“Dear God! How many times did you hit him?” the doctor exclaimed as he ripped the man’s shirt open.
Conroy leaned closer. “Is he still alive?”
“Yes, barely, but he’s in a shitload of pain.”
The sheriff moved around, closer to the man’s head, and watched the doctor.
Cayn straightened to stare into the empty cell. He shook his head. “There is no way Goen could have escaped. Look! The ropes are still tied.”
“And the cuffs are still closed,” Shiner added. “Maybe he jumped.”
“That is possible, but there is no way he could jump without taking his friend with him,” Juda argued.
“Then where is he?” Cayn demanded.
A groan from nearby interrupted them. They dropped to the floor to observe the physician pressing something into the Nomad’s arm.
“We need to transport him to the clinic as soon as possible,” the doctor stated. “As soon as he’s stable enough to travel, we’ll have Yaegerton General come get him.”
The man groaned again. Sheriff Conroy squatted beside him.
“Hey. You got a name?”
The big guy stared up at him as if not understanding.
Cayn shifted closer until the man’s eyes lit on him. “What is your name?” Cayn asked, repeating the sheriff’s question.
“Ha-Haram.”
“Haram, you’re a Nomad?” Conroy queried.
“We can answer that,” Juda offered. “Yes, he is. He is the other man who held me while Goen beat me.”
“Where is Goen?” Cayn hissed. “Did he jump?”
“I thought you said—”
“Maybe the metal cage prevented him from taking his friend with him,” Cayn shot back at the sheriff. Reaching out, he banged on one of the iron bars. “Maybe these kept Goen from—”
“I…s-sent…him,” a gravelly voice spoke up.
“Sent who?” Conroy bent over the man as he questioned him. “Goen? You sent Goen?”
“Yesss.”
Juda positioned herself so the man could see her. “How? How did you get inside?”
“I s-set him…free.”
“How did you free him? The cell is still locked!” Conroy pointed out.
“I…moved…him.”
“What are you talking about?” Cayn insisted. “How did you move him?”
Haram chuckled. “With my…power. Like yours.”
Juda gasped. “You have an ability?”
