Chapter 45 The call

For days, Joana hadn’t stopped talking about her meeting with Yin, she told the coven all about it when she and Derick returned from Shanghai, and even till when they all returned from China. She truly enjoyed her stay there with the coven, especially her private time with Derick which she made sure no one knew about. Dana had promised her that there would be more fun times like this if she would stay longer, but she knew that would only depend on if she found the ingredients on time.

She would now move on to search for the next ingredient, earth from the volcano of life. After their meeting that night, the sun had already begun to show its face and they were all dismissed for the day. Joana went to sleep also, preparing for another round of studies when she woke up in the night. She hadn’t slept a few minutes in when she heard a soft, gentle female voice call her name.

“Joana! Joana! Joana!”

She was half asleep when she heard it, she thought it was a dream but started becoming more conscious when she realized it wasn’t. The voice sounded her name loud and clear in her ears, while she was fully awake.

She couldn’t recognize the voice; it didn’t sound like Dana or Hillary, who was it then?

She got up from her bed, the sound was coming from her room, but there was no one in there except her. Could someone have entered the castle? Everyone had gone to sleep, she was sure of that, so who could it be?

“Who are you?” Joana said. “Show your face!”

“I do not have a face Joana, I am a spirit,” the voice said.

At the sound of the word ‘spirit,’ Joana froze. It couldn’t be who she thought it was, could it? Oh, how she wished it was.

“Are you the evergreen river?” She asked her with a shaky voice, hoping to get the answer she needed.

“Yes, Joana, I heard you call to me, and I decided to watch you first, I have seen that you have a good heart Joana, and I hope you get the very best in life.”

“Thank you,” her heart can start beating again now.

“Is there anything you desire from me, Joana?”

“Yes,” of course there was something she needed from her. Why else would she have prayed?

“I need some of your water,” Joana continued.

“May I ask why?”

“I need it to offer a sacrifice unto the supreme council. I want to give up my immortality.”

“Ok, then. I have something to tell you before I give it to you, but you will have to come into the spirit world before you can access this river. The evergreen river does not belong to the earth.”

“But how will I go to the spirit world?” She couldn’t believe she had to go on another journey again.

“On the two poles of the earth, the north and the south, there is a portal located on each side. You can enter the spirit world through any of the poles. I wish you good luck in your journey dear, and I hope to see you soon.”

And with those last words, the voice faded away and Joana was left alone again, unable to recover from what she had just experienced. She couldn’t go back to sleep, she sat on her bed trying to recall every word the river spirit had just told her so she could download all the information to the coven. How she wished the night would come on time.

***

“What’s the matter, Joana, why are you so excited?” Dana was confused by Joana’s strange behavior. As soon as the sun had set, she had gone to call them in their rooms and gathered them all here in the study.

They all sat down, eager to hear what Joana had to say to them that sounded so important.

“I just got called by the river spirit!”

“The evergreen river?”

“Yes,” she said jumping.

“That’s good news, Joana,” Derick said. “So, did she give you some of her water?”

“No, not yet, she says in order to access the river, I have to come into the spirit world. There are two portals, each on the south and the north pole. I can go through either of them.”

“If you’re going, then I’m coming with you,” Derick said. “I won’t let you go there on your own.”

“You know, I’m not a baby Derick, I’ve done all of this before in a past life,” Joana objected.

“Marylin had already been a vampire for hundreds of years, she even had more experience than me, of course she could handle herself. You on the other hand, just became one less than a year ago, I know you might want to refuse and all, but I’m not taking any chances leaving you alone again.”

“Ok then,” Dana interrupted. “If Derick wants to come with you so badly then he will. Are you ok with that Joana?

“It’s not like I have much of a choice,” Joana knew he would still follow her even if she said no. She didn’t know why he was just so stubborn.

Edward then came up with a thought.

“But wait, why do you have to go to the pole? There are other ways you can enter the spirit world, through your dreams, through meditation, I don’t think there’s any need for you to fly all the way down there.”

“But there is,” Dana said. “If she went through those other ways, she wouldn’t transport her physical body with her, and she needs it if she wants to carry the waters from the river and bring it here. By the way, that reminds me, make sure to carry along a bottle or something you can use to take some of the water you will need.”

Joana nodded her head.

“Will do,” she said.