8
Haymitch didn't touch the food but he looked happy enough about them devouring the heap that Katniss let it go. She was starving and she wolfed down her breakfast until there was nothing left on her plate, stealing glances at her Watcher when she could get away with it.
Cinna had placed another mug full of potion in front of him and the two men had glared at each other until Haymitch had started drinking it. He made a face every time he took a sip but he also had more colors in his cheeks – rosy color, not yellow – and he looked less like he was about to keel over. She wasn't sure how helpful it was with the withdrawal symptoms but at least it kept him functional and that was how they needed him right then.
Eventually, though, everyone was done eating and the silence became oppressive, as if nobody wanted to be the first to break it, to acknowledge how epically they had failed the previous day.
"Okay." Haymitch grumbled, finishing the last of his potion. "Let's roll. Who wants to start?"
Nobody spoke.
On her left, Prim let out a small sigh. "Peeta would say something funny to start the reunion, to break the tension."
"Yes." Madge immediately nodded. "He would know what to say to make the whole thing lighter."
Katniss and Haymitch exchanged a look, on the same page on this: they weren't sure what exactly could make light of the fact they had failed to stop a Master vampire from escaping his hell prison.
"Avengers Assemble." Prim said suddenly, a little too loud maybe. Then she glanced up and Katniss couldn't take it anymore.
"He's not dead, he's just sleeping." she snapped. "He's gonna be fine. No need to act like he's gone."
Her sister flinched. "I know, I just… I miss him. And Effie."
"They're both gonna be on their feet before you know it." Haymitch cut in, his voice softer like always when he addressed her sister. He shot Katniss a warning look. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms but didn't add anything.
She was angry, that was the thing.
The more she let herself think about the previous day, the angrier she was with Prim. And that was a new uncomfortable feeling. She couldn't remember ever being angry with her. She had assumed the role of caretaker a long time ago but Prim had made that easy; hell, she always said the girl was smarter and wiser than she was by far… She didn't even know when she had been forced to scold her for the last time and now…
"Alright, Avengers Assemble or whatever." Haymitch muttered, humoring Prim and Madge – Madge was clearly under the influence of some sort of pain medication, Katniss had decided, because she was much more cheerful than usual and given the situation… "Now, who wants to start?"
"I believe Elindra may have fled town." Cinna announced. He had been very quiet so far, Katniss might have forgotten he was there at all if he hadn't felt so… Not threatening but… Yeah. He made her Slayer instinct react. Maybe because of that wrath he wasn't exactly doing a good job at suppressing despite the calm attitude. "I searched for her everywhere. Either she hid herself very well or she left. She knows me too well not to know I will come after her and that it won't be pretty when I do find her so…" He shook his head. "Once we are sure Peeta has recovered and Effie is back on her feet, I will take Portia back to Italy to lay her to rest. Then, I will hunt Elindra down properly."
Haymitch looked as shocked and disbelieving as Katniss felt. That really wasn't what they had been expecting.
"You're leaving us?" Katniss scoffed.
"I will come back." the warlock promised. "If experience serves… Your final fight with Snow won't be happening tomorrow."
Because this was a marathon and not a race or whatever…
Still, this wasn't good news.
She looked at Haymitch. Without Effie and Cinna, they would be left without any magical protection at all and… As ambivalent as she was about magic, she could see the advantages. "What about the wards on the Village? If you leave…"
"I will teach Haymitch how to cast one similar to Effie's." Cinna countered. "Or maybe Peeta if he feels up to it."
"I don't have that kind of mojo and neither does the boy." Haymitch protested. "Can ward the house, maybe, but the Village… That's gonna take Effie."
"I will think of something." Cinna promised. "You understand…"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Haymitch nodded. "Bury your girl, do what you have to do… Just keep your phone on, this time. Cause I'm gonna need you to ride in to the rescue at some point."
Katniss didn't understand.
And given the glances they were exchanging, neither did Gale, Madge or Prim.
The matter seemed to be settled, though, because Haymitch turned his attention to her. "Should tell you, full disclosure, the Council ain't happy with me but they're not giving you a new Watcher yet, though Effie's been supposed to supervise for a few weeks so…"
She shrugged. "I don't care about the Council."
"Why can't they send more people?" Gale asked, cutting in. "More fighters?"
Haymitch's grey eyes darted to him and, for a second, she thought he would dismiss his question but he must have thought it was a valid one because he scowled. "That's not how they work. The Slayer handles that side of the business. I shouldn't even be fighting if I followed the book… Watchers watch, Slayers slay." He shook his head. "And they've never sent anyone anyway. After my mom… My mom's Watcher stayed and tried to do her best but that was her choice. The Council didn't do anything until…" His voice faltered for a second but he cleared his throat. "Until Mabel Larson was Called. And when she died… When I left and Mags returned to England…" He shrugged. "Nobody did anything until Maysilee became the Slayer and they sent me back here. Snow kills Slayers and they're not about to sacrifice them all one after the other for this town or even this state. And if Slayers don't stand a chance, they're not about to send operatives either. Freelance demon hunters are a possibility but, officially, the Council don't hire them."
