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LENGTH: Novella Cover art (c) Jenny Dixon 2007
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It's her determination to see her best friend's murderer brought to justice and her certainty that Grady isn't Anna's killer that inspires Miranda to invoke the ancient law.
But if she really hates Grady as much as she's convinced herself she does, why is it that his kiss and his touch set a fire within her that has nothing to do with his powers as a FireStarter? |
Kinetic:
FIRESTARTER
By
Georgia Tribell
© copyright March 2007, Georgia Tribell
Cover art by Jenny Dixon, © copyright March 2007
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
FireStarter
March 3, 2507 AD, Post Meteor
Hundreds of years after the population of Earth was decimated by a meteor, American survivors reclaimed the United States and divided it into thirteen colonies, or territories, as it was in the original birth of their nation. In this new world, a new congress emerged, one in which each family has representation in every matter of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Within the Circle of Justice, this modern congress determines whether a man lives ... or dies.
Chapter One
Miranda Carter sat quietly in her family’s congressional box and watched as the doors to the underground prison cell opened. The courtroom went silent for a few brief seconds, then erupted into name calling and death threats as Grady O’Brien, the most wanted man on Earth, was dragged into the Circle of Justice.
He stumbled, going down to his knees inside the containment ring. Despite being blindfolded and having his hands secured behind his back, Grady shrugged off the help of the guards and climbed to his feet under his own power. One of the guards removed Grady’s mask before the two men left the circle and the electronic force field was activated.
Miranda’s eyes strayed to the large glass dome that hung above Grady like a guillotine waiting to drop. When a person was executed, the ‘Death Dome’ as it was called, was lowered to the ground, encasing the person in a non penetrable death chamber. There was a long clear tube that ran between the container and the executioner’s box, which was located at the top of the building and draped in black. It was through this tube that the deadly dose of meteor dust would be administered.
Miranda watched Grady intently as he shook his head a couple of times before raising his brilliant orange eyes to the crowd. She had watched him every day during the course of the trial and knew his eye’s only turned this color when he was angry, like all the FireStarters she knew. She sucked in a shocked breath when she saw cuts and bruises to his face. Obviously, he’d already been found guilty by some for the murder of Anna Hillbright.
The trial had been going on for weeks and both sides presented strong cases. Today each congressional family of the Post Meteor Denver Council would submit their decision openly for all to see. Miranda sat forward in her chair as the Judge Superior pointed to each head of family, requesting their vote of innocence or guilt. Her father’s time came and went, but his vote of ‘innocent’ did little to change the outcome, which was now obvious to every person in the room.
Miranda’s heart sank a little lower with each new vote of guilty. Anna was her best friend and, despite the passing of time, Miranda still mourned her loss. With each new day she prayed Anna’s murderer would be found and punished. She didn’t know who that person was, but she did know it wasn’t Grady O’Brien. If the jury would have listened to the details presented to them, they would know this also, but fear was the driving factor behind this decision, not the truth.
There had been a time she would have swum across a deadly meteor lake for him. Now she wouldn’t give two Old Earth Pennies for Grady. They’d been inseparable growing up and, for a brief time in their early teens, she actually thought there might be more to the relationship than only friendship. Grady, on the other hand, made it painfully obvious to her and their classmates that he wanted nothing to do with her. Over the years she imagined him dying many different painful deaths, but in her mind his death was always justified. The scene before her made her ill, because no matter how much Grady had hurt her in the past, he didn’t deserve to die for a crime he hadn’t committed.
The last vote was taken and even before it was posted, there was a call for an immediate execution. Miranda blocked out the vicious chant that started, confident the Judge Superior would allow the convicted man the standard week to put his affairs in order.
Her mind was already racing ahead to what she could possibly do in such a short time to prove Grady’s innocence. Lord, his lawyer, was a pathetic, spineless excuse of a man who should never have been given a license to practice law. Heavens, she could do better and she wasn’t even a trial lawyer. She stood and started toward the exit, confident in two things. First, without Grady, Anna’s killer would never be found and, second, even though she hated the man he didn’t deserve to die because he had abnormally strong powers that scared people to death. The place was quickly becoming a madhouse. People were screaming and acting like a bunch of animals. She needed to get out of here so she could think.
The scream that erupted sounded like it was ripped from the very soul of its owner and stopped her in her tracks. Miranda ran back to her parents, pausing beside her father as she craned her neck to see the Circle of Justice, now surrounded by the enraged crowd.
“What happened? What did I miss?”
Her mother pointed toward Grady and started to cry. It was hard to watch old family friends suffer. Clare Carter didn’t know about her daughter and Grady and how often Miranda had thought the jerk deserved to be tortured.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Our spineless Judge Superior called for an immediate execution.”
“He can’t do that.” There was a break in the crowd surrounding the containment ring and Miranda saw the O’Briens pleading with Adam Hordon, the Judge Superior. The weasel wasn’t even looking at them.
“Yes, he can,” Miranda’s father was explaining. “And with elections less than a month away I’m not surprised. Adam Hordon is a politician first and human being second. He won’t jeopardize angering this many people so close to voting day.”
Miranda’s mind raced through possible options but none of them could be implemented in such a short time. Surely some of her years of reviewing old laws and amendments could help them now. Appalled, yet unable to turn away, she watched as Grady’s family moved back to their box in complete grief. Vivien O’Brien’s, Grady’s mother, sobs echoed through the now silent room as the death dome was lowered from the ceiling to the ground.
Grady stood in the center of the circle with his head held high, looking toward his family. There was such a look of loss on his face that a sob escaped Miranda before she could stop it. Suddenly, the answer came to her. Without thinking, she stepped toward the front of the booth and activated the general speaker system.
“Judge Superior, I’m evoking Post Meteor law FAM1139658. This law allows any non-married person of marrying age to take a felon, whom has been sentenced to death, as his or her spouse. In doing so, the sentence of death and any possible jail time is revoked, returning the convicted felon to society with no prison record.”
Miranda turned and met Grady’s gaze for the first time since he’d been brought into the chamber. His eyes didn’t contain an ounce of warmth as he stared at her across the chamber, sending a shiver up her spine. The years hadn’t mellowed him one bit. He was still the same overconfident, rude, self-centered person he’d been at sixteen. Most people wouldn’t think twice about turning around and walking away. What she wouldn’t give to be one of those people at this moment.
“I want to marry Grady O’Brien.”
Epic Novel = 100,000 words and up; 400 pages and up (double-spaced)
Full Novel = 80,000-100,000 words; 320-400 pages (double-spaced)
Mid Novel = 61,000-79,000 words; 244-316 pages (double-spaced)
Category = 40,000-60,000 words; 160-240 pages (double-spaced)
Novella = 20,000-39,000 words; 80-156 pages (double-spaced)
SWEET: behind-closed-doors sex and/or very mild love scenes and sexual encounters
SENSUAL: love scenes comparative to most romance novels published today
SPICY: heavy sexual tension; graphic details and more sexual encounters
CARNAL: graphic sex and language; may be offensive to delicate readers; contains many sexual encounters and can include unconventional sex not normally found in romance; may or may not be romance; typically known as erotica