"Since the Mad King burnt it, I ain't been back but once, 'bout ten years 'go. Queer girl came wantin' te be brung te the island. Paid me han'somely fer it, too. I still ain't spent all that silver. I'm an 'umble man, ye see. Thing was, she didn't want me te come back fer 'er. I tried tellin 'er otherwise, but she wouldn't lissen. Weren't no helpin' it... Ne'er set right wit' me, though. Some days I wunner whate'er become of 'er."

This was the their third day on the captain's boat and at least the fifth time they had heard this story. Some of his other stories had been repeated even more often than that. It seemed to be a habit among old men to tread the same ground over and over again. Perhaps Tobias and his companions just needed to be thankful that he remembered who they where and what he was doing out there on the water.

More than the old captain's rambling and oft-repeated stories, Tobias' attention was on the strange woman hanging on his arm. It had been three days and still he did not believe it. Even though she was drunk at the time, he knew that Tellus had some scheme in mind when she kissed Delilah and the next morning it became clear. Somehow she had used that kiss to grow into a woman in full bloom. Tobias wondered if this was what she would look like in several years or if she had partially taken Delilah's shape. Perhaps it did not matter so much. This was the form she had taken now.

She barely fit into the clothes meant for a much smaller body, but they did not have the luxury of going out to find her something else to wear. It seemed that she enjoyed the fact that she was able to draw Tobias' eye regardless of his efforts to the contrary. He had to remind himself again and again that this was just a borrowed shape, yet he could not deny the attraction he felt. It was not so strong as what he felt for Delilah, but it was unmistakable and resisting was a struggle.

This took the captain by surprise, prompting him to go look out on the horizon past the bow.

Shoshanna eyed the wooden peg he was standing on and noted, "It would seem that you've already made that trade, Captain."

And so they approached the island where the Temple of the Elements stood. They were about a quarter mile from shore when the captain turned about and dropped the anchor.

The captain went to his nets and said, "I s'ppose I should do me some fishin', that bein' me trade an' all. Can't go 'shore, not with the Mad King's ban, no. Now, if someone were te take the skiff, not much an old man like me could do te stop 'em."

It was uncertain who the captain was trying to convince with this performance. The crewmen were close kin who were not likely to betray him to the Queen's men for violating the ban. Maybe he was just trying to convince himself. With his memory, he might just confuse his lies for the truth.

So they had until noontide tomorrow or else they would have nothing but the skiff and two days of open sea between them and the mainland. Hopefully whatever business brought them here would be settled by then.

The little skiff lashed to the side of the boat was barely large enough for the four of them. Tobias took up the oars and rowed them to the island. Even from a distance they could see the ruins of the temple. Apparently the Mad King had not gone so far as to tear it down stone by stone, but without anyone to tend the grounds, the area had become overgrown.

The moment they set foot on the beach, Tym'r sniffed the air and muttered, "This is an ill-omened place."

Tobias had commented before on Tym'r's tendency to say that, but he said nothing this time. Looking at the dilapidated path to the temple that had been nearly consumed by the surrounding forest, he could not help but feel a sense of foreboding. This was not a place fit for people. It may have been at one time, but not anymore.

Tellus looked on ahead toward the temple, then closed her eyes, touched her chest and drew in a deep breath.

As she started to walk toward the path, Shoshanna said, "We are not alone. There is someone else here."

Even as she said that, Tellus heedlessly continued on.

She did not listen and so Tobias took hold of her wrist.

Tellus looked confused and pulled against his grip.

Tellus smiled at him and said, "You can hold my hand if you're worried."

He was worried about her, so he took her up on the offer. Hopefully this would keep her from running on ahead. Even so, it felt a little awkward with her in her new form. He did not much think of her as a woman before but now it was impossible not to. Was it because of Tellus herself or was it the part of Delilah she had taken? Now was not the time to be thinking about it.

With Tellus so tethered to Tobias, they progressed slowly and cautiously down the path. It was no maze. It was a straight path from the beach to the temple. The only immediate danger seemed to be the occasional root sticking out of the ground, but Tobias was counting on Tym'r and Shoshanna to catch anything his own five senses might miss.

For the time being, at least, there were no surprises waiting for them. When they cleared the forest, they entered a field that appeared to have once been a sort of small village for the temple's community. Some burnt-out husks were all that remained of the little cottages and storehouses.

As for the temple itself, it still bore scorch marks from the fire that ravaged the area and was overrun with creeping vines. The columns along the facade had been torn down, causing the entablature to collapse and forcing them to navigate the rubble in order to proceed into the temple proper.

That was certainly peculiar, but if Shoshanna didn't sense a threat, perhaps it was nothing to fear. The sanctum remained mostly intact yet overgrown as everything else. They could see a faint orange glow from inside.

