Jackson barely had time to raise his hands over his head before the Smilaguar hit him. Kay screamed. The Djinn’s extended paws struck him in the chest and knocked him flat on his back. The Smilaguar stood on top of Jackson, its hot breath blowing in his face. Somewhere — it seemed a lot farther away than it should have been — Jackson heard Kay shouting his name.

Clenching his teeth, Jackson braced himself to be torn apart, but the moment never came. He peeked open his eyes, only to see the Smilaguar continuing to growl in his face. With the full weight of the Djinn bearing down on him, Jackson couldn’t have moved even if he’d had the nerve to. He’d never been this close to an angry predator Djinn before and felt a new, fearful appreciation for the saber-like fangs protruding from the monster’s snarling mouth and the mass of muscle packed into its already-thick frame.

What was it doing? The Smilaguar yowled a high-pitched, infuriated sound that froze Jackson’s heart in his chest. He lay as still as he could. Should he try to fight the beast off? Should he play dead? The Smilaguar’s mood didn’t seem to be improving any, but he wasn’t too keen to start pressing his luck by moving. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jackson realized the Djinn hadn’t extended his claws — maybe if he played his cards right, he wouldn’t be eaten, just severely mauled.

More muffled shouts rose behind him, and all at once the Smilaguar’s snarling head disappeared as a rush of (what looked like) arrows flew over Jackson. With the Djinn’s weight removed from his chest, Jackson let out a yell and scrambled backward across the pasture, temporarily overcome with fear. At the same moment, another blur of blue, green and turquoise feathers shot past him just feet off the ground. The new Djinn let out an angry caw and struck the Smilaguar on the side.

A new voice that definitely wasn’t Kay’s shouted at the multi-colored bird Djinn. “Don’t hurt him, Rebel!”

Chest still heaving from his encounter, Jackson climbed to his feet on shaky legs and saw the Djinn’s tamer standing a few feet away — one of his school friends (not to mention his boss’s daughter), Fiona Sato.

Fiona issued a series of commands and her feathered Megala Djinn responded to each at once. The Megala danced just out of the range of the Smilaguar’s angry swipes, darting in to rebuff the predator Djinn with its wings and hit it with another burst of quill feathers from its voluminous tail.

Jackson watched the display in awe, his previous fear replaced by the thrill of seeing two Djinn battling up-close. Although he watched plenty of battles on the holo-cast, he’d only witnessed a few fights in person before, and he marveled at the speed and precision. Without even thinking, he opened the Djinncyclopedia app and held up his holo-watch.

Djinn: Megala

Element: Wind

Megala is a Basic-Form, Wind-Elemental Djinn. The Megala is a mild-tempered feathered Djinn. Male sexes of the species boast colorful plumage in their tails that serve as a way to attract mates and a means of self-defense. When angered, their most common means of attack is to puff up and shoot some of these feathers at their assailants with speeds up to 10 miles per hour. While usually not deadly, the inflammatory effects of the quill, in conjunction with physical combat is usually enough to scare other predators away.

A few moments later, the Smilaguar sank down on the ground, a handful of plumed needles sticking out of its face and sides. It hadn’t suffered any serious injury from the fight but it was exhausted and — Jackson hoped — calmed down enough so that it no longer presented a threat to Petunia. The predator looked around with wide, curious eyes, seemingly content to be left alone on the grass, although Rebel — Fiona’s Megala — continued to keep watch a short distance away in case the Smilaguar decided it wanted to go again.

“Hey, Bryce,” Fiona said, talking into her holo-watch. Jackson couldn’t hear the ranch foreman’s response but picked up the gist of the conversation. “I’ve got Rex — yeah, he got into a pen with a Camelum but it looks like Jackson and Kay kept him from getting into any trouble. No — Jackson’s a little banged up but I think everything is okay. I’ll ring Rex and have them checked out.”

Fiona lowered her wrist and reached into her pocket, producing a large silver ring with a rectangle on its face. She held the ring between her thumb and forefinger and pointed it at Rex — the errant Smilaguar. The Djinn hissed as a white light enveloped it.

“Come on, Rex, please don’t fight me here,” Fiona said as the beam of light enveloping the Djinn began to shake. She shook her hand a little bit, and after what looked like the smallest of resistance, the beam of light retreated back into the ring, taking the Smilaguar with it. “There we go.”

“T-thanks,” Jackson stammered, heart racing from the attack and the ensuing battle. He took a deep breath to calm himself and winced. His chest ached, but a quick pat down of his shirt didn’t reveal any gouge marks. Fortunately, the Smilaguar hadn’t been mad enough — or at least see him as a big enough threat to extend its claws when it pounced on him.

“Don’t mention it,” Fiona said and then smirked. “I know you think you’re a tough guy, Jackson, but wrestling a full-grown, hungry Smilaguar isn’t very smart.”

Jackson let out a dry laugh and winced again as a throbbing pain pulsed through his breastbone. Fiona’s grin faded. “The barriers should be back online soon. Let’s get you checked out.”

