An icy blue crystal glowed in a corner, by the arrow pointing left, resting inside a bronze cup.

“The third timestone,” Marika said as they reached the far wall. “The sapphire one.”

The wisling slipped from around Jake’s neck. Its wings blurred to a humming buzz as it snaked through the air and hovered over the sapphire, slowly circling the timestone, studying it first with one eye, then with the other.

“What are we supposed to do?” Marika asked.

Jake stepped around the triangle, noting the empty bronze cups at the top and right edge. Plainly they were meant to hold the ruby and emerald timestones. The pattern was a match to his apprentice badge.

“I think we’re supposed to return the emerald and ruby crystals here, to repair what’s been broken,” Jake said.

But he wasn’t sure. He turned to the others. Marika crossed her arms, worried. Bach’uuk simply shrugged. They were leaving the decision to him.

Moving to the top corner, he knelt and lowered his emerald stone toward the cup marked with the twisted arrow. The wisling sailed over to watch him, as if to make sure he took great care. When the crystal was a few inches from the empty cup, Jake felt a force pushing against him. He had to lean his shoulders, using both arms now, to try and force the emerald down into the bronze cup.

The wisling sped up to his face and hissed angrily.

“Not there,” Bach’uuk said with a shake of head. “Wrong corner.”

“Maybe he’s right,” Marika said.

Jake stopped fighting the force and moved to the other corner of the triangle, the one with the arrow pointing right. He reached the crystal toward that cup, expecting the same resistance, but this time an unseen power snapped the emerald from his fingers and snagged it into place.

Jake rubbed his palm on his pants. The tug felt magnetic, and the ringing clang of crystal on metal sounded like a circuit closing. He stood and stepped back, then nodded to Bach’uuk.

“Try yours.”

His Ur friend moved to the top corner. He lowered the end of the staff toward the final cup. As the stone came close, a magnetic pull yanked the crystal from the staff and seated it firmly inside the third cup.

As that final circuit closed with a clang, they all fled back, not knowing what to expect. Even the wisling raced along with them, winging to hide behind Jake’s shoulder.

A humming rose in the room. At first Jake wasn’t sure if it was the snake’s wings or something else. But as the sound grew louder, he knew it wasn’t coming from the wisling. The glow of the three timestones became even brighter.

“Jake!” Marika said. “The heart!”

He looked up. The imbedded sphere above the archway had also begun to glow. For safety’s sake, they took another few steps back. With a sandy grind of protest, the sphere began to turn—at first haltingly, them more smoothly. Soon it revealed three layers, turning in different directions, like a spinning gyroscope.