Free Captive Surrender by Linda Mooney Page A

grateful. Anything else?”
    “There are a couple of facilities with excellent mental clinics. You’re in luck. The closest is on Kronnaria.”
    “I can’t take her there. The Kronners are not above killing her if they find out she’s a JoJo. Is there anyone else? Anyplace closer?”
    “All I can suggest is that you go to Ellinod. It’s the only other relatively near planet that can handle her care.”
    Go to Ellinod. That name was familiar, but it floated just beyond her reach, ghostly and indistinct.
    It hurt to listen. It hurt more to try to understand.
    She slept.
     
     
    A smell. A scent. Unrecognizable.
    And she felt heavy. Restricted.
    A sound. Movement.
    Opening her eyelids was almost too difficult, but she managed to blink a few times. A room, not a cell. The tug of gravity on her body told her she was no longer free floating.
    Planetside. Or moonside. Some place strange with a bed and giant pillows on the floor. Some place she didn’t remember.
    The movement came again from beside her. Maurra tried to turn her head but it refused to budge. Gods, she was so tired. So unbelievably tired.
    Giving up, she closed her eyes.
     
     
    “Maurra, wake up. Maurra?”
    I’m still alive? Amazing.
    “Maurra, I know you can hear me. You need to wake up now.”
    She tried to crack open her eyelids but the damn things were caked, sealed shut. Reflex made her reach up and try to rub them open with her hands.
    Someone snatched her hand and pulled it away. A warm, wet something proceeded to clean her eyes for her.
    “There. Now try.”
    This time she had no difficulty. Maurra opened her eyes to see an immense creature hovering over her. A beastlike alien that resembled…
    “Are you an Ellinod?”
    The creature snorted and pulled back. “Welcome back to the land of the living, JoJo. How do you feel?”
    She didn’t have to think twice to answer the question. “Like melting shit. Where am I?”
    “You’re on Ellinod, in one of our best hospitals.” The beast turned and walked away. Maurra tried to follow it as far as her restricted line of sight would let her.
    She was lying on a bed of sorts. A thin, silvery sheet or blanket covered her from the chest down. The room was lit with a low-level radiance. There was no way to tell if it was night or day, or how long she had been here.
    “Did you save my life?”
    “No,” the voice answered from somewhere nearby. “I’m only a physician. I and several others have worked very hard to bring your mind back. Once we accomplished that, your body healed itself.” The Ellinod reappeared, this time with what looked like a bag filled with a pinkish fluid. “Are you thirsty?”
    At the mention of thirst, Maurra felt her throat tighten up and her tongue swell. She nodded, and the physician placed the bag’s spout between her lips. Cool, slightly tangy liquid gushed into her mouth. She drank until the bag was empty, then watched as the Ellinod backed away.
    “Are you male? You sound male, but you don’t look it.” The question blurted out of her before she could think about it. Under normal circumstances, her examination would have been a terrible breach of etiquette. She hoped the creature would understand and forgive her. To her surprise, the Ellinod smiled.
    “Yes, I am a male. My name is Votul.”
    “Where are your horns?”
    The beast turned his back on her, but she could still hear his answer. “Only the Orgoran have the privilege of keeping their horns.”
    “The what? Orgoran? What’s an Orgoran?”
    A yawn interrupted any further questions. She realized there had been a sleeping agent in the drink.
    The physician turned around to face her as her mind started to go fuzzy on her. “An Orgoran is a Law Keeper like you, though he doesn’t have any powers other than his training and skills.”
    A Law Keeper. The Ellinod police. A vague memory told her they were judge and jury all rolled into one. Like her, they had the right to detain and punish. Unlike her, they