5.

"I don't like the plan." Katniss repeated for what must have been the fiftieth time since they had left the house. And the trip from the Village to the Cornucopia was a short one. Barely ten minutes, Peeta mused, parking his truck in an empty spot.

Peeta shot Haymitch a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror. The Watcher was the one who would have to deal with their Slayer sulking all night.

"We all agreed it was the best play…" Peeta hesitated, reaching across the seat for her hand. "I'll be fine. I'm armed…"

"She's a master vampire." she argued in a growl.

"Technically…" Haymitch cut in but wisely fell silent when Katniss shot him a glare. It didn't last long. After a second, he rolled his eyes. "Someone has to play bait, sweetheart. It can't be me 'cause she knows me and it can't be you 'cause she'd sense you, so…"

"Effie could have…" Katniss argued and Haymitch dismissed that with a wave of his hand.

"Effie was in the hospital less than a week ago." he reminded her. "And it's too risky. She's powerful. If Enobaria picks up on that…" He shook his head. "Look, I don't like it much either but the boy's armed and we're gonna be all around that club. He's gonna be safe."

Katniss scowled and turned her glare to him. "Are you sure you've got everything?"

Peeta obligingly pulled on the collar of his shirt to show her the crucifix hanging around his neck. "I've got a stake and holy water. I'll just lead her outside, you'll be right behind me and Cinna and Effie will ambush her from the alley. It's gonna be fine."

The plan wasn't one hundred percent safe: Peeta would go in, make a show on the dance floor, lure Enobaria out once he had spotted her… Haymitch and Katniss would keep watch from the upper floor of the club, ready to follow once he would lead the vampire through the back entrance of the club to the alley where the magical duo of their team was waiting, ready to trap and interrogate her.

"She's got a thrall." Haymitch reminded him. "Don't look at her in the eyes if you can help it."

"When is Effie activating her spell?" Katniss grumbled.

'Peeta, can you hear me?' the witch's voice echoed in his head as if on cue. His eyes widened in surprise and he startled a little.

"Wow. That's weird." he winced. "Yeah, I can hear you."

'You can answer directly in your head, dear.' Effie replied and he winced a little further.

When they had discussed her using that telepathy spell, he had been excited but now… He was a little worried about his privacy.

"Not so fun having her in your head, is it?" Haymitch mocked, patting his shoulder. "Now, remember, she'll keep the spell active but it costs her energy so only use it for emergency."

"I just think about her and… think, right?" he asked, suddenly panicking a little because what if Effie could access his every thoughts? What if he started thinking about Katniss and…

'Take a deep breath, Peeta, I cannot see your fantasies about our Slayer unless you project them to me and I would rather not know more than I should so, please, keep collected.'

He had the distinct impression Effie was laughing at him.

"You've got the smallest doubt, you retreat, boy, you've got it?" Haymitch asked, more seriously. "Instinct's a powerful thing. You always listen to your guts. If anything feels off, you come back to Katniss and me immediately."

"Okay." He nodded, taking a deep breath and opening the door. He wasn't sure how Katniss managed to get out of the car and around to his side so quickly but he hadn't taken more than a step before she was right there, very much in his space. "Wow. Hello…"

She didn't answer his grin or his playful tone. She looked worried. Too worried.

"Please, be careful." she requested.

He glanced at Haymitch – who was making a show of searching for something in his pockets so he wasn't looking at them – and stole a quick peck. Just because he wanted to. And he was allowed now. He still couldn't believe that he had finally… There was no way he was getting killed. Not now that Katniss seemed sure she wanted this, them. "It's going to be fine."

'We're in position' Effie told him.

He winced again. He loved the witch to death, she was his mentor and, for the better part of the last couple of months, she had been the mother he had never known he wanted, but he didn't like having her voice in his head when he was kissing his girlfriend. Was Katniss his girlfriend? They hadn't found time to talk about what had happened the previous night or what it meant or…

'Darling, from what I have seen, she is definitely your girlfriend.' Effie's teasing voice bloomed in his mind again. 'Now if you could stop directing that kind of thoughts at me…'

He groaned. 'Well, this spell is harder to control than it looked on paper.'

"What's wrong?" Katniss asked, frowning.

'To be sure.' Effie mocked. 'Calm your mind the way I taught you too. Locate the magic. Isolate it. Only tug on it when you need it.'

"Nothing." he muttered, pointing at his head. "Just…" He didn't really want to admit that Effie had a front row to his inner panicky thoughts about her so he cleared his throat. "They're in position. Maybe we should go?"

"Yeah." Haymitch snorted. "If you're done smooching my Slayer, lover boy."

Katniss made a face at her Watcher and then rolled her eyes for Peeta's sake.

It brought a smile on his lips.

"Alright. Here goes nothing." he declared, taking a deep breath. "Please, don't let me get bitten."

He regretted the joke the moment he made it because Katniss grew all serious again and even Haymitch looked a little too serious.

"I've got your back, kid." the Watcher promised. "Nothing's happening to you on my watch."

Peeta nodded at that and then, with a last longing look for Katniss, headed toward the Cornucopia's entrance, leaving them to follow him a little later.

He had never felt as alone as in that moment.

'You are not alone.' Effie helpfully reminded him. 'And you are still not controlling your end of the spell.'

