SWNOVELS Phantasma: Chapter 40
DECEIT
Ophelia had a proper meal tonight. Partly because her anxiousness had not allowed her to eat nearly enough during the past week of the competition, and partly because when she made it to the dining room, it was empty aside from Charlotte, who ignored her, per usual. She really hoped Charlotte survived, if only because the world needed more people who minded their own damn business and weren’t afraid to speak up when needed.
By the time the newest Devil showed up to start the level, everyone else had trickled in to pick at the spread on the table as well. Not a single contestant in the room looked well-rested. The exhaustion was palpable, the bruises beneath everyone’s eyes telling of their haunted, sleepless nights. Even Cade looked as if he had lost some of his fight. Though they all still gave the man a wide berth.
The Devil grinned at the seven of them with delight. She was the shortest Devil so far, her crown barely reaching Ophelia’s shoulder. With voluminous, natural curls and deep brown complexion, her Devil’s Mark stood out—a delicate, swirling, gold pattern that climbed and twisted over every inch of her skin. Like she had been tattooed by pure gold ink.
The Devil addressed them. “Welcome to level six, and congratulations for making it past the halfway point. My name is Phoebe.”
Phoebe summoned the portal, and they went through the all-too-familiar song and dance of waiting for their clue.
A trial of secrets, where blood reveals the price, true or false, make sure your choice is wise.
A crushing truth, sealed by uncertain fates, false tales won’t help, for your blood knows the stakes.
Then the names were called. The routine would almost have been monotonous if not for the unknown terrors waiting on the other side. Cade, Leon, and Baker—the final contestant whose name she hadn’t been able to remember—all went through. Luci flicked a glance to Ophelia in anticipation.
“Let’s get this over with,” Ophelia muttered when it was her turn.
As usual, it took a moment for the new setting to resolve around her, and she soon found herself seated at a round table, each of her wrists shackled to its top. Without hesitation, she used her Specter abilities to slip out of the cuffs, receiving a few muttered insults from others around the table, unhappy that she had such an advantage.
Before each of them was a set of buttons. Ophelia had two: one labeled true, the other false, as did Leon, Baker, and Cade. Luci, Charlotte, and Beau had three buttons. Luci’s and Charlotte’s were labeled true, false, and skip. Beau’s, however, were labeled true, false, and random.
The levers from level four, Ophelia realized. Any advantages and disadvantages had carried over into this level, and she was eternally thankful that she had managed to neutralize her own levers before exiting that bloodbath. Cade had clearly managed to neutralize his own, too, after she’d exited.
The other details in front of them weren’t as clear. The center of the table was inset with a pool of ominous black liquid and seven indented trenches jutted out from around the pool and stretched all the way to each person’s right hand. Ophelia leaned forward to see that there was a small, needle-like spike at the end of the trench. A prick for their fingers.
A trial of secrets, where blood reveals the price…
“This is almost more ominous than the sea of lava,” Leon whispered from where he sat directly on Ophelia’s left. Baker was to her right and beyond that Charlotte, Cade, Luci, and finally, Beau.
A scraping noise echoed from the ceiling, and they all snapped their heads back to watch as seven square pillars of stone dropped down, one looming above each contestant, stopping about ten feet above their heads. Then Ophelia’s dropped a foot lower than the rest.
Adrenaline shot through her veins, not knowing what to anticipate in this trial, and for a split second, she considered summoning Blackwell. She immediately extinguished that instinct, however. She could do this on her own—despite the fact that she had no doubt he was watching the show from the Other Side.
“What do we do?” Luci asked as the silence between them stretched on uncomfortably.
Ophelia looked back to the pillar above her. Lower than the rest. Did that mean…
“I go first, I think,” she announced. She glanced back to the spike near her right hand.
Here goes nothing.
She pressed the pad of her thumb to the prick, swallowing the pinch of pain as it drew her blood, the drops streaming down the trench and rolling into the black pool of liquid. A cloudy swirl of crimson slithered through the pool before forming itself into letters atop the ebony surface.
She squinted as she read the words aloud. “Ophelia Grimm… kissed a Devil.”
She paled as everyone gaped at her, scandalized. Everyone except Cade, who looked positively delighted.
“Look at her face,” Cade sneered. “No doubt in my mind that Demon whore keeps Devils in her bed.”
He didn’t hesitate to press the true button in front of him, and it stayed flattened against the table. Beau went to follow his lead, but his true button refused to go down.
“What the Hell,” he grunted, frustrated.
“You can only pick random,” Luci pointed out.
“What the fuck?” he snarled.
“Someone sabotaged you,” Charlotte said, not bothering to cover her amusement at the situation.
Beau bared his teeth at them as he reluctantly punched down the random button. They all watched in anticipation as the true button finally sank down. Beau sighed in relief.
The others hesitated to input their own answers, staring at Ophelia, trying to read her face. Luci bit her lip as her hand reached out to hover over her false button.
“Don’t,” she rushed out before Luci could press it. “It’s true.”
Luci balked a bit. Charlotte, Baker, and Leon instantly pressed their true buttons, Luci the last to enter her answer.
“Told you,” Cade boasted.
She gave him a vulgar gesture with her hand, but before he could respond, the pillar above her head groaned as it sank back into the ceiling to align itself with the others. Then it was Baker’s pilar that lowered, indicating it was his turn, as the buttons reset themselves.
“Alright, simple enough,” Leon declared. “If we all help each other, we should be able to make it out without a problem. Agreed?”
They all nodded, including Cade, but Ophelia didn’t trust him for a second. He gave her a feral grin as Baker offered up his blood next.
“Baker Broussard is colorblind,” Baker read to them.
“Are you kidding me?” Ophelia grumbled, and at the same time Cade commented, “Boring.”
Baker furrowed his brow. “I’m not colorblind.”
They all reached for their false buttons, but Leon exclaimed, “Wait. Baker—what color is Ophelia’s dress?”
Ophelia looked down at herself. Her dress was very obviously red.
“Red,” Baker answered.
“And what about Luci’s?” Leon pressed on.
They all shifted their gazes to Luci, whose dress was a sunny yellow. Baker hesitated now.
“A light coral color,” he finally answered.
“Are you stupid?” Cade glared at Baker.
“No, he’s colorblind,” Leon said. “I remember once, at dinner, you said something about how it was strange that there were pink apples here—except the apples in question were very much yellow. You’re yellow-blue colorblind.”
“How the Hell have you gone your whole life without realizing that?” Beau said.
Baker began, a gamut of emotions running over his face. “Before I came here, about two months ago, I had a bad accident. I fell two stories from a ladder and hit my head. The doctor said I was lucky I didn’t die and that there could be long-lasting side effects. I didn’t realize losing certain colors was one of them.”
They all hit their true buttons—including Beau, whose suddenly worked.
Interesting, Ophelia noted.
The pillars above them reset. Charlotte was next. She pricked her finger and waited for the statement.
“Charlotte Williams is a…” she began.
“A what?” Beau asked, impatient.
Charlotte sputtered a bit. “A twin?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Leon prompted.
“I don’t have any siblings,” Charlotte revealed.
“That you know of—that would be the twist, right?” Baker suggested. “I didn’t realize I was colorblind until now.”
Luci reached out and hit her skip button. Charlotte followed suit, which did not bode well for the rest of them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cade growled. “How the fuck are we supposed to guess when you’re unsure yourself?”
Ophelia took a deep breath and reached her hand over to her true button. Her locket warmed and she paused.
What if…
She moved her palm to hover over the false button. The locket went cold. She smiled as she pressed true.
Leon and Baker eyed her answer, the smile on her face, and decided to take the same leap of faith. After a moment, Cade begrudgingly copied, but Beau found that he once again could only press his random button.
“The disadvantage must alternate rounds,” Leon pointed out to Beau.
Fortunately for Beau—or unfortunately, depending on which answer was actually correct—the random option once again picked true. Everyone’s buttons reset—except for Luci’s and Charlotte’s skip buttons. It looked like their advantage was one and done.
Now it was Cade’s turn, and he looked all too happy about it. Ophelia shifted to the edge of her seat as she waited for his revelation.
“Cade Arceneaux killed his sister’s husband,” he read, his tone remaining even despite the slanderous statement.
Luci made a face, which Leon quickly locked in on.
“I suppose we should start by asking if her husband is dead?” Leon deferred to Luci. “Because I think we all know he is plenty capable of murder.”
“Her husband died last year in a motorcar crash,” Luci confirmed. “Cade and Lainie were both in the vehicle, but I know without a doubt that Lainie was driving.”
“Correct,” Cade corroborated. “Her husband was on the passenger side—the side that hit the tree. I was in the back. I had nothing to do with it.” He smiled.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes.
“I don’t believe him,” Baker declared, hitting his true button.
Luci cringed at the hasty reaction, and Ophelia had a feeling they were going to finally find out the consequence of answering incorrectly.
“Me either,” Charlotte muttered.
“I believe Luci,” Leon insisted. “If she says she knows, without a doubt, then it’s true.”
“The asshole is probably hoping none of us believe him, so we all choose wrong,” Ophelia added.
Baker paled a bit as he watched them all hit false. He tried to switch his answer, but it was too late. They glanced around at each other in anticipation, Cade’s smile never budging, and for a long, tense, moment nothing happened at all.
Then the pillar above Baker slammed down to the ground, crushing him to smithereens and splattering blood across the room.