My (Not So) Charmed Life

What Lies Below Times Square

Check the end of the chapter for a brief A/N please :)

We stood in the middle of Times Square as Ryan searched for the entryway that would lead us to the hidden chambers of the Council.

"Come on, really?" I asked incredulously. "Times Square? Of all of the places that they could make their lair, they chose the busiest freaking area in the entire state?"

Ryan laughed at my surprise. "They did it on purpose, dummy. They needed somewhere that wizards could come without being suspected or watched. Nobody can spot magic in an area as busy as this."

He spotted something and walked towards it, with me following behind him. There was a sentence written in what looked like Latin. It read "Ingredietur sanctuarium tuum in terra periculum summi consilii." Even though I couldn't understand it, Ryan seemed to be able to with no problem.

"See this? It means, "Enter the sacred ground of the High Council at your own peril." This is the place. He waved his hand over the phrase and it dissolved into a door.

"Let's go, Liza," he said, as he watched me standing there frozen after he had already walked through the door.

"I- I can't. What if they realize that the girl who all of their lives are hinging on is.... Me?" I had finally voiced my fears to someone, and I felt a little bit better.

"You're worried that they won't think you're worth hinging a war on? Liza, this war will affect everyone, and just because you are the girl mentioned in the prophecy doesn't mean that anyone expects you to be some Lara Croft ninja girl, okay?"

I breathed in and out deeply, calming myself down as he spoke.

"Okay, let's do this."

I walked forward through the door, feeling it slam closed behind me with a thud. The halls were silver, with a marble floor and ceiling, and the overall effect was very intimidating. The place looked as though the people who lived here were royalty, and I felt very small as I walked down the corridors.

Finally, the hallways ended, and we walked into a large room that seemed to serve as a lobby. There were people milling about, all looking busy and harried, and there was a desk in the middle of all of the bustle.

Ryan strode up to the desk, where a very pretty blonde girl sat writing something down.

"Hey Layla," he said with a grin. The girl, who I assumed was Layla, looked up and smiled at him.

"Ryan! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in months!" I stood next to him awkwardly, feeling like a third wheel.

Layla gave him a flirty smile and asked him, "How long will you be here for? Maybe we can get together sometime."

"Sorry, Lay, but I have to go take her upstairs and then after the meeting, I have to go through a few more meetings. Maybe another time?"

She looked annoyed, glaring at me for the first time since I'd gotten there. What the hell had I done?

"C'mon, we need to get upstairs," Ryan said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from Layla's menacing stare.

We got inside of an elevator, and I asked Ryan which floor I should press.

"Um, we're going to a special floor," he said, putting his finger onto a pad above the floor numbers. It flashed a bright red before fading, and then the elevator began to move. Instead of going either up or down, this elevator seemed to move sideways, as well. I lost my balance and almost fell onto the floor, but Ryan caught me around my waist before I could make too much of a fool of myself.