When Nico got back to the house, the door was closed. He sighed, knowing what was coming next. He grabbed the doorknob and, just as he expected, found the door locked. He cursed inwardly, took a deep breath and knocked. If they let him in, he wouldn't have to resort to using his powers…

"Who is it?" came Luke's playful voice from behind the door.

"Your uncle. Now, let me in."

"Uncle? We don't have an uncle. Our parents are lonely children."

"Luke," Nico said, getting angry. This is why he never got married. "Let me in this instant, or-"

"Or, what?"

"Luke, let him in," he heard Bianca say to her brother. Bless that child, he thought…

"Chill out sis. I'll let him in. After a few hours…"

"Luke! Its freezing out there! Let him in!"

This was an exaggeration, Nico thought. The weather was getting rather cold, but it was nearing the end of March, and Nico, who's body was used to the Underworld's unnatural chill, thought it was almost warm.

"Luke, I will ask one more time," he said calmly. "Let me in."

"That wasn't a question," Luke said, stifling a laugh.

He asked for it, Nico thought. He closed his eyes and willed the shadows to engulf him.

Luke was laughing his head off in the entrance hall while his sister scolded him for his actions towards their uncle.

"Luke, open that door now!" she shouted.

"Why? To see his face…" the rest of his sentence went up in a laugh.

"I really don't see what's so funny about all this."

"Oh, you wouldn't."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning," Luke paused and looked his sister over, "you don't have any sense of humor."

Bianca's grey eyes fixed on her brother's with such intensity, his smile faltered slightly. "Say that again."

"Say what?"

"Luke!"

"What?"

"You are so infuriating!"

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to read!" came Charlie's voice from the top of the stairs. Then they heard him scream. "AH! How did you get up here?"

"I climbed," came another voice.

Luke stopped laughing and looked at Bianca in shock. He went and unlocked the front door to see nothing but moonlight shining on the shrubs that grew all over their yard.

"Are you looking for something, Luke?" Nico said from the foot of the stairs.

Luke turned around so fast he fell over. Standing up he said, "How…you…wha—?"

"How did you get in?" Bianca blurted out.

"As I told Charlie. I climbed," Nico said simply.

Luke, recovering from his shock and determined to degrade his uncle, walked straight up to him and poked him in the chest. "Climbed what, exactly? There are no pipes that would hold your weight."

"Oh, yeah," Charlie said sarcastically from the top of the stairs. "'Cause he's just dying from obesity."

Luke reddened and turned to his brother. "No, because I tried it. And I'm sure you remember that?" he said, pointing to his scar.

"Whatever," Charlie said, rolling his eyes.

"Luke, stop interrogating our uncle. This isn't CSI," Bianca said, and turned to Nico. "Now, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

"I don't know. What do you want for dinner?"

Luke's face suddenly lit up. "Can we order pizza?"

"Ah, no. Your parents said homemade food only."

"Do you even know how to cook?" asked Charlie doubtfully.

"I'm a professor. What do I know about cooking?"

"How do you live if you don't know how to cook?" Luke asked.

Nico just shrugged. Truth was, he lived with his father in the underworld, where all his needs were carried out by the dead servants of Hades.

"Then what are we supposed to eat?" asked Bianca.

Nico scratched his head. "I don't know," he said again. "I was hoping you guys had leftovers from yesterday or something."

"Oh, great," Luke mumbled. "First they get us a babysitter, then they try to starve us."

"Luke, please be quiet. I'm trying to think," Nico said. Then, it came to him. "Okay, guys. Here's the deal. You go do your homework, while I cook dinner."

"You just said—" Luke began.

"I know what I said. I'll figure something out."

"God save us," Luke muttered. Nico, who was walking towards the kitchen, stopped abruptly. "What did you just say?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," Luke said, and ran up the stairs.

Nico stared after him for a few seconds, then looked at Charlie and Bianca. "Ok, both of you, go do your homework while I prepare dinner."

"Already done it," Bianca said, smiling. "Can I go finish my experiment?"

"Feel free," Nico said. "But please don't blow anything up."

"I won't. Thank you!" she called and ran up the stairs after her older brother.

Finally, Nico turned to Charlie. "Well?"

"I don't have any homework," he mumbled. He turned and walked up the stairs quietly. As soon as they were all upstairs, he sighed, walked over to the kitchen, and closed the door.

"Ok, dad," he muttered to himself. "Send me some help." And then he began to chant in Ancient Greek. A few minutes later, he was surrounded by the underworld's best cooks. He smiled to himself at how easy this was going to be.

One hour after raising the dead, the kitchen was wafting with the smell of delicious food and sulfur. After sending the dead away, Nico turned up the fire on the stove and burnt an offering to Hades. Then he called the three kids down to eat.

"Guys! Dinner's ready," he called as he finished placing the Greek salad in a bowl.

He heard footsteps on the stairs as the three hungry kids ran down to claim their food. A minute later, Luke, Bianca, and Charlie were standing in the doorway of the kitchen, their faces expressing their shock.

"Dude, either you're a culinary genius, or just too modest," Luke said, already seated and helping himself to roast chicken.

"This is brilliant, Uncle," Bianca said, seating herself beside her brother.

Charlie followed his siblings quietly. He sniffed the air and gagged. "What is that smell?"

Nico looked at him worriedly. "Its probably from outside. Now come and eat."

