The Slain

With the entrance of Aunora, the fight turned into outright chaos. The demon lept straight into Asher, her muscular bulk slamming him into the ground. Using the seconds Aunora bought him wisely, Umbra shot up, ignoring the pain surging through his body.

Magic crackled around his fingers as Umbra summoned his flamberge, the wavy blade glimmering with a supernaturally-induced flare. Umbra threw himself at Hawkins, engaging him directly.

Hawkins sidestepped the attack, attempting to shove Umbra back to the floor. Umbra dodged his blow, striking out with a furry of sword sweeps.

Hawkins screamed out curses, barely able to avoid mutilation by the fae's blade. Umbra managed to cut him across his arms, slicing into his trenchcoat and drawing a fine stream of blood.

Smirking at his subtle victory, Umbra became bolder, leading him towards where Aunora was locked in combat.
She darted between Asher and Finch, like some sort of raging guerilla, landing severe punches and kicks. Finch was struggling, seemingly trying to escape the fight. But Aunora refused to let him evade her, letting out an animalistic snarl and dragging him back by the tail of his shirt.

"Switch!" Umbra called, adrenaline supplying him a more cockier attitude than usual.

Aunora took the cue, galloping towards Hawkins. Umbra took off in the opposite direction, effectively switching roles with the demon horse.

A new sense of confidence came to Umbra as he faced Asher with his sword. He smirked, his bloodstained palms itching to sink his blade into flesh. He had nothing to hold him back, no child to worry about traumatizing. 

Umbra's pupils dilated into narrow slits, his calm and grim composure slipping into sheer bloodlust. Back hunched, Umbra sliced at Asher, taking him by surprise.

The flame-like blade wrecked through Asher's shoulder and arm, splattering blood across the two fae men. Asher screeched in pain, instinctively shapeshifting into his bird form. He flew up to the ceiling, his path unsteady and difficult due to injury and shock.

Shaking the blood off his sword, Umbra allowed Asher to escape to lick his wounds. He had other things to deal with besides Asher.

Taking only a few seconds to catch his breath, Umbra joined the melee between Hawkins, Finch, and Aunora.

The demon horse looked wild, red eyes rolling in their sockets and visible dents in her armor. She was panting, having just slugged Finch across the face.

"Took you long enough, you priss!" Aunora growled, hovering away from the fight and towards Umbra.

"Two on two?" Umbra asked, Aunora nodding. "I'll take Hawkins." 

"We can hear you, you are aware of that, right?" Hawkins asked, letting his arm relax. His whip fell across the ground, the searing coals embedded within it crackling.

Umbra ran his sleeve down his face, wiping off a grimey mixture of blood, dust, and sweat. The lean muscle in his arms was aching from the strenuous activity Umbra had exhibited, but he was ready to take Hawkins on.

Not responding to the man's sarcastic questioning, Umbra pounced, transforming his sword into the much lighter war scythe.

Hawkins immediately took several steps back, trying to escape the polearm's massive reach. He cracked his whip in a wide arch, nearly hitting Umbra on the face. The sizzling leather whizzed back Umbra, causing him to curse out loud.

Hawkins defended himself from Umbra's salvo of war scythe strikes with a vicious rebuttal of kicks and punches, sending shock waves down the long wooden pole of Umbra's weapon.

Umbra held up well, until one of Hawkins blows affected his heavily injured hand. Pain spiraled from the split skin on his knuckles, black spots dotting his field of vision. Umbra staggered back, weapon dissolving.

In the seconds that Umbra was distracted, Hawkins attacked.

Crack!

Leather sliced across Umbra's torso, the hot coals digging into his flesh and scorching the wound.

Umbra howled in pain, stumbling and falling onto the ground. He wrapped his hand over his bleeding gash, the scarlet leaking through his fingers.

While Umbra took ragged, gasping breaths, Hawkins approached him, pulling a hunting knife from his belt. Umbra's eyes locked on the blade, terror spreading through his body.

No! Umbra thought, blood roaring in his ears. He's gonna kill me!

Hawkins hovered the knife above Umbra, malice flickering in his sharp eyes. The fae's body tensed, preparing itself for the inevitable flash of pain that would end his life.

"NOT TODAY, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" A voice screeched, a massive figure throwing itself on Hawkins back.

Through his blurry vision, Umbra recognized the feral form of Aunora, ripping her clawed fingernails into the man's flesh. Hawkins screamed in shock and horror, his composure lost after Aunora sunk her fangs into his shoulder.

