If every monster in New Mexico hasn't tried to kill you at least once, you just aren't trying hard enough. Of course, at this point, monsters were the least of my worries. After all, our property was shrouded by an invisible barrier similar to the one used at camp. But it did make for some interesting trips to the grocery store.

Eileen was used to monsters, from the looks of it. I took her out a couple of times while running errands, and she wasn't at all surprised when a Dracanae posing as a cashier tried to maim me at the Smith's checkout line. She just watched as I pulled out my Celestial bronze hunting knife and decapitated the snake lady. I made a mental note to use the self-checkout next time.

"We ought to get you a weapon," I mentioned on the drive home. "It could come in handy. Maybe a spear. You look like a spear type of gal."

Eileen only nodded. Even after weeks of being at the Home, she still only spoke selectively. She never said more than was necessary, and usually only in emergencies. Most of the time, she just looked at me, and I had to guess what she wanted. It was easy to tell for the most part. I learned to understand my dog Laney in the same manner.

Kendra and Marty had both been gone for about a month. Kendra had gone to the state university, while Marty had decided to pursue higher education in Boston. I missed him more than I missed her. Marty had always been really nice to me. The kids missed them both. I may have been good with Eileen and two of the other girls, but the other kids, especially the younger ones, wanted happy people to look after them.

We had two twin girls of about five years, Larissa and Leda, who loved Story Time with Kendra more than anything, because she'd use different voices for all of the different characters and made sound effects as she went along. And Erik and Peter, who were eight and nine respectively, missed having a manly guy around. The only other boy besides me was Walker, who was currently still being potty trained.

I tried to help out with them, but they didn't really like me. No doubt I was too dreary, which scared them. I couldn't read story books with enthusiasm, and I certainly couldn't fulfill the manly role because I was such a wimp. I was helping Walker with his potty training, but even he wasn't eager to have me around.

The two other girls became friends with Eileen, and therefore, with me. There was Maddie, an eleven-year-old redhead who was going through some sort of pseudo dark phase, because she kept asking me if I had any black clothes I could lend her, and if not, if I could help her dye her own clothes, and preferably her hair. She'd look at the scars on my wrists with admiration and slight curiosity. Not a good sign. Sabine was the eldest kid we had. She was twelve and would soon be taken to Camp Half-Blood. She liked One Direction and sparkles, but she was nicer to Eileen than almost anybody else.

When Eileen wasn't with me or at school, she was putting up with Sabine and Maddie. They often asked me to train them, and I certainly did my best, even though I was really terrible with anything other than my arrows and throwing knives. I carried a knife everywhere I went, but I hated close combat. It made me feel like I wasn't in control of my surroundings. I preferred to be on high ground, where I could pick out my victims with ease.

I spent most of my afternoons shooting my arrows at the targets in my backyard. I wasn't really interested in working out or staying in shape, just as long as I could still shoot straight. I wondered what happened to demigods as they got older. Did their abilities in the battlefield dwindle? I mean, it must be difficult to train when you have kids and a full-time job to think about.

I hadn't touched Apollo's gift since I'd deposited it in my closet. Still, I thought about it sitting in there, gathering dust, and wondered what it could do. I had to convince myself not to shoot an arrow out of curiosity. For all I knew, they released noxious gas that could kill everyone within ten miles. No, I didn't want to risk it.

At the end of September, I was still out there, shooting arrow after arrow, all the while contemplating life. The only time I can really think is when I'm practicing archery. My ADHD goes away for just a little while and I can actually form comprehensive thoughts.

I lost track of how long I'd been there. The sun was starting to set earlier every night. As I shot another volley of arrows, the sky turned pink and the land turned orange and every poet in the state probably started to think of words that rhyme with 'enchantment,' but I wasn't paying attention to that.

No, my attention was suddenly totally focused on a wave of thick shadow that emerged a few feet from me. The shadow soon receded, and two kids collapsed on the sand. One of them, a girl with dark skin and dark, curly hair, was clearly unconscious. The boy next to her, who had a mess of black hair and incredibly pale skin, looked at me with desperation.

"I need your help," Nico said.

