July had gone back to her favorite library across town and was looking for older reference materials to bring into her most recent online discussions on her channel. Since all the literature she read was in the public domain, it tended to be fairly old—but she hardly minded looking through physical copies of decades-old books to support her analyses; her B.A. in Literature had seen to that. In fact, she was so thoroughly engrossed in the joy of being alone with all those books that being addressed startled her and made her go rigid.

“Hello again, my nameless friend.” Despite having heard it only once before, she recognized the voice: the smooth baritone, the English accent, the easy self-assurance—it wasn’t something she heard every day. Nytep? Nyarlathotep. Regardless of the name, his presence was unwelcome. It had been at least two weeks since Valen’s promise to get rid of him, so why was he there again? July didn’t speak, didn’t even turn her eyes away from the shelf in front of her as she focused on her search. When she didn’t respond, he tried again, “Not a single word this time, hm? I haven’t even done anything wrong today.”

As much as she wanted to shoot back that she sincerely doubted that was true, she remembered Valen’s warning and bit her tongue. Taking a step closer to look over her shoulder, he went on, “I’m surprised to see you here.” He paused after each sentence to allow her room to interject. “You must have realized that I’d seen the labels on your books last time, yet you came anyway.” Realizing where this line of reasoning was going, July rolled her eyes hard. “Maybe you were even hoping you might see me—” He stopped as she turned her head sharply to look up at him.

“Spare me the psychoanalysis,” she hissed quietly, glaring into his golden, snakelike eyes. “I know who you are now, and I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” She turned on her heel to move on to a different section—or maybe to leave him there.

“You are full of surprises.” His grin was just as sharp as she remembered as he followed behind her, hands folded at his back. “Please, tell me: who am I?”

“You don’t know?”

“Maybe I don’t. Fortunately, you do. I’ll defer to your good judgment.”

She narrowed her eyes in his direction, making her way toward the stairwell. “If my information is reliable, and it is, you’re someone whose sole purpose in life is to make it difficult for other people.” Her free hand hovered over the railing as she made her way upstairs. “Would you say that’s accurate?”

“Oh no, you’re the one with all the answers. Tell me more about myself.”

“I’ve also been told I should make every effort to avoid you.” As she reached the next floor up and opened the door to enter, she turned to face him. “And to that end…” She stepped back and shut the door in his face, blocking it with a doorstop while he looked on in amusement. July knew that, as a god, he wouldn’t be stopped by such a small obstacle. But as she turned to leave, he didn’t follow her, didn’t magic the door open or walk through it. She didn’t believe for a moment that he’d given up, though. Despite going about her search quietly and inconspicuously, she was proven right when he found her again amongst shelves of poetry collections.

“So, I’m curious”—at the sound of his voice, she hung her head with a heavy sigh—“as to where you heard all this.”

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“Mm-hm,” she answered offhandedly.

“Back to the tight-lipped routine, are we? Well, I’m patient,” he said, glancing at the stack of books that lay beside her as she knelt on the floor to search the lower shelves. “I can only imagine it’s another ‘immortal.’ Not many humans know enough about me to give warnings.”

July considered her options. For many immortals, even god-types, dropping Valen’s name or giving her a call was enough to discourage them from pursuing her, sometimes for good. This one obviously had some history with her; maybe it would work on him?

“Yes, if you must know,” she said casually. “I spoke to Death about you during our most recent meeting.” Normally, she would’ve been loath to imply that she and Valen were in any way friendly, but if it would get rid of him, she could make an exception.

“Aha,” he said, grinning with sudden understanding. “I didn’t realize you and Thanatos were well-acquainted.” July was still, silent. Thanatos was a Greek god, one she hadn’t met, whereas Valen was something else entirely. Could there be other Death deities she didn’t know? When she didn’t respond, Nytep chuckled. “I take it you don’t know that name. Not that you can be blamed for being uninformed, but since I’m offering, why not let me be the one to inform you?”

“Shut up,” she growled, irritated with both her plan backfiring and having been caught off-guard by his response. She grabbed her books and stood, intending to flee immediately, but he moved more quickly than her eye could follow and snatched a book from the top of the stack.

“That’s three names I’ve given you now,” he pointed out, simply holding the book out of her reach; he was a few inches taller than her, and they both knew she wasn’t about to fight him for it. “You won’t give me even one in return?” She offered no response but her open hand, waiting for him to return what he’d taken. “You’d really let your principles keep you from accepting a valuable opportunity? You seem like the type who wants to learn all she can.” She considered leaving without the book, but as she saw his eyes scanning it, she realized with dismay that her library card was stuck between its pages. “July. That’s unusual. And such impeccable penmanship!”

“Give it back,” she said flatly. Still smiling pleasantly, he handed the book to her, and she immediately started back downstairs after snatching it away.

“There is a lot I could tell you,” he pointed out as they walked, fitting into the pattern July knew so well—her trying to leave and being pursued. She didn’t respond. Although it was rare, a few of them had picked up on her scholarly side and tried to exploit it in the past, but only the persistent ones, the ones willing to use their every observation as a weapon. She was starting to believe Valen’s warning about this one. Apparently, he was getting used to her ignoring him, as he took it in stride and kept talking. “For example, I’m sure I know things about those ‘immortals’ who seem to bother you so much, things that could benefit you in trying to avoid them. I wouldn’t ask for anything in return. What could you possibly have that I would want? A response would be nice, I suppose. You could consider it an intellectual discussion.”

He continued to chatter away despite her indifference as she checked her books out at the counter downstairs, giving an admirable impression of being unaffected by his presence. When they stepped outside, however, she finally looked at him.

“Stay away from me,” she said firmly, and he tilted his head to one side.

“You know, I wish I could. But I enjoy these little talks of ours too much to give them up that easily.”

“I’m serious. Just stop and save us both the trouble.” She knew it wouldn’t work. She knew this effort was pointless, that he would only leave when he had exhausted all his options, realized she was right, and lost interest. But she had to try, for the sake of her own integrity, if nothing else. “I have nothing for you, and I want nothing from you.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said simply. She shook her head, frustrated but aware that she couldn’t physically force him to leave her alone—yet when she walked away, he didn’t follow. She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t about to question it, walking even faster than her usual brisk gait to discourage him from changing his mind.