Chapter 108: House Of Illusion
Sarah led them through the grand entrance of the Corvane manor: a building that looked more like a palace than any noble estate.
Its halls gleamed with chandeliers, silver-framed mirrors, and marble so polished it reflected the misty light outside.
Andrew’s eyes roamed the corridors as he leaned slightly toward Lulu and whispered,
"You can sense vampire power, right? Try to locate Seamus and Elle."
"That crow?" Lulu groaned, shoulders slumping. "Do we have to? I’m tired of fighting."
She was a modern vampire, turned in an age of screens and noise—more suited for Wi-Fi than warfare.
Unfortunately, there was no signal here. Not even static.
Still, she exhaled and closed her eyes. Her consciousness expanded like a pulse of light, giving her a 360-degree vision of glowing spheres, each hue marking the difference between human and vampire essence.
"I see some vampires scattered around," she murmured, "and one really strong one waiting ahead. But no Seamus. No Diane either."
Andrew frowned. "If Isolde’s right, my son’s not exactly human anymore. He might be masking his presence."
"Maybe," Lulu said, shrugging. "But this place is huge. I can’t scan the whole manor at once."
At least it was something. A direction.
"You’ve got a useful ability," Sarah suddenly said, her tone honeyed. "Tell me, why haven’t you evolved yet?"
Lulu stiffened. "Uh... late bloomer?" she offered weakly.
Sarah chuckled, the sound polite but condescending.
Andrew shook his head. He’d heard of cases like hers before ’prodigy’ vampires whose innate powers made their evolution slower, even unstable.
Meanwhile, David stayed silent, face pale and tense, his fists clenched as though he’d seen something he couldn’t name.
They finally reached a massive door. Sarah opened it with a graceful motion, revealing an extravagant dining hall.
A crystal chandelier hung above a long, ornate table lined with platters of steaming food and goblets of deep red wine.
The scent hit them instantly: sweet, metallic, almost intoxicating.
But to Andrew, the illusion was thin. The food was fake. The meat rotted beneath the glamour, the wine stank of decay.
David stepped forward anyway, eyes gleaming with hunger. The droll escaped his lips as he reached for the table.
"Don’t eat or drink anything," Andrew said sharply, grabbing his shoulder. David didn’t even flinch; his eyes were only focused on the food.
"This is how you treat guests?" Andrew growled at Sarah. "Do you want to break your Blood Pact already?"
Sarah turned, smiling as if amused. "Ah... so you resist my little trick better than they do," she said, tilting her head.
"Tell me, Andrew, what do you see?"
"Oh, I’ll answer," he said coldly, "after you make it vanish."
Her laughter echoed across the hall mockingly, and almost melodic.
"Oh, you’re good," she said, and snapped her fingers.
The illusion shattered. The table was suddenly empty, the plates cracked and grey.
"You may rest here," Sarah said smoothly. "I’ll prepare a proper welcome, one without tricks, I promise."
She smiled again before dissolving into a swirl of black petals that faded into mist.
David blinked, confused. "Where’s the food?"
"Yeah," Lulu muttered, rubbing her stomach. "Where’d the delicious blood pool go?"
"Even you, Lulu?" Andrew sighed, rubbing his forehead.
Isolde had been right, this entire house was saturated with illusion. Even he felt it tugging at the edge of his mind.
He could see through it, but he still sees pretty much all the illusion.
They sat in silence for a while. The ticking of a distant clock was the only sound in the room.
Andrew’s gaze shifted to David, who had finally calmed down. He lifted his shirt and checked his bandaged side.
"Still patched up good," David murmured.
Andrew leaned forward slightly. "You looked tense back in the hallway. What did you see?"
David hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah... I saw eyes. On the wall."
Andrew frowned. "What?"
"I’m serious," David said quickly, glancing between them.
"They were red, blinking, following every move I made. Made my skin crawl."
Both Andrew and Lulu fell silent. Andrew’s eyes narrowed; he wasn’t sure if David’s ’eyes’ were part of the illusions, or if this house was truly watching them.
He turned to Lulu. "You said you only sensed one powerful presence earlier, right? If Diane and Seamus aren’t here, shouldn’t there be two, one for the matriarch, one for the crow?"
