Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

She stopped, but Will was paying no attention to her words.
    He whirled away and paced the length of the studio in long strides. "For five hundred years I have lived as a dumb beast," he said, clenching his fists. "But inside I was yet a man." He stopped, turning to level a glare at Tessa from beneath his disheveled hair. "And do you know what I dwelt on all that time? What device I set my mind to in order that I might keep my sanity?" He came close and nearly whispered the words, next to her ear: "What I should do if ever I had my hands on you."
    A drumbeat of fear raced through Tessa's veins at the ragged strain in his voice. He didn't sound like himself. What would being trapped for all that time do to a person? She couldn't even imagine it. "So?" She pulled back to stare at him, trying for composure, even though she was shaken to her core. "What are you going to do?"
    Will's eyes swept over her. "I will be damned if I know," he muttered. "I should be afraid of you. But somehow I fear letting you go even more. You are the only tie I have to the world I know."
    The world he wants to return to , thought Tessa. That's the only reason he has stayed. No other. I'm a link, a lifeline; that's all . "Why won't you believe me?" she asked, closing her eyes in frustration. "I wasn't there. I only know about now. I only care about now."
    " Now is never going to be a place for me," said Will fiercely. "You must know that as well as I."
    "No," Tessa answered. She felt stupid, slow. "I didn't know that." But his words reinforced Tessa's feeling that a distance was growing between them. All the time they'd spent together talking and dancing and nearly--She stopped herself from imagining the kiss that had been only a breath away a moment before. He didn't feel the things she did.
    "All this time you haven't trusted me at all," she said in a wondering tone. She frowned. "What did you think I was going to do just now? Swoon in your arms? Confess my dastardly plan?"
    Will rolled his eyes and swore beneath his breath. "No. I doubt that you've ever swooned in your life, mistress. But it would be a blessed relief to hear the truth from those lovely lips."
    The anger took hold of her and flared. Tessa straightened. "The truth? Okay. Then listen to this," she ordered. Her voice was stronger now, and as cold and smooth as black ice. "I was never in Cornwall. Never sat on my tuffet, waiting in the woods to trap a unicorn. I never met you before I pulled that stupid thread, and I wish I hadn't. " She advanced, jabbing a finger toward him, and Will was forced back a step. "If you don't feel you can trust me, then you'd better keep your distance," she shouted. "A century or two would be fine." She stopped. Her throat felt so tight it hurt.
    Will appeared taken aback by her outburst, and a hint of uncertainty appeared in his eyes. But he tightened his jaw. "I suppose I should."
    "Great." Tessa wheeled around. She dragged her gym bag from the floor. She shoved it at Will so hard he stumbled backward. "Then why don't you take the stupid tapestry and get the hell out of my life."
    The bag turned over and the tapestry rolled out, thumping to the floor.
    "Fine," Will returned with a shout. "I shall."
    "And you can deal with Gray Lily and the Doomsday Sisters on your own," she added. Her life would be back to normal again. No more magic towels or glowing mirrors or evil witches. It had nothing to do with her anymore. Correction: it had never had anything to do with her. "And I don't care," she said aloud.
    "That is apparent," Will agreed. But his voice had lowered. The hard line of his shoulders softened slightly. He looked at her. "Tessa, I--"
    "Don't." She cut him off. She crossed to the window and peered out.
    There was no sign of the black sedan below. "I don't think he's out there." She didn't understand how her voice could sound so level, so cool. "You can get away now."
    "I am sorry," Will said. "I am grateful, Mistress Brody, for all that you have done. Good-bye." He stooped to gather up the tapestry, which had unfurled on the floor. Something caught Tessa's eye.
    "Wait." She stepped closer and, with a puzzled look, took the tapestry and held it up before her. But it was too close; she couldn't see it properly that way. She spotted a couple of empty hooks on the wall. She hung the tapestry up on these and stepped back.
    "It appears the same," said Will, glancing at it only briefly.
    Tessa scanned the tapestry. There was the dark center of the