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Teyha followed Ekinar’s instruction and keyed in the details of their proposed landing site. The transport lifted and began its rapid cruise over the landscape.

She took one last look at the watchtower where her friend Lazkiy was on duty. Two days from now at sunset, Lazkiy would be waiting for a signal.

Teyha had not told the Shadow Folk about the planned safety check. They kept things from her, and she kept things from them.

“How are you qualified for this mission?”

Nosku’s voice was far more grating than that of his companion.

“I am a guide, and I have never gotten lost. How is that?”

She watched the landscape spin by, and her mind automatically reset her orientation. She didn’t discuss her radar with strangers, so they weren’t going to learn that either.

Ekinar shifted, his shadows flowing around him. “Have you truly been to the Temple of Shadows?”

“I have been to the site. I did not go inside.”

Nosku muttered, “We should have found someone else.”

Ekinar shifted and leaned toward his friend.

Teyha held up her hand to interrupt what he was about to say. “Let me be clear here. There is no one else. No other Gaian has explored that range. If you could have found your way there on your own, you would have. I have actually been there before. I am prepared for the local predators and aware of the landslide dangers. I will get you in for whatever you really want, and I will lead you out again. We will do it safely and securely and in an organized manner. Are we clear?”

Ekinar leaned forward, “What do you mean, what we really want?”

She looked at him with calm eyes, something that most folks found unnerving. The paleness of her eyes gave her the appearance of someone who had been blinded. “I am not a fool, nor am I ignorant of body language. You two lied about your reasons for being out here, and I don’t care. Daphne asked me to take you, so you are above board, but aside from that, I know you lied to me about your true reason for the visit.”

Silence fell. No one said a word. The transport continued to approach the foothills, and an hour later, the systems started to malfunction.

“Please land the transport, and prepare to start your hike.”

Teyha settle back into her pack and kept her voice chipper and cheerful, in true guide fashion.

Ekinar brought the transport down near a copse of trees. “Will the vehicle be alright here?”

“Yes. The keedu can’t get over the edge, and the electronics will be fine as long as they don’t reach further into the disruption field generated by the minerals.”

She huffed as she repositioned her pack before strapping it into place.

Nosku got to his feet, and he picked up two flat packs from under a seat in the transport, handing one to Ekinar.

Teyha looked at the swirling shadows and shrugged before starting to walk. This was going to be so much fun, she could barely stand it.

The foothills rapidly gave way to narrow canyons and eerie echoes.

The shadowed figures stayed behind her, but she could hear the huffing and puffing that accompanied their efforts.

Two hours in, the light was beginning to dim. Her other senses were compensating, but she had no idea what the capabilities of the Shadow Folk were. “We are going to stop for a rest.”

Nosku said, “No, we have to continue.”

She shook her head. “I am in charge. You will do no one any good if you drop from exhaustion. Sit, drink, have something to eat, and we will continue our discussion.”

Nosku shook his head. “We have to move as quickly as we can.”

“Ekinar, please get your friend to sit and eat. We won’t make it to the temple before dark, and I have some questions to ask you.”

Teyha sat and fished out a ration pack, sipping at water slowly, washing down the compressed food.

Ekinar sat and took out his own meal, leaving Nosku fidgeting, his shadows flickering and flaring.

“Well, I suppose we are free to tell you what we are actually looking for.”

Teyha looked at him as her night vision began to take hold. “Please. I can be of better use if I know what I am seeking.”

Nosku was seated away from her, and he was vibrating with tension. “My nephew and two of his friends stole a shuttle to seek out the Temple of Shadows. We tracked them here, but we lost the signal. If we reported the stolen vehicle to the Nine, they would put it on my nephew’s record, and it would damage his chances for advancement when he enters the service.”

Teyha nodded. “And if you had told the Gaians, they would have had to report it to the mother ship before authorizing you to run around the surface.”

Ekinar nodded. “Correct. Any way we look at it, the children would suffer for being children.”

Teyha groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. “Okay, that is something completely different. How is your night vision?”

Nosku sat up, and his body language changed. “We can see easily in the dark.”

