©Merlin's Chosen Book 6 Behind the Glass *Published Work*

Chapter 1 The Guardian

Mei strolled down the sidewalk, one earbud in as she hummed along to the music that played on her phone. Occasionally, she glanced up into the windows of the stores she passed. She stopped and stared into a small boutique's window, frowned, and adjusted her ponytail when she noticed it had slipped slightly to one side. Her long, ink-black hair tended to make frequent attempts at escaping the ponytail elastics. It had a mind of its own. Once she was satisfied with her hair, she began walking again. She wasn't shopping, not really, she was killing time until she had to go to work later. Her last class of the day had been unexpectedly canceled. Mr. Henry's mother had taken ill suddenly, so he'd flown out to take care of her. Though he was a good teacher, she wasn't upset about his lecture being postponed, the man tended to drone on in a rather monotone voice.

Her steps slowed and she pressed her face closer to the window of a small shop. The windows were filmed over and hazy, but it looked like a small antique shop. She released a small yelp and jumped back from the window when a man's smiling face appeared and he waved at her. The little Asian man pulled the door open with a wide grin on his weathered, wrinkled face. The huge grin revealed a large gap between his top teeth. When he spoke, his English was broken, but she could clearly understand him despite his heavy accent.

"Come in, you shop, you buy."

She sent him a small smile, she wasn't shopping, but she didn't want to come off as rude. "Thank you, but I was just window shopping. I have to go to work in a bit."

"Come, you buy," he insisted. He grabbed her wrist with what she thought was an uncharacteristically strong grip for such an ancient-looking man. Perhaps she'd just found Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid. "Come," he repeated as he dragged her through the store down dusty aisles. They passed the sales counter, and he pulled her through a beaded curtain into a back room. He released her wrist and removed a dusty sheet with a flourish to reveal the object beneath it. He turned to her with a triumphant look. "You will buy," he said as he jabbed a finger in the direction of the treasure he revealed.

She studied the mirror propped against the wall. It was beautifully crafted and probably worth a fortune. Much more than she could afford. She had more years left than she wanted to contemplate as a law student. That meant money for tuition she couldn't spend on things like this gorgeous mirror, even if she wanted it.

"It's wonderful, really, but I doubt I could afford it."

He shook his head and waved a hand at the mirror. "You will buy. Thirty-five dollar."

She stared at him in shock. He was either kidding or he'd made a mistake. While the old man stood there beaming at her, she stepped closer to the mirror and studied the frame. It was approximately five and a half feet tall and about the same wide. The glass was clear with no spotting or cracks. There was artwork carved into the black painted frame that looked as if it had been done by hand.

The pictures ran around the frame and appeared to tell a story of some kind. The few words carved into the wood were in Chinese. It all looked to be very old. She was impressed by the workmanship and details and puzzled as well as to why the shop owner wanted to sell such a treasure so cheaply. She wasn't an expert in ancient art, but she knew enough to know it had to be worth a hell of a lot more than thirty-five dollars.

She glanced at the man who was waiting for her to answer. "Are you sure? It seems as if it would be worth a lot more."

He pointed at the mirror again. "Thirty-five dollar. You will buy. Now," he urged.

She shrugged. Who was she to pass up an opportunity like this? He seemed rather insistent that she buy it. It was one hell of a good deal, she stopped to consider why the old man wanted to get rid of it so badly. Maybe it was cursed or some kind of bullshit. She nearly laughed at that and pawed through her purse in search of enough cash and handed it to the smiling man. He happily led her back to the sales counter and rung up the sale.