Ex Nihilo Academy (7 page)

“Ooh that sounds like exactly where we should put her, especially after all of these made up stories about people trying to kill her. Seriously, Lily, how much attention do you need? It’s not enough to have the
dead parents’ card to play that you have to add a fake stalker to the list?” Kennedy says, flashing me a toothy grin. Nissa’s mouth drops open in surprise and Cai stands to wedge himself protectively in front of me but I quickly dart
around him.

“Take. It. Back.” I say through clenched teeth, my whole body shaking in anger.

“Not on your life, which may not end up being for that much longer if these imaginary bad guys get you.” She rolls her eyes when she says
‘bad guys’ and without even thinking I push Cai backwards and raise my hands. A ball of fire the size of a melon glows between my palms then shoots forward simultaneously lighting the table, Kennedy’s backpack and her shirt on fire.
“Shit!” Cai yells and splashes his glass of water down Kennedy’s front. Nissa grabs her jacket and throws it around the smoldering backpack. “You stupid bitch!” Kennedy shrieks, swatting at her now singed clothes. “This is my favorite blouse. You don’t deserve to be princess if you don’t even know how to
control the power you have. You are going to pay for this!” I am breathing heavily, staring down at my shaking hands and I can tell from her tone that she isn’t just talking about paying for the shirt. The cafeteria is eerily quiet
and everyone is staring at us. I collapse into the nearest chair as Kennedy stomps away with as much dignity as one can with a half-charred designer blouse on.

“What was that?” I whisper.

“That was your first lesson in elemental manipulation, also known as fairy power. You have the ability to summon and control fire, water, earth and air.” Cai informs me.

“I guess I should probably work on the summoning and
controlling parts.” I say as I notice that my hands are still shaking.

“At least you know now that you have the power. I’ve seen fairies in class that can’t even light a scented candle.” Nissa adds, eyeing me speculatively. “It could be her you know. She could be the one that’s trying to
kill you. Everyone knows the Quinn’s are the next oldest fairy family in line and her father is an opportunistic bastard.” She taps her lips thoughtfully.

“You give her too much credit, Nissa. I don’t think
Kennedy’s smart enough for that.” Cai says dryly.

“I want to go and see the trolls tonight.” I say to them firmly. I will not back down on this especially with just happened. I need to
understand what I am getting myself into. “Then we will go tonight.” Nissa looks at Cai who nods in agreement. “We are a team and we do this together.”

I’ve been to the principal’s office twice in my entire student life. Once in the second grade for throwing an eraser at Kevin Nolan
when he called me a beanpole and once in high school for skipping a half day of classes to go surfing. But it seems that here at Ex Nihilo it’s becoming a regular thing.

“And so we meet again, Ms. Hughes.” Professor Winters' usual
tight bun has loosened from its hold and she looks tired and not particularly pleased at seeing me. “I’m afraid these little visits are becoming something of a habit.” I don’t meet her eyes because I’m embarrassed about what happened and
I know that she’s right.

“I didn’t mean to burn her shirt. I don’t even know where that came from.” I bow my head, too ashamed to make eye-contact. I brace myself for the lecture that’s coming but she surprises me by resting her hand on top
of mine.

“I believe that you didn’t mean to hurt her Lily but this incident further illustrates how important it is that you take the training here at Ex Nihilo seriously. You are an extremely powerful fairy, I would
suggest even more powerful than your mother was, which is why we have to teach you how to harness it so that you don’t accidentally hurt someone.”

“I couldn’t live with myself if I did.” I whisper and she
nods.

“I know that you are a good person with good intentions, Lily Hughes, but good intentions alone are not enough to control what is inside of you. Please promise me that you will focus all of your attention on your studies and try to avoid any emotionally charged situations for the safety of
your fellow students.” I’ve never seen this side of the Professor before and for a split second I see a glimpse of the woman beneath. It’s the first time she’s been even remotely nice to me so I bow my head in agreement, while
silently wondering if being around Luca would count as an ‘emotionally charged situation’.

