2.

Peeta had a wild spooked look on his face when he carried the tray full of mugs in the library and Haymitch wondered if Effie had put the fear of God – or more likely the fear of him – into him. It would be deserved. Hadn't he said no funny business under his roof? If the kids wanted to get frisky they could at least do him the favor of not getting caught.

Effie took over distributing mugs while the boy excused himself to go get a shirt. Haymitch could relate, the house was cold. He should have started a fire before going to bed, they were at that time of the year where the old boiler wasn't enough to keep the temperature in the place warm enough.

He felt the tingles of magic and then the room was suddenly warmer. Madge uncurled from her seat with an audible sigh of relief. The girl was wearing flannel pajamas and yet she was still chilly, what did it say about his kids that they seemed so used to the cold they didn't even shiver in shorts and short-sleeved shirts? He vowed to pay better attention to the weather from now on. He didn't want his kids to be cold.

In the chair next to her, Effie stiffened a little though.

He knew why.

It wasn't the familiar tickles of her magic he had felt, and getting used to Cinna's power again was unsettling. The man had an uncanny ability to figure out what you were thinking.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Cinna asked, his question clearly directed at the witch. The girls looked puzzled but Peeta, who was walking back into the room still pulling down his woolen sweater over his head, didn't. Haymitch wished he hadn't noticed Katniss' lingering look at the boy's chest.

"Not at all." Effie lied with a bright smile.

"I apologize. I am trying to be as… inconspicuous as possible." the warlock insisted. "I do not mean to encroach on your territory."

"It was yours first." she politely countered. "Besides, I am not powerful enough to have a territory. Not really."

Cinna watched her for a moment and then lifted an eyebrow. "I disagree."

"Ah!" Haymitch triumphed, pointing a finger at her. "See?"

Effie pouted and pushed the mug of tea closer to him, clearly dismissing him. "I hate to press but you said time was of the essence, Cinna?"

"Yes." The warlock's face darkened into something dangerous. "I got Haymitch's message about the Reaping and everything else started making sense…" He waved a hand. "I am getting ahead of myself. Do you remember me mentioning Portia?"

Haymitch winced. "Maybe?"

Fortunately Cinna looked more amused than offended. "I believe you were mentoring a Slayer named Johanna at the time… You called me about a possible Ascension…"

"Oh, yeah." He nodded, suddenly remembering. Although he thought he could be forgiven for having forgotten about the warlock's love life given that he had been trying to prevent an apocalypse. "You really liked that girl. She was a witch, yeah?"

"Can you maybe catch up on each other's love life later?" Katniss scowled. "I want to hear about the Reaping…"

"And you shall." Cinna countered, smiling at her. But the smile had an edge Haymitch had rarely seen in his friend… "It is all relevant, I promise." He looked down at his folded hands on the table's gleaming wood. "Portia… Portia is a very powerful witch."

"How powerful?" Katniss asked.

Haymitch could see she was already anticipating troubles and, to be fair, he didn't think she was wrong. They had been looking for a powerful witch for a while now and there Cinna appeared, talking about his girlfriend…

"A lot more than yours, Slayer." the warlock deadpanned. "No offense."

Effie forced a smile but she was visibly tense. Haymitch could glimpse the faint golden halo under the table where she was keeping her right hand, as if she was ready to cast a defensive spell at any moment.

Haymitch didn't want to doubt Cinna. He had known him a long time and the cloaking spell on the Village wouldn't have let him see the place if he had been evil.

On the other hand, Cinna was powerful enough to break any of Effie's spells…

"Portia and I have been living in Italy for years." the warlock continued.

Haymitch caught Katniss' grey eyes darting to the trunk full of weapons hidden behind a shelf. Peeta's fingers were drumming on the table. Madge was listening raptly but she also glanced at the door. As for Effie, she had gone rigid.

"Have you?" she hummed innocently. "How wonderful."

"Quite." Cinna whispered softly. "A few months ago, we started hearing rumors about vampires who were in the market for a powerful witch. We did not take the threat very seriously at first. As I said, Portia is more than able to defend herself and I… Well… It is well known I would kill anyone or anything who tries to hurt her…" Cinna looked at Haymitch. "You can understand that, can't you?"

