A/N And we're back! Getting so close to the end here! Hoping to get it all finished before my surgery. Lot's going on in this chapter! Debates, decisions, prophecies, another mystery...oh, wait, that's another story ;)

Chapter Twenty Six

It wasn't until they were well past the main gates of Dalton that Kurt turned back around in his seat, relaxing, and looked at Blaine. It was only then that Kurt realized that Blaine had pulled him through the halls of the school with his eyes still bound shut. Kurt had forgotten that Trent had bound them to protect him from the trap they had triggered.

Not only had Blaine run blind through the school while leading Kurt by the hand, but he had kissed him to bring him out of the grip of the uncontrolled magic. He wanted to ask how Blaine had managed all that if he couldn't see, but Wes had another question for them first.

"So what happened?"

David frowned. "We triggered an energy trap, but Kurt managed to cast the spell. Andrew is the one who murdered Winston, but he backstabbed Clarington to do it, so Clarington sealed the demon to Devon instead of Ethan."

Wes frowned. "You walked into an energy trap, and Trent didn't sense it?"

"It wasn't exactly an energy trap," Trent said. "It basically turned our powers against us. I'm thinking Kurt's telekinesis is what held David hostage for several minutes, while Blaine was affected by his own visions again. And I went energy blind for a few minutes."

Wes nodded. "Did you learn anything else?"

"Ethan wrote a letter to Johnathan, but Andrew found it and burned it," Kurt said. "It explained everything that happened, except the part about Winston, which Ethan didn't know about. And Ethan told Johnathan to tell Matthew that he forgave him for stealing the locket." He turned to look at Blaine. "What I want to know is how Blaine ran through the entire length of Dalton, even down the stairs, with his eyes bound shut?"

"This isn't the first time my eyes have been bound shut," Blaine said. "Having visions is a curse as well as a gift. I get a lot of practice navigating the school blind."

Kurt frowned, not liking that answer, worried that if Blaine ever got confused or distracted he could be seriously injured. He dropped the matter for the moment, knowing there were more important things to talk about. "We need to bring in Emma Pillsbury."

"If you want to go all the way to Lima now and get her, we'll need a decoy car. In case Andrew is following us," Wes said, not taking his eyes from the road. He was so frantic about getting them away, he was actually daring to go over the speed limit, which he normally would never do, frantic or not.

Kurt shook his head. "Have Santana and Mercedes go pick her up. Tell them to take Sue for protection."

"David, can you call the girls?" Wes said, slowing down to normal speed as they passed a cop.

"I'm on it," David said, already dialing his cousin's number.

"Did you learn anything else?" Wes asked.

Kurt shook his head, frowning. Something was nagging at the back of his head, but he couldn't quite figure out what. "Matthew saw Andrew chasing Winston that night, glamoured as Ethan. He had to be the one I spotted in the dark hallway. Winston didn't just stumble onto them summoning the demon, though. He was already in the library. I don't know why."

"So seeing through his eyes was only like using him as a vessel? You didn't have access to his thoughts?" Trent said.

"I did have access to some of his thoughts, but he wasn't thinking about why he was there. His only thought was to not get caught."

Trent frowned. "Johnathan said Devon told him Ethan wanted to show him a rune. I seem to recall my great great grandfather saying something about Winston collecting runes. Maybe he went there to spy on them and see the rune."

"And if Winston suspected it might have been a date," Blaine piped up, "he wouldn't have wanted to be caught, possibly crashing it."

They were silent for a while, and Kurt was almost certain Blaine had dozed off, but he kept trying to figure out what was nagging at the back of his mind. Blaine mumbled something next to him, and Kurt looked at him.

"The heart must be set free before the spirit can rest," Blaine muttered again.

Suddenly it clicked in Kurt's mind. "That's it! I know how to free Ethan! But I don't know if it will also free the demon!"

"How?!" Trent cried, looking over at him as Wes very nearly swerved in his surprise.

