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

by Casey Lea

  “I don’t do cozy,” Darsey told the corpse as she stepped over it.

  She ducked to enter the dart and slid into the closer of the two seats. The ship responded readily to her DNA, which was a relief. No need to waste time hacking the thing. She took off and snuck to the dark side of Blossom, flying low enough to snag broken boughs, before making a break for space.

  The planetary shield shimmered between her and freedom, but once again an ID signal carrying her DNA shot her through it. It seemed no one had realized she’d escaped yet and her disguise as Darsey was still good.

  Darsey-plus closed her eyes and thought about the system around her. The Nexus wormhole was shut and she suspected it would be for some time. Especially once they knew she was on the run. How much longer before someone tripped over the bodies she’d stuffed in her empty cell? Not long. Every inch of open space would be scoured, as well as Blossom. Where could she bury herself beyond any snooping?

  Blizzard.

  Yes, it was perfect. She’d studied the glaciated world as part of her preparation for this mission. It was sparsely populated and the mountainous moss-maysas would completely cover her life sign. She could hide there as long as she had to. There was just one problem.

  First she had to get there.

  28

  Fake Darsey in the Wind

  Zak banked his ship hard left and checked the images around him. Space was finally empty, with no sign of the pirates he’d tripped over on the way to his new job. He sank back in his seat and rested his eyes for a second.

  Blizzard hadn’t been the fresh start he’d hoped for. It was hard to keep track of how many Zak had killed today, mainly because he wasn’t counting. He’d come to Nexus hoping to heal people, but once again he was neck deep in bloodletting. He needed to land and get to a hospital. There’d be plenty of injuries after the pirates’ attack and a chance to save some lives.

  A warning whistle jerked Zak upright and he focused on the blinking light projected in front of his face. Incoming, but not a pirate. It looked like an Alliance dart and he almost slumped again, but something about the ship’s flight was odd. It was powering hard for the far side of Blizzard, where there was nothing but storms and the gigantic moss-maysas that roamed the icy plains. No one landed there.

  Zak sent an ID query and there was no reply, so he sent the ship’s image to Nexus Control. They responded unusually fast.

  “You are cleared to engage, Business visa 78223-20.”

  That got Zak’s attention and brought fresh unease with it. “Say again, Central. The ship is Alliance.”

  “Stolen by Malik, the leader of the invasion,” the man replied. “You’re authorized to take it down. Don’t let him escape.”

  Zak’s fronds double tapped the holo-controls round his head for full blast and the planet leaped toward him. His vision was tinged with silver, but he kept control. He pushed more power to propulsion though. The drakker who caused all this was close and Zak wouldn’t stop till he had him in his sights.

  Blizzard seemed to spin beneath Zak’s ship as he orbited the violet world. He swept into its shadow and the sun disappeared, turning the land beneath to dark purple and black. There were no lights below, just the tiny flame of the dart ahead of him.

  He set it as his target and the small vessel must have detected the lock, because it began to dart and swerve across space.

  Malik dived at full speed, heading into the atmosphere on a zig-zag course. The dart fell like a stone into an inky pool, but Zak’s ship matched it easily. His vessel might look like any merchant hauler, but he’d made a few improvements. His finger hovered over the firing control, but he opened another com link first.

  “I’ve got a lock on you, Malik. The planet below is hard, empty and open. There’s nowhere to go. Slow to a hover and prepare to be taken aboard. You have five seconds before I shoot you down.”

  There was no answer, until a missile flashed up from the ship below. Zak spun his squat merchanter vessel away, but the weapon scraped its shield and exploded. He was flung against his restraint field and his com released warmth through his body to heal bruises, while his eyes tried to frost over again. It took several seconds to correct his silver sight and restrain the rage that came with it.

  Zak was breathing hard by the time he could focus on his holograms and the dart was gone, lost in clouds below. There was a patch on the dark face of the planet that looked like fog in the night and he dropped toward it. His shield was at thirty percent and he couldn’t afford to be hit again. He slowed to enter the cloud bank more cautiously than before.

