Nothing happened when I finished. I'm disappointed but I can't say I'm surprised as two of the ingredients weren't quite right. It wasn't until a few minutes in that I felt the earth rumble and then a crack appeared in the dirt not too far from where I was leant against. I stood up and backed away, not wanting to be swallowed by the earth.
The crack grew in size where someone could squeeze out if they wanted to but it'd be a tight fit. I waited in anticipation but nothing happened for a minute or so. This is the most bizarre summoning I've done and I've not done many. It was different, that's for sure, and I didn't know what to do. How can I undo a spell? I crept towards the crack and peered inside. It was pitch black and I couldn't see anything so I crouched down for a closer look. A hand shot out of the ground causing me to cry out and fall back on my bum.
"Fucking hell!" I cried out, my hand over my heart. I'm gonna have a heart attack someday if they keep doing this.
Once I managed to calm down, I got right back up and offered my hand to the outstretched hand which had more skin than Helena did. That makes sense as he's much younger than her. His hand wrapped around mine and I pulled hard to free him from the dirt. Now with Helena, I would've feared her arm popping off but Henry seemed a bit stronger.
Inch by inch, I could see more of him and I made the mistake of looking into his eyes which had nothing in them. It was just a gaping hole filled with darkness that chilled you to the bone and I had to remind myself that he was dead and there was nothing to worry about. Once he was freed, he straightened up and brushed the dirt off his suit which was practically falling apart. What was left of his suit was desperately trying to cling to his body.
"Thank you, kind man," Henry Higgins said, smiling. Er—at least I think he's smiling. His teeth were all bared and in surprisingly good shape for having been dead almost 50 years.
"You're welcome," I replied, surreptitiously wiping my hands on my jeans. I stared at him not knowing what to say. All I wanted to know was how different this spell was compared to the one I've been taught and knowing what I know now, I'll stick to the spell Bondy taught me.
"Where am I?" Henry asked, looking around the cemetery. There was no one else around.
"You're in Cook Cemetery in Seattle."
"How'd I end up here? I'd best be on my way." Henry Higgins made his way towards the road as if...as if he wasn't dead. The fact that he was practically all bones didn't seem to bother him as he walked with a slight limp.
"Hold on!" I called after him. "You can't just get up and leave!"
I'm used to Helena who is less mobile than he is. I just chalked it up to age as Helena seemed a lot more fragile than he did. Henry stopped and turned around. His head seemed to turn 180 degrees which caused me to hold my breath, my eyes wide in fear.
"Just watch me," he said like a defiant child and he trudged on. My fear was temporarily replaced with annoyance at the man who wouldn't listen to me. How dare he do what he want! I'm the one who summoned him!
I went back to his grave and blew out three of the five candles. When the fire goes out, he has to go back and he doesn't have much time. This didn't seem to phase him so I blew the remaining two candles out. When the fire goes out, they're supposed to go back into their grave. One time, Helena didn't want to go back so tendrils of earth came after her and dragged her back against her will. It was quite terrifying to witness. Helena screamed and pleaded for me to help her and I tried to but the tendrils were too strong. It pulled her back in and the ground closed up before I realized what had happened. Now that the fire is out, the same should be happening to Henry but there he was walking towards the road with no worry whatsoever.
