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

by Casey Lea

  He released his prisoner and stepped gladly toward her, only to be stopped short. The flat of Darsey’s hand hit his chest hard. Her palm stopped him in mid-stride, jarring her arm, but she pushed back anyway, forcing him to step awkwardly away. They faced each other at arm’s length, while she shook her head again, this time in warning.

  “No closer, kres.”

  “Darse, listen to me-”

  “Stop. Just stop. I don’t want to hear it, Nightwing. What I need from you right now is the truth. So look me in the eye and tell me I’m not about to be sold.”

  Wing shifted his weight forward, but didn’t step toward her. “I’m sorry. You will go to auction and you will be sold.”

  Darsey tried to absorb that without reacting and it was surprisingly easy. The shock had sucked her dry, to leave an arid husk that was drained of all emotion.

  “Darsey…”

  She shook her head once more and bit her lower lip before croaking, “So much for promises.”

  “No,” he protested urgently, and took a step closer. “No. Darse, please keep faith. I’ve a plan-”

  He was interrupted by Min-yung stepping up behind him. The auctioneer’s expression was venomous and he spoke loudly, drowning out Nightwing’s sad attempt at reassurance.

  “My dear, would you like a pre-see of your potential buyers?” He gripped Darsey’s elbow firmly, his confidence clearly restored by the two hulking mutt now flanking him.

  She made no protest and let him lead her into the crowd, turning away from Nightwing without a backward glance. She hoped with painful intensity that she would never see the kres again.

  Unfortunately, that hope was short lived. Nightwing followed them closely and Darsey could hear him at her heels. However, his unwelcome companionship was brief. She was swept easily into the crowd’s currents, a secure part of Min-yung’s group, but a lone kres was given no such consideration. A trail of indignant cries and pained curses marked his slow progress behind them, but she ignored the fading sounds of his passage to hurry on as fast as she could.

  Darsey rapidly approached the heart of the room and a shining wall rose ahead of them. The wall was roughly her height, but stretched ten times as far on either side. It was bland and featureless, a smooth white face that blankly watched the approaching group. Along the length of the wall were rows of couches arranged in a series of curves to face that central screen.

  Min-yung stopped before the nearest seat and gestured at its hazy cushions. Darsey steeled herself before settling gingerly onto one, but despite its transparency, it was surprisingly supportive. She started to relax, but then tensed again when Nightwing burst from the throng behind them.

  He skidded into the back of her couch, but made no effort to stop, using his momentum instead to flip over that barrier and drop onto the seat beside Darsey. She ignored him and Min-yung pointedly claimed a seat on her far side, as distant from the kres as possible. There was an uncomfortable silence while all three stared blankly at the gleaming wall in front of them.

  The auctioneer finally sniffed irritably, apparently accepting that Nightwing was not about to leave, and tapped his com in sharp command. There was an instant response from the apparently solid façade ahead of them.

  A light appeared beneath its smooth surface, a faint glow from deep within the wall. That gleam grew quickly, becoming brighter and sharper until it was no longer faint and fuzzy, but dazzling. Darsey had to squint and when she did so, the light exploded. It split with eye-watering intensity. Lightning arced the length of the wall and then shrank to become myriad stars. She gasped in response and gazed in delight at a surface that now resembled a night sky filled with aurora.

  Beside Darsey, Min-yung hummed quietly with pleasure. “Ye, ye,” he murmured contentedly. “Good numbers. Good numbers for sure and good numbers make a good sale.”

  More stars appeared and then more again, crowding the wall as Darsey watched entranced. However, her enchantment was short-lived. A laser darted from the wall, streaking past her cheek, to link one of the myriad tiny lights with Min-yung’s com. His wrist band trilled in response and the star leapt from the wall, growing as it closed with them to become a globe as large as Darsey’s old space helmet. Clearly seen within that sphere was the face of an alien. Darsey had a brief impression of mermaridian features and then the globe shrank back to the wall and another darted forward to replace it.

  Buyers, Darsey thought slowly and pressed her numb hands between her thighs. Buyers for me.

