On a bitter November day my father, Elijah Everdeen, and his close friend Boone Hawthorne went on a fishing trip to Middle Saranac Lake.
My father and Boone often went on weekend fishing and hiking trips throughout the Adirondack Park. When we were very small my best friend Gale and I would tag-a-long with our dads. We learned how to live in the wilderness with little more than the packs on our backs. We developed a passion for survival and endurance quests. Our fathers fostered that enthusiasm in us, feeding our adrenaline with higher peaks and steeper mountain trails.
That November was the coldest on record in the last fifty years. I was giddy with the thought of pitching a camp by the lake on nearby Ampersand Mountain. The frigid temperatures of a mountain night always gave me a rush. After school on that Friday I remember rushing straight home to get my supplies ready. When dad came home from work I already had our packs neatly organized and ready by the door. He had smiled softly at me as he tried to explain that he wanted me to stay behind.
I was angry, hot and cross with him quicker than you can snap. For a moment I had thought that he was saying I was too frail to camp through the temperatures. When I got huffy he laughed lightly.
"Little bird you are tough as nails, I have no doubts about that," he had said as he laced up his boots over thick wool socks. He explained that he and Boone needed some 'male bonding time' before they would be cooped up all winter.
Gale had scoffed at the notion when I called him up to compare complaints about it. He wagered that he was a male and deserved the bonding time too.
"But you Catnip have a bigger dick than me anyway, remember Pocomoonshine? That was ballsy!" Gale barked a laugh at me through the receiver as he brought up my most adventurous escapade of the year. I had decided I was going to blaze my own trail. Somehow I had ended up dangling off a rock formation by one hand on the side of Pocomoonshine Mountain.
Definitely not my best decision, I'll admit it.
Despite our itch to catch some good lake trout Gale and I stayed home as our dad's drove up to Ampersand for that freezing November weekend. Mom spent all of Sunday afternoon cleaning the house to stave off nervous energy when Dad didn't come home when he'd been expected.
On Monday morning we woke to find the driveway still empty.
Hazelle Hawthorne rang the house at half-past six. That's when I knew that Gale and I had to go looking for them. There was ominous feeling in my heart. Something terrible had happened, I just knew it. I imagined them trapped somewhere, cave-in, or a tumble off a cliff. Prim cried as I prepared my pack. Just as Gale's old Ford pick-up truck pulled onto the dirt drive-way the phone rang.
As my mother listened to the person on the other end of the line my heart sank low in my belly. Her face was pallid. I still remember the loud crash as the phone hit the checkered linoleum floor and smashed open.
My father and his best friend were found hung by their necks in a large maple tree half-way up the mountain.
The official police report stated that they had never intended to make camp. Instead, they had left their packs in father's truck, ventured up the mountain with two thick coils of rope and knotted nooses round their necks.
Gale and I didn't believe it and our mothers' behaviors during and following that time supported our suspicions. I just couldn't put my finger on what exactly was going on.
Suicide wasn't a common thing in our village.
When the Everdeen-Hawthorne double-suicide happened it had left a gaping hole in the community. Two prominent men at the cusp of their careers and lives, killing themselves for no apparent reason, it didn't make sense. The whole idea was unbelievable, speculation about their relationship and supposed dealings with 'shifty characters' seemed to run rampant in the rumor mill.
A lot of people brought hot dishes to us after the funeral. Some even checked in on us from time to time and I hated it. I didn't want to owe them for their kindness. I didn't want to be told that people were sorry about my father. That people had no idea he needed help. He didn't need it, I would think, because he never would have killed himself.
A few weeks after his death, my mother still hadn't returned to her job at the health clinic. She seemed to be in a state of constant depression and wouldn't get out of bed. Prim was petrified that we would never have her back to normal. I couldn't question her, when I tried to pull information from her about her odd behavior from that weekend, she would roll over and cry.
As I heated up a plate of Greasy Sae's chicken and biscuits for Prim I heard the sound of an engine coming up the drive-way. I peeked through the blinds and found the baker's van pulling up. A blond curly head emerged from the driver's seat.
I had always steered clear of Peeta Mellark, though he was cheerful and friendly. His large group of friends always made me uncomfortable. I watched him pull a basket from the back of the van and huddle it to his chest before he approached the house.
I sighed and walked toward the front door when I heard his knock. Prim smiled and squealed when I let him in. Peeta has been Prim's math tutor for the past four years. She always raves about how smart he is and how nice he is to her and all her friends.
"Peeta!" Prim exclaimed as she ran over to give him a quick hug. He laughed and squeezed her shoulders to his side, while he balanced the basket in his other arm. He looked up at me with his blue eyes glistening and offered me a warm smile.
"Katniss, how are you?" He asked.
I shrugged lightly. "Been better."
He nodded and handed me the large basket. He had covered it in a striped cloth napkin. I could smell the contents before I lifted the cloth. When I peered inside I shook my head.
"We can't take that much bread," I told him sternly.
He smiled. "I insist Katniss. It will save you any trips to the bakery for a while." He knew that we couldn't afford to purchase those types of things, even before dad's death. It filled me with fury for some reason.
It was too much of a gift, too much to pay back for a very long time. I forced the basket back into his hands. We struggled with it for a moment as he tried to give it back to me.
He let out a short laugh. "Really Katniss, please, take it."
His grin was getting on my nerves and so were his long blond eyelashes. Why was he so damn distracting? Always so damn nice and perfect, a veritable boy scout. With one final shove he forced the basket back into my hands, but as he did so his left hand brushed against the knuckles of my right.
