Temptations Mate: Chapter Fifteen

Kurt had used their short drive to the docks to infuse the amulet with their scents and split it into several pieces that they could spread throughout several of the tunnels. All too soon they had reached the docks and Kurt shoved open the door of the carriage and quickly stepped out before Blaine changed his mind and tried to have Jesse take him home.

Before he could draw a breath, Blaine was standing in front of him, his expression stony as he drew Kurt into his protective embrace.

"Kurt," Blaine said, his tone almost pleading.

Kurt sighed and kissed him briefly. "Must we repeat the same argument yet again? We're here, Blaine and I'm going with you."

"If you are harmed it will destroy me," Blaine whispered.

Kurt felt himself melt at the simple declaration. Pressing another kiss onto Blaine's lips Kurt whispered, "I promise then that I shall be extraordinarily cautious."

"You stick to the plan, Kurt. You find your lycan and you leave, do you understand me?" Blaine demanded.

"I'll stay with him at all times, Blaine. He shan't be harmed," Rory promised.

"And you had better keep safe as well," Kurt said clutching at Blaine. "If you don't return to me I won't be able to bear it."

"I promised you eternity, Kurt. I have no plans on going back on my promise."

"I don't mean to pour cold water on our warm fuzzies, but I think we should get a move on," Nick said quietly.

With one last kiss, Blaine turned and took off, Nick and Jesse at his heels, at a speed so quickly Kurt's eyes couldn't follow. Kurt drew his shoulders back and led the way as he, Rory and Mike made their way to the nearest warehouse. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw several blurs he assumed were vampires following in the direction that Blaine had gone. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of the presence of Blaine's clan even though there wasn't another vampire in sight.

Kurt retraced his path from the other night, hoping they'd find Noah quickly so that they could go and help Blaine. He had no intention of waiting in the carriage like the fragile doll Jeremiah accused him of being while Blaine fought for his life. Hopefully Noah wouldn't be too worse for wear but if he was he'd send him back to the carriage with Mike or Rory and continue on to find Blaine.

Entering the warehouse, the trio crossed to the gaping hole in the floor and dropped through to the cavern below. They moved swiftly through the various openings that led to the tunnels and Kurt took the time to scatter a few of the scent crystals before heading down the passage that seemed the most familiar.

His heart was in his throat and his palms were sweating but he appeared outwardly calm and in control. He doubted he was fooling either of his companions since his bond with Mike made it impossible to hide his distress from the vampire and Rory kept giving him reassuring shoulder squeezes but he was determined to show only bravery. Kurt knew that he wasn't a warrior like either of his companions but he took pride in the fact that he wasn't acting like a scared rabbit. He was also relieved that the overwhelming stench of terror that had been prevalent in the caves the first time he'd been there had waned considerably. The smell of fear was still in the air but it wasn't as pervasive. Kurt smiled in relief, knowing that they'd managed to free a decent number of the captives.

Kurt bypassed the tunnel where they had encountered Jeremiah, shuddering at the memory of the Jinn's battle with Blaine. He remembered that Blaine had said he'd scented Noah nearby so he led the group down the other tunnel, squeezing though a narrow opening and leading the group down a narrow, low-ceilinged tunnel.

They finally came to an entrance carved into a stone wall at the end of the tunnel. Getting on their hands and knees, the trio went through the opening, inching their way along the path until finally they reached a part of the cavern large enough to stand in.

Kurt's heart soared as he looked at the back wall of the cavern and saw several cells and in the very middle an opening where a bruised and battered, but thankfully very much alive, Noah hung from a pair of silver manacles.

With a muffled cry Kurt raced forward, and began inspecting Noah's face and body. "Oh Goddess, Noah are you ok? Can you speak?"

Mike reached forward to tug Noah free from the cuffs but Kurt stopped him. "They're enchanted. I can sense it. Rory, could you-"

"Consider it done," his cousin replied. With a few muttered words Rory removed the enchantment and the cuffs opened. Noah fell forward and Kurt struggled under his weight until Mike came forward and helped lift the lycan to his feet. Rory quickly unlocked the cells of the other prisoners and they began pouring out of them, heading towards the exit.

"You shouldn't have come," Noah mumbled, "The Jinn is insane. He's determined to kill you and that's the least of it. Kurt, you have to leave here. You're not safe."

