Chapter Nine
"Don't get involved with that side of the family, mija. There is a reason our family separated so long ago."
Her mother's words echoed in her head as Santana sat in her car, hands gripping the steering wheel. It wasn't often she didn't heed Marisol's warning. But Santana had never been the type of witch to just lay in waiting. And as much as she despised this part of her heritage, she could still tell when they were close. They were still part of her family, disowned or not.
Cursing in Spanish, she stared up at the Walmart she'd randomly chosen to park at. She'd never been in this particular town. At least if anyone was looking for her, they wouldn't check the Walmart. Santana wouldn't be caught dead shopping at the place. But that was why she'd parked there. Less conspicuous.
"He doesn't belong here," the Latina said aloud, pounding the palms of her hands on her steering wheel. She didn't have a clue why the Smythes had decided now was the time to try and come back to Ohio. She wondered if there was something they were after.
It took her another several moments before she climbed out of the car, smoothing out the skirt she was wearing. She merely stood beside the car though, having no idea where to go from here. Where was she even supposed to start? It wasn't like she could follow her nose like a bloodhound.
She pulled out her phone, wondering if she should call the only person she thought she could trust with this. But in the back of her mind, something was telling her she needed to forge forward alone.
It was times like these that she wished she was a scouter. It would make figuring this out a whole lot easier. Add on top of it the fact that the Smythe line had glamour and that made looking for a needle in a haystack sound like a cakewalk compared to what she was trying to do.
"Well, no one ever got anything done just standing around," the girl muttered to herself. Pressing the button on her keychain to put on the lock and alarm, she turned and started walking out of the parking lot, hoping that in this case, maybe her magic would help guide her.
…
Thad set the tea tray down beside the bed as he came to relieve Wes, who had been guarding Blaine since Trent had left with Kurt a few hours ago. "Is he still Seeing?" he asked the older boy.
Wes sighed. "He hasn't spoken anything coherent, just mumbles in his sleep, but the few times he has opened his eyes, they were still glowing."
Thad sighed. "I'm trying a different tea this time. This one is intended to flush dark energy from the body."
"Do you think it will work?" Wes asked. Even though Blaine was in a room overflowing with light energy, it didn't seem to be doing more than stabilizing his condition. That had the Asian boy slightly worried about the strength of the dark magic he was under.
The younger witch shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Can you help me sit him up so I can try and get him to drink some?"
"Yeah, sure," Wes said, moving to assist Thad in propping Blaine up.
Blaine winced in pain as they moved him, but tried to swallow when Thad brought the cup to his lips. He managed a few sips before his energy gave out and he sagged back. The glow in his eyes had faded some, but was still noticeable as he glanced around the room. "Kurt?" he managed to ask, sounding like he had sand in his throat.
Wes frowned. "Kurt isn't here, Blaine. He and Trent went back to his house to search for the locket. They'll be back." He didn't have the heart to tell Blaine that he was pretty sure they would make a detour after that text he'd sent Trent.
Blaine frowned in disappointment. "The blood calls to the blood, but it is a trap. She must not follow the path of darkness."
"Huh?" Thad said. "She? What she? Since when was a girl a part of all this?"
Wes was shaking his head. "You know we aren't the only Circle in Ohio anymore. I almost forgot there is an all female Circle in Lima. David has a few relatives that are a part of it."
"Okay," Thad said, shaking his head. "But what do any of them have to do with what we're dealing with? What if this vision is about something else entirely?"
"That is a possibility. He has no control over the visions he receives. Then again, maybe it is relevant, but we just aren't aware of the connection yet."
Thad sighed, and attempted to feed more of the tea to Blaine with a spoon. "I really want him to drink at least half of this while it is still warm. It will work faster that way."
Wes looked at Blaine for a moment. "Come on, Blaine. The sooner you fight this off and get better, the sooner you can take Kurt on a date," he said.
The golden glow in the boy's eyes seemed to blaze hotter for a moment. "The truth unspoken, the vow unbroken. The heart must be set free before the spirit can rest."
Wes and Thad exchanged glances. "Did you trigger something?" Thad asked the older boy.
The Asian witch just shook his head. "I don't know. Let me try something." He sat forward a little, speaking softly. "Everyone believes Ethan was in love with Devon, but no one knew how Devon felt about him."
Blaine's eyes continued to glow, but the reply he gave was not what Wes was expecting.
"She walks in light, two Lines collide. He preys in dark, he wears a mask. The wolf among us."