“Lucky you, so can I. I can get us to the site tonight, but we can’t try anything until the morning. The area is covered with glyphs and ancient language markings, and I have only managed to translate a few. Now, tell me about your myths and legends about the Temple of Shadows.”

Nosku nodded. “Thank you. Well, the Shadow Folk have always believed that the Temple of Shadows was the centre of our ancestors’ lives here on Underhill. It is an opening in the side of a mountain and only accessible by our kind.”

Teyha frowned. “That doesn’t sound right, but we will see when we get there.”

Ekinar finally stated the question that she had been waiting for. “Gaians can’t see in the dark.”

She blinked at him, her vision finally giving her an idea of the man behind the shadows. It was too early yet, too much light getting in the way, but she could make out sharply chiselled features and a quizzical expression. “Who said I could see in the dark? I have night vision. It is a very different thing.”

She had them wait while she attended to nature and returned to rifle through her pack, bringing out her bow and bolts.

“Why are you arming yourself?”

Ekinar was close to her, and she found she didn’t mind.

“There are quite a few deadly beasts here in the area. Most are nocturnal, so our journey is taking us through their hunting grounds. Better safe than stupid.”

She put her pack back on and continued to sip on her water as she began to move again. They would follow her. She was their only chance.

Her senses were fully attuned to the night around her. A slow, rhythmic thudding was horribly familiar. Teyha whispered, “Get to the canyon walls and hold tight. We don’t have time to get out of here.”

Ekinar was moving as she ordered, but he asked, “What is it?”

“Stampede of Risshin deer followed by a Caplan.”

She settled her back against the wall, and when Nosku stumbled to join them, she raised her bow and waited.

It took two minutes for the stampede to become audible to the others, and a minute after that, the deer rushed past them with the Caplan right behind them.

It was silly, but the initial settlers named animals on Gaia after themselves. The large feline known as a Caplan had six legs, teeth over a hand span long and a wicked temper.

The animal paused as it scented them, shaking its head in confusion. Teyha took aim, but she didn’t want to strike the Caplan if it wasn’t necessary.

Ekinar put his hand on her arm, and she watched him extend his other arm, snapping at the Caplan with the shadow that normally covered his body.

The Caplan whipped around in confusion, and Ekinar struck it again. Within fifteen seconds, the Caplan continued to chase the deer through the canyon, leaving the hikers alone.

“Nice trick.”

Teyha released the tension on her bow.

“You didn’t want to kill it, and it didn’t need to die. It just had to be reminded of its food source.”

She chuckled. “Thank you. I thought those shadows had to be useful, though you do have striking features beyond it.”

Nosku gasped. “Ekinar, you showed her?”

She looked over at his face, and based on the Earth histories she had read, his face wore the stamp of the privileged classes. “He didn’t show me anything, and get that sneer off your face. It isn’t pretty.”

Nosku looked ill.

“If you are going to puke, do it over there.”

She pointed across the way.

Teyha looked into Ekinar’s surprised face. “Well, shall we continue?”

He nodded, bemused. “Of course. They are depending on us.”

She hoisted her pack once again. “Damned straight.”

He clapped Nosku on the shoulder, and they resumed their walk.

Teyha took point once again and extended her senses into the dark. A few predators took a close look at them but decided better of attacking.

The hike took on a numb, exhausted mindlessness for her, but if there were lost teens, she wasn’t going to let her body pull her down.

She kept her thoughts focussed on the children, and when they finally stumbled out of the last rock canyon, it was with no small relief that she was able to say, “We have entered the Valley of Shadows. The temple is to the left.”

The huge valley was dotted with stalagmites, which gave it the daytime appearance of having thousands of shadows throughout.

“Do you see them?”

Ekinar was at her shoulder.

“No, but their shuttle is right over there. Do you want to start there?”

She pointed, but Nosku was already stumbling his way across the valley floor. “I will take that as a yes.”

She followed while she widened her personal sensory net. Three heartbeats were muffled but alive. There was only one problem. They weren’t in the temple. They were in the prison.