no-one hardly ever saw any of them. As soon as they arrived they spent all of their time upstairs in the VIP lounge, and of course they had their own private party guest list that no-one who lived in the town was ever included on.
I didn't really understand why I was so fascinated, why I was obsessing over them but at heart I knew it wasn't “them” I was dying to find out about, it was him. As soon as RJ had mentioned the name Dominic Draven, I had latched onto it like a good murder mystery book you couldn't put down! By the time my brain had calmed itself down and started to get some real life perspective, I had arrived at the spot I had been looking for or so I thought.
I frowned as I saw a natural looking archway framed by the trees. I didn’t remember this being here the other day and I was sure I had taken the exact same route with Libby. Maybe we came at it from a different angle last time, yes, that must be it. I convinced myself of this long enough to pass through the entwined branch arch but not before looking back over my shoulder one last time.
Once my fears left me they were quickly replaced by awe. The place was amazing, as if it wasn't part of the forest, it was more like a secret garden, which instead of being surrounded by a stone wall to keep it hidden and the stone had been replaced by a wall of life, lush green life. The forest surrounded the open space like a protective barrier, with hundred years old trees standing guard.
I was so amazed that I didn’t let it register that this was in fact not the place that Libby had brought me the other day. It just appeared that way because it seemed to have the same view. This place looked like someone's property and I had just stumbled across someone's own private Garden of Eden. Upon closer inspection the trees were different and more exotic looking, with huge palms and vines growing on them with bright red flowers that looked very similar to hibiscus, if memory served me right from watching all those gardening programmes with my mum on lazy, boring Sunday afternoons.
But this couldn’t be right, it would be far too cold here for them, and there were even more plants that would definitely not survive in this climate. How was this possible? The only way would be in a greenhouse and I was pretty sure I wasn't crazy enough not to notice I was standing in one! Yet here in front of me was the colourful proof, the yellows, oranges and blues of the Birds of Paradise plant. The bright pink bell shapes of Angel Wing Begonia, sun bursting Dahlia’s and the beautiful purple and red Blue Dawns, all lay around basking in the winter sun as evidence to this incredible place.
I walked into the middle trying not to make a sound, only I wasn't sure why, it was just so breathtakingly beautiful that it was like a dream I didn't want to be awakened from. There was no sound or movement for that matter, which I didn't understand. How can there be no wind in this big open space when there were clouds above me that were moving. There wasn't even the slightest breeze. I could feel my nerves kicking in and I started to tremble. I wanted to turn back, feeling something not right under my skin but I couldn't see where I had come in. Where was the archway?
My instincts were quickly coming in to play and I pulled the metal chip from my hair releasing long blonde waves down my back. My eyes darted from one space to another as I held onto to cold metal, which was pointed at one end and barely bigger than my palm but from my grip it could have been a sword the length of my arm.
Then suddenly I heard a noise from behind me and as I spun round, I tripped on some uneven ground and lost my footing, falling to the forest floor. Letting out a yelp, I automatically put my hands out to break my fall, losing my unconventional weapon in the process, feeling the wet moss across my skin causing my hands to slide. With my grip lost I tried in vain to hold my body upwards. Instead my hands flew