The surrounding spectators let out a ragged, hungry cheer and parted for Laila, Drill, Jackson, Asena, and Kay to make their way through. They came to a ring marked off by stakes and a flimsy chain. Sand covered the cement floor within the circle, which was about fifteen meters in diameter.

As the big man, Drill, took his place on the opposite side of the ring, Kay grabbed Jackson by the arm.

“Are you crazy?” she hissed into his ear. “Look at Asena!”

The Lyote stood at Jackson’s feet, unafraid but clearly anxious at the overload of sounds, sights, and smells. When Jackson tried to give her a reassuring pat on the head, he could feel the Djinn shivering beneath his hand. A nervous wave overtook him as well and he wondered what in the world he was doing.

“It’s the only way,” he replied, as much to himself as to Kay. “If they won’t let me fight in the Underground I’m never going to make the money in time.”

Kay made an equally frustrated and disgusted sound. “You are such an idiot!”

Further conversation ended when Laila stepped into the middle of the circle. “Hey, kid, you ready?” she shouted over the din.

Jackson swallowed hard and nodded. He patted Asena on the head then gave her a gentle nudge away from his legs. “You ready, girl? It’s time for your first real fight!”

The Lyote gave him an anxious glance but took her place in the middle of the ring, tail still tucked between her legs. When the surrounding crowd saw the Djinn’s cowed state, several laughed or booed.

Laila pointed to Drill, who nodded as well. He cracked his knuckles together and then punched the air in front of him. A dark yellow-gold light issued from his tamer ring and a four-legged Djinn materialized a few meters away from Asena. This wasn’t a Swinprum as Jackson had expected, but a moss-covered Djinn with hooves and horns that gave it an unexpectedly violent look. Jackson raised his watch and pointed it at the opposing Djinn.

Djinn: Gruffoat

Level: 4

Element: Earth

HP (Hit Points): 63/63

Gruffoat is a Basic-Form, Earth-Elemental Djinn. While Gruffoats tend to keep to themselves, they are an easily-angered livestock Djinn. In addition to being quick to anger, they also hold grudges, so if you rub one the wrong way, they’re likely to remember you up to at least a few months at a time, even if you’ve only made contact with them once. As such, tread carefully if coming across them in the wild, as they’re not above tracking down Djinn or people who have crossed them.

As soon as Asena saw the opposing Djinn, a change came over her. She went from a cowering animal to a monster prepared for battle — at least Jackson hoped that’s what it meant. The change in his Djinn raised Jackson’s confidence and he smirked at Drill.

“That stinky old Gruffoat of yours doesn’t have a chance!”

Both tamers powered up the battle modules on their watches. A screen hovered in front of Jackson showing a basic health bar for the Gruffoat as well as a detailed chart depicting Asena’s exact health points, moves and status.

GENERAL STATS AND INFO

Djinn: Lyote

Level: 3

Name: Asena

Element: Fire/Earth

Species Rarity: Rare

Tamer: Jackson Hunt

HP (hit points): 86/86

EP (Elemental Power): 42/42

XP (Experience): 6 to Next Level

DJP (Djinn Points): 4 Unallocated

Attack: 18

Defense: 12

Speed: 15

Accessories: None

Items: None

Status: Neutral

Bond: 15%

Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>

Jackson quickly swiped left to get to the Djinn’s move set so he could have it as a cheat sheet.

MOVE SET

Fire Elemental: Fire Growl (5 EP)

Plain Elemental: Attack, Headbutt, Wild Bite

"Fight! Fight! Fight!” The crowd started chanting around them and a surge of adrenaline rushed through Jackson, confirming what he’d always known: this was where he was meant to be. Laila stepped away from both the Djinn and raised her hands. She made a quick overhead clap, signaling the start of the fight.

“Asena, Wild Bite!” Jackson shouted as loud as he could but wasn’t sure if his Djinn could even hear him over the crowd and music blaring throughout the warehouse. Instead, Asena took a few cautious steps forward, sniffing at the Gruffoat — apparently, she’d only been intrigued by the other Djinn, not ready to do battle with it. Rather than order his Djinn to attack, Drill laughed.

“Hey kid, this ain’t a daycare!” he shouted into an audio projector attached to his neck. “Did we come here to fight or have a playdate?”

The crowd roared with laughter and Jackson felt buried in a wave of embarrassment. The Gruffoat continued to stare at Asena, ready and waiting for its tamer's command to attack. The Lyote, on the other hand, circled the opposing Djinn, still sniffing and inspecting the strange creature.

“Asena!” Jackson yelled as loud as he could. “I said Wild Bite!”

The Lyote looked at Jackson, a confused expression on her face. Overcome by laughter, Drill didn’t have the capacity to speak, let alone order his Gruffoat to attack.

Then all at once, something seemed to click with Asena. The orange Lyote bared her teeth and launched herself at the Gruffoat. Her powerful jaws clamped onto the goat Djinn’s hind leg and the Gruffoat bleated in pain and anger. Jackson’s screen flashed:

CRITICAL ATTACK

The Gruffoat’s health points descended from 63 to 20 but the fight wasn’t done yet. The opposing Djinn whirled around, trying to hook Asena with its long, twisted horns. The Lyote held onto the Gruffoat’s leg as Drill started motioning and silently conveying his next attack. Jackson knew he had to do something.

“Asena, disengage! Use your Fire Growl!”

Whether she heard him or not, Asena finally lost grip of the Gruffoat’s leg and backed up. She turned to Jackson, a confused look on her face, as if she hadn’t heard his command.

“Fire Growl!”

In the brief moment of misunderstanding, the Gruffoat struck. Its horns and powerful head rammed Asena in the side, rolling her across the sand-covered ring. Jackson glanced down at his stat screen: 86 to 26 just like that.