"Yeah." he said slowly. "I can."

"A vampire got in touch. A very old one. Her name is Enobaria." Cinna continued. "Scary woman."

"Yeah, I had the pleasure." Haymitch snorted. "Not my type at all. Very fangy."

"Enobaria wanted to hire Portia to conduct a Reaping." the warlock explained. "She refused. She refused two times. The third time was less of a conversation and more of a fight, the vampire had reinforcement. We felt the threat was real and we decided to act."

"Why didn't you call me?" Haymitch cut in.

"Do you know what the Reaping is?" Cinna challenged.

"A ceremonial sacrifice." Effie answered calmly. "We do not have the details of the ritual yet but we should soon."

Assuming her mother came through with the information.

"I do not have them either." Cinna admitted. "But I heard rumors about it. I had no reason to think the Reaping would aim at freeing Snow. I had no reason to call you, Haymitch. I deal with that sort of threats on my territory all the time."

"If you're so powerful… Why did they want your girlfriend?" Katniss asked. "Why not take you?"

"That's not really my sort of magic." the warlock shrugged. "The caster has to be fully human."

"What did you do?" Effie asked.

Cinna's attention turned to her. "We decided the safest option was to hide her while I hunted the threat and took care of it. She wanted to come with me but I would not risk her. I am hard to kill. Portia is… human. Humans are fragile."

"Well, clearly they found her." Katniss scoffed. "So I'm guessing the plan went to hell."

"Katniss." Effie chided. "Do not be inconsiderate."

"We hid her on consecrated grounds." Cinna added.

"A convent, right?" Haymitch winced. "Chaff found what was left of it."

"Enobaria led me on a merry chase, lured me away…" The warlock shook his head. "By the time I realized… I knew that vampire had her. It took me a while to track her down and you know crossing bodies of salt waters is tricky for me…"

At the kids' perplexed looks, Haymitch sighed. "Warlock thing."

"When I finally got your messages, I put two and two together." Cinna replied. "So here I am."

"Better late than never." Katniss deadpanned.

"Have you tried a tracking spell?" Effie asked.

It seemed like a good start so Haymitch leaned back in his chair while they talked shop. At least they had a name for the witch now.

"The tracking spells backfire every time." Cinna countered. "I found a witch they paid to put an anti-tracking spell over her… She wasn't very powerful but I cannot break it until I find Portia."

"Where is she?" Peeta asked. "We could force her to break the spell or…"

"She's dead." Cinna cut him off and winced apologetically. "She was uncooperative and I got angry."

Haymitch rubbed his eyes. "Are you certain Portia's not working with them?"

Cinna's dark eyes turned even darker until they were two black tunnels that he couldn't escape… Something squirmed in his chest, his survival instinct screaming at him to run, to…

"Stop." Effie growled. "Harm anyone here and I will exterminate you."

Haymitch blinked, released from the strange spell. Katniss had stood up, Peeta had moved back pulling Madge with him, and Effie… Effie was bathed in gold.

Fuck, but she was hot when she pulled the magical goddess card.

"It's alright, sweetheart." he said quietly, reaching for her hand. Her magic was hot and he had the feeling it would have seared anyone else's flesh to the bones but it only made his skin tingle like always. It rushed over his body like the familiar kiss of a wave on the shore… It left him groaning but not in pain… "Effie."

"I mean no harm, witch." Cinna said slowly, lifting both hands. "My temper… My temper is not the best right now, surely you can understand? They stole what I love most."

Effie was breathing hard through her mouth, glaring at the warlock…

The thing was, Haymitch knew she had absolutely no chance against him in a fight, magical or otherwise.

"Effie, do you want me to knock him out?" Katniss asked.

"No." Haymitch replied, slowly standing up.

"Effie?" the girl pressed, clearly not trusting his opinion on the subject.

Haymitch stepped in the witch's space, standing in front of her, blocking her view of Cinna. He caressed her cheek, keeping his touch light. "Hey. I'm right here. I'm fine. The kids are fine. Nobody's threatening anyone. Let it go. Get the magic back under control."

