There will be a part 3....

"You have done what for the past week?" Annabeth shrieked and whirled around so fast that she hair flipped her own brother in the face.

"Thanks for that." Jason sputtered, after that week off with Percy he seemed more willing to help out in the kitchen, he seemed more relaxed and happy too.

"No, no, Nico what have you done?" Annabeth asked with desperation. "Are you mad?"

"No I am not. I just... I enjoy being with him, he is funny you know." Nico smiled happily and a little ashamed. "It's nice to have a friend that isn't paid to spend time around me."

"No he just gets beaten and or shot if he misbehaves." Annabeth snorted angrily. "Do you honestly want me to believe that what the two of you are doing is safe? Hell I really want to punish you for sending my brother away with that Percy punk."

"He is my boyfriend." Jason protested, he didn't really see why Annabeth was angry at Nico, Jason just wanted them to be friends again.

"He'll get you in trouble." She sneered.

"Leo is just someone I talk to! I sacrifice just as much when I am with the two of you here. If my father walked in and saw us talking, he would smash your kneecaps or something." Nico protested. "Are you angry because I don't go to you with all my problems? Because say the word and I'll spill the beans."

"Spill the beans." Jason laughed. "I will not clean that up."

"No I'm not angry because you talk to him... it's just... what if Octavian or another guard sees the two of you!" Annabeth ignored her brother's comment, after all she was used to his witty humor, that and the fact that she was furious at Nico.

"Then I will tell them that my father ordered me to talk to him about mansion business, they can't say anything about it." Nico declared proudly.

"One day they won't believe you." Annabeth breathed out with tears in her eyes. "No matter who is your father Nico, something bad will happen."

With raw hands from cleaning the pots and pans, she wiped away the tears that streamed down her dirty cheeks. Everything about her and Jason screamed hard work, the never ending cleaning, the going out to the vegetable field, the apple trees, they really had no help except for each other.

"I'm just scared that someone will die." She admitted.

Jason was by his sister's side in a matter of seconds. He held her tight to his body, not caring that her shirt was wet, or that she smelled of mud. Not that Jason smelled any better, one of the slaves had accidentally knocked him into the fertilizer pile when he was out to collect some carrots for supper. He hadn't had time to shower but had cleaned of the most of it.

Even slaves could be nasty and stuck up.

"No one will die." Jason whispered caringly to her.

"I just wish our parents lived." She clung to him as if he was a rock, it didn't matter that she was the older sister, she needed him as much as he needed her.

Nico left them there, he felt wrong to interfere or talk to them. He let the siblings be and instead walked out into the blinding sun, making his way to his father.

Hades sat behind a massive oak desk. His black hair hung lose and down his shoulders. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, he looked exhausted. As if it had been he who cleaned the house, fixed the garden, harvested the cotton field, taken care of the breakfast, lunch, and supper. Hades looked as if he had a hard week, the man was built like an ox and looked scary, his black hair was like oil (the greasy kind even though Nico knew it would feel like silk since he had the same hair), Hades also had dark eyes that seemed insane, when he looked at you, you usually thought he was plotting murder, or thinking up ten ways to a hide a body, or the most effective way to burn down a house.

"Ah my son. What a pleasure." Hades beckoned him closer.

Nico's father leaned back into his blood red chair that seemed more like a thrown. He turned some papers upside down so that Nico couldn't see what he was reading and/or writing. Nico knew that something was going on when his father did that.

Hades always plotted something, the last time he had turned a paper away from Nico it had ended in more slaves coming to the estate. The time before that it had been buying another farm in some country that Nico had never stepped a foot in. And yet before that it had been the plotting of Hazel's mother's disappearance.

"I have come with reports."

"Yes, yes, good, sit down son."

Nico obliged, he sat down on the wooden chair, he was slightly shaking, hoping that his father wouldn't see. When Nico looked around the room to calm his nerves he could see some of Hazel's toys, he guessed that Hades had babysat for a couple of hours when Percy was taking his lunch.