I met Nico di Angelo when I was roughly sixteen. I often spent winter break at camp. When one of Artemis' hunters had led a quest to save the goddess two winters ago, Chiron had asked me to take care of Nico, who was around ten or eleven at the time. I had experience looking after kids like him. He wasn't a very complicated guy back then. He liked Mythomagic and loved his sister, and just about everything I showed him was cool to him. He was totally okay with being a demigod, at least until his sister joined the Hunters of Artemis. It took him a little while to adjust to that, but I did my best to help him. It really surprised me how much he loved Bianca. At his age, I wouldn't have given a damn if Kendra suddenly decided to jump off a cliff.

Then Bianca died. He'd disappeared shortly after Percy Jackson had told him the news. After that, Nico didn't return to Camp Half-Blood until after the Battle of the Labyrinth, and then only for a few days at a time. Given that his father ended up being Hades, it was understandable why he wouldn't want to go to camp too often. Hades formerly didn't have a cabin, as the god was only welcome in Olympus once a year. Sometimes Nico would come to my house for clothes and a place to sleep, but he never stayed longer than he needed to. He wasn't the dependent type.

The next time I saw him was last spring when I woke up in the hospital with him at my bedside. Apparently the cuts I'd made were a little too deep. Mom had panicked when she'd opened the bathroom door only to find me unconscious in the bathtub. I guess she finally decided to acknowledge that I had a problem. I don't know what prompted Nico to show up then, but he'd said something about sensing my death. I'd come pretty close then. It wasn't intentional, of course. Everyone else just thought it was.

I noticed the change in Nico the moment I saw him. He wasn't a happy little boy anymore. He scowled or wore a blank expression all the time, and there was no warmth to his voice. He'd nearly lost his ability to connect to the living. He didn't pity me the way everyone else did, though. When I woke up, he looked at me with a very, very serious expression and said:

"They wouldn't have let you into Elysium, you know."

Never mind the we all love you or the you're too important to die crap. The son of Hades told me I was going to the Fields of Punishment the moment I committed suicide, even if accidentally. I haven't tried it since.

Now, Nico looked ready to pass out. He was clutching the girl, trying to keep her upright, but his strength was wavering. Without a second thought, I ran to them, helping the girl into one of the deck chairs. She slumped, but I checked her pulse, and she seemed to still be alive, even though her whole being seemed to be dwindling between life and death. Her lips were almost purple, and her breaths were short and shallow.

I ran to the door and called inside. "Two more for dinner, Mom!"

"We're not s–"

I gave Nico my oh yes you are look and went back to the girl in the chair. "Explanation?"

"She was fine a moment ago," Nico said. He sat in another chair, clearly exhausted. "We were just talking, and all of a sudden she just…passed out."

I looked at him critically. He had serious bags under his eyes, and he looked like he'd been wearing the same clothes for some time. "Who is she?"

Nico pursed his lips, but the look I was giving him was clearly scarier than any lie he could come up with. "She's a daughter of Pluto. I'm taking her to the Wolf House."

I examined the girl. Healing wasn't my forte, but I did know a few things. I laid my hand on her shoulder and closed my eyes. The girl didn't seem to be hurt or sick. She just seemed to be out cold.

"She'll be fine," I told him. "I'll take her inside."

"I'll–"

I held my hand up to silence him. "What you're going to do is sit down for dinner with everybody and do your best not to strain yourself. Seriously, you look dead on your feet, and you know I'm not trying to be funny."

"I…" Nico looked too shocked to argue. He immediately stood and headed towards the door.

"What's her name?" I asked before he went in.

"Hazel Levesque," Nico replied. He held the door open as I carried Hazel into the house. My mom was in the dining room setting the table. When she saw Nico and me, she just nodded towards the living room.

"Tell the kids to come sit down," Mom said. "She can rest on the couch."

Nico followed me into the living room. Leda and Erik were fighting over a Mythomagic figurine while Peter tried to explain the rules to Larissa. He was getting pretty frustrated at her, because she kept trying to put her Barbie clothes on the Poseidon figurine.

"Dinnertime," I called. There was a bit of a stampede as the four kids ran off. I deposited Hazel on the big couch, resting her head on a throw pillow.

