Page 14 of Enchanted Hero (The Secret Enchanters #1)

W hat creature should he turn the so-called magician into?

A frog? A goat? An ameba? Fortunately for the scheming charlatan, that would not only expose him, but he had a personal policy against turning people into lower life forms, no matter how much they deserved it.

That didn’t mean he was going to stay up here and bark like a dog.

The crack sounded again, the straining of a system not made for such abuse.

Calling his magic, Alexander commanded the wires to drop down.

Such large amounts of magic caused a puff of mist, but it blended into the fog already on stage.

He forced himself to move slowly as he descended, to not arouse suspicion.

The crowd pointed, their laughter turning into cheers.

The magician frowned.

Alexander reached the table, jumped over the rails and stomped to the magician. It would serve him right if he turned him into something with four legs, or at least suspended him in the air until he barked like a dog.

But good morals once again triumphed. “I guess your magic isn’t quite what you advertise.”

Max stared open-mouthed, Everleigh the same. Of course, they’d never guess he used real enchantment. Finally, the magician spoke, “I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps the magical forces don’t like you.” Alexander pointed toward the teen girl still hovering in the air. “Are you going to let her down? Or does she need to bark like a dog?”

“Of course not.” Max jumped back, fidgeting with his robes. “I will now bring our final guest down.” Again the lights flashed, the music sounded and Max waved his hands. Yet nothing happened.

“This isn’t funny,” Alexander hissed. “I know you used wires. Get her down now .”

“I’m trying!” Max’s voice rose with barely concealed panic. “I moved too fast before. The system isn’t responding.”

Suddenly the girl lurched downward, then up and down again. The crowd gasped as the girl screamed. “What’s happening?” Everleigh cried.

“I don’t know!” Max tucked his arms into his billowing sleeves, no doubt trying to maneuver hidden controls. “This has never happened before.”

The girl pitched again. With her screams and Max’s response, the crowd now realized it was no show. “It has to stop!” Max cried. “The wires can’t take all those movements.” Then suddenly…

A snap.

The crowd cried out as a wire broke and the girl tilted, hanging from three cords like an out-of-control marionet. “Call 911!” Max shrieked, as panic seized the theater.

For Alexander, every option rose in a split second. He could do nothing and hope rescuers made it in time, or he could save her, using extraordinary means. Every option changed and redefined lives, yet through it all, there was only one true choice:

He had to save the girl.

Using his powers, Alexander plunged the theater into darkness. There was little chance of concealing his actions, yet any hope triumphed over none. Screams sounded all around, as he transformed into a concealing black outfit and mask, another likely insufficient exercise. Then… he teleported.

The poor girl thrashed and twisted in the lurching wires, her breaths shallow and short.

He reached for her, and she screamed again.

“You’re okay.” She calmed as he gathered her into his arms, hovering in the air with her, as he used his magic to make the slab descend by itself.

She clung to him, her breathing slowing he held her close.

In her panic, she likely didn’t realize they were flying.

A blinding light flashed. His heart thundered, fear not for himself, but for his people. Could the audience see him flying? The light shined again, the gasps louder. He had to get down, even if it meant showing his true powers. He held the girl close and teleported once more.

He transported the girl directly to the slab, which had returned to the table.

Hopefully they would assume she went down with it.

In the next instant, he transported back to the stage.

Waiting a few precious seconds to give credibility she’d descended by ordinary means, he lifted his magic. Light filled a theater in chaos.

Everleigh was as white as the mist still billowing from the fog machines. “Did you see him?” She pointed to where the girl had been moments ago. “There was a man, when the police shined their flashlights.”

Tightened muscle seized. So that’s what the illumination had been. They had recognized a man.

Did they know it was him?

Everleigh stared, yet she didn’t immediately accuse him of being not strictly human . At least not yet. “Did you see the guy in black?”

He could deny it, yet other people were pointing and yelling about a mysterious man. “It must’ve been part of the show.”

“I’ve never seen a trick like that.” Everleigh pivoted all around, as if expecting a man to come flying out of the ceiling. “He appeared out of nowhere!”