Katniss wasn't sure Gale followed everything but he seemed to accept the answer albeit not happily.
"This Council seems like it sucks balls." he commented.
Haymitch snorted. "Might be the first time I agree with you, boy." His amusement was fleeting, his eyes turned to Katniss again. "So? Last night? How did you manage to bust Peeta's truck, sweetheart?"
She summed up the patrol for him, giving him as many details as she could remember. Gale chimed in once or twice but, for the most part, it was her facing Haymitch's increasing annoyance when she told him she had broken into the hotel. He did frown when she told him about the hypnotized staff though.
"You think that Enobaria has enough game to keep a whole hotel under her thrall?" he asked Cinna.
Cinna made a non-committing face. "She was sired by Snow, it is possible. But… So many people under a thrall at the same time?"
"Yeah." Haymitch sighed. "It does bring back memories." At their questioning looks, he waved his hand. "That's how Snow used to do it back in the days but if he's strong enough to do that, we might have to reevaluate just how weak this Peacekeeper demon made him… Go on, sweetheart. We didn't get to how you busted the car yet."
She told him about their meeting with Enobaria and then shrugged. "It was weird though. If she had wanted to kill me, she could have… She said something about Snow rewarding her… I think she wanted to take me alive."
Haymitch froze.
"Oh…" he said, his face opening with understanding. "Oh, shit." He scowled. "You're not going anywhere near the Hellmouth or the Capitol again, you hear me? You're not going near Snow. You're not engaging Enobaria or Gloss. You're fucking staying away from them until we can figure this mess out…"
"What?" She frowned. "Why? It's…"
"Cause he wants your blood." He shook his head. "Look, last night I had some kind of… vision?"
He sounded unsure himself and it wasn't surprising Gale snorted.
"You mean hallucination?" the boy openly mocked.
Haymitch glared. "Could be. Either way, whatever she was, she was right. If Snow's weakened enough… There's one thing that's gonna fix him right up."
"Slayer's blood." Cinna added, with voice deepening with sudden understanding. "Oh, yes… That makes sense."
Her frown deepened. "Gloss already mentioned that during the Reaping… What's…"
"Slayer's blood is different from regular blood." Haymitch cut her off before she could finish the question. "It makes vampires stronger, it… It's powerful. And the last thing we want is risk giving Snow a taste so I say you're not going anywhere near that hotel until we have a real plan of attack in place." He rubbed his face. "I have old blueprints somewhere but I ain't sure how accurate the sewer parts are gonna be now…"
"I can find blueprints at the townhall." Madge offered. "I worked there last summer. I know where everything is and I've got access codes for the computers. I can get in and print what you need. It might take me a few trips to sneak everything out, never mind now that I'm on house arrest, but…"
"That'd be great." He nodded. "It's not tomorrow urgent but the sooner the better. I want a clear picture of what we're dealing with." Madge readily agreed and Haymitch stared at the table, absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the wood. "I've never been to the basement myself. It's described in Mags' journals but…" He made an irritated noise. "I'm gonna have to call her."
"So what's the game plan for now?" Katniss asked when it became clear he wouldn't say anything else.
"We stall." he declared. "We counter whatever schemes they're gonna try to pull to take control of the Seam, there are gonna be territory wars with other demons, but we don't confront them if we can help it. Not until we're sure we can win. Cause if Snow's really weak and he gets a hold of you… A weakened Snow's already gonna be a ride, I don't want to face him at full power if I don't have to." She didn't like it but she reluctantly nodded her agreement. "Get some proper rest. We're going on patrol tonight."
It was a tacit end to the briefing that she took at face value, eager to go back to Peeta's bedside.
She was halfway out of her chair – and so were Haymitch and Madge – when Gale scoffed, incredulous.
"So, that's it?" he challenged. "That's your big plan? Do nothing. Those people at the hotel, we just let them die? You don't care?"
"I don't care?" Haymitch snarled, gripping the edge of the table. "You think it ain't making me sick to leave those people to their fate?"
"Doesn't seem like it." the boy retorted.
"Gale." she snapped, annoyed.
"Okay." Haymitch snorted, sitting back down. Katniss and Madge looked at each other but took that as their cue and dropped back on their chairs too. "You've got the facts in hand, boy. You tell me how we should play this out. Come on."
Gale didn't look so smug now but he still jutted his chin up a little. "We do something. We storm that place or…"
"Fine. We storm the place." Haymitch humored him with a grim smirk. "Effie and Peeta are out. I ain't taking those girls with us. That leaves the four of us. Cinna and Katniss are gonna level out the playing field so I'm thinking the two of us are outnumbered three to one, the two of them two to one. Sounds right, Cinna?" The warlock made a hum of agreement. "Tell me what happens next with those odds, Hawthorne. Tell me."
