"I didn't do this." Nico muttered.

Gravel crunched under his boots as he shifted his weight. Laid out on the grass before him was the body of the hunter Cynthia, pale and lifeless. Her head was near the hunters' flagpole where it'd originally been. He hadn't touched it.

A hellhound had butchered them, that much was clear, but how it had gained access to the woods was still a mystery. The barrier kept all monsters out. Not even hellhounds could shadow-travel in without permission. Someone had summoned it, Nico concluded. Someone inside the Camp. He turned to leave, yawning loudly as he strode through the woods. Leave that question for the morning. Right now he wanted to sleep.

The cabins were deserted as he crossed the commons area. Everyone was celebrating at the amphitheatre. Nico's quiet footfalls seemed unnaturally loud as he strolled back to his cabin. The silence might have seemed eerie to others, but Nico liked things quiet. It calmed his mind.

A skeleton dressed in a bathrobe opened the door for him. Nico frowned.

"That's my bathrobe."

The skeleton patted the fluffy robe as if he liked how it felt on him.

"Fine." Nico shrugged off his jacket and hung it up. "But get me a new one. I don't want to catch a chill when I come out of the bath."

The skeleton saluted in a flash of fluffy robe, then scuttled out of the door.

The bath water was luxuriously warm and turned a light grey after a minute of scrubbing. Nico reached out with a dripping hand, pressing a button on a console to activate the pump. The grey water slowly drained out as fresh water came in from the tap. The temperature and water level both remained constant in the process and Nico sighed as he started to unwind at last. He closed his eyes and rested the back of his head on the rim of the tub.

He started awake two times before falling into a light sleep. When he next opened his eyes two hours had passed and the butler was back with a towel and a new robe, smelling of Chanel eu de toilette. Nico's face stretched into a lazy smile.

"This bathtub's good for two, although you'll have to sit in my lap. Not that I mind."

The hunter tossed the towels aside and drew her bow. "You bastard. We'll skin you alive for what you did."

"One, I didn't kill those girls." Nico reclined languidly in the tub, not caring about his modesty. "And two, do you really think I didn't notice you following me back here?"

The bathroom closet opened, revealing an array of towels and two skeletons identical to the first. They grabbed the hunter before she could react, pinning her arms to her sides. One of them handed Nico the towel.

"I think I'll go to bed now. The tub's all yours." Nico dried himself off and slipped into his pyjamas.

The hunter spat oaths as the skeletons bundled her into the bathtub in a splash of water. Nico chuckled as he closed the bathroom door, turning to face three other hunters who were all pinned to beds by more skeletons in Roman armour.

"A hunter in my bath, another in my bed, really, can this night get any better?"

The hunters, bound and gagged, glared daggers at him.

"Well, I'm not in the mood for anything kinky. I'll deal with you all in the morning. Have a good night." He fell onto his bed with an extravagant flourish, arranged himself, and settled to sleep.

A distant pounding reached Nico's ears, making him twitch. The son of Hades frowned slightly, trying to place the familiar sound. He seemed to remember hearing it somewhere…

The pounding steadily got louder, the sound seeming to drift into his ears. Nico's fingers curled. He swore he knew what it was…

"Nico!" a voice yelled. "Open the bloody door!" BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.

His eyebrows lifted in realisation as his mind rose to full consciousness at last. He opened his eyes and sat up in bed, shrugging the covers off.

His eyes fell on the silver-clad girls, bound and and gagged on the bed across from his, and the memories of the previous night returned to his mind in a flash. Smiling broadly, he jumped to his feet, crossed to the door and flung it open to reveal Percy, Jason and Piper standing on his doorstep.

The movement was so sudden that all three of them were startled. Jason, committed to another solid knock, bopped Nico on the nose with his fist instead.

"Sorry," he gasped, mortified.

Nico grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. You'll wake the girls."

Thalia arrived five minutes later, sweating in the sun with her hood drawn tight around her head. Not bothering to knock, she slammed the doors open with a crash and marched in.

Nico followed behind her, thoroughly amused with the morning's proceedings. Thalia glared at the three bound hunters, fury showing in every line of her face.

"Found them here last night," Nico told her.

"And you waited until morning to tell us?" Piper asked.

"It was late," Nico waved her off. "Didn't want to rouse everybody."

"Just what," Thalia growled at the girls. "Did you think you were doing?"

One of them spat the gag out of her mouth. "He should die for what he did-"

"I told you, I had nothing to do with the deaths." Nico interrupted.

"Enough!" Thalia shouted. "Get back to Cabin Eight. Five minutes to pull on all your gear. I'm grounding you in Cabin Eight. When Artemis gets back you're going to regret it."

"What about breakfast?" one of them asked.

"You want breakfast?" Thalia stepped up to the hunter. Her fist smashed into the hunter's mouth, knocking her back into a skeleton. "I've had it with the lot of you! You disobeyed my direct orders, broke curfew and attempted murder of a camper. You're lucky I don't leave you here to rot!"

The three girls stumbled to their feet, trying to work the circulation back into their cramped limbs. "This isn't over," one of them told Nico as she passed him.

Nico pulled back his arm and struck her in the side of her neck so quickly that even Thalia, standing at his side, could only flinch. The hunter's eyes watered as she collapsed onto his porch.

"Anyone else think it isn't over?"

The remaining hunters' eyes were wide with shock. Nico shook his head in disgust. "Get out."

The girls hurried out. Thalia gaped at him.

"How did you-"

"How do you think I got your flag?"

"Never mind." Thalia's glare returned as she turned towards the retreating forms of her hunters. "I'll see you at lunch. Right now I have three idiots to crucify." She stalked off towards Cabin Eight.

"She's too soft on them." Nico muttered. He gave Percy, Jason and Piper a glance. "Oh yeah, what brought you here?"

Jason cleared his throat. "Chiron's asked to see you at the Big House. It's important."

"Well, I haven't had breakfast yet," Nico opened a cupboard to look for some clean clothes. "Tell him I'll be there in about an hour."

There was no arguing with him and they knew it. Jason, Percy and Piper sighed collectively and left.

Alone at last, Nico tossed his pyjamas onto the bed as he headed for a shower. He stepped into the bathroom, reached for the tap, then stopped.

The fourth hunter, who'd been in the bathtub the entire night, returned his gaze with a look of fury that slowly turned to fear as she realised the situation. Nico slapped his hand to his forehead. "I completely forgot about you. You may go now. Thalia will be wondering where you are."

The skeleton that had been clinging to her the whole night released her, going limp in the bath like someone had pressed its off button. Her cheeks burning, she hauled herself out of the water and all but fled the room. Nico glanced down at himself, suddenly realising he'd removed all his clothes. "Oops."