FicWad

"Ghosts are attracted to this?" said Odie doubtfully, looking at a gold candle closely

"But of coarse" said Hera wisely looking at all of the titans "they are attracted to the light, and have been ever since they passed into spirit. It calls them, as it did to death"

Theresa shivered

Hera held up a candle close to her lips and blew gently on the wick. It lit into a pearly white flame

"I didn't know you could do that!" said Herry; impressed "but....err...shouldn't the flame be yellow?"

"It is a white light that attracts them" as Hera spoke a pale see-through figure glided through the wall of the school. The ghost's arms were outstretched; their eyes were wide and their hands groping for the small light. Neil screamed and his hands jumped to his mouth. Hera did not flinch as the spirit came closer. The spirit's hand reached out to try and seize the flame and take it for its own, but the moment its pale fingers made contact it shrunk into a tiny ball of light and joined the flame, making it a little bit larger.

"Where did it go?" asked Atlanta leaning forward with curiosity to get a better look of the gold candle

"It is trapped inside. When the candle had burnt down to the last of the wick there will be a small silver ball. All the souls that have been caught will be trapped inside" the queen of the gods explained "You are then to come back to the school and hand them over where they will go back to the underworld and start their next life"

"Okay" said jay taking a bunch of candles and handing them out "Where do we go?"

Odie answered him "Places where dead people would go...graveyards, churches, hospitals..."

Hera nodded in agreement "also public places like the park or the beach"

"Okay" said jay taking a bunch of candles and handing them out "we'll split up. Herry, Archie and Atlanta go to the park and graveyards, Neil, Odie, Theresa and I will check out the others"



Herry cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back into the comfort of a deck chair in a stone graveyard. Beside him sat Archie and Atlanta who had a clip board keeping a tally. In front of each titan on a fold out chair were their candles

"You've got no chance Archie" said Herry "My candles the brightest. I'm gonna have way more"

"Guess again Hercules" said Archie as he watched yet another spirit come close to the table with their hands outstretched and disappear as it's pale figure touched the flame "Looks like I am doing the best"

Atlanta snorted "You guys aren't doing anything"

"The trick is to just let the candles do the work" said Herry; stretching "We don't have to do...anything" his last word was shaky as a spirit floated through him. He felt like he was sitting in the deep freeze section of the supermarket.

"Hmm...oh well" said Atlanta holding up the clip board "Looks like I'm going to win that pizza we bet on. My candle has had more spirits then both of your's put together"

"Let me see that" Archie snatched the clipboard

**********************

In the center of an old church Theresa looked closely at the pearly white flame. She held up her hand quickly flicked her finger through the flame. Instead of it being hot, it was cool. Almost icy, she turned to Odie
"How are we meant to catch several thousand with this? Surely we need to attract more attention"

"The Gods have caught some already caught some" answered Odie "I don't know if any of you saw the gum when we left but the whole floor was burning with a pallid fire. Who knows how many a candle will attract, but with a whole floor burning? I think we're only to pick up the spares" another soul was sucked into his candle

Neil was curled up into a ball sitting in the corner shaking and muttering to himself "There's no such things as ghosts, there's no such things as ghosts...Agh!" he screamed and buried his face in his arms as a spirit soared from up in the roof and dived down to a few feet in front of him. The ghost was tall, had a weather beaten face and white hair
"Pull yourself together!"

Neil looked up "wha?"

"You're not going to destroy Cronos any time soon unless you stop blubbering! Pull yourself together! Stand up straight!" commanded the spirit wit authority

"Grandpa?" Neil choked out

"No, a ham-sandwich; of coarse it's me!"

"Grandpa!" Neil jumped up and gave his old dead relative an air hug

At the sound of Neil's shout in delight the other titans turned around. Jay almost laughed out loud at the sight of the terrified now very happy Neil with his arms around a ghost

"Aunty Iris?" asked Theresa unsure as she saw a familiar pale figure glide through a wall. She had long white (was red) hair and identical eyes to her niece
"Hello dear"

"It's wonderful to see you again but",-

"I've watched you for most of your life. You have a strange gift! Who'd have thought you were a descendent of..." rambled the woman

"-but Aunty you have to go back! If you don't then your soul will be too damaged to go on into the next life"

"I know my dear, I know. Please, stay safe. I don't want to see you where I am until you are old"

"I will Aunty" promise Theresa as the ghost kissed her on the cheek and went into her candle

"Goodbye"