The money Persephone gave them covered a cheap hotel room and some early breakfast for the two of them. As they ate on the balcony, they watched the sun come up and could tell Apollo's asshole-ish glory wasn't at play. They were in the land beyond the gods, in the land that all demigods were doomed to go. Nothing good ever came out of a trip to Alaska.

"I've got the address she used to live at with her dad." Nico stared down at his plate. "But she's probably not there anymore. Where should we look?"

Will ate slowly, his thick coats keeping him from moving much. "I dunno... Let's just start there. There might be some clues or something. Persephone seemed pretty positive that you could get this done."

"She needed to. She was scared." Nico frowned at the memory. "I've never seen her or any other goddess like that before. She must really care about this kid."

"Wonder who she cheated on your dad with."

"Guess we'll find out." Nico stood up and stretched his aching limbs. "You ready?"

Will stuffed his mouth before nodding, setting his plate on the nearby table. He grabbed his bag before following Nico out of the hotel room, his hand gripping onto Nico's to make sure that the boy didn't leave his side. He kept close for warmth, kept close out of fear and love. Whatever the case, Nico didn't mind Will's clinging. It actually was pretty nice.

The house they finally got to as Lillian's old home was a small shack near the sea. A rope ladder brought them up to the front door, which looked to be falling off its hinges. Peeling walls, cracked windows, the looks of something beaten and worn. Nico knocked on the door with a sense that nobody would answer, but after a couple minutes, they could hear footsteps approaching them.

Nico gripped Will's hand as the door opened, and Will gripped his hand back. Pale skin against tan, green veins against regular, a clasp of love between them.

"Hello?" a teenager peeked out of the door, her hair long and her face sunken. She looked between Will and Nico, panic filling her blue eyes. "What do you want?"

Nico stepped forward, his boots making imprints in the snow. "My name's Nico di Angelo. I was sent to...to find someone that may be in trouble. I was told this was her old address. Do you by any chance know of anyone that used to live here?"

The girl stared at Nico for a minute more before opening the door. "You...you can come in...it's best not to have this discussion in public."

Nico understood and quickly entered the building but Will was more hesitant. He kept his eyes on the girl as he followed Nico, knowing very well that this girl could be a monster in disguise or could be the captor herself. It was just part of a demigod's life.

The little house was just as poor and rundown on the inside. One couch, no TV, candles and a fireplace lit. The girl that let them in led them to the fireplace and sat in front of it, her clothes hanging off her skinny frame. "I...I don't actually live here...but I probably have what you want to know. But I need to make sure you want it for the right reasons."

Nico glanced her over. "You don't live here? What's your name?"

The girl blushed in embarrassment, her hands moving to play with her bare toes. "Tamsin, sorry. I didn't remember to tell you. My name's Tamsin."

Nico nodded. "I'm Nico, as I said. The blonde glowstick is Will."

Will nodded in greeting. "Hello."

Tamsin waved a little before looked back down at her lap. "No, I don't live here...I... I don't live anywhere. When the girl and her father went missing, nobody else noticed. So I was gonna stay in here until they got back. It's warm."

Nico nodded in understanding. "That's okay. But do you know where they went? The girl's mother sent us. She's in trouble."

Tamsin's hands clenched each other as her anxiety seemed to roll off her in waves. "A man...not a good man...he took little Lillian...he took her when she was playing outside. I saw and followed him. I went and told her dad where he went. He went to get her back and he... I never saw him again."

"Can you tell me where you saw him go?" Nico asked. "That'd be helpful."

"The warehouse." Tamsin got up and grabbed the poker, starting to stir the fire. "The one on the edge of town. Looks like it's crumbling into the ocean."

"What did the man look like?"

"Brown hair, balding..." Tamsin stared into the fire. "Fat. I usually don't call people that but I couldn't respect this man less. Big hands. Real big hands..." She looked to Nico. "He barely wore clothes. Was really weird that way. Only had on pants."

Nico looked to Will. "You got all that?"

Will nodded as he got to his feet. "One middle-aged pedophile to catch. Let's go."

Nico grabbed Will's hand. "Thank you, Tamsin. I'll let you know when we get Lillian back." He smiled and shook her hand before leading Will out, his grip tight on the other's hand. "You ready to catch a crazy old man?"

"More ready than I ever have been." Will admitted, climbing down the ladder. He looked up at Nico, gave him that smile that he loved. "Let's go, Juliet."

Nico felt his cheeks darken as he scowled at Will. "I hate Romeo and Juliet. They were idiots."

Will waited until Nico was down the ladder before grabbing his hand again. "So are we."

Nico huffed but didn't disagree. "Guess so."