Chapter Twenty

Trent, Beatz and David were all pacing in front of the fireplace, in what appeared to be an unconsciously choreographed movement as they tried to figure out exactly what was happening. "I talked to my granddad," Trent said. "According to him, he's never heard of a single case of powers merging."

Beatz frowned. "Neither my dad, uncle, or grandfather can come up with a way for the demon vessel to have merged their powers."

Blaine looked over at them. "Wait, Emma said her family Line banishes demons. Maybe she'll know more about what the demon vessel is capable of, because if that's her specialty, she'd need to be an expert in demonology, right?"

Wes, who was standing beside the window with his arms crossed, nodded. "I'll give her a call. In the meantime, I don't want either of you touching the vessel directly."

Kurt threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, what happened then had never happened before. It does kind of creep me out a little bit."

"And no touching each other directly either," Jeff smirked.

"I don't think we have to be that drastic, Jeffrey," Wes said. "They've touched each other since the incident, and nothing has happened."

"Oh I wasn't referring to casual touch," the blonde witch said nonchalantly.

"Explain," Kurt said, glaring at the boy.

"Surely you're not that clueless," Jeff continued, winking at Kurt, completely disregarding the glare.

"If you are implying what I think you are implying, then you obviously know nothing about me. Blaine and I have only known each other a week now. I'm not the type of person who has casual flings. And since we've never even been alone together for more than a few minutes, I doubt anything would happen. So, explain to me why you think it was necessary to bring that up?"

"I don't think I said casual fling." Jeff turned and looked at Nick. "Nicky, did you hear me say anything about it being a casual fling?"

"Enough, Jeffrey," Wes said. "Kurt was right. It was unnecessary for you to go there. Perhaps you should stop projecting your morals, or lack thereof, on others."

Jeff turned and looked at Wes, all teasing and smiling gone from his expression, as it turned serious. "Perhaps you should stop getting your alone time in when the rest of us aren't, Wesley," he stated flatly. Without awaiting a response, he turned and walked right out the door, slamming it behind him.

David, who had been lost in his own thoughts, paused in his pacing. "Wes, didn't you say that when Kurt first arrived, the vessel seemed to be chanting something?"

Wes had been staring in complete and utter bewilderment at the door and he snapped out of his unintended reverie to look at David. "I did. It was chanting a spell. What are you thinking?"

The other boy turned and paced away a few steps, considering. "Do you remember what the spell was? The words?"

The Asian witch thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. At the time I noticed it, the vessel was still in Kurt's bag so the words were muffled. Maybe Jackie might be able to read my memory of the event."

David nodded. "Maybe if I knew what spell it was chanting, it would tell us what is going on with Kurt and Blaine's magic."

"It's worth a shot," Wes said, nodding. "Right now, we can use all the shots we can get." He turned back to the room. "Okay, Nicholas, your orders are to go calm down Jeffrey. David, you and Trent keep working on that focus spell. Beatz, go get Jackie and tell Thad to brew more tea just in case. I'll stay here to guard Kurt and Blaine and call Emma."

The other boys left to do as instructed, and Wes turned back to look at the two boys sitting on the couch. "Kurt, I know what Jeff implied upset you, but I think in this case, he may have a point. I know you aren't the kind of guy to jump into bed right away, but with Adrew lurking about, and Clarington's little booby trap the other night, I think you should be on your guard against undue influences that may make you behave out of character."

Kurt frowned and glanced at Blaine. "Can they really do something like that with us in here being guarded by one of you guys?"

"Most likely not, but what if Andrew manages to disguise himself as one of The Circle, and tries to lure you out of this room?"

Blaine shook his head. "He might not try that approach. He already tried to get me out by using Nick while he was impersonating Jeff. unfortunately, I don't think he's dumb enough to try the same tactic twice."

Kurt let out a sigh. "We really need to figure out what happened that night, and how to free Ethan and Devon from the vessel, and destroy Andrew."

