Chapter 539: The Weight of Cruelty

One Month Before

*There was. And I have a bad feeling about it and that building in general too.*

"Me too," Tobias said.

*If Victoria carried you there herself,* Ryker continued carefully, *then we must be far more cautious than we already are.*

Tobias exhaled quietly.

"That much is obvious."

*You saw the way she looked at you.*

Tobias grimaced faintly.

"Yes."

Victoria’s gaze had lingered longer than necessary. She was interested in him in a romantic way too. Tobias felt nothing for her though.

"Honestly, even with this face, she’s interested in me... I can’t wrap my head around it," Tobias said honestly.

*Me neither, but it’s quite obvious from what I’ve seen that Victoria is a predator. Now I’m not surprised that her warriors were able to talk freely about what they do to those considerably younger than them,* Ryker said.

"That’s the same conclusion I arrived at." Tobias sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "And I don’t think that even with Victoria being interested in me, she wouldn’t discard me when the slightest opportunity turns up."

*Victoria is cruel, and she embraces her cruelty as a part of herself to the point that she reeks of it,* Ryker said. *And this just means we’ll have to be even more careful, Tobias, and fast. We cannot linger here for long.*

Tobias rubbed his forehead slowly. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"What we need is information," he said. "We’ve gotten some, but it’s not concrete enough. All the information we have is speculation. The plague does exist, but according to what Annabeth said, it may be as a result of black magic. But we still do not understand why Victoria is doing it and how she is able to use black magic so freely."

*Perhaps we should go back to that building. I feel like we would probably get answers from there,* Ryker said.

"But it’s dangerous. Just because she showed me the building does not mean I get a free pass at just visiting it. She would suspect me, so I have to be discreet."

*And regarding how to get the members of the Silver Creek pack out, I know Annabeth said a cliff, but maybe there will be something that would help us get them out safely. We may need maps to scout the area.*

"And also a way to communicate with Annabeth and Nathan to see if Benny is still alive," Tobias said. "And also, regarding the plague, do you think I should check on Craig? A child did run into him, and something about the child’s words makes me wonder if perhaps Craig could be infected too."

*That’s a good idea. And if I remember correctly, the plague spreads even from just a touch.*

"And also... did you notice anything strange about Victoria? Her eyes, I mean."

*They have a very slight resemblance to Sophia’s, but they are not Sophia’s eyes.*

"You know... Sophia still has no recollection of who she is. I’m just speculating, but do you think Victoria may be related to her?"

*Except for a slight resemblance in the eyes, do you see anything else that could signify that Victoria and Sophia are related?* Ryker asked him. *And besides, Sophia isn’t cruel. If she had been here in the West, with her personality, she would have likely put a stop to the things happening.*

"But, and this is just a but, nothing more... what if she didn’t get the chance or didn’t have the opportunity?" Tobias asked him.

Ryker was quiet as he pondered the words. Then he asked softly,

*Do you want Sophia to be related to the one who destroyed your pack? Your family? Do you want her to be related to Victoria?*

Tobias shook his head as he spoke softly. "I wouldn’t want that. I don’t want my hypothesis to be true either. I can only imagine just how much it would affect the pack if it was. Especially Orion. He has a grudge against the enclave, and Victoria leads the enclave."

*Everyone in the pack has a grudge against the enclave and Victoria herself. You are forgetting this is the pack that Orion and the others sneaked into to get the herbs for everyone who had been infected.*

Tobias considered that for a while and then he spoke softly.

"Still can’t believe this is the same place the pack is originally from. I never thought I’d say this in my life, but I prefer the cold of the North. At least there the issues we had are mainly the unpredictable weather and the beasts of Nirvana," Tobias said as he stood up from the bed.

*And beasts we are now familiar with. But Victoria, we are not, hence why we can only stay here for days,* Ryker said.

Tobias’s bones cracked softly as he stretched.

The exhaustion from earlier finally began creeping back in. He rolled his shoulders slowly. Even with how tired he was, he couldn’t rest now, especially when there was a lot to do and questions to be answered.

"When we get home..." he muttered under his breath. "I’m going to make sure we stay a full day in Sam’s embrace. Maybe I’ll sneak into her home. That way she wouldn’t send me away. I need her calming presence to wash everything away, especially the smell of the West in general."

Ryker sighed dreamily at that, making Tobias chuckle.

"Do you think the enclave is aware that Victoria is using black magic?" Tobias asked.

*I am not sure, but that is their problem. We can’t keep coming up with questions that need answers that will likely end us in trouble. The ones we have are enough after all.*

"Yes, sir," Tobias said with a smile.

He picked up the sword William always used and made a face at it. He preferred bows and arrows, but since he was pretending to be someone else, he had to deal with it.

Thankfully the person Victoria had sent him to meet, Zero, was a skilled healer, and the wounds Annabeth and Nathan had inflicted on him hurt less now.

The first place he went to after leaving William’s home was the library.