The Iron Altar Series Box Set One: Books 1 to 3

by Casey Lea

  Darsey tried to hold onto that moment of conviction, but it vanished when their transport suddenly rose steeply to tip them together in a tangle of limbs. The bird gave a final flurry of wings and managed to gain a claw hold on a crystal ledge. The squill teetered for a moment before the weight of its passengers tipped it forward into a more secure landing. Its beak fell open immediately, the purple tip slamming into a crystal floor.

  That jarring contact reverberated through its taut pouch, setting Darsey shaking so that Wing had to hoist her through the hole above them. Damn. She really needed her com back. She slithered free to slide down the beak and instantly forgot her discomfort when she landed in a world of wonder.

  Light, spacious and criss-crossed by rainbows, the building rising above her was a fitting setting for its sparkling denizens. People were everywhere, gliding over the transparent floor at a bewildering variety of speeds, some preposterously slow while others moved so fast they were simply a blur. Darsey was scarcely aware of Wing landing beside her. She turned in a small circle and then another, absorbing the building, the sky and the beings filling both.

  “Pretty,” he stated brusquely, and she laughed at the absurd understatement. They shared a smile, but he sobered first. “What happens within is not pretty at all,” he reminded her, and they turned together to face the crystal steps before them. The building seemed transparent, but its stairs were strangely shadowed and climbed sharply into inexplicable darkness.

  Darsey took a deep breath, her last taste of free air, before stepping over the threshold of the auction house. Her foot came down on the first crystal stair, but never struck it. Her step was arrested just short of the surface. She hit a cushion of air instead and teetered in surprise. The high surface unbalanced her and she almost fell. However, Wing stepped up beside her to tuck a hand under her elbow. They steadied themselves together and were abruptly gliding up the stairs, with the same smooth passage as those around them.

  The untouched crystal of the prism gleamed beneath them while they climbed with surprisingly little effort. Darsey felt her legs bend and flex, but the slightest touch was enough to lift her higher, to draw her further into the shade. Her eyes told her that she was climbing, but every other sense disagreed. Their progress felt more like sliding down a slippery slope.

  The stairs passed too fast for Darsey’s liking, but although they rose rapidly any ceiling remained far above. It receded as fast as they climbed, so that it stayed a distant and uniform height, with no sense of a solid roof. However, the light slowly changed from white and blinding to a more muted gold. They floated off the final stair of the highest landing into a central atrium.

  In front of them a massive waterfall fell through the pyramid, a silver curtain blocking their path. It filled the entire landing and Darsey tried to stop and stare, but the floor wouldn’t let her. Instead it kept flowing forward and carried her with it. She tried to walk backwards, but the strange cushion of air accelerated to waft her faster, straight at the monstrous waterfall.

  "Wing," she squeaked and her fingers found her companion's hand. She squeezed tighter than she intended, but Nightwing didn't flinch.

  "It's kay. See."

  Darsey stared unblinking at the silent curtain of water she was rushing toward. They hurtled into it and she grabbed Wing’s arm with her other hand, but the flow parted ahead of them. A vee shaped gap appeared above the path, looking like the ripple left by a speedboat. She had to duck her head against his shoulder to fit, but it worked.

  Wing put his arm around Darsey while they slowed to a sedate drift under the weight of a ten story waterfall. Silver boiled above them and the light grew dim. The path under their feet began to glow blue and when she glanced up at the kres he looked haggard. He also looked starkly alien and she suddenly realized how familiar his strange features had become to her. She’d started to see him as just another person, but that didn’t mean he was human. Not even close.

  Darsey looked away with a shudder and her spasm seemed to trigger a nightmare. The bridge under them pulsed red while a siren sounded and then the silent waterfall began to roar. She looked up just as the shield protecting them vanished.

  The water fell and Darsey fell with it. The weight of a giant fist pounded her while she plummeted down into darkness and the noise was so overwhelming it seemed as solid as the water. She could hardly feel Wing’s fingers clamped tight round her wrist, but she knew they must be there because she was still alive. His com field was the only thing keeping her that way and she prayed he wouldn’t let go. Not that it really mattered, because the impact when they finally hit the bottom was going to be brutal. His shield would be overloaded and they would both die anyway.

