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

by Casey Lea

  Amber accessed the shutdown code and her hands were shaking by the time she finished, but the glow around her empty crystal finally vanished. She let Falkyn rub her upper arms and her com tried to heat her, but it was hard to stop trembling.

  “Let's get you somewhere warm.” He lifted her into his arms again and they were back in the nest before she could stop shivering. Falkyn looked at her anxiously and headed to the far wall. “Open an alcove and raise its temperature to five degrees above ship's ambient.” A hole appeared in their distorted reflection and they stepped into warmth. It was such a relief that Amber was oblivious to anything else, but Falkyn stiffened and swung toward the nest, making her jump.

  “Stay here until you’re sweating, not shivering,” he ordered, stepping from the alcove before Amber could answer.

  She peered after him and tried to stop her teeth from chattering. Was that a noise from the link? It sounded like distant waves, but was rapidly growing louder. She flicked her fingers to shut down the alcove and followed Falkyn back into the nest.

  The strange noise approaching in the link was more distinct and Amber belatedly recognized the swish of massive wings. She braced herself just in time, but a rush of air still made her stagger. Falkyn caught her arm to steady her, but another gust blew them both back into the alcove. The blast of wind was followed by Jace and Misty.

  The missing couple swooped into the nest in full flight, crossing it in less than a second to rebound from its curving wall. Misty was wrapped around Jace, her legs tucked behind him, so that he was carrying her and they kept on kissing, despite the impact.

  Misty finally pried her mouth away with an exasperated groan. “Stop worrying. It was awesome and we didn't fall. Not into the ground anyway. We can fly remember. We're free from gravity.”

  Jace stopped nuzzling her cheek long enough to answer. “Free from gravity is floating. Flying is something else. It's using gravity. At exactly the right time and in exactly the right amount.”

  “Mmmmm. I love the way you do passionate and technical together.” Love/adore/desire/LOVE

  Amber cleared her throat. “Please, chicks, that's too much information.” The couple jumped as one and she had to smile. “You shouldn't broadcast so much in public.”

  Misty dropped to the ground and turned with her hands on her hips. “Amber? We didn’t think this was public. It’s registered as Ace’s ship. What are you doing back- what are the two of you doing back there?”

  “Trying to stay upright.”

  “That we guessed,” Misty sniggered and Jace leered at his brother.

  Amber’s ponytail flicked from side-to-side in exasperation. “I see flying hasn’t lifted your minds from the gutter. Falkyn and I were just exploring your birthday present, Jace.”

  However, Jace ignored her, doing a double-take to stare at his brother again. “Fal? Is that you? I mean you look… you look like you again. What the hell?” He took half a step forward and stopped as if unable to believe his eyes. “Fal,” he whispered and Misty pushed past him.

  “Cap,” she crowed, “you look great. Best convalescence ever.” She bounced at Falkyn, launching herself into an embrace to hang round his neck.

  He hugged her back and Amber felt a fresh surge of delight, along with unshed tears. At least she’d done something right today. A bellow of joy made her jump and Jace knocked her sideways when he barrelled past to sweep Misty and Falkyn into a bear hug.

  Amber found her balance and started laughing, while the others jumped in a tight-knit circle. The group hug spun round and round, until steam rose from their bodies, while Amber’s laughter turned to fog. She rubbed her arms and started to shiver again. The chill from her failed experiment had sunk truly deep, but why did she seem to be getting colder? She let Falkyn tell the others about meeting Mac and hurried to the nearest console. Data from the lab appeared in the air above it and chilled her even more. Only the happy banter from her friends, stopped her shaking uncontrollably.

  Falkyn was explaining his transformation and finished his story by flipping his wings open. The gesture sent a blast of frigid air over Amber, making her look up and smile at the scintillating wingspan filling the nest.

  “Wow,” Misty breathed and Falkyn smiled modestly.

  “Thanks. I work out.”

  Jace groaned and started shaking his head, before strolling over to examine his brother's wings. “Start a trend...” he muttered and spread his wings too. The brothers tilted their shoulders in unison until their claws scraped the far nest walls.

