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

by Casey Lea

  Amber knew better than to look up. The Devourer was coming for her and in her heart she’d always known he would. The ground seemed to be shaking with the monster's steps, so she closed her eyes, but that was worse. She could still feel its approach. She gritted her teeth, before once more staring at the distorted reflection growing in the ice. She watched that dark shadow until the beast reached her.

  A pair of sneakers moved into Amber's sight. They were the latest retro look, high tops from Earth. She gulped and a tanned hand appeared in front of her face. That was enough to force her into action. She refused the offer of help and pushed herself upright. She staggered and the Devourer stepped closer. She jerked her head up to warn him off with a glare, but that was a mistake. The killer was watching her intently with eyes as green as deadly arum leaves.

  Amber gulped again and he offered her a smile, warm but uncertain. Her heart definitely tried to somersault. Curse it and curse the murderer. How could he still look exactly the same? Vivid eyes, dark hair graying at the temples and the most charming smile she had ever seen. He was still her old professor. Her mentor. Her husband.

  Amber shook her head in disbelief. Entire eras and countless deaths lay between them. He should have changed. “Pierce?”

  He frowned at that old name and shook himself as if shedding the past. “I am God.”

  Hmmm. Millennia alone had clearly led to a little ego problem. Amber forced a smile. “Does that make me Mrs God?”

  “Yes, of course. I'm so happy you finally see it.” Pierce studied her intently for a further second, but then his serious expression slipped. He laughed without restraint, throwing his head back, before chuckling, then smiling at Amber with genuine warmth. “Mrs God indeed. Let's do megalomania together, shall we?” Pierce reached out to take her by the hand and she drew a sharp breath. She knew she should pull away, but he had her distracted and off balance. Exactly how mad was he?

  “Ambrosia.” Pierce paused as if to savor her name. Her very first name. “It's past paradise to touch you again. You've no idea how much I've longed to. I've been watching you, of course, but it's not the same.”

  “Pierce,” she murmured and his pupils dilated, turning his eyes to jade and coal. “I'm surprised you wasted your time spying on a corpse.”

  He smiled, then stepped very close and Amber stood frozen while he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Don't you wish to know how I found you? How I knew you weren't dead?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but only a squeak emerged. She hastily cleared her throat and managed to find a croak. “I'm curious. I was sure you'd think me gone, since you killed me.”

  Pierce jerked upright, away from her harsh reminder. “How could you think I meant to hurt you? The deed was an accident. When I spun to you I held one of the blades you'd just hacked from my crystal. I swung a hand and reached out to you. You stepped forward.” His face creased and for a moment he looked lost. “I do love you. Truly. Please don't deny it.”

  “I do deny it. I have since the moment you cut my throat.”

  Pierce's face twisted further and his voice shook. “I didn't even realize I had that shard. I was just trying to connect with you. Reach out to you. I thought you'd pull back, but you came forward instead. I never meant any of it. Do you truly think I planned to kill everyone? Our friends? Our civilization?” His voice fell to a whisper. “Our son? I had no idea what was happening. I died. I messed around with an alien crystal and it sucked the life from me. It hurt and I was scared, Brosia. Terrified. When you reversed the process to bring me back I grabbed for life, clutched all of it I could and didn't stop. I had no idea the cyrstal was reaching out to drain every sentient mind. Not until it was too late. I never meant to hurt anyone. I just didn't want to die again.”

  Pierce looked away, hiding his face and Amber's hand rose of its own volition, to rest lightly on his back. She knew what it was to fear death. Oh yes. She understood his fear far too well.

  He turned quickly back and frowned when their eyes met again. “I don't want you to die either. I know you, Brosia. You don't want your life to end any more than I do. I've seen how you scurry around trying to stay safe, protecting yourself as your first priority. If you join me, then this sad little life doesn't have to be your last.”

  Amber felt unexpected panic at such an offer. He was totally wrong about her. “No. I only take such care of myself because I have to stay alive. To stop you.” Drakkit. Why did she reveal that?

