Sounded like a fucking nightmare to me, but that was why he was the monster hunter and not me. “So…when do you want to start the hunt?”
“We must do so soon.” Seiji glanced at Lachlan. “I cannot recommend releasing the locker until the beast is subdued.”
Lachlan looked back with open delight.
Now, that said—“Seiji, where’d you grow up?”
“Eh? Uh…” He blinked, visibly switching mental tracks. “New Hampshire, why?”
“Now, I’m from the Deep South, and down where I’m from, the phraseI wouldn’t recommend itmeans it’s suicidal or close enough. Is that what you’re saying?”
“In essence, you could interpret it that way?” Seiji made a wry face, nose wrinkled up. “Part of the reason why the beast is still in the mines is because it’s trapped there with everything else. But if I release the locker, it’ll release it, too. I do not wish to chase it around this desert.”
“Oh. Yeah, no.” That just sounded like a nightmare. It sent shivers up my spine just contemplating the possibility.
Lachlan sobered. “I say we tackle the beastie tomorrow, Seiji. If we can’t track the beastie or feel like we can’t defeat it, we need to know now. Either call in another expert to help us, or just leave the ghost town alone until another team can come in.”
It was the most sensible thing I’d heard from him today.
Then his shit-eating grin curled his mouth up again. “It’ll make for a fun workday tomorrow, for sure.”
Incorrigible, this man.
Davina sighed. “I guess I’m going with you lot tomorrow.”
“I’d appreciate the backup.” Seiji looked thoughtful. “The idea of calling in another expert to handle this appeals, but I do not even know who to call.”
That was the trick, wasn’t it? I mean, we’d been in a similar situation in the Highlands, which was how I’d met Lachlan. Butwe’d already paused and waited on an expert. How many experts did it take to handle Black Rock?
Too many. Was too many a valid answer? I thought so.
But this brought up another question. “I feel bad about leaving all the ghosts trapped in the ghost town if you can’t defeat the monster. Would we try to get them out, at least?”
“We can try.” Seiji didn’t look sold on this possibility. “We might run out of time, if you have to hunt down each ghost and hand-carry them through.”
“That’s my main fear,” I admitted on a long, tired sigh. “We’re spending so much time here as it is.”
“Let’s not borrow trouble,” Davina advised. “If we can kill the beastie, then we’ll be in grand shape.”
“True,” I said. “I guess tomorrow will tell?”
“If we can track it down.” Seiji shrugged and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I will at least attempt to get video of this thing, something to show colleagues. I’d feel better knowing what it is.”
There was a reason for the sayinghard to combat the unknown. I just hoped a Scottish Highlander could handle an American monster, because lordy, I did not like the sound of plan B.
22
I sat in our room later in the evening, talking to Dad. I had my back braced against the headboard, legs propped up over two pillows, pants on the floor. I literally couldn’t get more comfortable. I had the phone in my hand and the call on speaker since no one else was in the room.
I’d wanted to fill my parents in better about Gwyn, since we’d been cut short the previous two calls. They had the basics but not much else. They were excited about another girl in the family, which was how they saw it.
“Two talents, eh?” Dad mused. “Wow. This is quite the kid.”
“I know it. And she’s just such a sweet, gentle person. Very much a bookworm, and smart, god. So smart. She’s picking things up really fast. Granted, I think everyone on the team has stopped and taught her something at least once, so she’s getting it on all sides. But yeah, she’ll be unstoppable once fully trained.”
“And this Seiji person. You think he’ll train her too?”
“It seems so. Look, to me, Seiji’s a great guy. He’s been helpful since coming in, he does things outside of his job description to protect us, and he strikes me as a good dude. I would love for Jon to take a look and verify that, but my own instincts are saying I can trust him with Gwyn.”
