Into the depths of shadows

Chapter 13 - Arlin Shade

All Finley's life she had dreamed of meeting Arlin Shade. The monster who had taken her brother and her parents from her. The one who had taken the people she loved most away from her. The one who had ruined her family. And now was her chance.

As she opened the door to the restaurant a bell rang and a waiter appeared in front of her. The middle aged woman smiled politely at her before speaking, "Welcome to Mystique bar and grill. Have you made a reservation?" She asked politely.

Finley's eyes eagerly searched the restaurant for table eight but she couldn't see it from where she stood. "I'm meeting someone. They booked table eight."

The woman nodded kindly before picking up two menus. "Certainly, this way."
Finley followed behind the woman in silence her heart drumming against her chest like a hammer. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous. She was so worried that her family's death had been for nothing. That they had died just because they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would make all of this pointless. She just wanted to know why and how they had been killed. That was all.

They moved through the restaurant and Finley's eyes darted across to every single person who was sitting and eating. Any one of them could be Arlin. A couple sat together in the corner looking eagerly into each other's eyes. An elderly man was seated at a table by himself a paper and a half eaten meal in front of him. A group of girls who looked like fairies sat around a large table with birthday balloons. A tall man wearing a suit sat at one table, his eyes lifting to meet Finley's as she passed. For a second she thought that she was facing Arlin but he dropped his gaze a moment later returning to his meal.

As they moved towards the back of the restaurant Finley spotted table 8. Her nerves increased as she spotted the man sitting at the table. His back was to her but she could see his dark jet black hair that curled at the ends reaching to the bottom of his jaw. His posture was completely straight, almost unnaturally so. His hand was wrapped around a wine glass with dark liquid inside, the contents unknown. Finley thought her heart might explode because it was pounding so much. The woman waited for Finley to move towards the table.

Finley's body had gone completely stiff. Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her as she moved forward. As she neared the table she could feel the suffocating magic that hung in the air around him. He was a warlock that much was obvious. She took a seat at the table her eyes fixed on the table cloth. She was too anxious to look. A million thoughts were running through her mind as the woman placed the menus in front of them and moved away.

She lifted her eyes and looked at the man in front of her and her breath caught in her throat. She swore at herself for not seeing it earlier. She had seen this man before. She had spoken to him before. How had she not have known?

The sharpness in his jaw was the first thing she noticed. It was so defined and angular. There was stubble growing out along the sharp edge giving her the impression that he was older than she was. His skin was pale making the freckles on his face more pronounced. He smelled of smoke and blood and magic all at once. It was unusual. It was almost what Finley would have expected to smell if a demon was nearby. But it was his eyes that had given him away. Those dark eyes that almost looked black. The same dark eyes that she had seen before. The same dark eyes that she remembered from his party. She had spoken to him near the drink table. He had seemed so charming when she thought back to it. But here he was sitting in front of her. The man who had wrecked her life. Arlin Shade.

"It's you," she gasped in surprise. She couldn't stop staring at him. How had she been so stupid? She should have known. She should have guessed it. But she hadn't known. She would never have guessed that it had been him.

A sly grin crept across his face, his eyes darkening more than they already were. "My dear you are even more beautiful up close," he answered. His voice reminded her of a snake, hissing and slithering with delight.