  “Convenient, but untrue. Listen to your heart, just as I listen to mine. That's how I knew you’d survived. I felt your pain, felt you slip away, but then I felt your resurrection too. Because I love you. Our life together could be past perfect.” Pierce dipped his head toward Amber, until his nose brushed her cheek and she swallowed. “I still want you,” he whispered. “Only you.”

  Amber had to gulp again before she could answer. “Too bad about the pile of corpses propping us up.”

  Pierce straightened with a frown. “Why must you be so narrow-minded? I help the spread of intelligent life and every species I shape lives for generations before I harvest it. They wouldn't exist at all if not for me. I raise them to sentience and then let them flourish for millennia. I never eat at all, until starvation comes close to claiming me. What carnivore could do more?”

  “None, I suppose, but then you're not supposed to eat people. You're not supposed to gorge either. No single person should try to claim all of the light. That energy has to be shared. Each generation needs to relinquish it to the next-”

  “Why? Why should some strangers' brats live instead of me? What can they offer-”

  “That's the point. We don't know what they can offer. It's evolution and ultimately progress.”

  Pierce breathed in so sharply his nostrils quivered. “Still lecturing, Ambrosia? It was always your most annoying fault.” He snorted again, but then smiled. “And your most endearing.”

  Amber smiled too, but then bit her lower lip. He still knew how to surprise her. What a pity he was also as crazy as a trap full of tweets.

  His mouth twisted and he frowned. “I'm not crazy, you know. Just very old and very lonely. You have no idea how evolved I am. Perhaps when you finally join me, you'll be willing to learn. What is it the humans say? Survival of the fittest? That could be us. I swear it.”

  Amber was caught again. By sincerity. By eyes as green as new growth unfurling in the sun. She made herself stare into those shaded pools searching for shame. “Your first feeding was a mistake, but what of the second? Or the third that you're planning right now? You're nothing but a genocidal monster.”

  The eyes flinched and in their depths something dark shrank, or sank further away to leave only a shadow. “I know,” Pierce whispered. “Nearly half a million years and I still fear every sleep.”

  “Then stop. If you have real regret, just stop. Please.”

  Pierce answered without hesitation. “I would for you. For a different future that only you can give me. We could have children. We could save our people.”

  Amber stumbled back, blind and gasping.

  The world faded, but still his words were clear. He seemed to be whispering in her ear. “You can never have babies with him. Even if you do manage to defrost him.’’

  “What? Who are you talking about?”

  “The big one who thinks he’s so charming.”

  Amber’s mind churned, but then she understood and laughed. “Nikareon? He’s disgusting.”

  Pierce gave a familiar sharp smile. “Your type exactly. Remember, you’ve a propensity for a certain addiction, Ambrosia. A fatal attraction to bad boys.”

  “It was certain-sure fatal with you,” she snapped and he flushed.

  “If you want to pain me, I’ve given you plentiful ammunition. However, my desires are more laudable. I wish to ameliorate the harm I caused.”

  Amber laughed again, a choking gasp filled with disgust. “How can you begin to fix what you’ve done?”

  “By
restoring our people. They could live again, through us, because we still share DNA. Brosia, we could have everything.”

  Amber turned away from Pierce, at a loss for words. She hugged herself to stop her arms reaching out to him, before making herself walk away. She needed to tell him how much she hated him, but he sent his own words in pursuit before she could.

  “I know you loved me. Really loved me. You jumped into the vortex of a giant alien crystal to save me.”

  Amber spun back with fresh outrage. “Yes, and look how that turned out.”

  “It can change. I can change.”

  Amber held herself quite still and tried very hard not to hope. “Change?”

  Pierce smiled, but then his eyes widened in alarm. Amber felt wetness on her cheek and raised a hand to wipe it off. Ice shavings sifted from her fingers and fell to the floor. For a moment she had no idea what they meant, but then memory returned. The plague ice was deadly. She was under attack.

