AN: ...I totally worked on it...totally...I'm totally still writing ahead...

I looked around at the mess leftover and shook my head. "Guys…"

"We've got this, you go relax." Travis made a shooing gesture.

I grabbed Batman and pulled him away from some cake someone had left on the floor.

Nico blinked tiredly. "Yeah, we've—" He yawned. "Got this."

I nodded slowly and then made my way out of that room, picked my way around the different messes, and finally upstairs. I paused in the hallway, then went and grabbed my pajamas before going into Mom's room. I changed and was about to climb into the bed when there was a flash of light behind me.

"Sorry to disturb you," Eithne said, standing stiffly in the room. "But the timing is perfect for you to come to Tír na nÓg."

I looked at her and sighed. "Right now?"

She frowned at me, ever so slightly. "Something about you is different."

I pushed up my t-shirt sleeve to show her the tattoo. "It can't be seen by mortals, except those who can see through the mist."

She studied it then nodded sharply. "The timing is more than perfect. Come."

I gestured around me. "It's night, and I was just at a party."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

I sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

She grinned, then muttered something and drew a symbol in the air, opening a portal of golden light. "Take my hand."

I did.

She pulled me through the portal.

I closed my eyes against the bright light, then we stopped. My head swam for a moment, then it seemed to settle without making me nauseous. I had to take this slowly.

I peeked out with one eye, then opened both so I could stare. "Whoa."

Tír na nÓg was the most beautiful, enchanting place I had ever seen or been to. Lights seemed to float in the air. The most magnificent flowers lined the path and looked as though dew was a permanent fixture on their lustrous petals. There seemed to be a perfect ratio of shade to sunlight.

I stood in long, soft grass, noticing that the temperature was absolutely perfect. I didn't need a coat, nor did I need lighter-weight clothing. The gentle breeze that rustled the leaves and made the grass and flowers sway was on the cooler side, but still warm enough that I was comfortable.

Eithne grinned at me. She was even fairer here than back at home. Her clothes were made of a shimmery fabric, her leather armour had changed to an odd, polished metal. Her hair was braided away from her face and her eyes were such an intense blue that my own hurt just looking at them and trying to process all of the color, light, and beauty around me.

"Come on. I'm not supposed to be here, which means you're definitely not supposed to be here."

"Comforting," I commented dryly.

"Isn't it? Come on. It's over here."

"What is?"

"I'll explain in a minute," She said, glancing at me over her shoulder. When did she get taller than me?

"Before or after we get in trouble?"

"Before," She said confidently.

We crested a hill and were overlooking a charming, lightly wooded creek. Alongside it was a cairn with various runes engraved in it.

"This is the sacred site where Ogma and Badb were joined as one for a brief moment, a place of enlightenment and learning. You will learn as you meditate here. I will stand guard."

"Wait, what?" Another person telling me what to do was the last thing I needed. Wasn't it bad enough that I was now a Meddler without having agreed to be one?

"Sit, meditate, learn. I will stand guard while you do." Eithne sounded serious, but was she?

"I've never…"

"Just try," Eithne ordered. "Children of Ogma have always found answers while here. Perhaps you will as well."

"And what am I asking?"

She hesitated. "He will know."

I hesitated, then entered the circle around the cairn and sat down. I closed my eyes, knowing I should try to calm my thoughts.

I heard her move away.

I controlled my breathing, trying not to think about things like how I should be focusing or maybe I was supposed to picture one thing. Was I supposed to think of a question? But what if this was all a trap and Eithne was waiting to catch me unaware?

My mind flashed to the party, everything I remembered before passing out.

I shook my head. No. It couldn't be a trap.

I should be taking time for myself, but I also wanted to work on these projects. Was I stretching myself to thin?

"Well, it's a matter of opinion, now isn't it?"

My eyes flew open and I stared up at him. "Father?"

He smiled gently. "Hello, Cassandra. I don't think we've spoken since I dropped off that gift for you. At Northpoint."

I shook my head. "I'm not much of one for praying."

"Not to me, perhaps." He sat down in front of me, where the cairn used to be. "You must be truly troubled. I can't make out a single question that rises above the rest."

I blinked and looked at the ground between us. I didn't know if I was allowed to speak of meddler affairs to him. "A war is coming."

"You've known this for a while."

I closed my eyes. "I wanted to believe that we had put it off."