We wind down a cobblestone path that leads from the back of the school to the ‘Dormitory of Darkness’ as Nissa calls it. The high hedges
block out all the light from the moon so it is nearly impossible to see where we are going and there aren’t any security lights on this part of the property. Cai holds a flashlight with a beam so weak I keep walking into the back of
Nissa’s legs.

“Fait attention!” She grumbles and I mumble a sorry and take another step back.

“The troll you are going to see is named Zaros. He’s considered the friendliest troll, which is either an oxy-moron or a really good
name for a rock band.”

“Focus please, Cai.” Nissa whacks the back of his neck and he laughs.

“Sorry. The troll dorms are at the end of this path and
Zaros is in room 110. Knock twice, slip the money under the door and he’ll answer.”

“Wait, I’m giving him money?” I say, surprised because this is news to me.

“A hundred quid.”

“I don’t have that.” I bite my lip.

“Do not worry. I have lots of money.” Nissa says dismissively as she slides a hundred pound note into my hand.

“It’s true, she does.” Cai nods sagely.

“But I thought trolls collected things like gold and
jewelry?” I ask Nissa and she giggles. “No silly, you are thinking of leprechauns. Or maybe you are thinking of humans since they collect those fuzzy haired troll dolls, but trust me when I say that these guys look nothing like
the dolls.”

“Oh my God, this is already a comedy of errors and she hasn’t even gone in yet.” Cai scolds as we make our way to the front door.

“Lily, are you ready? You understand the instructions?” Cai
asks and I nod, hoping that he can’t read my fear.

“Are you certain that you don’t want us to go in with you?” Nissa asks me for the millionth time.

“No, thank you. This part I need to do alone.”

“We will be waiting for you right over there by the trees.” She gives me a comforting smile as she squeezes my hand.

The dorm is not located under a bridge nor is it in a cave carved into the side of a mountain. It is a two storey brick building with
shared washrooms and a common-area that’s littered with balled up socks, DVDs and empty pop cans. I find room 110 and knock before kneeling down to slip the money under the door, and after a beat it opens up. Zaros turns out to be about
a foot shorter than me with dark-green warbled skin and a protruding belly. He is bow-legged and walks with a swagger on a pair of stick-thin legs. He has a hooked nose, pointed ears and two rows of the sharpest looking teeth I have
ever seen but the weirdest part is his voice - which is totally normal. He sounds oddly like my old chemistry partner back in Southern California.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lily. I’ve heard a lot about you. We should probably get started.” He’s all business as he smoothes down a tuft of
green hair with his hands and positions himself cross-legged on the floor. He is wearing a Hurley t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts which ups the weirdness factor even more. I don’t know what I expected he’d be in: animal skins, a
toga, naked, but somehow the cargo shorts are more disconcerting. He is barefoot and his feet are normal-sized, not at all like the Tolkien clubs I was anticipating. “How this works if you sit on the floor across from me and relax.
I’m going to touch your forehead and you will be able to see what I can see of your future. A little disclaimer - it’s not always linear and I don’t know if what I am seeing is a certainty or a probability and whether or not it can be changed. I am not a philosopher or a prophet - I am a troll who is probably
going to spend your hundred on beer for the guys. And I definitely can’t guarantee that you are going to like what you see.” I take a deep breath and sit down cross-legged across from him.

“I understand and I’m ready.” I relax my arms at my sides as he places his long-fingered hands against my forehead.

“Now close your eyes.” He presses firmly against my skin and the edges of my vision shimmer before I am plunged into blackness. I open my
eyes to a dark room. It is cave-like, possibly underground, illuminated only by a handful of flickering torches. I am strapped to a table. I try and move my legs but I can’t. Blood runs in a thick stream from my midsection as my hands
wrap around a knife that sticks out of my stomach. I struggle to sit up but I only manage to smear the blood that is pooling beneath me. Blood runs into my eyes and I when I lick the side of my mouth I can also taste blood. A cloaked
figure stands above me in a crimson robe chanting with its arm raised. The pain from the wound in my abdomen is dizzying. I look past to knife in my stomach to see the lifeless bodies of my friends stacked at my feet. Nissa, Cai, and Luca: their eyes are glassy and dull and their throats are chewed out.

