Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

were threatening more rain.
    Gently, Tessa pushed the book to one side and pulled the thick fabric of the tapestry from the crate. She shook it open with a snap; a small cloud of dust flew up, tickling her nose and scenting the air even more strongly with that sweet herbal smell as she spread the cloth over the open crate. She caught her breath.
    Up close, the tapestry's deep, jeweled colors made kaleidoscope whorls of crimson and gold and emerald green, while in the center, the unicorn, woven in milky white, blazed like a pool of moonlight against the dark.
    "Gorgeous," Tessa whispered.
    It looked so real. The unicorn, with a long spiraled horn jutting from its tangled mane, was depicted rearing up on its hind legs as its front hooves raked the air. A violent, yet majestic strength was captured in the arched lines of its neck and the muscular shadows of its shoulders.
    The unicorn was in a grassy clearing, hemmed in by denser forest. In the background a castle sat atop a distant hill, with turrets outlined against a brilliant blue sky. The scene, Tessa thought, was like something from a fairy tale. But definitely one of the darker ones. And probably not one with a happy ending. For she noticed that a dark cut was stitched on the unicorn's cheek, and from it flowed two crimson drops of blood. The unicorn's large golden brown eyes seemed to glitter. Tessa squinted. She felt strange, breathless.
    She reached out and brushed her fingers over the tapestry. The threads were warm and soft, almost velvety beneath her touch. Then it happened.
    A tingling sensation ran up her arm, quick and warm and so lightning fast Tessa didn't have time to snatch her hand back. Suddenly everything was gone. The tapestry, the car, even the ground was gone. It was as if a black fog had swept her up and was carrying her far away. She was drenched in darkness, blinded. But she could hear something. In the black fog, a voice spoke. Words swirled around her.
    " Through warp and weft, I bind thee. "
    A shudder went through Tessa's body and she let out a low, trembling cry.
    "What was that?" Her father's voice broke through the dark. Tessa's head jerked up. She felt herself fall with the sickening lurch of an elevator drop. Solid earth materialized beneath her feet as the darkness cleared. She blinked. She hadn't fallen, she realized. She was standing right where she had been a moment before.
    "What?" Tessa breathed. She swallowed with difficulty against her dry throat and looked around, dazed. Besides their car, the parking lot was now empty. Evening was coming; it was getting cold. And dark. Beyond the edge of the building came the familiar sound of peeper frogs out in the woods. They sounded unnaturally loud. But even louder was the drumming of her heart. She glanced down, almost expecting to see its outline pushing from her chest, like in an animated cartoon.
    Her father came up behind her. His shoes crunched in the gravel. "Did you say something?"
    "Did I?" She hadn't spoken aloud, had she? She'd only heard something. That weird voice. Those words. "Something just came to me," Tessa answered slowly. "Part of a poem, maybe."
    She raised a hand to swipe the corner of her eye. It was moist. She was crying? She turned to her father, tucking herself under his shoulder and hugging him tight. His stocky bulk felt warm and comforting.
    He didn't let go but drew back a bit to regard her. Her father had gray eyes that might have been icy in color but were too bright and wondering to be anything but warm. "What's the matter, honey? Are you okay? You look kind of pale."
    Tessa nodded. "I'm fine. I just got dizzy for a second." She felt silly now and loosened her hold on her father's waist to straighten up. What had just happened, anyway?
    "You're probably hungry," her father said with a confident nod. He believed in feeding a cold, a fever and pretty much anything else. He ruffled her hair. "Let's get you home."
    "Yeah, I guess so," Tessa replied uncertainly.
    She stayed quiet during the ride, her forehead pressed to the cool glass of the window, her eyes unfocused on the blur of trees and road passing by.
    Through warp and weft, I bind thee .
    Tessa remembered the words she'd heard in the blackness. She hadn't been exactly truthful with her father. For one thing, she couldn't remember ever reading a poem like that in her whole life. And for another, she wasn't fine. She couldn't understand why those words should terrify her.
    But they did.

Chapter