"Are you sure this is right?" Oko asked me as I finished the chalk circle. I lazily watched NeeChee the anxiety demon walk around the circle, sniffing at the chalk with an air of satisfaction.
"Yeah." I said shortly. "It's a unique spell."
A knock resounded from the other side of the door. I jumped, and a look of alarm crossed Oko's face.
The door opened a crack, and I heard Megamo's voice.
"Is Mika here?" he directed the question to Oko. I scrambled as quietly as I possibly could to the corner of the room, where I could hide between the bookshelf and the wall.
"No," Oko lied without missing a beat. "I haven't seen her."
"... shouldn't you be in class?" I could hear the frown in Megamo's voice.
"I'm… club leader. I was cleaning up… I'll be done soon."
"You should have cleaned yesterday afternoon."
"I was… busy. I still have...thirty minutes. Is it a problem?"
"...No." Megamo conceded. Club leaders were allowed to miss up to thirty minutes of class a week long as it was for club activities. "If you see Mika, tell her…" Megamo scoffed to himself. I could tell in his voice he was already 100% done with this babysitting job. "Nevermind."
Megamo closed the door, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Coming out of the corner, I walked a circle around the chalk, checking for any mistakes or issues.
"Okay, alright." I nodded to Oko, "I think we're ready."
I knelt in front of the circle, steadying my breath. I pursed my lips, rehearsing my words in my head before daring to speak them aloud. Oko stood as far back as the small room would allow him to. With one last breath, I called out.
"Come, dear creature, if ever you would call yourself mine. I call thy name. The last bell has chimed thy sacred name. Return to me, Hessian."
The words of a dead language filled the room, a bluish gray mist chasing behind them. The mist swirled and slithered, carrying with the it smell of iron and snow. I held my arms out over the circle, my hands extended. My heart ached. Despite everything that had happened, I was glad to finally see my friend again.
"Come, Hessian."
The mist solidified, and he was all over the room. Lanks of white fur lay about, his head brushing against the ceiling and his tail curled around the border of the room. NeeChee yowled, jumping out of Oko's arms and leaping to the top of the shelf. Oko himself stumbled back, looking up at this creature in awe. I think, at that moment, Oko understood what was really possible.
But neither I nor this beautiful creature paid them any mind. Hessian emitted his own light, his white fur glinting with cold luminescence that danced shadows across the dark room. His eyes were piercing and ancient, injured and raw, calm yet full of glacial fire. He radiated a calm rage, a feeling in your chest that made you feel dangerous.
I smiled. It was not the dark grin of vengeance that had come when first we met. It was a true, genuine smile, one of the likes Hessian had never witnessed before.
Hessian brought his huge head to level with mine, his wolfish mouth curled into an imitation of a smile. I hugged his snout, not minding that I had smudged the chalk circle. After all, it had served its purpose.
My friend, my best friend in this world, was back.
And we were going to end this world together.