He was glad that even Hades knew that workers needed breaks, even though he only gave them to the white ones. Nico wanted to strangle his father for his racist thoughts. How could this high up man claim to love Hazel but despise everyone else with the same skin color. He acted as if Hazel only was good because she came from him.

"I want to talk to you about one of the slaves." Hades said calmly, he took the papers that Nico had brought with him.

"A slave?" Nico asked confused and afraid.

Had Hades figured out that he met Leo, had he figured out that Nico finally had a friend. A friend that Nico longed to do more with. Do more with, and not talk, not play games, but intimate things, like kiss. Nico had wondered now for the past few days what it would feel like to kiss Leo.

Ashamed of the thoughts he had he turned his head away.

"Yes. It has come to my attention that you have talked to a slave. This was last week, Octavian reported it to me, he thought that maybe this was something I should know about."

"Don't worry father, I spoke to the slave because he asked about-" Nico had almost spoken about his powers. It was so hard for him to not talk about to his father. Practically everyone knew of it by now. "He had been pushed into me, he said he was sorry but I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again."

"What did you say?" Hades raised his eyebrows and looked pleased.

"I told him that he shouldn't touch me, I am much better than him." Nico scoffed, his heart was turning to stone, might as well play it off. "I told him that if he touches me again than I will cut his hands off, or whatever body part he touched me with."

"That is good my boy." Hades looked proud, he loved it when Nico threatened the slaves.

"Father? I would like to talk to you about Octavian. He is still misusing the shots. He should be disciplined."

"I'll look into it." Hades bowed. "Now the reports."

Nico smiled, pleased that he had done something good. If Hades looked into it then it meant that he would punish that stupid Octavian. Hades eyed the papers over that Nico had given him before. Hades took his time before he nodded, he shooed Nico away as if he was a little kid.

Nico stood up and walked out, meeting Annabeth in the door.

"Is supper ready?" Nico asked her.

"Ah Annabeth Chase! The girl with the answers! Come in, come in." Hades shined up, something that looked even scarier than the normal boring Hades.

Annabeth smiled weakly before going inside, she was more afraid than even Nico was. even if Hades never had laid a hand on her and her brother, he didn't stop the guards from doing something. He didn't stop from abusing them verbally. Hades the push over would forever be a tormentor.

"Nico, my boy, close the door will you?"

Nico sat on the roof of the barn. The moon stood high on the sky, the stars were millions, billions, trillions. He felt so small underneath them, it was a grand big world, a world he had never seen. He had only ever been on the estate. He felt powerless. It didn't matter that he could shadow travel, that he could manipulate the shadows. He still didn't have enough power to get out of here. It tore his heart apart.

When his mother still had been alive, she had told him to go and explore as much as he could. She had smiled kindly to him; she had taught him her birth language Italian. Though she told him to never tell his father. Sadly, he couldn't remember all the words that she had taught him. When she had died Nico hadn't been so sad, because he could still speak Italian, but now, now it felt as if another part of her died all over again.

He missed her. He even missed Hazel's mom. The slave had been inside the house, greeting guests, serving them at the table, cleaning the bedrooms. Marie had been so beautiful, it was no chock that she had been pregnant, but the chock was who the father was.

Nico always thought that it was a good thing that she died from childbirth, he didn't know what Hades would have done to her otherwise. Even though he later found papers were Hades had plotted to send her away. To kill Marie.

There was a rustle behind him, a scratch on the roof, cold bone against his warm skin. The little kitten would have been adorable, if it had had fur and been alive. The skeleton kitten jumped up on his shoulder to nuzzle his cheek.

"So you can raise skeletons now too?" a voice asked behind him.

The kitten wasn't the only thing that had come up on the roof. Leo stood there, smiling, he held a fire ball in one of his hands. A fire ball that set Nico's nerves on edge, the roof was made of wooden planks and had been covered in dry grass.

"What you don't trust me?" Leo chuckled and sat down next to him.

"Wood, dry grass, and fire? No I don't trust you." Nico laughed. "Besides I like being bathed in only moon light."

"You are really handsome in the moonlight." Leo extinguished the fire in his hand, making the moon the only light of source.