"If there is anything to learn from the stories around you it's that the inevitable will happen and all you can do is try to delay it. But you know that as well."

"The gauntlets you gave me were a warning for Eithne."

He tilted his head. He looked different than when he had delivered the package at Northpoint. More graceful and less impish. Broader in shoulder. Younger, and yet still as old. "And a gift for you."

"Why me?"

He looked to the sky. "Flowers bloom, and hammers strike; we cherish youth, and life alike; we fight and live, our words so strong; but grow so silent, when we hear a song; We find meaning, in life so small; and answer swiftly, to nature's call; the veil tears away, will worlds unite? Will we preserve, what's wrong and right? Will we continue, will life go on? Once the words are all but gone?"

I felt my heart racing. "How do you know that poem?"

"You wrote it."

I shook my head. "I was trying something for a story."

He met my gaze. "There is a reason you're here. There is always a reason for every life, even if it is microscopic, but especially if it's a large reason. You, my daughter, are a child of the veil. I know you will make me proud."

I felt my eyes widen as I realized he was fading. "No, wait, I don't understand!"

"You will."

I jerked forward, opening my eyes.

Eithne had a hand on my shoulder. "We have to go."

I blinked a couple times, staring at the cairn, then taking the ring that sat in front of it. It was mom's ring.

"Cassie! We have to go! Tá contúirt ann!" There's danger coming.

I shook my head and hurried up and let her pull me along by my wrist.

"What did you find out?" She asked.

"The war is coming. Then he recited a poem I wrote earlier this summer."

"And?"

"He was heavily implying that it was more than just a poem."

She cursed in Irish, then in a language that I didn't recognize. The portal was directly ahead. "Must go faster." She dropped back about two steps, put her arm along my head and neck, then pulled me, going so fast that I thought my skin would rip off. Then I was stumbling into my mom's bed and she was closing the portal.

I clenched the comforter and tried my best to keep the birthday cake and ice cream down.

"Are you alright? Last person I did that with threw up."

I gave her a thumbs up.

Nico came running in. "Cassie! Where have you been?! Travis and I checked all aroudn town and the neighborhood—" He broke off when he saw Eithne.

I glanced at the clock. It was noon. I stared at the clock, then slowly shifted my gaze to Eithne. "We were gone for over twelve hours?!"

She looked apologetic. "Time runs differently there. It only felt like a few minutes. I forgot that the watch stops working there."

I looked back at Nico. He had some cuts and scrapes that he hadn't had last night. "Monsters?"

He nodded. "You better call Travis."

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and sent a text instead. Just in case he was fighting a monster or something.

He called.

"Hey, I'm fine. Eithne just took me—"

He groaned. "Tell her I'll beat her later. I'm on my way back. Sam Winchester called. I'll fill you in when I get back."

"Okay," I replied, that worried feeling gnawing even more vigorously at my stomach. I dropped my phone onto the bed and stood there for a moment, feeling panic rising, then I darted for my own bedroom to find that notebook and that poem.

"Cass? You okay?"

"No," I responded without thinking. "No, I'm not okay. I'm far from okay. How am I supposed to help people when a war hits?"

"A war?" Nico's voice was filled with dread, but also confusion.

"You know what happens when water freezes in cement?"

"Um…"

"It cracks. Now, here in Michigan they have a stupid ritual of 'sealing' these cracks to try and prevent them from getting bigger. That's what all the black lines in the roads and highways are. You following me?"

"Uh, sure. Cracks from ice, seal put over the cracks."

"Right, like a bandaid. Most of the time, this is just a temporary fix because the cracks still manage to spread. And then potholes occur." This analogy wasn't working.

"Oh…kay…"

I groaned. "It's…" I slammed my desk drawer shut and started looking through the bookshelf again. "What we did earlier this summer was a temporary fix, delaying the inevitable war between the greeks and romans against the Celts. But it's not going to end there. When you throw a stone into still water, the ripples spread out. It will hit the Norse, the Egyptian…every other belief system out there will be sent reeling from the rending of the veil. They'll have to choose sides. We'll all have to choose sides."

It was really quiet behind me.

I finally found the notebook hiding under my bed and flipped through until I reached the poem. "A Troubled Time: Flowers bloom, and hammers strike; we cherish youth, and life alike; we fight and live, our words so strong; but grow so silent, when we hear a song; We find meaning, in life so small; and answer swiftly, to nature's call; the veil tears away, will worlds unite? Will we preserve, what's wrong and right? Will we continue, will life go on? Once the words are all but gone?"

