AN: I'm not sure why I thought today was the third, but either way, you're going to get a ton of posts in honor of her birthday. then hopefully when I get to the day of her birthday in my story it will actually be her birthday. Sorry if the next few chapters are confusing. I'm doing my best to explain things.

I jerked awake, terrified without knowing why. I felt like I had just gotten to sleep after that stupidly long day. I wasn't sure I ever wanted to do an event like that one again. It was way too long. And I was exhausted.

So why had I woken up?

Batman was standing on my bed, growling at the corner.

I sat up, frowning. "What is it, boy?"

He barked, then continued growling. His fur was raised, and he was definitely in a protective state.

I looked around the room, but didn't see anything.

"Cassie!" Nico yelled. "Wake up!"

"I am!" I grabbed my belt, shimmying out of bed and pulling the skeans from their scabbards. "What's going on?"

He slid into the room, sword in one hand, kitten tucked into his arm and hissing and growling. "I don't know. We need to get to Travis."

I nodded, then caught sight of it from the corner of my eye. "Nico, it's a ghost."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right there, by the closet door. There's a ghost."

"No there isn't." Nico was looking that way as well, confusion written on his face.

"Nico, I know what a ghost looks like."

"Cassie! Nico!" Travis yelled from downstairs.

"Batman, come!"

The dog hurried over to guard me, still growling.

I gently pushed Nico back. "Lead the way out. I'm watching it."

He grabbed stuck close so that I could see him from the corner of my eye. "How come you can see it but I can't?"

"How did you know something was up?"

"Parker, she wasn't happy. She woke me up, then I heard Batman bark. And there's sort of a chill in the air. I thought maybe a monster had managed to get it." He let the cat drop to the ground and grabbed my sleeve to guide me better. "Where is it?"

"It's following…" The I saw the others. "Nico, there are four of them. Two were in the hall. One just came out of your room."

"Cassie! Nico!"

"We're coming!" I glanced over my shoulder. "Nico! In front of you!"

He swung out with his sword, missing, but the ghost backed away a bit. "Where?"

"To your left, you can get past it." I swung out with my own sword and almost connected with another. They didn't seem malicious yet, but it was better safe than sorry…right?

He darted forward, still holding onto me.

Batman was starting to bark a little more, and he ran past us and off to wherever Travis was when we heard something that sounded like him getting hurt.

"Travis!" I passed Nico and darted through the living room toward the sitting room.

"I'm okay, I just tripped over the table. Stay out there!"

I stopped and backed back into the living and kitchen. "Nico?"

"Why can't I sense them?"

"You can, you said there's a chill in the air. Where does it get colder? Where do you get that feeling in your gut that someone is behind you? Where do you feel like you're being watched?" I let my gaze dart around the room. "All the times people say that their house is haunted, think of all the indicators of ghosts that you know. Take out seeing them and being able to control them. They must be Irish or something."

He looked a little scared, which was saying something.

"Think of the times when you were alone and you didn't feel like you were. Then when you feel like they're about to touch you to comfort you, move. Swing your sword. You're stronger than a bunch of ghosts."

"I don't think my sword is going to work," He said, letting his voice harden. "Got an extra?"

I pursed my lips. "Maybe in the closet."

"Alright, spot me."

I nodded sharply, keeping my gaze flitting around the room as more and more ghosts appeared. "Travis?"

"Working on it!"

I lunged forward and almost got the ghost again. "Okay, what else did Allison tell us worked against Irish and Celtic beings?"

"Iron…salt?" Nico reached the closet, his hand hovering around the handle. Then he backed away from it. "Cass, you have to open it."

I nodded and handed him one of my skeins, then opened the closet and ran my remaining one through the ghost in it.

It dissipated.

I grabbed the case and opened it. "Celestial bronze. That won't work if they're Celtic."

"Nope, iron it is. What do we have?"

"Fireplace set."

"On the other side of the room?"

"I didn't design the house."

"Ugh," He groaned through gritted teeth.

A door slammed upstairs, then the whole house shuttered and the lights flickered on, then off again.

We pretty much ran to the fireplace.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know, my only experience with ghosts…well, I don't have any! You're the son of the underworld!"