"What?" Nico asked so loudly that the skeleton kitten ran away from him, it hissed and scampered off.

"Your skin looks great in the moonlight, really white and glossy. My mother once told me a tale about vampires. They are unearthly beautiful, very charismatic, good humor and easy to talk too." Leo said as if it didn't bother him at all to compliment Nico. "You are like a vampire when the moon comes up, if I didn't know better I would say you were some kind of god."

"Now you are just exaggerating." Nico blushed.

"Not my fault." Leo laid down and stared up at the sky, hesitant Nico did too. "You know Nico, I talked to Jason-"

"How, you are nowhere near each other?" Nico cut him off.

"Well I had the vegetable field today, I accidentally knocked him into a pile of cow shit." Leo snickered evilly. "Anyway after I said I was sorry and everything, and helped him clean some of in a stream close to us, he asked my name, when he heard it he shined up. He started talking about you, all good things, but he mentioned that you... how shall I put it..."

"Direct. I liked when people are forward." Nico stated, his heart was that of a hummingbird, he didn't really like the way this were going. But if it had been his father who laid there talking, he would be full of dreed, now with Leo there instead, he was uneasy sure but there was a happy humming feeling that made him soar a little. He was scared for the feelings bubbling inside of him, scared that he liked Leo much more than he should. He wanted Leo to feel the same way, but didn't at the same time. They would be hanged.

"He said that you fancied me." Leo said bluntly. "I didn't know you liked boys."

Nico swore under his breath; he was going to choke Jason! That little filthy bastard! And after Nico let him have a romantic week with his boyfriend! Never again! He would drown him in the stream, or better yet do something wicked with his shadows. Oh Jason would wish he was never born.

"Nico it's okay, nothing wrong to like boys. I do too. Jason does too apparently, at least he talked about his boyfriend." Leo chuckled nervously.

"I have hardly had any friends in my entire life. The only boy I have ever liked was Percy and he ended up dating Jason." Nico confessed. "The ironic thing is that I introduced them to each other."

"Sucks! What a dickhead." Leo said with laughter in his words.

"I know!" Nico said glad to finally be able to tell someone about that.

"So you do fancy me?" Leo asked.

"No comment." Nico stated.

Leo huffed but Nico was too scared to look at him. What if Leo saw that Nico had actually grown to like him. After a week of talking, sneaking away, and just spending time with each other, Nico had grown to feel butterflies in his stomach whenever Leo smiled or laughed. Hazel, even though she was five, teased him about glowing up whenever Leo was around. Nico wanted to believe that this is what it felt like to have a good friend, it would be a lie, he knew there was something more. For now, he swallowed it down, there was no way in hell that Leo would get to know.

If Leo knew then it would ruin Nico's life. Surely the slave was just acting on the behalf of Hades. Hades who liked to play games with his one and only son.

"Tell me about the vampires." Nico whispered up to the stars.

"Not much to tell." Leo answered in an equally hushed voice. "Strong, beautiful, fierce, they hunted us humans for blood. They were charismatic, they could lure us humans out with a single word. They were the true leaders of this world. I used to ask my mother how to be one. If I was a vampire, then I could save us. No more cotton fields, no more hurting."

"What did she say?"

"She told me that only another vampire could convert you. But she also said that she didn't wish that any of her children would become vampires. A vampire is no longer human, no longer remembers who he used to be." Leo sighed. "A monster with a pretty face."

"Sucks."

"Blood." Leo smiled, maybe that was why Nico liked him, even when Leo was sad he changed the subject, he joked, he smiled, he buried the sadness so deep inside that no one could see it. If only Nico had the ability to do the same.

"We're friends right?" Nico asked.

"Yes." Leo breathed.

"I think my father is up to something."

"Why do you think that?" Leo asked turning his face to Nico. Big brown eyes, warm smile, brown skin that seemed warm to touch, how Nico longed to be more than friends. How he longed to touch Leo, to hug him... to kiss him.

"He hides papers from me. That is never a good sign." Nico confessed. "And Octavian has seen us together. He reported to my father, I'm afraid that we have to be more careful, maybe not meet as frequently."

