“Fascinating.” Still not getting anywhere. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s say the Great Old Ones do exist. How do you… kill them?”
Surprise was written all over his face. “Kill them? Where did you get that idea? No one can kill them. They just are, which is the opposite of are not.”
I blinked, completely lost. What the hell does that mean? “But they are beings. And all beings are born and can die. Even the immortal ones. Vampires are immortal and they can still be killed or can kill themselves.” Which was, actually, very common, as I’d learned in Psychology. “Everything that is born will have its soul reaped at some point.”
“Your logic is sound. You’ve spoken like a true Grim Reaper. Except… the Great Old Ones are not born. They are. That’s all. They just are.”
I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. It’s not how our universe works.”
“It’s not how our dimension works, I agree. But, between you and me, I don’t think they come from this dimension.”
I left his class more confused than before. Maybe I can find something about the Great Old Ones at the library. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the theory that they just were. They were never born, so they could never die. I was lost in thought, so I didn’t notice Sariel waiting for me outside of Mr. Lovecraft’s classroom.
“You asked him about the thing in the well.”
I jumped out of my skin. My hand went to my heart, and I pressed hard.
“What the hell?! Don’t do that! What’s wrong with you?”
He fell in step with me. “What did he tell you?”
“You were eavesdropping, so I’m sure you already know.”
“Maybe I want to hear it from you.”
“Why?”
“Because if you say it out loud, you might come to accept it.”
I sighed. “The Great Old Ones cannot be killed. They just are.”
He smirked. “Better?”
“Absolutely not!” I realized I’d yelled, and I lowered my voice. Sariel leaned in. “Francis is bringing sacrifices to that… thing. Not symbolic sacrifices like, I don’t know, bread, whiskey, cake. Blood sacrifices. And not animals, either. We have to stop that.”
“We?”
“I have to stop that.”
“Wow. You have a knack for picking extracurricular projects. You heard the guy: you can’t kill a Great Old One.”
“Everything that has a soul can be killed. Reaped. There must be a loophole. Now all I have to do is find it.”
“You’re going to the library.”
“Yep.”
“I’m coming with you.”
I stopped in my tracks. Okay. What’s going on here? I thought Sariel had stayed behind because he’d overheard me and Mr. Lovecraft. Apparently, he had other reasons, too.
“Why are you coming with me?” I fixed him with the most serious look I could muster.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his uniform jacket and shrugged.
“I just thought we could spend some time together.”
“You just thought,” I mocked him. “What are you doing, Gracewing?”