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

by Casey Lea

  Please, his mind responded. Whenever your job involves sharp, pointy objects, which is most of the time, it isn't work to you.

  Misty dived at Ace, tackling him round the waist and they flew backward together. They landed in a pile of dock detritus and a confusion of limbs, both laughing. Boxes crumpled under them, until there was an unexpected squelch and the stink of something rotten floated upward.

  “Yew,” Ace complained, while Misty kept laughing.

  “Sweet as blushberry blooms. C'mon, hero.” She leapt to her feet and extended a hand. Jace gripped her forearm and as soon as his fingers curled tight she yanked with full combat strength. He came upright and left the ground like a spooked tweet.

  Misty spun to avoid him, but also to swing him further into the air. They both let go and he soared down the berth, landing lightly to run a few steps before skidding to a halt.

  He looked back over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure,” Misty grinned, while Ace straightened his clothes and tried to compress the dirt streaked over them.

  “I'm on a date, remember?”

  Misty's smile faded and she turned back to the ship with a shrug. “Whatever.” She managed a smile, but sadness welled past it to spill from her fronds. How mortifying.

  “Hey,” Ace whispered and stepped close.

  She looked up into concerned blue eyes and struggled not to seem pathetic. “I'm fine.”

  “Sure you are. The finest.”

  Misty smiled at that and Ace gently squeezed her shoulders. Oh, no. That felt far too nice and she wasn’t good at hiding emotion. His thumbs brushed the bare skin beside the curve of her tank top, and her body betrayed her with a shudder. His hands shook and for a moment she thought he felt it too, but he released her at once.

  Ace crossed his arms, but to her surprise, he didn’t back away. “What's wrong?”

  “Me. Possibly.” She took a deep breath and despite her fear, went for the truth. “I’ve been getting some crazy-intense visions. Hallucinations I guess. So, do you think I'm mad?”

  Ace considered that briefly. “Nope. I'd say more sad. Perhaps a bit grumpy-”

  “No, idiot. Please don’t joke. Not about this. Do you think I'm crazy? Unhinged. Insane.”

  “Of course not. If you think that you must be nuts.” He chuckled, but Misty stared at him and he quickly sobered. He took her by the shoulders again and bent at the knees to make eye contact, which made her wobble at the knees too.

  “Hey.” He grabbed her in a hug, holding her up. “Mist, I don't know what to say. You've got amazing passion for life and incredible courage, which make you kinda wild, but I love it. You're not afraid to have fun. You’re also the sanest person I know. Without doubt. You see right through everyone’s crap-screens. That's why you scare people, because you’re honest. Okay? And as for seeing things, don’t we all? It’s called imagination, but as long as you know they’re not real it’s fine.”

  But what about the anger. Maybe I’m a monster?

  A wash of fury from Ace made her try to break away, but he held her so hard it hurt. Never. Not even close and don’t you ever think that again. His grip eased, but he still hugged her close, offering comfort and she felt his wish that he could offer more. That they could be more.

  Misty’s heart stuttered. Longing and love escaped from her fronds before she could stop them and words followed. Me too.

  “Mist, I'm here for you and always will be. No one means as much to me.”

  She looked up at him. “Are you saying you love me?”

  He returned her gaze intently, without an answering smile. Yes.

  Mistwind's lips shaped 'oh', but that was all. She rose on her toes instinctively and he bent until their lips met. The warmth of his breath was intensified by the warmth of his mouth, but then impossibly, insanely, her father's voice intruded. Paedophile.

  Ace froze when the accusation slipped from his mind, while Misty stiffened at his memory of Freefall’s scathing words. She finally understood who had come between them. She groaned, while the knowledge she’d craved breached her mind like acid.

  Misty staggered back, her face crumpling while her hands flew to her mouth. “Patri,” she choked and that word now carried all the hurt and fury in the world. Ace pulled her into another embrace, but she was rigid in his arms.

  “Free was trying to protect-” he said, but was interrupted by the taxi door slamming behind them. Someone had closed it at speed and it lifted at once, to return to its base.

