SWNOVELS Phantasma: Chapter 34
WRATH
The scream that left her mouth as the ballroom dissolved around her could’ve turned a lesser place into rubble. She only quieted because her voice became too hoarse, and every inch of her skin felt as if it had been sliced by a thousand cuts. Not to mention the shooting migraine that had her rolling to her side and heaving up bile. Blackwell cursed from somewhere above.
He crouched down next to her, reaching out to run a soothing hand over her back. “Breaking that sort of magic wreaks havoc on your senses. You’re going to feel like shit for a little longer—but you have to get up.”
“No,” she moaned, pressing her forehead to the cool ground. “Leave me alone.”
“Ophelia,” he said, voice turning firm. “You have to get up. Level five is beginning.”
That jolted her from her pain-induced haze. “What? It should be hours from now!”
“Sinclair’s illusion really made you lose track of time,” he said. “Dinner has already finished. I have to transport you to the dining room now, before you’re disqualified.”
She grunted in discomfort as she heaved herself up from the ground, wincing at the pounding in her temples. “Okay, okay. Take me there.”
He pulled her into him by her waist and blinked them out of the corridor in front of the library. When they appeared at the archway to the dining room seconds later, there were no other contestants in sight. Just the door that would port her into level five, and a smug-looking Devil leaning on the wall next to it. The woman was nearly Blackwell’s height, with straight black hair and blunt bangs, and a face people would start wars over.
“Without a second to spare,” the Devil commented as Ophelia rushed toward the portal. “Need to keep your little mortal on a tighter leash, don’t you think, Blackwell?”
“Fuck you, Rayea,” Blackwell told the Devil, but the words didn’t have as much bite as Ophelia would have liked.
“Are you offering? Because my answer would be yes,” Rayea purred, making Ophelia pause, hand on the doorknob. “It’s been a while after all.”
A ripple of jealousy burned through Ophelia’s veins at the sultry way the Devil was watching Blackwell, at the implication of those last words. Ophelia glanced at Blackwell, but his expression was carefully blank.
Rayea flicked her eyes to Ophelia. “You’d better get going, girl,” she spat. “Or you’ll find yourself outside Phantasma’s gates.”
“What about the clue?” Ophelia gritted out.
Rayea shrugged. “Should’ve been here on time if you needed the assistance. Now, if you’d like to give Blackwell and I some privacy.” The Devil made a shooing motion with her hand.
Ophelia scowled as she threw open the door and stepped through, shaking off the envy she had no right feeling as she prepared herself to face whatever was about to come. Exiting the portal, she found herself in a tight room, no larger than five square feet. The room had no door or window. It was simply a hollow box, and Ophelia’s breathing quickened at the absence of any obvious exit. She really was beginning to hate such enclosed spaces.
As she inspected the small room, scrutinizing the smooth alabaster walls for any sort of indication that there might be a way out, her mind wandered to the way Rayea had been looking at Blackwell. She hadn’t liked the way the Devil had said his name. Like it was a name she had once screamed in the throes of an orgasm.
And did you see her body? the Shadow Voice laughed. As if you could compete.
Ophelia gritted her teeth. No. She would not let herself be distracted by what may or may not be going on with Blackwell and his sex life. This was precisely why she wanted space. Getting distracted in the middle of a life-or-death trial was not how she was going to leave this place.
She focused her attention back to the walls around her, resisting the urge to summon Blackwell for help. One, because there wasn’t enough room here for two people, even if one of them was a Ghost. And two, because she needed to start figuring things out for herself. After a minute of being stumped as to what move to make—and realizing that she probably had a limited supply of air—the scraping of rock against rock rumbled through the small space, and she spun to find a small square panel in the wall lifting up to reveal a hidden alcove. The indented space contained two chains with metal handles dangling from them. Below the one on the left was the word forfeit, and below the right—wrath.
She sighed. “Well, here goes nothing.”
She pulled the handle on the right.
A panel of buttons flipped up beneath the handles. Each button had a contestant’s name etched beneath it. Ophelia gulped.
She didn’t have any clues to go off of. She could only assume after having picked wrath that she was now supposed to pick who to enact that wrath against…
Her fingers hovered over the button that was marked with Cade’s name.