* * *

Jackson, Kay, and Fiona emerged from a nondescript gray portable building that stood right outside of the main front office. Jackson was a little tender around a few of his ribs, but the on-site doctor told him nothing was broken. Aside from a few other minor cuts and scrapes, he’d survived the encounter with the Smilaguar, no worse for the wear. Even so, his boss, Ken Sato, had told him to take the rest of the day off, and he’d be put on light duty for the next two weeks. Jackson argued he was fine but Ken couldn’t be swayed.

Jackson counted his blessings. He was lucky they had a doctor at Sato Breeders, and even luckier that Fiona was there to save him.

“When did you get back in town, Fiona?” He asked as they stood out in the barnyard, where her Megala pecked around at the feed on the ground. The sunlight glittered on the array of blues, greens, golds, and purples woven in its dark feathers.

“Last night,” Fiona said. “I was coming to say hi to you guys when the barriers went down. I had one of the emergency walkies on me, so I was already close by when you signaled the alarm. Lucky for you, Jackson.”

She finished with a wink and Jackson frowned, knowing it would be a long time before he lived down the fact that Fiona had rescued him. Well, more than likely Kay wouldn’t let it go. When they were younger, Jackson and Fiona always had a bit of a rivalry, and out of sheer desire for entertainment, Kay would seldom hesitate to fan the flames. But it had been a while since their rivalry had taken form in any meaningful way. Over the past handful of years, Fiona had sort of fallen out of their friend group and, having graduated the year before them, she’d left the previous fall for advanced schooling. Jackson and Kay hadn’t really kept in touch with her.

“Your Megala is beautiful,” Kay said, admiring the jeweled bird. Sensing it was the topic of the conversation, the Megala stopped pecking around and extended its tail feather in a wide fan for full display. Golden-purple quills were interspersed within the voluminous feathers making the Djinn look like it’d come out of a jewel store.

“Thanks,” Fiona said. Jackson could tell the pride she was hiding. “I’ve been working with Rebel since just after I left for school — he was a graduation gift from mom and dad. He’s not where I’d like him to be yet but I’m hoping to be ready to enter the Bronze League Training Camp next year.”

“That’s great news!” Kay said, with honest enthusiasm. Jackson gave a weak smile and a grunt, but Fiona didn’t seem to notice.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Fiona said. “Mom and dad support me and want to help me get in with their connections, but I really want to make it on my own, meaning the ranch isn’t going to fund me. I eventually want to find sponsors to help ease the burden, but that won’t be for a while.”

That took Jackson by surprise. Fiona had never been stuck up even though she came from the richest family in town, but to hear her say she wasn't going to use that to her advantage seemed like a waste.

Unless you were lucky enough to be rich or have a family that bred Djinn (Fiona had both), most people could only afford to make it past the Bronze League with the help of sponsors. The cost of entry and the rigorous travel schedule of the Djinn Battle League ensured only a small percentage of tamers made it, especially to the vaunted Gold League. Most — Jackson included —would kill to be in Fiona’s shoes, and there she was turning it down. In addition to world-famous Djinn-breeding parents, Fiona's older brothers were both ranked in the top one hundred of the DBL's Silver League.

Fiona's choice didn't make sense to Jackson, especially given his current situation. He didn't mention aloud that Fiona's parents had still given her Rebel — how would it be to receive a rare Djinn as a gift? Even so, he had to admit it was admirable for her to want to go the rest of the way on her own.

"That's really impressive," Kay said.

Jackson forced a smile and nodded in begrudging agreement. "Yeah, really cool." He had to admit it. It was cool.

“What about you guys?” Fiona asked. “Any plans for the fall?”

The fall. Jackson would have rather talked about anything else than the prospect of advanced schooling.

“What kind of sponsorships are we talking about?” he asked Fiona instead. “I would think with the number of tamers trying to get into the Bronze League, there’s not much money to go around.”

“Okay, I guess I am getting a bit ahead of myself,” Fiona said with a nervous chuckle. “You’re right. There’s not much money in the Bronze League. For now, I need to focus on official tourneys in the area. If I can lock down a solid reputation, then Tyle can send my name into the Bronze League Regionals, and they can let me in. The Bronze League isn’t too much of a strain, at least that’s what my brother Dice said. It’s only when you get into the Silver League that expenses start to add up.”

“But there’s no money in the Bronze League,” Jackson said, more as a statement than a question.

“I mean, there’s not no money,” she said. “Honestly, you don’t even need to be in a League to compete for money, if that’s all you’re after. There’s plenty of smaller tourneys around outside of the DBL to compete in. The pot might not be big, but win enough of those and you can at least get some spending money. Those contests are regulated, though. I guess the bigger pots happen in the Underground — though some of the fights put on there can get dirty. So I’ve heard, at least,”

“Oh, right. The Underground fights,” Jackson said. He actually had heard of those, though he never really thought about the potential to actually make a pile of money in them.

