Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind (15 page)

With all eyes on the attacking Sea Samurai, Jack picked his way through the pirates towards the cage. He spotted Manzo’s
kumode
lying beside him and snatched it up. Taking the last few paces at speed, Jack rushed the guard and slammed the wooden end of the grappling iron into his jaw. Not expecting an attack from behind, the guard dropped like a felled tree.

As his body thumped to the deck, there was a bloodcurdling roar. Jack looked up, thinking his escape attempt had been discovered. But the three
seki-bune
had closed round the
Black Spider
and the Wind Demons were sounding their battle cry. The air was filled with the
crack
of muskets, the acrid reek of gunpowder and the
whoosh
of flaming arrows. A deep boom rolled like thunder as a cannon was fired. A moment later, a huge geyser of water foamed over the bow of the
Black Spider
. Another deluge of arrows rained on to the deck. Three ninja pirates cried out as the steel tips found their target.

Several arrows clattered off the bamboo cage, one passing through and impaling a Korean prisoner in the arm. Inside, Miyuki and Yori huddled over Saburo’s body. Jack noticed neither of them were performing
Sha
and Miyuki had given up breathing for him.

He was too late!

Jack rammed the bear claw of the
kumode
into the gate’s bars. Throwing all his weight against it, he forced the lock apart and the gate sprang open. He darted over to his friends.

‘Is Saburo … 
dead
?’ asked Jack, almost too afraid to utter the fatal word.

Miyuki turned to him, her face drawn and exhausted. ‘No, I think he’s over the worst of it … but we still need to keep an eye on him.’

Letting out a sigh of relief, Jack smiled at his incapacitated friend. Tugging his pilgrim jacket from the bars, he said, ‘We have to escape right
now
. Do you understand?’

Saburo blinked twice.

Miyuki grabbed Jack’s arm. ‘Saburo can’t swim. How do you expect to get him off the boat?’

‘We tie him to a barrel and tow him.’

‘It’s too dangerous,’ argued Miyuki. ‘He’s still paralysed. If he swallows just one mouthful of water, he could drown.’

‘We’ve got no choice. There’s an island nearby. We escape now … or die at the Wind Demons’ will –’ An explosion rocked the boat, wood splintering as a cannonball ripped through the deck. ‘Or by the hands of the Sea Samurai!’

Arrows peppered the brocade curtains, shredding them and setting others alight. In the background, the
atake-bune
loomed closer, turning its guns broadside.

‘The decision is not for us to make,’ said Yori.

The three of them looked to Saburo.

‘Do
you
want to swim for it?’ asked Jack.

Two blinks.

Repel Boarders

Lifting Saburo on to their shoulders, Jack and Miyuki staggered out of the cage. The other prisoners had already fled, all except the lice-ridden Korean slave.

‘Get out of here while you can,’ urged Jack.

But the Korean merely sat in the corner, picking at the scraps in the cooking pot and observing the battle. He sniggered each time a ninja pirate was wounded or killed.

‘And miss
this
?’ he cackled. ‘Revenge never tasted so sweet.’

The
atake-bune
fired its cannon. The mid-section of the starboard gunwale exploded in a shower of splintering wood, bone and flesh. The Korean applauded the destruction.

Leaving the slave to relish the battle’s bloody progress, Jack and the others stumbled away. Yori was out front, holding the
kumode
to fend off any ninja pirates. But the Wind Demons were all intent upon repelling the Sea Samurai. They were ditching the burning curtains and firing a barrage of arrows and musket shot at the enemy ships. Several of the pirates carried handheld cannon that they rested on the bulwark. Lighting the fuses, they bombarded an advancing
kobaya
, dismembering the samurai crew on-board and sinking the boat.

‘Hurry!’ urged Jack as one of the
seki-bune
came alongside the
Black Spider
. Its mainsail had been dropped and the mast lowered to form a bridge on to the pirate ship. But Saburo was a dead weight, his feet dragging behind as they struggled over to the barrels on the port side.

Grappling irons were thrown and the
Black Spider
held fast. A heavy iron ball bounced on to the deck before them, a short fuse burning fiercely.

‘
TAKE COVER!
’ screamed Miyuki, dropping Saburo beside a pile of coiled ropes and diving on top of him.

Jack and Yori threw themselves next to their friends just as the
horoku
bomb detonated. Iron shards tore in all directions, shredding canvas, timber and pirates alike. As the smoke cleared, screaming filled the air and a massive hole was blasted in the deck. Sea Samurai were clambering across the
seki-bune
’s bridging mast.

‘REPEL BOARDERS!’ cried Captain Kurogumo, who wielded a fearsome crossbow. He fired off a bolt. It struck the first samurai in the chest, passing straight through to kill the samurai behind as well. They both toppled into the sea between the two boats.

As the captain reloaded, another wave of samurai charged on to the
Black Spider
and the Wind Demons engaged them in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Jack raised his head above the cover of the ropes, which had been ripped to ribbons by the
horoku
’s devastating destruction. The Sea Samurai fought tooth-and-claw for supremacy of the
Black Spider
and, as the Wind Demons were pushed back, the route to the bow became blocked.

‘We need our weapons,’ said Miyuki.

Jack nodded, also aware that he couldn’t jump ship without his father’s
rutter
. He saw Cheng rush past with a bucket of sand to douse a fire taking hold near the mast. Jack ran over and grabbed the pirate boy.

‘Where are our belongings?’ he demanded.

Shocked to see Jack and his friends free, Cheng hesitated to reply.