He grabbed the fire-poker and held it like a sword. "Lot of good that's doing me now, I can't even see them."

"To your right."

He lashed out with the poker and we were met with the agonized screech of a spirit dissipating.

I shuddered, feeling it in my teeth and every hair on my body raised, chills running along my spine.

Nico looked terrified. "Okay, I don't want to do that again."

"Please don't," I agreed.

Parker darted over to us, hissing from behind us at the ghosts.

"Are we surrounded?"

"Yeah."

"Crap."

"Travis?"

There was no response.

Batman was barking again, and he ran out. He tried to attack a ghost but they didn't really react to his presence.

I felt another chill. "Travis?!"

Nico's eyes widened. "Travis?!"

I cursed, earning another scared look from Nico, and pointed at the kitchen. "Salt. Then we'll try burning some sage." Another idea from Spiderwick Chronicles came to mind. "And tomato juice."

"What?"

"Just go with it!"

"Okay, back to back, constant circling. Ready?"

I stepped forward, swiping my swords in the air to create room. "Ready."

We made our way over, not entirely without tripping or being clumsy, but finally reached the kitchen and both scrambled to find the supplies we wanted. Salt, lighter, sage, can opened and a can of tomato sauce.

Nico lit the sage on fire while I first tossed salt at the ghosts, and then took a page from Supernatural and made a circle of salt around us.

"Is it working at all?"

"Well, the ghosts closer to the burning sage look calmer if that helps."

"And the salt?"

"They don't like it, so I think we're on the right track."

"And the tomato sauce?"

"Is something I read in a book and I haven't tested it yet."

Parker stayed in the very middle of the circle, looking stressed and upset.

Batman was still barking at the ghosts and trying to get them.

I opened the can of tomato sauce and then tried to figure out how to deliver the sauce to the ghosts. I finally settled for taking a spoonful and flinging the contents at the closest ghosts.

It landed on the floor and cabinets.

"Okay, that didn't work. It was worth a shot, though." I tossed the can onto the counter.

"What happened to Travis?"

"I don't know."

"What do they want?"

"If I knew, we wouldn't be in this situation. Nico, please, I'm trying to stay calm but I need you calm too."

He didn't respond.

I glanced back to make sure he was still there, and still okay, then glanced around the room. "Remember how I told you the first night we stayed here that I had felt like I was being watched when I first woke up? Suddenly doesn't seem so crazy."

"So what do we do? Who do we call?"

"Ghostbusters?"

"Cassie, not a joking time."

"Well, it was either Ghostbusters or the Winchesters, so…"

"Not a joking time."

"Right, um…" My answer would be him if he hadn't been here. The other options were Connor, Allison, or Eithne. Or Mr. Stoll. "We have four options?"

"Why is that a question?"

"I'm not certain about any of them being able to help us. There's Connor, Allison, Eithne, and Mr. Stoll."

Nico made a nervous sound. "Try Mr. Stoll."

I pulled out my phone and brought up his number, keeping an eye on the ghosts as I hit the call button and it rang.

"Gareth Stoll, at your service, how may I assist you?" His English accent was oddly soothing, despite the ghosts glowering at us.

"Grandpa? It's Cassie, we have a ghost problem."

"I see, I could contact some people and see how fast they can get there. Stay in a circle of salt. I'm on my way."

"I think they took Travis."

"That's not good. Alright, hang tight. Don't leave the salt circle."

"Yes sir," I responded, then stared at the phone after he hung up. "He said to stay in the salt circle. He's on his way and he's calling someone who can help."

"Seriously? That's it? We're just supposed to stand here until help arrives?"

"Can you see the ghosts?"

He scowled at the floor. "No."

"Do you really want to hear that bone-numbing scream again?" The ghost I had stabbed with my sword was back. Guess that had been a temporary solution.

He forcefully shook his head. "Not in this lifetime. I think I almost had a panic attack."

"Then we wait for help to arrive and stay in the dang circle."

"Good thing it was just the three of us tonight?" He asked, almost rhetorical but not quite. "If Will was missing I think I'd go crazy."

"Then it's a good thing Will isn't missing then, isn't it?"