The days ticked by at both a maddeningly fast and slow pace for Jackson. As he continued to develop his Bond with Asena and work on their telepathic communication, it felt like he’d never make any progress. The rest of Cassius’s training stretched out in an equally arduous fashion. Although the coach had finally allowed them to progress past mental commands, most of the training they did was a drudgery of basic maneuvers and workouts designed to test not only Jackson and Asena’s bond, but their physical and mental abilities as well.

“You’ve got to be just as fit as her,” Briggs had told him after Jackson complained about running three miles with Asena setting the pace. The old champion had jabbed Jackson in the chest and then the forehead. “Physically and mentally. A sluggish tamer makes his Djinn sluggish. You’re one team and you’ve both got to be on top of your game if you want to get anywhere.”

Sometimes Jackson wondered if Briggs put him through the most grueling exercises he could think of just to test his resolve. But no matter how much Jackson despised the running, pushups, pull-ups and headache-inducing mental exercises — as far as he was concerned, meditation was the dumbest thing ever — the thought of quitting never crossed Jackson’s mind. It simply wasn’t an option. As their training progressed over the next few weeks, it became a point of pride for him to continue showing up at the old warehouse-turned-gym day after day.

And Jackson had to admit, the training showed whenever he fought in the Underground. Over the course of the week, Jackson had squeezed in two fights in the midst of his impossible schedule of work at Sato, helping his grandma at home, and training with Briggs. Briggs never went to the Underground with Jackson, but he was still there, watching. Was it because Briggs didn’t want to interfere with Jackson’s fights or was he trying to keep his own identity under wraps? Jackson didn’t know. Outside of Laila, Drill, Kay, and himself, Jackson had no idea how many people even knew that the great Cassius Briggs frequented the fights.

After the fights, however, Briggs would drill Jackson and Asena relentlessly — even though they always won. No matter how well Jackson thought he and Asena performed, his coach always found something to lecture him on. Hesitating, making rash decisions, being too patient, not being patient enough, using too many physical attacks, using too many Elemental attacks — the list went on and on and on…

But it made a difference. Every time he fought since Briggs took him on, Jackson emerged victorious and had almost a thousand suns to show for it. It was a long way from the twelve thousand he needed to pay off their debts, but it was a start. Even so, Jackson found himself looking at the calendar on his holo-watch numerous times every day, counting down the weeks he had left before the house would no longer be theirs.

Summer work at the ranch had picked up and Jackson actually had to work some of the long hours he’d used as cover for going to Underground fights. Many of the Djinn had young to look after and the summer season meant most of the animals were out to pasture. The fighting stock only had a few weeks left before their tamers would begin to pick them up in preparation for the new DBL season, and Mr. Sato wanted to make sure they were in the best shape they could be, and groomed to show it, too.

At home, Jackson found himself buried in a list of chores that he’d easily stayed on top of before. Mowing the lawn, helping out in the garden, and washing the windows now seemed like daunting tasks that consumed time he desperately wished he could use to sleep or squeeze in some training with Asena. In spite of the rigorous demands on his life, he didn’t think his grandma suspected anything. If she did, she hadn’t said a word, which meant he was probably safe. Something like Djinn taming wouldn’t be a transgression she just glossed over, even if she only had an inkling of suspicion. Jackson hoped it would stay that way until he had a large wad of cash to give her.

But it never felt like enough — not enough training, not enough winnings. Jackson did his best to stay positive with Asena, but at the same time, he constantly beat himself up for a never-ending list of what-ifs. Chief amongst them: what if he’d just found the hidden safe behind the picture in his mom’s office years, months or even weeks earlier? All he needed was a little more time and that might have made all the difference.

Jackson knew he was being too hard on himself and Kay told him as much whenever she noticed him getting frustrated or discouraged. But no matter how much he told himself to relax, the date of the bank foreclosure gnawed at him, taunting him while he was awake and asleep. He kept having a recurring dream that the repo guy from the bank showed up and not only took the house, but took Asena as well — to cover “interest accrued” in the months since they’d foreclosed on Jackson’s grandma. No matter how hard he fought, he always lost Asena right before he woke up.

