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

by Casey Lea

  Taken

  Darsey woke naked on the floor. She instantly tried to curl up and hide her body, but chains rattled briefly then her arms were stopped short. Something cold and hard bit into each wrist. She blinked furiously at the pitted metal bands restraining her. Where was her com? Pert, her mind called, but there was no response from her computer program. She was all alone.

  Darsey pulled herself along the ground, inching on shaking elbows to return some slack to the chains holding her. She pushed with her toes and finally managed to curl up around her shackled wrists. She felt dizzy and her head fell forward to rest on her clasped hands. This was more than com loss. She tried to think, but her hair tumbled forward too and she was lost in the smell of dust. She seemed to be filthy. Why hadn't she washed today?

  No, that wasn't right. None of this was right. She was in trouble, so why wasn't she lying quiet, pretending to be unconscious while she tried to learn more? Darsey shook her head and then sneezed. She had to squint at the pain coming from her wrists, because even her eyelashes were grimy and she struggled to look past them. The steel bands locked around her arms were shackled to something huge and hard that she was huddled beside. She lifted her head, which seemed to take forever. It felt as if her brain had been hooked out through her nose and replaced with stuffing.

  Darsey's eyes traveled from side to side, then back again. She was chained to a bed. A black monstrosity with claw-footed pillars at each corner. She gulped and tucked back up into a ball. Not good. So not good. She squeezed her eyes shut, while clasping her hands. Even when she heard footsteps she didn't look up, simply laced her fingers together more tightly.

  The tread was heavy and slow – no, not just slow. Awkward. Someone large was limping toward Darsey. She squeezed her jaw shut too, clamping her teeth against a whimper. Someone stopped beside her and a booted toe nudged her bare leg.

  “Wakey-wake, high and mighty Lady Darsey. It’s time to pay.”

  The hard toe of the boot dug deeper in an effort to slide between Darsey’s thighs and she jerked away, curling up as tight as she could. She opened her eyes to glare up at a misshapen form. The male standing over her was Mermaridian and dauntingly large, but only on one side. He seemed to shrink away on the other, with half of his body so warped it looked childlike. His right side was shriveled and compressed, as if squeezed by massive gravity. He balanced on a single powerful leg, while the other wizened limb rested against her hip.

  Darsey swallowed in a dry throat, but she had anger to drive her on now. “Who are you?”

  Her kidnapper smiled with one side of his mouth, making the scars crossing his lips pucker. “Don’t say you can’t remember, Darsey-ordinary-muck-lady. Truly. Don’t say such. My childhood ended when I met up with you.”

  Darsey’s head spun and images from the past whirled past, to stop at a dirty blonde urchin from the slums of Gratuity. Her eyes widened to unstick more of her grimy lashes. “Malik? The cute little street-kid who betrayed us to t’ssaa hunters?”

  Malik’s scars writhed, swallowing his half smile. “There was no disloyalty from me. T’was all business and what I sold you was good ‘n true. I sold to the t’ssaa as well, but I never swore not to. You’d no right to catch me in the midst of your war. Look what you did to me.” His strong arm swung forward to grip Darsey’s chin and he wrenched her head forward. “Look.”

  “I am,” she gasped, struggling against the fingers grinding into her jaw. “I’m sorry.”

  “You certain-sure will be.” Malik’s expression unclenched awkwardly, but his eyes remained venomous.

  Darsey had to gasp for air, because she was close to panic. Malik finally released her and straightened as well as he could, to back away. Her jaw ached and she didn’t trust him to keep his distance. Not at all. The malice in his eyes made them shine even brighter than the tight skin of his damaged face.

  “He’ll pay,” she gulped. “Wing will pay whatever-”

  She broke off with a gasp when Malik surged back toward her. “He’ll pay, but not in credits. He’ll rending feel the pain I felt. All of it. And his hurting starts with every scar I gift t’you. He’ll see them happen, body n’mind, up close n’large.”

  He stood over Darsey again and she couldn’t watch. She closed her eyes so tight they ached, but could still feel his approach like a pressure against the back of her lids. His weight settled over her and her frond locked on target.