They proceeded inside. The sanctum was, for the most part, a single large, bare chamber. There were several oil lamps on stands lining the way to the altar, which was situated on a platform in the middle of a pool. Behind the altar were five pillars about chest height, four surrounding one in the center. Atop each of the four pillars was a large bronze pan. From a distance, one of the four could be seen to have a fire burning in the pan. The central pillar was different from the others, with a fixture for what appeared to be a crystal orb about the size of a man's head. Standing next to the central pillar was the figure of a lone woman.

The woman was about Tobias' age, fair enough to look upon, but she had clearly been apart from civilization for some time. Her hair was unkempt and her robes threadbare and tattered.

Tobias recalled the captain's story about a girl he brought to the island, a one-way trip. Was this the same person?

The woman—Shayla—did look vaguely familiar. Somewhere in the back of Tobias' mind, the hazy image formed of an awkward-looking girl with messy hair and hunched shoulders among the apprentices of the court sorcerers. Her posture seemed to have improved in the intervening years, at least.

She ran her fingers through her unruly hair until they became caught on a tangle and after tugging a couple times to loosen the knot, she simply withdrew her hand.

All Tobias could do was repeat his question in disbelief.

Shayla tilted her head.

All the more confused, Tobias found himself stumbling over his words as he asked her, "Tell you what? Tell me what?"

Shayla sighed.

Shayla sighed again.

"Father knew that her power and his own needed to be preserved into the next generation and so he resorted to... somewhat forceful means to achieve his ends. We were the result."

It was a bitter thought.

So that was the power that was calling to Tellus.

She looked to Tellus. Tellus looked around her as if there could be anyone else.

"She needed a successor and so she issued the call to one who could hear her voice, our father Philon the High Priest. By him she begat a child, a daughter. When that daughter was born, she was taken to the land of Laban, where she might come of age in safety and peace.

"Once you came into your power, the Mother called out to you. She sent you here that you might learn of your mission from Father himself."

Tellus looked stunned as she was taking it all in. Tobias was shaken himself. All this time, Tellus was his sister? He could hardly believe it, but if it were true, the guilt of what he had done, capturing her in the first place, would weigh all the more heavily on him.

Shayla continued to stare at Tellus, tilting her head from one side to the other, much like a curious dog.

Tellus looked down at herself somewhat self-consciously while Tobias replied, "She was until a few days ago."

Shayla nodded and said, "Oh, I see. A borrowed form."

Apparently having Shayla stare at her was making Tellus uncomfortable because Tobias felt her brushing up against him, partially hiding behind him as she once did. Watching all this, Shayla furrowed her brow a little.

Feeling a flush of embarrassment, Tobias stammered, "Wha-what are you talking about!?"

Tobias found himself glancing at Tellus, whose face was bright red.

Shoshanna was holding her head as she replied, "You needn't worry on that count, Priestess of the Temple. And I'd like to ask you not to torment your supposed siblings too much. Have you ever heard the expression 'to die of embarrassment'? A double portion of that is nearly more than I can bear."

Shayla looked to Shoshanna and Tym'r, then told Tobias, "Well, Brother, you certainly found some interesting companions."

By now his embarrassment had subsided, so Tobias introduced his companions to Shayla, saying, "This is Shoshanna, a seeress from Utica, and this is Tym'r, of the Catmen from beyond the River."

Shayla bobbed her head and replied, "A pleasure."

Her head continued to bob as she seemed to be thinking of something.

She returned to the central pillar and motioned to the Orb.

Tellus stepped out from behind Tobias and went forward onto the platform. She went around the altar to approach the Orb. She looked at Shayla, who nodded to encourage her. She then somewhat hesitantly reached out, glancing back at Tobias before resting her hand on the Orb. When she touched it, the Orb shone with a brilliant light, forcing Tobias to shield his eyes.

After a few moments, the light faded enough to be bearable, but even so, the sanctum was lit up bright as day.

It seemed inappropriate to just sit down in the middle of the sanctum, but what else were they to do?

Shayla's attention went back to Tellus and while she was doing that, Tobias asked Shoshanna in a low voice, "What she said, about me being the son of the Queen, about her and Tellus being my sisters, is it true?"

Shoshanna closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, then pulled off her headband and let it fall to the floor.

Tobias extended his hands to her and she took hold of them, interlocking their fingers.

He did so and she pressed her forehead against his.

An unbidden image flashed in Tobias' mind and he found himself embarrassed again. He then heard Shoshanna's voice echo in his head.

It was not an easy thing she was asking of him. He often thought that his mental discipline was lacking, but only when trying to let go did he realize how tightly he controlled his mind, or at least tried to. Perhaps that was worse, trying and failing to maintain control, constantly grasping at the air, trapped in an endless cycle of regret, shame and powerlessness.