I gasped loudly and dropped the basket when a large rush of electricity zapped through us. Prim immediately knelt to pick up the loaves of bread and buns. Peeta and I just stared at each other. The shock on his face mirrored the feeling in my chest. He covered his fist with his other palm, and pressed them over his heart as though he were injured. His bewildered blue eyes glistened with questions. I closed my shocked mouth and nursed my own hand. It felt like the pins and needles you sense when your foot has gone to sleep.
Peeta shook himself and backed toward the door. Prim looked up at me with confusion, finally noticing the strange tension between myself and Peeta.
"I've – uh gotta go. I'll see you – uh – see you around," he murmured as he ran from the house.
"Sorry little duck. I didn't mean to drop them."
Together we packaged the loaves up and stored some in the freezer. That night I took Prim to Sae's diner for dinner. We overheard a few people talking about father's suicide. I shot them angry looks.
It was only the first of many occasions that people started whispering about us. That's when the folk-lore started coming out of the woodwork. People started talking about that mountain and the things that had happened there in the past.
There were always some local legends about witchcraft. Things such as failing crops or ill livestock could be blamed on the whim of a witch, but people didn't tend to talk like that much anymore.
Some people even joked that Haymitch Abernathy, the town drunk, had been cursed by a witch. Gale and I used to laugh about it, until we started noticing strange changes in each other. Things that we couldn't explain or understand.
I have always had a connection to the wilderness. Gale is the same way. We thrive in the vast forests, as though we have some animal presence within us that seeks to live forever in the Adirondack's High Peaks.
We are like one being, functioning best as a team when we hike together or canoe the lakes and streams. We even hunt like a pair of wolves, prowling and in sync.
Now my connection feels different, to the forest, and to Gale.
Around me I feel the energy of the trees. The wind which has always felt cold now carries a harsh scent. There are no leaves to shield me from the bitter bite of the fall breeze, but the tree at my back radiates tingling warmth. Gale is coming to meet me here. I can feel his presence hovering on the outer edges of my consciousness.
When I skim my eyes to the right he is there, staring straight back at me from the other side of the clearing. We sit peering at each other in silence for several minutes. There is a pink tinge to the olive skin of his face where the wind has sunken into his skin. Without dropping his gaze I grip the dry branches and swing myself onto the stiff earth beneath my perch.
"You feel it too don't you?" Gale's voice is soft, but I hear it over the whistling gusts.
I nod my head, uncertain what is happening to us. We meet up in the middle of the clearing, our boots crunching quietly on the dead leaves. Gale has tension lining his features, but his silver eyes carry a comfort that I need more than ever.
"What's happening to us?" Gale whispers.
A particularly large gust of air whips between our bodies, bringing the sour scent that seems to fuel something inside me. Gale's expression lets me know that he is having the same reaction of disgust to the wind.
"I feel a connection with the trees. They radiate warmth." I don't have any other words to explain the way I feel, but Gale seems to understand what I am trying to say. He nods as he circles his gaze over my head to look at the forest.
I swallow the lump in my throat and continue, "I feel you." When I say it Gale inhales slightly and closes his eyes for the briefest moment.
"When did you first notice it?" He squints at me as he asks. I can see his hands balled up in the pockets of his jacket, as if he is trying not to reach out for me.
"A week after they were found. When we met up in the woods I felt drawn to where you were." I bite my lip and gesture between us. "Like there was some force that binds us together." Gale nods slowly.
"Yeah, me too Catnip. I feel warmer when you are around, like I am running a fever." As if we both have the same idea at the same time, we reach our hands toward each other. I blush slightly and Gale releases a short laugh.
"Let's try something," he says as he removes his gloves. I follow suit and tentatively we touch our hands together.
I have the look and feel of Gale's calloused strong hands memorized. He can use them to tie the most intricate knots when we are climbing, or design beautifully simple snares when we hunt. I've held his hands when we help each other into tall trees or when we jump off the cliffs into lakes.
Never have his hands felt like this. Where we are touching there is an intangible inner quality bubbling forth. Like a power source.
I gasp as Gale squeezes our palms tighter and the energy seeps up my arms, radiating into the rest of my body. It feels like I am standing in front of a fire. And the flames are made of Gale Hawthorne as if he is the source of it.
"Catnip, do you think there is something our parents never told us? That we have some sort of power?" Gale asks me as we both stare down at our clasped hands.
"Yes." I nod and look up at his face. "I think there is."
After our discovery Gale and I both started noticing that objects had energy. No energy had a stronger connection to us than wood and fire. We poured all of our time into searching for witchcraft on the internet and in books.
Madge Undersee had been working at the public library for the past three years. She was a volunteer mostly, but they paid her to run the preschool literacy services in the summer months.
She had always been one of my only friends, so I knew that I could trust her to keep her mouth shut about all the strange books I needed to borrow from the library. Gale and I spent hours in the basement of the old library pouring over pages and pages about pagan religions, European witchcraft, healers, and shamans.
On one particular day, Gale had to take his younger brothers to the dentist and I journeyed to the library alone. Madge met me with a smile and a soft "Hello."
After an hour of reading about the elements of earth, fire, water, and wind my eyes are already feeling dry. I allow myself to blink rapidly for a few minutes and gingerly rub the back of my hands against my eye sockets. I feel Madge's presence next to me before she says anything. She has a cooling effect on me. Her presence is softer than Gale.
My gaze feels tethered to her glassy blue eyes as soon as I look up at her and there is almost a jolt in the energy that seems to be constantly buzzing across my skin. Madge clears her throat and nervously bites her lip.
