Jackson stared in amazement at the figure of the stranger — Cassius Briggs — as he walked down the street into the night. This was literally the man whose matches he watched non-stop growing up. Jackson knew he had to talk to him, but before he could go after the man, Laila pointed a finger at him.

“Tell your buddy Tak that what you brought me in that envelope doesn’t cover all the interest he owes me,” she said. “He’d better get the rest to me soon or we’ll be paying him a visit.”

“O-okay,” Jackson said, half-focused on the stranger walking away and half-wondering what new mess Tak had brought him into the middle of yet again.

“Good,” Laila said. Almost as an afterthought, she turned back and flashed Jackson a grin. “You’re a hotheaded little bastard — I like you, but you better be careful if you show your face around here again.”

Before Jackson could reply, she was gone, back inside the warehouse to her kingdom of chaos.

“You ready yet?” Kay asked.

Jackson turned on her, incredulous. “Do you realize what just happened? That was Cassius Briggs! We just met Cassius Briggs!”

Kay shrugged. “Who? C’mon Jackson, I’m ready to go home.”

Jackson spluttered, unsure where to even begin and appalled Kay could be so clueless. “Cassius. Briggs. He was the Gold League Champion twenty-five years ago! He’s one of the most iconic Djinn Tamers alive!”

Kay looked past Jackson at the disappearing form of the stranger as he headed down the street. “That dude? Are you sure?”

Jackson grabbed Kay by the arm and tried to pull her after him. “I’m positive! Kay, he’s famous! He’s beyond famous! He competed in the Gold League for like, twenty years — nobody stays in the Gold League that long. If he hadn’t burned out his Djinn, he might still be competing.”

Kay dug in her heels and Sunshine grabbed Jackson’s pant leg, pulling him toward the train stop.

“If he’s so famous why’s he broke? And hanging around at an Underground fight?”

“I dunno,” Jackson said. He shook his leg until Sunshine let go with an agitated bark. “But he’s about to be famous again!”

“For what?” Kay raised an eyebrow.

Jackson grinned. “For training me!”

Before Kay could argue, Jackson tore off down the street toward Cassius Briggs. Kay let out a frustrated sigh and followed. It didn’t take the pair long to catch up to the estranged champion — Briggs had a heavy limp and seemed in no hurry to go anywhere.

“Hey!” Jackson yelled. If the older man heard them — and he had to have — he made no sign.

Jackson skidded to a stop in front of Briggs, forcing him to stop. “Hey!” he tried again, breathless. “Thanks for your help back there. My name’s Jackson — can I talk to you for a minute?”

The words came out so fast, Briggs only stared at Jackson.

“Don’t mention it, kid,” the man said in his hoarse voice. “But I’ve got places to be.” Briggs stepped around Jackson and continued walking away, but Jackson wouldn’t be deterred.

“Wait — please!”

Briggs didn’t stop but Jackson continued to walk alongside him. “I was hoping — can you give me some advice? I want to be a Djinn Tamer someday and you’re one of the best there was, so I was hoping —”

The man raised a weathered hand. “You want my advice, kid? Don’t bother with these Underground fights. You’re young, no need for you to associate with places like this — save that for the wannabes and wash-ups like me.”

It was about the last thing Jackson expected and, in his mind, not helpful at all, so he pressed further. “I’m only here to raise money to save my house,” he said.

“Ha!” Briggs said. “If you’re looking for security, you can do a hell of a lot better than Underground fights — or even the whole of Djinn taming, for that matter.”

“Told you,” Kay said from behind the two of them.

“I want to battle in the real leagues someday,” Jackson said, unfazed. “but I need someone to show me the ropes.”

This time, Briggs stopped. He turned and surveyed Jackson from head to toe. Jackson held his breath and stood up a little taller, hoping he could convey a competitive, burning gleam in his eyes. After a long moment, Briggs shook his head. When he spoke, Jackson got another blast of whiskey breath in the face.

“I don’t care about your problems kid. Everybody’s got problems — the sooner you figure that out the less you’ll feel sorry for yourself. I’m not in the Djinn business anymore.”

“I can pay!” Jackson said. “I’ve got a job, I’ve got the money!”

