Nico was not thrilled when Nero and Lady brought her the news of the encounter with the Nilepoch the next morning. "So lemme get this straight," she said, planting her coffee mug on her workbench with excessive force. "You two not only lost the kid that stole Nell's gun from me—again—but you lost the demon, too?"

"We didn't lose it, per se," Lady replied. "We… strategically repositioned it. Into the future."

"An' now you want me to build you some kinda monitoring system so you can see when it shows up for another snack?" Nico plopped herself on the battered barstool next to her workspace. "I may be a genius, but I'm not a dang miracle worker."

Nero rolled his eyes. "It doesn't need to be anything fancy. All we need is a way to calculate how long it takes for the Nilepoch to return, so we can be ready for it. Can't you set up some kind of motion sensor, or video feed, or something?"

"Uh, sure, maybe if I had a friggin' telecom network runnin' over the whole island! But you went an' put the bait in the castle. Underground. Two an' a half kilometers away." She threw up her hands. "We ain't even got cell coverage there, let alone network access. Hell, ever since the dialup service shut down, ain't nowhere on this whole island with workin' Internet."

"So you're saying there's no way to do it?"

"You got two an' a half kilometers o' spare cable lyin' around? Cuz that's what it's gonna take to run a live feed back here."

Lady paced the length of the small room, thinking. "What about a wireless relay?"

"Wireless?" Nico glanced around the workshop space, taking stock of components. "I guess I could put together a basic infrared relay with stuff I got here, but that's line-o'-sight, an' the terrain ain't flat. You'd have to bounce the signal dozens o' times."

"We can do that," Nero said quickly. "We can stake it out."

"Over two an' a half K?"

"If that's what it takes."

Nico spun the barstool in a slow circle as she considered it. "Well, I'm gonna need a lot o' parts to make that many relays. An' some poles to put 'em on."

"Poles, I can manage. We've still got a bunch of that old conduit, and there's a ton of scrap lumber in my garage. Give us a shopping list and we'll get the rest of what you need."

"For starters…" She stretched across the table and picked up the remote control for her small television. "Get me a couple dozen o' these."

It took three days for Nico to assemble the relay units, and another two for Nero and Lady to stake them out on a path to the ruined castle. During that time the imprisoned Riot gradually recovered, becoming more active and testing its cell for weaknesses, but Agnus had built his containment units to last.

"I guess about the only good thing I can say 'bout my asshole daddy," Nico muttered as she wired another motion sensor into place in front of the Riot's cage, a full week after she'd started the project, "what he did, he did real well. Too bad he didn't use all that talent to make somethin' worthwhile."

"Well, at least you've found a way to turn his research into something good." Nero tapped the Devil Breaker hanging at his hip. He didn't need to use the mechanical enhancement against the low-level enemies he typically encountered on Fortuna, but with the Nilepoch's return looming over them, he'd begun traveling fully loaded any time he left the house. "Even these creepy-ass cages are coming in handy, for once."

"I just hate to think of what he used them for." Lady swept her flashlight beam around the laboratory. Ghostly reflections arced through the barred enclosures and the machinery that had once churned out animated armor suits, fueled by the souls of Order devotees who had blindly assented to undergo the Ascension Ceremony. Those who survived it, like Credo, had been transformed into something both more and less than human; those for whom the experiment failed either became monsters themselves, or had their souls harvested to power the Order's mechanical versions. "It looks like there used to be more equipment over here, doesn't it? I wonder what happened to it?"

"Somebody probably came through and picked it up for salvage." Nero joined Lady and frowned at the empty corner, which had been cleared of an entire bank of hardware. "Though it's a little weird that they'd just take that one unit and leave all this other stuff lying around. I didn't think anyone except us even knew about this place. Agnus did most of his experiments in secret."

"Prob'ly 'cause people would'a rioted if they'd known what he was really up to, Order or no Order. He was one sick bastard, that's for dang sure." Nico finished the wiring and stood. "Okay, that's the last one done. Now, I just turn on the juice…" She connected the plugs that would drain a trickle of electricity from the Order's old power stub, which she'd somehow managed to reactivate. She swore it was too small an amount for the power company to even notice. "Now, if this is workin' right, that red light should come on when I break the beam." She swung her hand into the path of the motion detector, and the red indicator blinked on. "Good! So once I get everything set up on the other end, we should get a blip on the monitor back home any time somethin' comes stompin' around here."

"But there's no way to know what it's detecting?" Lady verified.