I feel Zaros' fingers leave my forehead and I am abruptly pulled back to the present. “Wake up!” He is slapping my cheeks. My eyes fly open and I am staring into his strange yellow eyes. “You’re heart rate was
accelerating and you were getting distressed so I had to stop.” He stands and stuffs his hands into his pockets. I get to my feet slowly but I stumble on the way up. I feel short of breath. Zaros must read my panic because he grabs my
arm to steady me. “Don’t put too much stock into whatever you saw. It is my belief that things can and do change. That’s why our foresight isn’t always power. Sometimes it makes me feel more powerless than anything else.”

Thank you.” I say meekly, avoiding his gaze as I find my way
back to the door.

“Take care of yourself, Lily.” He smiles reassuringly as I pull the door closed behind me. I walk back up the path on unsteady legs. I find Cai and Nissa sitting together on a bench bickering about something like
an old married couple and the image of their lifeless bodies won’t leave my head. Nissa jumps up and rushes over to me.

“How was it? Did you find what you were looking for?” She
searches my face and I look away.

“No, he didn’t see anything about my parents. He’s not what I expected. Zaros seems like a really normal guy - a short, green, future-telling normal guy.” I plaster on the best smile I can muster and they
exchange a look.

“What did he show you?” Cai says anxiously.

“Unfortunately not a lot. There was only a brief flash of the Council and someone in a red robe. It was all pretty uninspired.”

“How disappointing. Perhaps next time.” Nissa visibly relaxes and I nod. “Is everything else okay?” She adds.

“I’m fine. I’m just tired and I’m worried about missing the last ferry. You guys go ahead and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Do you want us to walk you to the dock?” Cai offers and I shake my head.

“It’ll take me five minutes to walk over there. Please don’t worry about me. Go.” I wave them off, hurrying them along before my voice
betrays me. They look skeptical but eventually they turn and head back toward the main building. I wait until they are out of sight then sprint off in the opposite direction. I don’t know where I am going but I need to run. Run and run until I run the horrible images right out of my head. My heart is pounding
in my chest with the realization that I am going to die soon and that I’m going to take my friends down with me. I run until I hit the densely forested area at the edge of the island. It is not until the branches are scratching at my arms
that I realize how deep I’ve gone. Sounds echo all around me and not the usual sounds of nature but catcalls: hooting, hollering and whistling.
Lily.
I hear my name whispered.
Lily.
It dawns on me how stupid it was to come
here by myself with someone out there trying to kill me, even more so when I don’t know the way back.

“Lily!” Another voice calls to me and it sounds like its closer now. Three figures dressed in black emerge from the trees and I
recognize two of them from the cafeteria; they are vampires and seniors.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Lily Hughes.” The tallest one bares his fangs. “You look delicious tonight, little princess, but what are you doing
out here all alone?”

“You wouldn’t hurt me.” I say shakily and the tall one laughs.

“Who said anything about hurting you? I was thinking more along the lines of tasting you. Just a little sip that’s all.”

“That’s against the rules.” I say, backing up into the tree behind me.

“It is true that fairies are off limits to us but rules were made to be broken, especially when something smells as delicious as you do.” In
a blur he is face to face with me and running a cold finger along my neck to my collar bone.
Stay still. Keep him talking. I’m coming.
Luca’s voice echoes in my head but I don’t see him.
It’s like you have no self-preservation instincts at all. No common sense.
A laugh bubbles up in my throat. Am I
actually getting a telepathic lecture while this vampire is about to drink my blood?
I am so incredibly angry with you right now.
I’m about to answer back out loud with a few choice words of my own when all of the sudden Luca is
standing behind me.

“Take your hands off her, Darius.”

