5.
Effie hated the bike.
There was something very hot about a man with a bike and there was definitely something very hot in watching Haymitch on that bike but she, personally, hated it. She was certain her hair would be a mess when she would take the helmet off and he was driving so fast and took so many sharp turns that her stomach was in her throat. She was certain they were going to die.
She was so busy worrying about their near certain death that she forgot to worry about her magic.
Although, she mused when the bike finally rumbled to a stop in a nondescript narrow alley, perhaps that had been the point all along.
It took her a second to unlock her arms from around Haymitch's waist. He was already taking off his helmet and running a hand in his hair in a practiced and unconscious gesture. When he eased off the bike, it swayed under her.
"You're good?" he asked.
Her arms and legs were cramping, she was pretty sure she was shaking and that was without considering how atrocious her hair must have been. She let out a shaky breath and accepted the hand he offered to help her get off.
The single minute it took her to ascertain she was in one piece, that her hair wasn't that bad and that her legs would keep on supporting her was enough for Haymitch to space out. His gaze was directed at a specific point behind the bike. Effie glanced there with curiosity but there was nothing to see.
At least for her.
"Haymitch, they are not real." she reminded him softly.
That was why he had wanted her with him, wasn't it? To distract him? To keep him grounded?
He didn't answer her, his eyes were riveted to that spot of empty air, his breathing sounded painful… She remembered that pain very well. She had been experiencing it more and more since the previous night. Every time she let herself go into panic mode…
She placed a hand on his shoulder and used it as leverage to raise on tiptoes. The contact was enough to jolt him out of his hallucination but she didn't stop there, she pressed a kiss on his lips, probing at his bottom lip with her tongue until he opened his mouth for her, until he wrapped his arms around her… Once he responded to her kiss, she drew back a little.
"Better?" she asked.
He blinked, licked his lips and snorted. "Yeah."
"Good." She grinned. She felt foolish about it but she couldn't really help herself. "Then, let's get to work."
She nodded at the nondescript door of the bar and he gave a grim nod back. "Follow my lead."
That was not something she liked to hear but she would make do, she decided, if only because it was her first visit to the demon bar and he knew the place and its rules better than she did.
It might have been her first time at Ripper's but it wasn't her first demon bar by far.
She spared a second to wonder why all of them had to look so terribly shabby with their flickering pale lights and the strong smell of something unpleasant in the air… Why didn't demons like a good coffee shop or even a pretty tea parlor? Something clean, respectable and where she wouldn't have been scared to touch anything for fear of staining her clothes.
Haymitch headed straight to the bar, completely ignoring the few patrons who seemed to recede in the shadows as soon as they spotted him. A couple of people she suspected to be vampires immediately stood up and disappeared through a door at the back. She supposed it led to the town sewers. That was how most vampires moved around during the day.
"Ripper." Haymitch greeted without much warmth. There was no warmth either on the face of the woman who was tending the counter. She looked irritated. Again, if he noticed, he didn't show it. "Heard anything I should know?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." the half-demon grumbled, wiping off a glass with a kitchen cloth in what must have been the greatest cliché of every bartender ever – if not a health regulation infraction.
"Look." Haymitch said, slamming both hands on the counter. His lips were set in a tight line, his grey eyes were cold and dark, and, for the first time, Effie thought he looked frightening. "I've got two scared kids, one very very volatile Slayer, a cranky witch and I've been seeing dead people for two days. You tell me if you want to push me with those odds, Ripper."
The old woman studied him for a long time and then her gaze finally travelled to Effie, taking her in, gauging her maybe, before darting back to the few customers left. The half-demon looked as if she had swallowed something sour. "We're closing."
Some of them didn't need to be told twice and rushed out the door but, of course, because demons always have to be difficult the two Vahrall demons sitting at a booth in a corner decided to make things difficult. Effie hated Vahrall demons. Not only were they ugly with their scaly grey face and their medieval gear but they were tall and freakishly strong and that was without forgetting the razor-sharp fingernails. Fortunately, they were also stupid.
"We do not bow to the vow of humans." one of them hissed, disgust and hatred in his voice.
Effie's whole body shuddered. Something in her, something deep and dark and pulsing revolted against the outrage. She could hear it in her head again. The tempting chant of the Hellmouth, promising power beyond her dreams. The words left her mouth without her consent and echoed in the now empty bar with a power she hadn't meant to display. "You will bow to mine."
She immediately clamped her mouth shut, resolutely ignored the tempting voice in her head, the sweet throb of dark magic that was just at her fingertips…
"Sweetheart." Haymitch called, his voice measured. He didn't reach out for her but he pulled out the cutlass from his belt. "Remember who you are, yeah? This is all a trick. You're a good witch. You're stronger than this."