  “Truly?” Misty sighed, “Are you guys comparing wingspan?”

  “Sure,” said Jace. “Size matters. You want to race sometime, bro?”

  “Absolutely. I'd love a chance to set a new record and teach you humility at the same time.”

  “You're all heart. Too bad you couldn't teach your mom how to leave a brothel.”

  “Ye, well she loves visiting your mother too much.”

  “Ug,” Misty protested. “I'm drowning in testosterone. I'm also wilting for lack of attention.”

  Jace furled his wings at once. “I'm sorry, love. Did I look away for a second?”

  “A nanosecond, but that was more than enough. You know I'm nothing without you.” She batted her eyelids and they pressed together again, both laughing.

  “And you know I'm still going to race him.”

  “Of course.”

  “But in the meantime, there's only one thing to do.” He and Misty exchanged smitten grins.

  “Test flight for your ship?”

  “Absolutely. Let's suck this egg dry.”

  44

  Attack

  The new ship punched through darkness, thrusting away from Gratuity, and Jace smiled. He sat in the center of the weightless nest and it was no longer silver. He had it set on visual, to show everything around them and they seemed to be floating in the middle of space. The surrounding system looked largely empty, with a far distant sun, but ahead was a fast approaching ring of asteroids.

  Jace flicked his fronds and the ship swerved in a smooth curve heading past a lone asteroid and searching for the next. It wasn't like piloting Zyl and he missed that. The feedback was remote compared to their mental bond, the interaction wooden and slow, but the vessel was competent and he could already fly the struts off it. As far as exchanges went it was tolerable.

  Jace looked over his shoulder to where Falkyn hovered and tilted his hand in a 'no matter' gesture. “She's okay.”

  His brother nodded and smiled, a wide easy smile very different to the hitching grimace he used to have. “Nice flying, Jace.”

  Jace nodded back. “Always.” He busied himself looking for the next asteroid, clamping down on the warm glow ignited by Falkyn's praise. No need to let the sibling worship show. He glanced across at Misty. She’d claimed the communication console and was now swiveling her chair, turning in lazy circles to watch space pass. She had to have the lowest boredom threshold he’d ever seen. Exactly the sort of challenge he liked.

  Jace checked his other side, where Amber had installed herself at the data senior’s console. She was watching the globe with wide eyed delight. A gentle jaunt through the solar system was exactly what she liked. However, she started to shake and her soft smile trembled. “I’m not paranoid, am I? It is cold in here.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Jace agreed, suddenly aware of the chill against his skin and the fact that he could see his breath. He turned to Misty who stopped spinning, but before they could exchange more than a bemused look, a whistle shrilled through the bridge. Its warning screech instantly claimed his attention.

  Falkyn shunted the alarm to silent, then pulled up details of the alert. Its cause was close and diving straight at them. “A mermaridian strike class cruiser,” he told Jace. “Heavily armed. ID is the Last Chance. That's Lamidia's ship.”

  Jace tensed at the name and instantly heeled their ship to meet the intruder. The vessel bucked around them when he drove maximum power to the engine
s. The red strip of a warning alert appeared in his peripheral vision, but he ignored it. A hand fell lightly on his arm and Misty draped herself over his shoulder. It could have been his imagination, but it sounded like she was purring. A silver glow lit his control interface, so perhaps he wasn't imagining things. A quick glance was enough to confirm that her eyes were lit like a supernova. Stellar. This payback would be sweet.

  In the background Amber was still twittering on about the temperature and some unresponsive lab sensors, but a bit of cold was the least of Jace's worries. Boarding the Last Chance would be the moment of greatest risk. Her hull was both heavily armed and armored.

  “Ram it,” Misty whispered in his ear and something growled deep in his throat. Awesome.

  Jace was swept by a heady mix of adrenalin and fury that made it hard to focus. The controls in front of him seemed hazy and he wondered whether he was seeing through Misty's eyes again. He checked his hands and they were definitely his, but they abruptly disappeared in a plume of steam. It must be getting colder. So cold that Misty’s breath was joining his to stream around him, which was definitely weird.

