“How d’you get out of here?”

“We follow the river to where it disappears underground, near that cave we were in. There’s a trail there. But it takes much longer. If we’re being chased, we always use the cliff. Nobody follows us off there.”

Sorrel didn’t ask who might be doing the chasing.

They entered a small mud hut. Stones of many different sizes and colours studded the walls, along with bits of coloured glass. The roof was made of interlaced bamboo and dried vines. There were no windows, just a gap between the walls and the roof for ventilation. The floor was dirt, packed hard. There was a stool in one corner, presumably from the Lowlands, and a pile of bedding in another. A hanging shelf made of wood held a line of algaskins, all full. A few articles of clothing hung on the hut’s frame.

“Probably you want to change those leaves,” Emrallie said to Sorrel. “I’ll show you where we excrete – do it anywhere else and we throw you in a sinkhole. Don’t think we can’t. Or won’t. Take a full algaskin with you. Use it all – there’s no shortage of water here.”

She led the way through the trees to another clearing with many trenches dug in the ground in a star pattern. Each one had an old shovel beside it and a pile of loose dirt. Some trenches had makeshift benches above them. “Wash up, drink, and then we sleep. Nextnight we speak with Caroni. Can you find your way back to the hut?”

“Yes,” Sorrel said, although she wasn’t completely sure. Every tree trunk looked the same. She relieved herself, threw the soiled leaves in one of the trenches and replaced them. They were soothing on her skin. The Tribals had to have a deep knowledge of the world to live like this. She picked up the shovel and covered the soiled leaves.

Even deep in the forest the heat was growing. She washed her hands and face and poured the rest of the water from the algaskin on her head. She looked across to her mother, who was using one of the distant benches over a trench. When she had finished, they made their way together back to the hut.

Sorrel and Bibi were alone. “I got my period,” Sorrel said.

“Really, One?”

“Yes. Emrallie showed me what to do. My belly hurts though.”

Bibi reached out her arms and Sorrel walked into her mother’s embrace.

CHAPTER 17 – ZORAH

She slept the entire day. It had been hot, but not dangerously so. She’d been aware of Emrallie leaving the hut and had heard the far-off sounds of voices and movements outside. When she finally woke, her body was filmed with sweat and the day was dying. Bibi was still asleep beside her. She had mud on her cheek, and her face looked crumpled like used paper.