She couldn't suppress the surge of her own powers. Her hands glowed golden and it was all she could do not to lash out. She basked in the soft halo and the Vahrall demons seemed to hesitate. For a good second.
Then, obviously, they charged despite Ripper's frantic cries to take it outside.
Haymitch immediately rushed ahead, planting his body between Effie and the two demons, giving her the range she needed to work her magic. She chose to target the demon on the right because he was about to bash Haymitch's head in with a club.
It was easy.
So easy.
She outstretched her hand and the demon flew off despite his weight. He slammed against the far wall and frost immediately covered him from head to toes, turning him into an ice statue. She turned back to the fight but Haymitch had that well in hand. He was avoiding the direct hits of the demon, letting him charge only to slash at his back once he had crashed in a table or a chair… They were leaving a lot of destruction in their wake.
"Should I finish this or will it hurt your manhood?" she joked, trying to sound normal. Teasing. Funny. Not like she was barely holding on by a finger to a very scary cliff. Not like she was about to plummet in a sea of darkness.
"Give me a second." he retorted, a bit out of breath "We can't all be a magical goddess."
He tripped the demon who landed flat on his face, encumbered by his bulk and the weight of his armor, and he slammed the cutlass down, pinning the now dead Varhall to the floor in a puddle of dark sticky blood. He had some on his clothes and there were quite a few gashes on his face and arms.
"Goddess?" she repeated when he pulled out the cutlass and wiped it clean on the demon's clothes. Something in her, something that terrified her, liked that moniker a little too much. She took a deep breath, not quite surprised when it hurt.
"Don't let that go to your head." he snorted, jerking his chin in the direction of her ice sculpture. "That one's dead?"
She winced. "I am not sure. I don't think I should be killing anything right now."
She didn't explain why but she apparently didn't need to tell him she was teetering on the edge because he nodded his understanding. "Unthaw his head, yeah? They're not the kind I'm comfortable letting hang out in town."
She did as he wished, not surprised at all when he beheaded the demon. It was messy and all the while Ripper protested about her bar, the damages, the cost of the repairs and Haymitch's apparently recurrent tendency to trash her business. They both pretended they didn't hear her.
When he finally turned back to the half-demon cowering behind the bar, he was even more frightening than before, half covered in dark blood, and Effie briefly wondered if the whole killing thing had been purely for effect.
"So." Haymitch snapped. "You want me to take off the other arm or you're gonna tell me what you know?"
Ripper glared at him. "I don't know anything."
Haymitch's jaw clenched. "Maybe I should just let my witch here burn the bar down. Told you she's cranky. Bad time of the month."
"Careful." Effie hissed. "I might burn you down."
He shot her an amused look and a smug smirk. "You'd miss me."
"I am not certain." she huffed.
"Can you go flirt somewhere else?" Ripper snapped, placing her only fist on her hip in a crossed gesture that looked oddly asymmetrical because of her missing arm. "I swear I didn't hear anything. Much." She made a face. "Maybe a rumor. You know how it is. A Fyarl tells a vampire who tells another vampire who tells a vengeance demon…"
"Perhaps you could get to the point." Effie helpfully suggested, staring at her golden glowing hands. She couldn't will the magic away. Panic was coiling in her belly and it hurt to breathe. A part of her was convinced she was going to die if she didn't embrace the Hellmouth, if she didn't follow in her mother's footsteps, if…
"Might have heard a fear demon got it into his head to off the Slayer." Ripper sighed.
"Not the Careers?" Haymitch insisted. "Heard nothing about them? Or Snow?"
The half-demon glared at him. "Told you already. If I hear something about that, I'll let you know. I don't want to go back to those days any more than you do. Not many people do. Snow wasn't a kind ruler, boy." She shook her head. "Only your mother…"
"Don't talk about my mother." Haymitch spat, his eyes darting to the side, betraying exactly who he was seeing in that bar.
"What sort of fear demon?" Effie asked, trying to remain focused. "Or which one?"
There were so many…
"A Lachnoc." Ripper reluctantly answered. "That's all I know. Now get out of my bar."
"Rude." Effie clucked her tongue. "I assure you I have little love for your establishment. You should seize the opportunity to redecorate."
She headed to the door, only glancing back once to make sure Haymitch was following her. She blinked at the sunlight outside, it seemed too bright after the bar's dull neon lamps.
"I am not entirely familiar with Lachnoc demons." she admitted. "But the name should considerably facilitate the researching process and… Don't."
She tried to tear her glowing hand out of his, terrified sick her magic would hurt him.
"It's alright." he promised in a soothing voice, squeezing her glowing fingers. "It's okay. All good. Here. See? You ain't hurting me. You're in control."