“I think it’s awful what some of those tamers put their Djinn through,” Kay said. “Most of them are total jerks who don’t care about their monsters at all.”

“I mean, they’re not all bad,” Jackson replied almost without realizing it. A couple years previous he’d spent some serious time hanging out with an older kid from their school who claimed to have fought in the Underground.

Kay rolled her eyes. “You’re talking about Tak, aren’t you?”

Jackson didn’t answer. He knew she was right.

“Ugh, why do you defend him all the time? Tak is the biggest douchebag I’ve ever met! He’s exactly the type of tamer I’m talking about!”

Jackson’s face flushed but he had no comeback. Kay was right — Tak was an asshole through and through. Jackson’s temporary friendship with the dude had revolved around the fact he was one of the only guys in school that actually had a fighting Djinn, but even that faded when you realized what an awful person Tak was. Still, for some reason, Jackson always felt the need to defend the guy.

“I feel so sorry for his poor Djinn,” Kay said. “I wonder if he’s still putting them through that — I haven’t seen him in forever.”

“I think he’s still in town,” Fiona said. “But I’m pretty sure he stopped going to the Underground.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize he stopped. Who’d you hear that from?” Jackson asked. Fiona and Tak were on opposite ends of the social spectrum in just about every way. Tak was about the last person Jackson would have guessed Fiona kept track of.

“I hear things too,” Fiona said, seemingly offended. "But Jackson has a point, Kay — Tak might be a grade-A dirtbag but from what people have told me, the Underground is full of plenty of talented tamers who care about their Djinn just as much as a League tamer. You just have to be careful, is all. I’m sure there are plenty who are willing to take advantage of newts coming in.”

“So how much money are we talking about in the Underground?” he asked Fiona, trying to make his voice sound casual.

“Depends on how much you put up in most cases…or so I’ve heard,” she said. “Some of the kids at advanced schooling would go to fights — Rebel isn’t ready for that, but I heard them talking afterward — there’s usually an entry fee for the fight and a pot the winner gets after. Some of the tamers at school were placing bets on the side but that gets…tricky.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jackson said impatiently. “Just give me a number — what’s the average they were making?”

“I don’t know!” Fiona’s voice took an irritated, defensive edge. “It’s not like they waved it around and bragged about it. Maybe a few hundred suns for the bigger fights. Just a reminder: these Underground fights are illegal, Jackson. Even if some trainers care about their Djinn, the actual fighting — and betting — could get you into real trouble.”

But Jackson wasn’t listening to that last part. He stopped after he heard, “a few hundred suns.” His heart beat faster and the wheel in his mind whirred out of control. A few hundred suns could cover their monthly mortgage and loans with money to spare to help them climb out of debt. That kind of money could make all the difference in his and his grandmother’s life.

“Look, it was good seeing you guys, but I’ve got to run,” Fiona said, whistling for Rebel, who spread his jeweled wings and fluttered across the barnyard to his tamer. “Dad wanted me to help him with the Rambuck mating this afternoon. Those things can get violent if no one’s there to ref, if you know what I mean.”

“It was good to see you too, Fiona,” Kay said.

Jackson nodded in agreement and then overcame his jealousy to add, “Nice Djinn.”

As soon as Fiona was out of sight, Kay punched Jackson in the arm.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said.

Jackson feigned a sudden interest in the clouds passing overhead. “What are you talking about?”

Kay stepped in front of him and put her hands on her hips, forcing Jackson to look at her. “You’re thinking you can enter the Underground and make some more money!”

Scoffing, Jackson walked past her. “That’s crazy. I’m not stupid.”

“Like that’s ever stopped you before.”

“I don’t have a Djinn!”

“Yeah, but I know you.”

Jackson put his hand to his chest in mock offense. “Do you really think I would ask you to make your Djinn fight in the Underground?”

“Don’t even,” Kay said. “I know you’re pretending to kid, but I know deep down you’re not kidding! No way is Sunshine competing in one of those things! I don’t care how much money they’re paying.”

Jackson could understand her reticence. Kay’s Djinn, Sunshine, a Fenkit, was a pet, not a fighter. Kay had no interest in ever becoming a tamer and, as such, Sunshine was a low-level Djinn, and only knew beginning moves and skills. Even so, the fact that both Fiona and Kay had Djinn while he did not was hard for him to swallow, especially considering Fiona was about to live out his dream while he was stuck shoveling shit for her family.

Trying to hide his disappointment Jackson played it off. “I wasn’t going to suggest that! I’m just saying it’s not a bad way to earn a little extra cash on the side.”

Kay’s features softened. “Look, I know things are tough right now,” she said. “I wish I could help you guys out… maybe you could ask Mr. Sato for more hours?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jackson said, more than a little disheartened.

For a moment, it’d seemed like a great idea, but as he and Kay rode their bikes home and eventually parted to go down their separate streets, he couldn’t help but feel all of his problems would be solved if he only had a Djinn. The black car sitting in the driveway when he got home only served to bring down his mood even more.