6
It started well enough.
"This one is mine." Effie declared flatly, studying the lizard armed with a katana.
The saurian's eyes fell on the sword swinging at her hip and adopted a fighting stance, legs bent, left hand in front of him, katana held at an awkward angle over his head…
Effie snorted. "I do not think so."
She slammed her palms together in front of her, conjuring the familiar fireballs, then she twirled her hands, creating a whirlwind of flames. It was a new spell, one she had never had an occasion to try in battle before. It only took a second for the demon to realize she didn't intend to fight with steel but, by the time he tried to jump on her, she had unleashed the whirlwind and pushed it toward him.
The fire inferno met him straight in the plexus and hurled him back but it didn't kill him. He did look a little singed though, she had definitely drawn blue blood. One of the tombstones had crumbled under his weight, she immediately summoned ice to encase him there. A part of her remained on high alert with her own powers. She hadn't really been forced to fight like this since she had unlocked her hidden source of power, patrols were tiring but not particularly challenging, and she was weary of reaching her limits. She was waiting for the strain even as she made the frost creep all over the demon, hoping to completely ice him so the cold could kill it…
She hadn't expected him to sift.
She saw the volutes of smoke inside the half-finished case of ice and she barely had the presence of mind to drop to the side before the demon appeared behind her. She was on the ground with no room to take her sword out to block his slash so she lifted both hands and used her magic instead. The katana glided over empty air instead of finishing its deadly arc toward her neck… She rolled over, inwardly complaining at the dirt staining her clothes, and stood back up, another spell already on her lips.
The demon dodged her fireball and came in close again, forcing her to step back to avoid the blade.
She couldn't keep stepping back. Not with all the tombstones in the way. It would only be a matter of time before she tripped and fell down again.
With a curse, she unsheathed her sword. She had taken it as a precaution but she hadn't intended to use it. Not ever again, truthfully. Caesar had had it especially made for her seventeenth birthday – and she had appreciated the designer shoes that came with it a lot more than she had the weapon – it was perfect for her build and reach. It was supposed to feel like an extension of her arm. To her, it was a dead weight. Her nails dug painfully in the heel of her palm around the hilt and while she could whirl the blade around well enough, it wasn't comfortable.
What had she told Haymitch earlier? She could defend herself if pressed but it had never become natural?
Drops of blue demon blood flew around as the lizard engaged her. With a growl, she muttered another spell. There was a flash of light that blinded both of them long enough that she managed to push him back. Just a little. Just for a brief moment.
The demon had centuries of katana fighting under his belt though and that skill was different enough from traditional fencing that Effie lost her advantage quickly. And she was starting to feel the strain. Not only in muscles that weren't as honed as they should have remained for this type of activity but in her center. She played her last card and ignited the sword. Flames licked at the lizard's armor when she managed to get a good hit to his arm but the cut wasn't deep enough and she had left her flank open.
In the short second the demon used to twist on himself and kick out with his foot, she told herself she should have seen it coming.
The ache when his sole connected with her ribs was nothing compared to the shock of being projected in the air or the agony when her flight was stopped by a tombstone. The pain came with a moment of delay. Her back hit granite, her head flew backwards before bouncing back toward her chest, blood filled her mouth when she bit down on her tongue and she could have honestly counted the stars that danced in front of her eyes…
She saw the demon slowly make his way toward her, raising his katana for the kill…
With the last measure of strength she had in her body, she muttered a spell, tried to send the katana flying… She barely managed to deflect the blade's trajectory enough that its tip sliced from her shoulder to her collarbone instead of the blunt of the weapon splitting her neck from her body…
She didn't really understand what was going on when she was suddenly splashed in blue goo.
It was only when she forced herself to look up and saw Haymitch standing there, behind the lizard that was suddenly missing a head, that she realized there had been a beheading after all.
It was possible she laughed.
Next thing she knew, Haymitch was stepping over the falling body of the demon and he was kneeling at her side, pressing his dirty hand on the wound.
"If you were trying to make a point with the sword fighting, you failed. 'Cause that was pretty fucking good. See? Told you you could fight." he mumbled, his voice urgent and scared.