Her eyes had completely lost their human qualities, now only thin slits in a field of fiery scarlet.

"FINCH!" Hawkins cried in desperation, legs wobbling from Aunora's bulk. "Help me, please!"

Umbra watched helplessly as Finch groped for his gun, loading a round into it. A ghost of a smile coming to his lips, the squat man fired at Aunora, blowing a hole in Aunora's leg.

The demon horse reacted strongly, making an inhuman howl of pain. She dropped off of Hawkins' back, panting and groaning. Her glare locked on Finch, her lips drawing up to show off her bloodstained fangs.

Aunora moved like lightning, throwing herself on Finch in a fury of claws and teeth.

Umbra's jaw dropped as he watched Aunora, disgust washing over him.

Aunora was mauling Finch.

Umbra wouldn't even dare call the encounter a fight. There was no chance for Finch to offer opposition. Aunora mercilessly shredded into his body with her bare hands and claws, her armor now dissolved. Her back was arched like an animal, allowing her to bite into Finch's torso with a brutal gusto.

Both Hawkins and Umbra were frozen, the two men taken aback by the savage scene, trying not to focus on the deafening mixture of agonized screaming and demonic caterwauling.

Soon, Finch's struggling ceased, and the man fell limp on the floor. Aunora paused, crouched over his body, blood dripping from her jaws. She stood up with difficulty, gasping for breath. Aunora half-walked, half-dragged herself to the edge of the room, collapsing and  immediately trying to tend to her gunshot wound.

Hawkins fell to his knees beside Finch, propping him up with his arm. The man shook him, trying to rouse his gore-covered companion.

He's distracted, Umbra thought, rising to his feet. He summoned his war scythe  once more, the violet blade a comforting sight to Umbra. I need to end this now.

Umbra walked slowly towards Hawkins, prepping the weapon for a bisecting strike. It would be challenging to pull off, cutting a grown man in half, but Umbra was sure he had the energy to generate the force needed.

The fae gritted his teeth, raising his war scythe, poised directly over Hawkins' side. Before he could attack, something attracted Hawkins' attention, and the man turned his head, seeing Umbra.

His eyes widened, and in the fleeting seconds it took for Umbra's blade to come upon him, Hawkins grabbed Finch's half-dead body, thrusting him in the path of Umbra's attack.

The war scythe ripped through Finch, tearing the fat man into two separate pieces. The power of the blow sent blood and flesh chunks splattering in all directions, covering both Umbra and Hawkins.

Umbra stood over Hawkins, still comprehending the fact he had missed his mark. They locked eyes, and for a split second, Umbra saw regret and grievance on Hawkins' countenance.

But it didn't last. His stoic, guarded expression took over once more, and he sprung at Umbra, kicking him hard on the chest, right on his wound. Umbra staggered and fell back, spots clogging his vision.

"Asher, get over here! We've gotta go!" Hawkins shouted, holding up his arm.

Asher flew down from the ceiling, landing on Hawkins' arm in a bloody pile of feathers.

"Trap them. We're all that's left now. I'll make the portal." Hawkins threw the bird off his arm, Asher shifting back into a human.

I can't let them get away! Umbra thought, attempting to pull himself up. Not again!

Asher reached into the pocket of his tattered sweatshirt, withdrawing a hand full of flame-colored feathers. He tossed them in the air, the feathers taking on a mind of their own. They scattered throughout the room, forming a circle around the basement.
Asher smirked at Umbra, licking his lips. "Sorry I gotta leave so soon, old buddy."

He snapped his fingers, and the feathers exploded into flames.

The shockwaves of the blast effected the old wooden planks, several pieces of the ceiling shuddering and falling to the floor of the attic. Tongues of burning fire ignited around, blocking the door and trapping he and Aunora.

"And just so you can't teleport out of here, I'll do this." Asher knelt down, using a remaining feather to sketch a rune on the floor. Magic shot through the room, wrapping Aunora and Umbra in its dire results. Red curse marks now covered  the two adults, blocking their magic and leaving them unable to use spells.

Asher walked towards Hawkins, who had opened a crackling portal with his hunting knife. He gave Umbra one last glance, winking at him.

"Alright, now I've really gotta split. Have fun...dying."

Author's Note- I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I am on vacation and I finally got the time to write.

Anyway, it's easy to forget that Umbra and Aunora aren't human. Be sure to remember that.