  Darsey didn’t need to look before she punched out with all her natural speed. The blow was fast, despite her lack of com, and Malik was very close. Far too close for comfort, but also too close to duck. Her fist cut through his protective field and thumped into his throat.

  She felt his windpipe give and her gorge rose, but she struck out again with her other fist. Her knuckles sank deeper this time and a strangled retch escaped her attacker. Malik staggered back, dragging himself away from Darsey and gasping for breath. She finally uncurled fully, to slam her heels into his groin.

  Malik reared up with a strangled shriek and she grabbed the front of his tunic between her toes. It was enough to drag him forward when he fell. She flipped to one side and just escaped being crushed, before rolling back on top of her attacker. He was barely conscious and she grabbed his com, while her frond synced to its signal and she tried desperately to hack it. If she could even get a message to Wing… A gurgling laugh escaped Darsey and she bit back another. As if Wing ever answered her calls.

  It took less than a minute to gain control of Malik’s com and she sent the signal anyway, at full emergency strength, which was sure to be cleared straight away. She certainly hoped so, because the thought of some imposter being with her husband had Darsey shaking. Yeah, that’s why she was upset. The incredibly terrifying situation she was in had nothing to do with it.

  Malik’s com clicked free and she grabbed it with trembling fingers. A mental order snapped open the manacles round her wrists and she stumbled upright on numb legs. One step… two… three. The monstrous bed shrank behind her and her pace increased. Darsey was running by the time she reached the door and it was tempting to sprint straight through, but caution made her skid to a halt.

  She stopped in front of a bright oval, gasping and gaping at her naked reflection. Clothes. Right. She ordered a tee-shirt from the com now settled snugly round her wrist and snatched at something far too large when it fell from compression storage. She pulled it over her head in awkward folds and that was when the door opened.

  “No,” she half-sobbed, dragging the oversized clothing down and past her head. She fought her way into the top in time to see another massive figure step through the door and freeze, staring at her. She threw herself forward in a desperate lung to skid between the newcomer’s legs. He grunted, but she didn’t look back. She rocketed through the door before getting her feet under her and took off down the passage.

  Darsey managed two strides before a force that felt like an anchor hooked into her baggy top and she stopped. At once. Her feet flew forward while she thumped onto her back. She arched and bit her lip to stop from crying out. She’d landed on something hard and sharp – whatever it was that had harpooned her shirt. It really hurt. Her stolen com hardly seemed to help and the com was no comfort at all when a shadow fell over her. She lifted her chin to glare at a solid human standing by her head.

  “Careful,” the stranger said with a grin. “You don’t wish to trip and hurt yourself. Let’s save the hurting for Malik, once he recovers.” The figure crouched to loom over her and pursed fleshy lips. “Hello, Darsey. I’m the Candyman. You might know my name.” She stared blankly and the giant sniffed. “Your wretched offspring caused me a brief loss of freedom in the past. As you might infer, it’s delectably sweet to return the favor through you.”

  The Candyman leaned closer still to whisper in her face. “Strictly between the two of us, Malik remains an impatient fool. I counseled him to wait until I’d drugged you, but he does tend to rush in. Still, he may well be regretting that at
this very moment. Let’s return and see, shall we?”

  Darsey set her teeth against the throb in her spine. “Really rather not.”

  Her captor chuckled and hoisted her easily to his shoulder. “Life with the pirate is most amusing. For me, of course, but not at all for you. Don’t be concerned though, because my pharmaceuticals are most effective and you’ll soon find yourself in the mood for sex. The next time Malik reaches out to you with his greedy little groin, you’ll reach back, eager and willing.”

  “Like hell,” Darsey said to the Candyman’s back, but he just laughed and carried her across to the bed. A mountain of bedding seemed to be piled on the floor at its foot, but when the Candyman dumped Darsey beside it she realized it was Malik. The misshapen pirate groaned and tried to push himself up. His weak arm trembled with the effort until the Candyman gripped the back of his coat and hauled him upright.

  “I did advise you to wait,” the human said and Malik pushed him angrily away.

