Free Guiding by Viola Grace Page A

moving.
    Teyha checked in at the office and informed the facility manager that she would be out on a guiding tour for a few days.
    Reesha smiled and nodded. “Take pictures. That area is amazing.”
    “Can I use the manual cam? I am going into the foothills.” Teyha raised her eyebrows.
    Reesha sighed. “Take good care of it, or you will have to make another one.”
    Teyha crossed the room and opened the safe, getting the camera bag and several spare rolls of film. Since she was heading into an ancient settlement, there was no reason not to use the opportunity to take more images of the Temple of Shadows and the glyphs and markings that it contained.
    The first time that she had gone to the temple area, it had been curiosity, and she had been rushed. Now, she had another chance, and she wanted to go in prepared.
    With the bag over her shoulder, she waved cheerfully to Reesha and headed out to her small apartment.
    As Teyha entered, she began to shed her clothing on the way to her bedroom. The wardrobe that held her expedition gear was code locked, but a few well-placed digits and it opened to her touch. Humming to herself, she tugged on her wilderness suit, stomped into her hiking boots and wrapped her wrists.
    Her hair was swiftly wrapped up in a tight braid that restrained the fine tendrils from floating loose.
    Whistling softly, she strapped on her knives, checked her compact bow and bolt supply, grabbed two weeks’ worth of compressed rations, placing them and water packs in her backpack on top of the flare gun and flares. She could only carry enough water for two days, but she knew where the streams were in the area, and tests had proved them potable.
    Her first trip into the foothills had been to discover why the area repelled technology. Between the mineral samples that she had obtained, the water samples, and the first-hand viewing of an ancient city of the Nine, it had been a surprising and bittersweet success.
    Teyha’s exploration had been her attempt at grieving. Her parents had been a geologist and a historian respectively, and looking for proof of the previous occupation of Gaia by the Nine had been her way of honouring their memory. They had died in a landslide in the foothills six months before the Tokkel attacks, and when the planet had been at risk, Teyha had found other things to occupy her time.
    After her discovery, she had been called to confirm the ancient settlement and swore to her observations in front of the Gaian council. It had been a testimony that cemented their agreement to working with the new aliens in orbit above them. With Teyha’s confirmation that there was indeed an ancient ruin of the Nine, it was confirmed that they were what they claimed, kindred spirits with a common enemy.
    Carefully, she tucked the camera into her pack and sealed it. With a grunt and a move that she had practiced for years, she hoisted the pack onto her back. A sharp jerk tightened the shoulder straps. A buckle fastened it to her waist.
    She looked in the mirror and made a face. Her ice grey eyes stared back at her as her lips twisted. Sighing, she smoothed her features, checked her gear and her ability to reach the weapons one more time and left her apartment, locking the door.
    It was time to catch her ride.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    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