GERARD CROUCHED BESIDE US, peering down like a kid who'd found an ant pile. Zander quickly pulled us backward, sliding across the hard ground to put some distance between his father and us. Gerard continued to stare thoughtfully.
I looked away from him to see all eyes on us. But everyone's placement had changed. A scuffle must have broken out while I was healing Zander, because blood dripped from a cut above Thaddeus' eye, and Uriel's lip was bleeding. All three sharum wore glowing collars that seemed to be holding them in place. Their faces were pinched with pain, and their hands bound behind them. The soldiers next to them also looked beat up, and they didn't seem very happy about it. Two pressed their guns against the skulls of Uriel and Thaddeus. Dr. Frankler gave me a weak smile. The side of my lip twitched to think that she was trying to comfort me, even now. When I briefly met Uriel's gaze, he appeared relieved, despite the gun at his head.