5.
The tension in Haymitch's library was thick enough that it could have been cut with a knife.
Peeta kept to himself on his side of the table, a few books piled in front of him, trying to find a picture of the demon Katniss had described. The Slayer was sitting a few feet away from him on his right, her own stock of books open in front of her. She was scowling at the old yellowed pages so hard he wouldn't have been surprised if they had caught fire. On Katniss' right, at a greater distance, sat Gale. The boy was slumped in his chair, still looking pale and tired, deep dark bags under his eyes and his left arm strapped to his chest. He was skimming through a book too but it was obvious his head wasn't really in the game. As for Haymitch, he was checking his own pile, regularly drinking from a mug of tea Peeta was pretty sure was spiked.
Gale kept tossing Katniss covert looks. Katniss glared harder at her book every time it happened. Haymitch glowered at his tea and regularly made it very clear through his groans that he was a very unhappy man – mostly because Katniss had retold them the events of the previous night so they would know what to look for and he had ended up lecturing Gale about stupidity and unnecessary heroics for a good fifteen minutes. Gale hadn't liked that but he had only snapped back a couple of times, apparently too tired to get into a real proper fight. Still, the tension was unbearable and Peeta was watching everyone, waiting for the whole thing to blow apart.
Truth be told, he blamed himself a little too. If he hadn't pushed Katniss away, kept his distances… He had promised her he would be her sidekick and he had let her down. He was under no misconception that he could have stopped that demon but he could have helped a little more.
The worst part by far was that when she had called the previous night, a part of him had hesitated riding to the rescue. For a second, only. A heartbeat. But he had hesitated because he had known he would get into more troubles. And he very well might still do.
He hadn't been discreet enough when he had sneaked out, the urgency of the situation taking precedence on his need to stay out of his parents' way. They had heard him go out and they had been there waiting when he had gotten home with Gale's blood on his shirt. He hadn't even tried to explain because there was never any point explaining himself. It never changed the end result.
His father, at least, had convinced his mother to go back to bed before she could really start getting angry. That morning, Peeta had made sure to leave extremely early, after his father had left for the bakery before dawn but before his mother got up to join him. He should have been there right now and he knew that missing a shift at the bakery without explanation on top of it all would prove to be reckless but… A part of him simply didn't care anymore.
His mother had called him three times and had filled his voicemails with messages he hadn't bothered listening to. He doubted she was worried about his whereabouts. His father had sent one text, asking if he was alright. That one he had answered after some deliberation. The reply he had gotten suggested he should maybe have a sleepover at one of his friends' house that night so his mother had time to cool off.
He hadn't bothered explaining he didn't exactly have friends anymore. He used to crash at Cato's or Marvel's when he couldn't do otherwise but now… It would be weird to ask Katniss. He could ask Haymitch, he figured, he didn't doubt the Watcher would let him sleep on his couch but Haymitch was already suspicious something was wrong and…
"Boy."
Peeta looked up at the sound of Haymitch's voice and followed the teacher's grey eyes to his own hand. It was bundled into a tight fist and to make matter worse, it was shaking. He forced himself to relax and ignore the curious looks of the other two teenagers in the room. He also ignored the man's concerned gaze.
The tension rose up another notch.
All in all, it was a relief when they heard the front door opening, followed by the now familiar clicking of high heels.
"This is a disaster!" Effie exclaimed with real anguish before she was even in the room. "I cannot believe this is happening! What are we to do?"
Haymitch was already half out of his seat when she finally came into view, wearing a weird green dress with a large golden belt. "The Careers?"
The worry in his voice was palpable.
Effie frowned and waved her hand in dismissal. "No. Take your head out of the occult for a second. I am talking about the talent show! Can you believe that now, not only Livia will not be performing… Not that I can blame her, poor thing, I would not be caught dead in public with warts on my face either… But just when I told Fanny she should take her spot, she went and broke her leg? I do not even know how she managed it! One second she was standing, the next she was on the floor twisting in pain." She took a deep breath and let it out in an upset huff. "I do suspect someone is playing with magic at school, Haymitch, and we need to stop them before they destroy my show! I am lacking two performers and a closing act now!"