"The heart must be set free! We have to open the emotion cage."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" David said.

It was Wes that had a possible answer. "Mercedes might know. After all, it was her line that created it in the first place."

Kurt nodded. "She knows how. I'm certain of that."

Blaine frowned. "But which one? There are two, remember?"

Kurt thought for a moment. "It has to be the original one. The second one was created because his love was too big to hold in one. It's like excess, for lack of a better way to explain it."

Blaine nodded in agreement. It was a reasonable assumption.

They parked in an underground parking garage near the business district, and got out. Wes not only locked the car, but cast a shielding ward on it. Only Circle members or their parents would know the car was there. He then led them through a warren of underground tunnels, back to the safe house.

Once back inside, Kurt led Blaine to the couch and sat him down. "There is one more thing, I just thought of," he said, turning to face Wes. "I think we were wrong about why Andrew was trying to stop us."

Wes just glanced at him, leaning against a table with his arms crossed, waiting for him to explain.

"We ran because he captured Blaine. And then he told us we had five minutes to hand over the vessel or he was going to snap Blaine's neck. If he wanted to stop us from freeing them, why would he want the vessel so badly?"

"He still wants Devon," Blaine said. "His exact words were, 'you will lose him in a worse way than I have lost Devon. The difference is, I can get Devon back.'"

Trent's eyes went wide. "He doesn't want to stop us from setting Devon free. He wants to stop us from being the ones to set him free! He wants to free Devon! I bet you anything he believes it will result in Devon's eternal devotion to him."

Kurt shook his head. "I don't think Andrew realizes that Devon's soul is no longer attached to his body. Ethan took it in just before the demon took him over completely, and sealed them in the vessel."

"Well then," Blaine said, "Andrew doesn't know everything. Even if he were to get his way, he'll learn too late that it was a waste."

"We can't let him have Devon's body," Kurt said. "Even if the demon is possessing it, and his soul is safe with Ethan, there is no way Ethan would allow Andrew to have any portion of Devon."

"Then it's a good thing we still have the vessel," David said.

Kurt was biting his bottom lip as a thought crossed his mind. "Is it possible we're wrong about Andrew? I mean, it doesn't sound like he just wants Devon for a sex slave. If that was all he wanted, why not try to take Blaine? They're identical. Is it possible Andrew, in some sick and twisted way, actually had feelings for Devon?"

"I don't think Andrew knows what love is," David said.

Trent was shaking his head. "Andrew already did try to take Blaine! Remember? He impersonated Jeff to try and make Nick lure Blaine out so he could get to him."

Kurt shook his head. "That doesn't mean he wanted Blaine for his appearance. Maybe he thought he could use Blaine to get us to trade for the vessel, like he did tonight."

Wes shook his head. "I don't think that was his initial thought. Otherwise, he might have just tried to abduct Blaine. But he was hurting him with dark magic that whole time."

"Maybe Andrew thinks our ancestors took Devon away from him, so he was trying to punish us by attempting to take away Blaine," David said.

Kurt nodded. "I think we have to at least consider the idea that Andrew has some kind of attachment to Devon, and not just a physical desire."

"And Andrew doesn't know that Ethan bound himself to the vessel," Blaine said.

"I don't think that matters to Andrew," Kurt replied. "He'd probably free Ethan just to kill him, not realizing that if Ethan dies, Devon dies as well."

They were all silent for a few minutes as they let that sink in. It was Thad that finally spoke. "So, you figured out how to free Ethan?"

Kurt nodded. "I have to open the emotion cage, freeing Ethan's heart."

Thad frowned. "How do you expect to do that? And wait, you have to do it specifically?"

"It makes sense," Blaine said, giving his head a nod. "Ethan was Kurt's ancestor. It makes sense that only Kurt might be the one to free his heart."

Thad gave Blaine a long look. "Actually, I think it's possible you could free it too, Blaine. Yes, Ethan was Kurt's ancestor and yes, it was Ethan's heart. But Ethan's heart was meant for Devon, and Devon was your ancestor. Essentially, that could give you the right to free it too."

