Young Samurai: The Way of Fire (short story) Read Online Free Page B

Akiko.
    She grabbed the winded Saburo and, with Yamato, hauled him up the path towards the safety of the Hall of Lanterns.
    ‘Thank you,’ Emi gasped, as Jack helped the
daimyo
’s daughter to her feet.
    ‘Thank me when it’s over,’ said Jack, quickly unwinding the chain from his sword and discarding the heavy
manriki-gusari
into the bushes.
    Jack and Emi hurried after their friends.
    ‘Who are they? What do they want?’ cried Emi, her face pale with shock.
    ‘I think they’re after –’
    But Jack didn’t finish his sentence. The ninja’s
manriki-gusari
shot out of the darkness and wrapped itself round his throat. Letting out a strangled cry, he was yanked off his feet and dragged into the depths of the graveyard.
    Akiko, hearing his cry, ran back to save him.
    Half choking to death, Jack saw her leap into the air, cartwheeling over his body to land a front kick in the ninja’s chest. The assassin dropped his weapon as he was forced into close combat with Akiko.
    Jack pulled the chain from his neck and staggered to his feet.
    For a moment Akiko seemed to be overpowering her attacker, then the ninja thrust a spear-hand strike into a nerve-point beneath her shoulder. Akiko’s entire left arm went slack and her eyes widened in panic. With her arm useless, she was unable to defend herself properly.
    The ninja wound up to strike. Jack had only seconds to react. Recalling his time on-board ship throwing the mooring lines round dock bollards, he spun the ninja’s chain above his head and released it. The chain sailed through the air, wrapping round the ninja and binding his arms to his side.
    With the assassin immobilized, Jack knocked him to the ground and pulled free the
sageo
cord from his
saya
. With a few deft twists of the cord and a self-tightening gunner’s knot, he had the ninja’s wrists bound behind his back.
    ‘That should hold him,’ said Jack, running over to Akiko who was rubbing her paralysed arm. ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘I’m fine. It’s already loosening up.’
    With Jack’s attention focused on Akiko, the ninja silently flipped to his feet. Letting out all his breath and relaxing his muscles, he shrugged off the slackened
manriki-gusari
.
    ‘Watch out!’ Akiko cried.
    Jack looked back over his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. He can’t do much harm with his hands tied behind his back.’
    The ninja laughed. Jumping into the air, he brought his feet up and back through his arms. He landed neatly, his bound hands now in front. Jack and Akiko exchanged a look of amazement then, realizing the danger they were back in, sprinted away.
    ‘Hurry!’ shouted Akiko, catching up with the others. ‘He’s right behind us.’
    ‘Not that way!’ warned Yamato, as another ninja dropped from the trees to block their escape.
    This assassin, a
tantō
blade glinting in one hand, headed directly for Jack. Through the slit in the ninja’s hood, Jack could see a single emerald-green eye glaring at him. Jack’s blood ran cold.
    It was Dragon Eye.

Dragon Eye
     
    ‘Run, young samurai.
Run!
’ hissed Dragon Eye.
    No one moved.
    ‘It’s the
gaijin
I want,’ he said, pointing the knife at Jack.
    Emi glanced fearfully at Jack. He realized she thought this was a revenge attack for the time he’d stopped Dragon Eye assassinating her father, the
daimyo
of Kyoto, earlier that year. But Jack knew different. The ninja was here to find out where he’d hidden the precious
rutter
.
    Dragon Eye took a step closer.
    ‘
No!
’ screamed Emi, kicking out to knock the
tantō
from his grasp.
    Dragon Eye deftly evaded the attack, slashing her thigh with his knife. She screamed as she dropped to the ground, grasping her bleeding leg.
    ‘Any other heroes?’ enquired the ninja, placing the tip of his blade under Emi’s chin. ‘It would be a shame to ruin such a pretty face.’
    Jack knew there was only one way to save his friends.
    ‘If you want me, come and get me,’ Jack challenged, turning and running off into