"We have to warn the camps." Nico was quiet.

I turned and looked at him.

He had that haunted look he sometimes had when we were both awake from nightmares in the middle of the night. That look he got when he opened up about his sister, Bianca, or about his time alone. Especially when he talked about Tartarus. "You should show that to Rachel. See what she makes of it."

"She's in Connecticut." I shook my head. "At an all-girls private school."

"It's the weekend and you're a girl."

"I can get you there," Eithne said softly. "But I'll need your help."

"With what?" Nico asked sharply, cutting me off. "Your people are the ones who will be attacking."

She looked devastated. "I know. But I need to make sure Aaron stays safe. I need to know he's okay before I go to my parents' side and when the time comes…convince them that fighting is not the answer. I have to see where my peoples' loyalty will lie if they learn that I defied my parents for their sake. I can't do that if I'm worried about Aaron. Northpoint isn't safe enough for him. He's seen too much to be safe there."

I nodded. "He can stay here."

Nico gave me that 'are you out of your gourd?' look. "Here?"

"Where else can we ensure his safety? He can't go to camp, it's too dangerous. And he needs people, doesn't he, Eithne?"

She nodded. "Yes. People, friends…hope. He'll fight me on it, but not for too long. I'll leave him with extra protection and a weapon. I'll tell Allison to enhance her barriers so that my kind can't enter them. And to get out of Northpoint."

"You sound worried about that."

She shrugged. "If she has to step completely into the Greek world, she will inevitably have to go before the gods. It's never a pretty sight."

Nico looked tense. "Here's hoping the veil lasts at least until Christmas break."

I stared at the poem.

Travis slid past Eithne and into the room. "You okay?"

I nodded. "As okay as I can be."

"Sam said that the curse could be transfered to another. Said he would email you the spell for it. He also said that the spirit seems to do it to seemingly random people, always in Michigan. You're the second student to have it, but others were adults or children with seemingly no connection. He's hacking into their health histories to try and find something connecting them. Also, he still hasn't identified the last mark from either of our tattoos. He said the language might be too ancient."

I frowned a bit. "The matriarch told me a little about it, but mostly just said it's a form of identification."

"Allison showed me hers when she was here yesterday, instead of sigma, she had Epsilon. And you know how they're connected?" He traced the connection between the completely foreign symbols. "I think the top part is the first letter of our name. Both you and Connor have one that looks like a C, and then the smaller symbol connected…for some reason that I can't explain, but I have it in my head that that smaller symbol is the first letter of our godly parent's name. We three have something that looks a little like a lowercase H. She has one that looks somewhat similar to the extremely ancient roman A."

"For Apollo," I filled in the blank. "Then Epsilon is probably for Eastburn and sigma for Stoll. But then, that wouldn't explain why I had sigma."

"Because you're more than just our half-sister. You're practically a full sister, and you are legally in my care. That must make you a Stoll in the sight of the meddlers." He put a protective arm around me. "I don't know. Maybe it stands for something else."

Eithne cleared her throat. "As riveting as your conversation is, you need to talk to this Rachel and I must fetch Aaron to safety. We all have a battle to prepare for. Let us hope it is not a bloody one."

Nico looked grim. "Call it what it will be. A war. Another damn war."

Eithne dipped her head in concession and looked at me. "You might want to dress."

I glanced down at my pajamas and nodded.

Travis was silent, pale, with a glitter of either sadness or fear in his eyes. "War?"

Eithne made a gesture that looked like a warding off sign. "Our work to repair the veil did not work."

Travis nodded grimly. "I need to talk to Chiron. Then I'll call Reyna."

"I'll call Meg and get Allison on the phone, give her warning," Nico told him.

I gestured toward the door. "I'll get dressed if you all would kindly leave."

They quickly left, closing the door behind them.

There was another stop I wanted to make after talking to Rachel, so I made sure to dress in a way that would fit both locations, then hurried downstairs to put on my coat and boots. "Eithne! I'm ready!"

She appeared beside me, kneeling and drawing a symbol of some sort on the ground, then a portal opened. "This will take us as close to this Rachel as possible."