"I don't care." Leo said. "Beat me, kill me, I don't care, spending time with you is the only good thing."

"And here I was believing that cotton had better humor than me." Nico joked.

"I'm not joking Nico. You are the only one who makes me smile, besides my family I don't have anyone but you."

"Are you confessing your love to me?" Nico joked again.

"Maybe." Leo grinned, he reached out and took Nico's hand. "Percy really gave up something great."

Nico bolted up from the roof almost making him slip of and fall down to the ground. Leo sat up confused. Nico felt ill, he was scared, this couldn't happen, no not now. He ran out from the roof as he was going to jump, but when he felt like he was flying he shadow traveled to his room. He tore his clothes from his body, buried himself in his bed.

No.

Hazel's hair tickled his nose. He held back the sneeze that was building up. He patted her hair away, flipping the page in the book. His little sister giggled as she saw the three kittens painted onto the thin paper.

"What does it say?" Nico asked her.

"Kittens." She purred.

"Well kitten, it's bath time for you." Percy said coming into Nico's room, he held a small bath toy in one hand and a very fluffy white towel in the other.

"Kitten." Hazel said under her breath in a content voice.

She slid of Nico's lap and scampered over to Percy, she took his hand into her chubby one and then lead him away.

Nico huffed. What was he supposed to do now? It was his day of, Hades had forced him to some playtime but to be honest Nico didn't know how to relax.

He had spent the whole morning with Annabeth and Jason, helping them with the breakfast and lunch. That was until the siblings thought of him more of in the way than helping. He had then excused himself to go play with Hazel. Hazel who now was gone with Percy. Nico didn't really feel like going to his father and help him. Neither did it tempt him to go to the guards. They probably played poker, slept, or cleaned their weapons.

He could go to Leo. Leo who stood picking cotton until his hands bled and then some more. Now the guards would see them, Nico had learnt not to be so scared of the other slaves, sure they looked suspicious but they never told secrets or ratted someone out. They had enough problems as it were. The guards on the other hand were bored to tears, patrolling slaves that never rioted? Now that was truly boring, which caused some gun firing, sword fighting, and or a spear, or whatever other weapon, getting throw at someone.

Still Leo was a tempting options.

If only they talked. Ever since Nico ran off the roof three days ago they hadn't talked. It broke Nico's heart. Not only because he could be whoever he was with Leo, but also because he really missed Leo's charm and stupid jokes. And most of all his smiles. His positive vibe that brought warmth to Nico's heart.

But they were supposed to be friends! Nico's foolish heart would end the both of them. Hades could forgive and overlook a lot of things, but he would never, ever, forgive Nico for liking another boy. Hades would sooner cut his throat and toss his corps to the pigs than accept that Nico liked boys.

Restless from all the thoughts Nico walked to the backside of the house. the only thing that grew there was the vegetable fields, and there was this stream that ran through the estate. Nico had spent his younger years playing here, he could still feel the sun beating down on him when he drew with sticks in the muddy slope to the stream. Or how it felt to run back and forth through the stream until he was so cold that he thought his toes were blue. He remembered the time when he stole carrots from the fields and munched on them, he always leaned against the house, safe in the shadows. Back then he didn't know that other people suffered for the things he did.

Back then he was still innocent.

Now he causally walked to the stream, hunched down and let the water lap his hand. It was chilly and nice. The summer day was so warm that Nico felt sorry for the slaves, although he always felt sorry for them. Having to work until you bled, having to live like a prisoner, not having a real life, all because you were born with a different skin color.

He sat down, his pants got muddy but he didn't care. He laid down, mud in his hair, on his white shirt. Mud in his heart.

If only he weren't the heir to this estate, if only he wasn't his father's son, if only Hades weren't a slave driver, if only.

The wind tore through the plants, the clothes rippled, the water splashed.

Nico did something he hadn't done for so long, he cried. Over everything that wasn't correct, if only he was eighteen, if only his father wasn't here, if only...

