City of Fire

Chapter Five

"Ilona"

"Is she done yet?" Came a low voice and Ilona looked up, her whole body shaking and her head swimming as she finally finished emptying her stomach. She felt Erin's comforting hand on her shoulder and was glad that at least someone cared about her.

"She's sick, she'll need—" Erin started but halted when Ilona lightly brushed him off.

"No, what I need," she took in a shaky breath, "is to know exactly what the hell is going on." She looked up at them and shoved a loose strand of her hair out of her face. Her legs were shaky but she forced herself to stand and not look at the pile of ash that was now Miss Hill. The guys only looked at her, Erin the only one showing concern while Tidus just looked at her with poorly disguised disgust. Adrian's and Zane's faces were devoid of emotion, though Adrian's seemed to have softened with pity.

"Ilona," Erin started and reached out to touch her arm again. As his fingers touched her arm that same subtle warmth flooded into her and she felt herself calming, felt a little bit of her energy returning to her. "You're not who you think you are," he whispered and she frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked and Adrian stepped forward.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in more appropriate surroundings," he gestured with his head towards the door that was no hanging off of its hinges. "I'll deal with—"

"No, we do it here, now." Ilona was surprised at how firm her voice sounded but the subtle warmth she was feeling was growing. She felt her shaking muscles harden and her eyes began to focus, bringing in details she hadn't noticed before. The classroom was completely destroyed, desks and chairs broken and scattered while glass littered the floor. Acid and fire scorched the tiles and walls while ice covered the rest.

They were so getting expelled...

"No offense," Tidus interrupted while running his eyes over her, "but you don't look like you're up to it," he smirked and Ilona narrowed her eyes at him.

"You wouldn't be either, sparky, if you just saw what I did." She retorted and he blinked at her, surprised, but she ignored him and focused on Adrian. "Now start talking," she crossed her arms, ignoring the whiff of puke that wafted up her nostrils. Adrian looked at her and she dimly heard Tidus repeat what she'd just said, a puzzled expression gracing his features but she ignored him.

"I don't think—" he started in again and Ilona bristled.

"Just tell me!" She shouted and then something odd happened.

Chains...

They seemed to appear out of the air like a whip and wrapped around Adrian's throat, tightening. His eyes widened in shock and Ilona jumped.

"Relax, Ilona, relax," Erin whispered while gently squeezing her arm and she glanced at him, her eyes wide but she slowly felt her heart slowing down. As it did so the chains loosened, coiling in on themselves until they rested at her side. Then finally they disappeared. Adrian rubbed his throat, his gaze cautious and Tidus stared at her his eyes wide but what surprised her most was Zane's concentrated glare. He seemed to be shooting icy daggers at her and she swallowed, her legs suddenly wanting to buckle.

"Wh-What just happened?" Ilona whispered and Erin righted a chair, pushing her into it.

"There's a lot you don't know about," Erin whispered as he stepped beside her, his fingers going to the injury on her arm and she stiffened, prepared to see her burned off skin but when he peeled the leaves of it revealed pink skin.

She gawked...

It didn't seem unnatural to Erin, who reached back inside his pouch, drawing out a small, cylinder shaped dish and bandages. He opened the lid to the dish and pleasant aromas drifted up into Ilona's nose. He dipped his fingers in and started to cover the pink skin with the white paste. It was blessedly cool and made her jump but she held still.

"I can see that," Ilona finally replied as she looked around the classroom once more, her eyes resting on each of them. "So start with what happened to Miss Hill," Ilona started and Tidus snorted, poking a toe at her simmering ashes.

"Miss Hill was really a Bog, a nasty creature from the Crater." He looked back at her and she watched his cinnamon colored eyes flash, "And the name's Tidus not sparky." He growled and she rolled her eyes.

"A Bog? The Crater?" She felt her temper rising and something coiled inside her. An instant later the chains appeared again, lashing out at Tidus who yelped and ducked.

"Calm down, Ilona." This time Adrian was by her side and she noticed that his throat was still red from where the chains had coiled around it. "You're only going to make it worse." He whispered and her nostrils flared.

"I would calm down if you would only tell me what's going on!" She shouted and the chains tightened. "What are those? And why do they keep doing that? Who are you? What just happened?" She felt the fear and the anxiety building up within her and she wanted to get up and run screaming from the room.

"Ilona, everything's going to make sense, just—" Erin started but Adrian smoothly interrupted.

"You're the daughter of Finyara, the Celestial Goddess of Eden." Ilona blinked, something clicking inside her. Images flashed before her eyes, a soft laugh, and a warm, loving face, the smell of the sea.

A figure shrouded in white...

Her mother...

Ilona stared at him before a strained laugh left her lips at the sheer craziness that was happening all around her.

"No, seriously what—"

"We are being serious," Ilona halted her eyes going to the figure that had stayed silent the entire time and watched as Zane glared at her, his eyes icy, "though I will never accept you as my Dominus." He seethed; his words utterly emotionless and Ilona stared at him.

"Dominus?" She repeated, the word sounding slightly familiar as if it were a long forgotten memory she was trying to bring back but couldn't, only catching glimpses of the whole picture. Tidus stepped forward, catching her attention.

"You're not really who you think you are," his words echoed inside her skull and she shook head.

"You're crazy; I'm just a normal girl trying to pass Algebra 2. I'm not some long lost Goddess's daughter!" Ilona shouted at him but she looked up at Tidus's face and deep down she knew. She felt her legs growing weak and leaned against the back of the desk, the world swimming. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and knew it would be Erin's.

"What Tidus says is true, Ilona. You're the long lost queen of Eden and we," he paused to look around the destroyed classroom at Adrian and Zane before his deep emerald eyes came back to hers, "are your Guardians."