They were all gaping at her but if she noticed she didn't let on.
They had all skipped the talent show rehearsal to get a move on the researching but the Art teacher had to go.
"A woman is dead." Katniss reminded her in a hiss.
"Oh?" Effie asked with polite interest. "Are we certain it was the demon's doing, then?"
"No." Haymitch cut in, still watching her as if she was completely crazy. "No organ missing, no trace of mauling. There were scratches but nothing like what Hawthorne got out of the fight." He made a mocking face. "Still a little more important than a stupid school show."
Effie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him so bad they almost looked like slits. "A talent show is not stupid. All the more so if my reputation is on the line."
Haymitch looked at her as if she had grown a second head and Peeta was pretty sure the Watcher was done being polite about this so he cleared his throat. "We could use some help with research?"
"Oh, naturally!" Effie flashed him a grin and took a seat at the table but not before fishing an Ipad out of her purse. "You will excuse me I like to live in my own century. Why pore over musty old books when I can have them all under my fingertips?" Haymitch opened his mouth with an offended expression but she either ignored him or had anticipated the retort because she was quicker and didn't even stop to breathe. "Have you checked Claudius Templesmith's Daemonium Glossary, Haymitch?"
"No." Haymitch sneered. "'Cause it's my first rodeo as a Watcher and I need you to tell me how to do my job."
"How big of you to admit it." she hummed.
Peeta looked up from his book again, amused by the exchange. He glanced at Katniss but she was rolling her eyes, apparently missing the playfulness under the banter.
"Ain't you just chirpy today." the History teacher scoffed.
"I had an excellent night." Effie grinned. "Well… Aside for the trip to the hospital. I do hope you are feeling better, Gale?"
Gale startled, having not expected to be called out. He nodded and mumbled an affirmation and then kept on reading – or pretending to.
From time to time, one of them would point an illustration out to Katniss and Gale and ask if that was the demon in question but for the most part of half an hour, there was no progress. Until Katniss, who had slumped on the table at some point and was now flicking pages over without energy, suddenly bolted upright, clutching the book closer.
"This one." she said. "It was this one. I can't read that name."
Peeta leaned in to take a look and the name had far too many vowels and consonant in it, something German perhaps. Something none of them could say without sounding like idiots – at least until Effie took a look and uttered it without faltering, the sound flowing so naturally out of her mouth you would have thought it was her mother tongue.
"A wish demon." Haymitch muttered, taking the book from Katniss.
"They do not in live in this dimension and can only cross if they are summoned. They drain life force in exchange for their wish. A person's remaining years if you will." Effie added, without checking the book. "Rarely the caster's, which is a plus if you do not mind being responsible for someone being dead." Faced with four pairs of eyes that ranged from incredulous to suspicious, she lifted her hands in the air. "I obviously do."
"Explains the homeless woman, at least." Haymitch added. "He just stole the rest of her life from her and she just… died."
"Why didn't he do it to us, then?" Gale asked.
"'Cause it's one life for one wish." The Watcher shrugged. "Fair trade."
Katniss frowned. "Depends for whom."
"Yeah." Haymitch agreed. "And it doesn't mean, that demon ain't gonna maim someone in the meantime. They ain't exactly bright."
"But you said it had to be summoned." Peeta cut in. "That means someone's responsible."
"Then we kill the demon and after that we stop them." Katniss declared.
"If they're human, you can't kill them." Haymitch warned and, at Katniss' begrudged face, he made one of his own. "Yeah, I know the feeling. But that's a ground rule for you: if any human really needs to be killed... I'm gonna do it."
"No, you are not." Effie countered, uncharacteristically serious. "The Council do not condone murder."
"Oh, please." Haymitch scoffed. "Do not give me the party line. That's bullshit and you know it."
Did she? Peeta couldn't tell. Her face was blank.
"How do we find the witch or wizard?" he asked, half hoping it would involve some magic of their own. He was eager to see more of Effie's magic. He was a little intrigued and the fact that most of the books agreed almost anyone could cast a spell was appealing. You needed inner magical power to become powerful but basic spells were accessible to anyone. He liked that. A lot.