If only he could love Leo openly instead of bottling it up as if it was some kind of wine. Wine that grew better with time sure, but Nico felt like the love had been stashed away for a hundred years all ready, and he wasn't sure if wine could go bad or not.

"Neeks?" a soft voice asked.

Nico wiped his tears away in a hurry before he looked at Hazel who stood before him. Her pink dress had been put on in a haze.

"Hey Haz what's going on, wasn't it bath time?" Nico asked pulling her close to hug her, her curly hair tickled his nose but he couldn't stop hugging her, it felt so good to have someone close.

"Percy told me to run, and when I was younger you said this was safe." Hazel murmured into his shoulder.

"Why were you supposed to run?" Nico asked, but then he smelt the smoke, the ash, the fire.

The stream was a couple of paces from the house but even so he couldn't see the flames. The house was big but surely it would spread. Never in his life had he seen a fire before, it scared him to know that now he would. And even more due to the fact that he had to take care of Hazel.

"Percy let me out on the side, you know with the pretty door," she started crying, her fist went to her eyes, she truly looked her age when she cried, "he said he would go get the others, the fire is by the front so he said he would survive."

"He will, Percy is big and strong, he can survive anything." Nico tried to cheer her up, he got up from the muddy bank with Hazel in his arms. "Now come on we must see if there is something we can do."

"But fire is bad!" Hazel said.

"Not all fire is, baby." Nico said thinking about Leo and his powers.

The slaves had their permission to leave the fields and stand in a cluster outside of their houses. It looked like a sad parade of people who all stared at the fire that had engulfed the mansion were Nico grew up. Nico had counted them, and told the other guards to do the same, everyone except for eight.

The guards were all accounted for and had duty to protect the slaves, that said it meant that they hounded them inside as soon as everyone had been counted. Then there was complete lock down.

Octavian with his pale blond hair and creepy eyes looked nervously at Nico. "Hey Nico... what's going on?"

"I don't know Octavian but I don't like it." Nico confessed while adjusting his grip on Hazel who had slumped against his shoulder. "Have you counted the helpers in the house?"

"Luke said that there is only three missing."

"Let me guess, it's Percy, Annabeth and Jason, right?"

"It's always the best that get in trouble." Octavian said with a sad face, Octavian had many emotions but he mostly showed anger and excitement, so to see him sad over missing some of the servants sent a chill down Nico's spine.

"Do you know which eight of the slaves that are missing?" Nico asked.

"No clue, although your friend is missing, and Luke said that the annoying kids are gone..." Octavian scratched the back of his head. "So I guess it's the Valdez family."

"Octavian?"

"Yeah?"

"Where was Leo last?"

"The big boss asked me to fetch him for him, him and his family." Octavian shrugged. "I dropped them of at the door and haven't seen them since."

"By the barn where he usually met with the slaves?"

"No, his office, top floor." Octavian corrected him.

"You don't think-"

"That one of them started the fire? No you must be joking." Octavian turned a whiter shade of pale, it looked like he was going to throw up.

"Will you send reinforcement to help the Chase siblings and Percy?" Nico asked more than ordered.

"I can send the Stolls, Clarisse, Laney, and Kate." Octavian whistled loudly before firing his pistol. Quickly most of the guards surrounded them and Octavian sent away the people that he had suggested. "I also need Luke, Beckendorf, Michael, David, Malcolm, and Selena to guard the slaves, and please Hamich can you take another round with the servants?"

Octavian had a way with order, it was supposed to be Reyna, but for some reason the girl had taken the summer of. Only Hades knew where she was.

"Big Boris go look after the animals and the stables, Kenly follow him, Will can you go look over the barn just in case?"

"Octavian?" Nico asked when all the guards had gone to their stations. "Can you look after Hazel? I need to go into the mansion."

"That's suicide!" Octavian protested, for a big bully and a pain in the ass, he turned out to be quite good to have in a crisis.

"Then I'll go to Frank."

"No give her to me, Frank doesn't even know how to wield that stupid sword." Octavian barked and reached to take Hazel.

"You be good okay. I'll be back in a second." Nico kissed his sister's forehead before shadow traveling to Hades office on the top floor.

