Chapter 541: The Priestess Below

One Month Before

Tobias stood inside the building rigidly straight, hands behind his back.

The air inside it still carried that same strange heaviness Tobias had noticed the first time he entered.

There was only one other guard apart from him, and he was stationed at the entrance while Tobias was inside.

Victoria stood beside Tobias, her hands clasped loosely behind her back as she observed him with quiet amusement.

"William."

"Yes, my lady."

Her lips curved slightly.

"There is something I want you to see."

Tobias kept his expression neutral.

"I am honored."

Victoria chuckled softly.

"Yes," she said. "I’m sure you are."

She turned and began walking down the corridor.

Tobias noticed it wasn’t the same corridor from before. This one was different and led in a different direction too.

It was also narrower. The further they walked, the more he felt that heavy presence in his mind.

The torches here burned dimly along the walls. He frowned slightly but said nothing as he followed her.

The corridor twisted twice before finally ending at a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands.

Victoria stopped in front of it.

Then she turned back toward Tobias.

"I am certain you will like what I’m about to show you."

Tobias doubted that, but he nodded.

Victoria watched him for a moment longer. Then she pushed the door open.

The room beyond was dim.

Strange symbols had been carved into the stone floor and walls. Candles burned in clusters across several tables, their flames flickering in the stale air.

And standing near the center of the room was a strange woman.

The moment Tobias stepped inside, the woman turned.

Tobias froze, but he made sure that it wasn’t shown outwardly. He was very certain this woman was the cause of the unsettling feeling he had from the moment he stepped into the building.

Even Ryker was on alert.

The woman’s hair was long and thin, falling in uneven strands around a gaunt face. Her skin looked pale and stretched too tightly across her bones.

But it was her eyes that truly unsettled him.

They locked onto Tobias instantly. Sharp and unblinking as they stared at him like she could see through his mask.

Tobias was close to letting his mask fall off and running, but he stared back at the woman.

For a moment, nothing was said, and then her lips curved into something that might have been a smile if it did not look like a sneer instead.

"Victoria," the woman said slowly, her voice low and rough. "Why have you brought a visitor to my workplace?"

Victoria stepped forward calmly.

"Relax, Selith."

Victoria gestured casually toward Tobias.

"William here is going to be working directly with us."

Tobias remained silent, his head slightly lowered.

Victoria continued.

"So I thought it would be best if he had a little idea of what we are doing, especially in regards to the plague."

Selith chuckled softly. Tobias found the sound unsettling.

Then she muttered quietly under her breath.

"Plague."

Her voice was filled with mockery.

Selith’s gaze sharpened again as she studied him.

"Well," she said slowly. "If Victoria has brought you here... then you should know something. The plague is not ordinary. It is not just a plague."

Tobias didn’t doubt that.

"It seems our dear Victoria likes you quite a lot," she added. "Otherwise she would not be telling you such things nor would she invite you down here."

Tobias said nothing. Selith locked her gaze on his again as if searching for just a break in Tobias’s composure.

Victoria suddenly laughed.

"Selith," she said lightly, "do stop staring at him like you want to kill him."

Selith did not look away.

But Victoria stepped closer to Tobias.

Before he could react, her fingers reached up and gently touched his face.

She turned his head toward her. He stiffened at her touch, but that just made her smile more.

Then she rose slightly on her tiptoes and leaned forward, clearly intending to kiss him, but Tobias moved immediately, putting distance between the both of them.

Then he bowed quickly.

"My lady," he said respectfully, his voice steady. "I do not deserve such an honor."

For a moment, the room went silent.

Victoria stared at him.

Then slowly—

She bit her lower lip.

But instead of anger, something else filled her eyes.

Interest. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Tobias kept his head bowed.

Victoria said nothing for several seconds. Then she turned back toward Selith.

"I want William to witness the ritual."

Selith raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

Victoria nodded calmly.

"I am very sure."

She glanced briefly toward Tobias.

"I think he will enjoy seeing it, and then maybe I can convince him to do certain things. And besides, I am paying him a lot."

Selith chuckled quietly.

"If he’s not going to expose us, then I see no reason why we shouldn’t involve him."

Selith watched Tobias carefully for a moment.

Then she looked back toward Victoria.

And slowly nodded.

"Very well."

She turned toward the stone wall behind her.

At first Tobias thought she was simply walking away.

Then she reached out and pressed something... a hidden compartment in the wall. The stone wall shifted quietly, revealing a dark passage.

And beyond it, a set of stairs descending into darkness.

Tobias’s stomach tightened slightly at that.

Selith stepped toward it without hesitation.

"Come," she said. "Since Victoria wants you to see, then you must see."

She began descending immediately.

Victoria laughed softly behind Tobias.

Then she walked forward, passing him easily.

"After you," she said lightly.

Tobias lifted his head.

For a moment his eyes flicked toward the dark stairway.

Then he followed.

Behind Selith and just ahead of Victoria.

And after what he witnessed down in the dungeons, Tobias was certain of one thing.

He needed to leave.

The plague was cursed by Victoria and Selith, but it was also because Victoria wanted to get something, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted—even if it meant the lives of people, innocent ones at that.

He had no idea what she wanted to achieve, and he could not wait to get that answer.

But his only thought now was how to get in contact with Annabeth, and fast.