"And we only have three and a half days left to do it," Blaine said. "Because I have a feeling that if we don't solve the mystery and free them before midnight on Halloween, it will be too late to ever save them."

…

Jackie sat next to Wes at the desk, facing him as she tried to access the memory he'd requested. After several minutes, she frowned. "Your mind is currently too unfocused to read the memory you need clearly. You need to try and clear your mind."

Wes frowned. "I'm not really thinking of anything else right now."

She studied his face. "Not 'anything,' no. Someone. Your mind is focused on someone else, and it is interfering with your ability to concentrate."

Kurt smirked when he noticed the Asian boy blushing at her words. He leaned over and whispered to Blaine. "Now that is a blackmail worthy photo."

Blaine just looked at him in confusion, and Kurt realized he hadn't had the opportunity to explain what he'd noticed when they'd stopped by Wes' dorm room earlier.

Wes just sighed, and looked over at Kurt. "I know you figured it out. No one else knows."

"Actually, I think Jeff might, after that comment earlier," Kurt said, shrugging it off. "Why don't you want anyone to know?"

Wes shrugged. "They all think I'm some kind of robot, no emotions. They think I'm laser focused on leading The Circle and getting into Harvard Law. I feel like it's expected of me to be this walking, talking encyclopedia of witch law and lore, and nothing else."

Kurt chuckled and shook his head. "Good Goddess. Ethan and Devon, Nick and Jeff, and now you two? What is it, a tradition of this Circle to keep those feelings a secret from the others?"

Wes was briefly taken aback at the words, as a thought occurred to him. "I wonder…" he began, but shook it off for the moment and turned back to the pale boy. "Tell me the truth right now, Kurt. What are your feelings towards Blaine?"

Kurt flushed and looked down at the floor. He couldn't say anything. Not with Blaine sitting right there. What if he'd made it all up in his head and Blaine didn't like him that way? "I…" but he trailed off.

"Mhmm," Wes said. "Blaine, what are your feelings for Kurt?"

Blaine opened his mouth to say how he felt, but closed it once more, just shaking his head. He frowned. Why was he hesitating to admit it out loud?

Wes frowned again, and turned to Jackie. "I'm sorry, I think this is going to have to wait. Would you mind staying here with them while I consult with someone?"

"Of course not, dear," Jackie said. "I'm sure whatever you've realized is very important indeed."

Wes excused himself and left the room, heading to the Sanctuary, knowing that was where David and Trent were working on the spell for Kurt.

"David, I have a question for you."

David looked up, surprised to see that Wes was there and wondering who was guarding Kurt and Blaine. "Of course, Wes. What is it?"

"Do you know of any spells or curses that would prevent a person or group of people from openly acknowledging their feelings for another?"

Whatever the darker witch had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. He shook his head, "No."

However, Trent seemed to catch on to something. "My Goddess. Even today the effects of Ethan and Devon's disappearance are working their magic on us."

The other two boys looked at him. "What do you mean?" Wes asked.

"Ethan and Devon never did admit their feelings before they were pretty much imprisoned in that vessel. So until they can and do, I don't think the rest of us can either."

David frowned. "But we all know there is something going on between Nick and Jeff, even if they never seem to show it in public. If they can't express it, how do they know the other feels the same way?"

Trent thought for a moment. "Perhaps they are able to express it in private? Kind of like, as long as they aren't flaunting their happiness in public, whatever energy that is blocking them from expressing it is dormant. It is only when they try to express anything in front of The Circle that the power takes effect. Also, don't forget The Circle chapter at the time knew Devon and Ethan had feelings for each other just like we know Nick and Jeff do."

David seemed to catch on. "So, basically it's not preventing us...our current chapter, from being happy, just kind of trying to keep us from appearing to be braver and bolder regarding our feelings than they were."

"Yes," Trent said, nodding. "It's not punishing us, just kind of reminding us to be respectful of their memories."

Wes sighed. "In other words, until we free them and they admit their feelings, we won't be able to openly express our true feelings. I'm not sure if I should be upset or sad about that."

