Mosam stared into her eyes.
“I’d say, I love you, Yajain. I didn’t want to hurt Lin. I guess its too late.”
Yajain cut their descent with a kick. She and Mosam held each other, two insects without shadows before the core’s vast brightness. She looked down at his arm at her waist, holding her close.
“Please believe me.” Mosam’s face paled from beard to temples. “Yajain.”
“I can’t.”
She clamped her elbow and forearm around his neck, not enough to cut off his air supply, but more than could be comfortable. He showed no more pain on his face than before. Her legs worked, keeping them aloft.
“I wish I didn’t have to say it.”
She flushed as she met his gaze.
“Mosam.”
“Let me prove it, then.”
“You’ll hurt more people.”
“I told Adya only to wound people when she broke me out.”
Her eyes felt wet.
“You’re lying.”
Tears and sweat ran down his cheeks and disappeared into his beard.
“I’m not.”
“You have to be.”
“Not this time. I can’t lie to you again.”
She pressed his neck from behind with her arm. He winced with pain and kicked his head back. The light from the core shimmered on his damp face. Yajain leaned into him to keep her grip. He brought his face close to hers.
One of her earpieces fell out in the motion. His warm breath mingled with hers. Her legs stilled their kicks and they sank slowly down toward the houses. Trickles of sweat ran down his face. Blood beaded from a graze on his hairline. Green eyes gleamed.
“What do you want to do, Yajay?”
Her lips trembled.
“I’m not the only one you have to convince.”
In her remaining earpiece, the familiar hum of the tumbler’s engines rose over the howling air and the voices below. She clutched Mosam’s neck and side.
“Don’t let go. They want to kill you.”
He put his on her shoulder and spoke into her ear.
“I’ll tell them everything. Please, don’t hate me.”
She moved her arm down his back. Her fingers felt his spine and then his ribs through his suit.
“I can’t promise anything.”
“But can you try?”
“I can.” She scissored her legs together and they plunge toward the rooftops.
They landed. Mosam staggered. Together they sank to the floor. The shadow of the tumbler passed over them, ready to complete his capture.
Yajain’s hopes and memories filled her mind, clearer than before as the officers zip-cuffed Mosam.
She wanted to trust him.
Could she?
You can get a free story from Yajain’s past “First Flight” by signing up for Tim’s mailing list at the link below. No spam.
http://www.timniederriter.com/list/
Then, read Book Two of the Pillar Universe “Flame Wind” available January 19th 2019.
Thanks for reading!
Tim’s Note
I hope you enjoyed this story! Please don’t curse my name for the ending. The next book is coming close behind, though this series has been a long time coming.
How long?
Let’s say twenty years.
Ever since I watched Star Wars as a kid, I wanted to write big space stories. A little ironic I guess, that I came up with such a different universe.
Originally I wanted everything in the Pillar Universe to be larger than life, to show living legends in a collision with each other.
Those stories never took off the way I wanted.
After years of working on expanding and deepening the Pillar Universe, I finally put some characters in it who felt more human.
This series is the result.
I look forward to sharing the later books with you as they release.
Until then, read on!
Tim Niederriter, December 2018
Also by Tim Niederriter
Spells of the Curtain Series
Court Mage
Battle Mage
Winter Mage
Garden Mage
Traveling Mage
Fire Mage
Tenlyres Series
Ilsa and Blue
The Gray Lector
The Lyre War
The Root Conspiracy Series
Memory Lost
Mind Chase
Image Storm
Cell Cycle
Other Books
Rem’s Dream
Find out more at http://mentalcellarpublications.com
About the Author
Tim Niederriter is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy.
He started out reading The Hobbit at a young age, transitioned into war gaming, role playing and finally writing his own fiction.
After watching Star Wars a few times as a child, he wanted to tell his own stories in fantastic universes and devised something called a Pillar Universe.
He writes, he podcasts, he blogs. Find him at mentalcellarpublications.com.
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