A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long delay!
Do you like the new story cover thingy? I made it myself! I'm actually quite proud of it ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games
Chapter Tweleve
"Madge!" Katniss screamed into the empty building site. "Madge! Get out here and face me! NOW!"
Katniss had come to an hour ago, panicked and freaking out. She knew where to find Madge, the woman always hung out at the building site because that was the location of one of the mirror gateways. More importantly, Madge's most used mirror gateway. She couldn't believe her mentor had betrayed her like this. She knew that Katniss was taking care of the Peeta situation in her own way but the woman still went behind her back and took him from her. Katniss wasn't sure if she could forgive her for that.
"Madge!" She refused to stop screaming until her mentor showed up. Her lumionous blonde hair glowed like a nyan highlighter in the dark light of the building site. It was dusk but there was still no sign of the sun yet.
At first, Madge ignored Katniss. She picked at the stones dug up by the regular builders who worked there, refusing to met her eye. She slowly made her way to Katniss and when they were metres apart, she finally raised her gaze to look at her face.
"What is it Katniss?" The question was supposed to be hostile and acidic but just came out as a broken whisper.
"How could you?" Katniss asked, balling her hands into fists. "How could you do that?"
Madge shook her head and covered her face with her hands. "You don't know what the council is capable of Katniss if they don't get their way. I was coming to warn you last night about the limited time you had left when I found"-she removed her hands from her face, her eyes flashing red-"him, in your bed. You fucked him didn't you?"
Katniss growled, her top lip curling in disgust. "That's none of your business."
Her mentor grunted. "You did then, you idiot!" The blonde kicked the ground, unsettling dust and stones. "You were fucked from the start Katniss! You should have just drank him! But you didn't! You got emotionally attatched instead! Which I told you not to do!"
"I was going to sort it out-" Katniss grew frustrated as Madge interuppted her once more.
"And now that boy loves you Katniss," she said. "He fucking loves you and it's your fault. He asked me to take him to the Careers and yes, I took him. I wasn't going to say no to him. Because he loved you and did not want to be killed by you."
Katniss shook her head. "You didn't have to take him," she whispered. "No one forced you to do it."
"Correct," Madge replied. "But you didn't see him Katniss. He was a mess."
Katniss' vision blurred as tears pricked in the corner of her eyes. "I could have killed him gently. Made him comfortable and did it slowly so it wasn't painful." It was in that moment that she realized that she had no idea how the Careers killed mortals. "Take me to the Council."
Madge sighed and tugged on her white blouse nervously. "It's a horrifying process Katniss," she said. "You don't want to see it."
"Take me to them," Katniss insisted. "Maybe I can talk them out of-"
"What?" Madge said. "Talk them out of what? There's nothing you can do Kat. It's too late. The process has begun. As soon as I handed him over, that was it. The decision was sealed-"
"What are they going to do to him?" Katniss demanded to know.
"I can't tell you-"
"Tell me!" Katniss screamed.
Madge looked taken aback by Katniss' screaming at her but recovered quickly, the shock on her face only lasting on her face for a second before disappearing again into an unreadable mask. "Normally, if he had been a virgin, they would have taken that from him. Luckily, you saved him from that. But . . . they'll strip him of his dignity, make him angry so that his blood is hot and at it's most delicious point, then . . . then . . ."
"What Madge, what?" Katniss insisted.
"Once boiling with anger, blood tastes the best when it's awash with . . . with . . ."
"Oh my god Madge, just say it already!"
"Lust!" Madge snapped. "They're gonna make him fucking horny alright?! Then they'll fucking drink him! You happy?!"
Katniss fell silent. That wasn't what she was expecting Madge to say. The council couldn't possibly do that to Peeta, could they? Then again, since Cato had disappeared, three quarters of the council were women. Glimmer and Clove. Could they manage . . . ?
"Take me there," Katniss said. Madge's eyes widened in horror.
"What?"
"Either take me there or give me the mirror code for the council room," Katniss said. "I'm going to get him."
"Katniss, you can't-"
"I'm not letting Peeta die like that Madge!" Katniss yelled. "It's not fair! He hasn't done anything wrong, why should he die in such a horrific way?! No, I'm going to get him, and I'm going to drink him in a way that gives him dignity."
"Katniss, please-"
"No Madge! It's not fair! You're right, he loves me! And . . . and . . . I love him! I'm not letting the Careers do this to him! And you owe me. So let me go to them. Let me save him."
Madge scoffed and shook her head. "You're mad," she muttered.
"Just let me save him," Katniss begged. "Please."
Her mentor sighed and took her hand, tracing a serious of patterns into her palm. Katniss memorized each stroke of her finger to memory. "That's the code to the council room. You can go on your own. You found your sire. They released Finnick because I gave them Peeta. You're no longer my burden," Madge said.
With those last words, she disappeared.
Repeating the pattern over and over in her mind, Katniss hurried to the gate way mirror and traced the sequence onto her reflection. Taking one last look at the building site behind her. She steeled herself and whispered, "I'm coming Peeta."
Then stepped through the mirror.
A/N: Please R&R! :)