"I guess we can take solace in knowing the person we have feelings for knows how we actually feel," David said.

Wes glanced at him, and gave a slight nod. "And it does seem to have some leeway, since, as I said, we all know there is something going on with Nick and Jeff."

Trent seemed to be a little lost in thought for a moment, before excusing himself. He stepped out into the hallway and pulled out his phone. He'd asked Mercedes for the phone number he'd wanted, but up til now hadn't had the courage to dial it. Taking a deep breath, he dialed it now.

The phone was picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Uh, hi, is this Artie?"

…

Kurt had watched Wes walk out of the room, curious about the expression on the older boy's face. It was apparent The Circle's leader had thought of something he wasn't ready to share.

"I wonder what that was about?" Blaine asked from beside him.

"I believe your friend just had an epiphany, although I'm not sure about what," Jackie said. She studied the two boys carefully. "So, Blaine, now that it's just us here, tell me, what are your intentions with my nephew?"

Blaine almost choked on the water he was drinking. "What?" he declared, wide-eyed. Beside him, Kurt had ducked his head, his cheeks turning so red he looked like a tomato.

The woman burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I was only teasing, dear. But I think I may have a bit of an idea of what your friend was on to, afterall. Just keep in mind that all is not as it seems. I think you two have more in common than you think."

"What exactly are you saying?" Blaine said, still trying to recover from nearly choking on water and staring at the offending bottle. Kurt still hadn't looked back up. In fact, he'd pulled up the lapels of his blazer to hide his face even more, if that were possible.

Jackie smiled at them. "I mean that it's not all in your head."

Before she could elaborate anymore, there was a perfunctory knock on the door before Thad entered with a tray and another of his medicinal teas. "Wes wanted everyone to start drinking a protective tea to ward off the effects of any other discord invocations or other disruptive spells Hunter or Andrew may have left behind." He was just setting the tray down where all three of them could have access to the cups when he noticed Kurt. "Is he okay?"

Jackie chuckled. "I think I may have embarrassed him a tad much. But that's my job as a great aunt."

"I thought that was the job of older brothers," Blaine said.

"Yes well," Jackie said. "Kurt's an only child so someone has to do it. Other than his dad, of course."

"Oh my Gaga," Kurt said. "I am never letting you and my dad be in the same room together when anyone else is around. You'll give me a stroke!"

"Witches don't get strokes, dear," Jackie said, reaching out to pat his knee.

Kurt went still. "If witches don't get strokes, or sick the way humans do, why did my dad have a heart attack?"

Jackie and Thad both frowned. "When did Burt have a heart attack?" Jackie asked. No one had notified her, and despite what Burt and Kurt believed, there were still many people in the area who knew to report any major information about the Hummels to her.

"Just last month," Kurt said, mimicking their frowns.

His aunt stood and pulled a phone from her handbag, sending off a text.

Thad was also on his phone, and from the sound of it, he was talking to his father about what could cause a witch to have a heart attack.

Kurt turned to Blaine, starting to feel a little annoyed that no one was explaining anything to him.

However, Blaine looked just as lost as Kurt felt, and merely wrapped a comforting arm around the taller witch. "Hopefully, they'll tell us something when they're done with their contacts," he said, pulling Kurt a little closer.

Kurt suppressed the shiver that the contact brought, and let out a sigh of frustration. "This is almost like being back in that hospital room again, and the doctors not answering me when I asked what was wrong with my dad, and why he wouldn't wake up."

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine said soothingly. "I wish I could tell you something. But because it's not my specialty, I'm just as clueless about witching medical stuff as you are."

It seemed like forever before the other two finished with their phones, but instead of addressing Kurt's concerns, the two began speaking quietly to each other, exchanging information. Kurt couldn't hear much of what was said, and finally the suspense was too much.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?"

Both Jackie and Thad startled and looked at Kurt, who had crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at them.