The image of the leaf on the water helped him focus on what he needed to do. He could feel himself struggling less. He began to sense the current and also Shoshanna's presence within him. He knew that in the world outside they were facing each other holding hands, but here it felt like she was embracing him from behind. The line that divided them had faded and their essences intermingled, as if they were steadily becoming one. He felt a spike of fear at this thought, at the idea of losing himself in her and she in him, but he remembered her warning and held back from trying to take control, to separate from her.

Thinking back to his childhood, the first memory that came to his mind was the day Sir Bomilcar came to tell of his father's death. He remembered the pained look on Sir Bomilcar's face as he told them what happened, his mother breaking down in tears, and him not really understanding what it all meant.

Tobias struggled to go back. The memories were fragmented and faded. He saw himself with a wooden practice sword he could barely hold as his father was giving him some of his first lessons in swordsmanship. He saw himself at the table, struggling to recite the Four Questions at Passover while his mother was silently mouthing the words to help him along. He saw himself waking up from a nap while in his mother's arms and looking at her face as she was still asleep.

There was something about that last memory that Shoshanna grasped on to, because he could feel a force other than himself pulling him back further. He found himself looking at a pale expanse through bleary eyes. There was a reddish shape near him. Even though the image was not clear, he realized the shape was a baby and as his arm stretched out, he realized that he himself was an infant as well. The pale expanse was skin, the skin of the mother who bore him. He wanted to look at her face, but he could not move. Even if he could see her face, he was not so certain he could distinguish the details. Still, he was not alone on his mother's breast and he had never heard anything about a sibling from his parents before. Maybe what Shayla was telling him was true.

There was some sound in the background. Only as Tobias focused could he tell that it was people's voices. It was difficult to hear clearly, but then it seemed that Shoshanna's influence amplified and clarified the voices.

Tobias recognized the voice. It was his mother, or at least who he had always thought was his mother. It was not the woman who was holding him now.

Then there was another woman who said, "For their sake, I would have them live out their days in obscurity, but they could hold the key to the survival of this dynasty."

He then felt himself move forward. He could see nothing, only feel warm and comfort. He could hear voices, though.

A man's voice—his father's—said, "You may not have born him and you may not give him suck, but you will be a mother to this boy, Rebekah. He will be everything we had hoped and prayed for."

Suddenly, Tobias found himself returned to the present. He could still feel the memory of warmth in his mouth. His body seemed too big for him. It took him a moment to regain his bearings.

He looked at Shoshanna, who appeared to be trying to control her breathing.

Tobias felt his cheeks burn a little, then saw that their hands were still tightly locked together. He promptly pulled away.

Shoshanna stooped down to pick up her headband and put it back on, not that she had much need for it here. Once she was back in sorts, she said, "Well, we at least know that the people you thought to be your parents are not your natural parents. The one you recognized as your grandfather, he was the King's physician, yes?"

It was just then that Tobias realized Shayla was standing right there.

Without hesitating, Shayla took hold of Shoshanna's hands and pressed her forehead to Shoshanna's.

Taken aback by her forwardness, Shoshanna replied, "Well, I'm not. The journey has taken a great toll on my mind and I must recover first."

Shoshanna looked at her blankly.

Shayla let go of Shoshanna, then said, "You, you have my apologies. It has been so long, I... I may have forgotten how to act around others, not that I was ever that good with it."

Shayla looked back to the central pillar and Tellus and asked Shoshanna, "Could you communicate with Father in the Orb?"

Tobias could not find it in him to take such a neutral stance. If the story was true, his natural father was a detestable man who took liberties with a maid, then hid like a coward while his followers were made to pay the price for his crimes and when all that was complete, he drew his long-lost daughter to this island to waste away in solitude. It was truly a blessing from God that he was raised knowing a far better man as father.

Shoshanna took hold of his hand.

Tobias felt a chill in the pit of his stomach as he realized that if he was indeed the son of the Queen, then the blood of the Mad King flowed in his veins. They said the Mad King was not always mad. He became mad. Could Tobias expect the same?

Leaning on Shoshanna's words, Tobias was able to still the churning waters of his conflicting emotions. The feelings did not go away, but they receded back beneath the surface.

While he was doing this, he felt someone grip his other hand. It was Shayla. He gave her a curious look.

Shoshanna let go of him and said, "I'm sure you will figure something out, Tobiyah ben Yishak."

Shayla looked like she wanted to say something, but then the light in the sanctum dimmed. Everyone's attention went to Tellus and the Orb. She appeared to faint straightaway, collapsing onto the floor.

He hurried to her side. In his haste, he vaulted over the altar, thinking nothing of the disrespect in the act. For whatever reason, Tellus had reverted to her original form. Maybe her contact with the Orb broke the spell she used to change her appearance.

He scooped her up in his arms and began to lightly pat her cheek in an effort to rouse her.

