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