"I'll look after her," Nico offered, and I nodded. He sat in the other couch, looking lost and miserable. Immediately, my black cat Snickers sat on his lap. It seemed that the only animals who didn't hate Nico were cats. I went into the dining room, and my mom gave me a questioning look.

"Do you need anything?" She asked.

"I think I can handle it," I replied, grabbing a couple of plates. It was burrito night. I wasn't sure what Nico liked, but I went ahead and guessed that he wasn't a vegetarian. I quickly rolled a couple of burritos and tucked a couple of water bottles under my arm. Mom didn't question it.

"I'll make sure there's enough for the girl if she wakes up," Mom said, already serving the kids.

I walked back into the living room and handed Nico his food. I sat down next to him. He looked at the food as though it might be poisoned, but he was seriously thin.

"Eat," I said. "At least half."

"I'm not a kid anymore," Nico replied.

"Prove it."

Nico lost the staring contest. I don't joke around when it comes to my kids. They either do what I tell them or I punish them. My wards knew that, my campers knew that, and Nico sure as hell knew that, too. He took the smart route and took a bite out of his burrito.

I relaxed too and started eating. "So, you will explain this to me eventually, won't you?"

Nico's chewing slowed. He swallowed. "It's complicated."

"You know me," I said. "I'm good with complicated."

Nico nodded. He knew what kind of person I was. He'd seen me on the verge of insanity. I had the feeling that he hadn't come to me by accident.

He ate in silence for a little while, and I studied him. He was taller, but just as scrawny as before. He was wearing a black shirt, loose-fitting jeans, and the aviator jacket I'd given him a few years back, his Stygian iron sword at his side. He looked like he hadn't seen sunlight in decades. This kid spent a lot of time in the Underworld.

"She was dead."

I blinked, coming back to reality. Nico was looking at me, completely serious and devoid of emotion. "Excuse me?"

"Hazel," Nico explained. "I found her in the Underworld."

I looked from Nico to Hazel and back, except this time I was openly glaring at him. I take it there aren't a lot of people out there with the power to make Nico di Angelo feel guilty. I could. He looked down, and I could almost feel his confidence crumbling. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Not off to a good start, but he kept going. "The Doors of Death are open. Thanatos has been captured, and I figured, since she died young, she deserves a second chance, and…"

"Nico," I looked at Hazel. She looked pretty normal to me. Most people probably wouldn't even notice that she'd been dead. "Are you serious?"

"It's just…I felt like I needed to," Nico said, and he sounded desperate now. "I was looking for Bianca, but she's already gone for rebirth. And then I saw Hazel, and…she's my sister, too. She can be trained at Camp Jupiter. I'll look after her."

I knew he meant it, but I felt very, very uneasy. I wasn't sure what the Doors of Death were and why it was important that they were open, but if it meant that people could come back to life, it wasn't exactly a good thing. Sure, some people could've had great lives if they hadn't been cut short, but some people deserved to be dead, and should stay dead.

"Nico," I said gently. "You'd better be ready to take responsibility for a lot of crap if it comes to it."

I think Nico appreciated that I wasn't saying stupid things like I understand and we must all deal with our losses. I frankly didn't care that he'd brought her back. That was his business. But the fact was that now we had a demigod daughter of Pluto who needed to be transported to the Wolf House. To me, that was the hard part.

I noticed something shiny on the floor. I hadn't seen it before, but on closer inspection, I saw that it was a diamond. At least…I thought it was a diamond. I had no idea how it got there, but there it was now, glinting on the ground in front of Hazel.

Nico followed my gaze.

"Don't touch the riches," he said. "They're cursed. At least, that's what she told me."

"We have kids in this house," I said. "Walker will put that into his mouth if he gets the chance." I looked at him. "She summons cursed jewelry?"

"Pluto is the god of riches," Nico said absentmindedly. "If it's under the earth, it'll pop up when Hazel's around."

"That's either going to make her very popular or very, very infamous," I said.

"We could keep it a secret," Nico said. "If we're careful."

I nodded. "And if you can keep her from passing out. I wonder what it is. She's not sick or injured, but she's not sleeping. It's like her mind is too occupied to control her body."

Nico put his head in his hands. "I thought it'd be easier than this."