"I'm not leaving without you," Kurt said, determinedly as he fished around in his pocket and withdrew the ring Sam had given him, putting it on Noah's finger. "I know he hurt you but can you walk? If you can't, Mike can carry you."

Neither Mike nor Noah seemed overly enthused by the proposal. "I don't need to carried about by a bloodsucker," Noah spat, "Werewolves are renowned for our ability to overcome pain and perform heroic feats that stun and amaze the demon world and I am among the toughest and fiercest of my kind," Noah sniffed.

"Modest one, you are," Rory said, rolling his eyes.

"It's not as if I wanted to smell like dog," Mike fired back.

"Stop it, all of you," Kurt snapped. "Noah, show a little gratitude. Look, the only heroic feat I want you to perform right now is to come with us and get out of here, as quickly as possible."

"That is a plan I can approve of," Noah said.

Expecting Noah to leave the same way they had entered, Kurt frowned as the lycan instead led them towards two large boulders.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"Getting us out of here and getting you to your mate," Noah said.

Kurt paled. "Noah," he breathed, "I was going to tell you-"

"Explain later Kurt, we need to get out of here," Noah cut him off. He began pushing at one of the boulders and Mike came up to help him. They moved it off its spot and a small tunnel was revealed underneath. Noah quickly slipped into the tunnel and Kurt, Rory and Mike hurried to follow.

Kurt cursed their cramped quarters as he crawled through the small space. They at last reached a connecting tunnel and Kurt straightened to find an impatient Noah waiting for him.

"This way Kurt, hurry," Noah urged, moving with surprising speed for his rough condition.

"Noah, are you sure," Kurt asked, only to sigh in frustration as the werewolf continued on without so much as a backward glance. Following in his stead, Kurt ruefully reminded himself that he had willingly chosen to rescue the aggravating lycan and that he couldn't afford to get upset about it now, not with Mike and Rory in tow. "You have yet to explain how came to be captured by Jeremiah."

"He-" Noah cleared his throat, one his tells that let Kurt know a lie or half truth was forthcoming, "caught me unaware."

"What are you hiding, Noah?" Kurt demanded.

Noah held himself ramrod straight and refused to turn around as he continued down the tunnel.

"It wasn't my fault," he said sullenly.

"What was not your fault?" Kurt pressed.

"I believed there were a nest of sirens about so I…decided to do a minor bit of magic to impress them."

"Dear Goddess," Kurt groaned. Noah was, if possible, even less adept at magic than Kurt was. "What happened?"

"He quite clearly mucked it up, tis what happened," Rory said crossly, then began muttering about werewolves needing to leave magic to those it was intended for.

"It wasn't my fault," Noah stressed. "I didn't mean for there to be an explosion."

Kurt frowned. He knew there was more to the story. "Did you somehow injure Jeremiah?"

"Of course I didn't, I'm not that lucky," Noah replied," I did however expose a part of the tunnel."

And?"

"And it may have been the part where he housed his treasure."

"So?"

Noah stopped and kicked at the ground in front of him. "I may have liberated a few baubles in the hopes of impressing the Sirens I believed were here."

"Oh for the love of- Noah, give them back," Kurt demanded.

"I can't," Noah growled as he led them down another tunnel, "I lost them trying to escape."

Kurt's heart plummeted. He didn't know much about Jinn but he did know demons and there wasn't a demon in the hierarchy that wouldn't consider the theft of its treasure a justifiable reason to maim, torture and kill.

What's more, he knew Jeremiah and he knew that he was dangerously unhinged and fiercely territorial of the things he considered his. If Noah had stolen from him, Jeremiah would stop at nothing to punish him for it.

"We should hurry," Kurt said.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Noah said, and the quartet took off, rushing through the darkness in silence, the heavy feeling of dread crawling through the air. Kurt could sense the violence; Jeremiah was close.

Jeremiah was entirely too close.

Intent on keeping pace with the lycan, Kurt nearly fell over the top of him when came to an abrupt halt.

"I can smell it," Noah growled.

"Jeremiah?" Kurt asked.

"Freedom, your vamp, and that damn Jinn," Noah confirmed.

