell on it too long, however, Jane put an a
rm around his waist. At his side, Asena — now fully recovered from the tournament — whined and gave Jackson’s hand a gentle nip.
“It’s going to be okay, Jackie,” Jane said.
Jackson stared at the house for a long time: the neat lawn out front where he’d first met Kay and where his mom used to play with him during her time off-expedition; the small front porch where he’d sat on the steps with Jane on summer evenings; the tree out back that he’d fallen out of while trying to build a fort— memories everywhere.
“You’re right,” Jackson said. He looked from Jane to Asena and shook his head in disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his grandma and the Djinn he owned would be standing together with him. “Maybe it all worked out for the best this way.”
“Yeah, except that whole part about you not listening to me and losing your job,” Kay chimed in.
It had only been a week since the tournament, but Kay had a strange knack of knowing when Jackson was far enough over something to start teasing him about it. This time, she toed the line pretty close.
Jackson sighed. “How many times am I going to have to tell you that you were right and I was wrong?”
Kay grinned and gave him a soft punch. “I dunno. How many times is it going to happen?”
Sunshine yipped in agreement and Asena came to her tamer’s aid. The two Djinn raced around the front yard, Sunshine always just out of Asena’s reach. Jackson recalled their first fight together in the fields at the beginning of summer and couldn’t help but smile.
“Come on, you two!” Kay yelled. “It’s time to go.”
Both Sunshine and Asena ignored her, but the sound of a car pulling up distracted everyone from the two Djinns’s revelry.
Jackson smile fell when he saw Fiona step out and shut the door.
“All set to go, huh?” she asked in a neutral tone.
“Yeah,” Jackson said. He didn’t know what else to add.
They’d shaken hands after the match but hadn’t seen each other since. Even though Fiona didn’t rub it in and seemed anything but smug with the outcome, Jackson wished he could have been anywhere else during the award ceremony. The second place medal was something to be proud of — at least Kay and his grandma thought so — but to Jackson it only represented how close he’d come to his goals. Sure, it had resulted in a monetary reward, but the suns offered could only be utilized for his actual Djinn taming. So it was great overall, but did nothing to save the house.
Djinn Tamer: Starter: A Monster Battling GameLit Adventure (Djinn Tamer - Bronze League Book 1) Page 24