Maybe they should have tried it before they left the house so he had had a chance to learn how to deal with it. He passed by the bouncer without any problem, waved and grinned at a few classmates on his way to the bar…

The place was packed for a Sunday night but, then again, it was the only club in the Seam; it was always packed, school night or not. He glanced around as inconspicuously as he could but didn't see any beautiful dark-haired woman dressed in ancient fabric.

He ordered a coke, took a deep breath and decided to tackle problems one after the other. First thing first, getting the spell under control. The more he projected through it, the more it would cost Effie energy and they needed her at full power.

'A wise resolution.' his teacher approved.

His lips twitched despite his best intentions because he could tell she was more amused than frustrated. He closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't miss his window with Enobaria because of it, and tried to ignore the loud beat of the music. Getting into a trance in a crowded place was harder than it seemed and he didn't succeed at really getting a feel of his magic. He did, however, manage to somehow feel Effie's magic where the spell was woven around his mind.

He isolated himself from the spell, tried to at least, and thought a string of curses that went from mild to completely inappropriate. When Effie didn't berate him, he opened his eyes again and grinned.

'Got it.' he told her, purposefully tugging on the spell this time.

'Good job, dear.' she praised. 'I am right here if you need me.' There was a moment of silence long enough that he believed she had put the spell on standby on her end but then her voice echoed in his mind again. 'Oh, and I love you too. Be careful.'

It was more feelings than words and it made him feel warm and safe inside.

That spell was genius, in his opinion. Even Cinna had looked impressed when she had explained.

But, then again, Effie Trinket was a genius. And her mother had the nerves to show up and disparage her and try to tell him he would be better off with…

Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on his surroundings.

He had a mission.

And his mission was to make himself desirable to a century old vampire with an appetite for pretty things…

°O°O°O°O°

Stakeouts had never been Effie's favorite pastime.

Her pink car wasn't exactly inconspicuous either, parked as it was, blocking the back alley behind the Cornucopia.

"Peeta got the spell under control." she announced, tapping her fingers against the wheel.

And a good thing too because she could feel the strength of it gnawing at her. She might have more power than ever before but that sort of spells remained taxing and she was still having difficulties controlling herself.

"Why are you nervous?" Cinna asked from the passenger seat next to her. His eyes were riveted to the emergency exit at the back of the club. She had no doubt that, the moment it would open, he would be right there in a flash. She didn't know if he could teleport, although that wouldn't have surprised her, but she was pretty certain the distance would be crossed in a matter of seconds.

"Perhaps because I am afraid this will end in a bloodbath." she replied, a little terse. Or perhaps because she was trapped in a small car with a very angry warlock who really, really wanted to kill that particular vampire…

He tossed her a look that was slightly amused. "I will not harm you or yours, witch, even if I get angry."

"You are already angry." she pointed out with a sigh. She could feel it. His magic was bubbling with his fury and it didn't make for a particularly pleasant sensation. Although it had been less oppressive since they had left the house and her perceived territory.

"Beings as old as I am… We are always angry, Effie, that's the catch." he shrugged, reporting his attention back on the door.

She kept on drumming on the wheel and the silence grew. She resisted the urge to reach out to Haymitch with the telepathic spell. Peeta would make contact if he spotted Enobaria and he would warn her before approaching the vampire. She didn't need Haymitch's reassurances that the boy was fine. He wouldn't let anything happen to him. And Katniss wouldn't either.

"I didn't realize you were Elindra's daughter." he said after a long while, an hour at least. His tone was casual, almost distracted, but she was good at reading people and she saw it for the front it was.

"How long have you known her?" she asked, just as casually.

Her eyes were on the door but her attention was all on him.

He didn't answer at once and, when he did, it was almost hesitant. "A long time."

"That is not quite an answer." she remarked.

He inclined his head to grant her the point. There was a displeased pout on his lips. "We are not quite friends, your mother and I. She is…"

He let his sentence trail off.

"She is a black witch." she sighed. "I am well aware."

The way he looked at her made her ill-at-ease. There was pity in that look and regret. "She is more than that."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He was clearly deliberating but, in the end, he looked away from her and back to the club's emergency exit. "I have never met a daughter of hers as powerful as you are. But, then again, none of them have ever been connected to the Slayer line… I wonder…"

Her frown deepened even as the weight of his words fell on her shoulders. "What do you mean a daughter of hers? Do you know Lyssa? My sister?"

It wasn't what he meant, that was obvious at the way his face closed. It was also obvious he wouldn't say more on the subject.

"How long is a long time, Cinna?" she insisted because… He had lived for centuries. A year was nothing to him. A long time…

"The Slayer line… It is ancient and powerful." he declared, completely ignoring her question.

"I know." she dismissed. "But I am not a Slayer. I…"

"But you are linked to it all the same." he interrupted. "I can see it. You're bound to it, to Katniss, to all those who came before and to all those who will come after… You haven't been Called but you could have and that's a powerful thing in itself. " He shook his head. "There is power there, Effie. Powerful magic. Strength and protection, if you ever need it."

He was warning her, she realized, warning her against…

'Effie?' Peeta's voice echoed in her head. 'We've got a problem…'

What can the problem be? Is Katniss Peeta's girlfriend? Did you spot the foreshadowing? There is soooo much foreshadowing in there. It's like I knew only one writing twist and used it all in there. Are you scared? You should be. Happy Easter! I hope you have chocolate. Sadly I couldn't get any. Let me know your thoughts!