"I am really not." she breathed out, thinking back to how easy it had been to send that demon flying. Usually, it was the kind of feat that would have left her with a nosebleed at the very least. At the moment, it simply left her yearning for more. If she gave in to it, she would perform bigger and bigger spells until the magic burned her alive. "Please…"
But instead of releasing her, he brought her hand to his face. She understood what he wanted and, with a blink, she healed the small gashes. And, because it was disgusting and she was expected to hold tight to him when they would go back on that bike, she also made the blood from his clothes disappear. He smirked. "See? White magic. Healing magic."
"You should tell that to the Varhall I just iced." she countered, leaning against his chest. "I am losing…"
"That's just the demon messing with your head. Just like my ghosts." he cut her off. "You're fine."
"My mother was probably in control at some point too, you know." she whispered. "She still is. That is the frightening part. She chooses to use dark forces. What if…"
"You ain't like that." He pressed a kiss against her hair. "Let's grab breakfast before we go back home, yeah? I could use the break."
"Katniss will worry." She frowned. "And…"
"I'm gonna text the girl, the kids can get a head start on the researching. They can survive without us for half an hour." he offered. "And you're good. Look."
She did look and her hands had stopped glowing, the dread had disappeared and it didn't hurt that much to breathe. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to better look at him. "Are you distracting me on purpose?"
His smirk was impish and there was a twinkle in his eyes. "I've got more tricks to distract you, you know. We could skip breakfast and find a motel too… That comment you made about magic being better than sex's still hurting my feelings a little."
She whacked his shoulder, unable to fight her own smile. "Ruffian."
He handed her the spare helmet. "So that's a no to the sex, yeah?"
"I could kill for a muffin." she replied very seriously.
He rolled his eyes but the smirk was still stretching his lips and he got on the bike, leaving her very little time to settle behind him before kicking it to life. "Let's feed you, then."
They went to Greasy Sae's. So early on a Sunday, the diner was practically deserted. They picked a booth in a corner and Effie spent the five minutes necessary for Haymitch to send his text to the children staring at her own hands, scared they would start glowing again. She was so busy dreading losing control that she startled when Haymitch's fingers covered hers.
He took them away before she could say anything. The reason became obvious when a black-haired woman in a waitress uniform stopped next to their table with a bright smile. "Hey, Haymitch! Early morning?"
"Something like that, yeah." Haymitch snorted.
The conversation evolved into chit-chat Effie had zero interest listening in. The tag on the woman's chest informed her she was named Hazelle and the way she smiled and tilted her head every time Haymitch cracked a – not so funny – joke told her she wanted to sleep with him. Haymitch was uncharacteristically charming, flirty even.
Effie grabbed a small paper packet of sugar and started banging it on the table, a little irritated to be so easily ignored by both parties.
"Oh, by the way…" Hazelle frowned, suddenly turning serious again. "Everything's alright with Aster and the girls? We haven't seen them around the trailer park and Gale's in a state… I told him to wait and see at school on Monday but…"
Hadn't the Hawthorne boy mentioned that his mother was working at Sae's dinner? Or perhaps it was Katniss who had told her that. Anyway, the dots weren't difficult to connect and Effie privately thought it was no wonder she didn't like the woman if she had raised that particular child.
"They're fine." Haymitch hurried in reassuring her. "Aster's gonna be at a clinic for a while… You know… It was time. The girls are living with me for now."
"Oh, that's good." Hazelle nodded with a smile that made it very hard for Effie not to roll her eyes. Of course, it was good. The woman clearly thought Haymitch to be some sort of knight in shining armor who loved children and she probably had those in spare. Effie could already tell the woman was picturing him becoming the new father to her brood.
"I am loathe to interrupt your catching up but may we order?" she cut in. They were wasting time and she hated the thought of the children alone when they were all battling their inner demons.
The look Hazelle tossed her would have chilled a charging Vahrall demon on the spot. Effie simply flashed her her best polite smile and didn't even blink. She could feel the telltale tingling in her fingertips though and the urge to hurt that woman who was clearly coveting what was hers was difficult to suppress. Hazelle did take their orders though, once it was clear Haymitch wouldn't jump to her defense, and Effie only allowed herself to breathe again once she was gone.
"Well. I understand why you come here so often." she huffed.
The smirk on his lips was more amused than annoyed. "Don't read me the jealous act, sweetheart."
"Jealous?" she repeated with a scorn. "I am certainly not jealous."
"Good." He shrugged. "Cause she's pretty but you look like a model so there's really no need to compare."
There was a compliment underneath that awkward turn of phrase so she let it rest. Still, she pursed her lips and banged the small paper sugar packet harder against the table. "She wants to sleep with you, in case you were wondering."
"Wasn't really." The smirk widened. "Not really interested right now."