Kurt's eyes glowed softly. "I think we have to open it together, actually."

Trent looked at him, frowning. Beatz had just removed the binding from Blaine's eyes, which were glowing softly gold. The blue glow in Kurt's eyes matched the gold in Blaine's. "Um, Wes?"

The older boy moved over to study the two boys. "I've only ever heard of this happening in the old tales from the very beginning of our history."

Nick moved closer to see what was happening. "What is going on?"

Trent glanced at him. "Do you recall the story of when the Goddess took human form and found her soulmate?"

"Vaguely," Nick said, furrowing his eyebrows. "My grandfather told me ages ago, but I'm not supposed to bring it up. Something about my mother's disbelief in that kind of thing, despite being married to a witch."

David began to recite. "And Diana took form to walk among the humans, seeking a companion, but none moved her. For many months she wandered, seeking one who could warm her heart. Then one night, when the moon ceased to shine, Leones approached her, and she knew he was the one meant to be hers. And for three nights, they shared in each other. But on the fourth night, Leones said he could not remain, but it broke his heart to leave her. Diana pleaded with him to stay, but he said he could not, but that he would return in one month's time. And this is the story of how the Goddess became soulmates with the Moon."

"Okay," Jeff started. "But what does that have to do with what's happening with Kurt and Blaine?"

Wes let out a little sigh. "The moon's color is gold, and the Goddess is blue. They say when two soulmates meet, their auras will reflect the Goddess and her consort."

Nick and Jeff glanced at each other and then averted their eyes, while Nick turned back on Wes. "I'm not sure I believe that," he said. "If that's the truth, then there must be very few people in our world who are actually meant to be soulmates. Either that, or it's not a phenomenon that happens with every soul matched couple."

Wes glanced between Nick and his blonde companion. "Perhaps we should find an aura reader to verify your theory. I believe you would be surprised by what they would have to say about you."

"An aura reader?" Nick said. "Brilliant deduction Wesley. Where the hell are we supposed to find one? Despite aura reading being commonly learned, only a specializer can give you that kind of detail and they're not easy to find."

"My mother's line are aura readers," Trent said.

Nick turned and looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know your mother was a witch too, Trent."

The younger boy let out a sigh. "My mother doesn't talk about her family very much. There was some kind of falling out years ago, and one of her aunts ran away. My mom's family disowned her, and mom left her Circle."

"So, she's turned her back on magic?" Wes said. "If that's the case, why did she marry your dad?"

"She didn't turn her back on magic, just her family and their Circle, and that was after she married my dad and had me. I don't know the whole story. Part of it took place before my mom was even born, but I know it had something to do with the aunt who ran away."

David's face suddenly lit with realization. "Wait, is that why you can read energy auras and not just magical energy? Because your mom comes from aura readers?"

Trent shrugged. "I never really thought about it, but probably."

Kurt hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation, lost in his own thoughts. For some reason the word 'soulmate' had triggered something in his mind. Not exactly a memory, at least nothing from this millennium. It was something much more primitive. The image forming in his mind was of two people standing on the shores of a lake, facing each other. He couldn't tell if they were male or female, their forms were distorted. They were clasping each other's left arm, and a rope of velvet was tied around their forearms.

An unfamiliar voice whispered words. Even the voice was indistinct, neither male nor female, yet somehow both. The rope began to glow, intertwined with blue and gold light, which fully enveloped the two figures, connecting them. Even when they were no longer touching, the glow connected them; two beings, one soul.

"Kurt?"

He blinked, the vision fading as Mercedes said his name. He looked up at her, confused for a moment. How much time had passed? Santana was standing behind Mercedes, looking unusually concerned. Emma Pillsbury was also there, along with Sue and aunt Jackie. But most surprising of all, his dad was there, with Carole.

