Forbidden Rule (An Alien Love #2)

Chapter Eight

Jace's POV

After resting a while, I ran to the battle room I was designated by the Scientists. It sat like an abandoned cabin amidst the Scientists' utilitarian facilities, both contrasting dramatically against one another, a dull pebble among ornately carved stone blocks reflecting in the sky light. I ignored everything as I arrived at the door to my building.

"Greetings," intoned a metallic voice from the speaker. I held still as a beam of reading light shot forth like a column around me. It was verifying my identity in nanoseconds. The portal door opened with a whoosh of pressure change and I stepped into the initial chamber that preceded the battle room itself. It was a short metal hallway that reflected my form back at me. I caught sight of my pale, pale skin and cringed. It still baffled me as to the human form I take while in it. It was made more so by the dark, inky hair that fell in waves around my ears, growing lengthy now that I was not being held to the human standards for hair styling. I preferred my hair this way rather than the stiff, peaked abomination from when I first arrived on Earth. 

I now held a finger to the hole in the wall by the door to the battle room. A prick stung the tip, extra strong since Morfilian skin was harder to penetrate than humans'. It drew blood for an extra verification scan. Again, the portal door whooshed open seamlessly. Lights activated to illuminate the strategy table and the panel of commands on the entirety of one wall. That was much outdated now, there more for looks than anything else. Now, the technology had been replaced with that of a mind controlled viewer. I attached the sensor to my temples like a hairband, and the entire room disappeared into what I desired to see. Which was the southern territory of the hurlai, where it said Sharve schemed.

But first, I threw the thought to call a Scientist first, so that they knew what was going on. A Scientist answered immediately, one named Shirwin. He was in natural form, wearing the customary sky blue Scientist robes with the markings of one of the leaders. He gazed at me calmly, eyes grape purple and hair a plain brown.

"Greetings, First. Pleased to see you once more," he said with a small smile. He was one of my favorites, easy to do since all of the Scientists were very...boring. Monotone. Direct. "How may I assist you today?" 

I nodded, turning my gaze back to my view. I swiped my hand in the air to zoom into the mountainous region I sought, spying patches of trees and water alongside portions of land that were ever burning. The fire pits were where I could easily see groups of hurlai, attracted to the warmth and glow of fire. Shirwin could see everything I did as I began to explain what happened at my secret spot.

"How strange," said the Scientist, gazing at my view as I soared over the landscape to scan for encampments of Sharve. I saw a line of caves dotting the base of a particularly tall mountain and zoomed in once more. As I neared, I took my forefinger and thumb together and drew them outward slowly so that I could slowly zoom even further. 

"How is this possible?" Shirwin asked quietly. "I cannot say I will believe it until I see it. If it is true, then we will exterminate them as needed."

"Yes we will," I murmured. The cave entrances were clotted with hanging vines and leaves, so I swiped my hand horizontally to get them out of the way. Inside the first was nothing but scavengers and droppings. The second revealed much the same. But as I approached the view of the third, I heard it-the clicks and grunting of Sharve. A hurlai was actually slowly approaching along the top of the crest of the mountain, obviously attempting to be stealthy. I couldn't imagine them being welcoming since Sharve and hurlai would compete for the same sources of warmth and life. I did not go into the cave, instead hanging back to observe the hurlai as it approached the cave entrance.