I nodded and let her lead me through. The whooshing, stomach sloshing, head-spinning rush happened once more, then I opened my eyes and looked up at Clarion Ladies Academy. "Whoa."

"Need me to help get you through?"

"Possibly. Also, after we see Rachel, I might need to make a stop in Boston."

"That's fine." She started walking purposefully toward the doors. Her quick smile and cheerful demeanor had fallen away, her thoughts likely lingering over the coming war and how she might try to stop it.

We entered the building and I went right up to a lady at a desk.

"Hello, we're here to visit one of the students."

"Name?"

"Mine or hers?"

"Yours," She said patiently.

"Cassandra Dellaro."

"And the student you wish to visit?"

"Rachel Dare."

The woman's eyebrow quirked up for a brief moment. "Wait here." She went through a door and left us alone in the room.

A couple minutes later, she reappeared with Rachel. "Don't forget to sign out, Ms. Dare."

Rachel nodded and signed a book, then gave us a look saying we should talk outside.

Once we were back outside, she walked a few steps ahead and spun to face me. "Is this about the nightmares?"

"Nightmares?"

"I keep having nightmares, about strange people readying themselves for battle."

I could feel Eithne stiffen. "Strange people?"

"I can't explain it, I just know while I'm dreaming that I they're…different. Like you're different, except they're…warriors." Rachel said it like she wasn't even sure that was the right word.

Eithne sat down.

I realized she wasn't going to respond and pulled my notebook from my bag. "My father talked to me, he indicated that a poem I wrote was…a little more than that. Nico thought you should read it."

She took it and starting skimming through, her green eyes getting a strange light to them as the color drained from her skin. "Is this the only part of this?"

I hesitated. Her question jogged a memory, a time when I just made a quick note for ideas for a continuation by recording my voice.

Her eyes widened slightly, looking scared.

I slowly nodded. "Maybe. I might have continued with some ideas, but they're on my ipod at home."

"Looks like I better sign out for the weekend. Do we know what this is warning us about?" She ran a hand through her curly hair and then folded her arms against the cold.

Eithne stood back up, slowly. "My people. My parents would wage war. We haven't much time. You said you must go to Boston?"

"Yes."

She nodded. "Then we should go."

Rachel looked confused. "Do you need to go to the safehouse?"

"No," I chewed my lip. "Somewhere a little more…veilish. We might have to come back and pick you up."

"Where exactly are you going?"

"I'm going to visit Magnus Chase and hope the Norse aren't taking sides."

"Norse?"

"Long story, ask Annabeth."

Eithne looked slightly amused. "Oh, right, forgot about them. They're strange folk. Odin is downright annoying, but it's better than dealing with Thor. But why are we going to see them? It's highly unlikely that my people will seek their aid, wouldn't they be better as a neutral party?"

"You know that Annabeth will ask for their aid if the Greeks get involved." And if she didn't at first, Malcolm's assessment of the Dans would lead her to. At the very least, halfbloods might be sent to them for safety. For healing. "How strong is the Irish influence in Boston?"

Her gaze became somewhat gentle. "Second highest percentage city for Irish ancestry, right after Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and before Louisville, Kentucky and Buffalo, New York. And Massachusetts in general has the highest population of Irish folk in general. Then New Hampshire."

Rachel looked slightly confused, but mostly agitated. "I should have seen something coming months ago. There should have been a quest."

I looked at her, then felt my heart sink. "There was a quest."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Jamie, Petunia, Ria, and Andy. They went on a quest, to defeat a monster. They still haven't figured out what it was. Chiron thought it might just be so ancient that memories of it were somewhat lost, or that exagerration and shock had led them to misremember or describe it. But what if it was an celtic monster."

"What did they fight?" Eithne looked alarmed.

I did my best to repeat their descriptions.

She looked angry and worried. "A diabhal, a demon or devil of Caoránach. Did any of them die?"

"Andy did."

Her hands clenched into fists. "Andy was Greek?"

"Roman, a son of Ceres."

Her shoulders slumped. "That is how my parents found out. Caoránach would love for a war to happen. More meat for her minions. And she has smelled the blood of the Romans. She has likely found a way to inform my father without ever letting slip that she was the informant. Or that they faced one of her demons."

"Worse," Rachel said, finally looking like she had caught up. "They might have a Greek demigod."

Eithne's alarm seemed to flare from large to devastating wildfire.