“It only seems like that.” Somehow he kept his voice calm. “There was plenty of time to hoist someone when the lights went out. It was probably a fireman.”

“He wasn’t dressed like a fireman.” She gazed into the air, in the exact direction he hovered. “Even if he was an emergency responder, how do you explain him disappearing?”

“Another trick.” It was a paltry excuse, and no doubt she wouldn’t believe him. Yet how could he explain the impossible?

Everleigh gestured to Max, who was now talking with police. She lowered her voice. “We both know he used wires. The trick went completely wrong – he said so himself when he couldn’t work the electronics. The girl was about to fall, and the mystery man saved h–” She froze.

Damn.

“It’s the guy from the tornado!” a woman in the audience shrieked. And suddenly a dozen and then a hundred people yelled the same as they held up phones already playing a dozen videos.

“Everyone stay calm,” the fair director called as fire rescue and police poured into the arena. They immediately started examining, searching, taking names.

Time to get out of here.

Alexander grasped Everleigh’s hand and led her off the stage.

Appearing in another police report wouldn’t look good, especially since Andrews and Garrison hadn’t stopped their questioning.

Using his enchantment to thread through the dense crowd, he kept Everleigh close.

“Both events have a logical explanation, neither of which involves actual magic.”

“I can’t think of a logical explanation for either event, and neither can they.” Everleigh pointed at the people rapidly typing on cell phones. Fantastic. No doubt someone in the large audience had their cell phone pointed in the right direction at the right time.

Everleigh turned back toward the stage, but he steered her forward. If Andrews and Garrison saw her in the report, they’d trace her straight back to him. Then they’d put two magical events together to get one magical man.

They reached the exit, stepping into broad sunlight and the heavy scent of animals.

They waited for a group of horses to pass, then a unit of police officers.

Alexander stayed still as several gave him a long look, meeting questioning stares head-on.

Fortunately, none stopped him, and as soon as the animals passed, he grasped Everleigh and strode into the path.

She skipped faster to keep up with him, and he slowed ever-so-slightly. If only he could teleport them both out of here. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Alexander swept past a trio of clowns on stilts. “I’d rather not be pulled into any more questioning. Not that anything happened,” he quickly added. “People see what they’re looking for. Remember that guy who saw Santa Claus in his peanut butter sandwich?”

She made a face. “This is different. If you’d seen him–” She halted. He pulled lightly, but she didn’t move, as her expression transformed.

Suspicion .

It was clear the moment it arrived, as her gaze sharpened and her eyes narrowed. This woman was intelligent and open-minded, a dangerous combination for a man in his position. Keeping his own face neutral nearly took magic.

“I asked you a question during the blackout, but you didn’t respond.” She breathed deeply. “Where did you go?”

He clenched already taut muscles. Untruths were necessary to safeguard his people, yet this woman somehow saw beyond his mask. If she discovered the truth… “I didn’t go anywhere,” he said firmly. “I was right next to you.”

“Are you sure?” Her gaze never wavered. “The whole time?”

“Where else would I be?”

She opened her mouth, closed it. Would she outright accuse him?

Yet she asked no more, not then or as they walked through a crowd that grew calmer as distance and time grew from the incident.

Yet snippets of conversation shared it had not been forgotten, and a quick glance at the news – the international version – showed fervent interest in both it and the tornado.

Despite everything, he relaxed as time passed.

Thankfully no more incidents occurred in an afternoon he somehow still enjoyed, no doubt solely due to the woman next to him.

Yet he couldn’t quite ignore the discussions around him, the sideways glances or the cell phone videos speculating on the mysterious man’s – his – identity.

The damage was unknown, the ramifications uncertain. The outcome… concerning.

The quest that brought him to Everleigh’s side had changed, expanded to encompass more than business.

Despite their short acquaintance, an attachment was forming, a bond he couldn’t deny.

When he sat next to Everleigh in a classic convertible during the parade, a sense of pure rightness descended.

She smiled widely as she waved – animated, joyful and absolutely gorgeous.

She was always lovely, yet pure happiness made her irresistible.

For a few minutes, she forgot he was her perceived enemy, even if he never truly was.