"I'm so sick of this. People walk on eggshells around me, thinking I'm too fragile to know the truth. That's my dad you're discussing, and I have more than every right to know what is going on!"

"I'm sorry, Kurt, dear. It's just not something that happens every day." Jackie moved to sit on Kurt's other side, and took his hand. "Thad's father and my contact, who is also a healer, both believe that what happened to your father might have been the result of your family's magic being bound for so long."

Thad nodded, sitting in the chair Jackie had been sitting in. "Usually, when a witch's magic is bound, only that witch is affected, and the magic is passed along to their descendants. Your great great grandfather bound the entire Line's magic, leaving it no place to go. In an attempt to preserve the Line, the magic may have tried to kickstart itself in your dad, causing what appeared to be a heart attack."

Kurt felt anger riddle his whole body for a moment and his eyes narrowed. "So essentially you're saying, it's my great great grandfather's fault my dad had a heart attack, or whatever that was. It put him in a coma for a week! Normally, I don't admit to hating people, but the more I learn Matthew did that resulted in negatively affecting our family, the more I'm starting to despise him."

Jackie pulled him into a hug. "You can't completely blame Matthew, dear. From what I've learned the last couple of days, he was being adversely influenced by dark magic, which ultimately resulted in his death."

"I highly doubt it would have affected his ability to remember what the consequences of his actions would be. Just that he may not have been able to control them. He should have left a warning before he died, in that time he had when he knew what had been afflicting him in the first place."

Thad was shaking his head. "He may not have been fully aware of the consequences. He was rather young when he cut himself off from The Circle and the realm of witches and magic. And as for leaving a warning, the spell that was used on him may have prevented that. His only way to leave any kind of warning may have been through his journal, which would only be found when the appropriate amount of time had passed."

Kurt let out a growl of frustration and stood up. He stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, the sound of the lock clicking eerily loud in the sudden silence of the room.

"I guess he wants to be alone?" Thad said after a few awkward moments had passed.

"I believe my nephew has inherited his mother's stubbornness. She didn't take it well when there was no one to blame for circumstances out of her control."

"There wasn't a warning," Blaine said. "Kurt read Matthew's journal aloud. We went through the whole book." He shook his head.

"Perhaps you just didn't know what you were seeing," Jackie said. "Are there any rune readers among your Circle? If not, I know of one who lives not far from here. I could ask them to take a look at the journal for you."

"Not that I'm aware of," Blaine said, shaking his head again. "But good luck getting Kurt to let go of that journal. He would only let David and Wes take a look at it if they read it with him."

Inside the bathroom, Kurt was pacing, the anger inside refusing to dissipate. He just wanted this entire past couple of weeks to disappear, as if it were a bad dream. His phone vibrated in his pocket, since he'd forgotten to take it off silent when Wes had ordered him to return to the room instead of going to his other classes. He pulled it out and felt a little calmer when he saw the caller ID.

"Hey, dad. I was just thinking about you."

"How touching," a voice that was most definitely not Burt Hummel's replied.

"Who is this?"

"Let's just say I'm someone who has something you want, and I'm willing to make a trade."

…

Santana gripped the steering wheel impatiently as she waited for the gates to swing open enough for her car to slip through. "This would be so much less work if we didn't have to come all the way from Lima everyday," she muttered.

Mercedes glanced over at her. "Well, we could always consider transferring to Crawford," she said.

The Latina snorted. "As if I would ever be caught dead in a school uniform," she said, rolling her eyes. "Hey, isn't that Miss. Pillsbury?" She nodded her head in the direction of the redheaded witch as she drove through the gates.

"It is," Mercedes said, frowning. "I wonder why she's back. She didn't say anything about helping more," she said.

The girls watched as the woman glanced in both directions, and disappeared down a flight of stairs nearly hidden by some bushes. The teenagers glanced at each other, wondering where she was going.

They were both about to get out of the car and follow the woman when Mercedes noticed movement on the far side of the building. It appeared that there was someone intending to climb down the vines that had grown along that wall and the utility pipe.