"Not with this equipment. It's practically put together with chewin' gum an' bailin' wire as it is. But even the town kids who come out here to canoodle don't make it this deep in the ruins. Anything comes through these subterranean levels, it's either a demon or a hunter."

"Speaking of hunters, that girl had what looked like a page from one of the Order's books." Nero took his gaze from the perimeter, which he'd been scanning every few minutes, to glance back at the two women. "She probably scavenged it, same as we did, but there's no telling what else she's found."

"I'm more concerned with how she's been snipin' all our jobs." Nico scowled as she tossed tools back into her box. "Near as we can tell, she ain't doin' no advertisin'. Nobody seems to know who she is, but every time we hear of a demon sighting, she manages to beat us to the punch somehow an' collect our payment. How's she doin' that? Is she psychic, or what?"

"Maybe she's already there because she's been summoning all the demons herself," Lady suggested.

"Or maybe she has her own network of informants. When we get our hands on her again, we'll ask her." Nero checked the Riot's cage for the fifteenth time. It still appeared secure, though the demon charged at him when he approached. It bounced harmlessly off the reinforced bars, and a low hum told him that the inbuilt shield that kept the occupant anchored to this plane was operational. "If we're done, we should get out of here. It gets dark early in these hills."

"Since when are you scared o' the dark?" laughed Nico. "I thought you had, like, special demon night vision or somethin'."

"Doesn't mean I wanna have to carry your human ass back to town when you break an ankle tripping over something. Besides, Kyrie's expecting us back in time for dinner."

"Now that's a good reason to hurry." Nico hefted her toolbox. "Let's go."

Kyrie didn't greet them as usual when they entered the house, which instantly set Nero's senses on alert. "Hello?" he called to the house. "Kyrie? Kids? Anybody home?"

Nico glanced at the clock in the living room. "That's weird. They're usually home by now."

Nero checked the kitchen to make sure Kyrie hadn't left a note, but all he found was a pot of soup cooling on the stove. He stepped back out into the hall, Blue Rose in hand. "Something's not right here. You two, check the garage. I'll look out back."

Lady nodded and drew one of her pistols before moving to the garage door. Nero continued down the hall to the back of the house, and a tingle of warning raced up his spine. They rarely used the back door; it opened onto a narrow crescent of weeds that vanished into a deep, rocky gully too dangerous for the children to play near, so the door was always kept locked.

Now it was standing open.

From somewhere beyond, Nero could hear a frantic voice that sounded like Kyrie's. He slammed through the storm door, pistol in hand. "Kyrie!"

Kyrie whirled away from the edge of the gully. Her face was pale. "Nero!" she gasped. "Thank goodness!"

"What happened?" Nero scanned for demons, but the sliver of back yard was deserted. "Where are the kids?"

"I had Julio take them away as soon as it started. Rosso and Zaffiro…" She seized Nero's arm and dragged him to the edge of the dropoff. "Down there."

Nero leaned forward to peer into the twilight at the bottom of the narrow ravine. At the lowest point, the drainage from the city streets fed a stream that had been deepening the gully for centuries. He could just make out two dots of white scrabbling in the water. "How the hell did they get down there?"

"They were fighting. I don't know how it started." Kyrie twisted her hands in the apron she still wore. "Julio was helping me in the kitchen. The twins were in the bedroom by themselves. I heard arguing, and I asked Julio to check on them. When he said they were actually fighting, I told him to get the other children out of the house, and somehow I managed to separate the boys long enough to drag them out here. I was afraid of what they might do to the house if they really got going."

"Are you okay?" Nero ran his fingers over Kyrie's bare arms, looking for burns or bruises. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, they were too focused on each other. I'm fine." She looked down the ravine again. "I shouldn't have let go of them, but I thought they had calmed down. But the second they were free, one of them ran at the other, and…" Her eyes brimmed with tears. "When they went over the edge, I thought they'd both be killed."

"They'll be fine," Nero assured her. "Believe me, they've survived worse." He squinted at the shapes far below. "Looks like they're slowing down. I'll climb down and get them."

Kyrie grabbed his arm. "You can't! A lot of those stones broke loose when the boys fell. They won't hold your weight."

"Luckily, I've just had a massive adrenaline boost. Here, hang onto this for me, will you?" He unloaded Blue Rose and handed the pistol to her, then moved a few paces away, so he would land well downstream of the twins. "Be right back."

