Gaia's Champion Ch. 65 - Teaser (Patreon)

A group of young men leaned against a wall near a narrow alley, watching people pass with the kind of casual interest that wasn’t casual at all. Jason’s group passed them without slowing, acknowledging, or offering any indication that they had noticed the scrutiny. But they had, every second of it.

Further in, the market thinned into a series of interconnected side streets. The noise dropped just enough to make individual sounds more distinct. The scrape of a chair against concrete, the low murmur of a private conversation, and the distant rev of an engine somewhere beyond the immediate cluster of buildings.

“…Jason,” Phalmina said quietly, slowing down to catch his attention.

“What?”

“Something’s off,” she replied, her voice dropping even lower.

“What kind of off?” Jason questioned without stopping or looking about.

“Someone’s watching us,” the Fairy woman told him after a beat. “But not like the others in the market before.”

Jason’s attention sharpened as he shifted direction subtly. He angled them toward a less crowded section of the market where the stalls spaced out and the shadows deepened between them. Sheena felt it too now… a prickle at the nape of her neck and pressure that came down on her which she knew to be what Phalmina was saying.

“Don’t turn,” Jason said quietly.

“I’m not.”

Rosa’s gaze drifted naturally, catching reflections, movement patterns, and gaps in space where people should be but weren’t. Her experience of being tailed and living on the run was handy, as it gave them an advantage over their pursuers.

“They’re pacing us,” she said. “And there’s more than two.”

“How many?” Jason growled.

“Enough,” Rosa replied. “A dozen at least. Maybe more holding back.”

That was no longer opportunistic but deliberate.

“Time to move,” Jason said.

They shifted course again, slipping out of the main artery of the market and into a side street where the stalls gave way to older structures. The difference was immediate, as there were fewer people and less light. Buildings pressed closer together, their surfaces marked by time and neglect, patched wiring and exposed concrete giving the place a raw, unfinished feel. Behind them, the movement followed, but it wasn’t rushed or sloppy; it was confident.

“They’re committing,” Phalmina sighed, her voice sounding more than a little agitated.

“Good,” Jason stated as he made a decision.

He led them into an open pocket between buildings, a space where the market didn’t fully reach, where the lighting was poor and the angles broken. No cameras and no structured oversight. Just enough ambient noise from the surrounding streets to mask anything short of a full-on brawl. They let the gang come, and it wasn’t two or even four men, but a wave of them.

Men spreading out as they entered, cutting angles, closing exits, their eyes moving between Jason and Rosa first. They were measuring size and strength, then shifting to Sheena and Phalmina with a far more dangerous kind of intent. Jason and Rosa saw it, and that was more than enough to determine their next actions.

“We end this fast,” Jason said, his voice low and carrying that dangerous calm that always came before violence.

His shoulders rolled once, loose and ready, and in the dim light of the alley, the faintest trace of green shimmered beneath his skin. Gaia’s magic answered the call before he consciously pulled on it. It moved like roots beneath the earth, subtle and alive, feeding strength into muscle and bone.

Rosa stood at his side, cracking her neck once before flexing her fingers. Her magic felt different from his, yet she was still touched by Gaia, but layered with the older, softer power of Ix Chel beneath it that was about healing, protection, and support. But even a healer knew exactly where to hurt someone when necessary.

“No holding back,” she replied.

Across from them, the first thug stepped forward, swaggering because he had twelve friends behind him and thought numbers meant safety.

“You picked the wrong—”