  Darsey gulped, while the universe roared past faster than ever. She could hardly think with her senses completely swamped, but there must be a way out. Service tubes or hatches? Anything at all?

  Yes.

  The word appeared unexpectedly in Darsey’s mind, but before she could make sense of it Wing’s fingers dug deeper into her wrist. She tried to protest, but had no breath to cry out, even when he jerked hard on her arm. It felt as if it was being wrenched from its socket and she arched in pain, then was abruptly moving, being pulled sideways through the water as she fell.

  There was a flash of light ahead and everything instantly felt worse. Darsey’s shoulder was throbbing, she could no longer breathe at all and the waterfall was deafening. She lay on her stomach gasping like a fish out of water and finally realized that was exactly what she was. Out of water.

  Darsey moaned then tried to move, twitching her limbs in an effort to feel where she was. The floor beneath her was, well, definitely floor and incredibly welcome. It sloped up into darkness, feeling cold and rough, while a thin film of water ran over it.

  Someone shouted in the darkness and she jumped. “Darse. Darsey. Are you hurt?”

  Darsey wanted to answer, but was shaking too much to speak and had no idea what to say anyway. Was she hurt? She ached everywhere and her arm was on fire, but apart from the trembling everything seemed to be working. There was movement beside her and the slap of someone crawling closer, then a brief touch brushed past her thigh. Fingers found the back of her hand and settled there. Warmth returned at once, shooting up her arm even before Wing’s com field flowed over her again.

  “Are you well?” he asked in her ear and Darsey managed to laugh.

  “Considering the dramatic high dive I’m fine. Where are we?”

  “Feeder chute. It adds cleansing agents to the falls, along with any auctioneers who fail to reach their targets.”

  “Really?”

  “Harvesters are strict bosses.”

  “Oh. That’s not very reassuring.” Darsey shuddered and huddled closer to Wing in the dark.

  “Apologies.” His other hand settled on her knee and she let it rest there. “I fear my reassurance is still rather damp.”

  “It’s water logged, but that’s okay. It’s just this whole situation is making me nuts.”

  “You wish to eat?”

  Darsey smiled and tipped her head back against Wing’s shoulder. “No, it’s an expression. It means the situation is making me crazy.”

  “Ah. Agreed. I have nuts.”

  Darsey choked and started to laugh, turning her head into his chest in an effort to stop before she became hysterical. His arm went round her shoulders and despite the rush of the waterfall everything seemed suddenly very still. She lifted her head and his breath touched her lips, as soft as a whisper.

  Darsey jerked out of Wing’s embrace to scrabble away from him, up the slope and further into darkness. What was she thinking? She was about to escape from an alien slave market and absolutely could not afford any distractions. Something in her chest gave an unexpected pang, but she pushed herself further up the tunnel anyway.

  “How do we get out of here?” Darsey demanded and sensed Wing climbing closer. She gulped, but the sound was covered by the roar of the falls and she turned
her back on him to keep feeling her way, while she crawled up the chute. Her groping fingers suddenly found a rough edge and one hand slipped over it.

  Darsey lost her balance and tumbled forward, into the colder, deeper darkness ahead. She shut her eyes, digging the nails of her other hand into the crumbling lip, but Wing caught her round the waist from behind. He pulled her back before she could fall, then hugged her close and this time she made no effort to escape.

  “Congratulations,” he yelled in her ear, “you found the exit.”

  “I w-wouldn’t recommend it.”

  “Indeed.”

  Something clicked tight around Darsey’s wrist, but there was no smooth flow of warmth. Instead energy slammed into her, making her arch back against Wing. He grunted, his arms tightening around her, but she found her balance and grew still. She had her usual com back, the one he always lent her for their sparring bouts, but for the first time she didn’t want to punch him the moment she put it on. It seemed she finally had its amplifying effect under control.