I blinked and then gripped Rachel's arm to balance myself while she gripped me for balance as well. We were in Boston.

"I'll find you after I get Aaron to safety." Eithne said, then was gone.

Rachel moaned softly. "Oh, I might actually get sick. I survived a crashing airplane and becoming an oracle and whatever the heck that was finally makes me sick."

I shook my head slightly, and that seemed to help. "Let me know when you're good to move. Opening your eyes will help."

She peeked out, then gripped me harder. "Nope. Nope. Worse. Much much worse."

That was slightly concerning. Then again, she was mortal. But again, she was also the Oracle.

Maybe it was my Irish lineage that helped me.

It took a few minutes, but she finally opened her eyes and straightened up and stopped gripping my arms so much. She looked at me, then frowned a bit. "I'm surprised that you haven't had a panic attack today."

I shifted. "Might be because of my trip last night." I looked around and got my bearings. "It's this way."

She followed, still looking a little queasy.

We got to the halfway house and I led the way in.

No one really paid us any attention as we walked through. Maybe a few resentful looks thrown at Rachel because of her uniform, but nothing major.

Magnus was talking over a book with Alex, with an unfamiliar girl sitting across from them looking amused.

Hearth noticed me first though and waved a little, then got a strange look on his face, his gaze going to my left arm like he could see the tattoo through my coat sleeve and my shirt sleeve.

And it was definitely feeling itchy.

I signed "Hello" then waited for a moment with a glance at Magnus and the others.

The unfamiliar girl looked up and saw us. "Hello."

Magnus and Alex looked over, then Magnus got up. "Cassie!"

I gave a hesitant smile. "Sorry to interrupt. This area private enough to speak in?"

Alex nodded to the door. "It is if we close the door."

Blitzen was coming in with a motley group of teenagers, but he made sure to close the door when he heard Alex say it.

Magnus looked worried. "Is everything okay?"

I shrugged slightly. "Sort of, kind of, not for long? This is Rachel Dare. She's the Oracle."

The bigger guy that had come in snorted. "Oracle?"

Rachel fixed him in her scariest look. "The Oracle of Delphi, yes. The Spirit of Delphi speaks through me."

I shifted nervously, then looked around. "I'm mostly here to warn you. We just found out this morning that a war is coming, between the Romans and the Celts. The Greeks are likely to get caught up in it all, as allies to the Romans."

"What does that have to do with us?" Blitzen asked.

I didn't know how to reply. I knew why it mattered, but I didn't know how to say it. I rubbed my arm out of habit, trying to think. Then it came to me. "All worlds are connected, the Greek, the Roman, the Norse, the Celtic, and so many others. They coexist and make the world go round. But when the veil between two worlds is torn, the ripple effects reach the others and weakens the veils. If the veils dissolve completely…then all will be existing at once, fighting for dominance. Tearing the world apart." I looked around at them, assuming that these were the friends Magnus had told me about that helped stave off Ragnorak. "Like if Ragnorak had occurred, it would be the end of not only your world, but the entire world as we know it. Or if Kronos had won, or the Giants. When one world ends, all of them do. It isn't the same as if they fade out of existence, as many have. Ragnorak would happen, the Great Tribulation, and the true end of the Mayan calendar—all of it would happen and we would be unable to stop it between the raging war between all of the different beliefs."

"What if the tear was…peaceful?" Rachel asked.

"That would be different. It would be more of a lifting of the curtain, not someone burning it away or ripping through it," I explained. "That's what Allison and Eithne were trying to do. Teach some people about the different worlds and how they exist. If it had been lifted instead of torn, then we would have been able to coexist peaceably, but we're not talking about friendly. We're talking about tearing. It's been looming all summer, we just didn't see it because the person who would have warned us was banished. She has to sneak in. It's going to be complicated as it is. But like I said, I'm just here to warn you that there is a war coming to my world and you should make yourselves ready for the ripple." I blinked a couple times, then shook my head. I glanced at Hearth.

He was looking at me with curiosity, then he signed something.

Blitzen had to see it again before translating, "Did you just use rune magic?"

I shrugged. "I don't even know anymore. I did have one tattoed against my will, on my…" That made sense. "Left arm. Ansuz."

Hearth looked fascinated.

The others looked solemn, processing what was said.

Alex made a face. "Well that ruined dinner."