Chapter 3: Light and Shadow

Etzli clenched her fists, still stinging from her less-than-pleasant reunion with her oldest friend.

She missed Benja and, as silly as it felt, she'd imagined quite a few scenarios over the years for the moment she'd see him again. Yet none of them involved him taking a massive dump on her dreams.

Yeah, she had some personal issues. Who didn't? Just because she sometimes changed into a terrifying beast didn't mean she couldn't be an Outranger. Being a monster didn't mean she couldn't be a hero.

Did it?

The annual Criterion took place inside the Olo Mountain Temple. Built thousands of years ago, the temple infested the mountain. Miles of tunnels snaked right through to its core. It was an undertaking that must have taken centuries, using advanced excavation tech lost to the ages.

And, like all ancient Meshika temples, it was abandoned nearly 3,000 years ago. No one knew why.

Once all the candidates were welcomed by the temple elders, they were split up and sent into the mountain to face their trials alone.

Etzli hurried through the rock-hewn tunnels. No time limit had been mentioned, but she felt it best to complete her trials as quickly as possible. No time to hesitate. She had things to prove.

Muttering to herself the whole way, mostly biting responses she wished she'd fired back at Benja, Etzli came to three doorways. This was less than encouraging. As far as she knew, there was only one path leading to the temple peak. Could she pass or fail by simply heading down the wrong passageway?

"Hm..." She tapped her lip as she regarded her three options.

They appeared identical. No markings on the walls. No difference in lighting or shape of the stone corridors beyond.

"You," she said to the leftmost passage. "I like you."

She stepped through, entering a narrow passage. Though she wasn't particularly claustrophobic (at least as far as she new), Etzli felt the stone walls press in on her. Eyes forward, chin down, she focused on breathing and keeping her feet moving.

Reaching the end of the suffocating passage, Etzli entered a large chamber.

Above the doorway, words had been carved in the pictographic language of the Early Meshika. Thousands of years old. One of the first things Pampaa taught her was how to read Early Meshika.

"'Enter alone. Leave as one,'" she read. "Hm."

She crossed the threshold into an even more massive chamber. It looked like an ancient dining hall. Nine chairs: five along one side, three along the other, and one at the head of the table. This placement implied a ritual feast.

Sunlight fell in pillars through jagged holes in the domed roof. Old stones, remnants of structures long collapsed, littered the sand-covered floor.

A stone slab ground its way to the floor, closing off the passage behind her. Etzli tried very hard to not feel trapped.

The monster twitched in its sleep. Its hook-like spinal ridges spasmed in the dark, sending out a vibration wave she felt in the tips of her fingers.

"Easy," she whispered to herself. "Nothing to worry about. Just stay down there, keep right on sleeping. We got no need to go back. The only way out is through."

Etzli took several careful steps forward.

Across the ancient banquet chamber, a large archway led off into the shadows. The way out. Looked simple enough. She headed for it.

The sound of more stone grinding. Another passageway had just shut, somewhere off to the left.

Etzli turned.

A muscular woman stomped into the chamber. She had bone-white skin, shorn dark hair, and pointed, almost wolfen, features. She regarded everything with an enraged glare. Her robes were accented with abstract flames engulfing the world.

Etzli gasped.

A Domu raider! They were the most ruthless, brutal killers in the galaxy. What was she doing here? How did she get into the temple?

"Shit!" Etzli fumbled for her only weapon, a ceremonial hatchet, which was a fancy way of saying its edge had been dulled.

Scowling, the pale woman flicked her wrist.

The dagger punched into Etzli's chest, just under her left clavicle.

Pain shot through Etzli's body. The ground swung up and slammed into her back before she knew what was happening.

The monster woke up with a snort.

The pale woman was on top of Etzli, slamming a knee down on her chest, pinning her to the ground.

Choking, fighting to breathe, Etzli felt pure panic growing as the monster began to uncoil. She had seconds to finish this fight--any more than that, and the monster would take over.

The pale woman yanked the dagger out of Etzli's chest, then pressed its glittering blade to her throat. "Who are you!" she shouted.

Etzli sank her teeth into the pale woman's hand, then twisted her head to the side, tearing flesh. She felt sickened by wet, metallic taste of blood. But, deeper down, her monster stirred.