  Zak entered the cloud, and the holograms that scanned his surroundings turned to silver, which was unusual when his eyes were cool and calm. He swept aside the images that used visible light and enlarged an infrared view of his surroundings. There. Just below and close enough to touch. The pirate was waiting for him.

  Another missile flared, but Zak was ready and he knew how to use an atmosphere to fly. He was too close to dodge, but let a wing drop into a pocket of cooler air so the ship was abruptly nose down and vertical. This time the attack missed and he had a chance to fire back. He did so, with a full power blast that made his ship shudder when it was sent.

  Zak tensed, but his shot was perfect. It cut through the tiny dart’s shield to shear off its rear fins and half of its engine. The dart tipped forward, but the wings that curved out from its body, like struts that were attached at either end, were enough to turn the dive into a glide. He followed it down through the clouds, ready to pounce.

  His vessel dropped through a black sky, but only briefly. A violet fog appeared below. It seemed to be another cloud, but its color was so rich he could see the flow of purple air, even in the darkness. Zak didn’t hesitate, but when he flew into it his ship bucked. The glowing mist thickened around him and the hull began to howl as his ship twisted through it.

  He’d never seen such a thing before, but finally guessed what it was. The mistwind had a terrible reputation, howling down from the mountains and glacier flanks of Blizzard to strip the skin from anyone caught outside. Only the monstrous moss-maysas could withstand the purple crystal shards hurled by the breeze and even they were often flayed down to their exoskeletons.

  Zak cursed and struggled with the controls. He’d definitely chosen the wrong place to shoot down Malik. His ship fought him as if he was trying to strangle it, while a hiss grew against the hull. He checked his visuals and saw a twist of metal below, spinning with the tornado. He tried to follow it and going with the wind was easy. A quick blast from his engine and he caught the dart, but trying to get it into his hatch was impossible.

  It was spinning like a top, while the storm tossed it randomly from side-to-side.

  Zak sat back and blew out air in a resigned snort. A red light started to flash as his ship’s shield failed and the mistwind began to abrade its hull. He forgot about trying to save Malik. Getting himself out alive was going to take some luck and a lot of spectacular flying.

  A com chime made him look to one side and he saw the terrified face of the dart’s pilot.

  “Help me,” she cried, her red hair whipping round her head with each spin of the dart.

  Zak’s lips shaped ‘Darsey’, but he couldn’t believe it. How could Nexus Central have made such a dreadful mistake? He closed his eyes and shook his head. It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe it, just that he didn’t want to. How could he have made such a mistake? He had to fix it.

  He opened his eyes and then his mind, drawing in all the data his vessel’s sensors could give. It hurt, but he pushed through the pain until he was the ship – tossed by the storm that was stripping his skin, but still flying. He followed a current of air as strong and flexible as a purple ribbon, which let him drop down toward the dart.

  A downdraft slammed him into the small vessel and the dart dug into his skin. He could feel it impaled in his ship like a splinter sitting there. He drew his mind back far enough to analyze a map displayed across t
he nest of his merchanter. Yes, there was a moss-maysa below. It offered shelter and possibly a soft landing, if it still had its mossy cover.

  Zak immersed himself in the sensors again and his shoulders tensed. He felt his wings spread to brush the nest walls, but ignored them, even as they tilted in response to the ship’s flight. He was the vessel, nameless and naked and battling the universe. He spiraled down, dancing with the wild wind as it pushed him in circles, but always descending.

  The crystals the storm carried bit endlessly and rubbed him raw. He groaned, or was that the metal and fullerene around him? Something shifted against his gut and he realized the dart was ripping away.

  He sent power to a tractor beam by making a fist. The dart stopped pulling away, but the thrusters were weakened, and resisting the shove of the storm got harder.

  The heart of the mistwind gained on Zak. If he dropped the dart he could steer away from the worst of the storm and possibly escape, but he didn’t even consider that option. He’d done this to Darsey and he wasn’t about to let go.

  Zak looked over his head in time to see a purple wall falling on him. Every sensor was overloaded. He felt a brief slap, like water with teeth, before he was back in the nest fighting to stay conscious. His com shunted something into his system and his headache eased until he could see again.