Lulu tilted her head, thinking.
David interjected, "But isn’t that just a matter of distance?"
Andrew shook his head. "Elle’s power is immense, David. If she were anywhere near this place, Lulu would’ve felt her."
Lulu’s eyes widened slightly as a thought struck her. "Wait... unless she’s hiding her aura."
The men exchanged uneasy looks.
David suddenly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor.
"I can’t just sit here. I’ll search for my daughter in another wing. They can’t hurt us physically, right?"
Andrew exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair. "Physically, no. But mentally? That’s another story. There are seals all over this place. Try the window if you don’t believe me."
David scoffed and stomped toward the tall window. He grabbed the frame, tried to open it, and then kicked it hard. Nothing moved, not even a rattle.
"Fuck!" he cursed, yanking at the handles. "You’re right. It won’t budge!"
He turned to the door next, slamming his shoulder against it several times with no effect.
"Damn it! They’ve really trapped us."
"Of course they have," Andrew muttered. "We wouldn’t have even made it past the gate if they didn’t want us inside."
David dropped heavily into one of the dining chairs, frustration written all over his face. "Then why bring us here at all?"
No one answered. The question lingered in the air like smoke: thick, choking, and without an end.
Andrew leaned his head back, eyes on the ceiling. The chandeliers above them swayed faintly, though no wind blew.
Shadows crawled along the walls like liquid veins. His pulse quickened not from fear, but from recognition.
He’d seen this kind of illusion before. The kind that didn’t just hide something... it fed on what you felt.
Maybe this was how dream realms worked too. He didn’t know. He’d never seen Isolde or Seamus use that power directly. Dream manipulation was rare, nearly extinct.
But illusions? Those, he understood.
And this one was tightening its grip.
***
Seamus opened his eyes and found himself back in the garden where all the chaos had begun. Yet now, it looked perfectly restored, as if nothing had ever happened.
The grass swayed gently, the roses bloomed bright and whole. But everything felt too pristine, too deliberate.
The longer he stared, the more it warped. The leaves shimmered, flickering like static; the vines crawled against the wall with a soundless rhythm, bending in ways that defied nature.
Even the manor beyond seemed to ripple like a reflection on disturbed water.
He blinked rapidly, rubbed his eyes, even slapped his own cheek just to be sure. Nothing changed. The distortion stayed so did the manor.
Then a familiar voice cut through the eerie quiet, echoing inside his mind and grounding him to his purpose.
’Seamus, search for their Emblem. I can sense a faint spark of power in the room where you first woke up.’
Madeline’s voice. Calm and confident, yet edged with a pressure that made his chest tighten.
’Not underground like usual?’ he muttered, trying to sound casual.
In truth, his nerves were a tangled mess. The silence of this place felt heavy, suffocating, as if even sound was afraid to linger.
Madeline’s warnings replayed in his head. What if she wasn’t exaggerating? What if Roanna gone mad and trap him in this house forever?
Madeline’s tone grew low, teasing but serious. ’No. It’s somewhere inside the real manor. What you see now is a veil, a pretty lie draped over something rotten. If you could see the truth, Seamus... you might wish you hadn’t.’
He exhaled slowly. ’Then why can’t I see it? My Sagacitas Parameter is high. You said it yourself.’
As he spoke, he reached the grand mahogany doors. Up close, they pulsed faintly, like breathing skin. His reflection on the surface shifted, a heartbeat late, a distorted mimicry of his own face.
Madeline’s voice returned even more eerie. ’This entire manor is alive.’
’The one controlling it is the Emblem, but Roanna or someone from Corvane likely commands part of it too. A duel of wills, perhaps. Not even you or Isolde can pierce this illusion. No one can... except me.’
Her tone hardened. ’So find that Emblem quickly, Seamus, before this place begins to eat at your mind.’
He nodded slowly, the air around him cold and thick like syrup. There was no running from this.
If he failed, everyone would die and they would hunt him down like an animal. He’d spent too long living running like that. This time, he’d face it.
Drawing a deep breath, Seamus pushed open the doors.
Darkness spilled out, swallowing the light around him like ink and he stepped into it without hesitation.