  Those two globes were simply the first of the crowd and a steady stream of potential owners flowed past. They swirled around Darsey in increasingly rapid parade, each becoming a disembodied head when it left the wall. Most of the passing faces were beautiful, but some had scars or were misshapen and some were old. Not just older than anyone Darsey had seen here, but more elderly than anyone she had ever seen. The combination of stained and sagging skin with expressions twisted by a cold and ancient cynicism was chilling. She shuddered and Min-yung stopped humming to spare her a glance.

  “Don’t fear, girl, this is excellent. There’s interest from all our best clients. Your new owner will have position and you’ll be part of a fine household. You must be thrilled. Look, that’s Lord Tisareon of the Lucky Strike Brothel. His workers serve only the elite and he always dresses them so fine. Himself too.”

  Min-yung leaned closer to whisper against Darsey’s ear. ‘Shame that the age spots no longer bleach free, but they say he’s still active-as. You know… where it counts.” He leaned back to leer at Darsey before returning to the buyers, apparently oblivious to her disgust.

  “There’s High Tek LahDaRaysa. Now that’s a true surprise. The gentik usually purchase by the organ or cell, not wholesale. They must be most keen, to be after you entire.” He sniffed derisively. “Probably won’t buy, though. They just want to know who does so they can make offer for an ovary. Still and all it’s good for business, eh?”

  Min-yung turned to a speechless Darsey for confirmation, but was distracted by a query from his com. He looked back toward the image stream and into a single face that had been plucked from that mass of others to hover alone. “A new buyer? Excellent. A new prime buyer is most good. He’ll need cash for this sale, though. It’s too late for a full credit sweep. Ah, no problem.” The auctioneer flicked a glance at his com and his mouth puckered in delight. “So much money. He must be planning a multi-spend. The prime auctioneer will be most pleased.”

  Min-yung flicked his com and bowed deeply to the expressionless image before them. “Welcome, most welcome, Tetrarch BackBeak. We have your cash secure, Lord, and embrace our continued association with your great family.”

  The floating face frowned, its wrinkles twisting into more foreboding lines, but still nodded briefly in attempted courtesy. The image was that of an old kres, his face creased by the passage of centuries until its only defining features were faded gray eyes that studied Darsey intently. She stared back blankly until her would-be buyer disappeared, returning to the queue of customers. She gulped against nausea, but Min-yung was again lost in his happy reverie.

  “He’s registered as Tetrarck Crest BackBeak from the Royal Court on Kresynt. What a snatch. This could end in promotion – oh, look. It’s old Lady Shibelleon, still alive and looking a picture, eh?” He turned to Darsey, who had recovered enough to glare at the passing faces. The stretched features of Lady Shibelleon were still with her when Min-yung beamed and cooed again. “A picture, hmmm?”

  “Yeah, a real Dorian Gray,” she agreed harshly, but he had already turned back to the buyers.

  “Harvester Ishareon from the Arena, of course. Exotic gladiators are always popular plus. And there’s Leader Nikareon. He’ll want a fertility scan to see if you can carry Beserks. They always need more, because safe pregnancy and labour are so rare. Ah… a-huh… ye… oh, look. A ch't'kar,” he crowed, and nodded at an apparently empty globe. “They’re most territorial, you know. A camouflage species, and utter loners
. He wants a mate with access to new territory. How delightful. What a turn-up. Truly epiphanous.”

  He looked back to Darsey and finally realized that his elation was unshared. “Luck, what are your thoughts, girl? This is glory. Glory beyond belief. You’ll be sold at the highest level and owned by one of the greatest-”

  “Yes,” Darsey agreed mildly, but her pitying expression silenced the auctioneer. “They probably are the best your sad society can offer, but I think they’re pathetic. This isn’t a civilisation. It’s a collection of parasites. I can’t stop you plucking at me like vultures, but I can pity you and I do. God, I do. I pity your selfish hedonism and I pity your ultimate loneliness. You’re just animals fighting for scraps. You think you own me, but you don’t even understand me. You will never, ever own the only part of me that counts. No one will.”

  Darsey rose with her final, indignant breath and Min-yung jumped to his feet as well. He was gasping, but rendered silent, whether by shock or anger she wasn’t sure. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get away. Right now.

