Both Mother and Aunt Serena winced as they stared into each other’s eyes.
“Fine,” Ariella muttered, glancing at her watch and dropping onto a leather club chair near the fireplace. “I still have plenty of time to get to the airport. Let’s hear this story so I can be on my way.”
“It’s all in our family’s book,” Aunt Serena murmured. “But I know how you’ve avoided reading it since you were a child.”
“I remember some of the stories, but you’ll have to fill me in specifically about this one.”
Mother drew in a deep breath, looking at Aunt Serena. “Shall I begin?”
“Yes. You tell the story much better than I do.”
“That’s only because it was pounded into my brain as the eldest sister.”
“Your mother was so beautiful, Ariella. You two look so much alike.”
Mother grimaced. “She’s getting impatient, Serena. I’d better begin. Since the beginning of our line, back in the early 1600’s, an evil force has been slowly attempting to absorb our powers along with another equally strong line of witches’. We have ancestors who have mysteriously disappeared through the years and we suspect that they’ve been tricked somehow into revealing their vulnerabilities, so their powers were taken, possibly along with their souls since they’re never seen again. The ultimate power will be handed over through our strongest and most determined descendants – one man and one woman, and once these two mate, their powers will be strong enough to conquer even the most evil oppressor of them all.”
Ariella stared at her mother blankly. “You think this woman is me?”
“We don’t just think it,” Aunt Serena answered. “We know it. We’re being shown right now. Look at the quartz.”
Standing, Ariella walked toward the fireplace, gazing at the quartz resting on the mantel. Although she could barely make him out, the man appeared to be tall and broad shouldered. “Where is this place? Why do I feel as if I’ve been there?”
Her mother seemed surprised. “Do you sense the island? No, you’ve never been there before – at least not in this lifetime.”
Ariella squinted, trying to get a glimpse of the man.
“He must find you, you know. He needs to be the one to seek you out. You can’t reveal anything about yourself, and the fact that you know he’s meant to be your mate.”
Ariella scowled. “I don’t want a mate. But why can’t he be told?”
“He may be the evil one in disguise. The only one who will know the whole story will be your true mate. He must recognize you as well.”
“So, what’s the significance of the island?”
“It won’t return to life until you arrive in Crystal Rock. And then the third and final conflict will need to be resolved.”
“Conflict?”
“The previous two conflicts were toss ups. You and your mate have used these periods of time wisely, by gathering information about the evil one, who is the only one with the capabilities of absorbing the magick of the most powerful lines of our kind. Our world as we know it will be destroyed if this happens because evil will rule.”
As Ariella studied her mother, who appeared to be completely serious, a feeling of dread invaded her senses.
Because she knew instinctively that what her mother claimed was true. Thinking of the dreams and the memories which seemed to not be her own, but yet again were, Ariella suddenly realized she’d known it her entire life.
Dropping down on the chair, Ariella covered her face with her hands as she became absorbed in a world of sensations. The sun, the moon, and then the feeling of flying high in the air and fluttering across a body of water.
She was a dragonfly. And he was too.
“Ariella?” Her mother said softly. “Are you alright?”
Ariella heaved a sigh. “No, Mother, I’m not. I’m feeling lightheaded and having strange thoughts about another world. I see myself as a Dragonfly.”
Aunt Serena gasped. “You’re recalling another past.” She turned to Ariella’s mother. “Gwen – you understand what this means?”
Ariella’s mother nodded her head in agreement. “There’s no time to lose. Ariella must travel to Dragonfly Ridge, so that the island can be awakened.”
Ariella looked at her mother, agreeing with no hesitation. “You’d better cancel my reservations, Mother.”
“Yes, dear. How will you travel?”
“I guess I’d better drive my jeep. I imagine I’ll need transportation where I’m going. At least my bags are already packed.”
“You’ll need some form of occupation while you’re residing on the island.”
Ariella became thoughtful. “Why not just be an artist? I have the oils I’ve painted during the last several years up in the attic. I’ll take along a dozen or two and then you can have the remainder shipped to me.”
“And then there’s all that lovely jewelry you’ve made,” Aunt Serena murmured.
“Yes. I can take some of that along. Maybe I can open up a small shop so that I appear as a member of the community. But is there any call for my work in a place like Wisconsin?”
“My dear,” Aunt Serena said dryly. “You know you have the powers to make it so once you arrive.”
“Well, call me crazy, Aunt Serena, but I’d kind of like to be wanted for my talent instead of conjuring a spell to make it so.”
Mother scrunched her nose. “You’ll figure it out Ariella. Let’s go upstairs and decide what pieces you’d like to take along with you. Luckily, your supplies are packed as well.”
* * *
A half hour later, Ariella was staring in astonishment at a portrait of a man she’d painted nearly four years earlier.
“Mother? Come look at this portrait.”
Her mother’s jaw dropped as she glanced at the painting. “Oh, Ariella. I don’t even remember you showing me this. This must be him. Isn’t he handsome?”
Ariella felt like she was in a daze. He looked so familiar and she instinctively that he was the one.
“There’s an entire series here that I painted while I was going to school. I must have packed them up and just left them here. I have a feeling these are the ones I should take along with me.”
“Look at all the pine trees and snow. I have a feeling you were seeing Dragonfly Ridge in your mind much longer than you even realized.”
Ariella grimaced. “I think you’re right. I’ve been having strange dreams for most of my life, but I kind of tamped down on my powers after deciding to go to Paris so that I’d have a better chance of fitting in.”
“When you arrive at the island, you must practice, Ariella,” Mother said firmly.
“You’re right, of course.”
Another half an hour later, the car was loaded up, and Ariella studied her mother and aunt, who obviously had something else to tell her.
“Okay. Fess up – what haven’t you told me yet?”
Aunt Serena cleared her throat. “There’s a time crunch involved.”
*“For what?” Ariella asked, looking at her aunt first, and then her mother as he took a sip of water from the water from the bottle she was taking along.