He reached within for the ever-present flare of demonic energy and found it burning brighter than usual, thanks to the scare he'd just had. He released the pent-up power, and his human form burned away as the devil within burst free. Reveling in the fire spreading through his limbs, Nero leaped off the edge and plummeted toward the water below. A third of the way from the bottom, he extended his wings and dug the claws deep into the earth on either side, slowing his fall. He still landed with bone-jarring force in the stream bed, and the impressive splash drew the twins' attention.

Rosso and Zaffiro just stared at the strange creature for a few seconds, but their eyes widened to saucer proportions when Nero began to stalk toward them. "You two are in so much trouble." His altered vocal cords distorted the words into an ominous growl. Both boys screamed and turned to run, but Nero's quick hands caught them by their collars. "Oh, no, you don't." He tucked one squirming boy beneath each arm and began the long, slow climb back up the hillside, using his wings and clawed toes to dig into the rocky walls.

Lady and Nico had joined Kyrie at the top when Nero, damp, muddy and straining his devil form to its limit, finally reached the level of the house. Kyrie and Nico each seized one of the boys when they came within reach, while Lady took Nero's arm to help him over the edge. Back on solid ground, Nero let his devil form dissipate before flopping on his back in the weeds, panting for breath.

Rosso and Zaffiro scrabbled toward Kyrie, their fight apparently forgotten in the face of a new threat. Both of them kept a wary eye on Nero until he got up and showed himself to be fully human again. "You two," Nero hissed, still breathing hard, "inside. Now."

Kyrie, the queen of multi-tasking, turned the heat back on beneath the pot of soup as they all filed into the kitchen. Nero set himself between the twins and the doorway to forestall any attempt at escape, though the boys didn't seem to have the energy to try. Their feet were dragging, trailing mud and water as they placed themselves side-by-side in front of the refrigerator. They automatic way they took the position made Nero think this wasn't their first experience with serious discipline, and he wondered how often they'd gotten in trouble together the first time they were seven-year-olds.

"I don't think I need to explain what you've done this time," Nero began. The boys shook their heads in unison. Their waterlogged hair hung over their foreheads in identical mops, and Nero realized he actually needed the red and blue shirts to tell them apart. "You wanna tell me what all that was about?"

Zaffiro scowled. "He started it."

"I did not!" Rosso protested. "He hit me with a pillow."

"He wouldn't leave me alone!" Zaffiro's chin notched higher. "I was just trying to read my book."

"He was ignoring me." Rosso's lower lip jutted out. "I just wanted to play a game."

"So you're both at fault," Nero cut them off. "And in addition to fighting, you also violated the rule about jumping off high places. Do you realize you could have been killed? I ought to ground you for a year just for scaring Kyrie!"

Kyrie, who was surreptitiously stirring the soup, gave the boys a stern look. They hung their heads.

"You owe her an apology," Nero prompted. The twins murmured that they were sorry, and for once looked sincerely chagrined. Nero filed that away for future reference. "And there are going to be consequences for your actions."

Rosso's eyes grew a little larger. "Are you going to lock us in the vault?" Immediately, Zaffiro gave his brother a sharp jab with an elbow.

"Knock that off," Nero warned Zaffiro, before frowning at Rosso. "We aren't going to lock you anywhere. Why would you think that?"

Rosso stared at the floor. "It's what Mother always says," he murmured.

There was definitely something to unpack there, but Nero wasn't in the mood to deal with it now. "Since Kyrie had to drag you out of the house, and I had to go down after you, we're each going to assign you a punishment." Nero glanced at Kyrie. "You can go first."

Nero knew Kyrie had a standard list of punishments, which she doled out in accordance with the severity of the offense. Most involved extra housework or doing minor chores for the neighbors or the orphanage. The most drastic penalties deprived a child of a favorite activity or, in extreme cases, special food treats. This time, Kyrie didn't hesitate before pronouncing sentence: "No snacks or desserts for one week."

Nero stared at her in shock. She must have been really scared. What was he going to add to that? The twins already had their activities limited by confinement to the house; the only time they really left home was to go to the park with the other children. Well, that and the infrequent outings they made so Zaffiro could play violin. He asked to go almost daily, but they'd only managed it twice during the past week. "No music practice for the same period of time," he said. "The guitar goes back in the closet, and no visits to the antique shop."

While Rosso's shoulders had slumped at Kyrie's punishment, Zaffiro had borne it stoically. But at the revelation that he was to be deprived of violin access, dismay washed across his face. "But—"

"You wanna make it two weeks?" Nero snapped. Zaffiro wilted, and he shook his head silently.