On the train ride home from a fight late Saturday night, Jackson wallowed in a familiar pool of discouragement. He looked at the winnings in his hand: less than a hundred and fifty suns for the evening. No matter how much he beat up on the worst trainers at the Underground, Laila wouldn’t give him better fights. It frustrated him even more when he saw who she let “Tessa” fight. The fact that the mysterious girl (who he knew was Fiona, even if he couldn’t catch up with her after each match, no matter how hard he tried — and she seemed to almost never be around at work) was not only getting better fights, but was also making more money than him — and leveling up Rebel quicker in the process — made Jackson even more pissed.

Even Appleby, who Jackson beat in his very first match, had been given some pretty hefty matches that made Jackson envious. Sure, Appleby was the nicest kid in the world about the whole thing — even going so far as to offer Jackson one of his matches — but it was the principle of it that bothered him.

Jackson pulled up Asena’s chart in an attempt to make him feel better, but even the vastly improved stats did little to bolster his mood.

GENERAL STATS AND INFO

Djinn: Lyote

Level: 8

Name: Asena

Element: Fire/Earth

Species Rarity: Rare

Tamer: Jackson Hunt

HP (Hit Points): 135/135

EP (Elemental Power): 75/75

XP (Experience): 102 to Next Level

DJP (Djinn Points): 0 Unallocated

Attack: 50

Defense: 28

Speed: 36

Accessories: None

Items: None

Status: Neutral

Bond: 50%

Move Set: Swipe Left to See More >>>

“Hellooo?” Kay said from the bench on the other side of the monorail compartment, snapping her fingers at Jackson. “You doin’ okay over there?”

Sunshine sat curled up in her lap sleeping, as was Asena at Jackson’s feet. She’d won the night’s match against a Pulsant so handily that she hardly took any damage, and all Kay had to do was give her a once-over to check for any fluke, surface-level injuries.

Jackson let out a long sigh.

“It’s just not enough money,” he said. “I’ve got less than fifteen hundred suns and only a month and a half to go to raise more than ten thousand. Even with the money I’ve been pulling out of my Sato paychecks that my grandma doesn’t know about, I’ll be lucky to break three thousand by then. If Laila won’t give me better fights, I’m never going to close the gap.”

The way Kay looked at him told Jackson she was biting back the urge to remind him she’d tried to tell him that all along. Instead, she picked up Sunshine from her lap and sat down next to him.

“You’re doing all you can, Jack,” Kay said, putting a comforting arm over his shoulders. “Worst case, you have to move out, but you’ve got enough saved up that you and your grandma can afford a nice place to live. Is that so bad?”

“Yes!” Jackson said in a loud voice. Kay pulled her arm back and Jackson felt a wave of guilt. “I’m sorry — I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just — it won’t be the same, okay?”

Kay nodded but didn’t say anything else. Sighing again, Jackson pocketed his meager winnings. As he stuffed the envelope in his hoodie pocket, he felt the much thicker one containing all of Tak’s side bets. In addition to the debt to Laila, Tak apparently owed some other tamers some money as well and continued to use Jackson as his go-between. The extra money literally sitting in his lap was tempting, but Jackson knew better than to cross either of the two. He’d seen firsthand what Laila’s hired goons did to people who tried to cheat her. Jackson doubted Tak would take such thievery any better.

The rest of the train ride passed in a blur. Jackson felt so tired he barely managed to mumble a goodnight to Kay as they split to go to their own houses. He dragged himself to bed as quietly as he could manage so as not to wake his grandmother. She didn’t mind him coming home at one in the morning, but the less she knew of his late-night weekend comings and goings, the better.

After pulling on some gym shorts and tossing his t-shirt into the corner, Jackson let Asena out of her ring. She couldn’t stay out all night, but Jackson always made a habit of telling her good job before they went to sleep. But even after he returned Asena to his ring, Jackson couldn’t sleep. Exhaustion tugged at his body, but his thoughts revolved around the thick envelope of cash he had tucked in his drawer.

The beginnings of an idea started forming in Jackson’s mind. He resolved to deliver Tak’s money in the morning, and this time, ask a favor of his own.

* * *

“Jackson! Hey! Wait up!”

Kay’s voice drifted across the street, making Jackson cringe. Jackson hadn’t told her he was paying Tak a visit. He’d made it a point to avoid her street on his way to the outskirts of town, but in the end, it looked like it didn’t do any good.

“I’ve been messaging you all morning,” Kay said. “Why haven't you replied? I know you saw the messages! It said you opened them. What are you doing?”