Gale really didn't want to tell him, Katniss could see it.
"If we attack during the day…" he argued.
"Doesn't matter." Haymitch dismissed. "Didn't happen to notice curtains during your sneaking around, did you? Or maybe the fact that the corridors inside don't have windows? You think there won't be vampires up there on watch, think again. And that doesn't tell us how to bust out the humans they're keeping down in the basement, cause I guarantee there are some people downstairs. We attack. What happens?"
Reluctantly, Gale crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We die."
It cost him to admit it, clearly.
Katniss didn't feel any sympathy, he had brought it on himself. She was surprised Haymitch was humoring him that much.
"We die." The Watcher waved his hand in invitation to continue. "Then what? I've given you all the facts, put them together."
For a moment, she thought Gale would storm out but he held his ground, letting a small sigh of resignation. "Snow gets Katniss, drinks her blood and becomes powerful."
"And?" Haymitch insisted.
"And those Council assholes won't send anyone unless another Slayer is Called in the Seam so, basically, everyone's screwed." he muttered.
"There will be Effie, Peeta, Madge and I left, though. On the bright side." Prim chimed in, trying to make it sound like a joke.
"Sure." Haymitch's annoyed attention shifted to Katniss' sister. "First thing Effie's gonna do is send you to England." He glanced at Katniss but she made a face and he didn't press that particular issue for now. She wanted to think about it more. "After that, without her powers, Effie can probably protect the town for a week. Maybe a little longer if she plays it smart. Let's say best case scenario she can hold for a month, then she gets killed and shit really hits the fan."
He studied Gale for a long moment. Gale stared back.
Neither of them seemed willing to look away first.
Katniss looked at her sister, looked at Madge, saw Cinna's amused smile and rolled her eyes.
Boys and their posturing…
"Are we done?" she asked impatiently.
"We're done." Haymitch confirmed, still staring at Gale.
She hoped he got a lot of satisfaction out of winning that staring contest when the boy finally looked away. Not that it was the end of it because, when everyone started filing out of the library, Haymitch grabbed Gale's arm.
"You get why you can't ride to those people's rescue, yeah?" he insisted. "I get the urge, boy, I really do. I'd have been the same at your age but you've got to understand… With us, it's stupid. Alone, it's suicidal."
Gale pursed his lips and shrugged him off but his tone was grim. "I get it. I won't do anything stupid and I won't do anything that's gonna get Katniss killed either."
Once she was sure there would be no bloodshed between them, she scampered upstairs again. Madge had to go anyway and Gale had offered to walk her back, she didn't ask Prim what she was going to do with her day but her sister showed up on the guest room's threshold not long after she had taken back her perch at the foot of Peeta's bed.
Peeta was still deeply asleep but his fingers twitched sometimes as if he was dreaming… Surely that was better than the complete unconsciousness he had displayed so far?
"Can we talk?" Prim hesitated.
She could never say no to her sister and she really couldn't say no when Prim's eyes were all misty with unshed tears. "Sure."
It wasn't exactly inviting but Prim stepped inside all the same, awkwardly standing on the old maroon bedside rug. She was pulling on her fingers, like always when she was nervous. "Katniss, I'm really sorry."
"I know." she acknowledged because Prim wasn't one to break rules or lie and she couldn't imagine she was feeling really good about watching her classmates and friends getting slaughtered. "I just don't get why you did something so stupid when you knew it was dangerous."
Prim flinched but didn't try to find excuses for herself. "I just… You kept dismissing me like I didn't matter, all of you. I know you were just trying to protect me but I wanted… I don't know… It was stupid."
There wasn't much more to say on that subject, was there? She pursed her lips, picked a loose thread from her fleece dressing gown… "You're grounded."
"Haymitch told me." She nodded, staring at her with her big blue pleading eyes. "He forgave me even if I don't deserve it. Do you? Please, I'm so sorry, I…"
"Of course, I forgive you." she cut her off but it was a bit snippy. She suspected it would take her a while to get over the anger because the anger stemmed from the panic she had felt when she had realized her sister was in mortal danger. "But you can't ever do something like that again."
Prim shook her head, her shoulders slumping in relief. "Never again. Never. I promise."
"Alright." Katniss sighed, standing up so she could hug her. It seemed it was all Prim wanted because she clung to her hard. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek on the top of her head, wishing she was still younger because a younger Prim had been easier to handle. Teenager Prim? That would take some getting used to. "You really had me worried, little duck."
"I'm sorry." her sister repeated, her voice breaking a little.
Being sorry didn't make it all okay but, she supposed, it was a start.
Avengers Assemble! Will Gale listen to Haymitch? Will Prim and Kat's relationship recover? Will Peeta wake up soon? Will I survive lockdown without a panic attack a day? So many questions, so few answers. Let me know your thoughts!