  “As if you could say naw to such sweets. If she was still a child, it’d be you groaning right now.”

  “Possibly, but she’s far too ancient for my taste, so your point is moot and my advice stands. You know I can use anyone’s DNA to make a potion that would turn a vestal virgin into a succubus.”

  Malik scowled and spat at his companion’s feet. “Why d’you talk so dense? She’s no virgin. I like t’idea of sucking though. She’ll come to me willing like? Gagging for me?”

  He looked back at Darsey on the floor and flicked his fingers. His com unclicked from her wrist and shot back to his.

  The Candyman chuckled softly. “She’ll fly from the bed to your arms as willingly as that metal band just did. She’ll be consumed with passion and desperate for sex. However, her memory will remain intact, so she’ll know who you are and what you’ve done to her. The resulting internal struggle should be most fascinating. May I document it? It will be a battle of her brain against her animal drives and may destroy her sanity.”

  Darsey’s eyes closed again before she could stop them. She wasn’t sure her mind would last long enough to be drugged. Only the thought of her family and the danger they were in kept her from despair. She would survive this and she would go home. She lifted her head and looked at Malik – not scowling, just studying him. He had obvious weaknesses and there’d be more she couldn’t see. One of them would be the key to her escape. It had to be.

  Malik frowned at her and began to glower. “What’s she doing, huh? Why’s she staring at me like that?”

  “A good question,” the Candyman murmured. “She seems to have some resolve remaining. I’d strongly recommend waiting till my medical miracle takes effect before trying to bed her again.”

  “Well enough,” the pirate said with a final sour look before turning away. “Just make it quick.”

  “It’s done. Don’t glare at me, Malik, I was trying to tell you. She’s determined and it may take patience to achieve the enthusiasm you desire, but I’ve spent the last week perfecting my elixir and sooner or later it will work.”

  The Candyman tapped his com and something dropped into his meaty palm. He tossed it to Malik who snatched it from the air. Darsey followed the flight of the small red vial with a jerk of her head. Fear was trying to freeze her and it took all of the courage she’d learned just to keep moving.

  Malik raised his fist to study a tiny bottle filled with a bloody sludge. “A pretty one, Candyman. A nice little warm up, just right for this’n. Something to tickle the lady’s privates and put a rocket in my bed, not some dry squib.” He swaggered back to Darsey, but crouched down out of reach. “Be terrified, gat. This’ll have you drakking gagging for me. You'll spread yourself all over me until I own you and all the while you'll chat, chat, chat. You'll give me every bit of you, plus any info I wish.”

  Malik smiled at whatever he saw in Darsey’s face. “I didn't just snatch you today, y'know. I plucked you a week past and dumped you in stasis. It took time to switch off all those sneaky-ass trackers you richies have. No-one will find you, but then no-one's looking.” His smile became a leer. “Seems your hubby's most happy with the switch. He's never been serviced so good. Turns out, that's all he needs.”

  Darsey struggled to focus on the pirate, but his words were strangely distant. He reached out tentatively and when she didn’t react he squeezed her thigh. She was so numb she hardly felt his groping, so she managed not to scream. She ignored him instead, while struggling to form a plan. Any plan. Just something to hold onto. There was no escape right now, not with that Candyman lounging against the wall while his com recorded her suffering.

  Malik’s hand darted forward to grip Darsey’s chin. His fingers dug into the corners of her jaw, but she resisted. He pressed harder, until it felt like her face was in a vice and her lips parted – just enough for a sickly liquid to ooze between them. It sat in her mouth like mud for a second and then it caught fire.

  Darsey yelled and flame raced from her tongue down her throat. It stoked a furnace in her stomach, then her gut and her groin. Sweat coated her palms, while a high-pitched croon escaped her throat.

  “Perfect,” Malik said, while the Candyman nodded thoughtfully.

  “Fascinating,” he agreed, making notations on his com.

  “Wait,” Darsey mumbled, while her imagination wept. “If you touch me I’ll kill you.”

  Malik chuckled and squeezed her thigh again. “Not now you won’t.”