"Huh?" Kurt said, perhaps for the first time in his life feeling completely out of sorts with the current situation. But it only took him a moment to get his bearings back. "Dad? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You think I'm gonna let you get yourself into a dangerous situation without me?" Burt said. "Besides, that bastard broke into our home."

Kurt wasn't exactly sure how to respond. On the one hand, he wanted to rush right into his dad's arms and thank him again and again, for always being there when he needed him. On the other, he wanted to scold him for putting his own health and life at risk. His dad was in no shape to be fighting demons, whether literally or figuratively. He ended up settling for something somewhat in the middle.

"You came rushing to a witch battle when you probably had a much more difficult time coming to terms with being a witch than I did?"

Burt shrugged, and Carole patted him on the shoulder. "Your dad might just surprise you," she said. "Yeah, he was pretty hard to convince, but he seems to be taking to his abilities like a natural."

Kurt frowned. A strange feeling overcame him for a moment then. He was shocked to realize it was jealousy. Kurt was jealous that while his dad seemed to be getting control of his powers right out of the gate, he himself was still struggling to master his basic specialization. He realized that he did seem to have control over some of his other specializations, but not the telekinesis.

"Oh," was all he said, not really having any other words. He wasn't going to straight up complain that his powers weren't working right. He didn't want to appear whiny.

"So, what had you so spaced out when we came in?" Santana asked. "Fantasizing about the hobbit?"

"Watch it Satan," Kurt snapped, before shaking his head. "Actually, I'm not really sure what it was. I just had some sort of memory or flashback thing or something. I saw two people, though not distinct enough to tell whether they were male or female. They were standing at a lake and their arms were clasped. And there were swirls of blue and gold colors swirling around them. Someone spoke, but again, I couldn't tell if they were male or female."

Mercedes frowned. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"The binding," David replied. "The first hand-fasting, when the Goddess wed her consort."

Kurt stared at him for a moment. "Are you trying to tell me I just saw the Goddess' wedding?"

"Well," David said, looking between Wes and Trent. "I can't say for sure, since there is no written history of the event, only the oral stories passed from parent to child, but what you described does sound like that story."

"It was almost like I was there. Like it was so clearly vivid like I was standing there watching, but at the same time not completely whole because I couldn't tell genders," Kurt said.

Trent's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh my Goddess!" he cried out.

"What?" Kurt, Blaine, and several others demanded.

"The Goddess' prophet!" He looked around at all of them for a short moment. "Centuries ago a very powerful prophecy was made. A prophecy that when the time was right, the Goddess would send her prophet to Earth in the form of one of her witch children. Said prophet was to possess extraordinary capabilities beyond any seen by witch kind before. And once tapped into, said prophet would gradually gain memories and knowledge of the Goddess others would not have, because the prophet is said to have been the only witness to the binding of the Goddess and her consort."

Several pairs of eyes turned to Kurt, who blushed and turned away, hiding his face in Blaine's shoulder. The dark haired witch put an arm around him. "Stop staring at him. He's not a bug under a microscope!"

Most of them turned away, going red behind the ears for being yelled at by Blaine. Trent, however, still looked deep in thought.

"It's true that Kurt does fit the prophecy," he said after several moments of silence. "But, it's also plausible he could fit another forthcoming that is so locked away, only the most privileged of witches have ever heard it."

David frowned, but Wes blinked and looked at Trent. "You aren't thinking the rebirth, are you?" he asked. "How do you even know about that? I only ever heard about it because I overheard my grandfather talking to dad about it."

Trent turned and looked at Wes. "Have you ever heard anyone in your family or the adults' Circle say the words, 'On the day she walks again?'"

"My Abuela says that all the time," Santana said. "I thought it meant something along the line of some day when I'm wiser…"

The younger witch shook his head. "Most people today don't know its true meaning, but it links directly back to the original prophecy. The actual prophecy itself has long since been lost in the depths of years of other prophecies and important scriptures. The only people who know what the phrase truly means, are witches who come from long lines of witches blessed with being safe-keepers of historical knowledge."