  Darsey swept from the couch and Min-Yung seemed to be drawn after her. She walked away from all those eager buyers and he abandoned them too. She strode toward the far end of the chamber, toward the ancient door and he had to scurry to catch her.

  The auctioneer belatedly grasped Darsey’s arm and she turned on her toes to face him, but he raised his com in triumph while it reasserted control. Numbness returned to wash away her fear and her fury and all the resistance that went with them. Darsey knew that at some level she was still fighting, but her struggle had become internal and the outside world was impossibly distant. She could only hear Min-yung faintly, even though he leaned in close, face to face.

  “We can sell you, slave, hold no illusion. We can sell you and we will. To an owner who will control you and force you and break you utterly. Ye, break you down to every part you have and then claim each one. Forget all thoughts of freedom, because your free life is gone. From now. Right now. Watch close, girl, as I rid our house of your wretched rebellion and find a new owner to claim you.”

  Min-yung raised his com to Darsey’s eye level and flicked it with a finger. She staggered and dipped before balance returned and her body straightened. It paused briefly, but then moved on again, turning to the side to glide sedately toward one edge of the room. Each step seemed to take an age, but she was unable to stop them. Inexorably, she approached an abyss that cut across the chamber. The floor disappeared ahead of her and was lost in a darkness that grew steadily closer. She struggled to focus on the apparent drop and abruptly realized that it was an illusion. There was only a single, shallow step that led down to a massive curtain. A wall of black fabric hung from ceiling to floor in front of her.

  Darsey was outwardly calm, but inside she was screaming as she closed on that ominous barrier. She vaguely heard Nightwing asking where he should go and being directed through a simple energy field to the vendor’s box. Despite her anger at the kres, his loss was a blow and her fear grew. She could sense it clearly now, despite the auctioneer’s emotional damping. They reached the curtains, but Darsey abruptly stopped. She made her body hesitate and for a moment she could sense a way through the restraining field. Her mind pushed past that barrier and regained control. She took a single, rapid step back, but her freedom was fleeting.

  Min-yung frowned and chewed at his lips in unexpected concern, but his com’s power built quickly. It crushed Darsey’s rebellion and she watched helplessly as she stepped down to the curtain and darkness filled her view. It destroyed what was left of her senses. Her vision of the world turned black. The only other input was an overpowering scent. The darkness stank of mildew and she was inwardly staggered by that mustiness. The curtains rubbing against her face reeked of age. Min-yung held her poised within their folds, immersed in stench and darkness, as buyers rushed past to claim positions in the pit beyond.

  Every star from the wall swirled by in a mass exodus, colliding in wild ricochets when the clients driving them fought for entry. Their proxies filled the air with a buzz of conversation and castigation. Min-yung had clearly caused a sensation by calling an early auction and every buyer had an opinion on such scandalous behaviour. The jockeying stars gradually disappeared beyond the curtain, taking some time to filter through.

  Darsey was alone in those dark folds again, but only briefly. She was abruptly driven forward, unable to even flinch. She could hear the murmur of her buyers through the antique curtains, but when the restraint field propelled her past those heavy drapes and into the pit, there was a sudden hush. Min-yung smiled at her and stepped forward too.

  Darsey could still see nothing beyond herself. Her eyes seemed as unresponsive as the rest of her kidnapped body. There were no stars any more. She was standing alone, in darkness and utter silence. The only light was a gentle glow that grew slowly and seemed to be coming from her treacherous body.

  She tried to look down at herself, but instead her arms rose and her head moved with them. Her hands reached toward an unseen ceiling, despite her best efforts to keep them at her side. One leg kicked high and then swung gracefully to spin Darsey in a tight pirouette. Her mind spun too, but her silent vertigo remained hidden. She twisted and twirled with perfect balance, controlled by the auctioneer.