Effie's long silver and pink nails drummed on the round wooden table thoughtfully and then she looked at Haymitch who was staring at the book, clearly thinking. "Do you agree with me?"
Given that she hadn't ventured any theory aloud, Peeta wasn't sure how he could but, surprisingly, he nodded slowly. "That's sloppy work. We're looking at an amateur. Maybe someone who doesn't even know what they've done. Thought they were having some fun and ended up with a demon."
"Why?" Katniss asked. "Why do you think that?"
"The demon is on the loose." Effie explained. "That sort of demon… Anyone with a little experience with magic would have summoned it inside a restrictive circle and kept him there. Feed him instead of letting it wander. Less dangerous, more contained."
"The magical incidents at school." Peeta said suddenly. "Livia's warts and… You said Fanny broke her leg?"
Again, the two Watchers exchanged a look.
"Possible." Haymitch eventually commented.
"Someone wished Livia would get a few spots and Fanny would break her leg?" Katniss scoffed, incredulous. "Why? I mean if you can wish for anything… I'd want… I'd want my father back. And money."
"Never try to bring back the dead, dear." Effie warned quite firmly. "Not with a wish, not with a spell, not with anything. What is dead should remain dead."
The warning sounded ominous and Katniss was glaring at her a little so Peeta cleared his throat again. "I wouldn't mind being a few years older."
"Ask that of a wish demon and you're gonna find yourself a hundred." Haymitch shook his head. "You've never read any fairytales? Wishes never turn out the way you want them to. That kind of magic always comes with a price."
That wasn't quite how Disney had spun it, Peeta mused.
"All kind of magic always comes with a price." Effie corrected softly. She lifted her hand and summoned a fireball. It flared in her palm, so warm Peeta could feel it from where he was sitting. She made it look so easy though… "Magic feeds on me, like any muscles would. It requires energy, focus and strength. With training, it is perfectly safe, a tool like any other but…"
"Swallow more than you can chew and you will end up dead very fast." Haymitch finished when her sentence trailed off. "Which is why I don't like doing that kind of stuff myself."
"It can be addictive and it can be hard to find one's limits." the witch agreed, making the fireball disappear with a twist of her wrist. It really was a neat trick.
"Okay." Katniss interrupted, obviously bored with the magic lesson. "So you think someone's at school is playing with magic?"
"I think someone at school played at reciting an incantation and did not expect it to work." Effie confirmed. "A little like saying Bloody Mary three times in front of a mirror – which, for the record, I highly advise against on a Hellmouth."
Peeta's stomach twisted in a very bad way and he started feeling a little sick. He looked at Gale but the boy didn't glance at him at all.
"So you think Livia and Fanny were accidents?" he clarified. "Whoever did this just… thought they wished them to have warts and break a leg in the moment and… It happened?"
"It's possible." Haymitch granted. "They may not have been specific targets. Let's say the caster thought 'I wish someone broke a leg so we could get out of here quicker'… It'd do the trick. That kind of magic… Can be really unstable."
Effie frowned. "Who would think that sort of things?"
"Probably best I didn't summon a wish demon." Haymitch smirked.
"So, they wouldn't have had to be at school this afternoon?" Peeta insisted. "It could have just… been anyone instead of Fanny?"
"It is a little suspicious someone gets hurt every time I give them the star spot." Effie countered.
But Peeta's gaze had turned back to Gale once more. And Katniss was picking up on it.
"What's going on?" the girl asked.
Gale finally met his eyes and Peeta swallowed hard, thinking back to the conversation they had had a few days ago. The nagging suspicion wouldn't go away.
"Did you do something?" he confronted at last.
Gale's face closed off into a scowl. "I don't know what you mean."
"You know exactly what I mean." Peeta accused. "You wanted to use magic. Did you try something?"
"Use magic?" Katniss repeated, folding her arms in front of her chest. "What for? You said magic was evil."
"Magic is not evil!"Effie exclaimed with a huff. "How preposterous!"
"Magic for what?" Haymitch growled at the same time.
Gale was glaring at him but Peeta couldn't even begin to care. If the other boy had been stupid enough to summon a wish demon without reading the fine prints…
"I didn't do anything." Gale snapped. "And magic is unnatural."