  Jace pried his eyes from Lamidia's ship, which was trying to swing away from them and glanced at Amber. “What's up with the temperature?”

  She stared out from her data holograms and her face was pale, without a trace of glitter across the cheeks. “Not sure, but the sensors from my lab are down. I can't get anything from the passages around it either. This could be truly bad.”

  “Incoming,” Falkyn yelled and switched full power from their engine to the shield. Jace used the docking thrusters to push the ship into a wild spiral and it whipped away from the approaching missiles. The mermaridian weapons tried to track them, but Jace tightened the spiral just before they hit and they tightened their paths too, slamming into each other and exploding. The concussion rocked the ship and drove their shield readings into the red, but the protective field held.

  Misty and Jace whooped together and this time their breath formed a cloud that hid all of his visuals. The atmosphere in the nest was frigid and increasingly sodden. Flakes of frost formed, making the air glisten and Jace turned to stare at Amber again.

  Falkyn was leaning over her shoulder and they were both oblivious to the opening shots of Lamidia's attack. “I've found a sensor that's still working,” Amber cried and threw data into the frigid air.

  Jace gaped at what he saw, while Misty's grip tightened on his arm and their fronds shared concern. Had they been holed somehow? Because the cold of deep space was certain-sure aboard their ship.

  “Did your mother include a ski slope?” she joked, but he shuddered and stared while fingers of ice twisted along the link. That massive tunnel was slipping into darkness, its lighting failing as the cold advanced. Icicles blocked the only corridor opening they could see and one of those spears fell with a crack, to slice straight through the brittle deck. White exploded across the hologram and the sensor feed died.

  “Holy hail,” Misty whispered in Jace's ear and another chill ran down his spine.

  He started to rise, even as Falkyn called, “Up.”

  Jace grabbed Misty by the arm and pulled her across the nest, away from the link. “What about Lamidia?” she cried and Amber nodded, hurtling to join them.

  “Certain-sure,” she agreed breathlessly. “We need to warn her straight away.”

  “What?” Misty squeaked. “You mean we need to annihilate her straight away.”

  “Neither,” Falkyn ordered. “We need to go. Right now. That sensor was the last before the nest.” He turned to peer through his words at Jace. “We can't make it to the shuttle bay. How do we get out of here?”

  An alert shrieked across the conversation, warning of imminent collision. Jace flicked a thought to his console and the ship twisted again. Too slow. An explosion hit and they were thrown across the nest. Metal shrieked and something cracked with the sound of ice calving from a glacier. Jace looked toward the link and it was wreathed in flame. Black smoke billowed to cover them all, but instead of thickening it faded away.

  Jace blinked crusted lashes and looked up from where he was huddled around Misty. He still had to struggle to see, but the fire was gone. It had vanished. Instead the end of the link was encased in ice. He breathed in sharply and the cold sliced his lungs. His eyes were trying to close again and he rubbed a hand across them. He looked down to see frost filmed over his skin. What the hell was going on?

  A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up at his brother. “Out. Now,” Falkyn ordered and Jace had to agree.

  His gut twisted at the only possible escape. “We need to shoot our way out. Punch a hole in the hull. Dammit. She's a decent ship- what's Amber doing?”

  Falkyn's head snapped round to where Amber was wafting into a white haze oozing off the ice. She reached slowly toward the plumes thickening around her and he yelled with mind and voice. “Amber, stop.”

  She hesitated and half-turned, still moving as slowly as a sleep walker. Falkyn reached her a second later and pulled her away. They joined Jace and Misty on the far side of the nest, all shivering uncontrollably, except for Amber. She looked dazed and sick, hunched over her hands.

  “This is my fault,” she whispered and Jace wondered what the hell sort of experiments had been going on aboard his ship. However, there was no time for questions. They had to get out. He raised his arm and charged his com's blast function, but frozen fingers closed on his wrist. “Wait. It's an energy sink. If you release energy you'll draw it here and it will grow even faster.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “A diversion,” Falkyn said, taking Amber's white hands in his own. “Misty, contact Lamidia. I'll throw a few harsh insults her way and Ace, when she shoots us, make sure we take it on the tail. We need this frost to go backward.”

