Gaia's Champion Ch. 18

"Yes?" he replied, having waited for this call.

"Legatus, we have a problem," the man on the other end replied.

"What kind of problem?" he queried, anger rising up within him. No one ever referred to him by his honorific, unless it was a special occasion, or there was a serious problem.

"Mission failed. There has been no contact from any of the operatives we've sent to deny the Gaians any aid," the operator on the other end told him.

"What happened?" he demanded, wanting to know what had become of the men he'd trained.

"Unknown. We've tried to tap into the tapes used by the facility we sent them to attack, but with no success. Must be a CCTV system with no outside access," the operator informed him.

Donald growled like a feral animal, angry that his team, a team he had trained, had failed in their mission. Whatever the reason, he would get to the bottom of it, no matter what stood against him. He had personally trained these men, and he'd be damned if they died on what was supposed to be a routine run.

"Legatus, are you still there, sir?" the operator called out.

"Yes, I'm here," he said into the phone, having taken a moment to calm himself.

"What are your orders?"

"Assemble my old team. I will handle this... personally," Donald replied.

"Sir?" the operator questioned, as this was highly irregular.

"Did I stutter? Were my words not clear?" the older man asked, his voice carrying the weight of a threat.

"No, sir! I will contact and assemble your men! Shall I book you a flight?" the operator apologized.

"Please do! First class. I'm sure that the council won't begrudge me spending their money," he laughed, keeping his voice on edge.

"None, sir. I will call back in thirty minutes with the details of your flight," the operator responded before killing the line.

Donald grunted, closing the flip phone and walking inside to put together a travel bag. Whoever the young pup was, he had enough sense to not question the Legatus of the Praetorians. That had been a title that few men in their entire lifetime of service had ever achieved. He had been one of those few, having survived dozens, if not hundreds, of secret missions for the Sons of Caesar.

Though the Praetorians served the Sons, they also had their own mandates. Such things were always shrouded in mystery, except to him, the Legatus, or 'General' as the translation went. At the moment, he had the Praetorians obeying the Sons in what they wanted done. It was tedious in some ways, but necessary if the Praetorians would survive.

Donald shifted his thoughts away from what he wanted and focused on the task at hand. He had finished packing up his things, enough for a couple of weeks, and sat on his bed, waiting for his call. He hadn't remembered walking into his apartment, but figured that since he got the call, he went on autopilot. It was one of those little things that he found annoying, as he often questioned where the time went.

"Yes?" he replied, picking up the phone when it rang.

"I have booked you on the twelve thirty flight to Seattle, where you and your team will meet. The local chapter of the Sons will meet you there, to tell you of your mission," the operator told him.

"Very good. Fide, honoris, obsequium," Donald told him, uttering the Praetorians' motto.

"Fide, honoris, obsequium," the operator replied, before the line went dead. Donald then walked out of his apartment and hailed a taxi, before giving instructions to head to LAX. He sat there in the cab, contemplating how things had transpired.

He knew that the best of the Praetorians had been sent to deal with what the Gaians had taken from them. That they'd failed was a testament to what exactly they were up against. He realized these Gaians would not go down easily if they'd caused his protégé to fail.

Sitting in the vehicle as the cityscape passed him by, he never thought he'd get a chance to face down proper Gaians. Sure, he'd had to come out of retirement for it, but if he was being honest with himself, he was looking forward to this. In his entire career as a Praetorian, he'd never taken down anyone who had magic, despite being trained to do so. He'd never had a genuine challenge in his entire life, and now he had one.

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"There we go! Back to the handsome face we all know and love!" Phalmina giggled as she finished working her magic.

Sheena had made a pit stop at the park, as was agreed upon, so she could pick up the men after they'd ditched the Praetorian's car. It was weird, staring at Jason while he wore an unfamiliar man's face. Now that he was back to what he should look like, Sheena was smiling again.

"Agreed!" Sheena gushed as she hugged Jason.

"What's that for?" Jason asked his love.

"Just happy to have you back!" Sheena sighed as she clasped him.

"More hugs and kisses, after we get this stuff moved," Emalia reminded her as she flitted by her ear.

