The familiar tune of Nico's phone woke him up, far too early in the morning. A new client calling for his help. Right on cue, too—as much as Nico had enjoyed his down time over the past few days, his finances had been threatening to plummet already.

Work picked up again after that, and Nico grew more and more convinced that someone—likely Hades himself, or one of his agents—had redirected his clients to Bianca while he recovered from his near-death experience. He never asked for confirmation, from Bianca or from their dad directly; if Hades had turned a blind eye to Will being left to wander the Earth as a ghost, Nico certainly didn't want to draw his attention. And if he didn't know about Will…Nico didn't want him to.

He settled into a new routine instead, his time split between work, Bianca and Will, since Hazel had already gone back to Europe. And, once every few days, Will's sisters. Kayla and Lou Ellen were still in New Orleans, though they were always dodgy when Nico tried to find out why, and he eventually gave up on finding out. Maybe all Kayla wanted was to be with her brother—and far away from Apollo's camp.

Time passed by, a day turning into a week, then two, then a month, and even the threat of monsters seemed to recede. Perhaps Nico's outlook on it had changed—with the two newcomers, Bianca, and Nico himself, monsters went down much more easily than when he was alone, after all—but he was grateful for the change of pace. There were no new demigods coming, either—at least, none that showed up on Nico's radar.

All in all, things were going well. Which, to Nico, was only a sign that they were about to get worse again. It all started with an innocuous question from Will.

"Do you think I could come with you when you work, next time?"

Nico couldn't help but groan at the sound of Will's voice mentioning work. He'd been snuggling up against Will, nuzzling his neck; had Will remained silent, he would probably have dozed off right there. After two exorcisms the same day, Nico was completely exhausted. "Why would you want to watch me work?"

"It's just. You know. So we can hang out more. When you're not about to pass out from exhaustion. And I'd like to meet other ghosts."

Reluctantly, Nico pushed himself off his boyfriend and looked up at him. Will was grinning, but weakly. In the past month, he'd only ever talked to Nico, or through Nico to his sisters. Nico could understand why he'd want to meet other ghosts he could talk to. "You do realize most of those I deal with are vengeful, right?"

"What about that sweet old grandma who wanted your help talking her granddaughter into getting help for her depression? Or the man whose will you had to sort out?"

"They're outliers. And even they tend to be focused on the one thing keeping them on this side. I'm not sure they'd want to socialize."

"But I'm not focused like that."

"Well, no. What kept you there was your unsolved death—that's why you had a chance to move on when I killed the giant spider."

Will sighed. "Still, I'd—I'd like to try. Maybe I can even help you help them?"

Nico couldn't help but chuckle at his pout. "All right. Doesn't hurt to try."

The opportunity came on the next day, when he was called for another job. A little boy's spirit that had trouble coping with his passing, and had turned uncontrollably violent. When Nico arrived to the address he'd been given, the house looked like it had just withered a hurricane—something Nico was deeply familiar with after living most of his life in New Orleans—and the ghost was out in the street, his fear and anger causing turmoil around him, like dark winds spreading chaos.

Passersby couldn't know what was going on exactly—to them, this must have looked like random destruction with no discernible cause—but they had cleared the area nonetheless.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Will asked when he saw the carnage. Nico couldn't be sure what he could and couldn't see, but he guessed the scene was worrying no matter what.

"Yeah. You should probably stand back, though."

Without waiting for Will's reply, he walked towards the child. His high-pitched voice was calling out a name, drowned out by the storm he'd caused.

The storm picked up before Nico could reach the ghost, lifting items and debris off the ground and sending them flying haphazardly. Nico dodged and ducked to the best of his ability, still ended up with an alarm clock flying in his stomach and a stuffed cat hitting his face, moments apart from each other, making him fall.

He shook off the dizziness, and scrambled off the ground in the ghost's general direction. He'd barely make one step that he was forced to duck under a flying brick. His momentum sent him rolling on the ground, and when he was back on his feet, he was in the clear. The eye of the storm, with the tiny ghost standing in the middle.

"Hey," Nico said, trying to keep his voice calm in spite of the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He took a tentative step towards the ghost, who turned to face him.

"Cecil?" His voice was hopeful for a moment, but his features betrayed his disappointment when his eyes fell on Nico's face. He opened his mouth again, but couldn't get a word out, and his eyes filled with tears.

Nico closed the distance between them, and knelt in front of the kid, who was now shaking with sobs. "Hey, it'll be okay." He knew better than to tell a dead child not to cry, but he could try to comfort him. "I can help you find Cecil, if you want." The kid perked up at the name, and though he was still crying, he seemed to have quieted down. Around them, the storm was also less violent. "My name's Nico. What's yours?"