  “Out t-talk,” Misty stammered and Jace turned to her in concern. She stuck out her tongue at his worried frond touch and sent the order to her console mentally. An image appeared in the chill air and a beautiful mermaridian beamed in triumph.

  “I accept your surrender. Prepare to be-” she stated, but broke off in mid-gloat.

  The ice encroaching into the nest groaned and more of the white fog streamed over it to flow toward the communication console. The mist piled high and in seconds that station was hidden. Only the hologram above it remained visible, drifting in and out of sight.

  Jace caught glimpses of Lamidia, wide-eyed and screeching at her crew as she backed away from her own communication console, but then a wall of white appeared on the mermaridian ship. Snow erupted from the open hologram link and an avalanche swept over the Harvesters. He had a last image of Lamidia's frozen scream and then she was buried too.

  Jace was still gaping when Falkyn's blast took out the rear wall of their own nest. Daggers of ice thrust toward the explosion, but the four crew were already gone, sucked into the darkness beyond and spinning past the already freezing rent in the hull to tumble into space. Pellets of hail flew after them, but shrank when they emerged in the vacuum, melting away without further contact.

  Jace twisted, sucking in the dry and odourless air supplied by his com field, before staring back at his ruined ship. It had been distended by the two explosions, so that pieces of its innards spread around it like trailing intestines, all caught within a web of ice. He trembled and pulled Misty closer. Their coms only had enough power to keep them breathing for ten minutes, or in stasis for an hour, but at least they were together.

  He looked for Falkyn and Amber, who had managed to clasp hands, but were slowly drifting away. Jace watched their path diverge from his without concern. All their fates were sealed, but at least he was holding tight to the hottest lady in space.

  Misty must have liked that thought, because she snuggled closer and combined her com field with his. Cosy, her mind murmured and his throat ached. He should have saved her from this. Somehow.

  Movement caught Jace's eye and he looked up in sudden hope, but i
t was the Last Chance, moving to rendezvous with his lost ship. Lamidia's vessel looked like it had been dusted with icing sugar. It crabbed sideways, with its nose pointed at Jace, but still made steady progress to meet the ice cube that had been his birthday present. The two vessels kissed and some of the floe seemed to melt and then re-freeze, joining them both in a bizarre docking.

  Which reminded him of something very different that he still needed to tell Misty. It seemed likely this would be his last chance to confess anything, so he cleared his throat in warning and tried to be diplomatic. “Mist?”

  “You were expecting someone else?” she murmured and he could feel her smile against his cheek.

  “Yeah, well, you know when I was acting weird…”

  “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

  Jace hugged her harder and she tightened her own grip in response. “When we first got Zyl and I slept in really late, I actually had some super weird dreams.”

  “Nightmares?”

  “Not exactly. Kind of the opposite, in fact. There was this girl and she looked okay.”

  Misty tensed against Jace and he swallowed.

  “A not-me kind of girl?” she asked very softly.

  “Sadly, yes.”

  “How ‘okay’ did she look?”

  “Enough okay to enjoy dreaming about. Anyway it turns out that the girl wasn’t a dream at all. Freaky, huh? She was actually an avatar made by Zyl.”

  “She was real?”

  “Ye, but I didn’t realize-”

  “When you were drakking her?” Misty pushed hard against Jace’s chest to open a gap between them and stared intently into his eyes. If the lack of oxygen didn’t kill him, that expression surely would. He had to fight the temptation to look away and she frowned. Tell me I’m wrong, Ace.

  Afraid I can’t. Turns out I’ve slept with the ship. There was no response, just a mental silence that seemed colder than the space around them. Jace exhaled very gently. He was already in trouble, so what the hell. And now she’s pregnant. Jace thought the words and felt instant panic. Oh god, it was true. He was going to be a father.