Prologue
1820
Crystal Rock, Wisconsin/+
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way, Birch,” Ariella moaned, clinging to him for support.
Standing beneath the eerie light of the witch’s full moon, they studied the man – a sorcerer in disguise – who laid dead on the sandy beach of Dragonfly Ridge.
“We knew it would be a longshot, Ari. But now we’ll be more prepared to face our final challenge when the evil one returns. There will be no more mistaking his minions during the final conflict.”
“Our magick decrees that the third time we must succeed, or the evil one will gain our inherited powers. I am scared of losing you Birch. If our memories are gone, how will we know one another?”
“Our love will see us through,” he answered fiercely. “I know it is strong enough to face the test of time. After all, we have been through this change once before. And it is written in our book that the two descendants who are deemed strong enough to claim our powers, as well as our souls, will once again be guided here to our sanctuary so that the final conflict may proceed.”
Ariella glanced at the lovely island paradise that they’d shared and grown to love. “Will we lose all we have found here on Dragonfly Ridge?”
“No, my love. It will simply be cloaked and frozen in time, until our two descendants arrive to continue what we have begun.”
Tears filled Ariella’s eyes. “Now that we know why and have discovered where this final conflict will occur, all we have left to learn is when it will happen and who is trying to destroy us.”
“The when will be taken care of as we reawaken. It may be several hundred years from now, or simply a decade or two.”
Ariella stared into Birch’s eyes. “What change must occur for our souls to survive?”
“We must remain as living creatures of this island. To me, our choice of transformation is obvious – what other than a dragonfly, the harbinger of change and a messenger from the Elemental world? We will open our hearts to the changes we must accept.” He smiled tenderly. “I only wish I could make you my wife, but until we eliminate our oppressor, we cannot be as one. We would be too vulnerable.”
Birch heaved a sigh, before reaching for her hand and continuing, “It must be soon. Come with me, so you can say your farewells to Aurora.”
Gasping, Ariella covered her mouth with her hand. “What will happen to Aurora?”
“Do not worry, my love. As a feline, Aurora will still live many lives. She’ll simply remain here on the island, frozen in time, as will the body of our sorcerer. I am afraid that our descendants will have to dispose of his remains. We cannot take the chance of even touching him, or it could lead our oppressor to this island prematurely.”
“I understand,” Ariella answered, rushing with Birch toward the house.
As they walked inside the grand entrance, Aurora greeted her with a thundering purr.
Bending over, Ariella picked her up, cuddling her close to her face. “I will miss you, Aurora. Come, and I will feed you before Birch and I begin our journey.”
Shortly thereafter, two beautiful dragonflies emerged through the open window, wings fluttering as they moved together toward the body of the lake nearby.
Soon, the island became dull and then gray, barely visible to the human eye, before seeming to completely disappear from the secreted channel of the lake.
Chapter One
Two Hundred Years Later
Crystal Rock, Wisconsin
After parking his truck along the street, Birch Delveaux walked into the lobby of the Crystal Rock Police Department on a warm September day.
“Hi, there, special FBI Agent Birch Delveaux,” Chief Sam Danielson called out from his office. “Come on in here and have a seat. Would you like some coffee?”
“Sure, Sam,” Birch answered. “But I can help myself.”
After Birch settled in a seat across from him, Sam studied his face. “What can I help you with today? I can tell by the look on your face that you have some you want to ask me about.”
Birch pursed his lips. “Have you ever got the impression that there’s something really strange about this town?”
Sam snorted. “Always. There’s all kinds of folklore associated with Dragonfly Pointe, not to mention it’s supposed to be one of the most romantic places in the world.”
Birch blinked. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Hey.” Sam held up a staying hand. “I don’t question anything, anymore.”
It was odd how Birch had been looking for somewhere to settle down when he wasn’t working on a case, and had happened to stop in Crystal Rock to visit with one of his old friends, Jake Loughlin, who owned the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. He’d fallen in love with the town and had rented a cabin at the Inn. Now, if he could only find a to live, he’d have it made. Birch knew he was being picky, but once he settled down, he wasn’t planning on moving again.
“Okay, so have you ever heard of Dragonfly Ridge? This is kind of nuts, but Jake sent me a strange message he got this morning, about someone reporting a murder. The odd thing about it is, it sounded like it was me who left the message. Jake said it came through with my caller ID.”
Sam looked taken aback. “Now that is odd. Dragonfly Ridge? I don’t believe there is such a place, although…” Sam stood, approaching the bookshelves covering one of his office walls. “I keep a load of different maps here, because of all the tunnels located beside the river as well as at Dragonfly Pointe.”
Apparently discovering what he was looking for, Sam pulled out two picture books containing maps.
“Here’s a map of the chain of lakes back in the early eighteen-hundreds,” Sam murmured, laying down the book on his desk and thumbing through it.
“The eighteen-hundreds?”
“I was thinking that maybe your location’s been renamed.” Sam paused, staring at one of the pages, and handing it over. “Okay, here were go.”
“Okay,” Birch murmured, pulling out a notebook from his pocket and jotting down the location. “It’s supposedly in one of the channels branching off from Crystal Rock Lake.”
Sam was thumbing through another book, and suddenly looked puzzled. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Birch asked.
“The island isn’t even shown in the next series of maps from a little later in the nineteenth century.”
Standing, Birch looked over his shoulder. “How in the world would an island that large completely disappear?”
“I’d kind of like to know that too,” Sam answered, pursing his lips.
“Well,” Birch said, standing and slugging down the remainder of his coffee. “I guess I’ll take a ride out there in my cruiser and see what I discover.”
“Want to take along these two books?” Sam asked.
“As long as you don’t mind? I am kind of interested in checking out the topography,” Birch answered, scooping up the two books.
“Are you still looking for a place to live?”
“Yes. I think I might be too picky. I love your place. I wish I could come even close to finding something similar.”