"Katniss I need to show you something," she whispers, unsure of something.
I rise and let her lead me to the corner room where the local books are kept. Her pale fingers skim over the old bindings until she gingerly pulls a yellowing book off the shelf. It smells dank like the rest of the basement.
She places the old tome in my palms and leads me back to the cramped table. The cover photo is of a grand maple tree in a hardwood forest. Above the picture in block letters is the title, "The Hanging Tree". After I realize what the title implies I gape at Madge. What right does she have to show me a book about people being hung?
"What the fuck is this?" I whisper angrily, shoving the book at her across the table. It jostles an untidy pile of discarded ones at my side causing one to thump loudly as it falls to the floor. She closes her eyes for a moment and breaths out a soft sigh.
"Listen Katniss, you need to read this. That's all I can tell you." With that she stands up and walks away. Before she climbs the old stairs to the upper level I catch a sad expression on her face.
I nearly choke on my tears as I read through the pages of the dense volume. It describes a group of families that originally moved to the area in 1900. They were pegged by the locals as witches.
My heart seizes up. Does Madge know about Gale and me?
The book describes a series of events that brought political tension and unrest to the village until it culminated in one final blow-out. Coriolanus Snow, the mayor, pushed the angry villagers too bound and gagged two "witches", Axel Hawthorne and Sarah Everdeen, tried to drown them in Middle Saranac Lake and subsequently hung them in the largest maple tree they could find, a tree that still grows today on Ampersand Mountain.
My heart nearly stops at the thought. Immediately I text Gale, Meet me in the library basement, it's urgent. Hurry!
Had someone murdered our fathers because of something that happened in the past? I know in the depths of my soul that my father would have never killed himself. He wouldn't have intentionally left us penniless. He wouldn't have left us period.
I also know that he and Boone must have had powers too. Gale and I had talked for hours about strange things that happened to us when we were children. About things our fathers did that probably weren't normal.
My own father had saved a man from drowning once and by all accounts he should have been swept down the river too, but he wasn't.
After an hour of crying and re-reading passages I hear the creak of the stairs. I look up to see Gale approaching me, flanked by Madge. They both seem more on edge.
I shoot Gale a quizzical look as he somewhat calmly sits beside me. He has trouble folding his long legs beneath the table, but he manages it after two tries. Madge hovers behind him, nervously biting her bottom lip.
Without looking into his eyes I silently push the book in front of Gale. I fully expect him to open it and start reading. After a few minutes he still does not open it and I glance up at him in confusion. He's piercing Madge with a gaze that could almost be called hatred. She has her arms wrapped tightly around her body with her hands gripping at her elbows.
"I'm sorry," she murmurs to him. "She has a right to know."
My senses suddenly feel heightened. Is Gale hiding something from me? Gale sighs loudly and rubs his right hand through his hair in frustration. I stiffen at his actions. He is hiding something. When he looks back at my face I can see the doubt shimmering in his eyes.
"What the fuck have you been keeping secret?" I hiss. He blanches and wipes his hand over his face.
"Catnip. I didn't think you were ready," he says sternly. I glare at him feeling betrayed. We are both going through the exact same thing and he decides to hide something from me?
"I trust you with my life-" I grit out, but Gale cuts me off.
"I know and I trust you with mine, but this is bigger than just us." Gale fiddles with the edge of the book as he speaks. I want to reach out and grab his hand so that the feeling of dread in me is drowned out by the warmth that radiates between us.
"Why won't you just tell her?" Madge asks angrily. I've never so much as heard her use a negative tone and it takes me by surprise to hear such tension in her voice.
Gale twists in his chair and grabs Madge's wrist roughly. Gale and Madge usually don't interact much. His rough treatment of her startles me. I wouldn't think that they would hang out when I'm not around and beyond that Gale has never been rude or coarse with her.
"Well, Undersee if you hadn't shown her the book maybe I could have broken the news a little more gently. Jesus you're an idiot sometimes!" He hisses angrily. She wriggles against his grip and finally grinds her nails into the back of his hand.
"Fuck! Hell, Undersee retract the claws," he mutters. Madge withdraws her hands and settles her gaze on me once more. Gale shakes his injured hand for a moment and then grips it in his other palm.
Something flashes across Madge's face before she speaks and I can't identify the emotion. It troubles me. "Katniss. I am going to tell you straight up. I am a witch." Gale moans and places his face in both of his palms.
"Way to just lay it on Undersee," he groans from between his fingers. I stare at the both of them like they have grown three heads.
"You knew about this?" I ask Gale. He nods with a grim expression and explains that he discovered Madge's powers when she accidently brushed against his arm.
"It felt like she had electrocuted me," Gale says hastily as he shoots Madge a strange look. Madge blushes slightly and murmurs an apology for whatever happened between them.
I grit my teeth and Peeta Mellark's face swims in my mind. When we had touched it felt like the fire of a thousand suns. It was a shock to my system. Is he a witch too?
"Our families have something in common. We are all part of a coven that has been around for centuries. When Axel and Sarah were hung our circle decided that magic should be kept more hidden. What happened to your fathers has awakened the spirits. That's why they call to you. Your magic is stronger, because your fathers' energy has passed to you and Gale." Madge explains this in a heated whisper.
She keeps glancing behind her shoulder like she expects someone to be eaves-dropping. Gale scans my face as I listen to her. I fix him with a withering gaze. Why the hell would he keep something like this from me?
Madge grabs my water bottle from the side of my back-pack. She drips some of the water into her palm and clenches her hand. She is whispering something under her breath. Gale watches my face as I become enthralled by the soft tinkling that emanates from Madge's hand. A white light shimmers through the cracks in her fist and then she upturns her palm to present a small shimmering orb of ice.
