Surviving Year One (Grim Reaper Academy 1)

But instead of taking me back to the tunnel that led to the spiral staircase, he pushed me toward the one he’d come out of right before the monster had taken a hold of me.

“N-no. Not that way. That’s not the right way.”

“Don’t worry, Mila. You’re safe now. I would never do anything to hurt you. This is another way out of the cave. A shorter one. It leads to the beach.”

The promise of the beach with its fresh air and soothing breeze calmed me down. Did I trust him, though? He’d just saved me. But from what exactly? And what did he have to do with my attacker in the first place? This whole thing was shady as fuck.

“You have to start answering my questions,” I said as we emerged out of the dark tunnel and into the chilly evening air. “Like… now. I’m serious, Francis.”

“Okay, I will. I’ll answer all your questions. One by one. Sit down, now. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

“Who wouldn’t?!” My voice came out as a squeal. I took a couple of deep breaths. In and out. In and out. I found a rock that seemed comfortable enough to sit on and lowered myself onto it slowly, not trusting my legs. “Okay, first question. What the fuck was that?!”

He sat next to me, on the sand, and looked far in the distance, at the ocean. He was silent for a minute.

“You want to start with the most difficult one. Fair enough.”

“Francis, for real, now. I don’t want to ask you again.”

“Okay.” He threw me a quick glance, then resumed staring at the ocean. It was as if he couldn’t hold my gaze. “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about him.”

“Him?”

“Yes. He’s old. So old. Ancient. He’s one of the… Great Old Ones, actually.”

“You’re saying words… You think they make sense, they don’t.”

“My great-grandfather discovered him. The infamous Comte de Saint-Germain. He was born in Europe, and since he was young, he was interested in magic and alchemy. In the mystery of life, and the inevitability of death. He studied with the most prestigious professors and philosophers, and when he came of age, he refused to get married and start a family, and instead made a promise to himself that he would travel the world and never stop until he found the secret to immortality. Or one of the secrets, at the very least.”

“There are more?”

“Look around you. Most of the students at Grim Reaper Academy are almost immortal, and some are actually immortal.”

“Are you?”

“If you want answers to your questions, maybe you should let me finish this story.”

“Okay, sorry. Your great-grandfather traveled the world in search of immortality.”

“Yes. And he came to America. The new-found land. He was among the first explorers to set foot on the new continent. Here, he immersed himself in the culture and traditions of the native tribes. When the two colonizing powers, Spain and Portugal, wanted these people’s lands and riches, he wanted to understand them. He wanted to live among them, because he knew they had knowledge that went way beyond this realm and this dimension. He learned their language, ate their food, smoked their herbs, and served in their temples. One day, the great priests finally rewarded him for his devotion. They took him deep down, right on this very spot, and showed him this well. Back then, a temple rose here, on the cliff, where the Academy stands. And that temple was dedicated to Yig, the Great Old One, the Great Forgotten One. A god like the world has never seen before. A god that the people of this dimension cannot even comprehend with their small minds. A god unlike the one we all know of and call God, and equally unlike his counterpart, Satan.”

“A false god?”

“No. A god in his own right. A being so powerful that he had to be hidden in the depths and put to sleep, so as to not swallow his world whole. My father says there must be more Great Old Ones in the world, hidden away, sleeping, dreaming, but I wouldn’t know. To tell you the truth, I hope there aren’t.”

I shuddered. I didn’t know what I’d expected when I’d asked him about the tentacled monster, but I certainly hadn’t expected this.

“So, your great-grandfather was let in on the existence of Yig beneath the temple. What then?”

Francis shrugged. “He started serving the Great Old One. Yig gave him what his heart most desired, immortality, and my great-grandfather paid him back in what he asked.”

“And what did he ask?”

“Human sacrifices. Well, not specifically human. He accepted supernaturals just as well.”

“Oh my God!” I jumped to my feet. I threw a quick glance at the entrance to the cave, then up at the abrupt slope. I wondered how far we were from the Academy gates.

“Please sit down, Mila. You’re in no danger. I promise.”