"Bad words for a demigod." I said. Something occurred to me. "How do you know about the Wolf House and Camp Jupiter?"

Nico looked at the Mythomagic cards and figurines scattered on the floor with a mixture of nostalgia and regret. "My father told me."

Hazel began to stir. Instantly, Nico was at her side, after depositing a very disgruntled Snickers on the ground.

"Hazel," he called to her, taking her hand.

The girl's eyes blinked open, and she looked at him groggily. She looked incredibly sad. Nico helped her sit up. She rubbed her head, then looked over at me.

"Hey kid," I said. "Hungry?"

"Wh-who are you?"

"He's…" Nico looked back at me.

"I'm his babysitter," I replied.

"What? No you're not."

Hazel looked from him to me, totally confused. Then she looked down, noticing the diamond glinting on the floor.

"Oh," she said, grabbing the thing and stuffing it in her pocket.

"Yeah, I hear that happens a lot." I said. "How do you feel?"

"I…" Hazel looked really uncomfortable and distraught. "I was in the past. In New Orleans."

I looked at Nico, but he didn't seem to have an explanation. I made sure there was no one around. From what I could hear, everybody was still gathered at the dinner table.

"Let's go upstairs," I said. "I want to make sure I understand the situation before I take you two to the Wolf House."

"No," Nico said. "I can get her there myself."

I shook my head. "With the risk of her passing out and you having to recharge all the time, shadow traveling isn't safe enough. She doesn't even have a weapon. I'll drive you there. It'll be safer that way, and both you and I can defend her."

After a bit of food and a change of clothes, Hazel was pretty agreeable. She seemed totally impressed by the things she saw in my house. We didn't have very advanced technology, but even the idea of a microwave made her eyes sparkle.

We always kept a guest room made up just in case. Now, the three of us sat on the bed, and Nico explained things more thoroughly. Hazel didn't want to talk about her past, but according to Nico, she'd died around 1942. That meant that the two of them were from around the same time period. Odd.

"You'll want to keep that to yourself for a while," I said. "I have no idea how the Romans will react."

"Have you ever been to Camp Jupiter?" Nico asked.

I shook my head. "We usually only deal with them indirectly. Our job ends when we drop the kids off at the Wolf House. It's not our problem if they survive it or not. Kendra's had to go a couple of times for the sake of organization, but I've never been involved in any of that until now. And in this case, I think we need to appeal to the praetors directly."

Nico nodded. "I've never been there either, but my father says they're very strict and very formal."

What he meant was that they weren't very much like Camp Half-Blood. They decided things by meeting at a formal senate where senators dressed in togas. We sat around a ping pong table and ate Cheese Whiz. We didn't mention that to Hazel, though. Being fully Roman, she wasn't allowed to know about Camp Half-Blood.

"It's settled then," I said, though it didn't feel that way. "I'll go make arrangements with my mom. Both of you, get some sleep," I was looking at Nico when I said this. "We leave at five tomorrow morning. Hope you're ready for an eighteen hour drive."

I got up to leave.

"T-thanks for helping me," Hazel suddenly said, her head slightly vowed. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

I turned back and felt a smile tug at my lips. "It's not like that, Hazel. You'll find that there are a lot of people willing to help you. They're usually in the oddest of places."

She looked up, and her eyes traveled to my wrists. Yeah, they were a pretty gruesome sight, but I didn't care what people thought anymore. I let the image sink in for a moment before I turned and left. I didn't know how familiar she was with depressed people, but I hoped she wasn't too uncomfortable with spending a few days with me.

"Are you sure?" Mom asked. "I could take her."

"And leave me alone with the kids?" I asked.

Mom paused in her washing dishes. I had a point. Not only would they probably tear me apart, but there was a good chance that Mom would come home to a house full of dead bodies. "Okay, but you hate driving."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll go the speed limit, I'll take familiar roads, I'll follow all the traffic signs. What else can you ask for? It's a fairly straight shot from here to Sonoma. Kendra's done it before."

"I know," Mom said, but she still looked uneasy with the idea. "I just don't know that in your condition–"

"Mom, I haven't had an episode in months."

She pursed her lips. It certainly had been a while since my last bad episode. The only problem was that my last episode had also been my worst.