Before he could ask what he meant, the wall of the passageway suddenly exploded inward and a body was thrown through it. Kurt stifled a cry when he recognized Jesse lying at his feet.

He fell to his knees and began brushing strands of the fledglings chestnut locks away from his face. Suddenly, Blaine and Nick were standing in the opening, staring at them.

"Blaine, Jesse's hurt," Kurt said, then felt foolish for pointing out the obvious. "Jesse, Jesse can you hear me?"

His lashes slowly lifted and Kurt found himself staring into eyes of pure black. "I'm fine Mast-Kurt." Jesse said, his wounds already beginning to knit as he struggled to his feet.

Blaine came and yanked Kurt to his feet. "I thought I told you to rescue the lycan and leave," he snarled.

"And I thought I told you my place was by your side," Kurt fired back.

There was an overwhelming cloud of foreboding and then Jeremiah's voice echoed through the tunnels.

"Blaine? Blaaainnne? Where are you? Did you find your pretty porcelain? Blaine? It's not nice to stop circling the chairs in the middle of the song. Come out, Come out, wherever you are!"

"El e nebun," Nick mumbled, "a few centuries of torture and the guy goes completely around the bend."

Blaine stepped in front of Kurt as Jeremiah slammed his way through the wall, the air crackling with electricity.

"Wants to play in my garden, does he?" Rory said darkly, "Fine then, I'm always looking for a good game of catch," the fey said, the air around him suddenly taking on an electric charge of its own.

Nick, Mike and Jesse shifted and took up places beside Blaine, as Noah moved to stand beside Kurt and Rory.

"If you have anything in your bag of tricks to pull out now would be the time, otherwise you stay behind and let us keep you safe." Blaine rasped withdrawing one of the swords Sam had given them from the scabbard on his hip.

"What happened to the other-"Kurt began.

"Dead or wounded," Blaine cut him off.

Jeremiah rose and shook off the bits of dust and rock that clung to him. He took in the sight of the assembled warriors before him and smirked before his eyes lit upon Kurt and began to glow a crimson red.

"Hello dolly," He drawled. "I can't wait to get to play with you."

Rory tilted his head to the side and studied Jeremiah intently before grabbing Kurt and Noah and dragging them back to the wall. "He's not pure Jinn but he's enough of one to need a caixa in order to keep him here," Rory said.

"What's a caixa?"

"It's…a kind of puzzle box," Rory explained. "It's his greatest treasure. It's the source of his power. You open the box, you release his power and the big bad isn't so big or bad anymore. You said you stumbled upon his treasure," Rory said turning to Noah, "Do you remember where?"

Noah nodded. "I do."

"Take Kurt, the caixa is magic; you'll sense it. Bring it back here; he has to be near it for his essence to be dissolved. Solve the puzzle, open the box and the magic of the Jinn will be gone."

"What about you?" Kurt asked

"I'm staying here. They'll be needing my help to keep him occupied."

Before he could say another word, Mike flew into the wall behind them, and Rory turned and launched a ball of lightening at Jeremiah, knocking the Jinn off his feet.

Noah grabbed Kurt and took off with him through the tunnels. Kurt closed his eyes as the rock walls blurred by them and the sounds of the fierce battle behind them echoed through the cavern walls. Noah turned down a maze of tunnels Kurt hadn't seen and suddenly came to a stop in front of a wall of rock.

"It was right here," Noah swore.

"It still is," Kurt smirked, sticking his hand through the wall and pulling Noah along behind him. They emerged in a room filled from floor to ceiling with treasure.

"Do you see it?" Noah asked, digging through the various treasure boxes and piles of treasure.

"No," Kurt cried out in frustration. He then remembered what Rory said about the caixia being magic and stood in the middle of the room, breathing deeply and pushing everything from his mind.

After a couple of moments he felt a tingle up from the base of his spine, causing all his nerve endings to stand on end. His eyes swept the room and landed in the corner. He made his way over to the pile of gold and jewels and began to dig through it. His hands suddenly made contact with a small, golden box and felt a jolt go through him. "I found it," Kurt cried triumphantly. "Quick, let's get back to Blaine."

Noah sprang into action, grabbing Kurt and running at breakneck speed through the tunnels, back towards the battle.

"I'm growing rather weary of this," Jeremiah said dispassionately as he sent a bolt of electricity into Nick, causing the vampire to fly through the air and land with a sickening thud.