  “The damn taxi was costing a fortune,” a caustic voice complained, but to Misty’s surprise Ace stayed focused on her. He gathered her closer than ever, while his mind cradled hers. They stood wrapped around each other, body and soul, as the warmth between them grew. It was perfection and it was exactly what her father had forbidden.

  A minute passed and the girl Ace was ignoring became increasingly shrill. “What the hell are you doing? Stop clinching with the help and get physical with me. Aren't you going to ask me on board?”

  However, Ace stood there, exchanging breaths with Misty, until she shook her head and pushed gently against his chest. “Your date's getting restless. You should service it before it hurts someone.”

  “Huh? There's no way I'm leaving you right now.”

  Neither of them reacted to a string of curses, or the sound of angry stilettos striking their way down the metal berth. It was only when they faded that Ace belatedly jerked upright. “Dammit, she's walking into the docks alone. I've got to see her safely to a float.” Ace paused to hold Misty's eye and mind. I'll be back soon.

  Her lips twitched cynically in response. If you don't get distracted.

  No. Soon, full stop. Ace turned and broke into a run. He disappeared, but his date's scent lingered, something expensive that she must have wallowed in. No doubt it made tracking her easy for him, but would leaving her be so simple? Misty doubted it. She watched Ace disappear into the shadows of the dock and her smile finally slipped. No wonder she looked manic most of the time. Whenever she thought about him her eyes burned and she had to choke back hysteria.

  She was close to breaking point. She simply adored him, but it seemed there was nothing simple about it. She knew she loved him way too much and had tried to stop, but despite her best efforts her addiction kept growing. The better she came to know him the more she yearned for him and not just as a friend. She snarled at that idea and recklessly dropped her com’s protective field, before punching the flaking metal wall of the berth.

  Misty's fist snapped back and her lip curled, while pain exploded up her arm. She cursed and raised her hand to study it distantly. The knuckles were streaked red and one looked suspiciously flat. Oh well. She'd wanted to feel that blow land and she certainly had.

  Misty shrugged. Some types of pain were easier to cope with than others, but she finally sighed and let her com start healing her hand. Avoidance never solved anything. She made herself think back to what she had read in Ace's mind, even though it terrified her. She recalled her father's interference first and her eyes grew hot and itchy, so she closed them to avoid lighting up the alley.

  She loved Free, but how could he have thought he was helping her? She needed solutions, not protective gestures. It looked like she would have to find her own fix this time. She pushed herself more upright to stand straighter against the wall and went over every word of Patri's warning.

  Misty considered them all and slumped again without realizing it, until sagging steel and flaking iron were the only things holding her up. So she wasn't just infertile, she was doomed to a life of twilight, an eternal prepubescence with no possibility of sex, much less romance. The few faint curves she had finally grown were the end of her adolescence, not the beginning. Her eyes felt hot again, which was weird, because she was sad, not angry... oh. She must be on the verge of tears. That was truly weird and utterly unproductive. She straightened again and realized she needed a major distraction.

  “Misty,” someone mutte
red beside her and she leapt high in the air, spinning to face the docks. She peered into the darkness under a nearby storage gantry and a tall figure unfolded from the shadows. She hastily stepped back and a Mutt shuffled into the open. “Don't scream,” the creature said. “It's me. Zariss.”

  Misty stopped with her hand on her com, too intrigued by the t’ssaa’s visit to react to the ludicrous suggestion that she might scream. “Hey, Zee. Nice disguise.” Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. “You've found the Maker.”

  “Perhaps. An exiled gentik has opened a clinic on Gratuity offering the same services as our target.”

  “Let's go.”

  “Wait. We’re not the only two who have issues with this gentik. What of your short friend?”

  Misty had to laugh at such a description of Ace, but it trailed off into a hiccup. There was still no sign of him returning along the dock. “He's busy and we don't need him anyall. Show me the way.”