“If it isn’t ‘Luca the Great’ come to save the day? Why don’t you mind your own business, buzz kill.” The tall vampire yawns into his
fist.

“She is my business. Now stop fooling around and step away from the princess.” His voice is calm, but the menacing undertone is hard to miss as he steps in front of me and takes a protective stance.

“We weren’t actually going to do anything to her.” One of the smaller ones leaning against a tree whines.

“Say another word, Silas, and I’m coming for you first.” With that threat the other two scatter into the trees leaving, only the tall
one remaining. “Last warning, Darius.” Darius stands up straight and winks at me.

“I’ll be seeing you little princess.” Then he is gone in a flash.

“You.” When Luca looks at me his eyes are molten with anger.
“Never walk out here alone. In fact, do not walk around at night by yourself at all. Do you not understand that your life is in danger?” Even though I know he is right I can’t bite my tongue.

“Why should I do what you say? You are not the boss of me!”
I can see the muscle in his jaw twitch and I can tell that he’s furious. He grabs me by the elbow and using his vampire speed he pulls me out of the forest and back on to the campus grounds. When we reach the main field he releases me
and slides off his leather jacket to slip around my shoulders.

“It is cold out and your dress is a little short for a forest hike. What are you doing out here?” I ignore him and look back the way
we came.

“Do you think they are the ones trying to kill me?” I ask and he snorts.

“Darius is a lot of things but a plotter is not one of them. They often lurk around here at night and you were just in the wrong place at
the wrong time.”

“They called you ‘Luca the Great’ just like Nissa did.”

“I’ve been called worse. They were being facetious.”

“Two of them looked scared.” I say and he gives a relenting
sigh.

“I have been around for awhile and I’m not known for my patience. I am going to ask you again - what are you doing out here?” He says more forcefully, his patience clearly waning.

“I went to see a troll tonight.” I say through a shaky
breath.

“Lily, Lily, Lily.” He groans and the anger seems to seep right out of him. “What did you see?”

“Something with the Council I think. I can’t be sure. My
death. My friends… ” I trail off.

“Don’t do it.” He says suddenly, grabbing my hand. “Don’t take the Council seat. You can choose to live a normal life and stay away from all of that.” His touch is like an electric shock and I have to pull my hand
away from his.

“But there’s no one else. What I don’t understand is why it has to be an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality. I’ve spent my entire life living as a human and trust me when I say we create enough of our own problems without
having to go to battle with other races. Is it so impossible to imagine that different groups could just live together harmoniously?” I sit down on the grass and Luca joins me, leaning back and resting his elbows on the wet grass.

“It is a nice thought but a naïve one. The reality is that supernatural’s’
number in the hundreds of thousands but the population is dwindling. More and more of us are getting disillusioned with our politics and fractioning off. Some are getting themselves killed by sanction and the races as a whole are not
procreating as much. I think its lead to supernatural’s’ feeling threatened, which naturally puts them into defensive mode.”

“You say there are hundreds of thousands of supernatural’s?”

“There are ten schools like Ex Nihilo around the world: South America, Malaysia, The Middle East and New Zealand to name a few of the places. Most of the students are what we call 'newbie’s' and are actually teenage supies like you and your friends but some of us older supernatural’s’
come back from time to time.”

“Why?” I say, confused. I can’t imagine why you’d want to repeat high school. You won’t catch me setting foot anywhere near Ex Nihilo
once my time is up.

“To brush up on what’s current and to be reminded of why we guard are secrets so closely.”

“So someone wants to kill me so those secrets can be let out and humans can be dominated? It seems kind of dumb to me, I mean, how can a few
hundred thousand expect to rule seven billion people?”

“I guess it depends on how you look at it. Two hundred Spartans took on the Persian Empire. Strategy and intimidation are powerful
weapons; add into that our abilities and you have a unique advantage. Lily, for what it’s worth I don’t believe that anything is predetermined and letting a troll poke around in your head is never a good thing, even a decent troll like Zaros.”