Sheena grunted, but agreed they had to get a move on. They had a limited window to get these books and texts out of the city, before the Sons or Praetorians closed in on them. She hopped into her car, while Jason and Luke walked to the trucks and took over for driving. A few minutes later, they were off, heading out of the city for the rural property.

Karla had called ahead to her auntie once Luke had ensured that her line was secure. After a brief explanation, Carlotta agreed that the property was the best place to move the texts they had taken from the Sons. If they had discovered a small little storage unit that Karla had rented under an alias, then all of her holdings were being watched.

She was also grateful because she'd erred on the side of caution and had Jason, Sheena, and Phalmina investigate the property. Word of those creatures attacking them was enough to give the woman pause about developing the property. She had told Karla to tell everyone else to take all the time they needed to look into the land. Since it was way out in the sticks, there was little reason for her to work on it just yet.

The fairy women flew overhead, keeping a vigil over their friends. The wraith hadn't been seen for a few weeks, but that didn't mean that it wasn't out there. It could just be biding its time, waiting for a chance to go after their friends and lovers. There was no way these ladies would let that happen, not if they had a say about it.

It took a little more than an hour and a pit stop at a drive thru before they arrived. The vehicles pulled into the rough gravel road and the fae followed them, the feeling of serenity washing over them. Everyone felt the sensation, even Luke and Karla, who possessed zero magic to speak of. They hopped out of the vehicles, feeling weird, but in a good way.

"What was that? That was..." Luke just growled and purred, which had Karla in a fit of giggles.

"I felt it too! It was..." Karla gushed before she made a similar sound. "It was... almost..."

"Orgasmic?" Sheena asked with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Yeah!" Amy replied, shivering and shaking pleasantly.

"That's the enchantment on this place, which keeps everyone safe. I don't know who put it here in the first place, but I am glad they did!" Sheena stated, smiling.

"As am I! It saved our bacon from being fried!" Jason sighed.

"Bacon?" the fairies asked quizzically.

"A human turn of phrase, girls," Eva explained. The fairies then understood what Jason meant and facepalmed themselves cutely.

"Anyway, this place is well protected and once we're done empowering this place, no one will get through unless we want them to," Sheena told them all.

"Which is why I thought it the perfect place for this archive," Jason chuckled as he headed to the rear of one of the trucks.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, everyone, let's get these boxes unloaded," Sheena told the group.

As one, everyone hopped to work with removing everything from the moving trucks. The fairies, under Phalmina's direction, used their magic to work on a room inside. After sweeping and dusting a sitting room, which took no time at all, they pulled upon Gaia's magic to craft organic and ornate looking bookshelves. They drew from the wood inside the walls to sprout outwards and grow, much like trees forming the shelves they needed.

"Now THAT is beyond cool!" Luke enthused as he watched the fairies work.

"Hey! Stop staring and keeping moving those boxes in here!" Karla groused as she puffed under the constant work.

Luke moved his ass and kept working, and in no time at all, the boxes were unloaded. The trucks were pristine, with not a single scrap of paper left behind. The fairies were still working on the walls, coaxing the wood within them to obey their commands. It was slow going, but more than half the room was outfitted with bookshelves now.

"Well, if you ladies are going to do that, I might as well do this!" Xaera stated as she walked over to the bay window and enacted her troll magic.

Her arms waved, and the yellow magic of her ancestors wreathed her body. Xaera chanted and traced runes in the air, almost like she was writing a script. After a few more seconds, the magic bloomed out of her and flowed towards the windows. The windows, being the shattered ruin they were, mended themselves, becoming like they were new again. Once they were whole, a slight tint settled on the glass before fading away.

"There, it is done," Xaera sighed, smiling at her handiwork.

"What did you do?" Amy wondered.

"Repaired the windows, but also gave them an enchantment that allows me to do this," Xaera stated as she reverted to her troll form. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, bathing the woman in its light, but doing nothing to her.

"Troll-light windows? Impressive!" Jason stated as he walked up and surveyed Xaera's work.

"Might want to do that to the entire house!" Sheena commented.

"Maybe, maybe not. This property belongs to Carlotta, so it's on her with what to do with this place," Jason reminded his lady.

