Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

being hunted for its horn or its blood. Both were said to cure disease and even bring immortality. Hunters could capture the unicorn only by placing a virgin in its haunts .
    A virgin in its haunts. Tessa frowned. She'd heard about that part of unicorn legend before. But now something really bothered her about the whole thing: the cruelty of it. And just how did the unicorn know the girl was a virgin, anyway? Tessa glanced again at the maiden in the picture. She looked kind of spacey--she was gazing off into the distance. She didn't seem to even notice that the poor unicorn was bleeding to death in her lap. What was her deal? Why would a girl do something so rotten as to trick a beautiful animal, to trap it?
    Tessa closed the book.
    A girl like that would have to be incredibly stupid, she decided. Or completely heartless.

Chapter 10

"Ms. Gerome?" Moncrieff's husky voice was deferential over the phone. A smile stretched Lila Gerome's crimson lips. Even after all the years he had worked for her, Moncrieff maintained this formality. She knew it was because he was afraid of her. She liked that about him. It was his most dependable characteristic.
    "I've found your tapestry and the book," he said. "It took some time to track them down, but it seems a bookstore owner from Portland, Maine, bought them. As I said, it was an unfortunate accident. I'll contact him and get them back."
    "Do it now," Lila ordered. "Get them. I'm flying back immediately."
    "Yes," Moncrieff said. "We'll have to pay. Something considerable, perhaps."
    "Pay it, then. Whatever it takes. Just do it quickly and quietly. I don't want to draw any attention to myself. You know that."
    "Yes. I know."
    Hartescross, 1511
    The Earl of Umbric, Will de Chaucy's father, slammed a flagon of wine to the table. The echoing clang rang against the stone walls of the great hall of Hartescross Castle.
    "Has the whole bloody world gone mad?" he bellowed. "What do you mean the boy's missing?" He righted a toppled goblet and said more quietly, obviously struggling to control his temper, " How could Will just disappear without word, without trace?" His glance shot to Hugh, demanding answers.
    "No one has seen him since we left for London," said Hugh wearily. "Everyone at Hartescross assumed he accompanied us." He pressed his knuckles against his tired eyes. He had not slept since returning from court. He had questioned every inhabitant of the castle, from the char sweep to the falconer, as to the whereabouts of his younger brother. Will was gone. As completely as if he had been spirited away.
    "What of his horse?"
    Hugh shook his head. "Gone."
    "A fortnight, then?" The earl's fists tightened. "My son has been missing a fortnight while I have cooled my heels at court, waiting for King Henry to deign to see me?" He finished in a low mutter, "All to plead my case for my own bloody land."
    "There is more," said Hugh.
    The earl gave a curt nod for his elder son to go on.
    "There's been talk in the village." Hugh's usually ruddy face was pale, and the circles beneath his eyes told of sleepless hours. "Talk of a beast. In the northern woods."
    "What kind of beast?"
    "A unicorn," answered Hugh softly.
    The earl stared for a moment, then let out a dismissive cry. "Madness," he said. His expression registered something between disgust and despair.
    Hugh hesitated. "Perhaps," he said. He paced before his father's massive oaken chair as if to wear a groove in the flagstones. Hugh's nature was one of action. He despised talk. He halted, and then, speaking in a curt monotone, said: "There's an old woman come to the village. A traveling weaver. She says she saw the unicorn at the edge of the northern wood. She followed it into the forest and saw it attack a young noble. The description she gave sounds like Will." He looked at his father with anguish. "I would say the old woman is raving, except that some of the villagers say they've seen it as well--a unicorn with a blood-tipped horn. And Will was ..." Hugh broke off and cleared his throat noisily. "He was going into the northern woods on the day we left." He lowered his head. "I might have stopped him. Or gone with him."
    The earl rubbed a heavy hand over his eyes. He was a brusque man with a titan's temper. But his sons were as dear to him as his own breath. He looked at his elder son. "This is no fault of yours, Hugh. Gather a hunting party. Capture the beast. I will see it with my own eyes before I believe a word of this