My mouth drops open in shock. Madge smiles softly at me.
"There are things you are capable of Katniss that you have never dared to imagine."
"Catnip I didn't think you were ready!" Gale yells at me as I stomp away from him. The forest around me is heightened with sounds. I swivel on my heel and storm back to him. We've been arguing about the coven and the audacity he had to lie to me about it.
"You're not my keeper Gale, you're my best friend. You had NO right to keep this from me!" I scream at him. My throat aches with the force. I thrust a palm at his chest. His thick Carhartt jacket doesn't stop his energy from reaching me.
"Were you ever planning to tell me?" I hiss. I punctuate each word with a stab at his hard chest. Heat pulses into me with each jab of my gloved hand.
"How long were you keeping this from me?"
Gale groans in frustration and forces my palm away with a shove. He turns his back to me and heaves a great sigh. I know he can't look at me and admit how long he was lying. It hurts him when I am in pain. It hurts both of us. We trust each other more than anyone else.
"I wanted to keep you safe for as long as I could, that's all Catnip. I found out a few days ago. It's all been too fast." Gale drops his head and scuffs the toe of his boot into the hard surface of the earth. My whole body aches with the tension that I have felt since Madge's confession. I've been worried sick about Prim and what power like this could bring to harm her.
"Catnip, I love you. I didn't want you to be caught up in this," he whispers.
I feel my anger ebbing away. Now I just feel cold and I don't want this. I don't want either of us to feel lost and hurt. Tentatively I wrap my hands around him from behind so that my front is aligned with his sturdy back. My whole body instantly fills with his energy.
"I'm sorry," he whispers as he places his gloved hands over mine. We stand there in silence for a few minutes. I press my face into the stiff fabric of his jacket.
"There's a cave behind the bakery where Madge meets up with the others. Come with me and you can learn all you need to know," Gale says softly.
"Okay." I nod into his back, "Lets go."
The cave is nestled in the sloping hills behind the bakery. The forest here seems more alive than anywhere else. I can feel the pull of powers from all directions. Spirits, Madge had said. I grip Gale's large hand as we walk through the underbrush. I've never felt scared like this. Unknown things within the woods usually fill me with excitement.
Behind a group of large pine trees the opening to the cave is revealed. Gale squeezes my palm as he leads me toward the entrance. He presses his other hand into my back as he guides me through the hole.
Immediately we are bathed in a soft light. Someone has lit a kerosene lamp in the back of the cave. It hangs from a hook in the ceiling. My eyes trail over the collection of strange items. There are tables filled with herbs, rocks, and jars of strange liquids.
Madge is waiting for us, sitting cross-legged on a large flat rock. A large brown book is propped open beside her. She smiles at me in a reassuring way. Her eyes flicker toward the palm that Gale has pressed into my lower back and then up at his face. She blinks quickly and then turns back to the book.
"The others will be here soon," she murmurs.
I notice that Madge has a red cloth wrapped around her left hand and a small rock grasped in her right. Gale and I sit on a wooden log that is laid beside a fire pit. There is no fire, but the floor is covered in old ashes and remnants of burnt wood. I let my shoulder rest against Gale's so that his energy may keep my fear at bay. Gale smirks when I press against him knowing full well that I never lean on him for comfort. I roll my eyes.
Madge continues to read something from the large book, moving her hands in different patterns like she is trying to decipher which way the directions want her to hold them. I realize suddenly that she must be reading a book of spells.
The crunching sound of leaves and twigs outside the cave makes my heart flutter. Gale must feel it, because he reaches for my hand again.
Several figures come through the opening and I let out a slow shaky breath of air. Greasy Sae, the old woman who runs the diner and Haymitch Abernathy, the town drunk are huddled together. Haymitch helps old Sae into the large wooden chair opposite our spot by the fire pit. Sae smiles at me crookedly and Haymitch takes a large swig of liquor as he plops down beside Madge.
I gasp audibly as my mother and Hazelle climb through the opening a few moments later. They are dressed in warm clothing, their faces pale and firm. I harden my grip on Gale's hand in anger. He squeezes back an apology. This must have been what is so painful for him; our mothers knew all along that our fathers did not kill themselves. Could they have stopped whatever happened?
My mother does not meet my eyes as she sits beside Haymitch. Hazelle meets my gaze with a calm strange expression. I grit my teeth to bite back my shout of anger. I'll yell at my mother later. I'm sure Hazelle has already had the wrath of Gale upon her anyway. Another rustling approach alerts me to a new set of arrivals and I tear my hate-filled eyes away from Hazelle and mother.
Mr. Mellark is followed by his three sons. All of their thick blond curls shimmer in the lamp light. Peeta Mellark's gaze makes me squirm as he stands between his broad-chested brothers. Whatever happened when Madge had brushed her skin against Gale was exactly what had happened as I touched Peeta's hand. The knowledge that some strange magical connection had flowed through us makes my heart jump.
The addition of the Mellark men creates a cramped feeling in the cave. Someone clears their throat after a minute and Madge puts the rock down on the book beside her.
She stands with the red cloth wrapped firmly around her left hand. I watch her own hair shimmer in the light as she moves to the center of the room. There is a different presence about her in this moment. She looks eerily beautiful. Gale stares at her in a heated way that makes my stomach churn.
"Now that Katniss has come forth, we must welcome her into the circle," Madge says in a voice that is far more confident than she has ever used. She turns and addresses everyone in the room with a smile. She ends with my mother who sits up straighter in her spot.