"I'm Evan." He made a show of shaking Nico's hand, and a faint smile formed on his lips. "Can you really find Cecil?"

"I can try. Where did you last see him?"

"At home." Evan's eyes flickered to the house behind him—the address Nico'd been given. It was mostly in ruins now. "He went to get me ice cream."

At least there was a chance he hadn't been caught up into this, Nico guessed. "When was that?"

"After breakfast?"

"Okay. And what happened then?"

Evan took in a sharp breath, then sighed deeply. "You won't believe me."

Nico smiled at the boy. "What if I promise you I will?"

Evan considered him for a moment, then nodded. "The Big Bad Wolf came in and ate Mommy and Daddy."

Nico couldn't hide his surprise, though incredulity wasn't the cause of it. There were no wolves in New Orleans. And for Evan to refer to one as the "Big Bad Wolf", it had to be extra scary. A monster, in all likelihood. He wondered if he should materialize his sword now, just in case. "And when was that?"

"I don't know. I got lost, so I went looking for Cecil."

The call Nico had received had been barely twenty minutes ago, from one of Hades' direct informants. That meant the kid had died half an hour ago, at most. The monster should be gone, but Nico wasn't willing to bet on it.

"Everything okay?"

Nico started at the sound of Will's voice. He turned to see that the storm had almost completely quieted down. Will must have thought it was safe to come—after all, he'd come to meet the ghost, not to watch Nico from afar.

Nico nodded. "Yeah. He's looking for…Cecil." Will frowned, and Nico shrugged. He still had no idea who that Cecil was to the boy, but he had no idea how to ask Evan without making him panic again.

"Who's this?" Evan asked.

Nico turned back to the boy, waving Will to come closer. "This is Will. He's my boyfriend. He's—he's been through something like you have. Will, this is Evan."

Evan's eyes widened. "The Big Bad Wolf ate your parents too?"

Will chuckled. "It was more of a Big Bad Spider for me. Nice to meet you, Evan." In spite of his smile, he cast Nico a worried glance—he'd probably understood what 'Big Bad Wolf' meant.

"So, Evan," Nico said. "Do you have any idea where Cecil could have gone to buy you ice cream?"

Evan shrugged. Nico started to think about how to find someone with barely any idea who it was, but before he could come up with a plan, the rubble in front of Evan's house shook. Nico first thought the storm Evan had caused was acting up again, but there was no sign of it elsewhere.

A growl came, and Evan let out a shrill cry. "He's coming back! The Big Bad Wolf!"

Nico glanced at Will. "Stand back. Take Evan with you."

"I could help—it's not like he needs to be watched over."

"I'm not fighting whatever's under there in a storm."

Will was about to argue, but he remained silent for a moment. "Okay. Can you come with me, Evan?"

"What about Nico?"

"He'll take care of the Big Bad Wolf."

Evan hesitated, but he took Will's hand just as the monster emerged from the rubble. It was a wolf, a few times larger than any wolf Nico had heard of, its fur black as night. There was nothing obviously supernatural about it—other than its size—but it exuded an energy Nico had never experienced before. It was a cold sort of aura, reminding Nico of the fear magic some of Ares's creatures possessed, but devoid of the aggression that came from those. It was as if the wolf was telling Nico there was no reason to get worked up at all, that it was no threat, even as it leaped at him.

Nico had dealt with his fair share of mind-altering monsters, though. He dove out of the way, promptly recovering, but not fast enough to strike back at the monster. The beast snarled anyway, in what sounded like frustration, and circled around Nico. Nico kept facing it, sword ready, hoping it wasn't hunting with a pack. Perhaps he should have told Will to call Bianca, or even Kayla and Lou Ellen.

But if the wolf had brethren, they weren't there. It leapt at Nico again, who dodged to the side and slashed at it with his sword. This time, his blade connected, and the wolf yelped as it retreated. It growled again, then its muzzle twitched, and it ran down the street, away from Nico.

Nico ran after it, unwilling to let this monster roam free in the city, but it quickly became apparent to him he wouldn't catch up. The wolf took a sharp turn, and was almost out of Nico's sight when something fell from above it, indistinct from where Nico was, landing right on the giant wolf. The beast yelped and fell down, stopped in its tracks.

Nico kept running, ready to fight whatever the newcomer was, but when he reached the wolf, he found a young man standing on it. Nico could immediately tell he was a demigod: he had the same aura Kayla and Lou Ellen had to him, and the winged sneakers he was wearing were still fluttering. A spear stuck out of the wolf's skull, and he was trying to get it out.

When Nico came closer, he let go of the weapon, pulling out a dagger seemingly out of nowhere and holding it out. "Who are you? Where did your friend take Evan?"