‘Our weapons!’ urged Jack. ‘We
just
want to escape.’

Looking round at the Wind Demons’ desperate situation, Cheng came to a decision. ‘In the captain’s cabin. Follow me.’

‘Stay there and protect Saburo,’ Jack called to Miyuki and Yori as he raced after Cheng.

They sprinted towards the ship’s stern, passing Manzo who sat rubbing his bald head, staring in utter disbelief at the battle raging around him. Skullface and his gang were embroiled in a bitter conflict with a unit of Sea Samurai. Although they were outnumbered, they fought like wild animals, hacking the invaders to pieces.

Reaching the cabin, Cheng slid open the door and led Jack down a corridor. Inside it was dark and cool, the sounds of fighting seeming distant as they ran to the far door.

The captain’s cabin was simple and understated. There was a
tatami
straw bed in one corner, several seating cushions and a long, low wooden table. Light filtered in through bamboo slats and Jack could see his swords and Miyuki’s utility belt laid out across the table’s surface. Their canvas sack was beside it on the floor, along with their pilgrim bags. Jack quickly hunted through them for the
rutter
. But it wasn’t there.

‘What are you looking for?’ asked Cheng.

‘A logbook,’ replied Jack, his panic rising.

‘Is this it?’

Jack turned to Cheng, who stood beside the bed. There lay the
rutter
, its pages open. The captain had evidently been trying to decipher it, when he’d heard the commotion on deck earlier.

‘Thank you,’ said Jack, relieved, as Cheng handed him the logbook.

Wrapping it carefully in its waterproof oilskin, Jack placed the
rutter
inside the canvas bag along with all their other belongings. Jack slipped his swords through his belt and grabbed his straw hat. Even in the midst of the battle, he didn’t want to stand out.

‘If any of the crew stop us,’ said Cheng, helping Jack pick up the bag, ‘I’ll say you forced me at knife point.’

Jack nodded and grinned. ‘I was going to anyway!’

Above them, the sound of feet thundered across the upper deck.

‘Enemy to the stern!’ came a cry, followed by the clash of swords.

‘We’re running out of time,’ said Jack, hurrying down the corridor.

He and Cheng emerged into the sunlight. The
Black Spider
was swarming with samurai. Yet still the Wind Demons fought on.

‘Summon the dragon!’ ordered Captain Kurogumo, firing off his last crossbow bolt before drawing his sword to behead an unfortunate samurai.

The lookout lit the fuse of a black cylinder attached to the foremast. It sparked, then a bright red flare shot up into the sky, blazing a trail of smoke that would be seen for miles. Not wanting to be around when the sea dragon made an appearance, Jack ran as fast as he could to Miyuki and the others. He handed Yori his
shakuj
ō
and Miyuki her
ninjat
ō
.

‘We can’t fight
and
hold Saburo,’ said Miyuki.

‘I’ll help carry him,’ offered Cheng.

Putting Yori’s staff under Saburo’s arms, Yori and Cheng managed to lift his inert body off the ground. Jack and Miyuki drew their swords and began to fight their way through the confusion of combat. Pirate or samurai, they didn’t care – just as long as they edged closer to the barrels.

They were almost to the bow, when a fresh unit of Sea Samurai boarded the
Black Spider
, forming an impenetrable barrier of swords and armour. The unit’s commander confronted Jack, blocking his path with his
katana
.

‘There’s no escape … pirate boy.’

A Pirate’s Punishment

Jack stood, head bowed, on the deck of the
atake-bune
flagship. His friends were by his side, Saburo at his feet, immobile but breathing steadily. The surviving Wind Demons, bloody and beaten, were next to them – including Captain Kurogumo, with Skullface and his gang. They were
all
held in check by a contingent of samurai guards, armed with spears.

Their situation had gone from bad to worse. Not only had the Sea Samurai captured them but they believed Jack and his friends to be ninja pirates!

The guards parted to let through a samurai in blue ceremonial armour. The man’s face was stern and his stare as cold as stone. His cheeks were pinched and he had a pencil-thin moustache that drooped either side of a downturned mouth. On his head, he wore an ornate helmet with a large golden shell-crest set upon its peak. And in his right hand, he held a short stick with a hard brass tip, storm-tossed waves decorating its surface.

‘I’m Captain Arashi, commander of
daimyo
Mori’s naval forces.’

At this news, there was a sharp intake of breath from several of the pirates. Captain Arashi preened his moustache between finger and thumb, apparently satisfied with the response. ‘I’m glad you’ve heard of me – or at least, my reputation. If you cooperate, it’ll make your punishment far swifter … although no less painful.’

He planted the tip of his stick under the jaw of the nearest Wind Demon, Crux, forcing the pirate to look him in the eye.

‘Where’s your pirate base located?’

Crux remained tight-lipped. With crippling speed, Captain Arashi rammed the brass tip into Crux’s throat. The ninja pirate staggered backwards, choking loudly and gasping for air.

‘I only ever ask a question once,’ stated Captain Arashi. ‘And I
expect
a truthful answer.’

Crux glared at the samurai before spitting blood at the man’s feet.

Captain Arashi shook his head with disappointment. He turned to two of the guards. ‘Keel-haul this one.’

Crux’s eyes widened in horror as he was seized and his hands bound behind his back. The two guards dragged him over to the starboard bulwark. They tied a stout line under his arms and around his chest. The line had been threaded through a block hung from the lower yardarm and passed under the ship. The end of the rope on the port side was fastened to Crux’s ankles.