Crying out, the pale woman jerked away. All the weight on Etzli's chest suddenly disappeared.

Drawing in a huge breath, Eztli scrambled back. She coughed and sputtered. She spat out a bloody chunk of the pale woman's hand.

Pointing her dagger at Etzli, the pale woman circled like a hunter. She cradled her injured hand against her chest, and made damn sure not to get too close. "Why have you broken the peace!"

Etzli wasn't listening. Rocking back and forth, she rubbed her temples and practiced her breathing method. She tried to visualize the kinds of places that comforted her.

Empty desert.

Ancient ruins.

A moss-covered graveyard.

"Okay... Okay, that's better." As Etzli's pulse gradually slowed, the monster sank back down beneath the surface of her consciousness.

"Answer me!" the pale woman demanded.

Etzli glared at her. The gall. She had no idea about the hideous fate Etzli just saved her from. "I didn't break the peace. You threw a knife into me!"

"Pah!" the pale woman scoffed. "I saw you reach for your hatchet."

"Well, sure. I look over and see..." Etzli caught herself.

"Yes? Continue. You see a what? A Domu? On Criterion Day? What the hell could I possibly be doing here!"

"Easy there," Etzli said, patting the air with her hands. "I get it now. You're a candidate."

"We Domu are the biggest denomination in the Meshika faith."

"I don't think that's true."

The pale woman scowled. "As of last year, Domu has the most followers."

"I never read that, so..."

"We belong here just as much as you do!" the pale woman roared. "More, even!"

"I said okay!" Etzli put up her hands.

The pale woman continued pacing, as ready as ever for the fight to continue. "Who are you?"

Etzli tried wiping some dirt off her ceremonial robes, but she was covered in the stuff. "I'm Etzli. Not gonna say it's nice to meet you."

"Paras," the pale woman said with a short bow. She frowned at her bleeding hand. "A bold move, and a nasty wound. I can appreciate that."

Etzli struggled up onto her feet. She tried not to make too many pain-ridden noises as she bent down and retrieved her hatchet. "So, what's the deal now? We just walk across the room and out the door?"

Paras recited the instructions loud enough that her voice echoed around the chamber, "'Enter alone, leave as one.'"

"So you're saying we've got to work together," said Etzli.

Paras looked insulted by the idea. "I'm not saying that at all." She strode across the room. As she approached the very center, marked by a faded family crest, a wispy figure appeared in front of her.

Paras stopped.

The ghost paused, half-formed.

Paras took a cautious step back.

The ghost faded.

As Etzli watched, Paras tried walking forward again.

The ghost reformed, coalescing into the ghostly shadow of Paras. It stood between her and the way out.

"So what happens if I..." Etzli came forward and stood next to Paras.

A second ghost formed. It resembled Etzli.

"Now that is freaky," she admitted.

Grimacing, Paras flicked her wrist, throwing her dagger at Etzli's ghost.

It sailed harmlessly through the wispy figure and clanged off somewhere in the shadows.

Etzli shrugged. "Hey! Why did you throw it at my--"

Now Paras's ghost flicked its wrist, throwing a wisp-dagger of its own. The blade hit Paras square in the gut.

Shouting, as much from surprise as pain, Paras staggered back.

Etzli exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Paras fumbled with the wisp-dagger. It faded in her hands. The wound was real enough, though, and bleeding like crazy.

"Dammit!" Paras pressed the heel of her palm to the wound and glared at Etzli as if it was somehow her fault.

Etzli asked, "What? You're the one throwing knives at everyone."

Angrily shoving herself back to her feet, Paras growled, "You said something about working together."

Etzli nodded. "Two shades. One for each of us. They're armed like we are, so..." Etzli threw her hatchet to the side.

Her ghost's weapon faded away like steam.

"You intend to face it unarmed? And then what?" Paras demanded. "Are you going to sit and chat with it?"

"Hm." Etzli tapped her lip. "That's not a bad idea. Maybe we can just-- Hey, wait!"

Paras barreled toward Etzli's ghost, her fists raised.

Etzli warned, "Look, I really don't think fighting is the--"

Paras attacked Etzli's ghost.