  She gestured for Zariss to lead and he accelerated in a shower of rust, with Misty close behind as they charged further into the docks. She had to sprint at full combat speed to keep up, hurdling puddles that steamed and piles of rubble that appeared from the dark almost under her feet. She started to laugh and none of the watchers in the night tried to waylay her.

  Zariss slowed when they entered a busy street and Misty settled on his heels, but the crowd soon parted ahead of the lizard and they accelerated once more. “I'm curious” Misty called out, “but I don't want to give offence.”

  Zariss looked back and blinked rapidly. “Ask and we shall see how I react.”

  “Do you have any long term mates?”

  Zariss hissed so softly Misty hardly caught the sound, while his eyes blinked even faster. “Why? Do you wish to apply for such a position?”

  “What?” She stumbled and stepped on some Harvester toes, but recovered quickly to catch her guide. She ignored the silver gleam growing behind her and the curses thrown in her wake. “No. I was curious. Sorry, it’s no concern of mine.”

  “Indeed not, but friends may share such information. I do have a lifelong mate, but we've been apart for some time now.”

  “That's sad. Do you miss her?”

  “Severely.” Zariss closed his mouth tight and looked ahead again, although the crowd continued to melt away before him.

  Misty followed him closely through the gaps. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset-”

  “Or give offence,” he threw over his shoulder. “I know and I encouraged your asking, but it is hard to suffer for want of a loved one.”

  “You do love her then?”

  Zariss stopped and Misty ran straight into the back of him. She bounced off and rubbed her nose. “Ouch.”

  Her t’ssaa friend turned with fluid grace and dipped his head to study her face. “Apologies. Your question caused me suffering. I love her most strongly. I yearn to save our children and return to her with them.”

  The t’ssaa sighed and looked suspiciously like he needed a hug, so Misty reached up to slap him on the shoulder. “Let's do that, then.”

  She didn’t wait for a reply, but sprinted forward, having to sidestep a mutt with a huge storage strip over its shoulder. Zariss moved ahead to clear the way and they were soon sprinting again. Her elation returned and she chased his broad green back as if she were flying. Unfortunately she suddenly was. A side street Zariss had led her into disappeared underfoot.

  “Whoa!” Misty fell into blackness until her com thrust with full power. Her arm shot up over her head and she slowed at once. The com kept braking, sending out pulses until she was hanging in midair. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. Her wrist band began to haul her back to the surface, but she stopped it with a thought. Zariss had leapt into this pit, so there must be more to the place than she could see. It could be the perfect place to hide a front door.

  Misty started drifting down again and dropped deeper into the night. The fall seemed to last forever and by the time she splashed to a halt at the bottom even her fronds were almost blind. They did show a slightly lighter shadow at her feet that seemed roughly oval. It seemed she’d landed in a puddle, but at least it wasn't steaming. She turned carefully in the darkness and the only noises were very faint, filtered down from the street above. Where the hail was the reptile?

  “Zariss,” Misty hissed into the black, but nothing stirred and there was no response. Had her strange friend somehow been captured? She did another slow circle on her heel, peering around her with eyes and fronds and wondering what to do. She would have tried to break in, but there was nowhere to break into. That left only one option.

  Misty threw her head back and could just make out a gash of night sky far above. She grinned at it and yelled with full com amplification. “KNOCK KNOCK. I KNOW YOU'RE THERE.”

  She kept her protective field at full strength this time and swung at the wall as hard as she could. Her fist connected with metal and the din was everything she'd hoped. She spun in a circle, kicking out at unseen surfaces until the pit rang like a bell and her head rang with it. “HELLO-”

  Misty broke off when a slice of light appeared. A solid door swung toward her and an unexpectedly familiar face peered around it. “Some quiet, please. What do you wish? Ya-erk-” The gentik's querulous demands were lost in a desperate squawk when Misty pounced. She grabbed the soft, plump male by the throat and carried him backward with ease. They both cannoned through the door and she drove him straight into a wall. Her eyes were already so bright she could hardly see his features. Her vision bored straight through to his skeleton instead, until he was nothing more than a strange x-ray creature.