"Unnatural does not equal evil." Effie hissed. "What does it even mean? Unnatural. That is a deeply offensive term."
"He asked me if I thought we could use magic to transfer Katniss' Slayer powers to someone else." Peeta confessed and it felt good because it had never sat right with him in the first place. And, also, maybe because he really hadn't liked the sneaking around Gale had forced him to take a part in.
"What?" Katniss asked in a blank voice.
Effie gasped.
Haymitch was across the room before Peeta could blink. He heard the pained cry before he even registered the man had Gale pinned to the wall by the collar of his shirt.
"Stupid boy. You could have killed her." the Watcher spat.
"Haymitch." Effie called in a warning tone – not quite disapproving though. Gale tried to swing his good arm but Haymitch easily avoided the punch. He wouldn't have avoided the kick to the groin if frost hadn't suddenly stuck Gale's legs to the wall though. Effie was standing up now and her hands were in the air. "Haymitch, step back. He is just a child."
"He could have killed her." Haymitch repeated, pure rage in his voice. "The only way for another Slayer to be called…"
"I know. Please let him go I do not want to have to hurt you." she cut him off.
But she would, Peeta realized, because Haymitch looked ready to murder Gale. It was almost a whole minute before the Watcher stepped back. Frost crept up Gale's torso, keeping him up against the wall though.
"I didn't do anything." Gale snarled. "I just asked if it was doable. I didn't…"
"Shut up." Katniss' voice rose, hard and unflinching.
"I was just trying to help you." the boy insisted. Haymitch let out a loud scoff and only simmered down again when Effie laid a hand on his arm. The noise seemed to infuriate Gale, he glanced at the adults and then back at her. "You're going to get yourself killed."
Katniss stared at him hard and then turned toward Peeta, looking very very pissed. "How long have you known about this?"
"He came to me with it a few days ago." Peeta admitted. "I wasn't sure you knew or not."
"You should have come straight to me." she snapped.
And she was right. He knew she was right. He had known going to her was the thing to do the moment Gale had started talking about forcing the Slayer power on Effie. "I'm sorry."
"You should be." she hissed, turning her gaze to Effie. "Let him go."
Effie didn't discuss it. The frost dissolved into mist and Gale slid down until his feet hit the ground. He held his bad arm with his good hand and looked back at Katniss with a crazy sort of intensity.
"Please, Catnip. You have to see…" he started.
"Did you do it?" she asked. "And don't you dare lie to me. We'll find out anyway."
Gale shook his head. "I wouldn't touch magic. I asked Mellark 'cause I knew he was into that stuff." He took a step closer to Katniss and then stopped, probably because her glare alone would have been enough to make an army reconsider. "But don't you see? We could do it. Pass your power along to someone else. Trinket could take it. You don't have to be the Slayer."
"No." Katniss snapped. "I don't. But I want to be."
"It wouldn't work." Haymitch growled. "First, Trinket's too old to be called. Second, the Slayer mantle ain't something you can just pass along when you don't want it. It's a fucking destiny. It's a legacy. Trying to do what you're talking about would be spitting on the grave of every girl who came before. It's…"
"Haymitch, I wouldn't go along with it even if it was possible." Katniss interrupted. "Calm down."
"It would have killed you." the Watcher spat. "If he had gone through with it. You'd be dead." He turned to Peeta, anger blazing in his eyes. "And you. You should have come to me the second he told you that stupid plan. I trusted you to be smart but maybe Trinket was right. Maybe you've got no business being involved at all."
Peeta flinched and looked down. It was deserved, he knew, but it still hurt.
"Alright." Effie said after clearing her throat. "Back to business. We still have a demon to stop."
"How do I kill it?" Katniss asked coldly.
Haymitch was too busy glowering to answer so Effie kept on talking after a hesitant look his way. "His fur is too thick for stabbing. Beheading would work best, assuming you find him."
"What if I don't?" she replied. "How do we find the one who summoned him?"
Effie nervously played with the bangles on her wrist. "I still believe this is linked to the talent show. The two girls I gave the star spot to were targeted, I find that unlikely to be a coincidence. Perhaps one of you could infiltrate the performers."