"Lillian, I think that you should explain to Katniss why we are here," Madge says firmly. My mother blanches slightly before she turns to face me. I stare at her with a look that I hope conveys my pent-up anger. Her blue eyes flicker across my face.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry that I never told you. Your father and I tried to protect you from the things that have happened in the past. Our family is part of a long line of witches. When your great grandparents came here they thought that they could practice their powers freely. The forests here yield great power. Yet, some things got out of hand and your great grandmother suffered for it with her life. We are here today to bind you to the circle and ensure your safety. When Prim is old enough she will become part of the coven too. The power in your veins is stronger than you know and what you will learn from your coven will help you use it safely." My mother's voice is soft as she speaks. She keeps looking around the circle of people before her eyes find mine once more. She pleads with me silently to forgive her. I don't know if I can. Not if she could have prevented what happened to dad.
"Child, your mother is a healer and your father was a powerful witch," Greasy Sae's cracked voice addresses me. "Someday you will be eternally bound to a man like him and you will grow that powerful too. But, now you need to become one of us and take your place."
I stare at her wide eyed as she leans forward with both of her palms held out toward the fire pit. She looks toward Mr. Mellark who nods. He and his eldest son Oliver both stretch their palms toward the forest whispering something inaudibly. My skin tingles when four large logs hover through the opening of the cave and proceed to cut themselves into kindling wood.
"Abernathy," Sae says sternly as she looks at Haymitch. He rolls his eyes and places his open liquor bottle on the ground. He stretches his cracked palms toward her and together they murmur an incantation. Fire seems to grow out of nowhere between them. They release it into the pit and a great blaze begins to burn the wood.
"Gale tells us that you share the fire element with him, I am also of that element," Sae says as she eyes me over the blaze.
"Hazelle, Oliver and Bannock are of the Earth. They can utilize nature. Haymitch and Rye are of wind. Their element feeds ours." That must explain why the wind smells like sour breath. Haymitch is mixed in with it.
"Madge and Peeta are of water. Madge says she has shown you her element already." Sae she briefly glances at the two blondes who are now standing together at her right side.
"Your mother is a healer. Someday your sister will be. Healers help to support our power and regenerate us. They can also help non-magical people who are in need," Sae explains before she clasps her hands together.
"Now you both must come forth and receive your elemental spirits into your hearts." Gale pulls me into a standing position and guides me to the older woman. She presses her left palm into Gales and her right into mine. Instantly I feel her coursing through my veins. I let out a pained cry of surprise. Sae fixes me with a strange look of bewilderment then shakes her head lightly.
She begins to recite an incantation. Both Madge and Peeta place their palms on Sae's shoulders and begin to follow her words. The red cloth that was once around Madge's palm floats around Gale's body and then hovers around my own. My body feels as though it is made of molten lava, a consuming deep inferno, or a terrible burn on the brink of explosion. I hear other voices joining in and the din of it breaks through my consciousness.
I will combust. I will burn to death. I cry out in pain again, this time Sae grips my hand harder. Then suddenly the pain is gone and the room is silent.
Gale and I turn to each other, shaken but alive. Peeta comes around Sae's shoulder and reaches for my hand. For a brief moment I worry that his touch will sting me like before. He grips my palm tightly, a look of triumph in his eyes.
"Your magic wasn't confined before, that's why we hurt each other," Peeta says through a large grin. I stare down at our fingers and marvel at the strange sensation of his energy mixing with mine.
His touch carries a sharp edge to it that is different than Gale's, almost as though he is balancing me. I suppose he could be. If I am of fire and he is water. Gale clears his throat and I immediately drop Peeta's hand. A flush spreads across my cheeks.
Mr. Mellark and his middle son present the Book of Elements to me. Rye explains the science and magic behind our power and what it can teach us. Hazelle and mother both promise to teach Gale and me lessons about our powers. The idea would have seemed ludicrous only a few short weeks ago.
"What happened to our fathers?" I ask tentatively when the conversations seem to die down. Haymitch takes a long drawl of his bottle before he clears his throat.
"What happened to them sweetheart was the one thing you will need the most protection from, evil spirits." A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. In the literature Gale and I had come across demons and faeries who wreak havoc in the dead of night. The thought is chilling that such things could be real.
Here I am though, a witch. Anything and everything else is now possible.
"Boone and Elijah went up to that mountain looking for that spirit. They found it, but they sure as hell weren't prepared for whatever it brought to the fight," Hazelle affirms. Whatever the monster is, I suddenly fear more than ever for Prim's safety and the safety of the people who live in town.
"That's why I am forbidding anyone from looking for it until we can figure out our best defense," Sae commands. The others nod their heads in affirmation.
Gale grits his teeth though. I can sense his apprehension and anger. He wants to exact revenge on whatever took our fathers from us. I agree with him, but the thought of fighting something I know nothing about frightens me. I can already tell that old Greasy Sae is a powerful witch and if she thinks fighting that evil presence is a mistake then I agree with her.
"If the entire circle goes together, maybe we can truly fight it off," Peeta reasons. Sae appraises him for a moment then she nods.
"Not enough of us are bound together. Someday if you have chosen your rightful partners we can finish what has been started. Some of us are more powerful than we think," Sae tells him.
Her eyes flicker to me meaningfully.
I spend the next few months learning about my craft with Madge and Gale, while avoiding Peeta at all costs. He seems persistent though and there is a strange pull to him that I don't experience with anyone else's energy.
