Into the depths of shadows

Chapter 12 - Flying Solo

"Finley," Harley said causing her to stop, "He loved you. He'll come back."
She said nothing, there was no point. She knew that Kade wasn't coming back. Not unless she gave up her hunt for Arlin. But she couldn't do that. Not until she knew the truth and maybe not even then. Without a word she headed outside and into the sunshine.
~

The sun was warm against Finley's face as she made her way down the street. The sky was a pretty blue colour with big white fluffy clouds. Her eyes scanned the sky watching the birds fly around happily. What she wouldn't give to be one of those birds, free of all the mess that she'd gotten herself into. Maybe Kade was right. Maybe her search for answers was hopeless and she was just going to get herself killed. She didn't know what she should do. She wanted to know the truth. She wanted to know everything about what had happened to her parents and her brother. She wanted revenge. But she didn't want to lose everyone else who cared about her in the process. Maybe she was risking too much.

The old brown building loomed up in front of her. The bricks looking worn and torn from the weather over the years it had stood there. Vines traced up the side across the bricks only making the building appear older. The neatly placed letters above the door was the only modern thing about the building. The library had been there for as long as Finley could remember. She had gone there many times to find a quiet place to study or read. It has become almost like a second home to her.

She pushed the glass door open and the smell of books filled the air. The library had three floors. The first was full of computers where you could search for books or use for studying. The second floor held all the books, each placed in the appropriate place based on the author's name. And the third was full of tables and little booths where you could sit quietly and study. Finley made her way up the stairs and to the third floor, stopping only briefly to grab a textbook of one of the shelves.

She took a seat at one of the booths and opened the textbook ready to take notes on the small notebook that she'd grabbed on the way out. She scanned the pages in silence, jotting down anything important for her upcoming assignment at school. She'd completely forgotten about it and as a result she now only had the weekend to finish it.

She didn't know how much time had passed but by the time she'd finished the textbook she had three pages of notes written down. She stood up hauling the heavy book with her and headed back downstairs for another. There were more people moving around within the shelves now and Finley had to squeeze her way behind one lady so that she could get past. She slid the book back onto the shelf and scanned the others in front of her.

"Finley?" A soft voice asked curiously. Finley turned her head searching for the voice. Her eyes settled on Kailee, the fairy that Aiden had known. Her pink lips smiled at her and her unusual violet eyes looked happy. She crossed the distance between them. "I thought that was you."

"Hi Kailee," Finley replied smiling back at her, "What are you doing here?"

Kailee tugged at her white blonde hair tucking a strand behind her ear. "I help out here on my days off. A friend of mine owns the place."

"Oh," Finley answered, "I've never seen you here before."

Kailee nodded, "We only just became friends." Something in the way she said it indicated that they were more than friends. Finley smiled glad that at least one of them had moved on since Aiden's death.

"So how are you doing?" Kailee asked, her eyes scanning Finley's face. "Have you gotten any closer in your search?"

Finley frowned shaking her head, "Not exactly. We figured out that Arlin is a warlock but not much else."

Kailee nodded her eyes darting around the room once before settling on Finley's face. "I might be able to help you. There are archives here on family trees especially supernatural ones. Maybe we can find some more information about his family."