"Where did your mate run off to, Blaine?" Jeremiah asked, as he fended off an attack from Jesse, throwing the vampire back into Mike and Rory. "Did Peter Rabbit run? I hope so, I love the hunt. That's something you taught me."

"You won't be hunting Kurt or anyone else," Blaine declared, circling his former lover.

"You cheated, you know," Jeremiah said, as the two prepared to face off. "You hate magic and yet you come here cloaked in a protection spell, using scent crystals, cloaking rings and a surprisingly powerful little leprechaun to-"

Jeremiah's words were cut short when a fireball suddenly hit him square in the chest, knocking him into the wall behind him.

"I'm no leprechaun ye bloody bastard," Rory thundered.

"I'm going to kill you slowly," Jeremiah swore as he picked himself up off the ground.

"You'll do nothing of the kind," Kurt's voice broke in suddenly as he emerged from the hole in the wall behind Rory.

"Oh joy, the gang's all here," Jeremiah clapped. "Who wants to die first?"

"I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer," Noah snarled, stepping in front of Kurt.

"You," Jeremiah sneered, "have tried my patience for the last time mongrel. I think you all are forgetting whose holding all the cards here."

"You may hold the cards," Kurt said, "but I hold the caixa." Kurt declared, holding up his hand and revealing the tiny golden box.

Blaine stiffened with a tension that Kurt didn't need to be bonded with him to feel.

Jeremiah let loose a howl of pure rage that made the walls of the cavern shake and the ground beneath their feet quake.

"Give me my caixa, and I'll kill you quickly. You try to open it, and I'll do far worse to you than anything I've threatened before," Jeremiah yelled at Kurt.

Can you open it? Kurt heard Blaine's voice in his head

The magic is unfamiliar and dark. I've never encountered anything like it but if you give me time I believe I can.

Then time you shall have.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat as Blaine rushed forth, raising Sam's sword and attacking with a savage ferocity that made their last battle pale in comparison. Again and again, he hacked into Jeremiah but the Jinn simply absorbed the blows and fought back with equal intensity, eventually managing to disarm Blaine and throw him aside.

Rendered unable to move, Kurt watched in horror as Jeremiah advanced on Blaine, preparing to attack when Jesse and Mike tackled Jeremiah, both of them tearing into him with fangs and claws, until the Jinn let loose a blast of energy that hurled the duo away from him, through several feet of rock into one of the tunnels above.

Nick drove into Jeremiah, his fangs latching onto the Jinn's throat and tearing a chunk out. As a river of blood flowed from the wound, Jeremiah ignored it and sent another jolt of electricity through Nick's body, causing the vampire to release his hold.

"Kurt!" Noah yelled, breaking him out of his trance, "Open the damn box, already!"

Shaking his head to clear it Kurt examined the caixa. There was a complex weaved pattern embossed into the gold carvings and it was encrusted with various jewels, including a strange, black that almost looked like an eye in the middle. One panel was carved of ivory and onyx and Kurt could see that it was supposed to be a picture but the pieces were in the wrong order. Kurt could feel the malevolence of the dark magic that flowed through the box and threatened to overtake him.

Kurt could sense an energy flowing from the caixa to Jeremiah, almost like chains that anchored the Jinn to his caixa. It was almost as if Jeremiah was the physical body but his essence, his power was housed inside the caixa.

Kurt knew he wouldn't be able to actually destroy the caixa so he focused on Rory's instructions and tried to solve the puzzle that would open the box. He ignored the angry waves of energy floating off the caixa and Jeremiah's steady litany of threats and promises and focused on sliding the pieces of the puzzle into place.

The caixa seemed to be fighting him, the energy making his hands shake and the air around him thick. He could hear the sound of the battle around, and he knew the situation must have truly become dire when Noah left his side to join in the fight. Kurt sank down in the dirt, desperate to connect with what little bit of his mother's magic he held within him, hoping that the tiny bit of nature would help.

He felt a tiny flare of power surge up within him. It was weak but it was enough. His hands steadied and he slid the pieces of ivory around until they began to snap and lock in place.