To her credit, Asena recovered enough to jump to her feet and dodge the next charge. Rather than looking back at Jackson again, however, the Djinn took matters into her own hands. Instead of a Fire Growl, as Jackson continued to call out, she tried another Wild Bite move. This time, the Gruffoat expected the attack. With a sweep of its horns, the Djinn deflected, and the two faced off against one another, just a couple of successful hits away from being KO’ed.

“Finish her, Billy!” Drill shouted. “Use your special!”

“Asena!”

The Gruffoat reared up on its hind legs, the front ones kicking out. Throwing its head back, it came down and butted the ground hard. A pulse of dirt, shot toward Asena and hit her full-on, flipping the Lyote into the air.

Asena hit the ground hard and didn’t move. Jackson cried out and ran to her side. Still projecting, his stat screen flashed red and two bright letters appeared: KO.

“Come on, girl!” Jackson said, gently shaking the Lyote. “Come on, get up!”

“You need to get her inside her ring!” Kay appeared at Jackson’s side and did a quick inspection of Asena’s still body. “She doesn’t have anything broken but she should be recovering in stasis to keep her safe!”

Jackson wanted to throw up. He stood and held out his ring, recalling Asena inside. When he looked up, both Laila and Drill were standing a few feet away. Laila had a knowing look on her face and shook her head. Drill just grinned and folded his bulging arms over his equally bulging chest.

“Sorry, kid. Come back when you can play with the big boys,” he said.

“I didn’t do so bad!” Jackson retorted. Inside, he felt sick with worry over Asena and didn’t even sound convincing to himself, though.

“You got in a cheap hit while Drill dicked around being a hotshot,” Laila said. The playful expression she’d worn since they’d met her was gone now. “That’s the only reason this fight wasn’t a landslide. Thanks for bringing the envelope from Tak, but it’s time for you kids to go home.”

She snapped her fingers. Drill and two other bouncers stepped forward, surrounding Jackson and Kay.

“Jackson, we need to go,” Kay said, pulling his hand. “Right away! Asena needs to recover enough so that I can look at her before morning.”

Jackson shrugged her off again. “I’m not going anywhere until you promise me another fight!” he yelled at Laila. “One that’s not against your bodyguard — I want a fair shot!”

Laila laughed, but it was cold and completely unamused. “You wouldn’t stand a chance against anyone kid. And a fair shot? Tell me how that wasn’t a fair shot just now.” She nodded to Drill and the other meatheads. “Get him out of here.”

Drill nodded and the two bouncers grabbed hold of Jackson’s arms. He struggled, but couldn’t do anything in their powerful grips. All around, the spectators started laughing.

Jackson roared with rage. No matter how hard he flailed, he couldn’t break free. At last, they reached the outside of the warehouse and the bouncers dumped him onto the cement, banging up his knees and elbows.

Ignoring Kay’s protests, Jackson tried to run back in. Drill blocked his path and shoved him hard, sending Jackson flying again. “Look, dumbass, it’s over,” he said. “If you can’t handle losing, you’re not going to make it as a tamer. I’m trying to be nice and reasonable here. Go home before I have to hurt you.”

Jackson pulled himself to his feet again, ignoring the smarting scrapes on his elbow and knee. “I’ve got to fight.”

Drill pulled off his jacket and handed it to one of the bouncers. “Oh, you’re gonna get a fight, all right, if you don’t get out of here in the next ten seconds.”

“You must feel tough, picking on a kid, three to one.”

Everyone turned at the sound of a hoarse voice. The speaker, a bulky, dark-skinned man, stepped off the wall he’d been leaning on across the street and walked toward them. The stranger studied the group under hooded eyes before taking a long pull at the thick cigar in his hand.

“If the little dumbass would go home there wouldn’t be a problem,” Drill said. Although the newcomer was big, Jackson didn’t think Drill would have a problem taking him, but Laila’s counterpart seemed hesitant, if not intimidated.

The new arrival came to Jackson’s side and a strong smell of whiskey filled the air. Already embarrassed by being dragged out of the warehouse, Jackson stepped away from the dark-skinned man. The last thing he needed after the public humiliation was some bum coming to his aid.

“Drill!” Laila emerged from the warehouse and was making her way toward them, the irritated look still on her face. “What in the hell is taking — oh, so you’re here tonight, huh?”

The stranger didn’t answer, just took another pull on his cigar and pursed his lips, letting the smoke leak out into the night air. At last, he nodded at Drill and his lackeys. “If you’re looking for a fight, let’s go in the ring.”

Laila laughed, cutting through the man’s intimidating air. “You don’t have any Djinn, old man!”

The stranger grinned, the remnants of his cigar clutched on the side of his mouth that had a slight droop. He pulled it out and studied it at arm’s length before flicking it aside. “I wasn’t talking about a Djinn battle.”

With his salt-and-pepper hair and weary, drooping face, Jackson didn’t think the old man would make much of a go if Drill or the bouncers took him up on his offer. Although his stained trench coat hid most of his body, Jackson got the impression the stranger’s bulky frame had gone to seed years before.

Laila, Drill, and the other bounders shared a laugh, but the man seemed unfazed. He looked at Jackson.

“Yeah, okay,” Laila finally said. “Guys, head inside.”

“But, Lai —”

“You heard me, Drill. Inside. We’ve got more important things to worry about than these losers.”

The bouncers made their way back in, and as he turned away back toward the street, the mysterious stranger turned to Jackson.

“Go on kid, show’s over for the night,” he said.

Still chuckling and staring, Laila shook her head. “Oh, how the great Cassius Briggs has fallen!”