Thad just stared at Blaine for a moment. "That has absolutely nothing to do with what you just said," he remarked. "I'm going to try a little experiment myself." He set the teacup down and leaned a little closer to the curly haired witch. Then, using his best tone of finality, he said, "Blaine, we've decided to throw out all of your bow ties and hair gel."
The glow faded in the hazel eyes, although they did not go out completely before Blaine slipped back into unconsciousness. Wes frowned. "Really, Thad? That was the best you could come up with?"
But Thad was looking even more concerned than previously. "Wes, this is a bad sign. You know how Blaine gets if he can't gel his hair or doesn't have his bow ties. And illnesses have done nothing to change that in the past. He didn't really react at all. I'm not sure how much of Blaine is left…"
…
Kurt frowned at the sign as they entered the city limits of Marysville. "Any thoughts on why Smythe might be here?" he asked. He was feeling antsy. He really felt like he needed to get back to Blaine, but knew it was important to know where Smythe was, too.
"Maybe because it's far enough out of the way that we wouldn't think to look here," Trent said. But he sounded slightly off, like he'd picked up on something. "I'm sensing more light energy. The dark is there too, but it's coming from every direction so I'm not sure where. But the light energy is following one path. There's a light witch moving through here other than the three of us."
They were all silent for a moment, and then Mercedes swore under her breath. "Oh no, she didn't! Damn that girl. Goddess knows what she was thinking!"
Kurt gave her a look. "What are you talking about, Mercedes?"
"Santana. That's her car over there, I swear it."
Kurt frowned, looking somewhat confused. "What would Santana be doing in Marysville of all places?" he asked.
Mercedes clamped her mouth shut. Santana was already going to kill her for telling Kurt she was a witch. There were just some secrets she couldn't share. "You'll have to ask her that. Can you track her energy?" she asked Trent.
Kurt continued to frown, not at all happy that there were things Mercedes felt she needed to keep from him. Sure, it might have been sworn in friendship but the idea of Mercedes and Santana being that close of friends was hard for him to wrap his head around. He tried to shrug it off for now. It wasn't important right then anyway.
Trent was still for a moment. He shut his eyes and breathed in and out a couple of times. "She went into Walmart," he said.
"Are you sure of that? Cause there is no way in hell Santana Lopez would voluntarily enter a box store," Mercedes said.
Kurt nodded. "Santana would rather walk into the sun than a Walmart."
Trent was quiet for a moment. "You didn't know that she would be here," he said to Mercedes. "Maybe it's not something she would normally do, but don't people often do what's unexpected when they don't want to be found?"
Kurt and Mercedes exchanged a look. "Okay, fine. I guess we're searching Walmart," Kurt said.
"Or I could just call her and ask her what she's doing there," Mercedes replied.
Kurt shook his head. "There must have been a reason she didn't call you in the first place. You know what will happen if she has any heads up that you know where she is." Suddenly, he felt something settling in his pocket and he reached in with his hand and pulled it out, staring for a moment. "But she probably won't run if she knows we have these." He held up Santana's car keys.
"Neat trick, white boy."
Trent glanced at him out of the side of his eyes. "Did you mean to do that, or was that another unconscious use of magic?"
Kurt shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe a little of both? We needed a reason to make sure she didn't take off, but I still can't summon anything intentionally. So maybe my magic came up with the reason for us. She can't leave town without her car, right?"
Trent smiled at him. "It sounds like you are starting to figure out how to control it. Sometimes the trick is to not overthink it."
"Right," Kurt said. "Come on. Let's go find her." He got out of the car. "You lead," he said to Trent.
Trent nodded as he and Mercedes followed Kurt out of the car, and led the way into the store. Kurt suppressed a shudder. Santana wasn't the only one who would never voluntarily set foot in a Walmart.
The younger man paused inside the doors for a moment, and then began moving towards the back of the store, to the electronics department. Kurt spotted the familiar raven haired girl near the cell phones.
"There she is," Kurt said, pointing her out to Trent and Mercedes. "Is she actually looking at those phones?"
Mercedes shook her head. "I doubt it. She just got a new phone the day before yesterday."
"Again? That's like what, one a month since the start of the school year?" Kurt said, shaking his head. He was joking of course. But Santana did seem to get bored with her model quickly.
"Do we just walk up to her?" Trent asked.
Kurt shook his head. "You two stay out of sight. I've got an idea," he said.
