This week’s Friday Fiction is hosted by Lynn Squire over at her blog, Faith Fun and Fanciful. Click here to read and share more great fiction!

Author’s Ramblings: This week’s installment is really, really, really SUPER short. LOL. Imagine that. No, wait, don’t faint, I didn’t mean to shock anyone. *smile* I’ve just a lot going on at the moment and didn’t want to leave this story hanging. Please enjoy the teaser-style installment and leave a comment if you feel so inclined. Happy weekend!  (To find older installments, click on the tag labeled “Disperse Serial–thanks!)

RECAP: Othello decided to turn back and retrieve Ebony from the clutches of her unusual kidnappers. Brin was dispatched to find some important information, while Ebony was trapped inside an old warehouse. 

Othello could feel his controlled mask slipping
somewhere between the darker insanities of his unusual powers and the annoying
mental puzzled presented by the odd girl he couldn’t even name. There’d been
something disturbing about the unafraid, unhurried and comfortable way the
mystery girl had reacted to them. He couldn’t put his finger on it. There was
simply something off about her decidedly disinterested attitude in a situation
that had definitely been unique. It was not something that even an average
street kid could pull off to that level. 
He’d been using his eyes in full strength when he’d
questioned her.
She hadn’t so much as flinched.
At the thought of them, twin points between his
shoulder blades ached fiercely and he winced. He hadn’t meant to draw on them
so deeply, but she’d managed to frustrate him in the space of a few minutes.
The fact that he’d witnessed Brin dose her with enough poison to down an
elephant wasn’t missed either. She obviously was more than human, though he had
yet to define what kind of gifted human she was.
She also hadn’t given them the slightest clue about
herself, though granted, she hadn’t done much apart from sleeping or pretending
to sleep.
He didn’t need to be a genius to know that she was
faking it, and while she’d been pretty good at it, Brin’s confirmation was all
he needed to know that something was up.
No, something was wrong—there was definitely no up
about it! He thought, grimly, shifting gears and coaxing the car to leap ahead.
He knew the signs of that too well, as an information broker, it meant the deal
had just gone sour. He needed to cut his losses and regroup, combing over
anything left for potential holds on the burned client.
It was simply the way he had to do business.
The laptop shifted on the empty passenger seat and
he frowned. He hated ordering Brin around, but the man was like a cat, loathe
to take orders and do anything, save for remaining somewhat loyal to the hand
that fed and sheltered him. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. No, Brin
was more like a snake—a very useful, dangerous and mysterious snake. Their
friendship had somehow managed to survive and endure the past that had nearly
consumed them both.
He hoped that the price wasn’t too steep.
~*~*~*~*
In the increasingly uncomfortable nature of her
current situation and location, Ebony finally decided that she’d had enough. As
far as she could tell, conversation was circling about in a haphazard manner
and she didn’t particularly care whether her escape would cause a headache for
her original captors or her new ones.
The first duo of Othello and Brin had seemed quite
entertaining, she’d thought for a few brief moments, that perhaps they might
have had something more than a passing acquaintanceship. Ebony sighed. Perhaps
that was merely wishful thinking on her behalf. Her stomach rumbled faintly and
she was reminded of her non-existent dinner. 
Her eyes ached and she had a feeling they were changing colors again. That couldn’t be good either. It would give away what she’d been trying to hide so far. It was rare enough to be an elemental and a captive one–well, that wasn’t very smart of her. 
I guess that settles it. She thought wryly, flexing her wrists and feet. It wouldn’t be hard to escape, but in the moments where she was attempting said escape–things were bound to become chaotic.
Sucking in her breath, Ebony drew on her elemental
powers, burning the bonds that held her to a nice, even crisp. The charred pieces
crumbled away as she stood up, abruptly. It had been a while since she’d had
the chance to burn anything to the ground. Now as she thought about it, it
seemed like a very good thing to do.
Rolling her neck to the side with an audible snap,
Ebony smiled.
It wasn’t hard to pull on her elemental gifts, first
that of the earth and then that of fire. She’d bring the warehouse crashing
down and then she’d set it on fire. That would be enough of a distraction for
her to run away and for the suitable destruction of any possible evidence in
regards to the Echo family.
© Sara Harricharan