I practice my powers constantly. I have learned to control objects with only a few whispered words, melding their energy with mine. Natural objects are easier to manipulate. Plants, rocks, and earth move of my own will. Now I can almost sense the energy of non-magical people too. Feel their emotions when I touch them and sense their life force.
"Katniss, I know you have been avoiding Peeta and I know about the electrical jump you got when you touched him," Madge says matter-of-factly as she stirs a brew she is making in a hotpot.
I sigh loudly and shake my head at her. She's mighty persistent, but I am not going to budge on the fact that she wants me to practice magic with Peeta. I will allow it with her, with the elders, and with Gale. But practicing with Peeta will never be on my priority list.
"Come on Katniss, I told you what it means when you find the person who makes your magic stronger. You could be partners, you could learn a lot about your powers from each other."
I grimace and continue trying to start a fire in the pit using nothing but my hands. Madge says I need an element like wind to do something so drastic. I'm not convinced though. I seem to be able to do a lot of things on my own. Everyone else needs objects, amulets, or potions in order to manipulate things. No one is fully able of creating things on their own. Even Sae needs the assistance of another elder in order to conjure fire from her hands.
"Gale is my partner," I say to her as I rub my hands together and attempt the spell once more.
We have had a connection from childhood and now that we both know we are of the same element things have been stronger between us. For me I just feel closer to my best friend, but I'm worried that Gale wants something more. Sometimes when we practice together I feel an overwhelming desire pulsating from him. I try to pretend I don't, though we both know that we can sense each other's emotions now more than ever before.
I remember Sae's words about binding our powers and feel a sour taste in my mouth. I don't think I will ever be ready to pair up with a witch from this coven. I like the idea of protecting Prim on my own. Look what love and power did to my parents. My father is dead and my mother is a ghost of a person.
Peeta must have sensed the presence of Madge and me, because he walks into the mouth of the cave a few moments later. His thick winter jacket is pulled tight around him and his blond curls are covered in a grey wool hat. There are flakes of snow on his shoulders and I peer around him to see that it is snowing once more. It has been snowing more this winter than any other I can remember.
"Hey," he says in greeting as he sits beside me. Madge greets him with a smile, but I just nod a hello.
"What are you lovely ladies up to?" Peeta asks as he eyes Madge's mixture.
It smells putrid and is the color of mud. She's tried this potion several times today alone. She is attempting to make a mixture that will help the herbs grow. None of them have been growing well in the frigid night air of the cave. We use the herbs for many things, but mostly potions. Sae even has us younger members of the circle chew on mint leaves daily for inner strength.
"I'm mixing a potion. I've been practicing." Madge clarifies as she scans the page in the book once more. Peeta nods and turns toward me. I grimace as he scoots a little closer. I try to ignore the pull of his energy, but it is so hard when he is sitting only a shoulder's width away.
His energy feels like some sort of drug, almost as though I need it more than I need air.
"Can you move a little farther away please?" I murmur as I place my palms on a wood log in the pit. Peeta lets out a breath of air as he stands.
"Don't like the feeling that you need me? I quite like your energy Katniss, it's like my heroin." Peeta always seems to say exactly what other people can't say. I glare at him as he moves to a spot on the other side of the fire pit. He just smirks.
"I want to try some magic," Peeta says as he stares at me, "Together." Peeta's smirk pulls into a grin as I try harder to make my spell work without him or Madge. I focus intently on the log and attempt to ignore his presence. With my eyes closed I hear Madge sighing behind me as she realizes she has messed up the directions for probably the third or fourth time. I can imagine the look of disgust on her pretty face.
Without warning I feel Peeta grasping my forearm and murmuring with me. My eyes fly open and I attempt to pull away, but he grips my arm harder. A fierce energy pushes from within my chest and suddenly the fire shoots from my fingertips startling all three of us. Both Peeta and I fall back away from the intense heat of the four foot high flames.
"Holy fuck," He gasps as he looks at me wide-eyed. My heart beats a mile a minute as we stare at each other.
"I told you." Madge sing-songs, haughty.
"What do you want to start with?" Peeta asks. He stands awkwardly beside my bed. I shift nervously from foot to foot and finally settle on my right.
"Well, what do you want to try?" I ask tentatively.
My small room is cramped with items from my childhood. Pictures of my family, books about nature and hiking, my fishing pole and tackle box. My old outdoorsmen gear, which hasn't seen use since this whole magic thing began.
"Let's try to make something balance. What if we produce water and fire, see if things even out?" Peeta suggests.
He perches himself on the edge of my quilt covered bed. He looks out of place. Not many people have been in here besides Gale and Madge. I pace in front of him for a moment, before I allow myself to sit beside him. There is something strangely intimate about having him in my private space, my haven away from the world.
I feel an instant rush of energy as my shoulder brushes his. The bed is not very big and there isn't much room to move around. Peeta inhales sharply and I feel a strong sense of some unidentifiable emotion emanating from within him. For a moment I am distracted by the flutter of his long eyelashes against his cheeks as we both just sit in the power of our combined energies.
"Can I hold your hand?" He asks softly.
I clear my throat and look down at his wide palm. I can see a burn mark on the inside of his left forearm where he probably touched an oven at the bakery. I nod slightly in response to his question and allow him to lace his fingers through mine. I feel him with each breath.
Heroin he had called it, I think he was right.
"Focus on water and I'll focus on fire," I say as I nod toward our clasped hand. Peeta closes his eyes, so I do the same. I feel something wet sliding against my palm after only a few moments, followed by a hot licking flame.
Peeta laughs with a hint of surprise, "It works. Look!"