  He leaned in closer than ever and his tongue darted over Darsey's mouth. She closed her lips tight and her eyes too, but could still smell him. He stank of some unsubtle cologne, a mix of musk and sharp florals that made her gag. His breath was hot against her face and it fanned her repeatedly, faster and heavier every time he exhaled. A tear slid down her cheek and his breath hitched.

  “Oh. You are lovely just like this. Much as I want you obedient-like, wanting me, begging me, I just don't think I can wait.”

  Malik's hands closed around Darsey's ankles like hot, sticky manacles and she jerked her legs together as hard as she could, so his thumbs cracked against each other.

  “Ditch,” he yelled yanking his arms back, but a whistle from his com distracted him. He checked the message on it and cursed. “Luck no. Not now. Stupid gat of a psycho clone. Why does she choose to open Nexus when I’ve just used my pretty potion?” His eyes flicked to Darsey. “Still an’ all, there’s time.”

  “No,” Candyman interrupted. “It’s imperative we strike now while we can enter the system. You know this as well as I do.”

  “But the drakking drug...”

  “Will last several days and I can easily make more. It’s time to destroy Blossom and claim its wormhole. Then we can build our own base and strike any system we wish.”

  Malik hesitated, but then cursed and rose. Both men turned and left at a run.

  Darsey sprawled at the foot of the giant bed, alone with her panic. Heat still lapped through her, but now it was a gentler, more insistent warmth. The ache growing inside had nothing to do with the danger to her family and friends.

  She slapped herself. As hard as she could. Fresh heat bit at her cheek and palm, but it snapped her away from the influence of the drug.

  The idiot pirates had forgotten to re-shackle her… mmmmm… that bondage thing could be fun with the right captor. Darsey shook her head to clear it and made it to her feet, wrapping the baggy top more tightly round her. She struggled with tunnel vision, but managed to focus on the door and walk across to it. It seemed further away than before and when she got there she sagged against its frame. Unfortunately it was locked and using her frond’s electromagnetic output to find a way through was going to take time. Time her family didn’t have.

  18

  Zak on the Rim

  Zak walked into the wind, with his hands in his hip pockets and tried to give a damn. Frontier was a decent-sized world with a very indecent populace. He should be having fun.

  “Doc,” a voice called behind Zak and he
turned on a heel.

  He caught sight of his pursuer as he spun and instantly slapped a knife into his palm. He lifted it and the stranger stopped, to stand very still, while opening his empty hands.

  “No need for the scalpel, doc. Name’s Duncan MacKenzie, but you can call me Mac. I’m here with a job offer.”

  “And a gods awful parasite,” Zak observed, lifting the tip of his knife toward the hairy ginger creature hanging from Mac’s cheeks. “Want me to take care of that?”

  The solid human bristled and so did the mass sprouting from his face. “That’s a historically accurate beard, lad. My great-grandfather had one just like it.”

  “You mean your great-grandfather had one that was it. That thing’s got at least a century of snarl going. It’s a hell of an heirloom, but it buys you one minute. What job offer?”

  “Hunting.”

  Zak turned away without another word and the gargoyle actually had the orbs to make a grab for his arm. Zak’s fronds tracked the assault and he kept turning to slide sideways so his suitor missed. Mac staggered forward and Zak had to laugh as the man nose-dived to tumble arse-up toward the pavement. He caught Mac by his belt before he actually kissed the terramac and the heavy-set human sighed with relief when Zak righted him.

  Mac pulled his tunic straight and turned back with a bow and a flourish. “Thanks, lad. Doubtless you saved my life and according to many ancient traditions are now responsible for it.”

  Zak found himself smiling again. Twice in one day. Maybe he should listen to the guy. He might be fun to work for. “Nice try on ‘saving your life’, but no sale. No hunting either. I’m a doctor.”

  “That’s what I meant for sure. Hunting and healing. For the hunters. We’re after fearsome beasties and need the best doctors we can find. You’d need to be brave though, lad. The entire planet’s infested and there’s no guarantee of safety.”

  Drak. Now the midget truly had his attention. “Okay. Being a healer’s not impossible. For the right money.”