  “Brosia!” Pierce closed with her again and web shot from his fingertips to settle over her cheek, which was already numb. She hadn’t felt the strands land, but in seconds that changed. They burned like fire across her skin. She cried out and her hand jerked to brush them off, but Pierce caught it. “Wait. The ice burrowed deep. Let the web cleanse it all.”

  He carefully drew her close and she didn't resist. She let the monster hold her and it was more horrible than she’d ever imagined. He felt warm and firm and his scent was familiar and she suddenly, desperately wanted to go back. Back to when she was truly young and life had been perfect. They stood together for a long time and it was Pierce who pulled away first.

  Amber's hair squirmed and swayed in its ponytail. She was too embarrassed to look Pierce in the eye, staring at his sneakers instead, while he studied her cheek. He let out his breath in a rush. “It's clean. You're clear. Do you feel well?”

  He gently tilted her chin until they made eye contact and Amber held his gaze defiantly. She could look away of course. Any time she wished. She simply refused to be the first. He gave a small, one sided smile.

  “I'm relieved you're unscathed, but we need to find this thing and end it, before it takes any more from us. Here,” his hands moved to her wrist and something cold clasped it.

  Amber jumped back with a hiss, but Pierce watched her mildly. She looked down, to see the most delicate and beautiful com she’d ever worn clasping her arm. “Oh,” she breathed, lifting it to watch the low light sparkle from gold and jewels. The com glowed more brightly and warmth flowed through her, banishing the surrounding chill. She looked up at her husband in confusion. “Why?”

  “To keep you safe of course. I only destroyed your other com to prevent you trying something foolish when we first met. Our reunion seemed safer if you were unplugged, but I've no wish to cause you hurt. Ever. Hunting the nerve center of this alien will offer great risk and I want to protect you.”

  This time it was Amber who moved away. She nodded curtly, but the shock of seeing Pierce again was passing and her brain was starting to work. She studied her new com to avoid the trap of looking at him. “That's why you've come,” she said, working it out as she spoke. “You're the predator protecting his territory. An invader's stealing your food and you're here to stop it raiding your pantry.”

  "Right now," Pierce reminded her, "People are dying while we delay."

  Amber jerked into instant motion, striding toward the exit. “Let's hunt,” she agreed and her voice hardly shook at all. That was a nice surprise. Her new com must offer plenty of support. Pierce caught her and they paused in the doorway together. Stalactites quivered in the arch above and they both jumped through. The icy knives smashed to the floor behind them and chips sprayed their legs like bullets.

  Amber exchanged a look with Pierce and was almost trapped again. He stared at her while her cheeks heated. His mouth quirked on one side first, before curling up in a lopsided smile and heat spread from her face through her body.

  “I sense prey,” Pierce whispered and Amber started. He pointed to his com and the heat trail marked in the map hovering over it. “Looks like it retreated to the nearest quarters.”

  “That's a lab,” Amber whispered back. “The lab I used to discover it.” She flinched at the memory, but Pierce moved on without comment and she followed him into a growing fog. They were clearly on the right path and in less than a minute reached the lab door.

  This time the mist was thickest close to their target. Amber shivered and peered into the cloud that had been a lab. It was impossible to see anything. “We need a breeze.”

  Pierce grinned and raised his com. “Easy.” He aimed at a hidden wall on the far side of the room. An external wall. He braced himself and Amber's hands flew to cover her ears. Just in time. There was a roar of thunder followed by lightning. Some sort of dark energy hurtled from Pierce's wrist while he struggled to hold his arm steady.

  He shot for a second and then grabbed Amber round the waist. She opened her mouth to complain, just as the lab wall disintegrated, taking the ship's protective ice sleeve with it. Pierce's strange energy bolt was definitely powerful. Air rushed from the breached ship and she was swept off her feet.

  Amber clawed for Pierce, suddenly more than happy to be held. His grip on her tightened and he pulled her steadily back to the deck. She craned her head to see a strand of web attaching them both to the link. It seemed they were safe.

