Page 68 of Alien Healer's Touch

"What's happened?" I asked as we followed Mirelle through corridors.

"Scouts returned with news of Claire." Mirelle's face tightened. "Hammond's on the move."

The council chamber buzzed with voices when we entered. Lazrin stood at the center table with Rivera and Jen, all three gesturing over a rough map. Elder Shyla sat at the head, her ancient face grave.

"There they are," Lazrin said, looking up. "Good. We need both of you for this."

"What's happened?" Kavan asked, his tail stilling in intense focus.

"Our scouts observed Claire being transported toward the western canyon," Lazrin reported, indicating an area on the map. "Heavily guarded. They're establishing some sort of outpost there."

My stomach knotted. "The western canyon—isn't that where more ruins were detected?"

Jen nodded, her young face serious. "I've been monitoring their communications." Her silver markings showed faintly at her throat. "Most is encrypted, but I caught fragments. They kept repeating 'subject responding to proximity.'"

"They mean Claire," I said, throat tight. "Her markings must react to something in those ruins."

"Like yours did in the medical facility," Kavan observed.

"Exactly," Rivera interjected. "But we don't know what Hammond plans to do with that reaction. Is he studying it? Trying to harness it? Testing its limits?"

"Or trying to remove it," I added grimly, remembering Hammond's obsession with "cleansing" the marked women.

"Whatever his plan," Elder Shyla said, her voice surprisingly strong for her age, "we must learn more before we can act effectively."

"The scouts couldn't get close enough for detailed observation," Lazrin continued. "Hammond's forces have set up a perimeter with motion sensors."

"And weapons," Mirelle added darkly.

As they discussed the western canyon, something strange happened. My markings, which had settled into a comfortable rhythm with Kavan's, suddenly flared with heat. Sharp, jagged pain shot up my arms, concentrated where the silver patterns were densest.

I gasped, clutching the table edge.

"Selene?" Kavan was instantly at my side, hand on my back.

"My markings," I managed through gritted teeth. "When you mentioned the western canyon—they're reacting."

Everyone fell silent, watching as I pulled back my sleeve. The silver patterns pulsed erratically, almost seeming to stretch toward the canyon on the map.

"Similar to the reaction in the medical facility," Kavan observed, "but more intense."

"And painful," I added, trying to steady my breathing as the sensation slowly subsided.

"This confirms our suspicion," Elder Shyla said. "Whatever Hammond has found in those ruins, it connects to the markings."

Rivera stepped forward, her sturdy frame radiating determination. "I should scout," she said. "My ability to sense objects and their composition works at a distance. I might gather information without triggering their security."

I felt Kavan's mixture of concern and strategic assessment through our bond. Logically, Rivera's unique perception abilities made her the ideal scout. But the doctor in me worried about sending anyone near Hammond's forces.

"It's risky," I said. "Hammond won't hesitate to shoot first and ask questions never."

"Which is why I'll go alone," Rivera countered. "One person moves more quietly than a group."

Lazrin frowned, clearly disliking the idea of sending anyone—especially a marked woman—into such danger. "If Hammond captures you?—"

"He won't," Rivera interrupted. "I can sense patrols before they see me."

The discussion continued, voices rising and falling. I rubbed my wrists where the markings had burned, noticing how they still pulsed in time with Kavan's despite their earlier disruption.

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