5

The silence in the car was uncomfortable but Katniss didn't think it was her fault for once. Still, she regretted submitting herself to that short drive – with Effie being in the mood she was in – instead of hopping on the bike behind Haymitch. She had limited patience for the witch's weird antics.

But the way Haymitch had watched the witch when she had strutted out of her house that night, tossing him a look as if to challenge him to comment on her outfit, had made Katniss roll her eyes and climb in Effie's car, slamming the door behind her to remind them they had an audience. There were things she didn't want to see and her Watchers making eyes at each other was one of them.

Still, she hated how awkward the ride was when they might have been going to their deaths and there might or might not have been a weird moment with Peeta before she had left. She had simply taken advantage of being alone with him in the living-room to ask him to take care of Prim if she didn't come back. It hadn't been anything she hadn't asked before but there had been a weird… intensity. She thought she would have kissed him then… So of course Haymitch had barked at her to move her ass from the other room.

Maybe her mood wasn't the best either.

As for Effie's uncharacteristic gloominess that night… It was probably linked to the nasty comments Haymitch had made that afternoon. And maybe she shouldn't have made that gibe about Effie not getting more involved in the fight during the meeting. It had been unfair and unwarranted. She had simply hated the way Haymitch had been interrogating the two of them in turns as if he was pitting them against each other. She hated the fact that she had felt lacking when he had praised Effie for her answers and belittled her for hers. As if he was determined to show her how a real Slayer should think.

It wasn't her fault she hadn't been brought up to think like a proper warrior. She hadn't been detected as a Potential – and it was probably for the best because she couldn't imagine not growing up with Prim. She was learning on the job and she wasn't doing such a bad job of it in her opinion.

She sneaked a glance at Effie, wondering what that must have been like: growing up knowing you might be Called, getting groomed for a fight lost before it had begun, getting schooled in how to survive as long as possible… The witch had never developed on her past as a Potential. It had been swept under the rug in the midst of the fear demon attack and while she had made a few indirect references to 'her Watcher', it was the most she had said about it.

Despite herself, Katniss was curious.

What did it mean to be brought up as a potential Slayer-to-be?

She couldn't bring herself to ask. Not now when Effie looked so somber and was wearing clothes that were positively bleak for her. She didn't think she had ever seen the woman wear all black before and she wondered if it was what had impacted her mood so thoroughly.

The Watcher-witch was all leather that night. Skin-tight leggings under thigh-high heeled leather boots, a black corset that seemed to come straight out of the old reruns of Xena that sometimes aired on TV and a leather jacket, everything in black except for the glittery golden butterfly printed on the back of the biker-style jacket. Even the butterfly didn't ruin the overall effect though. Her hair was braided up into a crown with only a few free strands falling here and there. It usually made her look soft when she did her hair like that but that night it looked… Well, it looked hard.

She looked like a warrior.

She looked ready to kick ass and Katniss was a bit envious because she hadn't bothered to dress up and she was only wearing washed-out jeans, a green sweater, an old jacket and her hair was still in the same loose braid it had been all day.

Maybe proper Slayers dressed in black and leather to go fight demons but she had missed the entry in the Vampyr book. Or maybe it was something proper Slayers knew because their Watchers told them before they hit puberty.

How was she expected to know?

It was unfair.

And it was unfair of Haymitch to demand she made battle plans when he had been making it clear since the very beginning that he was in charge of tactics because she sucked at that. If he was disappointed in her…

She abruptly turned to look through the passenger's window, not liking the direction her thoughts were taking. It must have betrayed her irritation because Effie startled and spared her a glance, as if she had been so lost in her own thoughts she had entirely forgotten she was there.

"Everything will be fine, dear." the witch promised, her voice soft and comforting. "You are perfectly capable of dealing with this threat."

"Good to know you think I can handle sewer mutts." she grumbled.

She almost made a petty remark about how they clearly didn't trust her with the Careers and couldn't even admit it to her face but she swallowed it back. The fact was… She didn't want to hear them actually say it out loud.

Effie let out a long sigh. "I apologize, I am not the best company tonight. The day was rather trying, was it not? Nevertheless…" The cheer that returned in the woman's voice was so obviously forced Katniss winced. "It is no excuse to be so gloomy. Should we listen to some music?"

The songs in her playlist were absolutely ridiculous and after only a minute, Katniss was forced to bite back her smile as Effie sang along to Walking on Sunshine. She could carry a tune, at least, but Katniss wasn't surprised. Was there anything – aside from cooking – Effie Trinket didn't know how to do?

"You know we're going to a fight to the death with lizard demons, yeah?" she joked, unable to stop the laughter from entering her voice.

Effie's only answer was to turn the volume up and flash her a smile, singing even louder, silently daring her to join along. Katniss rolled her eyes and shook her head but after a few well aimed pokes in her side, she humored her by humming.

