Enter the Shadows: Book One of the RTS Series (First Full Draft)

Chapter Twenty

Daniel

Daniel had read about daring escapes in a few books. One of his favorite books, the Count of Monte Cristo had one such escape. How Edmund Dantes escaped prison after digging for years was something Daniel thought inspiring and ingenious. Unfortunately, Daniel didn't have the time or skills to do something like that. He wasn't Edmund Dantes... he was just Daniel Marchand. A foolish Esoteric who got himself into this mess.

He only had about twenty minutes to think of a plan before being dragged back down into the abyss of the arena, and being indoctrinated. He sat in the piano room, dressed in the same armor he had fought the copy of himself in as per the request of his father, not even being able to raise his hands to the keys to play anything to calm his nerves.

Daniel was determined to escape, to break away when his father and Astra had failed. But how? How could he escape dozens of followers who would risk their lives to do as Leo said?

While being lost in thought, Natalie entered the room and placed a hand on his shoulder. Daniel startled, jumping a bit before recoiling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Natalie apologized. She looked exhausted and worried.

"No, it's alright." Daniel sighed.

Natalie let go of his shoulder, and sat next to him at the piano. But she didn't play it. The dress she wore was the same color as Daniel's uniform; green and silver. Though it wasn't as extravagant as typical Esoteric fashion, and would've looked relatively normal in a crowd of Laic. Probably a purposeful choice, if Natalie was planning on leaving this world behind.

"Daniel... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry, I should've done so much more to protect you from this."

Daniel felt guilty. "No, it's not your fault. I should've... I should've listened to you. I should've taken the chance to leave sooner..."

Natalie looked a little surprised. "You... You're willing to leave?"

"Yes. But I don't know how we could escape now."

His mother was still. Then she grew more determined. "Daniel, I failed you as your mother. I should've protected you from this more."

"You're not-"

Natalie reached into the pocket of her dress, and pulled out what appeared to be an ornate key on a gold chain. It glittered a deep burgundy in the light of the piano room, and the energy that came off it was faint, but not faint enough for Daniel to sense power from it.

Daniel immediately knew what this was. "That's... No, no don't tell me you're going to-!"

"When my sister died, this key was supposed to be destroyed. But instead of it being destroyed, it was given to me under the condition that I never use it. I haven't so much as looked at this in almost a decade, too afraid to touch it, but now..." She held in her palm, and it was then that Daniel could see the faded marks from when this key had burned her. This key had once hurt Natalie when she tried to use it. It didn't take away her sanity, but it almost took away her ability to do the one thing she loved. The ability to play music.

"Vivian lost her mind when she used it!" Daniel cried. "What makes you think you can use it any better?!"

"I wasn't able to protect you, Daniel. But I will now." Natalie looked determined. Unshakable.

"No, mother, don't do this!" Daniel begged. "There has to be something else!"

She looked saddened. "There isn't time to plan anything else."

He knew he was right, and the guilt felt suffocating to Daniel. If she couldn't handle this ability, she could die. The horrible image Daniel thought of burned itself in his mind, making him want to scream.