"Katniss can sing." Peeta suggested.
Katniss could also glare.
"When she sings birds stop to listen." Gale confirmed in a mutter.
He got a glare too.
"Let's try to find the demon tonight and put an end to this sorry thing." Haymitch grumbled, checking the clock. "We should get a move on. Do an early sweep in the cemetery and then tackle the same town area you found him in yesterday."
"I'll grab the weapons." Peeta volunteered.
"No." Katniss' voice lashed out like a whip. "You and Gale are going home. I don't need you."
"But…" he tried to argue.
Gale was hurt, it made sense he wouldn't be coming but he could help.
"Let me be clearer." she snapped. "I don't want you anywhere near me. You both lied to me and kept secrets."
"You need back-up." Gale argued. "You can't…"
"Oh, for the love of…" Effie muttered, clearly losing her cool. "She is the Slayer, boy. She does not need back-up – which is not to say she won't have it anyway because Haymitch and I are coming along – nevertheless you need to get over your little misconception that she needs you to protect her because she is perfectly capable of defending herself."
Gale sneered at her. "You'd say that. You're a witch. Who says you're not on the demons' side?"
Haymitch gritted his teeth. "Can I punch him now?"
"You will do no such thing." Effie huffed, narrowing her eyes at Gale. "But I advise you leave before I really lose my temper. I find it harder to control my powers then."
She wriggled her fingers in the air meaningfully. It was mostly for show and probably not a real threat but Gale flinched all the same. He reached for Katniss but she avoided his hand.
"Please." Gale requested with desperate eyes.
"Get out." Katniss hissed before turning to Peeta. "You too."
She was too angry to listen right then and she had a right to be so Peeta nodded and grabbed his stuff.
"I'm really sorry." he insisted, a little hesitantly. "I'd never have gone along with it and I was going to tell you."
It hurt that everyone was pissed at him when he left.
It hurt even more to realize he didn't have a place to go when he got in his car.
He could head back home, of course, but that implied facing his mother after his father had warned him not to.
In the end he ended up driving at random in hope he would spot the demon and could warn the others. He didn't find anything so he drove back to the Village and parked the car near the entrance. He would be less likely to be picked up by a police patrol or wayward vampires there.
He settled on the backseat and try not to mind the cold too much as he closed his eyes. He was just starting to doze off when someone knocked on the window. He startled and jumped upright, his eyes falling straight into Effie's. Her headlights were piercing the night behind her.
She must have spotted him on her way back from patrol.
He opened the back door, his cheeks flushed. "Did you find the demon?"
"No trace." she answered distractedly, a frown on her face. "What are you doing here?"
He opened and closed his mouth but no clever lie came to his lips.
Her frown deepened. "Please, do not tell me you were planning on sleeping in your car."
"I was tired. I just wanted to rest a little." he denied. "I'm going to go home now."
She pursed her lips and it was so obvious she knew he was lying…
"Or you could use my guest room." she offered. "It is not entirely finished yet but there is a bed. That can only be more comfortable than your car." The offer was so unexpected that he wasn't sure what to answer at first. She sighed. "Peeta, dear, I will not force you to talk about your home situation but you must realize Haymitch and I are not unaware something is wrong there. It is alright if you do not trust us enough to confide yet but you should trust us enough to ask for a place to sleep when you need it."
"Haymitch is angry with me." he mumbled.
"Haymitch will not turn you away just because he is angry with you." she replied. "And, even so, did I give any inkling I was angry with you?"
"I don't know you as well." he pointed out. "I can't just show up on my Art teacher's doorstep and expect her to take me in."
Her face softened and she smiled. "Yes, you can. Consider that an open invitation. I would rather have you as my guest than learn tomorrow morning you were killed by vampires because you were sleeping in your car. Come on now, follow me home. Have you eaten? I could order some take-out."
Effie Trinket, he soon learned, was a hurricane and, bewildered, he was swept in her wake. She wasn't happy until he was fed and settled down in her – very pink – guest room. She didn't ask questions and she didn't pry although the invitation to talk if he so wished was obvious.
He had never been so grateful to anyone else in his life.
The plot thickens... What did you think?