When Jessica and Ikay stumbled out of the cave, the waiting Amazons greeted them with anxious shouts. The boat already lay in the water. High above them, the patch of sky visible between the rock walls had turned orange; bushes up there glowed with early sunlight.
Jessica helped Ikay into the boat. Dora in the bow pushed off, back through the narrow entrance and into the marshlands.
A bluish haze hung over the marsh, merging water and sky at the horizon. Sunlight was no more than a pink tinge on the tops of the trees poking through the mist, their branches drooping and perfectly still.
No one said much. With relentless monotony, Dora moved the stick—up, down, up, down. Splash, splash, splash. Alla leaned over the side, knife poised over the water, tail held high and twitching for balanc
