which caused the floor of the pool to drain!
Steam began to surge through the ice water, causing the Mayor to slosh back and forth. I grabbed his arm and held on.
The ghost, meanwhile, had proceeded to chase after a squealing Percy. He ran out into the hall as the ghost thrust the sword at him. Percy immediately shut the sliding door in her face, and I was astounded to see that it actually caught the blade of the sword between the wooden slats.
I immediately sprang up, jostled into the ghost, pulled the sword back into the room and sent it sliding across the floor to the Mayor who was emerging from the waters. The Mayor rushed with the sword, slashing through the mechanical obi of the ghost, and at the same time, to my great surprise, the blade absorbed the spirit! The blade itself acted like those bottles of ghost-glass which kept spirits captive! How ingenious!
Now the monster attacks were piling on for that Italian beauty. First a wave of spiders, and now a vengeful ghost! I can only imagine what skills The Mayor has learned to protect his beloved Venice from his encounter with that specter! Perhaps he learned to be mindful of posted rules, at least.
But the blade was contraband, and the Japanese government stepped in to prevent its removal from the premises. It was placed in a prominent display in the entryway. Our tour group was rightfully chastised from bringing weapons into the bathhouse which contributed to the death of one of the employees. It seems one or more of our group did in fact come with the intent to catch the infamous Onryō, and if monster hunting requires such a duplicitous nature, I ' m not so sure I could ever be proud to consider myself one of their number.
little lake on its head out in the wilderness, but I think this is utter nonsense.
TUESDAY, JULY THE TWENTY-SEVENTH
Our journey took us across a channel to China where we boarded a train to travel inland. The train ran high on a track set in the mountain peaks. I awoke from my happy dreams one morning to hear a commotion outside my berth. I grabbed some accouterments and stepped out into the hallway. The entire car was filled with gasping passengers, staring out the windows. The monster hunters were all moving steadily through the crowd to the dining car, which had the biggest windows. I followed them. Outside, high above the cliffs, flying alongside the train was a dragon!
I was filled with wonder that I cannot describe. The power of the creature, encased in some horrible metal shell, body coiling like a streamer on the wind, sparking and fuming. The rays that shone forth from his head! His body seemed made of fire! A group of passengers began to point and gasp. Outside the train, hanging from a ladder, was Thunderboy! I rushed to the window and pounded on it to get his attention, but he leaped into the chasm without hesitation, landing squarely on the dragon ' s head. Immediately thunder crashed around, lightning flashing and our train entered a tunnel. The darkness cut off my view. The thunder rumbled low. I never saw Thunderboy again after that.
MONDAY, JULY THE TWENTY-SIXTH
After scouring the Japanese hillside for goblins for a few days, Percy swore he saw a turtle with a