"Santana, someone is climbing out a window," the darker skinned witch said.

The Latina was briefly torn between following the red head and checking out who was crazy enough to be climbing out a window, but Mercedes' sharp inhale and wide eyes as she clutched the taller girl's arm were enough to make her pause. "It's Kurt!" Mercedes said, and began running towards the far end of the building. Santana only hesitated a fraction of a second to register her words before following.

"What the hell, white boy?" Mercedes scolded as she came to a halt just as Kurt reached the ground.

Kurt jumped, startled by her words, having been too focused on his own problem to notice the two girls that had been racing towards him. "Not now, Cedes. I need to get to my dad!"

"Hold up, Porcelain. What do you mean you need to get to your dad?" Santana said, giving the boy a critical eye. "Frankly, given what Sue told me, I don't think you should be going anywhere, especially not alone."

"You don't understand, Satan! I need to get to my dad!" It was only then that Mercedes noticed how wide and stricken the boy's eyes were.

"Kurt, what is going on? Talk to us!"

Kurt just shook his head and tried to push his way around the girls. "He has him! HE HAS HIM!" was all he said.

"Who has him?" Mercedes questioned, even as she and Santana both put out their arms Red Rover style to stop him from getting by them.

"He's going to kill him if I don't go!" Kurt said, dodging to the right. "Get out of my way!"

Santana side-stepped and grabbed a hold of the boy's shoulder. "Oh no you don't. He wants you out of his way. Did it not occur to you this could be some trap, so he has a way of getting back in?"

Kurt was on the verge of tears. "He was in my house. He had my dad's phone. I could hear my dad struggling in the background. He told me to come alone, and not to tell anyone."

The Latina cursed in Spanish. "You always try to handle everything on your own. He may have been there then, but he's probably just waiting for you to get far enough away so he can enter the school as you!" she said. "Do you know how close he could get to Blaine if he was you?"

"Kurt, listen to yourself right now," Mercedes said.

"Kurt!" another voice cut in, and Wes came rushing towards them, having been made aware of the commotion by the crowd of boys staring out one of the windows in the hall. "What are you doing? You're not safe out here!"

Kurt collapsed to his knees as the tears began to fall. "Andrew has my dad!"

"We caught him climbing out a window," Mercedes said. "He said that Andrew was going to kill his dad if he didn't come. And that he told him to tell no one and come alone."

"And Sue told me today that Andrew threatened Kurt's life, wants him out of the way," Santana added.

Wes nodded at her. "We were made aware of that threat. We had Kurt return to Ethan's room where he would be safe." He turned to address the boy. "This was very foolish of you. I understand how important your father is to you, but you should have told us. I'll call my dad. He's back in town now. He and the others will go check on your dad and protect him. You need to get back inside, now."

Kurt stayed sobbing on the pavement, not caring about dirt getting onto his uniform. He was too distraught.

"Kurt," Mercedes said gently, kneeling down beside him. "Santana's right. Andrew was probably just trying to get you out of Dalton so he could impersonate you and take your place. Wes' father is very powerful. He's more than capable of helping yours. I promise."

Kurt had gone numb, in shock, and allowed Mercedes and Santana to help him to his feet and guide him inside the building. He felt Mercedes slip something around his neck and glanced down at the large tiger eye pendant.

"It will help you relax," she said, patting his arm. "You need to rest."

He just nodded as they led him back to Ethan's room.

Wes hung back, already having called his dad to get someone out to the Hummel residence as soon as possible. He was sure once Kurt had come back to himself, he would see reason and understand what the girls had been trying to tell him. Right now, he was definitely not thinking clearly. Part of it might have been influenced by the incident Thad had relayed to him over the phone just moments prior.

David joined them as they headed up the stairs. "Miss Pillsbury is here. I had her enter through the Sanctuary. What's going on with Kurt?"

"He climbed out the window. Apparently, Andrew called him and told him he had his dad. Kurt was trying to go save him, without really thinking it through rationally," Wes said.

