Necromancer For Hire- Arc 3

Arc 3, Chapter 17

The Waning

"He tried to kill you?" Matthew asked with concern, gazing at Umbra.

Time had teleported he and Umbra back to where the rest of Silver Moon was waiting, and Umbra was immediately met with hugs from Matthew and Victor. Matthew suggested that, since it was already well past lunchtime, they should discuss their findings over a light meal.

Matthew brought the team to a small cafe with outdoor seating. Since there was a distinct lack of seats for them at each table, Victor sat in Umbra's lap and Esper curled around Aunora's neck in his snake form. They hastily ordered some drinks and food and then began to talk.

"Yeah, he would have torched me if I hadn't of escaped." Umbra responded, his voice sounding haunted. He blinked at Matthew, frowning. The German man had placed a reassuring hand on his thigh, but Umbra wasn't feeling very comforted by his gesture.

"D-Dad," Victor whispered, pulling at Umbra's shirt from his seat in Umbra's lap. The boy's eyes were wide with terror, and his face had paled. "That was really close... I-I'm glad you made it out okay..."

Crap, Umbra thought, watching Victor sniffle. I need to pull myself together. I don't want Victor worrying about anything else.

Pushing down his emotions, Umbra pinched his son's cheek, forcing a smile. "Of course I got out unscathed, though." Umbra noted, the confident tone steadily returning into his voice. "I'm the great Umbra Mortis, right, dear?" Victor shakily nodded, still not looking as convinced as Umbra wanted him to be.

"Heh, 'great'," Aunora snorted. "More like 'lame'. Anyway, what happened after that?"

"Well," Time declared rather dramatically, slapping his hands on the table. "He teleported away! Completely uncaring of the fact that he totally just engulfed me in flames! Can you believe that guy?!"

"So we lost our only lead in North America, huh?" Aunora bitterly poked at her french fries, scowling.

"Actually," Umbra murmured, looking rather proud. "Time figured out where he went. We can follow him."

Esper put down his orange juice, finally speaking for the first time since the meeting started. "No disrespect intended, Mr. Umbra, but is it a good idea to follow this man? He obviously has no scruples against murder, so this could be very dangerous. I do not want us to encounter something more deadly than we first intended it to be."

"Yeah, yeah," Time said impatiently, waving his arms. "But you guys are great! And strong!" His kaleidoscope eyes glimmered and his voice got low. "Plus, if we don't save Clockwork, something happens to me. And if something happens to me, well, the universe gets more thrown out of whack than it already is. We don't need that to happen."

Matthew took another bite from the soup he had ordered. "I guess we should be leaving now, right? Letting the trail go cold so early in the investigation isn't a good idea." He stood up, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck. "Time, do you think you could make the portal now?"

Time looked sheepish, glaring at the surrounding tables. "Yeah, but we gotta go somewhere private. I think people are getting suspicious of us."

The Überdragon jumped to his feet, but a glaze passed over his eyes, making him stagger. His knees suddenly wobbled, and the man collapsed.

"Oh my goodness!" Esper cried, immediately falling to the floor and touching his hand to Time's back. Time was clutching the bridge of his nose, muttering some type of arcane language under his breath. 

"Is your friend alright? Do I need to call an ambulance?" A person at a nearby table asked, standing up to assist them.

Umbra ushered Victor out of his lap, pulling Time's arm over his shoulder. "He's fine," Umbra replied smoothly, not missing a beat as he strained to lift Time to his feet. "My brother just had a little too much to drink this morning, that's all!"

"You already paid the check, right?" Umbra hissed at Matthew, who nodded. "Then we need to find somewhere for him to recooperate at, and fast."

Matthew wrapped Time's other arm around his shoulder as well, taking most of the burden off of Umbra.

Gulping down the rest of her drink, Aunora pointed down the street. "There's one of those family restroom in that strip of stores down there. I remember crashing there while I was doing my training here; there's a buncha couches and stuff to sit on."

"Good," Umbra murmured, gazing down at Time. The man had his teeth grit and his pupils were racing back and forth, the coloerful magic that burned in them waning.

Author's Notes- sorry if I sounded a little too whiny in the last chapter q.q i was just a little shocked lol

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