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The Core That Bleeds

Author: Phylicia Ines
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-14 08:24:06

The descent shaft spat them out like the Cathedral wanted them gone.

Varian hit metal flooring first, rolled, came up in a crouch, gun raised. Liora landed a second later, breath sharp, knees bent, eyes already scanning. Bram, Ines, and Ciro hit behind them in varying degrees of pain and profanity.

The chamber that stretched before them wasn’t a room.

It was a womb.

A vast sphere of pulsing cables, viscous biogel, and what looked sickeningly like cartilage wrapped around server towers. Screens hung suspended like floating organs, each flickering with half-rendered faces.

And at the chamber’s center—

A cocoon.

Long. Humanoid. Breathing.

Liora whispered, “Oh gods…”

Ines’s voice cracked. “She’s trying to grow a body.”

Ciro muttered, “Trying? Looks done to me.”

Varian took a step forward, rifle tightening in his grip. “Everyone fall back. I’ll—”

The cocoon twitched.

Then split.

Wet, pale light spilled out, illuminating a figure as it unfolded from its chrysalis—female in silhouette but sh
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  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   What We Lay Down

    Varian didn’t bring a weapon.Bram noticed immediately.They stood at the edge of the old hillside cemetery just past dawn, fog still clinging to the ground like it didn’t want to let go. Rows of stones—some polished, some crude—cut through the grass in uneven lines. Names etched deep. Dates too close together.Ciro shifted his weight. “You sure about this?”Varian didn’t look at him. “I’m sure.”Bram folded his arms. “Last time you came here, you had four guards and a sidearm.”“That was a different man,” Varian said.Bram studied him, then nodded once. “Alright.”They walked in silence until they reached the newer section. The stones there were smaller. Fresh. Temporary markers among permanent grief.Varian stopped.Bram stopped beside him. Ciro stayed a step back.Varian read the names out loud. Not loud enough to perform. Just enough to remember.“Jarek.” “Milo.” “Ansel.” “Rhea.”His voice didn’t break. That was worse.Bram cleared his throat. “They’d hate the quiet.”“I know,”

  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   Safer Than Before

    “Is the world safe now?”Wren asked it over breakfast, spoon paused midair, milk threatening to spill. The question landed softly and still managed to stop the room.Liora didn’t answer right away.Varian watched her, breath held—not because he feared the answer, but because he respected it.Liora finally said, “Safer. Not just safe.”Wren considered that, brows pinched in a way that was entirely Varian’s. “Why not safe?”“Because people are people,” Liora replied gently. “And people make choices. Some good. Some… not.”Varian added, carefully, “But now there are more people choosing to protect than to hurt.”Wren nodded solemnly. “Like you.”“Like us,” Liora corrected, smiling.Wren grinned. “I like ‘us.’”She finished her cereal, hopped down, and ran off to find Miss Pei, leaving behind a silence that felt earned.Varian exhaled. “She asks better questions than half the council.”Liora leaned back against the counter. “She always has.”He studied her for a moment. “You didn’t lie.”

  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   The Work of Unmaking

    “They won’t believe it until it hurts,” Bram said flatly. “Then they’ll believe it.”Varian stood at the head of the long table, screens lit with names, routes, accounts—an empire laid out like a body waiting for surgery. He didn’t sit. He hadn’t sat since dawn.“They don’t need to believe it,” Varian replied. “They need to feel protected.”Bram snorted. “Same thing, different coat.”Liora leaned against the window, city light washing her face. “No,” she said. “It’s not. Fear asks for obedience. Protection earns consent.”Varian turned to her. The edge in his eyes softened immediately. “You’re right.”Bram rolled his shoulders. “I hate when you say that so fast.”Varian didn’t look away from Liora. “Get used to it.”A murmur moved through the room—old lieutenants, newly reassigned coordinators, faces used to orders that ended in blood. This was different. And they knew it.Varian cleared his throat. “Effective immediately, the network dissolves.”Someone cursed under their breath.“Sa

  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   We Won’t Rule

    The Council chamber had never been quiet like this.Not during coups. Not during bombings. Not during the night Edda Rune’s name first froze the city’s blood.Every seat was filled. Councilors shoulder to shoulder. Security lining the walls. Cameras hovering like insects. Outside, the plaza roared—chants muffled by stone but unmistakable.Liora stood alone at the center dais.No entourage. No weapons. No crown.Varian watched from the gallery above, half-hidden behind reinforced glass, arms folded, jaw tight. Bram flanked him, scanning exits. Ines whispered into a comm bead, feeding real-time sentiment analysis.“Crowd’s holding,” Ines murmured. “Angry but listening.”Varian didn’t look away from Liora. “She always gives them a reason to.”The Speaker of the Council cleared his throat. “Ms. Sable. You have the floor.”Liora stepped forward.Her voice carried without effort.“We won’t rule,” she said.A ripple moved through the chamber. Councilors exchanged looks. Outside, the crow

  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   The City of Crowns

    The morning after the Cathedral fell, the city woke with two voices—one triumphant, one terrified.Screens across districts flickered with headlines:LIORA SABLE SAVES CITY FROM DIGITAL GOD VARIAN KOLE DRAGS SURVIVORS FROM THE ASHES REBIRTH OR REGIME? WHO REALLY HOLDS POWER NOW?In the safehouse infirmary, Varian blinked awake to the muted roar of news feeds echoing down the hall.Liora sat beside him, hair tied back, sleeves rolled up, exhaustion sculpting the shadows under her eyes. She held a datapad in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. When his fingers twitched, she looked up instantly.“How long was I out?” he murmured.“Nine hours,” she said. “Long enough for the city to crown us, condemn us, and argue about it.”Varian groaned. “Perfect.”She smirked faintly. “Good morning to you too.”He tried to sit up—winced as his stitched ribs complained.“Easy,” she warned, pushing him gently back. “If you tear those sutures, Dr Reyes will drag you back from the grave just to kill

  • Blood Ties And Silk Chains   Ash and Rebirth

    The roar of collapsing stone was still shaking the world when Varian’s legs gave out.“Varian!” Liora lunged, grabbing him beneath the arms as the floor cracked under them. Dust and fire poured from the trembling ceiling. The Cathedral’s understructure—what was left of it—was caving in.He sagged against her, half-conscious, breath ragged. “Just… give me a second.”“No,” Liora snapped. “No seconds. Move.”She heaved him upward. He tried to stand on his own; his knees buckled instantly.“Liora—”“Shut up and walk.”He didn’t argue again.Behind them, Bram shouted through the smoke, “Found the cores! Found two— only two!” His voice was strained, panicked. “We gotta go before this entire place makes us pancakes!”Ines stumbled beside him, clutching a scorched metal cylinder. “They’re hot—Ciro, don’t let me drop this! Oh gods—ow—okay, I’m fine—probably.”Ciro grabbed the second core, face tight. “Stop talking and move!”Liora dragged Varian toward the exit tunnel that was rapidly filling

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