I open my eyes to see that between our fingers there is an orb of molten ice and fire. I find myself smiling along with Peeta's large grin. In fact I get quite distracted by it. As he leans toward me, eyeing my lips I know exactly what he is about to do. I close my eyes as I feel the soft pressure of his lips against mine. Something thrilling shoots through my veins and Peeta gasps into my lips.
"Ouch!" he exclaims. We both jump back in surprise when we realize that the quilt is on fire. We must have dropped the fiery water ball.
"Put it out Peeta!" I shriek as we press our backs against my wall.
He laughs suddenly as if he is just realizing that he can do magic. I watch his deft fingers form the water into a spray and douse the small flame. He lets out a sigh of relief and smiles back at me once more. I shake my head and run my hand across my face where I feel the ghost of a smile coming back.
"Katniss Everdeen, I think you will be the death of me."
I roll my eyes at him and try to decide how we will fix the hole in my quilt.
In the coming days, Peeta and I develop a tenuous friendship. No matter how hard I try to keep feelings at bay his energy seems to fuel things in me that I can't seem to ignore.
Not long after that I learn that Gale and I both have dark magic in us. I'm frightened because the reason that our fathers and our grandparents were killed was because of it. The coven explains that we must perform a ritual on The Hanging Tree to prevent any further deaths. No one has ever journeyed to the tree, not even old Sae. Sae says that as a circle we must go to the place where the evil spirit lives and banish it, before it hurts someone else non-magical.
The conversation reminds me of the day that I was given my element by the older woman. I have now grown to call her Elder, just as the other adults are referred to. Without them I would be lost in this new world of strange things.
Gale and I begin to take lessons with Haymitch about how to keep our dark magic under control. He talks about his wife, who was destroyed by her own darkness. Haymitch keeps telling us that if he had bound to his wife, he feels she would have never succumbed to the darkness. All he has left in the world is Madge, his niece and her mother, his wife's twin sister.
Gale is certain that we must bind ourselves together to keep each other safe. I think he sees that there are parts of himself that he can't control. Parts that he has no handle on. Becoming part of Gale scares me. It is much more permanent than any non-magical ritual like marriage or dating.
Gale is still angered by the fact that I did magic with Peeta, infuriated by the fact that we might not actually be meant for each other. He is certain that if we bind our powers together it will protect us from the evil that surrounds us and the evil within.
When Gale and I need to talk we always go to the forest behind our houses. That's where we are the night that things take a turn for the worst.
"We are meant to be bound Katniss," Gale's hands grip mine tightly as he speaks. No matter how hard I try to fight it, I am drawn to the earnest expression in his silvery eyes.
He squeezes my palms for emphasis as he continues. "I am yours and you are mine. Everything else is-." He shakes his head and releases a bitter laugh.
"Catnip if we aren't together imagine what will happen to our magic." In his voice there is a trepidation that slightly quakes across his words. "Don't let this consume me. We need to balance each other."
But all I can think about when he speaks of balance is Peeta's face and the feeling that I get when his energy is close to mine. The guilt that bubbles forth from within me is more powerful than any other feeling he has invoked. If he can't recognize it on my face, I know he can feel it where our energies are connected. I try to swallow the thick lump in my throat that seems set to choke me. Our energies strum steadily with the charged flow of our emotions, radiating a slight warmth in the glacial mountain air.
"Gale, I never wanted to hurt you. I just want you and Prim safe." Before I've finished the tears have begun to glide across my cold cheeks.
Gale pulls me into his embrace, eliciting a sob from within me. I press my lips into the stiff fabric of his Carhartt jacket to silence the terrible sounds that are threatening to escape. Gale is shaking and it isn't from the freezing temperatures. He was always immune to them, like he had some sort of internal space heater.
"What if binding ourselves is the only way to keep me safe?" He whispers against me.
My heart clenches at the thought of losing Gale to the darkness of black magic. There is still the possibility that binding ourselves will only allow it to consume us. The thought of what that could do to Prim scares me more than my own demise.
Maybe a few months ago I would have considered binding myself to Gale in a very distant future. I would have considered combining our powers to protect Prim, but that was before I knew about our dark magic, before Peeta.
I grip Gale's face in my palms as he continues to shake. He's scaring me. That is the worst feeling to have. Fear of your own best friend. Fear of yourself and of a monster you are or could become.
"Look at me," I plead as I force his face toward me.
"We need to stay calm. The others need us." He nods at my words and closes his eyes as if he is trying to push his feelings back inside.
A resounding bang startles us both. I immediately drop my hands and look around. The forest is cloaked in blackness. I don't remember it being so dark.
The loss of Gale's touch and energy lets the cold air back into my system. Gale frantically searches the surrounding area. I reach into my pocket and tightly grip the amulet my mother gave me for protection.
Without saying a word we both start walking toward the east side of the mountain. Our tread only crunches slightly in the thick snow. Just as always, Gale and I seem to function as one. We slowly walk toward the location of the noise.
A strangled noise reaches our ears as if someone is being choked. I grip Gale's hand as we perch ourselves on an outcropping of rock and look below us. There is a dark figure dangling someone by the neck. It is some kind of evil being. I can tell by the strange sensation that washes over me. Gale feels it too; I can see it on his face.
When the figure turns slightly in the moonlight we see that his prisoner is Haymitch. The strange choking sounds we hear are coming from his throat. Tears spring to my eyes. How can we help him? We have no idea how to defend ourselves against this terrible monster. The shiny moonlight catches on the beast's face. It has red eyes and chiseled grey features that resemble a snake or a lizard.