  Darsey’s dart was gone. Torn away to flutter into the gale while Zak stared helplessly.

  His ship’s tractor beam was dead and most of its power drained. There was only enough left to watch his mother die. Or open the hatch.

  Zak was instantly on his feet. He had no idea if he could survive out there, but if his shield held long enough for him to grab Darsey and fall out the bottom of the storm…

  He reached the hatch and slapped its release. A warning icon appeared in front of his eyes, but he swatted the pulsing red dot out of the air. This was no time for caution.

  The last surviving video-feed sent an image to the back of the hatch and Zak froze.

  The dart was no longer a ship. It was shredded strips of dark fullerene skin, with a red tangle of guts inside. No, that was hair. The storm seized Darsey and dragged her across the bruised sky. Her limp form buckled, until she looked like a broken kite with a bloody red tail.

  “No,” Zak screamed and clutched his head, while his ship groaned around him. A com chime sounded, but Zak’s hurt had swallowed him and left nothing for others. Gods, Wing would never forgive him for this. He’d never forgive himself.

  The mistwind howled and Zak’s ship shrieked back as its wings were torn off. It looked like he wouldn’t have to live with his guilt for much longer.

  He found his way back to the nest on rubbery legs, fighting with gravity now that the anti-grav was gone. He made it to his seat, which hugged him close, just before the ship crashed.

  ***

  Zak floated for a while, even after his senses returned. It just seemed safer to drift. He was lying on something soft that smelled of earth – not desert-dry dust, but a dark moist loam that was strangely comforting. Not much light crept under his eyelids, but his fronds felt a figure sitting beside him. Zak didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation.

  “Do I smell that bad?” a familiar voice asked and Zak flicked upright to crouch on a bed of moss.

  He glared at Nikareon and his abductor had the good sense to back away. “It seems I stink. You’re welcome, Zak, but I won’t expect flowers.”

  “Expect a fist. What are you doing here?”

  “Apart from saving you? Chasing the clone of course. She got away from me on Blossom and you know how I hate it when a lady walks out on a date.”

  That was so typical Zak almost smiled. “You’re chasing a chick?”

  “A very particular one. She’s a clone of your mother. I don’t suppose you’ve seen anyone who looks like Darsey out this way?”

  A gasp escaped Zak, but he hardly noticed. The small and stuffy room seemed to swing around him and he braced himself with a hand on each dark sidewall. Something fibrous tickled his palms, while relief trickled through his gut. Was it possible he hadn’t killed his mother?

  “Tell me,” he ordered and Nikareon did.

  Zak sank back to the floor as he listened to the story of Malik’s first meeting with Zak’s parents, many years ago. When he heard how the pirate had cloned Darsey, Zak’s head fell to rest on his knees. It seemed fate had been kind for once. He wasn’t completely damned. At least not yet.

  He interrupted Nikareon as rudely as he could. “Why am I still alive? And why are you here?”

  “I’m sitting on my butt in the dark because I lost my ship saving you. Dived through the storm and caught you just before impact. I got my ship under yours, then shifted its shield to soften the crash for both of us, but that left no protection for our vessels. The ships didn’t survive. The wind was roughing up our pretty skin, so I dragged you into the body pore of a moss-maysa.”

  Zak looked around with sudden interest. He knew of the hill-sized creatures that roamed across Blizzard at a glacial pace. They had features of both arthropods and plants, presumably because of some crazy symbiotic relationship in the distant past.

  Their carapaces were the size of a city block, while their claw-like legs hooked deep into the rock of Blizzard’s plains to anchor them against the mistwind. When they settled to photosynthesize, the moss that covered their exoskeletons made a feeding herd look like rolling hills. More importantly they gathered water in a series of body cavities that other animals and plants could colonize. All life on Blizzard clustered round the moss-maysas.

  It seemed Nikareon had found one of their sheltering caves and turned Zak into another parasite. Not for long though.

  “Finish faster,” Zak suggested, but Nikareon yawned, leaning back on his elbows to stretch out his legs. Drakking gods, his one-time father was insufferable.