"Now, it's almost time for dinner," Kyrie said, her voice and manner almost unnervingly calm. "You two will go wash, change into clean clothes, and wipe up all the mud and water you tracked in. Immediately after dinner, you will brush your teeth and go to bed. I don't want to hear any arguing or fighting whatsoever. Understand?"

Both boys nodded, and when dismissed they obediently filed out of the kitchen and headed for the bathroom. Only then did Kyrie slump back against the counter. "I am not cut out for raising half-devil children," she sighed.

Lady and Nico, who had waited in the hall during the talking-to, joined them in the kitchen. "I hear you," Lady agreed. "I'm starting to think Eva must have been a saint."

"At least she had Sparda to back her up." Kyrie shot Nero a grateful smile. "But I've got Nero, and that's at least as good."

"Just think," Nico put in, "if you two ever have kids o' your own, you'll get to experience this all in real time!"

Kyrie's smile wavered. Nero glared at Nico, but Lady jumped in with something reassuring. "Any children of Nero's would only have one-eighth devil blood. And I'm sure it would be much easier dealing with only one at a time, instead of twins. Dante and Vergil have always been a bit… extra."

"True," Kyrie laughed weakly. "I don't remember Nero being this much trouble at that age."

Nero recalled being plenty of trouble at that age—or at least getting in trouble plenty of times—but he wasn't about to prolong that discussion. He brushed a loose lock of hair back from Kyrie's face. "You're still looking a little pale. You sure you're okay? You want to put your feet up for a few minutes?"

"No, I'm fine, really. Just a little shaken." She glanced at the clock. "Could you go look for the others, though? Julio is good at keeping them entertained, but it's getting dark, and he won't know whether it's safe to bring them back."

"Yeah, we'll find them." Nero gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and stretched up for the flashlight they kept on top of the refrigerator. "Not sure what I'll tell them, though."

"By the time you get back, I'll have a cover story worked out." Kyrie lifted a ladle of soup and tested the toughness of a carrot. "And this is just about ready, so as soon as you're back, we'll eat."

Dinner was an awkward and frustrating affair. Eleven people was more than the kitchen could hold, so three of the adults took their soup bowls to the living room. Nero insisted Kyrie be one of them, while he stayed in the kitchen to keep an eye on the children. Rosso and Zaffiro weren't speaking or making eye contact with anyone—less owing to their shame than because they were sulking, he thought. Julio was similarly subdued, casting frequent glances from the twins to Nero. The other children, agitated from their disrupted routine and sensing the tension lingering in the adults, were unusually fractious and difficult.

At last the soup bowls were empty, and Nero sent Rosso and Zaffiro ahead to brush their teeth while he doled out some leftover cookies to the remaining children. Kyrie hadn't included dessert in the evening's food preparation, but Nero wanted to make sure that Rosso and Zaffiro knew what they were missing—and he wanted to give them time to vacate the bathroom before excusing the rest of the children from the table. With the unsettled mood, it wouldn't take much jostling to start a squabbling match, and they had already experienced enough drama for one day.

After dessert, Julio unexpectedly volunteered to help Nero with the dishes. The boy filled the sink with hot water and waited for the rest of the children to be well out of earshot before speaking in a low voice. "They aren't human, are they?"

Nero blinked. "What? Who?"

"Zaffiro and Rosso. They aren't human."

"What makes you say that?"

Julio shot him a look. "I thought you said you weren't going to treat me like I'm stupid."

Nero sighed. "Sorry. I've had a lot going on."

"Yeah, I kinda figured you'd say that, too."

His resigned tone was a punch to Nero's midsection. "You haven't answered my question, though. Why do you think they aren't human?" He glanced over at the boy. "Come on. For science."

"So you can get your story straight?" Julio snorted. "Well, they've aged, like, five years in less than two months. And when I saw them start fighting, they…" His brow furrowed. "It was like they were on fire, or something. Like there was lightning all around them. It was weird."

"Ah. Yeah, I guess that's kind of a giveaway." Nero handed a bowl to Julio, who rinsed it and set it to drain. "You're only half right."

"Half…" Julio frowned. "Right about which part?"

"They're half human." Nero scooped up some flatware and rattled it to drown out their words.

The boy's eyes widened. "What's the other half?"

"I'm gonna have to swear you to secrecy." A knife slipped from his soap-slick fingers and fell into the sudsy water, and Nero suppressed a curse.

Julio gave him a flat look. "Is this secret somehow more secret than all the other secrets I'm already keeping?"

