Chapter Three – Bandits attack! Zillas' Dark Fireball!                      

It happened a few hours after Zillas' visit to the elder. It was getting dark and Zillas had just finished bathing and was getting ready for dinner when it happened – bandits attacked their town. Armed with swords, axes, knives, and crossbows, nobody in the town could stand up to them. Zillas didn't particularly care…until they attacked and tried to rape her mother.

Zillas snapped.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!!" she screamed, raising her palms, a spell playing through her mind unbidden. "Dark Fireball!"

It appeared to be a regular Fireball spell at first – the orange-red orb of flame appeared in between her open palms, but then it became streaked with black, corrupting the Shamanistic spell and changing into a black magick spell. Zillas threw the dark spell at the gang, who managed to look up, turn, and run before the spell slammed into them, the black-orange explosion arching into the air, scorching the ground, turning sand to glass in seconds.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the bandits were charred, blackened bones lying on a large patch of scorched glass. Zillas, completely ignoring the stares from the onlookers, ran to her mother and knelt down next to her.

"Mama?" she asked. "Are you OK?"

Riana looked from the dead bandits to her daughter, and nodded. "I'm fine, Zillas," she said. "Thank you."

*-*-*-*-*

A town council was held later that night, to discuss what had happened earlier. True, Zillas had saved the town, but she had used what was obviously a black magick spell to do that. She was young, but oddly powerful, and if she could summon a spell like the one she had used that evening against the bandits without even thinking twice, what was stopping her from destroying their town? Riana argued that, despite the Mazoku in her, Zillas' human side was her dominant side, and that she wouldn't destroy the town. Why would she, when it was her home?

"Then again," Riana pointed out, "you all make my daughter's life a living hell! Your own children refuse to go anywhere near her, and you-" she twisted and glared at the teacher "-YOU act as if it's HER fault if anything goes wrong in class! Even if you SAW that another child was responsible!"

There was a heavy, heavy silence, and then the Elder spoke up, obviously angry.

"I knew NOTHING of this!" he said. "Where is my Aide? Gerard? Where are you?"

The teen that let Zillas in to see his master came into the room and bowed. "Yes, Elder?" he asked.

"Why did you not tell me that Zillas was unhappy?!" he demanded.

"I didn't think it was necessary–" he began, but a sharp gesture from the Elder cut him off.

"I wouldn't care if she was a shard of the demon king, she is still a child! She deserves to be treated with respect!" he said, standing up. "She is part Mazoku, that is true, but, as her mother has pointed out, her HUMAN side is the dominant side! She hates to see any living creature hurt, despite the way everybody treats her!"

Gerard bowed so as to hide the anger that was showing in his eyes and on his face. "Yes, Elder," he said, and silently left.

The Elder sat down again. "You may all leave."

It wasn't a request; it was an order, and nobody in that room wanted to disobey the Elder at that moment.

They all left; unaware of the presence that only Zillas would have sensed had she been in the room instead of asleep at home.

From the astral plain, two black eyes watched the show with interest. So, Zillas was part Mazoku? Interesting… Who was the father? He had to be strong, for Zillas to be able to call on her powers at such a young age.

Chuckling to herself, Moralia left that particular area of the astral plain.

*-*-*-*

Riana was troubled. Zillas was getting stronger every day, the Mazoku part of her was feeding her strength, and she was writing down magicks that only somebody in the Wizard's Guild could possibly teach her.

Somebody, or something, was teaching the girl magicks somehow. Riana didn't really mind – if Zillas became a famous sorceress, so what?

Then again…power has the tendency to corrupt people, like that evening, when Zillas corrupted that Fireball spell…

Upstairs, Zillas woke up, not really needing as much sleep as the other children did.

You want to learn new spells? a voice inside of her head said. I have a really neat one. Check under your bed.

Curious, Zillas knelt down and checked under the bed, pulling out the Demon Blood Talismans that were stored there.

"Oh, pretty!" she said, holding them up. "What are they?"

They're called Demon Blood Talismans. Put them on and I'll teach you the spell that activates them.

Zillas did as she was instructed and put the talismans on. They felt…right somehow. "What's the spell that activates them?" she asked the voice in her mind. She grinned when a scroll just appeared in front of her, the words to the Boost spell on it, as well as another spell – the Flare Arrow spell. She picked the scroll up and read the incantations and followed the instructions as to how to activate the talismans.

She assumed the position so that her body resembled a cross, and began to whisper…

"Lord of Darkness of the Four Worlds! I call upon you! Grant me all the power you possess!"

The talismans began to glow, and she began to recite the incantation for the Flare Arrow.

"Source off all power… Wind which blows to the East! Flambeau Arrow!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Um, you got the incantation wrong…  the voice in her head quipped. It's 'Flare Arrow', not 'Flambeau Arrow'…

Zillas, however, was too busy admiring her new sunroof the spell created to be listening, though…

 "Mama's not gonna be happy," she said, a sweat drop forming on her brow.

Author's notes: Thanks to everybody that reviewed! I'm really enjoying this! ^_^