Page 51 of Enchanted Hero (The Secret Enchanters #1)

Kyla inhaled deeply. She couldn’t explain her fear to Dr. Blackburn without giving herself away. "I'm fine. They just startled me." She peered down, and realizing she clutched his arm, jerked away. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to attention."

"Don't worry," he breathed. "They're not here for you."

Not yet.

"I’d better get it over with," he sighed.

"Wait, you're actually going to talk to them?" Kyla grabbed his arm once more. "You can't."

He looked down in surprised suspicion, as if she had started levitating right there and then. She checked to make sure she hadn't. "Do you think it's wise? You said this was a department matter. Do you want private university business splashed all over social media?"

"Of course not," Dr. Blackburn all but growled.

"But I don't have a choice. If I don't respond, they'll come up with the most fantastic story they can concoct.

It'll be straight out of a science fiction novel.

Vampire causes indoor tornado! Wormhole created in biology lab!

Scientist actually a witch in disguise!"

Kyla cringed. That she didn't identify as a witch could be considered a case of tomato versus tomahto. "What are you going to tell them?"

Dr. Blackburn grimaced. "The truth, I suppose. That a student got in there with a homemade wind machine, and, in a prank gone very wrong, created his very own windstorm. The end."

Kyla nodded. That didn't sound too bad. Almost poetic, really. Hopefully the reporters would lose scent of the true story and scurry away to find another bone. If they didn't, she would deal with it.

He walked toward the outside exit, the path that led to the reporters and untold danger. She slowed and then halted as they reached the doors. He turned back. "Aren't you coming? With your interest in the incident, I thought you might want to join the reporters in shouting out questions."

"Um…no." Kyla swept her hair behind her ears. "I prefer more private discussions." At his curious look, she hastily explained, "I'm terribly shy, you see."

He cocked his head to the side. "Was this before or after you barged into the campus security office and infiltrated my investigation?"

Woops. "After."

“I see.” He lips twitched with the slightest tinge of amusement. "If you prefer, you can return to the hallway and exit through the back door. It'll bring you to the rear of the impromptu press conference."

Kyla did the only thing that seemed right. She gave a thumbs up. Before she could see his reaction, she pivoted and ran back to the hallway and the rear exit. She pushed the lever and opened the heavy metal portal.

The sounds, scents and scenes of the outdoors immediately assailed her.

The Florida late-afternoon sun warmed her skin, smoothing goosebumps caused by the chilly hallway.

Like the day of the infamous accident, not a cloud marred the sky, and only the slightest breeze played with her hair.

The smell of grass and flowers permeated the air, wafting from meticulously landscaped gardens and colorful flower beds.

Unfortunately, the reporters drowned out the normally peaceful sounds of the campus ? birds chirping, students chatting idly, pedestrians and bikers travelling.

She came up on the back of the people, who numbered at least double her previous estimate, with more approaching every moment. Dr. Blackburn stood in front, holding up a hand that requested silence. A few campus police officers approached him, but he motioned them back.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he boomed in a voice better suited to a seasoned politician than a scientist. Immediately, the reporters ceased their endless queries and grew silent.

Dr. Blackburn looked between them, asserting his power.

"I assume you're here because of the mysterious event that damaged one of the university's biology labs.

A simple prank has turned into a media event, no doubt because of unsubstantiated rumors.

What might appear to be a?" He put up two fingers to signify quotations.

"Supernatural event is no more magical than a child's science experiment." He relaxed his stance and softened his gaze, effectively drawing in the audience. If Kyla didn’t know the true culprit, she’d almost believe enchantment played no part in the incident.

"An indoor tornado may seem impossible, but the right equipment can achieve it. "

He stretched the truth. Even if a machine could create such a storm, and that was a big if, it would have to be substantial in size. He must be wondering how someone carried such a device in and out of the laboratory so quickly.

"That's all there is." Dr. Blackburn shrugged casually.

"I know you came here hoping for a leading scientist to proclaim his belief in the supernatural.

" The crowd chuckled. "But I'm afraid that's not going to happen today.

Or any other day, for that matter," he added to more laughter.

"Now I don't have a lot of time, however I will take a few questions. "

Every hand shot up at once, as questions hurtled from every direction. Dr. Blackburn pointed at a stately news reporter in the back, who called out, "How do you know a wind machine caused the event?"

Dr. Blackburn hesitated, so briefly Kyla doubted anyone but her noticed. "Because it’s either that or a witch." More chuckles followed.

"Have you found the culprit?" a pretty brunette television reporter asked from the front.

"No," he admitted.

Kyla exhaled.

"At least not yet."

Kyla closed and opened her eyes at the steel determination in his voice. If he truly caught Oliver…

"So there's no chance supernatural forces caused the destruction of the lab?"

Dr. Blackburn shook his head emphatically. "Absolutely not." He raised his hand to take another question when suddenly he froze. Blatant shock transformed his face, as a sudden prickling danced across her skin.

It was her only warning.

The soft breeze stiffened, growing stronger and stronger, forging the power of a master MMA fighter.

Dirt and dust and rocks rose into the air, swirling leaves off branches and branches off trees.

A ferocious roar thundered, as sudden as the ferocious windstorm that ravaged the world.

The scent of lighting and fear engulfed the air and land, sizzling pure danger, ruthlessly whipping the vulnerable people caught in its midst.

Kyla pushed forward, gasping as the wind pushed and pulled, stumbling in its powerful grasp.

Hair lashed her neck with stinging cracks; salty tears stung her eyes.

All around, people screamed in fear as microphones and camera equipment flew into the air.

The taste of nature and magic tangled in unmistakable glory.

It was a surreal scene, even for an enchantress, a world of dangerous magic. The powerful scientist stood in its center, her worst nightmare come to life. Her people's enchantment thundered in windswept glory, in front of countless reporters and cameras…

And the man who had the power to discover it all.