"I know. This place is just a temporary archive until we can find ourselves a proper one," Sheena sighed.

"What's so dangerous about this place?" Karla asked, curious about why Sheena was against using this place to store the knowledge they'd stolen.

"Come on out back and I'll show you why. Better yet, you can experience it for yourself," Sheena told the woman, gesturing for her to follow.

"Everyone probably should, as they need to know the severity of what's going on," Jason stated, waving his arm for everyone to follow along. Shrugging, they all did so, even Daelina and Emalia, who were curious if it was as serious as Phalmina had said. Xaera recast the Sunshield spell she had on earlier and went with them. They walked into the wild, unkempt backyard and stopped when Sheena had them stop.

"See that line, right there?" Phalmina asked. She pointed at the spot where some growth from the forest had stopped short of going any further into the land. It formed an impromptu line, which could easily be seen from where they all stood.

"Yeah, I see it," Eva replied.

"Step over and see why it's not a good idea to go beyond it," Jason told them, gesturing for everyone to take the step over.

No one was volunteering to do it, so Luke took the plunge and walked past the line. Then he wished he hadn't. This uneasy feeling of... wrongness assaulted Luke, like something nearby was... unnatural. He shuddered from the icy shivery feeling in the pit of his stomach, despite it being a very warm day.

"Luke, are you all right?" Karla worried, stepping forward to check on her man. The same uneasy feeling waylaid her as well, leaving her shivering.

"Min Gut!" she exclaimed. Everyone quickly followed along, stepping forward to see what was wrong and was also hit with the evil feeling. The fairies and Xaera felt it more keenly than the rest.

"By Gaia! This is just like... like..." Daelina peeped.

"What we faced in the war," Emalia shuddered. The sense of foreboding evil forced everyone to step back across the line, back into the safety of the grounds.

"Now you see why I said this would be a good place to store the books. Once we put the wards up, it will block anyone we don't want in here. Even if the Sons or the Praetorians find this place, they'll be forced to go around and into... that," Jason said.

"And those... zombie... children?" Luke shivered.

"Yeah. The three of us were barely capable of holding them off when we were in the forest. Do you honestly think that Praetorians, trained as they are, would stand a chance where we just barely got away?" Sheena asked with a skeptical look on her face.

"I doubt it. Even the mansion wasn't like... that!" Xaera grunted.

"Karla, could you get your aunt on the line, please? We need more information about this place and who owned it. It might provide us with the answers we need, so we at least might have an idea of what we're up against," Jason asked.

"Meanwhile, let's get back inside. We still have a lot of work to do," Phalmina told everyone, and they agreed.

Stepping back over the line, everyone felt the same level of serenity wash over them, and they sighed. They all walked back into the house and got to work, organizing and alphabetizing the entire collection of tomes. The fairies went back to working on the shelves and finished their job well before the group had caught up to them.

"Everyone, I have Carlotta on the line!" Karla called out, waving everyone over. She then brought her phone down from her ear and hit a button on the device. "OK auntie, tell everyone what you just told me."

"The original owner of the property you are all on was an elderly Metis woman who had no children. She had sold the property, because she believed vengeful spirits had cursed her and her entire family. The woman had told me that this land was once native land, but slowly, piece by piece, it had shrunk down over the years," Carlotta stated.

"Many of the tribe who had owned the land sold off their portions, moving away from there. Some had died and had their portions sold off by their children, who wanted nothing to do with the land. The portion you're standing on is the last piece left, and no one has wanted anything to do with it. Any who have tried living on the property have either been seriously hurt, or met with an untimely end," the older woman continued, causing everyone to look at each other worriedly.

"Did anyone survive owning the land?" Emalia asked, her voice quivering.

"Some have, but whoever lived any length of time suffered terrible luck. Their lives were... turbulent, and that was in the best of times. That's what the woman told me, or more like tried to warn me about. I've never truly understood why the locals were so spooked by that patch of land," Carlotta finished.

"When you're done work for the day, stop by and see for yourself why that is," Sheena suggested.

"Have you gone past the grounds of the house, auntie?" Karla wondered.

"No, I have not. Why?" Carlotta responded.

"That's where you will... sense what is wrong with this place," Karla replied with a shudder.