I lean forward and accidentally snap a branch on a nearby tree. The creature immediately drops Haymitch and looks our way. Gale grips my shoulder as the being peers into the night. We have no idea whether it can sense our energies.
The question is answered though when it rears back and runs straight for us. I shriek in surprise, falling back into Gale's chest.
"Run!" He yells as he grasps my arm and pulls me toward his house.
There is a strange screeching cry escaping the beast as it trails us by only a few yards. Gale and I breathe heavily as we run, shoving branches out of our way. I can't stop screaming. The thought occurs to me that Hazelle might hear me if I continue to scream and so I push the force of it out louder in hopes that she may come.
I trip and fall when the lights of the Hawthorne's house come into view. Gale's hands grasp for me, trying to heave me up quickly. The back porch light flicks on as I continue to cry out. In a flash Hazelle is out on the deck with an amulet in the palm of her hand.
"It got Haymitch. He's still in there!" Gale yells at his mother as he pulls me toward her.
We swivel to look for the beast. Its red eyes watch us from the edge of the tree-line. Hazelle grasps both of our hands. Her amulet presses into my palm, ripping at my skin. I grip my own amulet in my free hand. Our three energies combined create a hazy feeling in my head.
"Roshhushannn Okeesahbe Romu Noviah." Hazelle's spell shivers through my spine as she speaks. By her fourth round we catch onto the pattern and intonation. Gale and I begin to chant it with her, our eyes never leaving the evil spirit that stalks us. The beast screeches at us as we chant louder. We begin walking toward it, the three of us holding hands. I feel the snow melting beneath our feet as we blaze a path toward the intruder.
The beast screeches once more before it turns and runs into the dark forest. The veil of its power lifts off my chest as it disappears and I collapse into the melted earth. Gale kneels before me, holding me tight to his strong warmth. I cry into his shoulder as Hazelle says some kind of incantation to protect the house.
"I thought that it couldn't come here. I thought that it only stayed on Ampersand," I cry into Gale's shoulder.
"Haymitch. He needs us. We have to go back – ," Gale nods at my words before he cuts me off. He shakes his head at me as he grasps my shoulders tightly.
"We have to get the Elders first. We can't do this alone." His voice is tense as he speaks. I agree with his statement whole-heartedly. His mother does too. As soon as she is finished she rushes us into the house and immediately we set out to call the entire coven.
With three cell phones going at once we manage to alert everyone quickly. Hazelle and Gale quickly dress the children in warm clothes and herd them into their SUV. My mother will shelter them at our home with Prim. When Haymitch is found, mother will be summoned to heal him and I will return to care for the kids.
The drive to my house is quicker than usual and heightened with an edge of fear. Posy keeps crying and asking why everyone is acting so strangely. Hazelle tries to soothe her as Gale speeds down the darkened icy road. As soon as we pull up the drive my mother and Hazelle set out to create wards around the house. I try not to cry as Prim and Rory take the two younger kids into the living room to watch a movie.
"Be safe Katniss," my mother says as she grips my hands tightly.
She kisses me and draws me tight into her chest. It is the first time I really feel my mother's energy. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of brightness that it gives me. This must be what it feels like to be healed.
Everything is happening so quickly. It seems like in no time we have met up with everyone in the Bakery's parking lot. Mrs. Mellark, a non-magical woman knows about her husband and sons. She stands solemnly on the front stoop, watching us as we group together.
I feel Peeta's presence now more than ever. He fixes me with a look of deep concern as Gale recounts what happened in the woods. As each minute moves by I fear that Haymitch is probably already dead. Elder Sae addresses us all before we are ready to depart for Ampersand.
"If any of you feel that you are ready to be bound, now is the time to do so," Elder Sae says seriously. I can feel both Peeta and Gale staring at me heatedly. Madge clears her throat to my left.
"I am willing to be bound with anyone Elder, if it will protect the circle." Madge's eyes are glued to Gale, even if her words don't reveal her true feelings. I know that Gale and Madge have a powerful bond, even if he tries to fight it and insists on being with me.
"Elder, I think that Madge and Gale should bind. She's his opposing element. They are stronger together." I find myself saying. Gale looks as if I have betrayed him, but Madge seems hopeful at the prospect.
"What?" Gale hisses. I grimace at his hurt.
"You know that it's the truth Gale, it was probably written in the stars long ago. Peeta's my opposing element. I knew it the first moment I touched him. It just took me a while to decipher." I say it barely above a whisper.
"So you'll bind with him then?" His tone seems to carry finality. The Elders watch our conversation with interest.
"If that's what you want, then so be it," Gale says solemnly. I nod, unsure what to say to him.
"Then it shall be done." Elder Mellark intones. He has a deeper voice than his sons and it presses against me heavily as though it carries its own power.
We are instructed to clasp hands with our chosen energy partner. Together we will be stronger. Peeta's brothers bound themselves together a long time ago when they realized that together they were powerful. Not every match is romantic or convenient. The match is a protection; a force that calls to you.
Hazelle and Mr. Mellark recite the necessary vows to bind us in our pairs eternally. The weight of the moment bears down on me heavily. Peeta squeezes my hand in reassurance; he can probably sense my fear. I'm doing this to protect my circle and my family.
A strange light flows from Madge and Gale, wrapping around their wrists before surging into their fingertips. Madge gasps loudly and looks up into Gale's strained face. He nods at her before they pull their hands away. The same strange light flows around me and Peeta. It tingles as it flows into me. As it completely disappears within me I feel the cool sensation of water pouring over me.
Peeta is a part of me now. We will protect each other and make the circle stronger for it. We are bound eternally.