Free BoundByLaw by Viola Grace Page B

clothes and put her in some scrubs while asking her to demonstrate her talent.
    “I can only really fly when I am falling. I tend not to engage in spontaneous flight.”
    A technician nodded. “How high a fall do you need?”
    The fact that he was asking her that question calmly as if it was completely normal made her wonder what his exact job description had entailed when he had been hired.
    “About fifty feet should do it.” She twisted her lips while another tech was putting monitors on her.
    When the monitors were all in place, the tech placing them checked the readings and then nodded. “All good here.”
    “Please, Ms. Geering, come with me.”
    They walked together and he explained the facility. “Early in the history of cordoning off the physical talents, a series of rooms were designed to test the extent of each person’s talent without causing physical harm.”
    She had to ask, “Isn’t it a contradiction that you take such care of us but lock us away?”
    “You know our history. When the physical talents started to appear, they wreaked havoc in the cities and towns where they lived. No one was safe. They could strike at any moment. The psychics can be controlled and restrained more easily than the physical talents.”
    She snorted. “Easy for you to say, you aren’t missing your family.”
    He blinked and touched her arm, bringing her to a halt. “You are mistaken, Ms. Geering. My sister Hahvi is in the dome. She is a fire starter and was taken when she was twenty years old. She used her fire to keep herself from freezing to death after her vehicle broke down in the mountains. She was found after a few days and didn’t hide how she had been able to survive and so, she was checked into the dome.”
    Colah felt like hell. “I am sorry. It is just so new for me.”
    “It is fine. We all know that this is not comfortable for anyone and your calm acceptance has done wonders for us. We want to make sure that your restrictor suit does not damage you and for that, we need to know your baselines and the marks for your talent. We will aim for a restriction of two-thirds of your active levels.”
    She blinked, “Well, I suppose I should show you what I can do.”
    The tech grinned and gestured to the door at the end of the hall. “Let’s get to it then.”
    The rest of her testing went quickly. She found that her talent would not activate on its own unless she faced a drop of thirty feet or more. The padded flooring was very forgiving until she reached that level and despite her bruising, she had enough time to kick into flight. She quickly did a few laps around the large test area before the tech’s voice came through her monitor stickers. “We are going to play with your levels now. So please lower your flight to a safe height, Ms. Geering.”
    She slowed her laps into a hover and kept herself in front of the tech station as he fiddled with the electrical field that kept her flying. Col felt the first tingle across her body and her elevation dipped for a moment before she regained her altitude. The second tingle was more persistent and her feet touched the mat before she was able to lift off again.
    The tech was giving her an intense look and she dropped to her ass as she caught on to his not-so-subtle hint. He didn’t want to turn her power off, just dim it so that the politicians and public would be satisfied.
    She cut off every urge to fly and sat on the ground.
    He nodded with finality. “There, we have your level. Please rise, Ms. Geering. I will now hand you off for your fitting.”
    She got to her feet and walked away from the tech podium and over to the door. She waited until the tech was walking with her before asking, “How long do I have to keep the monitors on?”
    “The fitters will remove them.”
    “Ah. Good, they sort of itch.” She clenched her hands to stop herself from picking at them.
    He chuckled, “It is a common reaction after the testing. The electrical impulses generated