Trent and Mercedes stepped behind a display of new movie releases, out of sight.
Kurt pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on before he moved forward, pretending to examine a display of classic movies and 'thought aloud,' as he picked one up. "Does dad like this one? I don't remember. I need to talk to him more about his favorite movies."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Santana freeze, her whole body tensing. He willed her not to just turn and walk away before he could 'see' her. "What are you doing here, Hummel?" she finally said.
Kurt startled, as though he hadn't even realized she was there. "Santana?" he asked, sounding utterly and convincingly surprised. "Better question, what are you doing here?"
The Latina narrowed her eyes. "Not important." There was no way she could tell Hummel what she was really doing in Marysville. "Answer my question, Porcelain." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"I was looking for a gift for my dad," he said. Santana raised an eyebrow.
"In Marysville?"
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many of the jocks shop at Walmart? I'm not risking running into them. Goddess knows it's safer to drive out of town," he said.
Santana stared at him. "What did you just say?" she asked, looking slightly stunned.
"I said, Goddess knows," he replied, looking at her meaningfully.
For a moment, the Latina appeared dumbfounded, an expression Kurt would have loved to snap a picture of and maybe keep for blackmail purposes, if he was that mean. "Well I'll be damned," she said. "Wait, how did you know?"
Kurt shrugged. "Takes one to know one. Except I didn't really know until Thursday."
Santana studied him for a moment. "Thursday?" she asked, looking slightly surprised. "How can you not know?"
"It's a long story, and not one I really want to tell in the middle of Walmart, so, why don't you tell me why you are here?"
She shook her head. "No, uh uh, Hummel. It's too dangerous for a witch who grew up practicing, let alone someone who didn't even know until two days ago," she said. "I don't want you in the middle of this."
Kurt watched her for a long moment, touched that she actually did care. "If it has anything to do with what we're working on, I'm already in the middle of it."
"We're?" Santana questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"You haven't figured it out yet? I'm surprised. Other than myself, you're one of the most quick witted and observant people in Glee."
She wasn't sure what he was getting at. Right now, all her own thoughts were befuddled. Trying to track Smythe was not an easy task, and she wasn't about to admit that she was stalling in the effort to think of a plan.
"I'm the Hummel Heir," Kurt said.
Santana inclined her head to the side, and blinked. "Is that supposed to mean something?" she asked, sounding bored.
Kurt mentally cursed, wondering how the hell she didn't know. Especially since Mercedes did, and they were in the same coven. "Cedes, get out here right now!" he called.
The dark skinned girl sighed as she and Trent stepped into view. "You've heard the stories of The Dalton Circle, Santana. Kurt is the missing Heir. He only found out on Thursday."
"The Dalton Circle? Isn't that the one your distant cousin is in?"
Mercedes nodded. "Every witch in Ohio knows about the stories surrounding The Dalton Circle," she said.
Santana glanced at Trent. "I suppose you are one of the Dalton boys. Are you part of the Founders Lines?"
Trent shook his head. "No. But the boy who was murdered was my great great uncle."
"Oh. My condolences." She looked back to Kurt. "So, you're supposed to be the key to solving the mystery. Any luck yet?"
"Just answer one question first," Kurt said. As much as Santana was his friend and he was confident he could trust her, he didn't really want to tell her anything if she was planning to stay on the outside. Mercedes was now definitely involved. And Kurt had a feeling they could use Santana's help too.
She arched one eloquently shaped eyebrow and waited for him to continue.
"Are you in?" he said, glancing at Trent and Mercedes. They both nodded at him, and looked to the Latina witch, waiting for her response.
Santana exchanged a look with Mercedes. "Did you tell him?"
"The only thing I've told him is that you're a witch and you're in my Circle. So no, I didn't tell him. That's your place."
For the first time ever, Kurt thought the girl looked vulnerable. She hid it quickly, though, and straightened her shoulders. "I'm in."
"Good," Kurt said. "We'll fill you in. But in a nutshell, we have a demon vessel infused with light magic, Blaine has been targeted, and there's a Smythe back in Ohio. He's already tried infiltrating Dalton. Nick and Jeff tracked him here to Marysville."
Mercedes gave Santana a piercing look. "You already knew he was here, though, didn't you?"
Realization suddenly dawned on Kurt. "That's what you're doing here? Looking for Andrew?"
Santana frowned. "The Smythes have been a thorn in my family's side for generations. They have all but destroyed our Line, and they are a cancer that needs to be cut out."