Nico frowned for a moment, before he made the connection. "You're Cecil, aren't you?" He didn't answer, but that was confirmation enough for Nico. "I was trying to help Evan find you when that wolf attacked me."

"So you didn't—" His shoulders slumped as he sighed in relief. "Sorry. I thought you'd brought it with you to kidnap my brother."

Nico couldn't help but chuckle. "I wish I could control monsters. But no, this one's not mine. I don't even know what it is." He paused, noting that Cecil hadn't lowered his dagger. "If you come with me, I'll take you to your brother."

Cecil remained silent for a moment, considering him with the same gaze Evan had had moments ago. Nico could easily see the relation between them in that look, but Evan wasn't a demigod, so they had to be half-brothers. Finally, Cecil put the dagger away. "Can you help me get this back first? It's kind of important. Also, you haven't told me who you were."

"I'm Nico di Angelo. A son of Hades. And you're…a son of Hermes, I assume?"

Cecil nodded. "Son of Hades? That makes sense. I haven't met any of you yet."

"So you've met other demigods?"

"Well…not so much 'met' as 'caught a glimpse of them while carrying messages for my dad'. The Olympians don't let their children meet with other demigods."

Nico nodded. "I'd gathered."

They pulled the spear out together, and it came out with a sickening sound, before the wolf faded away. Even its corpse was different from every monster Nico had fought before, he noticed with a shudder.

They headed back to where Nico had found Evan. "So what are you doing in New Orleans, Cecil?"

"Family vacation. My mom remarried, had another kid. Thanks for keeping Evan safe, by the way."

"About that—" That was the worst part of Nico's job. Dealing with the family members who did not know yet. "We didn't."

Cecil stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

"I came here because of my job. I…help ghosts."

There was a moment of silence, then Cecil nodded sharply. He was biting his lower lip, and his breathing was too regular to be natural. "I knew it. I—haven't seen many ghosts, but I knew something was up with Evan. And that other guy, he's a ghost too, isn't he?"

Nico frowned. He had just realized Cecil had been able to see ghosts, and hadn't even thought to question it.

"My dad's a psychopomp deity, you know? Brings the dead to the River Styx. Ghosts aren't my—thing, but I still have a connection to them."

Nico didn't know that about Hermes, actually, but he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"What about my mom? My stepdad? Do you know if they—"

Nico shook his head. "Evan said the wolf had—I don't think they made it."

"Oh, Gods—" Cecil's voice ended in a strangled cry, but he didn't break down. "I—can I talk to Evan?"

"Of course. I think he wants to talk to you, too."

"Thanks. I—thanks."

Will had found a good hiding place during the battle. In the end, it was Evan who found them, bursting out of the rubble and rushing for his brother, calling out his name with glee.

Cecil knelt and caught the boy in his arms, and before either of them could speak, he started crying. Evan pulled back from the hug, looking confused, but Cecil only drew him closer.

Silently, Nico grabbed Will's arm and dragged him away. "We should give them some space," he said.

"He's a demigod."

It wasn't a question, but Nico answered anyway. "Yeah. Son of Hermes. I guess that's what attracted the monster."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Will sighed. "He must know it as well. I can imagine why he's breaking down like that. I don't know how I'd deal with it."

Nico nodded. "There's something else. This monster, it was…different. It faded when Cecil killed it, instead of turning to dust like they usually do."

"Yeah, I noticed it too. There was something…wrong about it. It was creeping me out. And I don't remember any evil giant wolf in our roster of mythical creatures."

"Oh, we do have wolves." Nico had the scars to prove it. "Just…nothing like this. Not that I know of, anyway."

Will scoffed. "So we have no idea what's going on. What else is new?" He took in Nico's scandalized stare, winked back, and added, "We should focus on the problem at hand first. The new guy. What do we do with him?"

Nico was about to argue that Cecil likely didn't need them, but when he turned to follow Will's gaze, he found the son of Hermes kneeling, alone, crying his heart out. Of his brother, there was no trace left.

Will was the first to reach him, and he crouched beside Cecil, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Nico didn't hear the words he said, but Will's voice was soft and comforting.

"I've got nowhere to go," Cecil said through his sobs.

Nico frowned, and closed the distance between them. "I thought you were here on vacation."

Cecil looked up at him, then sighed. "I lied. We'd moved here. I—I can't see my dad at the moment, and my mom offered to help. And now they're—" His voice was muffled by more sobs, but Nico got the idea.

Nico caught Will's pleading gaze, but he'd already made up his mind anyway. "You can stay with us, for a while, if you want. If you don't mind sleeping on a cheap couch."

"You—you'd do that? But you don't know me."

Nico shrugged. "You're a demigod. We're like—cousins. On some level, anyway." He had no interest in looking at their family tree, not with Will right there. "We've gotta stick together."