David frowned. "That is one area he and Ethan are very much alike in. Neither of them thought things through before they took action. Perhaps if Ethan had just admitted to Devon how he felt instead of locking away his emotions, all this could have been avoided."

Wes just nodded. "Your dad and mine are headed out to Lima to check on Mr. Hummel. I'm not exactly sure Kurt is in any frame of mind to discuss the demon vessel with Emma right now, and I still haven't had the chance to have Jackie help me access the memory of the spell. I have a feeling it is going to be a very long night."

David sighed. "There've been a lot of them ever since this whole thing started," he said. "I can't wait until this is over. We'll go on that vacation and relax for weeks. Just you and me."

Wes smiled at him. "Sounds perfect."

…

Blaine was pacing the floor in front of the bathroom door. "Something is wrong. Kurt is in danger."

"What do you mean Kurt is in danger, dear?" Jackie asked, frowning at the boy.

Blaine didn't answer, turning to stare at the bathroom door, frowning. "He's not in there." And suddenly he threw himself at the door, smashing the lock and forcing the door open.

"Blaine!" Thad yelled. But Blaine had already rushed into the bathroom. The window was wide open, the curtains fluttering in the air from outside. "What the?" the older boy said as he came to a stop behind Blaine. "He's right," he added, glancing at Jackie. "Kurt's not in here."

Blaine pushed past the other boy and started toward the door to the hallway, not caring about his own safety in that moment.

However, before he could even open the door, it opened from the outside and Santana and Mercedes came in, guiding Kurt, who still looked rather numb and shaken between them.

"Lose something, hobbit?" the Latina said.

"Kurt!" Blaine cried, rushing forward and pulling Kurt into his arms. "What happened to him?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Help get him into the bed."

Blaine refused to let go of Kurt and ended up climbing into the bed with him. "What happened?" he repeated more firmly.

Santana and Mercedes exchanged a look. "Andrew called him," the Latina finally said. "He had Kurt's dad. Told Kurt to tell no one and come alone."

"And of course, Kurt being Kurt," Mercedes added, "he decided to run off and try and deal with it alone. Fortunately Santana and I spotted him coming out of the window and shimmying down the vines. I think he's in shock right now. Wes called his dad to go check on Burt."

"We think Andrew was trying to lure Kurt out of Dalton so he could impersonate him and get closer to you," Santana finished.

Kurt had curled up into the fetal position on the bed, seemingly unaware of everyone else in the room, terror for his father blending with the still undealt with anger from earlier leaving him somewhat catatonic.

Blaine could feel his own terror of what the girls were telling him, but he pushed it aside and just wrapped himself around Kurt, spooning the taller boy and pulling him closer. It was a bit awkward because Blaine was the shorter one, but he didn't care.

Trent, Nick, Jeff and Beatz all arrived in the room a short while later, along with Miss Pillsbury, who had been talking with Trent when Wes had texted him about the incident. They were all conferring in hushed tones, but neither Kurt or Blaine were paying any attention, until a couple of hours later, when Lucas Montgomery called.

"Burt is fine. Kevin Thompson performed a spell to verify that it was indeed Burt Hummel and not Andrew in disguise. It turns out Burt wasn't even in the house at the time. They aren't sure how Andrew got a hold of his phone, or what the struggle was that Kurt overheard, but Burt had been out with a lady friend at the time."

Santana and Mercedes exchanged looks. "So he was just trying to lure Kurt out of Dalton," Mercedes said, frowning.

"It appears so," Wes nodded.

"Are they going to make sure that Burt stays protected, just in case?" Trent asked.

"Burt refused to leave the house, but agreed to allow one of our dads to stay, and a protective warning spell to be placed to notify all witches in a three hundred mile radius if they were in danger."

"Well, good," Mercedes said, glancing at the two boys on the bed who had both seemed to have fallen into a restless sleep. "Because I know Kurt would have a field day if his dad refused protection."