The Fall of Eva Pryor Ch. 07

"Run!" Fatima cried then. "Run, run, run, damn it, she's given us our chance!"

I knew Fatima was right. Though my legs ached with the desire to leap off the ship after Eva, I made them turn and run back to the bridge. I flicked off the auto-turn and hit the turbo props to push us forward. The Commander must have looked down as well, trying to track where she might land, and I hoped that when he trained his pan-ops back up we would already be moving. Recovering her steam-suit for the Sultan was his true goal, after all, and now that she was off the Vimana with her suit and their documents (or so it seemed), we were of lesser interest. His barque began to lower, while the fleet was rapidly catching up to take care of capturing us.

It goes without saying that they did not capture us that day. With the wind on our side and the Commander diverted, Fatima and I made a getaway to the borders of Ottoman territory and beyond. Our adventures after that point are another chapter in the history of the nations of the world. But they are not part of the life of Eva Pryor.

The thing I cannot forget about her, as I sit here with the charm she left me in hand, was that she was born to fall. In the moment she leapt, I saw on her face not fear or resignation, but something closer to ecstasy. She always desired extremes of sensation: the cutting wind, the lance of her body, the heat of her engine on her back. And in that moment, she had it all just as she had dreamt.

Fatima says that she doesn't think Eva could survive such a fall, even with the strength of her steam-suit. But I have my private doubts. Why would Eva take the lodestone with her, if not to lead our enemies in the Unified Nations astray? I dream of her sometimes, forging her way through the wilderness with her most intimate secrets tucked in her bosom and the lodestone tied to some migratory bird or beast of the wild, leading her father ever farther away from her. In my dreams she is coming to rejoin us in the Fractured Lands. I have lost Eva for now, but gained a cause to fight for. Deep in my heart, I hope to see her once more when Empires have fallen and help her to rise again.

*****

Author's note:

I would like to thank my beta reader and greatest supporter, Eclecticity, for proofreading this story for me. Thanks also to fellow authoress EL St Rome for her warm words and shared enthusiasm for writing. I admit, I made edits on the fly to suit this novella for posting on Literotica, so new typos may have been introduced along the way. C'est la vie!

Finally, my gratitude to you, Dear Readers, for keeping up with this work. Your votes and comments mean the world to me. If you enjoyed this story, or if you found faults that I can correct in future stories, please let me know what you think. I write for my own soul's satisfaction, but I share to bring pleasure to you.