The rain started to ease at 1500 hours. “Three hours to dusk,” Caroni said, taking off her hat. She looked strange without hair. “It’s going to heat up quickly. Spread out, people. Look for shelter. Any kind of shelter, but a cave would be best. Leave your packs here. Lichen, you stay with the stuff.”

Sorrel shed her backpack, but instead of feeling unburdened she felt more vulnerable. They were still in the ravine, but it had narrowed, and they were on a path closer to the top of the cliffs she had seen on the PlAK, the riverbed now twenty metres below. Maybe there would be caves. Then she thought about being deep underground, and not knowing whether the rain had restarted, had turned into a rain bomb, and the river was rising. Or whether rocks would crash onto them in an earthquake.

She could see a faint waterline on the rocks far above her head and fault lines cutting through the cliffs. It might be best to rest for just a few hours until it was dark and then walk again through nextnight, but what would Caroni do if one of them couldn’t go on?

She rounded a slight curve and found herself behind two huge rocks. No one could see her, and she was glad to be alone for a moment. She sat in the shadow of one of the rocks, remembering the night with Bibi in the tree root cavern just after they left Bana, and her childhood hiding place under the rock that had burned her cheek. Her mother was her only living relative – assuming she was still alive. She had Bibi’s oval toes and straight eyebrows, her father’s downturned mouth. They lived in her. She touched the scar on her cheek and shook off her thoughts. Maybe Emrallie was right – she spent too much time in the past.

She was thirsty but too tired to hike down to the river. She disobeyed Caroni’s instructions and took two sips from her algaskin and the small resistance cheered her. She didn’t understand the Zorah’s decision to stop now. Night was coming, and they should keep moving, especially because they were still in the ravine and the direct rays of the sun only reached the bottom in certain places.

She heard the rattle of dislodged stones and jumped to her feet. She scanned the cliff face and saw a substantial ledge about five metres above her head which seemed to lead to a steep path at one end. The path snaked up the cliff and disappeared behind an overhang. She listened, but there were no more sounds, except the dripping of water left behind by the rain.

“See anything?” Emrallie said, arriving. She had kept her backpack.

“No. Maybe. See that ledge?” She pointed. “A little to the right. Did you kick loose some stones?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I heard something.”

“What?”