The Archives of Bone

Ren waited until Val passed out on his cot.

The exhaustion rolling off his brother was palpable through the Tether—a thick, suffocating fog of fatigue. Val’s breathing was wet, rattling in his chest.

Ren couldn't sleep. The image of the bruise haunted him.

He slipped out of the cell. The corridors of the Citadel were empty; the guards were celebrating the bloody spectacle of the day.

Ren headed for the Archives.

It was a restricted area, a dusty labyrinth of scrolls and tablets carved from volcanic rock. Ren picked the lock with a piece of wire—another skill he had learned to compensate for his lack of claws.

He needed to understand the Titan Shift. He needed to understand why Val was deteriorating so fast.

He found the genealogy section. He traced their bloodline back four generations.

*Subject: The Gemini Strain.*

*Occurrence: Rare. 1 in 10,000 births.*

*Manifestation: Twin subjects. One Host. One Parasite.*

Ren froze. He traced the ancient runes with a trembling finger.

*The Parasite is born unable to generate its own spiritual ether. To survive, it creates a Tether to the Host in the womb. It feeds constantly.*

Ren felt the blood drain from his face.

*The Host’s gigantism and hyper-aggression are not a gift. They are a biological stress response. The Host’s body overproduces vitality to keep from being drained dry. The "Titan Shift" is the body burning itself alive to feed the Parasite.*

Ren dropped the scroll. It clattered on the stone floor.

He wasn't the Runt. He wasn't the weak one relying on his big brother for protection.

He was a tick. A leech.

Every time Val fought, Ren was eating him. Every time Ren used the Tether to "see," he was burning Val’s life force as fuel.

The bruises. The coughing blood. It wasn't enemy damage. It was Ren.

"I'm killing him," Ren whispered to the empty room. "I've been killing him since we were born."

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