  Amber rested against her husband and watched a skin of ice form across the hole in the wall. The whistle of passing air fell to a steady breeze and then dropped away completely. The lab ahead now looked bright and white and very empty. Could the brain have been sucked into space? She scrunched up her eyes and her fists. Please, please, please...

  Pierce interrupted her silent mantra. “There's still something drawing energy in there.” He took her by the shoulders and pushed her away. “Time for me to finish this.”

  Amber squirmed and folded her arms, caught between shame and relief. Her lips parted, but no words came out. Drakkit, she was braver than that. “I can help.”

  Pierce frowned. “No doubt, but I'm the one armed for this.”

  Amber considered his dark, metallic com thoughtfully. It had expanded in overlapping plates to cover his entire forearm and the back of his left hand. “Indeed you are. The ice had no defense against your weapon. So why are you even here? Why didn't you just shoot the ship to pieces when you first arrived?”

  “Such was my plan, but it hit a complication.” Pierce looked intently at Amber and her hair stirred.

  “You mean me.”

  “Truly. I wasn't about to explode my wife.”

  Amber had no idea how to reply to that, but she didn't need to. Pierce turned on a heel and vanished. He leapt through the lab door and she was drawn in his wake. She had no desire to be caught in the crossfire, but still she needed to watch.

  Pierce landed silently in a crouch, with his arm raised. Amber clutched the doorframe convulsively. Nothing happened.

  Pierce swiveled to check behind, but it was too late. A blob of white fur hurtled from the top of the doorframe. It must have been hiding on the lintel above Amber. The camouflaged pelt opened as it dropped past her to show a gray belly lined with teeth. It fell onto Pierce and its furry flanks crushed shut like jaws closing.

  The brain pulsed with field-piercing energy and her husband yelled, while blood spurted. Amber cried out too when he fell to his knees, and the thing began climbing from his shoulder to his throat. It used its teeth for leverage and gaping welts opened across his chest and up his neck.

  Strangely there was no blood and Pierce looked angry rather than agonized, but he couldn’t bring his weapon to bear because his arm was trapped. The alien was shining now, leaking energy as it used everything it had to bite through its prey's dark shield.

  Pierce gurgled and his eyes rolled up, turning as white as the changed brain. He made a rapid clacking noise, but Amber hardly noticed. She was too busy charging to the rescue
.

  The rug dragged Pierce away, tearing at his shoulder. It was purring, but a clacking trill that sounded like a growl covered the sound. Was that coming from Pierce? Amber chased the pair through growing fog and her husband’s jaw bulged as if it was dislocated. She swore and sprinted at combat speed, but almost ran past the battle.

  Amber had to hurdle Pierce and looked down at his shadowed face as she passed. Clouds seemed to be churning under his skin, while his chin thrust upward at an impossible angle. What was the brain doing to him?

  She skidded to a halt, trying to balance her sword. She raised it high, had a momentary wobble, but then brought it down with full force. It cut through the rug like a laser through snow. She had to catch her blow and pull the sword to a halt before it skewered Pierce too.

  The brain rolled away in two pieces. It made a final mewling sound, before both strips fell flat. Everything was very quiet.

  Amber was left balanced precariously over Pierce. He looked normal again and stared at her solemnly. It would be so easy to just fall over and let her blade drop too. It wouldn't even feel like stabbing him. Not until the very end. And this was the opportunity of a thousand lifetimes.

  The sword she held just above his throat trembled. She had to do this. “Close your eyes,” she husked and he gave one of those wistful smiles that always surprised her with their sweetness.

  “Perhaps you should close yours. Seriously, love, do what you must, but first, consider. Why did you hold back after stabbing the evil rag? Why not finish us both at once?”

  “Because,” Amber rasped and cleared her throat, “because... change. Did you mean it?”

  The green eyes were perfectly steady. “I swear it.”

  Amber felt an indescribable rush of relief. It flowed through her and swept away her balance. She fell and the sword sliced downward with her. It crashed into Pierce, but something hard turned her blade aside and she dropped it. Her palm stung and she glimpsed a dark collar around his neck, before she collapsed. Straight onto her husband.