Ex Nihilo Academy Read Online Free PDF

savagery, moving into a period of mischief and malice, to the kind of work my parents and their ancestors have done over the last few hundred
     years supporting the earth and protecting the anonymity of our species. There are pages and pages of articles on my parents and their work with high profile environmental protection organizations. It seems that they were both taking a very active role in governance and environmental stewardship and working
     closely with humans, which is of course news to me. How did I not know any of this? When I finally close the book and stuff it back into the headboard I’m thinking that maybe everyone at Ex Nihilo isn’t as crazy as I thought.
     

Chapter 4: Rhymes with Witch
    Surprisingly, the boatman is waiting for me at the dock the next morning with his arms folded and his head bent in repose. He nods ever so slightly as he helps me up and on to the boat. By the time I make it to school
     I’ve missed the first bell and the halls are once again empty, so I make my way back to the headmasters’ office. I must startle her when I throw open the door because she tears off her glasses and looks up from her papers in surprise.
    “Lily.” She says cautiously as I flop down in the chair across from her.
    “Headmaster. I'm back and I’m ready to listen.”
    “Well, to begin with you can call me Professor Winters as headmaster
     sounds a little severe, even to me. And I’m glad you came back but I’m afraid we don’t have time to waste. I’ve told you everything you need to know about who you are. I would suggest that you reach out to your peers if you have
     questions. My priority is for you to start working on your powers immediately.”
    “I don’t have powers.”
    “Yes, you do. You may not feel them yet but they are there. Now I suggest you get going before you miss any more class. You have an entire
     day to catch up on.” She turns her chair around and starts punching the keys on her laptop, effectively dismissing me. I get up and head toward the door with a thousand different thoughts rattling around in my brain. When I was five years
     old my dad bought me silver wings, a wand and a tutu for my Halloween costume. I wore that costume for two straight weeks. I ate in it, slept in it; I even tried to bathe in it. When I told my dad that I wanted to be a fairy this isn’t
     really what I had in mind. Professor Winters stops me before I reach the door.
    “Oh and another thing, this is a boarding school. I understand that your parents wanted you to have time to live in their home and adjust to the change of scenery but the expectation when you are ready is that
     you will move in here. And while you live among the humans in Strangford you must keep our secrets and tell them nothing of Ex Nihilo.” “Why the big secret? This place is hard to miss. Can’t they just come here and see it for
     themselves?” I say and she frowns.
    “No, Lily. The witches put the school under a very powerful shrouding spell. Humans can’t see it and they couldn’t get here if they wanted to. It is both for their protection and for ours. You’d be wise to remember
     that.”
    * *
    “Sorry, what class are we going to?” I ask Tristan, who at the summoning of Professor Winters is walking me to my next class.
    “Demonology.” He says. Oh-kay, I think to myself.
    “What do we play with an Ouija board or something?” I joke and he grimaces, which looks odd on his perpetually smiling face.
    “Don’t be ridiculous, California. It’s one of the best
     classes we have and one of the only ones where the junior and senior classes are combined. You’ll love it, just come with me.” He pushes open the door to a regular old classroom complete with wooden desks and a dusty chalkboard at the
     front. The teacher sees us and rushes over the greet me.
    “You must be Lily. I’ve so been looking forward to meeting you!” She says warmly as I take in her closely cropped platinum hair and mint colored