Kurt decided now was not the time to ask her to elaborate. "We should move then. Trent says dark magic energy is coming from all directions. Andrew can be anywhere. Oh," he added, pausing to pull something out of his pocket. "You might need these." He tossed her keys at her.
She barely blinked an eye at the sight of the keys, not bothering to ask how he had gotten them as the four teens headed to the exit.
They were almost back to where they had parked the cars when Trent stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed as he felt the dark, menacing energy building.
"Trent, what's wrong?" Kurt asked, turning to the younger boy.
"Take cover!" was all he said, grabbing Mercedes and Santana, and shoving them down beside a minivan, before tackling Kurt to the ground, just a fraction of a second before Santana's car exploded into thousands of little pieces.
Santana let out an expletive in Spanish. "Someone's going to pay for that," she muttered, but didn't move.
Kurt looked towards where the car had been as debris continued to rain down around them. "There's no fire," he said to himself. "It exploded, there should be burning gas and oil everywhere."
Trent shook his head. "That wasn't a normal explosion. It was a dark magic destruction spell."
Mercedes and Santana were having a whispered argument several feet away. "You have to tell him, San. He's not going to hate you because of it. You can trust him."
"You don't get it, do you?" Santana whispered back, harshly. "It's not that I don't trust Porcelain." She glanced around and lowered her voice even more. "It's that I am ashamed of the truth. Do you know how humiliating it is to know that I'm descended from those maniacs?"
"But you're not one of them. Your Line chose light over darkness. You should be proud of your great great great grandmother for having the courage to walk away. Hold your head up proudly, Santana."
"I'm a bitch, Mercedes," Santana said. "Who's to say people won't assume that I will one day go dark too? And you know I would never admit it aloud, but that is my greatest fear. That I will do that."
"Being a bitch doesn't make you evil. And the fact that you fear it means it will never happen, because you won't allow it. Smythe lured you here, most likely to try and turn you to his side, but he failed. The fact that he tried to get rid of you means he is afraid of you and your power. You may be the key to defeating him in the end."
"Why?" she asked. "Because the Lopez specialty is love?"
Mercedes smiled. "Love conquers all, you know."
Santana stared at her for a long moment. "Don't the stories say Ethan and Devon might have been in love?" she asked.
Mercedes shrugged. "There were rumors, but it was never confirmed that they were anything other than very close friends."
The Latina snorted. "Yeah well, those times were even less accepting than people are today. And we know how bad it is here in Ohio now."
"So? The Goddess doesn't care who you love. You know all are accepted in The Great Circle."
She shook her head. "That's not what I was pointing out. Ethan and Devon might have been more worried about the humans they lived among in 1901." She paused. "But, you might be right. Love might be the key after all."
"Are you two okay?" Kurt asked once he and Trent pulled themselves off the ground and headed towards the girls.
"We're fine," Mercedes replied. "Nothing hurt."
"Speak for yourself," Santana retorted. She wasn't physically hurt, but she was pissed about her car. It hadn't by any means been cheap.
Kurt gave her a sympathetic look. He knew if it had been his Baby, there would be hell to pay. Which brought a question to his mind. "Why would Smythe target your car, and not Trent's, since that was the one I was traveling in?"
Mercedes gestured for Santana to go ahead and tell him. The Latina rolled her eyes and sighed. "Because my family is descended from his," she admitted.
Kurt looked briefly confused, and then the meaning of her words sank in. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you're on our side, though."
"My great great great grandmother was a Smythe by marriage. She was always against the dark magic and the thirst for power, so she ran and cut off all contact with them when she got pregnant."
"She must have been a very strong woman," Kurt observed. "It couldn't have been easy for a single mother back then."
"We Lopez witches have always been strong. Besides, our specialty is probably dark magic's greatest enemy."
Kurt would have asked what that power was, but both his and Trent's phones began ringing. He didn't recognize the number, but answered it anyway.
"Kurt!" Wes said, sounding relieved. "Thank the Goddess you are alright. I need you back here at Dalton now! Blaine went into convulsions after shouting your name in fear."
"We're on our way," Kurt said, deciding not to tell Wes what had just happened. He hung up. "We need to get back to Dalton right away," he told Trent. "Blaine's gotten worse."
"I know, that was Thad," he said, slipping his own phone back into his pocket. "Let's go. Santana, if it is any help, The Dalton Circle will help replace your car."
