Iron Revenant: Blood Of The Marked

The Chase

Jace Caldwell’s boots pounded the rain-slicked pavement, each step a jolt through his numb leg.

The neon haze of New York’s Chinatown blurred past—dumpling shops, flickering holo-ads, faces hidden unde hoods.

His heart thundered, not from the sprint but from Ethan’s voice, a ghost in his crushed earpiece. Don’t trust her. His brother was dead, blown to ash in a NexTech lab two years ago.

So why was his voice clawing through Jace’s skull?The scar on his chest burned, a jagged black mark that hadn’t been there an hour ago. That dart, the exosuit assassin, the Obsidian Heart—it was all connected.

And Lena Voss, the whistleblower with blood on her hands and secrets in her eyes, was his only lead. He’d find her, shake the truth out of her, even if it meant breaking something.He skidded into an alley, the noodle shop’s ruins a block behind him.

How he’d ended up back here from the shop was a blank, like someone had ripped a page from his memory. The Shroud’s red eyes flashed in his mind, its voice like gravel in his veins: You’re mine now, Iron.

His reflection in that puddle—those glowing eyes—weren’t his. Not human.His phone buzzed again. Another text, unknown number: She’s at the Lotus Den. Hurry.

Jace’s jaw clenched. A trap? Maybe. But sitting still wasn’t his style. The Lotus Den was a black-market bar three blocks away, a hive of hackers, smugglers, and worse.

If Lena was there, she wasn’t hiding—she was baiting.He sprinted through the crowd, shoving past a drone hawker peddling illegal mods.

A low hum pricked his ears—another drone, NexTech’s red-eye model, tailing him from above. His new scar throbbed, and for a split second, his vision sharpened, the world slowing. He saw the drone’s heat signature, its weak joint where the rotor met the frame. Instinct, not skill.

He drew his Glock, fired once, and the drone crashed in a shower of sparks. What the hell was happening to him?The Lotus Den’s neon sign flickered ahead, a dragon coiled around a lotus flower. Jace kicked the door open, gun raised.

The bar was a cave of smoke and bass, bodies packed tight, augmented eyes glowing in the dark. Conversations died as he stormed in, his scarred face and bloodied jacket screaming trouble.

Lena sat at the bar, her platinum hair a beacon, sipping a drink like she hadn’t just left him for dead.“Jace,” she said, not turning. “You look like hell.”He grabbed her arm, yanking her off the stool. “Start talking, Voss. Ethan. The Heart. That thing in my head. Now.”

Her green eyes met his, unflinching. “You’re marked, Jace. The Obsidian Heart chose you. I tried to warn you.”“Warn me?” He slammed her against the bar, glasses rattling.

“You ran. Left me to die.”

“I saved you!” she snapped, shoving him back with surprising strength. “The Heart’s power—it’s in you now. You’re not just human anymore.”

The crowd parted, sensing blood. Jace’s scar burned hotter, and The Shroud’s voice slithered through his mind: She lies. His grip tightened on the Glock. “Ethan’s voice. In my earpiece. Explain that.”Lena’s face paled.

“That’s impossible. He’s—”A scream cut her off. The bar’s back wall exploded, metal and glass shredding the air. Three NexTech assassins in exosuits stormed through, their visors locked on Jace.

The crowd scattered, bottles shattering. Jace shoved Lena behind the bar and dove for cover as bullets tore through the counter. Splinters grazed his cheek, but the pain felt distant, his scar pulsing like a second heart.

He returned fire, two shots catching an assassin in the knee. The man dropped, but the others advanced, their suits deflecting bullets like rain. Jace’s vision flickered again, The Shroud’s whisper guiding his aim: The neck.

Weak point. He fired, and one assassin’s visor cracked, blood spraying. The third lunged, a blade ejecting from its gauntlet. Jace rolled, the blade grazing his ribs, and tackled the assassin, slamming its head into the floor until the visor sparked and died.

Lena was gone. Jace cursed, scanning the chaos. A side door hung open, leading to a stairwell. He sprinted after her, blood dripping from his side, the scar’s burn spreading.

The stairwell was a maze of rusted metal, leading to the Den’s rooftop. Lena stood at the edge, the Obsidian Heart’s case clutched to her chest, the city’s skyline a jagged halo behind her.“Jace, stop!” she shouted, her gun trained on him. “You don’t understand what’s at stake.”

“Then make me,” he growled, stepping closer. His vision swam, The Shroud’s red eyes overlaying Lena’s face. Kill her, it urged. He shook it off, but his hand trembled on the Glock.

“NexTech wants the Heart to control life itself,” Lena said, voice breaking. “Ethan died to stop them. He wasn’t a traitor. He was my partner.”Jace’s heart lurched. “Partner?”

“We were together,” she admitted, tears glinting. “He loved you, Jace. He died to keep the Heart from them. And now it’s in you.”Before he could process it, the rooftop shook.

A massive drone, bigger than the others, rose behind Lena, its cannons glowing. Jace lunged, tackling her as the rooftop exploded, flames licking his back. They hit the ground hard, the case skidding across the roof.

His scar screamed, and his vision blacked out.When he came to, Lena was gone—again. The case was open, the Obsidian Heart missing. But the real blow was the voice in his earpiece, clear as day, despite the device being shattered: “Jace, she’s one of them.”

Ethan’s voice, laced with static, cut deeper than any blade.And then, scrawled in blood on the rooftop beside him, a single word: RUN.