I’m sitting at my desk when Theo walks out of his office and Tobias steps out of his a second later. I stand up, knowing it is time to leave.
“Ready?” Tobias asks.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, grabbing my handbag from under my desk and throwing it over my shoulder.
We make our way to Tobias’ car. As soon as the car starts, I know there will be no turning back, the seatbelt suddenly feels more like a restraint as we leave the city to meet the people that will decide when I die.
The drive takes about forty-five minutes. Tobias pulls the car over on what appears to be an abandoned school in literally the most deserted place, hidden amongst the trees. We get out of the car and I look around. It is an old school building, with trees going through it, the roof has caved in and the place looks desolate. Like it hadn’t been a functioning school in hundreds of years. No signage, no nothing.
“Are we at the right place?” I ask, looking around confused.
There are broken swings in the distance and the gate out front is rusted. Tobias and Theo nod before walking through the gate and suddenly, vanishing into thin air. I stop, shocked. Where did they go? Then, suddenly Theo’s hand comes out, waving at me on my side of the gate, his body invisible. I take a step back; I must be tripping what the hell was in that coffee?
Suddenly, Theo steps back into view, my heart skips a beat as he materializes in front of me.
“Come on,” he says, holding out his hand.
I nervously take it and he pulls me through the gate. I can hear a high pitched whistling, and have to fight the urge to block my ears then suddenly, a feeling like I’m being sucked through a vacuum, before finally feeling air again. I suck in a deep breath. What I’m not expecting when I look around is the sight of the huge mansion in front of me, that can’t be the school I just saw.
I turn around and look back at the gate, I just walked through which is no longer there. I can see the car and the dirt road, but the abandoned school is gone. I take a step back and bump into Tobias.
I look up at him and he smiles. “Cool huh?” I nod, not really knowing what to say. I look around, the place is huge as we walk up the grand steps towards the huge archway in place of a door.
“How?” I ask, not understanding how this place is so hidden from the world.
“Witches put wards up, to humans and anyone else it just appears as an abandoned building, anyone who walks past the gates just feel uncomfortable and don’t understand why. It’s for protection, to stop anyone from discovering this place. There are many around the city as well.” Tobias explains.
Theo walks over to the door and bangs on it. A man or should I say strange looking goblin/elf thing walks out, a snarl on his face. He looks at me then at Theo, his face lighting up excitedly.
“Theo, I heard you were coming to visit today, did you bring them?” He asks, his voice sounds really squeaky, kind of like listening to a mouse. He kind of reminds me of Golem from the Lord of the Rings, except he is dressed like a butler.
“Yep, sure did. Did mom and dad already head to the chambers?” He says, pulling a paper bag out of his pocket.
The elf looks inside before pulling out some stringy, red liquorice. The very moment, he grabs one and bites a piece off with his sharp looking teeth. “Yep, they are inside already, this must be your mate. Nice to meet you, Imogen, I am Percy,” he says, holding his hand out which is the size of a small child’s but with long sharp looking nails.
I shake his hand, wondering how he knows my name.
“Josiah told me about you, you’re much prettier than I thought,” he says with a wink, answering the question I’m thinking.
I smile, I like him already. He shoves the doors open. It opens up to a huge square room before we walk directly across to another set of doors. Theo opens them before placing his hand on my lower back. “Don’t freak out and whatever you do, don’t stare, it will be awkward,” he says.
I wonder what he means. I don’t have to wait long to find out though, stepping through the door, we are in some sort of quadrangle. The place is bustling with people and creatures I have only read about in fairy tales. Shops and buildings along every side, the place is like a little town. I can’t help but stare when a centaur walks past me. A fucking centaur.
“You’re staring,” says Theo, whispering in my ear.
“How the hell does he hide in the human world?” I ask, not being able to believe my own eyes.
“He doesn’t, his name is Bruno and he lives permanently here at court. He is the last of his kind.” Theo answers.
Maybe there really was something in that coffee, or maybe my mind conjured up this delusion, or I’m dreaming. None of this makes sense; first, an elf creature, now a centaur. Is every mythical creature real?
“Not all, just some, where do you think the stories come from? Humans aren’t that imaginative to come up with that stuff on their own. There is always a little truth to legend,” Theo says, answering my thoughts.
I drag my eyes away from the half donkey looking man. Theo’s hand on my lower back pushes me along, seeing as my feet just aren’t cooperating. When we are halfway through the quad, I start really looking around. I feel Tobias grab my hand before bending slightly blocking my view. “What are you looking for?” He asks, an amused look on his face as I stare at all the people, and half peoples roaming around.