Octavian already knew of his powers, and Hazel wasn't a newbie to them either. Which meant that Nico could just pop out and pop in with them. It's were the people in the office that weren't used to it.

The fire hadn't reached the office which meant that the fire had started on the middle floor. Probably in the questioning room that was right next to Hades own bedroom.

The kids in the office were all pale and scared. Two boys sat on the floor, hugging each other for comfort, while their three older sisters stood protectively in front of them, saying that they would tear down the world and any threat on it for the safety of their brothers.

"I don't want to hurt you." Nico held up his hands in surrender. "But as you guys saw I can save you. Do you know of your brother's powers?"

"He can create fire." One of the girls said. "Just like Antonia is very good at building stuff, and Angel can do something too, he just hasn't showed us yet."

"Well..."

"I'm Carmen, the oldest." The girl stood tall and proud. "And you are?"

"I am a friend of Leo. I can control the shadows, I can travel in them, if you guys would allow me I can take you out of this room. I don't know how the fire is in the mansion but my guess is that you are trapped."

"Will you take the boys first?" Carmen asked, her black hair was greasy and hanged down her face to her hip. She was painfully thin but with big strong hands.

"If you let me."

Carmen looked over her siblings before nodding.

Nico went slowly to the boys, unsure if they were scared of him, he could still hear the laughter from their house that night he came to them. How all of the children were happy. What had happened?

He held out both his hands for the boys to take, they were twins, and looked exactly like Leo did. Nico's heart melted for them. He had told Leo he couldn't protect nor save them, but here he was, saving them from the fire.

The boys took his hands and in the next moment they were beside Octavian that looked dumbstruck.

"There are three more, protect everyone I bring to you, do you understand?" Nico asked. "I am ordering you to protect these people. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir!" Octavian nodded.

With that he let the guard take the boys to the side, Hazel was quick to start talking, to start calming them down. All of them sat on the ground while Octavian stood on the side, not even looking away from them.

Relieved Nico went back to the office. He was getting tired and he still had to pop in and out a couple of more times. These were just the children, what of the adults, what of Leo?

Carmen held out her two sisters, "Take me last, just make sure they are safe."

"No Carmen, come with me, I'm scared!" one of the girls protested.

"I won't hear it Isabel, Nico take them."

He did, he didn't let them say goodbye, didn't let them hug or anything. He just touched the two girls who shook from fright. They landed next to their brothers who came running. Hazel smiled and greeted them, inviting them to come and play with her. even though the girls were older they knew that they had too. If not only to ease their brothers.

Nico sighed, he shadow traveled again, he could barely stand and Carmen saw that. She helped him stand up, put his arm around her shoulders.

"I guess we'll have to risk it. Come on let's find my brother." She said and opened the door. "Pull through this Nico, you are more than human, you have special gifts. Has no one told you about the vampires?"

Nico stifled a laugh as the smoke came up from the stairs. Carmen seemed unfazed and walked straight to it. Nico wondered if Leo's sister was scared of anything, if she could walk towards a fire to save someone then she could save the entire planet from ending.

"Charming bastards that sucks blood, yeah I've heard about them."

"They are as strong as a thousand men, they are faster than the fastest animal alive. They could stare into your soul and tell about everything that it is in your core. Some can heal, others destroy." Carmen said as they made their way down, they tried to stay low to avoid the smoke but it didn't do much since the smoke was thickening, Nico was right it was coming from the questioning room.

"So?"

"Some vampires has powers. It is said that when vampires breed with humanity, the children get powers. You are not human Nico, you are stronger and better than anyone on this farm."

"Carmen you should get out; the smoke is damaging your brain." Nico said.

"My mother has only told me two stories in my life. Both true. One of the fire, one of the vampires." Carmen said pulling him to the floor, they started crawling towards the door that stood ajar. "My mother ain't a liar."

"My parents are humans."

"Maybe their ancestors aren't." Carmen hissed and coughed from the smoke.

She opened the door more and glimpsed inside. Nico followed. His heart stopped beating. Bodies littered the floor.