Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

creature." Will spoke in a grim, bitter tone. "A frightful thing, but not lethal. Are you all right?"
    "Yes. I--I jumped on it. And whacked it with a tennis racket. Yay for sporting equipment," Tessa answered weakly. She glanced around the studio. He hadn't turned the lights on; only moonlight illuminated the room. But it felt safe here. She turned back to Will, who was looking at her as if she'd just grown another head. And not a very attractive one.
    "You jumped on it," he repeated. He pushed his long fingers through his hair. "Are you mad?"
    "I'll say. My room is trashed."
    Will narrowed his eyes to regard her and then shook his head, exasperated. "Did the thought of running away never strike you?"
    "Oh, it struck," Tessa replied. "But see, there was this snake in the way." She did her best to drip the sarcasm.
    "Oh," he said grudgingly.
    "Anyway, the snake went back into the tapestry," Tessa said. She stepped away from Will and nudged the gym bag on the floor with her foot. "I brought the tapestry here. And the book. I wasn't sure what else to do." She folded her arms, staring at the lumpy bag, almost expecting to see it move. "Do you think we should destroy it?" she asked. "We could burn it, maybe."
    "No!" Will's reply burst from him. "We can't do that."
    In answer to her puzzled expression he said, "There are all manner of creatures in the wood from which you released me. They live inside that tapestry. Suppose they are people, transformed as I was? Into beast or bird or flower. I cannot destroy the tapestry, Mistress Tessa. Not even to save myself."
    "Oh," said Tessa. She frowned and rubbed the back of her neck. It was unbelievable, and yet she believed it. "I understand," she said. "But then what about the snake? Was that a person?"
    Will shook his head. "I do not know. But you said it returned to the tapestry."
    "Yes. But in a different place." Tessa shivered, wondering what other surprises the tapestry held. "So what do we do now? We have the book," she said slowly. "The Texo Vita . We'll go through it again. Maybe there's something we missed. Something that will tell us how to get them out, or return them to wherever it is they're supposed to be, or ..."
    Will tilted his head, and an amused smile played at the corner of his mouth. "Do you never stop?"
    "Stop what?"
    "Trying to fix things," he murmured.
    "Well, it seems like a good idea," Tessa argued. "What do you suggest? I'm not going to just sit around waiting for Creepy Crawly to come back out for a midnight snack."
    "I don't think it will return. I believe it was meant to frighten you."
    "Well, it nailed the audition," Tessa huffed. "I'm frightened. But also really pissed off."
    Will stared at her.
    "Angry," Tessa explained.
    "Ah," he said. "Pissed off," he repeated, seeming to consider it. "A colorful expression. I like it." Shadows played over his features as he asked, "Why did you leave me so abruptly?"
    The question took her by surprise. Tessa dropped her gaze from Will de Chaucy's stern, tense look. "I--I'm sorry about that. I haven't been up here in a while. It was my mother's space." Tessa's hands searched for something to do. She bounced her fingertips together. "Being here brought back memories. I had to get out."
    "I didn't know if you would return."
    The hint of regret in Will's tone made something turn over in Tessa's chest. But she ignored it.
    "Well, that's normal," she said. "This is a strange place and I'm someone familiar." That's good , she told herself. Go with that . "Did you know a baby chick will get attached to the first thing it sees when it cracks out of its shell? It thinks that whatever it sees is its mother. A dog, a lizard, whatever. It's called imprinting." Now she was chattering about psychology. Perfect. Next she'd drool on him like one of Pavlov's dogs.
    Will frowned, something unreadable in his eyes. "Must you have a reason for everything?"
    Tessa shrugged. "It helps."
    After a moment Will said, "Leave the tapestry and the book here. You need sleep. Tomorrow you shall repair the world."
    "You're making fun of me."
    "Not at all. We will apply logic to the problems at hand, find a solution and plan a course of action. If that fails, you shall jump on our attackers, possibly brandishing a statuette or some bit of sporting equipment. Your arsenal seems formidable."
    Tessa smiled. "Ha-ha." But she couldn't suppress the wonderful feeling of having him near, sixteenth-century sarcasm or no. "Can I bring you back