Iron Revenant: Blood Of The Marked

Brother's keeper

Jace Caldwell’s world shattered in the Chinatown alley, rain mixing with blood as Ethan—his brother, dead two years—stood before him, the Obsidian Heart glowing in his hand. 

Ethan’s eyes burned red, mirroring The Shroud’s, his gun trained on Jace’s chest. Marcus “Glitch” Reyes smirked beside him, detonator in hand, while Lena Voss slumped against the dumpster, her shoulder bleeding, her eyes wide with shock.

 Jace’s scar, that black, jagged mark, screamed with heat, his senses razor-sharp, but his heart was a raw wound. Ethan, alive? Or was this another of The Shroud’s lies?

“Drop the gun, Jace,” Ethan said, voice cold, not the kid who’d followed him through Brooklyn’s streets. “You’re in over your head.”

Jace’s Glock didn’t waver, though his hands shook. “You’re dead,” he growled. “I buried you. Watched your ashes scatter.”

Ethan’s lips twitched, almost a smile. “NexTech doesn’t let assets go that easy.” He raised the Heart, its sickly pulse syncing with Jace’s scar. “You’re marked now. Like me.”The Shroud’s voice slithered through Jace’s skull: He’s theirs. End him.

 His vision flickered—Ethan’s face warped into The Shroud’s, red eyes laughing. Jace shook it off, but the alley spun. Drones hummed above, their cannons glowing. Marcus clicked the detonator’s trigger, taunting.

 “Time’s up, Caldwell.”Jace moved—faster than human, his scar blazing. He tackled Ethan, the Heart skidding across the wet pavement. Ethan’s gun fired, the bullet grazing Jace’s cheek, but the wound closed instantly, the scar’s heat swallowing the pain.

 They grappled, brother against brother, fists and blood in the rain. Ethan was strong, too strong, his blows enhanced by something unnatural. Jace slammed him against the wall, cracking brick. “What did they do to you?”

Ethan laughed, bitter. 

“They made me better. You should’ve stayed out of it, Jace.”Lena lunged for the Heart, but Marcus grabbed her, pinning her arm. “Not so fast, Voss,” he sneered, pressing the detonator against her throat. “One move, and this alley’s a crater.”

Jace’s scar pulsed, and his vision split—half alley, half void. The Shroud loomed, its shadowy form coiling around Ethan’s image. He’s not your brother anymore, it hissed. Kill him, or he kills you. Jace roared, shoving Ethan back, his Glock pressed to his brother’s chest. “Tell me the truth, Ethan. Now.”

Ethan’s red eyes flickered, a hint of the kid Jace knew. “The Heart… it doesn’t just mark you. It rewrites you. NexTech used me to test it. I didn’t die, Jace. I became this.” 

He gestured to his glowing eyes, his voice breaking. “I tried to protect you.”

“By working for them?” Jace’s voice cracked, grief and rage colliding. The drones above charged, their hum deafening. Lena screamed, twisting free from Marcus, her bloodied hand grabbing the Heart’s case. 

The alley shook as the stone’s glow flared, and a low growl echoed—not from the drones, but from the shadows.Tendrils erupted from the pavement, black and writhing, like the creature from the subway. They lashed at the drones, shredding metal in sparks. 

Jace dove, shielding Ethan as a tendril grazed his arm, slicing deep. The wound healed, but the pain lingered, his scar burning white-hot. Lena clutched the Heart, its light pulsing through her fingers. 

“Jace, it’s calling them!” she shouted.Marcus laughed, backing away. “You idiots. The Heart’s not a weapon—it’s a key. And you just unlocked the cage.” He pressed the detonator, and the alley’s far end exploded, flames licking the sky.

 Jace grabbed Lena, pulling her behind a dumpster as debris rained down. Ethan didn’t move, standing in the fire’s glow, the Heart’s light reflecting in his eyes.

“Ethan, come with me!” Jace yelled, but his brother shook his head.“I can’t,” Ethan said, voice soft. “I’m not… me anymore.” He raised the gun again, but not at Jace—at Lena. “She knows too much.”

Jace tackled Ethan again, the gun skidding away. The tendrils surged, wrapping Marcus, who screamed as they dragged him into the shadows. 

The drones crashed, destroyed by the creature’s wrath. Jace pinned Ethan, his scar screaming, The Shroud’s voice louder: Finish it. 

But he couldn’t. Not his brother.

Lena stumbled forward, the Heart’s case open, its glow blinding. “Jace, we have to destroy it!” she pleaded, blood dripping from her wound. “It’s controlling him!”

Ethan’s hand shot out, grabbing Jace’s throat with inhuman strength. “You can’t destroy it,” he hissed, eyes flaring red. 

“It’s part of us now.” Jace’s vision darkened, The Shroud’s void swallowing him. He saw Ethan in a NexTech lab, strapped to a table, the Heart embedded in his chest, his screams echoing. I did it for you, Ethan’s voice said, fading.

Jace snapped back, gasping, Ethan’s grip loosening. The tendrils retreated, but the Heart’s pulse grew erratic, the air crackling. Lena raised her gun, aiming at Ethan. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears streaming. Jace lunged, knocking her arm away as the shot rang out, grazing Ethan’s shoulder.Ethan staggered, then smiled—a real smile, like the kid Jace remembered. 

“You’re still saving me,” he said, and then his body flickered, like a bad hologram. The Heart’s glow dimmed, and Ethan collapsed, his form dissolving into black ash, leaving only the gun and a faint red glow in the rain.

Jace fell to his knees, staring at the ash. Lena grabbed his arm, pulling him up. “He’s gone, Jace. We have to run.”But the Heart pulsed once more, and The Shroud’s voice roared in his mind: He’s not gone. Look.

 Jace’s phone buzzed, a video message from an unknown number. Ethan’s face appeared, alive, in a NexTech lab, his voice calm: “Jace, they’re coming for you. The Heart’s not the only key. You are.”

The screen cut to black, and a new sound filled the alley—boots, dozens of them, closing in.