Two breaths later and the walls around her began to shake and crack apart. One by one, each fell to the ground, revealing a larger room behind them—and all seven of the other contestants standing in the rubble of their stone chambers. As she took in their faces, she was able to determine the five people that either died or took a Devil’s bargain in level four. James, Eric, Becca, and two of the other contestants she’d never bothered to remember were officially gone. The last people standing in her group were herself, Cade, Beau, Luci, Leon, Edna, Charlotte, and a quiet man with an unfortunate cowlick in his mousy brown hair. Maybe she’d actually learn this one’s name before he left.
“Everyone picked wrath,” Luci observed, voice barely above a whisper.
Cade sneered at her. “No shit, cousin.”
Leon visibly tensed at Cade’s tone. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
“We’re family, I can talk to her however I please,” Cade spat at the boy.
“Would you all shut the fuck up?” Charlotte demanded. “God, the most torturous part of this fucking place has been being stuck listening to your insipid conversations.”
“Who the fuck made you the boss?” Cade snarled.
“Better than you, asshole,” Edna quipped, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Cade. Something about her was different, and it took Ophelia a moment to piece it together; she had chopped off all of her long, blond hair. Now it didn’t even brush the tops of her shoulders, swishing with every little movement she made.
“Careful, bitch, or you’ll lose your ability to speak, just like your brother,” Cade threw back.
Edna hissed at the mention of her brother’s unfortunate maiming, lurching across the circle at Cade.
Beau, ever the good henchman, stepped between them, pointing at something beyond the group. “Look.”
They all turned in sync. Seven stone pedestals had risen from the ground. There was a beat of intense silence, all of them glancing around at each other as they did the math in their heads.
“That means everyone picked the same person,” Leon said.
“What were the clues?” Ophelia asked, the question directed mostly at Luci.
“It was something about a unanimous decision,” Luci told her. “If six of the seven of us chose the same person, only one of us wouldn’t be able to make it to the next level. If the decisions had been split any other way, there was something about extra choice to be made.”
“Cade was the obvious choice,” Charlotte spoke up then. “Even his friends knew that, apparently, so I think it’s clear he’s the one who doesn’t get a pedestal.”
Cade’s lips curled as he spat, “Over my dead fucking body.”
And then the rush came.
Cade pulled no punches shoving people out of his way with brutal force as he lunged toward the pedestals. Edna took off after him, making a point to slam her palms into his back when she caught up, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a mess of thrashing limbs. Beau descended on Edna, snatching her back by her hair and pulling her off Cade. Cade slammed his fist into Edna’s stomach, making her grunt in pain, and as he wound his hand back to do it again, the mousy-haired man yanked Cade back by his shirt.
“Stop it,” the man ordered, voice level but firm. “What is wrong with you?”
Cade whipped around. He was about a foot taller than the other man, an advantage he made sure to take as he loomed down over him menacingly.
“Only seven of us can get out of here. Which means one of us isn’t making it. And I don’t give a fuck if you all voted it should be me—that was when all you had to do was push a button. Now is the real test. Try and take me out. I dare you,” Cade snarled.
“You’re not seriously going to murder someone, Cade,” Luci said, aghast. “What is the matter with you? I know things have been hard back home. I know your father gave you an ultimatum, but this is more than fighting to win. This is evil. How could you have expected all of us to unanimously agree on anyone but you at this rate?”
“Evil?” He gave a single hard laugh. “All the things you’ve seen in this place, cousin, and you think I am the evil thing here? Because I’m not a coward? Because I’m willing to do what the rest of you won’t?” Cade twisted around to look at everyone in the room with disdain. “You should all thank me!”
And when he spotted Ophelia, as if just remembering she was there, he paused. Ophelia didn’t break his steely gaze even to blink.
“Beau,” Cade called out to his friend, who was still holding onto Edna. “Drop that one. I have a better target in mind.”
Ophelia’s fists balled by her side as she lifted her chin in challenge. “I’d like to see you try.”
“You got Eric killed, you Demon bitch,” Cade accused, stepping toward her. “Beau saw you.”
“Then he also saw that your friend was a fucking fool,” she snorted. “He got what was coming to him for attacking me. As will you if you get any closer.”
Cade made to charge at her, but Leon jumped between them before Cade could reach her.
“Stop,” Leon insisted. “We aren’t going to jump to murder, Cade.”
“Look around and tell me what other options we have,” Beau inserted.
“Someone could just call a Devil and make a bargain,” Luci stated, voice soft. “Wouldn’t that be better than murder or death?”
“Oh.” Beau blinked. As if that thought would have never even occurred to him. It probably wouldn’t have.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Cade sneered. “After all, we all picked wrath, didn’t we?”