"It is, actually." Nero thought of all the demons who had hunted Dante and Vergil as children, all the ones he'd fought who had scented the blood of Sparda within him and hungered for it, all the ones who might be attracted to a display of power and come to his home, the Nilepoch that might still be coming, and realized just how much danger he'd put his family in. "This is probably the biggest secret I've got." He plunged his right hand into the dishwater to feel around for the knife. The blade jabbed into his finger, and he instinctively turned his hand incorporeal to avoid slicing the skin open. Nero froze as he felt the hot water rush to fill the vacuum his arm had previously occupied. "Well, maybe the second-biggest. I guess there's one more."

Julio glanced back at the door as the other children filed past, homework or toys in hand, on their way to the living room. "I promise," he murmured when they were out of hearing again. "What's the other half?"

Nero swabbed the dishcloth over a plate. "What do you think?"

"Is this a test?"

"Let's call it a creative thinking exercise."

Julio's hands stilled beneath the faucet. "Well, so far all the secrets you've had have been about hunting demons, so…" He frowned. "But if they're half-human, then that would mean…" His eyes shifted warily to Nero. "Can demons and humans… interbreed?"

"Some can." Nero made sure Julio was paying attention before handing him another soapy plate. "Not all. It's pretty rare."

Julio's eyes stretched wide. "But not impossible. So Zaffiro and Rosso…?"

"…Are two of the three hybrids known to exist." Nero was watching, and caught the plate as it slipped out of Julio's hands. "You need a minute?"

Julio shook his head and took the plate back from Nero. "Sorry." He rinsed the plate and set it in the drainer, then paused. "Wait. I thought you said they were your uncle's kids."

"Nope. I said they used to live at my uncle's place."

Julio frowned. "But you definitely said they were your family." His eyes shifted to Nero. "And they even look like you."

Nero turned off the water and made sure the remaining dishes were secure on a solid surface. He didn't know how this was going to go. "I said there was one more secret. I'll tell you if you want me to, but once you know it, there's no going back."

"What does that mean?"

Nero gave him a serious look. "That you're probably better off not knowing."

Julio was silent for a moment, considering this. "Is it something that's dangerous for me to know?"

"Not necessarily."

"You just mean that I'd be happier not knowing it."

"Yeah, pretty much."

Julio's teeth worked at his lower lip. Nero didn't think he'd ever seen the boy concentrate so hard. "You said Kyrie knows everything. Does she know this?"

"Yes."

"Was she unhappy when she found out?"

Nero remembered that horrible moment when she'd seen his transformed arm, the first and only time she'd recoiled from him. Her rejection had felt like Nero's heart had been torn from his chest. "She was, at first. But now…" Nero counted the moment she had finally taken his hand in hers among the happiest in his life. "Now she doesn't mind knowing."

"And you don't mind knowing it?"

Nero let out a wry laugh. Some days, he was thankful for his devil heritage, grateful for the power it had granted him to protect Kyrie and everyone else he cared for. Other times, he would give anything just to be an ordinary human living an ordinary, demon-free life. "The jury's still out on that one."

Julio was silent a moment longer. "You said I could stay here as long as I want," he said quietly. "And if I'm going to stay with you, then I think I should probably know. It would be easier if we all know the same things, right? Instead of having secrets?" He lifted his gaze to Nero, and there was something almost desperate in his eyes. "Because we're… we're kind of… like a family, right? Even though we aren't related?"

Nero's throat closed as he recognized the thread that had run through their recent conversations. "Of course we're a family." He slung an arm around Julio's shoulders and pulled him in. The boy had grown like a weed in the past year; the top of his head was up to Nero's chin now. "Is that what you've been worried about?"

"I wasn't worried," Julio murmured, though his protest was belied by the way he returned the hug.

"Well, don't bother starting, then." Nero released him, but let his arm rest on Julio's shoulder. "You know something? Sometimes the best kind of family is one you're not related to. You can't pick your relatives, but you can choose who you want to be part of your life."

Julio's nose crinkled. "Did Kyrie say that? It sounds like something she'd say."

Nero laughed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we do tend to hang out together. Me and Kyrie. For a while, now."

"Yeah, I noticed." The tension had drained out of Julio's shoulders during their hug, but Nero could feel a little of it return as the boy took a deep breath. "So you'll tell me the last secret?"

Nero let his arm fall to his side. "If you're sure you want to know."

Julio nodded. "I'm sure."

"Okay." Nero glanced toward the door. The sounds coming from the living room were muted, but if Julio reacted badly, managing the rest of the children could be a challenge. "But not here. Let's take a walk later. When the rest of the kids are getting ready for bed."

Julio nodded, and they returned wordlessly to the dishes.