"You mean like your family?" David said. "Like how because you're an energy reader, it's your job to know as much about anything and everything involved in our world?"

Trent nodded. "Exactly. That line refers to a prophecy foretelling the Goddess' rebirth on earth and that one day, she will once again walk among us. But whomever is the vessel for her being will have no knowledge of having been our Goddess, until the day comes that the time is right for showing themselves." He paused, looking directly at Blaine for a moment. "There's a second half to that phrase that is lesser known than the first. The full phrase is, 'On the day she walks again, so shall he.'"

"Okay, I just got used to the idea of witchcraft being real. Now you are trying to say my kid is the result of some prophecy no one really remembers?" Burt said, breaking some of the growing tension in the room, and making Kurt feel a lot better.

"I'm not saying anything, Mr. Hummel, sir," Trent said. "Only that it's a possibility. Sir, your son is the son of two seventh children of seventh children. It's extremely rare. Jackie, if you could please help explain it?"

"Let me see if I can put this in simple terms. You are familiar with Einstein's theory of relativity? E=mc squared?"

"Yeah, inertia and all that," Burt replied, not understanding what that had to do with anything.

"Yes, well, magic is energy which bounces off other energy, and ripples out. Every time a child is born with magic, the energy bounces out and more ripples spread. When a seventh child is born, the magic is so powerful, the ripples rebound to that child, seven fold. Now, multiply that by seven, and you have the seventh child of a seventh child. That is very rare. And your son is the only child of two seventh children of seventh children. That is not only rare, it has never happened before, to the knowledge of any witch I know. All that power from you and his mother, collided inside Kurt, making him possibly the most powerful witch to ever walk the Earth, save for the Goddess herself."

"That's all well and good," Blaine said. "But that doesn't really help us with freeing Ethan and Devon, and stopping Andrew!"

Kurt nodded. "Yeah," he said, still red in the face. "Can we please stop talking about me being a witch among witches and get back to our actual mission?"

"He's right," Emma said. "We're running out of time. Look at the demon vessel." She pointed to the vessel, sitting by Kurt's feet. The white was now streaked with black.

Wes cursed under his breath. "And we still don't know which locket we need to open!"

"Or how Kurt and Blaine are meant to open it," David added.

"The one in the box," Kurt said.

"I think it's the one Matthew stole," Thad said.

Trent nodded his head. "Ethan would have kept the original close to him."

Kurt shook his head. "It's the one in the box, I'm sure."

Blaine looked at him. "What makes you so certain?"

Kurt shrugged. "Ethan was literally giving Devon his heart."

It was Wes who shook his head this time. "But he knew Matthew stole the locket, and maybe he wasn't sure he could get it back and used the other one because it was still part of him."

Blaine frowned. "No. I think Kurt's right, most particularly because Ethan knew Matthew had stolen the locket, but he wasn't angry about it and was forgiving, although Matthew never knew that. If Matthew had taken the more important one, I think Ethan would have been more upset and frantic about what had happened to it."

"But-" Thad started, but didn't get a chance to reply because Kurt cut him off.

"Am I not the all powerful Wizard of Oz or whatever?" he snapped in a frustrated tone of voice. "You think I'm some prophet or the Goddess reborn, well then I suggest you bow down to my will and trust me! Or else I shall mix a special potion and turn all you children into mice."

There was utter silence as everyone in the room turned to look at him, stunned by the tone of voice. Well, everyone except Blaine, who was beaming at him.

"Good, now that I have your attention," Kurt said. "I'm not just making a guess here. I know the one in the box is the original. Ethan was LITERALLY giving Devon his heart. You all can sit here and debate all month long, but I know I am right."

Blaine couldn't help himself. He leaned in and kissed Kurt. "I love you."

Kurt was caught by sudden surprise and for a moment he sat completely still and stared at Blaine in awe. "I love you too…" he said quietly.

"So…" Jeff hedged. "Nick? Does this mean I can finally say I love you in front of everyone now?"