"And you'll come straight home afterward?"

"Maybe," I said. "I may need to stay at the Roman camp for a little while."

"Baby," Mom replied. "How do you know they'll let you stay?"

"I'm a demigod, Mom, they can't very well shut the door on me," I followed her out into the living room. Most of the kids were upstairs getting ready for bed, but Walker was still running around trying to escape bedtime. Mom picked him up and headed for the stairs. "I'm sure they'll be fine with it when they hear I'm your daughter. We've had about twenty kids go there after living with us. Some of them probably recognize me."

"Perhaps," Mom said, beginning the trying task of putting Walker into his pajamas. "But if they don't? What if they choose to fight you instead?"

"Mom, you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be," I said. "I'm not waging war or going on some impossible quest. It's simple enough. Drop off Hazel, speak to praetors, make sure Hazel gets accepted, come home. I have about the scariest demigod on my side to help me out. Seriously, have you seen Nico? He can scare monsters away just by scowling at them." This was true. I saw him do it at the Battle of Manhattan.

Mom didn't look impressed. It's hard to when a three-year-old is kicking and screaming and trying to get away. She managed to get his pajama pants on. "Well if there's any trouble, and I do mean any, I'll try and send help. But this isn't really the best time to be going on this kind of thing." She got one arm through Walker's pajama shirt. "You promise to be safe?"

"As safe as I can be with two children of the Underworld and a quiver of magical arrows," I said, holding up my right hand.

Mom frowned, but she finally reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. She handed me a debit card.

"Don't go crazy, now," Mom said. "This is a mission, not a vacation."

When my alarm went off, I had to take a few moments to remember why the hell I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning. When I remembered, I pulled myself out of bed and stumbled around, trying to get my bearings together. I'd packed a few bags before going to bed with enough clothes, ambrosia, nectar, and extra supplies to last for a few days between the three of us. Right before going to sleep, I'd stared at my father's gift. Something told me that this was the time to get it out. I finally decided to take it with me just in case. I'd still use my regular arrows, but hey, these might come in handy.

I put on an old pair of jeans and my Credence Clearwater Revival t-shirt. I found the trigger on my bow and arrows that shrunk them into a very light messenger bag that I slung over my shoulder. I also carried a set of throwing knives. I put my glasses on and glared at my reflection. I looked like a scrawny nerd rather than an intrepid hero. I tried to somewhat comb my short red hair before leaving my room, but it still stuck up in odd places.

I went to the guest room and knocked. Nico opened it and I saw that both he and Hazel were ready. He was dressed in his usual black t-shirt, jeans, and aviator jacket, even though the summer was far from being over on this side of the country. Hazel had changed into a blue t-shirt and a new pair of jeans from our extra stores.

"We'll grab breakfast around Gallup," I said, handing them each a bag. "Have everything you need?"

They both nodded and followed me down the stairs.

Mom was already up, standing in her bathrobe in the kitchen. She handed me the keys to our white van.

"Do I have to take the clunker?" I asked, frowning at the keys. "The AC doesn't even work that well."

"The van is reliable. The tires on the Toyota are wearing out, and I haven't had a chance to take it in yet." Mom replied. "Just stick to major roads, okay? No unnecessary detours, no picking up strangers, and kids," she looked at Nico and Hazel. "You two are responsible for making sure that Jamey doesn't do anything dangerous or destructive. Think you can handle that?"

"Mom," I was getting close to whining. "We'll have monsters on our trail the moment we get out. Define 'dangerous' and 'destructive.'"

"I'll keep him in line, Ms. Sawyer," Nico said with confidence.

"Also," Mom pulled out a generic-looking flip-phone. Kendra used to carry it around for emergencies. Mom handed it to me. "This is only for emergencies. Otherwise, send me and Iris-message every night."

"Every night?" My head was already spinning. What happened to me being an adult?

"Yes, every night. Nico, you're in charge of making sure he calls." She looked at all of us. "Okay, I think that's it. Do you have everything you need? All of your weapons? You'll look after Hazel, yes?"

"Yes," I said, hoping to end this discussion quickly. "Mom, we're already behind schedule. This is standard procedure. Can we please leave now?"

