The Peculiar Alchemist

44 || Under Protection

Perhaps it wasn't the brightest idea to go to the place where Kellen was most likely to be, especially not after what he had witnessed in his visions the day before, but Toby's mind was restless. There were many things he wanted to find out as he made his way to the cottage.

He could hear two people talking as he got nearer, but thankfully he couldn't hear Kellen. Instead, he found Aubrey and Sammy right outside of the cottage laughing about something, and somehow it slipped Toby's mind that Aubrey should not be able to see Sammy in the first place, so he didn't question it as he approached them.

The two of them were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice him approaching until he was standing so close.

"Hi." He greeted the two of them when their attention was finally on him, and Aubrey gave him a friendly smile.

"Hey! Where have you been?"

The question was innocent, it was just asking about what he had been up to when he disappeared, but Toby still had difficulty answering as he looked away feeling slightly ashamed. "I have been...learning necromancy."

"Oh, yeah, I heard." Toby was surprised at how okay Aubrey was with it. There was no hint of disapproval on his face or in his manner, it's like becoming a necromancer was a normal everyday thing.

Toby could understand why to some extent. Fewer things started to surprise him when he found out he couldn't die, and being around strange immoral people like Agnes and Kellen kind of prepared him for the unexpected and blurred the lines of what was acceptable or not. It's not surprising that Aubrey would find things like necromancy to be just another questionable thing people around him did, but Toby feels like it's because Aubrey doesn't know much about it.

At first, things were tame when Vincent was showing him the ropes.

All they did was talk to ghosts and discuss what necromancers can and cannot do. The rituals were simple at first, nothing too bad, but gradually they became a lot more disturbing. It wasn't enough to bleed into a cup and utter a few unknown words. The sacrifices became bigger, the side effects became scarier, and worst of all was the fact that people had to die in order for them to be used.

Toby regrets becoming a necromancer.

He regrets it but he went this far, might as well make full use of whatever necromancy offered.

"Is Agnes here?" He found himself asking, but both Sammy and Aubrey shook their heads. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. "What about Kellen?"

"I don't think anybody is in there." Sammy answered him sounding sure, and that made Toby sigh in relief. "You look kind of worried."

Sammy was right, he's worried about so many things, and the concern that appeared on Aubrey's face made him unable to keep quiet anymore.

"You shouldn't come back here anymore." He said giving the cottage a wary look.

Aubrey, who did not know why he was suddenly saying that, looked at him in confusion. "Huh? Why not?"

"I saw Kellen kill someone." He was leaning closer to the two of them when he whispered that, and while Sammy gave no reaction, Aubrey averted his gaze because he already knew all about Agnes and Kellen murdering people. "I saw it with my psychometry, and he did it cruelly, too."

"Did you not know until now that they killed people?" Sammy asked, sounding amazed, and Toby shook his head feeling extremely perturbed that Aubrey knew about it and still kept coming back.

He even shrugged seeming unbothered. "I try not to think about it."

"Aren't you afraid you'll be next? They already watched me die plenty of times. Probably killed me, too." Toby did not hide how upset he was by all that, and while he didn't remember any of it, he still didn't appreciate how they both kept it a secret. "Stop coming back here, they're dangerous. Can't you see that?"