“I say this sincerely,” Ophelia spoke, curling a lip in disgust at Cade. “You need an exorcism.”
“Don’t act like anyone here is going to willingly forfeit after coming this far,” Cade shot back. “I sure as Hell am not.”
Ophelia made a show of pressing a hand to her heart in mock surprise, staggering back a step as she exclaimed, “Truly shocking!”
“Let’s see you forfeit, then,” Cade taunted.
Leon gave a frustrated sigh as he addressed the entire group this time. “Raise your hand if you’re inclined to forfeit.”
They all glanced around at each other. Not a single hand went up.
“It seems we’re at an impasse, then,” Charlotte stated.
“Not as long as I’m around.” Cade grinned.
And before anyone could stop him, he wrapped an arm around Edna’s neck in a chokehold. The girl’s entire face turned red in an instant as she slammed her fist against Cade’s bicep, clawing at his skin with her nails, but Cade only squeezed harder. All of them were frozen, watching the grotesque scene in front of them in horror, none of them moving until Edna was almost purple from the lack of oxygen.
Cade looked around at each of them in turn, eyes wild. “If you all watch her die, you’re just as responsible for her fate as I am. Someone forfeit—or we will all have blood on our hands.”
Ophelia swallowed. He was, for once, right. But she still didn’t move. Not even when Edna grew limp in Cade’s arms. Not even when she could see the light begin to drain out of the girl’s eyes.
And maybe it was because her hands had already been stained with blood after what she let happen to Eric. Or maybe she just decided getting to Genevieve was worth a few strangers.
Or maybe you’re just as much of a monster as me, the Shadow Voice whispered.
Or that.
Let her die, the Shadow Voice insisted. Let him drain all the life from her. It’s what they deserve.
“No,” Ophelia whispered.
Everyone shifted their uncomfortable gazes to her.
“What was that, Ghost whore?” Cade questioned. “You give in?”
“No,” Ophelia growled, loud enough to boom through the room this time. “Let her go. Now.”
“Or what?” Cade retorted.
Ophelia smiled slowly, making sure to show him all of her teeth. “Or I’ll give you a demonstration of exactly what I’m capable of.”
Cade narrowed his eyes now. “I don’t believe you.”
No! Let her die! the Shadow Voice screamed. You’re a monster!
Maybe I am a monster, she thought back. But not the same sort as you. Never that.
Edna’s eyes were beginning to flutter closed for good. That’s when Ophelia went completely invisible. A few choked gasps rang out as they stared at the spot she had been standing moments before. Cade visibly paled.
“Where is she?” he demanded, a tinge of panic in his tone. “Where the fuck is she? I told you all she was a Demon!”
His hold on Edna had slackened, and Ophelia positioned herself behind him, unsure how long she could hold herself in this state, and gave a hard kick to the back of his knees. He yelped in surprise, going down like a sack of potatoes, Edna’s limp body hitting the ground with a heavy thud moments before he followed.
“She needs air!” Ophelia yelled at them. “Someone check her pulse!”
Everyone sprang into action at once, Luci, Leon, and Charlotte going for Edna, beginning the motions to resuscitate the poor girl. Meanwhile, the mousy-haired man and Beau were watching intently for Cade’s next move.
Cade spun around in her direction, grasping at the air to find where she was. She easily dodged his arms before pulling her fist back and jamming it so hard into his face that she felt the skin of her knuckles split open. He grunted in pain as his nose began to gush blood, but when he sprang himself forward, she dodged him again. She got in one more good hit, to his jaw, before she couldn’t hold her invisibility anymore, and she found herself flickering back into her solid state. Now that Cade could see her, his rage increased tenfold, reflecting the theme of this level perfectly.
“Hey! She’s breathing!” someone exclaimed. Leon.
Ophelia heard Edna choke on a ragged breath, sputtering as a hoarse sob heaved from her chest while trying to suck in as much oxygen as she could. But Ophelia didn’t take her eyes off Cade for a moment. Disappointingly for Cade, he didn’t get a chance to launch another attack.
“I give up!” Edna cried. “Please! I’m done! I’ll make a deal! Any deal! Just let me leave. I’m so sorry, Michael. Please forgive me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Rayea! Get me out of here!”
The moment the last words were out the girl’s mouth, Rayea appeared. Not bothering with a greeting or any sort of ceremony, the Devil clasped onto Edna’s arm and transported the girl from the room.