"You think you'll defeat me," Jeremiah roared as he sent showers of rocks raining down upon their heads. "You're nothing. You're less than nothing. You're not a fey, you're not a witch, you're not a vampire, you're nothing," he spat, as he chucked Rory out of his way, advancing upon Kurt. "I'm going to break you, I'm going to bleed you, I'm going to make you rue the day you ever thought you could take my place," Jeremiah swore.

Mike and Jesse rushed back into the room and attacked again, the vampires working in tandem to attack their former brother.

Kurt ignored the battle and continued to work on the puzzle, even though he could smell the blood being spilled and feel the promise of death in the air. Suddenly the last piece snapped into place and the box fell open.

The cavern was filled with a brilliant light and Jeremiah began to shriek as if he were being torn asunder. Kurt watched, transfixed as the waves of energy he'd felt earlier manifested into tentacles and began wrapping themselves around the Jinn.

No one moved as Jeremiah was ensnared by the tentacles. They pulsed and vibrated, and Kurt could see the power they were draining from the Jeremiah. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few moments the tentacles released Jeremiah who dropped to his knees and retracted back into the caixa, the box sealing itself up again.

The atmosphere in the cavern immediately shifted. The oppressive feeling of violence and rage was gone from the air and the electricity could no longer be felt. Kurt dropped the caixa and cautiously made his way over to Blaine. He picked up Sam's discarded sword and let himself collapse into Blaine's embrace.

Jeremiah lay seething. He didn't understand how he could have been bested by a powerless witch. Rage swirled in his heart as he saw Blaine press a gentle kiss onto Kurt's lips.

With a roar he propelled himself towards Kurt, his demon form on full display. He may have lost his Jinn powers, but Jeremiah was still a vampire and he intended to sink his fangs into Kurt, tear him to bits and get his revenge.

Kurt hardly registered what was happening. He'd remembered too late that Jeremiah had never been pure Jinn that he was still a vampire and the caixa wouldn't have taken that from him as it wasn't it's to give. He only knew that a very angry, very blood thirsty vampire was hurtling itself towards him and neither Blaine, nor any of the others, were in any shape to try to fend him off.

Kurt pushed Blaine out of the way and at the very last moment swung the sword in his hand, praying that his aim would be true. The silver blade sung as it sliced through the air and time stood still as Jeremiah's eyes locked onto Kurt's and neither of them dared look away.

Jeremiah's body slammed into Kurt, pinning him to the floor beneath the weight. It took the witch a moment to realize that he was stuck, but not being attacked. He looked to his left side and found himself staring into Jeremiah's eyes. Kurt fought back a shriek as he realized that he was trapped under a headless body.

"Have you gone mad?" Blaine yelled as he yanked Jeremiah's body off of Kurt and hauled his mate to his feet. "You pushed me out of the way. He was attacking you and –"

"And you are spent," Kurt pointed out. "I realize your ego rivals the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, but you are in no shape to have fended him off again. Plus, I had the sword."

"Good show, cousin!" Rory panted, pulling himself up to his knees. "I suppose in retrospect our plan was a wee bit short sighted."

"You don't say," Nick groaned gingerly rubbing the back of his head and wincing when it came away covered in blood.

"Mike, Jesse? Are you two ok?" Blaine called out anxiously.

"Yes Master," Mike answered, dragging himself to his feet and helping Jesse up.

"We're fine, Master." Jesse answered weakly.

"Fine may be a bit of an overstatement, vampire," Noah said, climbing out from under a pile of rock. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm ready to get the hell out of here."

"Aye, sounds like a fine idea to me," Rory agreed.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine and nuzzled into his mate's neck. "I want to go home," he whispered.

"Then come, let us dwell in this place no longer," Blaine said as he began walking towards the exit.

"I don't know about you, vamp but I'm too tired to walk," Rory declared.

"How else are we gonna get out of here-" Nick began but was cut off when he felt the wind whirling around them and suddenly they all dropped unceremoniously down onto the cobblestone street next to the carriage.

"You were saying?" Rory asked smugly.

Nick merely smiled and shook his head. Kurt, Blaine, Rory, Nick and Noah climbed into the carriage while Mike sat up front with Jesse. As Jesse urged the horses into motion and they began the journey home, Kurt laid his head on Blaine's shoulder, clasped his hand in Noah's and gave his thanks that they all made it out safely before falling into a fitful sleep.