Sorrel stepped forward and held her machete at the side of his neck. “My name is Sorrel,” she said. “I come from Bana. I’m here with dozens of Lowlanders and Tribals. We’re all armed, and I’ll cut your throat as easily as I would a porc. More easily. Your brother has hurt these women and he has my mother now.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m the leader of the Tribals,” Caroni said, bringing her face right up to the face of the blind man. “You have a choice here. You need us. Northerners are coming. On big ships. They will want this camp.”

Ganan laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that, woman.”

“Why would we lie?”

“A dozen reasons. Okay, I’ll bite. How do you know of this invasion?”

“We saw the ships. On our PlAK. Sorrel – the one with the machete at your neck – hacked into Level 1.”

Ganan said nothing.

“Just guatan kill him,” Emrallie said. “He’s a Toplander.”

“Yes, kill him,” Selan said.

“Wait.” Ganan pushed his glasses up onto his head. His eye sockets were livid holes with no lids and his whole face was scarred. Sorrel looked away and took the machete away from his neck.

“Tell me the whole story,” he said.

Then they heard a shot.

“Guata,” Sorrel said.

CHAPTER 36 – CONFLICT

They left Petal and Iris with Ganan. “Tie his hands and feet,” Caroni ordered, throwing her a length of rope. Then they ran towards the sound of the shot, Emrallie in front. Sorrel’s lungs felt as if they were full of mud. She expected the Toplanders to pour out of their buildings and overpower them at any time. She heard the clang of metal against metal and a low, bubbling cry just ahead, but the dust was too heavy to see clearly. She thought she heard Kes’s voice.

“There it is,” Selan panted. “Right there!”

Dim shapes became visible at the door of the half-buried building. Three Toplander guards stood in a semicircle with their backs to the door. Two had their hands raised. One was bringing his rifle to his shoulder when Rashelope erupted and with one swift swing of her machete, she split his head. He fell without a word. Rapt knelt, aiming the gun that Sorrel knew was empty at the other two guards. Kes picked up the guns that the surrendering guards had dropped. Sorrel pushed them aside and tried the door, but it was locked. “Tell the Colonel to come out,” she said to Selan, who was beside her. “Tell him we’re here, and more are coming.”

“It needs to be the voice of a man. If he hears women, he’ll know something is wrong.”