  Something groaned deep in the pit beside Darsey and she levitated, half-turned and mule kicked back into the blackness. Her feet failed to connect with anything, but her palms slapped down against slimy stone and she pushed off in a half-tuck to flip over Wing, landing crouched on his far side.

  “What the hell was that?” Darsey demanded and felt her companion shaking beside her. “Are you okay?”

  “Are you?” Wing sniggered and she realized he was laughing. “That noise was waste being ejected further down the shaft. They must be cleansing the lower levels.”

  Darsey’s cheeks burned and her nails cut into her palms when she clenched her fists, but then a giggle rose up her throat too. “Someone flushed the toilet?”

  “Indeed. They release excrement from compression storage into fertiliser tanks below. The Bandit has transported such before.”

  “How appropriate.” Darsey brushed a finger over her com and a faint glow rose from her wrist. She looked up to smile at Wing, but he was watching her warily. “What? Oh no, Iet me guess. We have to climb up the sewer.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Is that going to be as bad as it sounds?”

  Wing finally returned Darsey’s smile. “That will be dependent.”

  “On what?”

  “How quick you climb.” Wing turned away to hoist himself onto the edge of the dark shaft, before giving her a serious look over his shoulder. “Follow fast.”

  “How?”

  “Like this.” Wing launched himself across the drop, so that his right side hit the far wall of the shaft an arm’s length away. He wedged himself there with his right forearm and foot hard against that wall and braced his left arm on the near side, with that foot anchored on the edge of the opening. “Just crawl up. Only shift one limb at a time. Keep pressure on the others. Your com will help.”

  “Oh good,” Darsey muttered, but Wing was already gone. He relaxed and fell, slithering down the shaft and out of sight. She threw herself forward to dangle over the drop again. “Wing.”

  The insolent alien grinned up at her from less than a foot away. “You go above. I’ll catch you if you fall.”

  “Oh.” That was surprising and strangely comforting. “Alright. Just don’t get distracted staring up my skirt.”

  “It could be worth the drop,” Wing called and Darsey’s cheeks were warm despite the fact that she was lurching out over the chill void. Her right side slammed into the far wall, but she hardly felt it. Instead she shivered at the heat of his fingers closing round her ankle. “I’ll take your weight” he grunted. “Get well braced. Order climbing friction. From your com.”

  Darsey gave a silent command and instantly felt like a fly, papered to the wall. Every point of contact with that smooth surface was suddenly velcro tight. She hung there for a surprised moment, letting her pulse slow, before launching herself upward. She rose less than a foot, before being jerked to a stop and left hanging, to rock from side-to–side. Her limbs remained stuck to the walls while she dangled between them. Her gut tensed and she looked down past her feet to check whether the kres was laughing at her.

  Wing gazed solemnly back. “Lift your fingers first then the forearm below to peel them free, but only release one grip at a time. I’ll help if you need support.”

  Darsey began to climb, trying hard not to think about how far they had fallen and how long the ascent would take. She concentrated on each limb instead. Peel and press. Peel and press. She knew Wing was at her heels, but he climbed silently and she might have been alone in that dark shaft. She shivered and the hand she was placing suddenly slipped.

  “Ah,” Darsey cried and fell to dangle from one arm and a single foot. She must have been rushing, moving too many holds at once and now she was sliding, her weight pulling her back down the wall. She swung her free leg, searching for purchase, but before she could panic Wing gripped her scrabbling foot.

  “Hey,” he said calmly, “don’t kick.”

  He broke off when the sound of metal grating against stone echoed down the shaft from above.

  Darsey froze too, but only briefly. She was moving as soon as Wing pushed her foot back against the wall, while he surged upwards on her heels, half carrying her. The tunnel shuddered around them and she had to stifle a yelp, but kept on going. Peel and reach higher. Peel and stretch. Peel. Grab. Work round the body. Don’t look down and don’t look up. Just climb.

  Something rumbled overhead more loudly than before and Darsey did look up. Straight into a muddy rain of decompressed waste. A brief rectangle of light far above vanished in a storm of slurry. She almost screamed, but instead managed to close her eyes as well as her mouth, just in time.