"Told you I wouldn't win." she rasped out.
"Yeah, well…" he scoffed. "Maybe I'm gonna give you that point 'cause I don't think I want to see you face a demon again any time soon."
"Help Katniss." she demanded.
He tossed a glance over his shoulder and then shook his head. "She's fine. She's got it."
She hummed her agreement because she had known Katniss would be more than equal to the challenge. She probably could have taken the two out without their help, even. She tried to push herself up but slouched back down with a small whimper.
"Easy." Haymitch said immediately. "Take it easy. That was quite a kick you took."
Her head was spinning and her whole body hurt. "I think it was the tombstone that did me in."
"Yeah. Probably." he agreed. "Anything broken? You can move your legs? Arms?" She obliged by rotating her ankles and moving her fingers so he could see if everything was in working order. "Good. Okay. Any chance you can heal yourself?"
"Unlikely." she groaned. She wanted to spit the blood in her mouth but she couldn't bring herself to do that in public so she swallowed instead. It was a mistake. It made her want to be sick. "How bad is it?"
He lifted the hand pressed on her shoulder a little to take another look at the wound.
"It's bleeding bad. You need stitches for sure." he answered. "I'm not sure your collarbone ain't broken. How are your ribs?"
"Everything hurts…" she grumbled. "How should I know?"
He snorted but it wasn't amused. He glanced away for a moment and then back at her. "Katniss's almost done. I'm gonna take you to the hospital."
"Covered in blue goo? How will you explain that?" she objected.
"Prank gone wrong." he dismissed.
"Again?" she huffed. "You need to work on your cover stories."
She moved her head a little too quickly and winced. He gently cupped her cheek, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw…
"Effie!" Katniss shouted and, suddenly, there was another presence kneeling at her side. The girl was all wide eyes. There was a cut on her forehead and strikes of blue on her clothes and neck…
"I am fine." she promised because she hated the worry she could read in the girl's eyes.
The Slayer didn't look convinced. She searched Haymitch's gaze and it annoyed Effie to no end that they seemed to have a silent conversation about her when she was right there. Then the conversation wasn't so silent but Effie's ears were ringing too much for her to follow it properly. Haymitch was telling the girl he wanted to take her to the hospital, Katniss was questioning the wisdom of moving her…
"I do not want to go to the hospital." Effie complained. "I always end up in the hospital."
"That's 'cause you're reckless and I'm a fucking idiot to push you." Haymitch replied, running his thumb up and down her jaw with open tenderness. "You think you can get up?"
"Of course, I can get up." she lied. "I am telling you I do not need a hospital."
It took ten minutes to get her back to her feet and she had a lot of difficulties remaining upward once they had managed to haul her up without hurting her too much. The wound on her shoulder was still bleeding and she leaned heavily on Haymitch because her ribs were sore and walking demanded a lot of focus.
"I can carry you." he suggested for the third time as the cemetery gates came in sight.
She refused again. She was pretty sure that it would hurt even more if he carried her. Her back was bruising already and she didn't have enough strength to heal herself.
She protested going to the hospital again when they reached the car and he forced her to lie down on the backseat, arranging her legs and arms so she would be as comfortable as possible. She wanted to make a joke about that but Katniss had perched herself on the passenger's seat and had stuck her head between the two front seats to better watch her and she swallowed it back. The swords were tossed on the car's floor without any care and she should have told them off about that – not only because one ought to treat one's weapon with respect but because they would damage her car. Not that anyone was interested in what she had to say. Haymitch used the whole packet of wipes she kept in the glove compartment to get as much of the demon blood off her as he could.
"What about the bike?" Katniss asked when he finally slid behind the wheel.
Probably because she knew just how much he cared about that thing, Effie mused, sometimes he treated it like a living thing.
"I'll come back for it tomorrow." he grumbled. "Never mind the fucking bike."
That was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness and it made her feel warm inside.
It was possible it was just the broken ribs though...
Guess who ends up in the hospital AGAIN? Poor Effie, I hope she gets free jello out of this ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts!