Phantasma
by Kaylie Smith
Contents
Chapter 15
Overview
After surviving the maze, Ophelia returns to the dining hall and learns just how ruthless her fellow contestants are when Cade and Beau defend abandoning others to die. A strange burst of intangibility makes Cade think she is one of Phantasma’s monsters, and his panic turns violent until Blackwell intervenes and protects her.
The house then escalates from human conflict to supernatural horror, filling the hall with vermin and a giant serpent. Blackwell’s help proves limited by the price of his bargain, and Ophelia’s refusal to make a desperate deal leaves her exposed, ending the chapter with the serpent biting her shoulder.
Summary
Back in the dining hall, Ophelia and the young man she saved from the maze are thrown hard onto the floor. While the young man vomits and collapses, Ophelia confronts Cade and Beau for opening the exit too early and leaving other contestants to the Hellhound. Their response makes clear that they see Phantasma as a pure survival contest, and Ophelia realizes that the other contestants may be as dangerous as the house itself.
The argument escalates when Cade grabs Ophelia’s wrist and threatens her. As she struggles, her arm suddenly turns transparent and slips through his grip, which convinces Cade and Beau that she must be one of Phantasma’s Demons. The dining hall then shifts into a darker, more grotesque version of itself, with blood in the goblets and vermin infesting the feast, and Cade blames Ophelia for the transformation.
When a silver carving knife appears on the table, Cade seizes it and attacks. He tackles Ophelia and tries to stab her through the heart, but much of her body turns intangible again, so the blade does not wound her. Blackwell appears, taunts her for not fighting back, and gives Ophelia the opening to use the last of her remaining magic to blast Cade off her.
Blackwell then physically restrains Cade, reveals himself to him, and punishes him for insulting Ophelia before throwing him away. He quickly turns his attention back to Ophelia and urges her to leave because Phantasma is escalating the danger. As they move through the darkened dining hall, giant spiders, snakes, and other horrors overrun the room, showing that the chapter’s threat has shifted from human violence to the house’s next attack.
At the exit, Blackwell stops Ophelia from walking straight into a massive serpent. Holding her steady, he tells her to back away slowly and then run on his signal, but he admits he cannot banish the creature or transport her without the payment demanded by his bargain. Ophelia refuses to let fear corner her into such a life-changing decision, so Blackwell disappears to create a distraction instead.
When his signal never comes, Ophelia fears he has abandoned her and decides to run on her own. The choice backfires: the serpent refocuses on her, she crashes into a marble pedestal, cuts her palm on a broken shard, and falls before she can escape. The creature strikes, sinking its fangs into her shoulder as she screams.
Who Appears
- Ophelia GrimmConfronts Cade and Beau, manifests strange intangibility, refuses Blackwell’s bargain again, and is bitten by a giant serpent.
- BlackwellPhantom who saves Ophelia from Cade, guides her through the transformed hall, and admits his power requires payment.
- CadeRuthless contestant who defends sacrificing others, mistakes Ophelia for a Demon, and attacks her with a silver knife.
- BeauCade’s companion; endorses selfish survival and panics when the dining hall turns monstrous.
- Unnamed young manContestant Ophelia saved in the maze; returns sick and incapacitated after the trial.