  Darsey clung like a limpet in that stinking waterfall, but it took all of her com’s power to hold her in place. She swayed between the walls while slime ran down her skin and dark snot crusted her eyelashes. Her stomach heaved and she shuddered. Great. A garnish of vomit was just what she needed. The only consolation was that it was bound to hit Wing too. She grimaced with her chin tucked against her chest, but the thunder of that far too solid rain began to fade. Silence slowly returned.

  Darsey couldn’t be sure the fall was over, with her skin too coated to feel, but oh how she hoped it was. She clung tight in absolute darkness, with her eyes glued shut and breathed deeply though the small hole her com had kept open.

  “Go,” a voice croaked just beneath her and Wing wedged his shoulder under her lower foot. “Before they flush again.”

  That thought was all the incentive Darsey needed. Blind and scrambling, half supported by Wing, she climbed as she had never climbed before. She darted upwards like a monkey scampering for the canopy. When her head hit the ceiling above it was the most welcome pain of her life. She didn’t even mind when Wing ran into her and jammed her harder against the top of the shaft.

  “Hatch shut,” he gasped and Darsey began to grope above her head.

  The metal surface felt smooth and featureless. She pried around its edges, digging in her nails in an effort to find a gap, but there was nothing. She gulped a breath that sounded disturbingly like a sob. Freedom was so close- she choked back that ridiculous thought with another gulp. Escape from this shaft would lead to the exact opposite of freedom.

  Darsey sagged and Wing stretched an arm under her thighs in support. “I won’t let them sell you,” he promised as if reading her thoughts. “We’ll find a way out.”

  Darsey grimaced at the idea of Wing rummaging through her mind, but was distracted from the kres when the hatch shuddered and coughed above her head. She threw herself to one side and her com enhanced muscles slammed her against the wall. She pressed herself into the dented metal shaft and closed her crusted eyes. However, there was no fresh flow of effluent, only silence and brighter light filtering past her eyelids. It took Darsey another second to realize Wing was shaking again.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “No, never. Do I seem suicidal? Though�
�” He paused and there was further shaking. “Your com response is most cute.”

  “Cute? Would you like my-boot-in-your-face cute? ‘Cos I can do that.”

  “I’m sure. Hush, I used Greon’s access code to open the hatch and I hear footsteps.”

  A hand the size of a ham reached past the open hatch to circle Darsey’s neck. She only had time for a strangled squeak before she was hoisted from the shaft.

  24

  Sales Prep

  Darsey dangled like a kitten, swinging in the grip of a huge and hairy mutt, while muck ran down her body and plopped onto white tiles beneath.

  “Luck above,” a high, thin voice cried behind her and she tried to turn, but failed. Instead she watched Wing lever himself from the shaft. He looked like a mud man and layers of his dirty hide rippled to the floor, to pool at his feet.

  “Disgraceful,” the stranger behind Darsey whinnied. “Beyond disgusting. Remove these stinking borraj at once.”

  Wing wiped a caked hand over his mouth to no effect. He spat instead and there was an outraged gargle from whoever stood behind Darsey. “At once.”

  The mutt still holding her turned ponderously to face his master, while she swung and dripped and struggled to control her com. Aggression surged through her to make every muscle tense. It would be so easy to kick the hairy hulk right where she knew it would hurt. A lot.

  Darsey was saved from her baser instincts by a hand closing on her wrist. Wing clutched the hidden band of her com and she released it to him with regret and relief. She instantly sagged further, while the mutt’s grip on her neck became a ring of iron. She gasped and clutched at her captor’s fingers, but the thick hair matted over them stopped her from digging in her nails. She tried to feel her legs enough to kick up and back. It was impossible to breathe and all she could see were stars and grit. An unexpected voice, deep and filled with authority, stopped her struggles.

  “Release her now.”

  The mutt flinched and the vice round Darsey’s throat snapped open. “Sorry, sah. So sorry.” The creature ducked his head until his beard brushed her filthy face.