I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I had everything ready to go. I just needed to wait for Nico, Travis and Aaron to be asleep before I left. If they weren't they'd try to stop me.

After I saw that it was one in the morning, I slipped out of bed and changed. Years of experience in the house allowed me to know which spots in the floor creaked.

I managed to get to the garage, and then out through that door to where my car was.

And I froze in place.

Aaron turned toward me. "Thought so. You can waste time telling me to go back inside, or you can accept my help. It's up to you."

I hesitated.

He held up a sword. "I've got a weapon and I learned how to use it. And I have a good sense for magic and mythical."

"You were brought to my house for protection."

He pointed at me. "I figure the safest place is closest to you. Besides, three heads and all." He sounded calm, like he had thought it all through. "I'm used to danger. I've been fighting alongside Eithne since the last time I was here."

"You're not worried that your perception seeking will get you in trouble."

"I've got rules, and I can manage most of my impulses, but I'm resigned to getting myself in trouble." He gestured to the car. "You have about four minutes before Travis realizes that both of us are gone. You agreed to meet those guys in Indiana, right?"

I stared. "How did you?"

"I was borrowing a book and panicked. Hid in the closet." He shrugged. "How long before Travis makes the connection between you leaving and the Winchester's not showing up? 16 hours?"

I hissed a little. "Fine. Let's go." I unlocked the car and hurried to get in. I could see a light go on in the kitchen.

I started the car and pulled out of the driveway, heading down the street.

It wasn't until about six the next morning that my phone started ringing.

Aaron grabbed it and looked at the caller. "It's Nico."

I took it from him, hitting the answer button. "No."

"Cass–"

"No, there's something I have to do. Me. You guys have to start preparing for war. I'll be back for Christmas."

"No! I'm not letting you go off alone!"

"I'm not alone."

"What?"

"Aaron is with me."

Nico seemed to choke. "What?! Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Aaron chuckled a little. "Harsh."

"Nico, it's not your job. It's mine. This is something I need to do. I need you to let me do it." I tried to calm him.

"No," he insisted, his voice breaking slightly. "What if you die?"

"You'll be okay," I answered. "You have Will, and Hazel, and so many others who care about you."

"So do you!"

"I know. And I'm honored. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to do this. I need you to stay alive and get ready for Christmas." I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Time to prove myself. I'm sorry."

"Cassie!"

I ended the call, knowing if we kept talking I'd regret it more. "Should have had you talk to him."

He shrugged. "It's fine. You handled it as well as you could. Now. You want to fill me in?"

"Remember the day before my birthday? The day Eithne dropped you off?"

He grunted softly. "Can't forget it. Still upset with her."

"Well, I had the nightmare for the first time when I took my nap that day. I've had it every night since. There are four people, and they're being chased by a really nasty monster in some dark creepy hospital…out in Montana." I fidgeted a little. "I didn't know that at the time, and Rachel gave me a prophecy. I didn't want to tell the boys. Rachel didn't even remember."

"Why? Why not tell them?"

I bit my lip, tightly gripping the wheel.

"What made you decide that they couldn't come?" He pressed.

I turned on cruise control. "They both have things they need to do. Travis has so much on his plate. And I just…I feel in my bones that Nico isn't supposed to be there."

My phone started ringing again.

"It's Travis." Aaron held my phone. "Should I answer it?"

I wanted to curl up in a hole and die. "Don't let me hear him."

He fiddled with the phone for a second. "How's your Irish?"

"Not even decently good."

He nodded and answered in Irish.

I couldn't understand most of their conversation, words here and there. Only a couple that made sense.

Finally he hung up.

"So?"

"Well, he said if you don't come back in good health, he's going to put me on a spit and dip me in scalding oil, after performing various torture techniques. Something about pulling my fingernails out, and salting them, dipping them in lemon juice?"

"Oh…" Can't believe Travis remembered that conversation…

"That sounds familiar to you?" Aaron seemed a little concerned.

"Uh, well…that's technically what I came up with for a torture method for story," I answered. Speaking of remembering… "Hang on, did you say three heads are better than one?"

"Oh yeah. Johnny's in the trunk."

"What?!" I gripped the wheel tighter. "Why is he in the trunk?!"

"Well, you seem to do better around him and I wasn't sure if I should make you take me or not, so I called him and we made this plan. And it worked."

"Fine. He's going to be stuck in there until I need to stop and get gas."

"Which looks like it will be soon," Aaron pointed out.

I groaned, carefully switching lanes so I could exit the highway.

When we opened the trunk, Johnny looked up from his phone. "You honestly didn't think you were sneaking away, did you?"

"Get out of the trunk, Cahill," I snapped. "Do you even know what's going on? This is going to be dangerous! You're a mortal!"

"So is he."

"Aaron has been training to fight," I argued, slamming the trunk shut.

"I know I'm not exactly another demigod fighter at your side, but I don't think you should be doing this alone. I know you shouldn't," Johnny retorted, arms folded. "So, what's the plan."

"The plan is I leave you here and let someone else collect you." I checked on the pump.

"Right, so I can tell them that you're going to Indiana, and then on to Montana so they can catch up with you," Johnny said, looking down at his phone again.

"What are you doing?" I asked, getting annoyed with his split-attention.

"Reading your book."

I took his phone and tossed it into the back-seat of the car, locking it afterward.

"Rude," Johnny said, then placed his hands on my shoulders. "Cass, you can't do it alone. I know you. You don't even want to do it alone."

I met his gaze, trying to figure out why he would do something so rash. "What about school? Your family? I cannot guarantee that you'll survive this."

He looked at the ground, nodding. "I know. I know it's dangerous, and I know my family will be worried about me. They might think I was kidnapped, or ran away, and your family is going to have to convince them that they know nothing. But they won't know anything until Monday, when the school tells them I didn't show up."

I waited for a moment, then unlocked the car again, going into my bag and pulling out a knife. "Here. You at least need to be armed."

He took it, nodding. "Okay then. We good?"

"Yeah, but if you ever pull a stupid stunt like that again, I'm making sure the whole world knows."

"A valid threat if I ever want to take over the world," Johnny replied, grinning.

I smiled back. "You know, most people would want to stop you from doing that."

"Are you one of them?" He asked, smirking.

I folded my arms, pretending to think about it. "I guess we'll see how far you get, first."

"Interesting, got some sort of inside scoop?"

I shrugged. "I just see how you lead others already. If you lead them the same way in the future…I'll consider letting you take over the world." I finished pumping the gas, and looked around. "Where's Aaron?"

"Here! I was getting snacks," He said, hurrying over. "I was hungry. I think. It's hard to tell sometimes."

"Come on, we should get back on the road," Johnny said.

I nodded, climbing back into the driver's seat. "Next stop, Indiana."

***AN: Sorry. I'm Sorry. I'm so sorry.***