"If you felt something... then it must be serious. I will stop by regardless, just so I can see what exactly is going on there," Carlotta confirmed.

"Thank you for telling us about this, Carlotta. This gives us the answers we were looking for," Sheena told the woman.

"You are welcome! I'd like to hear about what you know when I arrive later. My company won't run itself," the older woman joked before she hung up.

"What answers did you get, Sheena?" Jason wondered.

"I'd like to know that as well. Whatever that was, it wasn't mentioned by any of the Sons' texts. I didn't know of anyone who spoke of this magic that we felt. It was just... black," Darren said.

"That is the sense and feeling of Dark Magic. It does nothing to create and only destroys. The feeling of uneasiness, and how... wrong it is, that is the feeling of death. Dark Magic is the exact antithesis to Gaia's magic," Daelina explained.

"Daelina is right about Dark Magic. I've never encountered it myself before today, but my parents always told me about it. They told me how if I ever found anything that felt wrong, to run the other way as fast as I could. In answer to your question, Jason, it's something I remember a while ago, from when I lived with my aunt," Sheena replied.

"What's the story?" Luke asked, curious about this matter.

"I remember little of it, only fragments. What Carlotta said was true, about the tribe who inhabited these lands moving off and leaving, because of something that was done here. I barely remember the details about it, but I know someone who might be able to tell us more," Sheena told them.

"Who? Who do you know could give us some answers?" Elizabeth wondered.

"It's... complicated," Sheena sighed while looking away from everyone.

"I know that look. It's the 'I don't want to deal with this shit' look. Who is it, Sheena?" Jason queried, pressing his woman.

"It's my aunt Sophia, my mother's sister," the dark-skinned woman replied resignedly.

"Why not see her? If she's family, she might be willing to help," Eva said, making her stance known.

"My aunt and I, we... didn't part on the best of terms. I was a real cunt to her last time I spoke to her, and that was years ago," Sheena replied, looking shamefaced at the memory of it.

"That was years ago, before your disappearance, right?" Jason asked. Sheena nodded, and he continued. "If it's been that long with no contact, she might have forgiven you for the incident, once she realizes that you're still alive."

"I hate it when you're right!" she groaned.

"Come on babe, she's got to have forgiven you by now! Besides, she might have what we need if we're going to deal with that shit out in the forest," Jason told her.

"Fine, we'll go and see her. But if she slaps me, I'm blaming you!" Sheena sighed.

"Fair deal. Now that we've seen what's back there, she might provide us with the context of why things are like that in the forest," Jason replied with a smile.

"Let's get going then. Daylight's burning," Sheena grumbled as she walked outside toward her car.

"Should I come along?" Phalmina asked Jason before he walked outside.

"No, Mina. This is something that Sheena has to face on her own. I'm going with because her aunt knows me. It's... personal for her," Jason stated.

"OK. Just be safe out there, you hear? I don't want you or Sheena getting hurt while you're out and about," Phalmina told her lover.

"Don't worry! Since we now have a better idea of what's lurking out in the world, we're better prepared for it now. We'll be back before dinner," he told the group before stepping outside. Jason then hopped into the passenger seat of Sheena's Impala and they were off, heading to visit Sheena's aunt Sophia.

"A bit of a wrench, him being away, isn't it?" Daelina queried.

"Yeah. I know that he'll be OK and that he can handle himself. Well, better than he could when he first became a Druid. But still I worry about him and Sheena, too," Phalmina said with a sigh.

"Oh? You and Sheena too?" Daelina teased.

"I know! It's just... weird how it came to be! I first thought of her as a rival, someone who would steal Jason away from me! I spoke to her a little and got to know her, and before I knew it, we were no longer rivals. After last night though..." Phalmina fanned herself with her hand while she breathed a little heavily.

"As good as when you, Ema and I played around?" Daelina wondered.

"Better! So much better! Especially when she tapped into her magic to... enhance things!" Phalmina replied, blushing furiously. Daelina's mouth fell open, shocked that a human could outdo a fairy in matters of sex.

"Lina, close your mouth before you catch flies. It's not very ladylike," Eva told her soon to be daughter-in-law.