  The physical displacement perfectly matched her sense of mental dislocation. Darsey struggled with a sense of disbelief, unable to accept she was being sold, despite the fact that she was clearly on display to a hidden audience. She could hear murmurs again now, faint stirrings in the dark. Her body slowed to spread its arms in subtle entreaty before straightening. It stood tall and still while feeling flowed back and Darsey unexpectedly found herself in contact with the world again. Her body was no longer distant, with numb, unresponsive limbs. It was hers.

  She tried to wiggle her toes and they moved obediently in response. Her fingers quickly followed suit and she realized that she now had the power to shift the fixed smile from her face. She did so abruptly, and her features finally relaxed.

  Darsey tried to lift a leg, but this time she failed. The restraint field was still there, but it had expanded to leave her alone beneath her skin. She had limited movement within its cloying force. She sighed and returned her attention to her sale. The auction chamber was no longer dark. It was studded with the bidders’ tiny lights and more appeared each second, growing to fill the space around her with a cherry glow. Their soft sheen brought a surreal touch to Darsey’s horror while the auctioneer began to woo the crowd. His voice sounded disjointed in the growing clamour and she had to strain to follow the strange phrases.

  “Physical flexibility… malleable DNA with a gentik assessment of 9.75, truly 9.75… hyper fertility and two functioning ovaries, both presently cycling…” Min-yung’s voice began to settle into a rhythm and Darsey realized it was an eerily familiar patter. He moved from extolling her virtues into exhorting bids from the audience.

  The stars surrounding her rustled closer, crowding each other in eager anticipation.

  “What do I get, Ladies and Lords? What do I get? An open from any-all? Two hundred thousand? Do I hear two hundred? A very bargain I assure – yes, I get two hundred, two hundred thousand credits. I have two hundred – three hundred now, three hundred thou – five hundred. I’m at five hundred thousand, half a million credits. Do I get more? I have five hundred for the first example of a new species. A fresh species, Lords and Ladies. Look at the sample, gracious bidders. Scan the quality. Don’t miss such a specimen – one million. I get one million credits, I’m with one million, I have a million, a million credits, do I get one and a half? A new species, gentles and on the market, I assure. I have one mill- one and a half, one point five million, we’re at one – two! Two million credits. Do I get-? Yes, three, three million credits. See the merchandise and see the interest – four, four – and five, five million credits, gentles. Yes, five. I get five for the new species.”

  Min-yung had to pause and take a
gulping breath. “That’s right, gentles. A record price for a unique specimen. Five million. I have five million cred – now five and a half, five point five registered. I’m at five and a half million. Do I get six? Six million, yes, six mill- Fifty,” Min-yung shrieked the bid and the animated jostling of the stars stopped. There was a sudden silence and everyone was abruptly as still as Darsey.

  “Fifty million credits,” Min-yung croaked. “I have… yes, I do, I really do. I have fifty, fifty million credits.’” He shook his head wonderingly as pandemonium broke out in the audience. The amount was ridiculous, more than enough to buy and stock a private spaceship. Planets had been sold for less and everyone wanted to discuss the outrageous offer. The noise grew, but Min-yung’s professionalism returned and he drove his voice over the commotion.

  “Fifty million credits. Do I get more?” He paused, but the hesitation was brief. ‘That’s it. With fifty million credits, I’m sealing… sealing… sealed. Sealed for fifty million credits.” He rolled those final words around his mouth, as if savouring their sweetness, before nodding graciously to the clamouring lights. “Ye, ye. Thanks much. Thanks, gentles all. A wonderful result indeed. Multi-thanks, Ladies and Lords.”

  Min-yung turned Darsey with com control and carefully steered her back to the curtain. He placed a proprietary arm around her shoulders and they passed through the dark drapes together, to be met by an uproar. Darsey stepped up from the pit into a clamour of congratulations. Sounds of joy pounded her, but she scarcely noticed. She moved woodenly, every step leaden. She couldn’t believe she’d just been sold. That she belonged to a head in a goldfish bowl.

  The slavers pressed forward so that Darsey was engulfed by large voices and larger bodies. The crowd surrounded her and she tried to brace herself, expecting to be crushed, but she was hardly touched. Despite their jubilation, the Harvesters were careful of her, even respectful. They brushed past her with only the lightest of contact and brief, almost reverential touches.