"Celtic!" Nate took off after her. He found her surrounded by dragons. They were encircling her as though they were protecting her from someone or something. He ran into the circle and pulled his sister into him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I was running towards the forest when the dragons suddenly appeared. They formed the circle around me. I don't know what's going on." She clung to her brother. "Can we go home now?"

"Absolutely." They made their way back to the cottage; the dragons never broker their circle.

"Sorry." Celtic sheepishly hugged her grandmother when they were safely inside.

"There's no need to be sorry, just don't run away like that again." Abigail squeezed her granddaughter tight. "Let's get cleaned up for supper." Celtic went to wash up and wake the twins. Nate and Bane helped with supper before washing up. They had just sat down at the table when there came a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Abigail cautiously answered the door.

"Bane." Bane's mother entered the room.

"Mom?" He stood up and approached his mother. "Are you alright? We didn't put you in any danger earlier, did we?"

"No, Son. Are you alright?" She pulled him into a hug.

"I'm fine, Mom." He hugged her back and then had her sit at the table.

"Please, have some food, Annabeth." Abigail handed her the meat platter.

"I'll go get another chair." Heat popped up from the table and grabbed a chair from the living room.

"Thank you." Annabeth smiled warmly at Abigail and Heat.

"Thank you, Heat." Bane tousled Heat's hair before sitting down. "Mom, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." She squeezed her son's hand in reassurance. "When do you head back?"

"Soon." Nate answered. He didn't quite trust that everything was okay. Bane's mom seemed a little tense and on edge about something. He shot Bane a look. There was a silent exchange between the two and Bane understood Nate's reluctance to go into detail.

"How are you holding up, Abigail?" Annabeth turned her attention to Celtic's grandmother. The less she knew about what her son was doing, the better for everyone.

"We're getting by. I think the children may be safer on the Main Island where they can be looked after more." Abigail shot the twins a look that told them not to say anything. She, too, had sensed something strange. "I may send them with Nate and Bane when they head back tomorrow."

"If you think they'd be safer there." Annabeth replied. She wondered why she was being so forthcoming about their plans but didn't verbalize her concerns. The less she knew, the better. She highly doubted that was she was being told was the truth anyways.

"I believe they will be." The rest of dinner was silent.

"Son, keep yourself safe. I love you, but do not come home for a while. It's safer that way." Annabeth said goodbye and then headed home.

"I love you too, Mom." Bane whispered. He knew someone had gotten to his mother; that someone was threatening her and her family. They wanted information about Celtic and what was happening on the Main Island. They all knew it; that was why Abigail had given her false information.

"She's taking a great risk protecting you." Nate squeezed his friend's shoulder.

"They all are." Celtic said. "All of our parents took great risks protecting us. Some have already given their lives to protect us." That was one of many moments that made Abigail sure that Celtic was destined for great things. She was only nine years old, but she understood things not even adults did.

"Let's all wash up for bed. We have a long day tomorrow." Abigail said after a while. She knew that even the twins were understanding what was happening. Frost was often quite, but he observed everything and tended to stick close to Celtic when he figured things out.

"Nate, can I stay with you?" Celtic stood in the hallway outside her room.

"Of course." Nate smiled. They settled into the oversized chair, but neither one could sleep. The day's adventures played over in their minds but it was the idea that Celtic was still in danger that kept Nate awake.

"I'll be fine, Nate." She said, almost as if she could sense her brother's fears.

"I know, Grandma knows what she's doing." He sighed. "I know you'll be fine, but I'm still going to worry about you."

"As I will worry about you – both of you." Celtic said. She sat forward and looked over at the couch. She could tell that Bane was still awake. "Bane, are you okay?"

"Something is going on with my mother." He sat up.

"It is not for you to worry about." Abigail sat next to him. "I figured you all couldn't sleep either."

"With all due respect, she is still my mother." Bane responded. "I'm going to worry."

"That may be so, but it won't do anyone any good if you let that take your focus off what you are supposed to do." Abigail answered. "Let me worry about Annabeth. She wouldn't want her problems to keep you from doing what you need to do."

"Alright." Bane reluctantly agreed. He knew she was right, but he also knew he would still worry about his mother. "Do you know how my father died?" He looked at the wise old woman sitting next to him.

"I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure I know why. I also know the truth won't do you any good right now." Abigail answered.

"Do you think it had something to do with Celtic?" Bane wondered if Celtic was right about deaths being connected to her.

"No, I believe that your father's death was connected to you. I think that if anyone from your group has lost one or both parents, it's because they died protecting their children." Abigail let that sink is a moment. "I think the deaths are connected; they're related but not in the sense that they are all because of one person."

"What aren't you saying, Grandma?" Celtic asked.

"You are very perspective." Abigail smiled at her granddaughter. There was something she wasn't saying and she wasn't sure she should. She knew what she wasn't saying would cause alarm and worry. If she was right, they would try to prevent it from happening but doing so would take them away from their given tasks.

"It's probably something we really don't need to know right now. If we knew, we'd want to do something about it and that means whoever is doing all this wins." Nate replied before his grandmother could.

"That perceptiveness must run in family." Bane joked to lighten the mood. Everyone smiled.

"It must. Now it's time we all got some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow." Abigail stood up and headed to her room. Celtic nestled into Nate's side as they both settled back down into the chair. Bane laid back down and tried to sleep.