The way he looked at her told her exactly who he was interested in sleeping with and she relaxed a little, just in time for Hazelle to bring the coffee they had ordered as well as the food. Effie's muffin looked a bit stale but it wasn't worth complaining about. She waited until the woman was back behind her counter to speak again, making sure to keep her voice low. "We agreed on casual."
And she wasn't certain they had been doing a very good job at keeping it thus.
"Yeah." he said, a bit subdued, before stabbing his eggs with his fork. "Ain't like this is a date or some shit, you know. You can relax. Just thought we needed some air before we go back to the house. The kids are good but sometimes… They're a bit much, you know?"
She did know. She loved them but she did know.
"Of course it is not a date." she retorted. "Dates do not involve demons."
His eyebrows shot up, his mouth twitching in bitter amusement. "All the dates I've ever been on had demons."
She shook her head, amused despite herself. "It is sad."
"Guess it is." he answered, a little too seriously. "Look, Effie…"
"You said I was your witch." she interrupted him. "Back at the bar. You said my witch."
He remained silent for a long time, his eyes on his plate, eating to forego answering… She nibbled on her muffin, drinking sips of coffee to make it a little more edible… She didn't try to rush him. Somehow, she knew it wouldn't be helpful at all.
"All the women I've ever got attached to one way or another died." he declared after a while. "Doesn't help that most of them were Slayers…"
"Mags is still alive." she pointed out. "And last I heard she is recovering."
"Yeah. Talked to her last week." A real smile touched his lips but it was short lived. "She can't speak well yet. Or long. But Finnick's finally got off his high horse long enough to keep me updated so… Progress." He waved his hand, dismissing that line of conversation. "Ain't the point. The point is…"
The point was obvious at the way his eyes had drifted to the side and remained riveted there, at the way his breath hitched and remained stuck in his chest…
"I am not leaving." she interrupted before he could renew his ridiculous request.
He licked his lips, took a deep painful breath, and slowly redirected his gaze to her. There was an intensity there, she wasn't sure she liked. "At the very least, you should consider leaving me, Princess. I meant what I said. Snow comes back… We've got a twisted game going on. He finds out we're sleeping together, casual or not, you're the first he's gonna target and I… I don't want you to get hurt."
He rushed the words out and seemed at a loss once he was done. He looked down at his plate, grabbed another forkful only to drop it down and push the whole thing away, his appetite clearly spoiled.
The muffin wasn't appealing enough and she was too aware that Haymitch's phone hadn't pinged back with an answering text from the children acknowledging what they had found out.
"Que sera sera." she whispered. He frowned but she dismissed the implicit question with a flick of her wrist. "I know our life is dangerous, Haymitch. I can take care of myself."
"You've got no idea what Snow's capable of." he argued. "If…"
"He is not free yet." she cut him off. "Our current objective is to stop the Careers before it can get to that and we should focus on it." She softened a little. "I think we should go home. How delightful as this non-date was."
He rolled his eyes but his shoulders lost some of their tension. "Fine."
He tossed a couple of bills on the table and stood up. She couldn't resist the urge to tease him. "Oh, you are paying. How gentlemanly of you…"
"Stop." he grumbled, leading her out with a hand at the small of her back. She wasn't even sure he realized what he was doing so she kept it to herself, fighting the grin off her lips. When they were at the bike, he put the helmet back on her head himself and made sure it was clipped before rapping his knuckles on top of it. He looked serious again. "Fate's a bitch and I've got a bad gut feeling."
Fate… She thought back about what she had confessed the other night, about how her coming there and meeting him so many years after the time she might have become the Slayer felt too much like it was all part of a plan… Would it mean her death? Was there really any point in wondering?
"It might be the Lachnoc demon." she pointed out and then flashed him a teasing smile. "Or that terrible food your friend just served us."
For a second, she thought he was going to lose his temper but then he simply snorted. "Let's go home and fight ourselves a fear demon."
"You do have weird date ideas." she mocked, letting him climb on the bike first so she could slip behind him.
"Not a date." he insisted. "No strings."
"Well…" she hummed, propping her chin on his shoulder right as he was about to kick the bike to life. "I am wearing a G-string actually."
She hadn't known bikes could stall and it was a little scary but he got the control back quickly and spared her a look that was half-angry and half-aroused.
She supposed it wasn't really clever to distract him when he was driving that death trap and he had a right to be annoyed.
In retaliation, he went even faster on the way home and all she could do was cling to his waist and shut her eyes tight. She was relieved when the bike finally stopped again but it was short-lived because of the screaming coming from the backyard.
She and Haymitch didn't even share a glance before rushing straight there, weapons and magical fireballs ready to fly…
You know the saying: people who slay demons together stay together ;) How did you like their date? Are they still casual? Is Haymitch smooth? Are the most badass or what?Let me know your thoughts!