  “The mistwind’s still howling, so you might as well listen to me instead.”

  “I know which I’d prefer,” Zak muttered, but Nikareon was already talking.

  Zak sat with a patience he didn’t know he had, listening to the whole story of the imposter who’d replaced Darsey and attacked Nightwing.

  Nikareon finally fell silent and Zak felt an unusual need for words. Many words, the fouler the better, but ranting wasn’t his style. Brooding revenge? That he could do. There was one question he needed to ask though.

  “Where the drak is my mother?”

  29

  Hunted

  Zak scrambled from the nook in the moss-maysa the second the gale died down. Nikareon didn’t protest and Zak took to the sky without looking back. It was still gusty, so he settled for jetting through the choppy atmosphere rather than riding a thermal higher until he could soar. It was hard work and his wings began to ache as their leading edge drew in air still hazy with crystal specks. The purple mist hurt, but he needed to get away.

  Thunder rumbled making Zak glance back between his feet. His one-time father was just a speck on the ground, disappearing behind the planet’s curve. Lightning split the sky on the far horizon and the wind changed direction. It roared after him and tried to blow his wings inside out. He bit down a groan, tensed his shoulder blades and twisted to meet the blast. He didn’t need his jets as the gale tossed him ahead of it, while his wings stung with hundreds of tiny impacts. His whole body tensed and he scanned the rising ground below for shelter. It was steep and broken, with no sign of moss-maysas. There were natural crevasses, but no cave mouths. He was trapped in the open.

  However, the new storm was coming from the sea, not the mountains. Zak checked over his shoulder and hail stung his checks. Hail, not razor-edged shards of crystal. Further behind he saw snow driven on the wind and relaxed. It was just a blizzard. He threw back his head and whooped in delight, happy to give himself to any sky without a mistwind.

  Zak opened more of his wings to sail ahead of the gust and it was a thrill, but his delight faded as he thought of his mother. He needed to
find Darsey and he knew just where to start. A flash of fury and fear made his eyes burn, but he pushed away his silver vision and formed a mental image of his father instead. His com responded to his silent order by opening a link to Nightwing.

  “Patri,” he yelled over the howling wind. A tiny image of his father floated above Zak’s wrist and Zak drew in a sharp breath. Wing looked haggard. Something in Zak’s chest clenched hard and he gasped more of the chill air. “Is there… bad news?”

  “Yes,” Wing grated.

  Zak’s heart twisted further. He didn’t want to ask, but knew he had to. “Darsey?”

  “I’m afraid your mother has been kidnapped. By pirates.”

  “Thank drak,” Zak crowed.

  Wing frowned. “Most of us aren’t celebrating.”

  “Of course not, Patri. I already knew she was missing. I was scared of… something worse. Is there any fresh intel? Have you heard from her?”

  “No,” Wing snapped, “but she’s alive. I’m sure of it. How did you know she’d been taken?”

  “Ran into her clone. Long story. How do we find Darsey?”

  “You don’t.”

  “The hail I-”

  “Seriously, Zak. I appreciate the offer, but we’re already on the Rim. We’ve got a plan in motion, so please don’t risk stumbling into the middle of whatever we stir up. I’ll update you tomorrow. And don’t worry, I won’t quit until I find her.”

  Zak began to protest, but a blast of wind slammed him at the ground. A rocky slope covered in scree jumped to meet him. He jetted hard, but lifting into the storm was impossible. All he could do was slow his momentum. His left boot glanced off a rocky outcrop and he dropped into the lee of a boulder to hit the slope hard. He rolled against the base of a cliff that rose to an overhang above and lay there gasping in the calm air.

  Torn clouds reached across the sky, darkening the new day, while snow swirled under them. Zak’s pocket of calm, between the boulder and the overhang, was the only shelter he could see. The horizon was black. There was no way he was traveling anywhere soon. He turned his face to the sheltered base of the overhang and curled up on his side with his back to the storm. He was trapped and useless. All he could do was sleep and be ready to do better tomorrow.