Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

threads.
    Black fibers opened up, swallowing her like gnashing jaws. She heard a distant, startled screech from Gray Lily. Tessa twisted to look behind her, but a dark mesh was closing in, blocking the old woman's face. The next moment Tessa felt a warm, rushing darkness sweep past her and, strangely, through her. She had the sensation of falling, twisting and turning, all the while feeling the indomitable grip of fingers clenched on her wrist. Feathery strands brushed her face and she became aware of colors, like shadowy fireworks, flying past in the dark.
    Suddenly she barreled into brightness. There was a rustle and a sharp snap as Tessa tumbled through green, leafy branches. She broke through and landed on something with a thud. It wasn't the ground.
    "Oof!"
    Tessa blinked. She raised her head. Will de Chaucy was lying beneath her, still holding her wrist. He looked astonished. And also slightly oxygen deprived. She rolled off his chest and he took a wheezing breath in.
    "Tessa! Is it you?" He gripped her shoulders as if he thought she would disappear.
    "Will," she gasped, lying next to him. "Hi." As she took in his lean, tanned face and the healing cut on his cheek, he smiled. She felt such a rush of relief and happiness, she simply let herself relax and burrowed her head closer to his broad chest.
    "I can hardly believe--" he said. "I didn't know what she would do." He cupped her face in his hands, lifted it gently and met her lips with his. He broke away from her, but only to brace himself on one elbow. Pulling her closer, he pinioned her beneath him. "Tessa," he whispered.
    She pulled him down.
    This time, the kiss was something different. She'd thought he was gone, that she'd never see him again. Now she could let go of the pain she'd tried to deny. He was here. He was real. A smothered cry came from deep inside her as Will kissed her. Her lips parted and there was nothing, nothing in the world, except him. She would never let go.
    For a few breathless, blissful seconds Tessa forgot everything. But gradually she became aware of other sensations: the chill of the damp ground beneath her, torn leaves scratching her neck, the sounds of wind and distant thunder. And more importantly, what had happened. Her father.
    "Will." Tessa sat up. She looked around.
    They were beneath a tree next to a small clearing in a forest. Dark clouds rolled past the treetops high overhead.
    "We're inside." Tessa whispered. "We're inside the tapestry, aren't we?"
    Will pushed himself up to sit next to her. "Yes."
    Tessa reached down to touch the grass. The cool, springy blades brushed her palm. She could smell the rich soil and even the dandelion that had been crushed beneath her elbow. A slight breeze lifted the ribbon in her hair to flutter against her cheek. Nearby, a looming shadow parted from the trees as a large horse drifted closer, calmly pulling up mouthfuls of grass and chewing. "But everything is real," she said. It didn't just look real. It was real. "How is this possible?"
    "Real," said Will, considering her question. "In a way, yes. Everything here has been placed here by Gray Lily. It is her creation."
    "It's unbelievable," Tessa whispered. Then, recalling what had just happened, she demanded, "But how did you bring me here?"
    Will gave her a surprised look. He reached over and extracted a twig from her hair. "I did nothing," he replied. "You fell out of a tree. On top of me," he added ruefully, adjusting his neck with a twist.
    Tessa looked down at his strong hands. She clasped one in her own. "No. I was in a hotel room. Gray Lily was there. Your hand reached through the tapestry."
    Will shook his head to contradict her. "No. I looked up and saw you in that linden tree. You called my name."
    Tessa put a hand to her forehead. "Yes," she said softly. She had glimpsed a silvery thread, just like the one she had pulled from the tapestry. She had called Will's name.
    "I just reached up through the branches and took your wrist," Will said.
    "Okay. I don't understand what just happened," Tessa said with a return of her smile. "But I'm glad to see you. So glad." She leaned into the crook of his shoulder and breathed in the warm, leathery smell of him.
    "Do you believe now that our fates are entwined, Mistress Brody?" Tessa could hear the smile in his voice.
    "I--I don't know," Tessa said uncertainly. She looked up and tried to return his smile. Fate . The word brought the frightening conversation with Gray Lily spiraling back