  Misty shook her head. Right now she needed to see the outside of her victim. He tried to pry her fingers from his throat and she slammed him against the wall again. He subsided, while she listened to her pounding pulse, slowing it until she grew calm enough to see clearly. Yes. There was no mistake.

  Misty's fingers tightened and the gentik's skin changed from lavender to purple. “Maker,” she hissed and his brow furrowed further while his eyes wept uncontrollably.

  The point of something cold and sharp settled against the back of Misty's neck. “Please release the gentik,” Zariss requested softly, but the sword point dug a little deeper at the same time. “This is no jest. Show me you are calm.”

  Misty breathed hard, almost beyond complying, no matter what it cost her. She leaned into the gentik and studied her reflection in his eyes. Respect for the t’ssaa saved Misty when nothing else could have. She slowly relaxed her fingers, until they peeled away one after the other to free the Maker. He collapsed to the floor, arms and legs jerking while his mouth gaped wide for air.

  She forced herself to look away from the doctor who had helped maim her and turn very slowly instead. She and Zariss assessed each other. The t'ssaa lowered his sword and Misty nodded in appreciation. “My thanks, Zariss. I wouldn't wish to hurt you.”

  “Nor I you. Forgive the subterfuge, but I needed to be sure I could stop you killing this sorry creature.” He studied her eyes more closely and then swept forward to hug her. “I'm most pleased we did not have to come to blows.”

  Misty awkwardly patted Zariss on the back, before swinging her arms wide to release him. He let go too, and gave one of his hissing laughs when she backed quickly away.

  She scowled and prodded the Maker with the toe of her boot. “Hey, you. This is a complaint. I'm a dissatisfied customer.”

  The gentik looked up from the floor, his indignation swamping Misty's fronds. It drove him to speak, despite his still recovering throat. “Im-ark... impossible. My w-work is superb.”

  Misty's eyes flashed and the Maker hunched lower again. “I fear we disagree. We'll discuss it once you finish with Zariss.”

  “That would be satisfactory,” the t’ssaa murmured and the Maker grimaced, ducking so low his chin was on the ground when he stared up at Misty.

  “W-who are you?”

  She offered a smile
that was all teeth. “We met when I was just a fetus. I was a helpless little girl and your technology ensured I'd always stay a little girl, but guess what?” She crouched down and the doctor's hands scrabbled in an effort to sink through the floor. He whimpered when she leant forward to whisper in his ear. “I'm not helpless anymore.”

  Misty's hands closed in the back of the Maker's lab coat and she lifted him effortlessly. She plucked him off the ground and held him while he scrambled to regain his feet. She released him as soon as he was upright, but then slammed him back against the wall. He squealed, making no effort to stop her from pinning him to the buckled metal plating with her forearm.

  She regarded him innocently, with the sweetest of smiles. “I'm Mistwing FeatherFlight.”

  “Truly,” he croaked and raised his gaze from the arm trapping his chest. “How surprising. You've grown quite tall already. Maturity is always slow for someone with Beserk genes.”

  “For someone irradiated you mean.”

  “No, no, owww. Please, lady. You were never irradiated. You were changed as a babe, but not injured. Nikareon follows some ridiculous code and, like me, he is dedicated to developing new life, not destroying it. All he did to you was introduce and activate some of his genes- arrggh.” The arm pinning him pressed tighter and he quivered. “I'm sorry. Truly sorry. My apologies for what you suffered, Lady Mistwing, but you must know, you must believe... I am most happy to see you. Deeply delighted in truth.”

  “You're a liar. My growth has stalled. My physiology won't enter puberty properly.”

  The Maker pursed his lips and considered. “That will surely be Nikareon's fault. He's enthusiastic, but an amateur I fear. His DNA implantation was doubtless clumsy, but perhaps, if you wish, I have an opportunity to fix that damage now.”

  Misty recoiled, twisting to one side to avoid hitting Zariss. She backed to the door, which had swung shut and stopped against it. “What do you mean 'fix'? That's impossible. Our finest healers couldn't do it.”