Kyle slid an arm around Sierra. Sierra sucked in a breath before she shook him off. “Okay, I’m notthatupset.”
“Just trying to be nice.”
“I don’t want your pity. I will take Julia’s though.”
Julia held in a giggle as she crossed to her stepdaughter and slid an arm around her. “Come on, let’s look for that library.”
“Okay,” Sierra said as she leaned her head against Julia’s. “Maybe through there.”
Julia followed the direction Sierra pointed, pushing open a set of double doors leading into a large library.
“Wow, this room is almost untouched,” Kyle said as they walked inside.
“That’s amazing. The fire was everywhere.” Grant’s fingers curled into fists at his side.
Julia rubbed his shoulder as Sierra left her side to explore the room.
He slid an arm around her as he pulled her close. “I do not have good memories of this place.”
“Me either,” she answered, her eyes rising to the ceiling as a rumble split the otherwise quiet night. Her gaze drift to an old portrait, a layer of film covering it, but the stern eyes of the subject pierced through the soot. An inexplicable chill whispered down her spine.
“What other symbols are on the key?” Kyle asked.
Sierra pulled her phone from her pocket and enlarged the picture. “Umm, it’s a creepy snake eating its own tail.”
“An ouroboros?” Julia asked.
“No,” Sierra said with a shake of her head, “a snake eating its own tail. Were you not listening?”
Kyle crinkled his brow, shooting Julia a glance.
“That’s what…never mind.” Julia shook her head.
“What does that have to do with anything in this library?” Kyle asked.
“Maybe it’s on a book,” Sierra suggested. “We should check all the books.”
Grant pulled Julia closer to him and wrapped his other arm around her. “You two do that. We’ll just wait here.”
“Fine, if you don’t want to have any fun, we’ll do it for you,” Sierra said as she stomped her way to the bookshelf with her cellphone’s flashlight lit.
She scanned one shelf before she sighed. “Ugh. Nothing.”
“Sierra, there are hundreds of books here,” Kyle answered. “You can’t go through one shelf and quit.”
“Well, if we had some help…” She shot a pointed glance at Julia and Grant.
“You’re the one who wanted to sleuth,” Grant answered.
“Not nice, Daddy. Not after what I’ve been through.”
He heaved a sigh as he let go of Julia. “Fine. We’ll help you.”
Julia kissed his cheek before she picked a bookshelf to search.
Grant crossed to another shelf and scanned the books. “This is a wild goose chase if you ask me.”
“We didn’t, Daddy, but thanks for your opinion.” Sierra stood on tiptoes as she peered at the shelf above her.