Tobias eyed her suspiciously.

Shayla gave him something of a disapproving look for the comment.

Satisfied that there was no hidden intention behind the suggestion, Tobias lifted up Tellus and placed her on the altar, then covered her with his cloak.

She had a point. Tobias was reminded of the conversation he had with Shoshanna about Fate. Was there indeed some hand guiding these events?

A moment of silence passed between them and during that time, Shayla went from looking over Tellus to staring intently at Shoshanna.

Shayla did not stop staring at her, but said, "You are not just a mindwalker, are you? There is power to you, a strange power I have not felt before. It is sleeping, but I can still feel it."

No doubt it was because Shoshanna had the blood of the Children of the Forest. Tobias did not say anything. It was up to her to reveal the truth to Shayla or not. Shoshanna gave him an appreciative look for his discretion.

Tobias knew from experience that a blade in an untrained hand was a dangerous thing, for the wielder and his allies as much as for any enemy.

She went over to the central pillar and beckoned for Tobias to follow.

Tobias was not especially eager to do so, even if he may not have had as much of a basis for his reluctance as Shoshanna. Whatever power might be sleeping within him, the thought of confronting the shade of the High Priest was reason enough for him to leave those powers sleeping.

At first glance, she appeared to be the sort who was clumsy around people, but it could well be that Shayla was far cleverer and more devious than she seemed. She knew exactly what to say to get him to do what she wanted. Even seeing through the manipulation, Tobias could not resist the pull of the string.

He approached the central pillar and reached out to the Orb. He looked back to Shayla and asked her, "All I have to do is touch it?"

Shayla rested her hand on her chest and said, "Yes, Brother. Touch it and listen to the voice in your heart. Father and the priests of generations past will guide you."

Looking around him, Tobias then asked, "What are all these other pillars?"

The pillar representing fire was easy to tell from a distance and now that he was closer, he could see the mound of earth filling the bronze pan to the lower left and the water in the pan to the lower right. That just left the pan to the upper right.

Shayla took a handful of earth and scattered it over the wind pillar and it was promptly blown away.

Of course she already knew the answer.

Resolving himself for whatever might come, Tobias placed his hand on the Orb. And...

Nothing.

Actually, it was not quite nothing. Tobias heard no voice, he felt no power, but something did happen. The light of the Orb died away.

Tobias pulled his hand away and Shayla rushed to the Orb. Holding it with both hands, she closed her eyes and began chanting quickly in a low voice. After a few moments, the light was rekindled. Shayla then let go and sighed deeply.

Tobias extended his hand to her. Shayla recited a quick chant and a little tongue of flame appeared at her fingertip. She then lowered the flame to the palm of Tobias' hand. He did not feel any heat from the flame and indeed, before it could touch his flesh, the flame dissolved into a bloom of orange sparks and flew into his hand.

Tobias' eyes widened when he saw this and he was about to ask what had just happened, but Shayla looked just as surprised. She tried it again, summoning another flame with the same results.

Tobias took a few paces back and Shayla began chanting. A swirling ball of flame formed in the air between her hands. A sudden surge caused it to nearly double in size. Shayla's voice was steadily rising and the fireball expanded again. Her hands were shaking as she struggled to hold it in place.

Curiosity got the better of good sense. He wanted to see what would happen, even if it meant sticking his hand in a fireball to find out.

It was one thing to feel nothing from a tiny tongue of flame, but surely this was different. That is what you would think. However, it would seem that the size of the flame made no difference. As his hand got closer, the fireball began to dissolve just as the little tongues of flame had. All the while, he did not feel a thing.

Shayla could only stare at the empty space between her hands.

Tobias looked at his hand and flexed his fingers. To think that magic could not affect him... Seeing the fire pillar, he waved his hand into the flames, only to immediately feel the heat and pain.

It took all his willpower not to say anything stronger.

While he was holding his hand, which could have been badly burned if his reflexes had been any slower, Shayla said, "Magic may have no effect on you, Brother, but that is a natural flame. They may not appear any different to the untrained eye, but you would do well not to confuse one for the other."

Tobias should have known. It was not as if he had never known fire before. However, while he was taking in this lesson, he was reminded of something.

Before Tobias could ask anything else, Tellus began to stir. He went to her side immediately.

Tellus sat up and held her head. She looked at Tobias' cloak covering her and then at herself. She seemed confused at first, but then she settled.

Tobias asked her again, "Are you alright?"

Shoshanna, however, looked disturbed and wary.

Tobias saw the distant look in Tellus' eyes and Shoshanna's uneasiness. He did not take much comfort in this awakening. He could not help but feel it was but the prelude to something ominous waiting for them on the horizon.

He thought he heard Tym'r, who had stayed away from the platform with the altar and the pillars, grumble something to himself.