He sat down and put some salad on his plate. Nico took a bite of the food on his own plate and had to admit the dead had good recipes. When they were all done and had cleared the table, it was already eight-thirty.

"Ok, guys," Nico said, clapping his hands together. "You should be in bed in half an hour, according to your mother. So wash up and do whatever it is you want to do, but be in bed by nine."

"But it's the weekend!" Luke protested.

"I don't make the rules. I just follow them."

Luke went back upstairs grumbling and Bianca went to take a bath, so Nico and Charlie were left alone.

Charlie turned to Nico and folded his arms across his chest. "That smell was sulfur. I recognized it from one of Bianca's vials."

Nico sighed. "Yes, it was sulfur. But not from the kitchen."

"Where would you smell sulfur from outside?"

"Where would sulfur be in the kitchen?" Nico retorted. "It was probably from Bianca's experiments."

Charlie simply turned and started up the stairs. Halfway, he stopped. "I also smelt it somewhere else. On a corpse." And with that he continued up to his room, leaving Nico more concerned than ever.

At nine o'clock, Nico went upstairs to check on the three kids. He got to Luke's door, which had a charcoal drawing of a dragon and the words 'LUKE'S ROOM. ENTER IF YOU DARE' written in cursive beneath it. Nico knocked once and opened it to find Luke sitting the floor with his headphones on and sketching something with charcoal. His hands were black from it, but he didn't seem to care. When Nico came in, he looked up and took off his headphones. "Just let me finish this, and I swear I'll go to bed."

"How long will that take?" Nico asked.

Luke held up the drawing. It was very well done, showing a Pegasus galloping through water. The water was painted and the Pegasus was done in charcoal. It looked complete to Nico, but Luke seemed to have found something to improve. "About ten minutes. Is that ok?"

"Yes, but not a minute later. Great drawing by the way."

Luke grinned. "Thanks. I'm planning to study fine art in college."

"I'm sure you'd do very well," Nico said. "Good night."

"Good night," Luke replied as Nico closed the door. He went to Bianca's room and knocked. She didn't answer, so he opened the door and found her sitting at her desk, pouring something into a vial. A chart showing the periodic table of elements hung behind her bed, taking up half of the wall. A computer sat on her bed cover.

"Bianca? Its nine o'clock."

She capped the vial and placed it on a rack. "Really? Ok, then." She took off her goggles and lab coat. "Good night uncle," she said, getting into bed. "And that dinner was really good."

Nico smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. Good night." He closed her door and went to the last room in the hall. Nico knocked and went in. Charlie was lying on his bed, reading a large book. He looked up slightly when Nico came in, then went back to it.

"What are you reading?" Nico asked.

"War and Peace," Charlie replied, without looking up.

"You like to read?" Nico asked, a bit surprised. He hadn't expected that.

"And write," Charlie said quietly. "What, you thought Luke and Bianca were the only ones who were interested in something?"

Nico sat on the edge of his bed. "No. I just think its really cool having the patience to read books. I never did."

Charlie looked surprised. "How come? You said you're a professor."

Nico smiled. "I'm dyslexic, like your brother. So its really hard for me to read books like that." He pointed at the copy of War and Peace in Charlie's hand. "And I teach music, so its not like I have to read anything besides musical notes."

"You're a musician?" Charlie asked. "What instruments do you teach?"

Nico looked at him thoughtfully. "I basically teach string music, mostly guitar and violin."

"Are you good at it?"

"I play the violin quite well. The guitar took me a while to learn to play, though."

Charlie sighed. "You're lucky to be good at something. I wish I had talents like that."

Nico frowned. "What do you mean? You are talented."

"In what, writing? No one cares about that. They care about talents like Luke's or Bianca's, the really obvious ones. The only way anyone would care about writing is if I get it published."

"What talents do Luke and Bianca have that you don't?"

"Luke's an artist. And he can handle a sword really well. Bianca…well, you saw her. She's probably the next Einstein. Me? Nothing. All I can do is write and anyone can do that."

"That's not true. The three of you are very talented, but in different ways. And not anyone can write. Believe me, I've read essays that would make your mind explode just trying to understand what the writer is trying to say. But there are always those people who are simply gifted writers, and you just might be one of them."

Charlie looked at Nico gratefully. "You really think I can become a published writer?"

"Why not? I'm sure you can do whatever you set your mind to," Nico said. "You're a special boy Charlie. More than you can ever imagine."

Charlie's eyes widened. "That's what mom and dad always say. But what's so special about me? I'm worthless. No one wants to hang out with me at school."

"Hey, you are not worthless. If people don't want to hang out with you, its their problem, not yours. And its their loss if they don't want to hang with someone like you."

Charlie smiled. "Thanks, uncle. I really appreciate you saying that."

"You're very welcome," Nico said, standing up. "Now, I'd better go. Its getting late. Good night."

"Good night, uncle." That was the last thing Nico heard as he closed the door.

Nico went back to Luke's room and opened the door. Luke was lying on his bed, still in his jeans and coat, with his headphones still on. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply which confirmed to Nico that he was sleeping. His finished drawing hung up on the wall next to several others.

Nico went inside and looked at Luke's other drawings. When he reached the last one, however, he frowned. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It was the drawing of a young man, that strongly resembled someone Nico had only ever known as the enemy. It was the drawing of Luke's namesake, Luke Castellan.