Santana would have stood there in shock if she hadn't noticed the sense of urgency. "We'll worry about that later. Let's go."
…
Blaine had stopped convulsing, but was still shaking when Kurt ran into the room, Trent and the girls on his heels.
"Blaine!" Kurt shouted, rushing to the boy's side and grabbing a hold of one of his hands. The moment their hands touched, Blaine went still, opening his eyes, which had returned to his normal hazel color.
"Kurt, thank the Goddess," the smaller boy said weakly. "I saw an explosion, and your face."
Kurt knelt beside the bed. "I'm okay, Blaine. I'm okay. Trent tackled me to the ground," he said with a little laugh. "He probably saved all of us."
"Smythe blew up my car," Santana said.
Wes looked her over. "I recognize you from the Summer Solstice celebration last year. I'm sorry, I don't think I ever learned your name."
"Santana," she replied. "Lopez," she added. "My mother is of the Orquídea Negra Line."
Wes and David, who had joined the other boy to discuss some things just before Blaine began to convulse, exchanged a look. They recognized that Line.
"Don't they specialize in love charms or something?" Wes asked.
The Latina huffed. "Or something."
Nobody had realized that Kurt and Blaine had tuned the rest of them out, with Kurt fussing over the younger boy and trying to make sure he was okay, and Blaine just seeming happy for the first time in a while because Kurt was there.
"Your skin feels almost normal now. No fever or death like chills," Kurt observed. "And your eyes stopped glowing. How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that you're here," Blaine replied, still on the weak side. He managed a small smile.
Kurt smiled back at him. "Do you want something to eat? Or something to drink?" He spotted the teapot beside the bed. "More tea?"
"He needs to drink more tea," Thad said, overhearing Kurt's words. "It will be the best thing for him right now."
Kurt picked up the teapot and poured some in a cup before looking back at Blaine. "Will you try to drink this for me, please?"
Blaine nodded, and struggled a little to sit up, before reaching for the cup. His hands were still shaky, so Kurt had to help him guide it to his mouth. The dark haired boy took a sip, and grimaced. "Needs more sugar."
Kurt chuckled lightly, brushing some of Blaine's hair out of his face.
"Sorry," Thad said. "The recipe works better without it." He paused for a moment and glanced at Wes. "I'm going to try this again. Blaine, we've decided to throw out all your bow ties and hair gel."
"I heard you the first time, and if you touch them, you will live to regret it."
Thad's only reaction was to throw Wes a grin and a thumb's up.
Kurt looked between the two boys in confusion, and then just shook it off. "Well, you look a lot better than you did when I left earlier. The tea must be doing some good."
Wes turned to face Blaine. "You're not going to like this, I know, but we can't let you leave this room right now, Blaine. Regardless of how good you might feel. It's for your own safety."
Blaine frowned, but nodded.
"It's getting late," David observed. "Have you all had dinner yet?"
"Dinner?" Kurt said. "Oh Gaga! I haven't eaten a single thing all day!"
Blaine squeezed his hand. "You should go eat. I'll be okay."
"I won't be long, I promise." Without realizing what he was doing, Kurt leaned over and pressed a kiss to Blaine's forehead.
Everyone else in the room exchanged knowing looks, but had schooled their expressions by the time Kurt turned to face them. Wes smiled pleasantly at Mercedes and Santana. "You ladies are welcome to join us for the night if you like. You only just got here, after all. It would be a waste for you to have to go all the way back to Lima just to return in the morning. If it is okay with your parents, that is."
"I don't have a way to get back without a ride anyway," Santana said, shrugging. "My parents are out of town. Which was why it was so easy for me to disobey my mother."
"I rode in with Kurt and Trent," Mercedes said. "So I'd need a ride back too. I'll give my mom a call to clear it with her first."
"You can tell her you're with me," David said. "We really should get together more often."
"You know your dad said the same thing," Mercedes said, pulling out her phone to make the call.
"Speaking of dads," Kurt said, "remind me to call mine later and see how the talk went. I wonder if he offered to make them toast?"
Wes led them out of the room, leaving Thad with Blaine. "After dinner I'll have one of our boys show you ladies to one of the Guest apartments. The headmaster is away for the weekend, so it should be okay to use one of them. In the morning, after breakfast I'll call a meeting of The Circle and we can go over everything we've found out so far."
"And even if it wasn't okay, our dads would be able to override the headmaster anyway," David added for good measure