Free BoundByLaw by Viola Grace

Chapter One
    Colah backed slowly away from the man with the gun. She had been at the museum of Resicor history with her sister and niece. The exhibit of ancient treasures was on display for the first time in four decades and the jewels had drawn admirers and coveters. The heist had begun just after Colah and her family had made it to the fourth-century exhibit.
    “Keep backing up, bitch. The guard will take us seriously, or you will die.” The man jerked the gun and the sweat on his face was enough to make her nervous even if being on the edge of a hundred-foot drop had not been enough to do the job.
    Colah kept her gaze calm and on her family. They would not see her scream or sob for her life. It would only irritate the thieves and humiliate her.
    Her hands remained up and she stood with her heels over the edge of the drop. “I am as far back as I can go.”
    He looked at her feet and then her face. “You are awfully calm for someone facing death.”
    “I would rather face it with calm than with shrieking panic. This is how I would like to be remembered.” She kept her voice low and controlled.
    The airborne vehicles were getting closer and to Colah’s dismay, they were not the transports that the thieves had requested. Gun ships were on the way and this was not going to go down easy.
    Colah didn’t know who was manning the gun, but they deserved a medal. The men guarding the hostages were sliced in two with precision gunfire. As the gunship turned to fire at the final man standing, he lunged for her, with his weapon extended.
    He fired just as the gunship came around and he separated into two shocked pieces.
    Colah shouted when the icy burn of the bullet ran through her left shoulder and knocked her off her tenuous perch.
    She heard screams from Cabbili and Makki but was unable to concentrate on anything other than saving her own life.
    Making a choice between life and freedom in a hundred feet was no contest. If she had her life, she could pursue freedom later.
    With the propulsion of muscle and mind, she changed her trajectory and lifted her body into the air in a graceful arc. She returned to the rooftop where her sister and niece were clutching each other, sobbing together.
    “Cabbi, I am so sorry. They will come for me right away, but know that I love you both and always will. Makki, do your homework and always listen to your mom. She may not be right, but she deserves respect for putting up with your dad all these years.”
    Makki sobbed and then smiled, “Aunt Col, you can fly.”
    “Yes, sweetie, I can fly. And now, I can be arrested with as much dignity as I can manage.” She pressed a kiss to Makki’s forehead and hugged her sister.
    The door to the roof burst open as the guards surged in to round up any residual thieves. Once they determined that there was no additional danger, the guard in charge approached her.
    He held out wide manacles and gestured for her to turn around. As he locked her arms behind her back, he spoke the words she had been dreading for years. “As you are a physical talent, I now order you to be bound by law and remanded to the dome for confinement. Your restriction begins immediately.”
    As they walked her toward the stairs, Colah glanced back at her family. Her sister was still wearing the look of shock, but Makki had a determined expression on her face. Her niece was planning something and Colah wished that she had had more time to calm her niece down. Once Makki got her mind set on something, she didn’t look away, didn’t flinch and refused to give up.
    Whatever Makki had in mind was not going to sit well with her mother.
    She was handled far more gently than she would have imagined.
    “What is your name, miss?”
    She was no longer manacled, but there were four guards standing behind her as she went through registration. “Colah Geering.”
    “Date of birth, miss?” The clerk smiled politely as her fingers clicked on the keys of her station.
    “Twenty-fifth of