Finally, impossibly slowly, her blue eyes met his. They stared at each other for a long time. It took that long for the glowing light to fade and vanish.

"Good job, sweetheart." He smirked. "Now, tell your Slayer to stand down."

Effie breathed out slowly only to glare at him. "She is your Slayer, not mine." There was a warning in her voice and he winced, not keen on having that conversation again. He was still sure he wouldn't survive any of this but he was willing to fight for his life, for all of their lives. "And she never listens anyway…"

Haymitch snorted. "Damn right."

"I don't trust him." Katniss declared once Haymitch had backed away from Effie.

"You don't trust anyone." he remarked.

"I understand." Cinna cut in. He was the only one still sitting. "All I want is my wife back and I will find her with or without your help. It seems to me our interests are aligned however."

"We do not know where the witch is or where the Careers are." Effie said.

"We know where Enobaria hunts." Katniss argued. "If you would let me…"

"We have been over this, Katniss…" the witch interrupted. "It is too dangerous for now. With more training…"

"Actually…" Haymitch cut her off, placing a hand on her arm. "With Cinna's here… We could have a shot. If we can corner Enobaria at the Cornucopia and she's alone… Between the four of us we should be able to get answers out of her before we dust her…" Peeta cleared his throat and Haymitch snorted again. "Yeah, fine, you can come too."

Effie's eyes darted to the grandfather clock on the wall. "Too late for that now. The club will be closed and I do not want to rush in there unprepared." She licked her lips, scheming… "We will use tomorrow to make sure we are ready and corner her tomorrow night. And in the meantime, you and I…" she jutted her chin at Cinna. "… can try to break that cloaking spell on your wife." She seemed to realize everyone was staring at her and she blushed. "If you agree, Haymitch, of course."

It wasn't like she was really leaving him a choice but it was also the smartest plan so he shrugged. "Seems good."

"We can also discuss your powers, if it would help." Cinna offered. "Haymitch mentioned it was a concern of yours in his messages. Although I can see you unlocked your potential since then."

"It would be… appreciated." she hesitated. "Alright. Children, to bed. And I expect everyone to stay in their own bed this time." She tossed a pointed look at Katniss who blushed but also made a face. Her eyes turned to Cinna and she faltered, glancing at Haymitch. "We are short of bedrooms."

"I can go home…" Peeta suggested. "Cinna can get the couch…"

"Don't want you alone over there." Haymitch repeated for the second time that night.

"I will go home too." Effie offered reluctantly. "It is the easiest solution."

It was but it didn't mean Haymitch was any less reluctant to see her go. He had gotten strangely used to sharing a bed with her. It felt weird to be alone at night, now.

"Come over for breakfast, we can plan more." he requested.

Effie snorted. "When is the last time Peeta and I did not come over for meals?"

"True." he mocked. "You only like me for my cooking."

She grinned. "That and other things."

There was a collective groan behind them and he rolled his eyes at the kids. It took some shepherding to get them all back to bed but soon enough Effie and Peeta had left, the girls were upstairs and Haymitch offered Cinna a glass of whiskey that the warlock gratefully accepted.

"Your new Slayer seems like a handful." Cinna remarked.

"Yeah." he sighed with some fondness. "She's a brat."

"There is something about her, though." the warlock remarked. "She shines bright. She will be exceptional. I'm not a betting man but I would bet on her."

"She's gonna be one of the best." he agreed. "If I can keep her alive long enough…" He was distracted from that gloomy thought by Cinna's smirk. "What?"

"Your witch is interesting too…" his friend teased.

"Ain't like that." he mumbled.

Cinna chuckled. "You could have fooled me."

Now if only he could fool himself…

The plot thickens... The Careers have Portia, Cinna wants her back, Katniss is getting distracted by Peeta's amazing chest, Effie isn't really warming up to Cinna and Haymitch still lives in the land of denial... XD What did you think? Is the plan a solid one? Let's try and capture Enobaria? Let me know your thoughts!