ALL ELARA WANTED was one normal night. And to get rid of Madam Marie. Fortunately for Madam Marie, she was a ghost and Elara couldn't strangle her.

  Over the years, Elara had gotten used to the dozens of shadows in her house that drove her absolutely nuts. She trained herself to ignore Alma's southern accent and Florian constantly mocking it. The only civil spirit that roamed her house was Sunny. He was quiet and didn't bother anyone.

For the most part, her life was peaceful. That was until her doorbell rang. She remembered Madam Marie singing some awful tune that made her want to rip her ears out of her head. When she opened it, a boy who was incredibly pale to the point it looked like he hadn't seen the sun in months laid unconscious on her porch.

  With a groan, she dragged the boy into her home and onto her couch, then covered him with a blanket. She didn't realize until right after she had set him down, a ghost followed after him.

The ghost didn't speak much, or at all, it just stood and stared at her. Which was kinda creepy. "Sit." Elara told the ghost, pointing to a spot on the couch. "I am not afraid of you. This is my house. Be polite or get out." The soul nodded and didn't say a word.

It was a week before the boy woke up. He jumped up and looked mortified. Thankfully, Elara was in the kitchen putting cookies in the oven and could see him. "Calm down, you're safe. No one is going to hurt you. Lay back down, it's not good for you to get up so fast." The boy looked at her hesitantly and slowly laid back down.

"Thank you. Now, are you hungry? I have cookies in the oven, but I could always make something more." There was an awkward silence before she spoke again. "Oh, pardon me. Where are my manners? I'm Elara. And you are?"

The boy was silent for about ten seconds before he opened his mouth, "Nico." He mumbled. Elara smiled at him. "That's a lovely name." Nico nodded, staring at the girl's ginger hair in a loose braid with a grimace.

She went back into the kitchen and Nico heard the sink turn on. "You're welcome to stay, Nico. I don't get many visitors." Elara called out over the sound of running water.

It was the quietest that the upstairs of Crane Funeral Home had ever been with the boy with dark hair there. All of the ghosts had hidden themselves when he woke up. Even Madam Marie was quiet. All of the ghosts were gone, expect for the one who still sat on the couch, silent for a whole week. And Elara felt more lonely than ever without them. It didn't feel like home with no ghosts chittering and roaming about. It was bittersweet, really.

Within the days of Nico's stay, she had filled the quietness with questions about him. She had learned almost everything she could about the boy. Which was not much because he wouldn't open up to her. But, there was one thing that he said that stuck with her. He made a comment about her braid reminding him of his sister. So, she asked about his sister. Turns out she's dead. Then he just kind of just word vomited from there. He asked for one last favor before he left, which was for her to buy him some food. Which she said yes to.

  SITTING IN A CEMETERY was not ideal to Elara Crane. But, there she was, eating McDonald's and watching a ghost dig up a grave with a boy three years younger than her.

The boy, Nico, had made Elara take him shopping for what he called "charity for the dead". Now, Elara understood what he meant as he dumped out everything she spent her money on into an empty grave.

Nico picked up his Happy Meal and shook everything out of it, it all fell into the hole.

"Atleast let me keep the toy!" The ghost-pet Nico had with him whined. Elara had seen many ghosts in her days, but none were as annoying and prideful as this one. She didn't quite remember it's name, but she knew it started with an M. Maybe it was Micheal? Or Marcus?

"Be quiet!" Nico shouted as he dumped out more soda cans and three more Happy Meals. He then started to sing something in a language Elara had never heard before.

Elara was completely weirded out by this kid. No offense, he wasn't really that bad. He was quiet and didn't bother her, he kept his ghost quiet too. Maybe she needed to take lessons from him on how to keep the ghosts at the funeral home quiet.

The grave started to bubble and glow like a cauldron, which freaked her out a lot, and the air got really thick. Then, dozens of ugly blue creatures appeared. They weren't ghosts, more like zombies.

Whatever they were, an eleven-year-old summoned them with just McDonald's and some extra Coca-Cola cans. That impressed Elara quite a bit.

"There's too many." Marcus the ghost said shakily. "You don't know your own powers." It was a weird sight, seeing a ghost be scared of a human. Usually, it was the other way around. But at this point, was Nico even considered a human?

"I've got it under control." Nico muttered, his voice sounded unsteady. He pulled out a black metal sword out of nowhere and the spirit-thingies flinched at the sight. "One at a time." The boy ordered, pointing his sword towards the grave, which now looked more like a cauldron, with all the food in it.

The blue creatures formed a single file line and knelt and drank out of the pool one by one, their transparent hands holding French fries. After the first one stood, it appeared more human—a teenage boy in anicent battle armor, he had curly hair and green eyes, with a seashell on his cape.

"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak." He commanded, waving his sword around, almost as if trying to be intimidating.

The boy grimaced and looked around, almost as if he was trying to remember himself. "I am Theseus." He answered hesitantly. His voice sounded drier than sand, and he had an accent that showed he was really, really old.

"Who?" Elara asked, a judgmental look on her face. Theseus furrowed his eyebrows, taking offense to her question. "I slayed the minotaur!" He boasted, and Nico sent her a glare. Elara shrugged. "Never heard of him."

Nico cleared his throat. "How do I retrieve my sister?" Nico hadn't said a lot about his sister to Elara, only that she was dead and he had a way to get her back. Honestly, Elara thought about sending him to the mental institution where her dad was. Maybe they could be roomates.

In all reality, Elara couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy. He was just a kid who wanted his sister back. Maybe summoning the dead and interrogating them wasn't the best way to get her back, but he was very dedicated. She probably would've done the same if she were in his position.

Theseus's eyes were dull and lifeless. "Do not try. It is madness." He answered, sounding like a robot programmed to say certain words.

"Just tell me!" Nico screamed, his voice fragile and fists clenched.

"My stepfather died," Theseus said. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth. I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."

Ghost-pet Macrus hissed. "My lord! the soul exchange! Ask him about that!" Elara was very confused. And bored. She could care less about all of this ghost drama.

  Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."

  "No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"

  "I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.

  "I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"

Theseus was looking for Marcus the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him. Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico.
"The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."

"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide vou, my lord Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."

"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"

"I— must say yes. But the specter-"

"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.

Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.

"Enough! Stop it now!" Elara shouted at everyone, pretending to not be freaked out.

"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"

"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."

"Who?" Nico demanded.

"He comes to find the source of this power, The necklace—" Theseus said helplessly, pointing at the necklace on Elara. "You must release us."

  "Stop it!" Elara yelled once again, then the ground began to shake. She and Nico fell to the ground and everything started to glow brightly. She looked away, shielding her eyes. Just out of the corner of her eye, there was a misty image of a (very cute) boy her age with brown hair and sea-green eyes. He looked just as terrified and confused as she was before the picture evaporated.

EVIE SPEAKS
got lazy towards the end but yk
anyways.... crackson crumbs
ty to bailey for the shipname