Free Evil Abounds: An Alpha Guardians Prequel by Vivian Wood Page B

hands shaking as she initiated her first solo contact with those beyond the Veil. Mere Marie in her current incarnation, examining herself in a full-length mirror after she’d completed the incantations that shed her human life and rendered her Kith, forever immortal and paranormal.
    Back in her room, the mirror’s surface shimmered and went still, reflecting nothing more than her own surprised face. She had the strangest feeling that the mirror had been reading her, trying to understand her, and now it seemed to accept her ownership. Or possession, at least. She set the mirror down, her fingertips tingling where she’d held the thing.
    “Ah,” she said, understanding. “To research the candidates. Very thoughtful.”
    She picked up the list of names and focused on the first, then touched the mirror. Instantly a wealth of images sprung to life in the mirror’s surface. It took Mere Marie some minutes to realize that the mirror showed her images from both the past and the present, sometimes going hundreds of years back or more. Each man’s story unfolded before her at her command, each tugging at her heartstrings in a different way.
    She immersed herself in the task for some time, whiling away the day’s earliest hours by trying to narrow down the list to a few candidates. The first one that caught her attention was a fierce, rugged 18th century Scottish Highlander. Mere Marie scried for him and was surprised to find that the intimidating name Rhys was pronounced Reece, easy enough. She watched him sparring with other soldiers near a massive castle, grinning and jesting as he worked up a sweat. Impossibly tall and broad, Rhys was pure muscle mixed with practiced grace, wielding his sword and shield with deadly precision. His close-cropped hair was a russet brown, but his full, unruly beard was a rich auburn that made his bright green eyes stand out like emerald beacons. He was beyond handsome, even to Mere Marie’s jaded senses, but it was his fiercely determined expression that made her want to know more. Mere Marie willed the mirror to show her his struggle, and her interest soon turned to something more like pity. The fierce warrior was in a bitter struggle with a fate from which he could not turn back, and his end was tragic indeed. A complete waste of such a fine fighter, in Mere Marie’s opinion.
    Shaking her head, she moved on. A few names later, she came to a young magician by the name of Gabriel. Gabriel’s head of sable curls and midnight blue eyes were every bit as arresting as Rhys’s had been, though less rugged. Gabriel was tall and broad-shouldered, but more slimly built. There was an ethereal quality to him, perhaps a side effect of his magical inclinations. It took Mere Marie only a handful of minutes to skim Gabriel’s life story, and she ached for him. No one should have such an upbringing, nor such a swift and violent end to their life. He was also intelligent and graceful, and could no doubt be trained into an excellent swordsman.
    Pressing her lips into a thin line, she continued down the list. All the men of Le Medcin’s choosing were compelling, though none rivaled Rhys or Gabriel until she reached the last.
    “That can’t be right,” Mere Marie muttered to herself as she gazed in the mirror, then back at the list of names.
    Aeric Drekkon . No, she hadn’t made an error. She watched the gorgeous dark blond Viking in the mirror’s reflection, her eyes widening. Could he truly be…
    “Mercy…” she whispered aloud.
    Rhys and Gabriel had made the final cut by their formidable physiques and heart-rending personal stories, but Aeric was a true treasure. Mere Marie was no fool. She would never pass on the opportunity to bring one such as he to her side. No protector could be more fierce, more brutal, more intelligent, more loyal.
    At the end of her scrying, she sat back and considered Le Medcin’s words. Choose those in the most immediate need , he’d said. Mere Marie pulled out