“Didn’t you just say you were trying to raise money?” Briggs said, shaking his head. “And don’t bother. No matter what it looks like, I’m not that bad off that I need money from a kid. Now get outta here. You should be home — the Underground gets rowdier the later it gets.”

But Jackson held his ground and met the man’s hooded gaze. Briggs sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I’ve seen kids like you for forty years,” he said. “Young hotheads who get fired up watching the League Championships. Most of you don’t last longer than a few months, even if you get a shot. It takes everything you got to make it in the DBL, and from what I saw in there, what you got won’t cut it. Your Djinn isn’t just some tool you can pull out to use whenever you want.”

“Then teach me!” Jackson insisted. “Mr. Briggs, I’ve got what it takes — I promise you! I just need a chance. I’m not who you think I am.”

To Jackson’s horror, his throat tightened and hot tears started to well up in his eyes. He looked away and wiped his eyes.

Briggs’s expression softened and for a brief moment, Jackson’s hope rose. Moments later, the older man’s slow shake crushed it.

“Maybe not. Maybe you’re right. But you’ll have to find someone else.”

This time, Jackson didn’t follow after the former champion. As Briggs walked off into the night, Kay put a hand on his shoulder.

“Can we go home now?” she asked softly.

Jackson nodded and tore his eyes away from the disheveled man. Together, they walked toward the train stop. Given the remote location and the hour of the night, no one else was waiting for the rail to arrive, so Jackson released Asena from stasis again.

The Djinn had spent enough time in the tamer ring to regain consciousness, and as soon as she materialized from the vermillion light, she glared at Jackson and sat down, facing away from him.

“Now you’ve done it,” Kay said. She knelt down next to Asena and started to examine her for any serious injuries. Sunshine approached the Lyote and the pair touched noses before the Fenkit gave Asena an encouraging lick. After a few minutes Kay stood up and glared and Jackson, hands on her hips.

“She’s fine but I don’t think you’re in very good graces right now,” she said.

Jackson knew Kay was right. Without a word, he walked around to face Asena and sat down cross-legged in front of her. She stared at him with hard eyes when he reached to pet her head but didn’t nip at him, which he took for a good sign.

“I’m sorry, girl,” he said. “I guess I kinda lost my cool in there. I should have realized you wouldn’t be used to the crowds and everything. Forgive me?”

This time, Asena did reach up and nip at Jackson’s wrist, but she followed it up with a lick to show she’d get over it. She dropped her head down onto her paws and let out a big sigh, clearly still exhausted. Jackson knew how tired she was when he lifted his hand to return to her to the tamer ring and Asena gave no resistance.

Returning to the bench next to Kay, they sat in an awkward silence for awhile. He had a feeling Kay would take longer to forgive him than Asena did.

“Thanks for coming,” he muttered after several long moments of quiet. “I guess I owe you an apology too.”

“Don’t mention it. Actually, do mention it. Often. It’s the least you can do,” Kay said with a smirk. “You know I’ve got your back I — I just wish there was something I could do about your house, Jack.”

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Jackson said, trying to raise his spirits as much as Kay’s. Even so, he realized they were closing in on three months and he’d yet to make a single sun as a Djinn Tamer. In fact, figuring in the cost of feeding Asena, he was more in the hole than when he’d started.

The train arrived and they boarded, once again the only passengers in their compartment. As the monorail whisked along the countryside and the dark shapes of hills and farmland flashed by, Jackson’s thoughts returned to Cassius Briggs.

He wondered what could have happened to the man to take him from Gold League Champion to drunkard outside of an Underground fight. He’d been in the prime of his career before Jackson was born and even though he’d still been competing when Jackson was too small to remember, Briggs’s glory days were long over by then.

Still, watching those fights proved Briggs had been the real deal way back when, enough for Jackson to know that if he was going to make it, he needed a coach like Cassius Briggs to help him. Gold League Champions didn’t just grow on trees — he’d have to convince the one he found to mentor him.

“I’ll be back, Briggs,” Jackson said to himself under his breath. He’d show up every night if he had to — whatever it took to show Briggs he was willing to do anything to be a Djinn Tamer.