By the time the car reached the cemetery, they had played the song three times and were less singing than shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs. It was crazy and over the top and Katniss had never done anything that absurd before, except maybe with Prim, but when Effie cut off the engine, she was feeling light and positive ready to take on the world.

The witch's restored good mood seemed to deem when Haymitch's bike flashed by the car and stopped a few feet away. She watched him get off the bike and take off his helmet thoughtfully before glancing at the backseat of the car.

Katniss followed her gaze and made a face at the two swords that rested there.

One of them was hers.

Haymitch's was slung over his shoulder like it tended to be when they went on patrol nowadays.

The third one belonged to Effie. The witch had been wearing it swinging on her hip when she had walked out of her house. At first Katniss had thought it was just an accessory to complete the outfit – because she would do crazy things like that – but it was only when Effie had carefully placed the blade on the backseat that she had realized the woman intended to use it as a last resort.

She had realized it because the sword actually suited Effie far much better than anything Haymitch could have lent her. The length was shorter than Katniss' or even Haymitch's but it was better for Effie's built and while she hadn't lifted it, the girl was certain it was lighter too. She was pretty sure it had been custommade but it didn't look new either so…

"You don't have to use that." she said quietly, her own good mood darkening. "Use your magic if you can. And if you can't, I will take care of them. Fuck what Haymitch thinks."

"Language." the witch chided with a disapproving look.

She didn't have time to say any more. Haymitch opened Effie's door and leaned one forearm on the roof to better peer inside with a mocking expression. "If you're both done having your little karaoke party…"

Katniss narrowed her eyes at him. "There's no way you heard us."

The windows had been up and the roar of the bike would have covered any sound anyway.

"Heard you, no." he taunted. "Saw you wiggle on your seats like you had bees in your knickers, now…"

"Why do you always have to be so vulgar." Effie clucked her tongue, swinging her legs out of the car in a gracious move. Haymitch stepped back to leave her room but his eyes strayed on her body appreciatively and Katniss strongly regretted Peeta's absence. Being the third wheel to those two was never fun even for her who tended to be oblivious most of the time.

The girls sheathed their swords in silence under Haymitch's watchful gaze. He didn't look amused or mocking anymore, he looked deadly serious. He checked that Katniss had hidden blades in her boots and strapped to her forearms three times. She still wished her bow had been an option.

At first glance the graveyard seemed deserted.

They didn't even see a hint of a vampire, fledging or otherwise, as they walked down the sinuous alleys. There weren't many vaults in that cemetery and they could see far ahead – which was why Effie had chosen it, she supposed – but there was also not the slightest hint of lizard samurais.

And yet, there was something in the air that made her hair stand straight on her arms.

Effie was humming Walking on Sunshine under her breath without seemingly realizing it. Haymitch kept tossing her incredulous looks that she didn't notice. Eventually, the Watcher locked eyes with Katniss and they both looked away fighting a smile.

"They are here." Effie suddenly announced, a fraction of a second before a cloud of smoke appeared in front of them and reassembled as one of the lizard demons. And if there was only one, it meant… "This one is mine."

The witch didn't wait for confirmation or approval to engage the demon with fireballs, frost and whatever. Katniss didn't stop to look, she whirled around at the same time Haymitch did, unsheathing their swords just in time to meet the strike from the second demon's katana.

She engaged him from the front while Haymitch took his flank, harassing him and stopping him from anything too daring. Still, the demon turned and dodged and hit right back and they couldn't make a dent in his defense.

At one point, Katniss swung her sword down in a murderous strike, knowing the thick leather of his armor would probably protect him but thinking any damage was good damage. The demon poofed out of the way and reappeared behind her. She barely had time to duck and roll forward, dragged by the momentum of her strike, correctly reading Haymitch's body language as he aimed a swing at her head.

The demon met his sword with his katana.

Katniss chanced a glance at Effie to see she had abandoned her magic for the sword. Her demon seemed worse for the wear but still fighting strong. She seemed to be holding her own though so Katniss focused on her own fight.

Haymitch, however, did not.

It was plain to see her Watcher was distracted, trying to follow the other fight instead of finishing this one. Split attention in close quarters was never good and Katniss bore it for five minutes, compensating for him and shielding him with her own sword when his lapse in focus put him in dangerous positions before she risked another glance at Effie only to see her fly in the air.

"Go." she ordered Haymitch without a second thought. He hesitated, adjusting his grip on the hilt of his sword. Katniss' face hardened. "Go. I can take this one."

Whatever the demon's hissed answer meant – probably an insult – Katniss met it with a face of her own and put more strength in her strike.

There was no denying he had the superior skills.

But she had her Slayer strength and speed on her side.

And she knew, deep down, that it was only a matter of time before she killed it.

dum dum duuum. A little cliffhanger to better start this new year ;) Did you enjoy this chapter? Let me know your thoughts!