"Alright," Mom said. "Be safe, Jamey. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She kissed my cheek, even though she knew I hated it. "I love you."

"Love you, too," I said, pulling away. She gave Nico and Hazel each a hug. Nico looked a little uncomfortable, but Hazel gladly accepted hers.

"Much luck, dear," Mom said, kissing the top of Hazel's head.

"Thanks, Ms. Sawyer."

I led the pair into the old white van that we've had since before I was born. The seats were covered in rough cloth and leather, and it had a weird musty smell that you had to get used to. The only good thing about it was that it was an automatic, which is the only thing I know how to drive. I got into the driver's seat, Nico got into the passenger's seat next to me, and Hazel got into one of the back seats. The van is big enough to hold up to ten people.

Hazel settled into her seat, but she was looking around as if she'd just stepped into a spaceship.

"You own two of these?" She asked as I turned the key and put it in reverse. "When I was a kid, only about three people in my town had a car."

"Yeah," I said. "It's kind of a big thing nowadays. New Mexico's so spread out. You can't get anywhere without a car. Have you ever been in one before?"

"Only a couple of times." She seemed to be the most enthusiastic of the three of us, and that was saying something, because all of us looked pretty glum.

"This should be simple enough," I said, eyeing the GPS. "We'll follow i40 through Arizona then go north. No problem. Let's get out of here."

A demigod should never be too quick to say that there would be no problems. Sure, it was easy enough to feel safe while flying at seventy miles per hour down the highway. Stopping in towns and cities along the way, though, made the whole experience incredibly harrowing, considering that monsters were beginning to pop up almost everywhere we went.

The first monster attack happened in Chambers, Arizona. My mom always had a rule of stopping every four hours to gas up. I'd never driven for so long, and my butt was dying by the time we stumbled outof the van at the Navajo Travel Center. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder before going to the gas pump. I pulled out some of my own cash and handed it to Nico.

"Go inside and get some snacks," I said. I looked around warily. Chambers looked like any other highway stop. There was one hotel, one restaurant, and lots of sand. Still, I felt uneasy. "Don't take too long, okay?"

Nico nodded and looked at Hazel. "Come on."

They went inside and I filled up the van. I leaned against it, looking around. We were in a fairly open place, so if any monsters did show up, at least I'd be able to see them coming. Well, I hoped.

The gas stopped pumping and Nico and Hazel were still inside. I pulled the nozzle out and closed the gas tank. I figured I might as well go inside and use the restroom. Who knew how much longer it'd be before we reached the next town.

I was walking towards the entrance of the convenience store when Nico and Hazel burst out. His sword was drawn and he was dragging Hazel by the arm. She seemed to carrying a plastic bag.

"Go back!" He yelled as he tried to reach me. Suddenly, a hellhound burst through the doors and ran toward them. Nico let go of Hazel. "Go!" He yelled as he turned back to face the monster. In one clean swipe, the monster turned to a pile of yellow dust.

Nico ran to catch up to us. I was already climbing into the car and turning the key. Nico pulled himself into the passenger seat. "There's more."

Just as he said that, three more hellhounds burst out of the store. I made sure Hazel and Nico were in the car before backing out and speeding towards the highway. I looked in the rearview mirror. They were gaining on us.

"How's your shooting?" I asked Nico.

"My what?"

"Well, you can't very well stab them from a speeding car," I said, like it was obvious. We were coming up on a red stoplight. "I'm going to do something dangerous," I looked at Nico. "Don't tell my mom."

I stopped the car behind the others waiting for the light to turn green. I put it in park and pulled out my bow and arrows. I pulled myself out so that I was hanging out the window, and about five different cars honked at me, but the monsters had almost reached us. I shot three arrows, one after the other, got back into the car, put it in drive, and shot forward. Who the hell knows what the mortals saw, but I wasn't thinking about that. The sooner we got out of here, the better.

"That wasn't too bad," I said, although that was a very, very close call. "Anybody hurt?"

"I threw my gummy bears at them," Hazel lamented. She passed the plastic bag forward. It was full of chips, candy, and sodas. At least she'd managed to save most of it.

"Well, I hope nobody's got to pee," I said. "Because I'm not stopping this car until my heart rate goes down."