Jackson sighed and didn’t bother to hide the envelope in his hand. “I was just taking Tak his money from the fights last night — I was gonna stop by your place on the way home. I didn’t think you’d want to come.”

“You’re right — I don’t like being eyed down like a piece of meat,” she said, stopping. “Let me know when you get back.”

Jackson let out an involuntary sigh of relief. “Right, will do.”

“Wait,” Kay’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t want me to come, do you?”

“Huh?”

“I saw that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The ‘oh, thank goodness she’s not coming with me’ face.’”

“I don’t make a face like that.”

“You so make a face like that. You just made it. Why don’t you want me to go?”

“Can we not do this now?”

“You know what? I will go. Mom’s had me painting the house all morning and I want an excuse to, you know, not do that anymore.”

As she spoke, Jackson noticed the flecks of paint in her hair and on her clothes. Sunshine appeared to have been helping as well — judging by the white streaks in his golden fur.

“Are you sure?” Jackson said.

Kay’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jackson said, breaking eye contact with her and walking down the street. “Come on. Let’s get this over with, then.”

Unlike most of their visits, where they had to knock to summon Tak from the bowels of his single-wide, Jackson and Kay found him sitting with his feet in a kiddie pool on the weed-strewn front lawn. To Jackson’s surprise, a Lutrotter laid in the pool, eyes closed, soaking in the sunlight. Although Jackson knew Tak was a tamer, he’d never spent any time wondering about what Djinn he might have. Frankly, the Lutrotter was too cute for Tak, but who was he to judge?

When Tak saw them, he grinned and pushed his cheap sunglasses up on his forehead. The pale skin revealed by the purple and neon green tank top he wore almost glowed in the afternoon sunlight. And those tan lines… Jackson felt sure without asking that Kay wouldn’t be any more attracted to her potential suitor by the sight.

“What’s up, my man?” Tak said when they neared. “Here to bring me some more of those sweet, sweet winnings, huh?”

“You know it,” Jackson said, tossing the envelope to his friend, who caught it and immediately starting counting the bills. “Laila said Josh has been looking for you — ‘just because you’re off the hook with her doesn’t mean you can stiff the other.’ Her words. Not mine.”

Tak laughed. “Is that what she said? Now she’s telling me how to bet, huh?”

Jackson sensed an opening to steer the conversation in his favor. “Seems like you’re doing fine on your own,” he said. “What’s your secret?”

Jackson swore he could hear Kay’s indignant jaw drop behind him, but he dared not look. Tak set his money aside and grinned even wider at Jackson. “So you’re looking into getting into the big time, huh, J?”

“I need the money in less than two months,” Jackson said. “Think you can help me out?”

Tak nodded. “For sure, man, for sure. You’ll probably want me to handle your side-betting, though. Laila doesn’t like it so much when tamers try to put money on their own fights — says it ruins the sport or something, I dunno. You ask me, the real sport here is what I’m doing. The taming…? Eh…”

Jackson’s stomach grew uneasy. As if sensing his hesitation, Kay chose her moment to cut in.

“You could lose everything you already have!” she said in a low voice. “And Briggs said that he didn’t want you betting on any fights, remember?”

“Do you have a better way for me to get the money?” Jackson snapped back.

“This isn’t —”

“Look, I don’t need you nagging me right now, okay?”

“I feel like you need someone nagging you, Jackson. You’re about to throw away your savings just because Shady-ass McShaderton over there thinks you can make a quick buck. Have you noticed that he lives in a trailer.”

“Hey!” Tak said.

“Sorry, dude,” Kay said. “But, for real. You live in a trailer.”

“It’s called freedom, girl,” Tak said.

“Cut it out, Kay.”

“If he was living in a mansion,” she continued, “I may tell you to listen to him. And then there’s your grandma.”

“Kay.”

“Lying to her to go to the Underground is bad enough, but then to gamble away your savings —”

“Kay!” Jackson snapped. “Would you stop being such an annoying nag for once? Please?”

“Oooooh!” Tak said. He cupped his hand around his mouth like a megaphone. “You ain’t gonna hit him!”

Kay’s eyes widened. “Oh, so that’s how it is, is it? Okay, then.”

Jackson’s unease intensified, wrapped in a layer of shame.

“Kay, wait! I —”

But Kay was gone, storming away from the trailer before Jackson could get another word in.

“Don’t worry about it, man,” Tak said. “She’ll get over it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I really don’t care. Now…how much you thinking about putting down?”