The Split

Upon entering the house, Umbra and his team found themselves in a small mudroom. It was nearly void of any sort of decoration, with the exception of a few coats hung on a coat rack.

Umbra took careful, quiet steps, urging his companions to do the same.

With each creep across the floor, the ancient hardwood boards uttered low groans and sharp creeks. Every time there was a noise, Umbra flinched, as he knew that any of these sounds could beget their discovery.

Once they were out of the mudroom, they entered into a decidedly more lavish section of the house. Large paintings of various creatures covered the walls, along with several animal heads mounted on brass plates. The paint that covered the walls was a stained, yellowish-cream color, and it gave the appearance that it was very, very old.

Despite the nice decoration of the interior, something seemed amiss. Umbra couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong, but the cold, unwelcoming atmosphere that he recognized made a nervous sweat settle on the back of his neck, and smothering aprehension made his steps heavier.

With a quick glance to his side, he could see that the rest of his team was feeling the same gloom. Aunora's pupils were wide and her shoulders were stiff and Esper had his arms wrapped tight around his chest. Matthew had one hand clutched firmly around Victor's wrist, and the other was reaching inside his coat. Even in his unconscious state, Time seemed to be uneasy, twitching and muttering in his sleep.

The room led into two different hallways: one on the right, and the other on the left. It was clear that it was finally time to split the team like Matthew had planned.

Umbra swallowed, arms behind his back and pacing in front in front of his companions. "Alright, guys. This is enemy territory as far as we know. Be careful, and be smart. Matthew, if your group gets attacked, hold nothing back." Matthew cautiously touched his wrists, and Umbra nodded.

"If you find Clockwork, destroy whatever binds are around him and get outside. We'll meet you as soon as possible, and vice-versa." Umbra paused, taking a steading breath. "I believe that's all. I'll...I'll see you soon. Best of luck."

Matthew threw his arms around Umbra's waist, holding him close for several seconds. Once Matthew was finished, Umbra knelt down and kissed Victor on the cheek.

"Don't be scared, dear." Umbra whispered. "Matthew will be there to protect you."

"Who's gonna protect you?" Victor asked, wide eyed.

"I can protect myself." He glanced over to Aunora, who was tightly hugging Esper. "Plus, I got her."

Umbra moved to Esper. The nature spirit noticed his presence, pulling away from Aunora.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Umbra?" Esper said quietly.

Umbra laid a hand on Esper's shoulder. "Take care."

Esper beamed at Umbra's words, taking Umbra's hand and shaking it heartily.

"So, who's going where?" Matthew asked, the yellow light of the chandelier above them glaring violently off his glasses. "You pick, Umbra."

Umbra stared at the two doorways before him. Both seemed about the same, as the winding hallways blocked out any sort of identifying prospects.

"Well," Umbra shrugged. "I'm left handed, so I'll take the one on the left."

With a final wave at Matthew, Umbra parted ways, Aunora keeping her distance from him.

~~~~

Hawkins crouched behind a wall, hearing footsteps coming from down the hall. Finch was pressed close to his side, the squat man making himself surprisingly compact in their small source of cover.

After years of hiding from police, their prey, and people they had infuriated, Hawkins and Finch had mastered the art of staying quiet and unnoticed. It was a skill Hawkins took pride in, as it made hunting even more thrilling and exciting.

"You hear the footsteps too?" Finch hissed, fingers stretched across the pistol in his lap.

"Of course," Hawkins sounded deadly serious, his gravely baritone barely auditable. "There's two sets, and one of them is walkin' very lightly on its toes. So we can assume it's not a human."
"The other's really heavy, like a horse trotting." Finch commented. "What do you think?"

"Demon horse." Hawkins' brown eyes flicked back and forth as he recounted information. "I've hunted them before. They all sound the same, even in humanoid form."

Finch grinned, showing off stained teeth. "Well, well, well. Just a bunch of animals, huh? That can't be too hard."

Hawkins didn't reply, his attention shifted to the direction opposite of the footsteps. "Something followed us."

"What? How do you know?"

"Wingbeats. Of course, that idiot fae disregarded my orders." Just as he had predicted, Asher, in his animal form, flew into the room, roosting beside Hawkins.

Before Asher could react, Hawkins shot out his hand, wrapping his fingers around his skinny, feather covered neck.

Asher's beady eyes buldged out of their sockets as he struggled to breathe through the man's strangulation. "I-I-"

Throwing Asher harshly to the ground, Hawkins grabbed Finch's gun and aimed it at the fae's head. "Asher, if you compromise this mission, I will kill you. Understand?"

Asher nodded, desperately heaving for air.

"Finch, you're the closest to the hallway, so see if you can see anything." Hawkins ordered.

Finch quickly peeked his head around, retreating near instantly. His eyes were wide.

"Did you see anything?"

Finch nodded, hatred flickering in his expression.

"I saw a flash of them, and I know who those people are. It's two of those mercenaries that we hired a while back. The ones that got the sacrifices released."

Author's Note- asher kinda deserved it hahaha

art is by hotdong ^.^