Young Samurai: The Way of Fire (short story) (7 page)

‘Did you get it?’ he cried.

Jack could only nod. Behind them a great plume of smoke rose into the sky, blocking out the sun. They raced through the snowfield as the volcano awoke from its slumbers. An explosion detonated deep underground and the earth was rent apart. The snow to their right dropped away, a great hiss of scalding steam shooting from the gaping hole as lava poured forth.

Half running, half falling, the three of them fled down the mountainside. Reaching the old lava fields, they could now bound down in huge leaps, their impact cushioned by the thick layers of volcanic ash.

Mount Haku shook again, clots of magma bursting forth from its summit. As rocks rained down, fissures opened up around them and fresh streams of lava bled from the volcano’s wounded sides.

Knocked off their feet, they rolled head over heels down the slope. An avalanche of debris and molten lava now chased them. It surged down the gulley they’d escaped into. Scrambling up its sides, they just managed to reach the crest before the flow engulfed them all.

But now they were trapped, cut off on either side by rivers of lava.

The three young samurai, numb with shock, gazed at the hellish landscape of smoke, ash and fire. Jack couldn’t believe they had got this far and found the cactus, only to be stopped by a volcanic eruption. It was as if the mountain god was angry with them for stealing its flower.

‘It’s all over,’ cried Akiko, wiping the grimy ash from her tear-stained face.

‘There
must
be some way off this ridge,’ insisted Jack, but, when he looked around, he realized the grim truth. They were stranded on an island in a sea of boiling lava.

‘Over here!’ came a faint cry.

On the opposite side of the gulley, beside a clump of green trees, Saburo stood waving his arms and jumping up and down in desperation.

‘We’re cut off!’ shouted Yamato.

Saburo lowered his arms despondently.

‘Can
you
still escape?’ asked Jack.

‘Yes,’ said Saburo, nodding his head. ‘The gulley’s clear on this side.’

Jack looked at his friends. They knew what had to be done.

‘I’ll throw you the gourd,’ he shouted. ‘It has the flower in it. You must get it to Emi.’

‘But what about you?’ cried Saburo.

Jack didn’t reply as he launched the gourd towards his friend. The answer was obvious.

Lava Run

‘No!’ said Saburo, as the gourd sailed through the air and landed safely in his arms. ‘There has to be another way.’

‘Go!’ screamed Akiko. ‘Before it’s too late.’

The ground shook as Mount Haku spewed forth more fire and brimstone. There was a sharp crack and several trees fell into the stream of molten rock. They burst into flame on impact. The tip of one tree, though, landed on the opposite ridge, the whole trunk spanning the river of magma.

‘Praise Buddha!’ Saburo exclaimed. ‘You can cross!’

‘You first, Akiko,’ insisted Jack, pushing her towards the makeshift bridge before she could protest. ‘It’ll be just like running the log during the
gasshuku
.’

‘But without the bamboo traps!’ she replied, flashing him a nervous smile. Weaving nimbly between the branches, Akiko was across in no time.

‘Your turn, Yamato,’ said Jack.

But Yamato didn’t move and Jack could see the terror building in his friend’s eyes. While Yamato hadn’t had a problem with the log in the forest, Jack knew his friend was afraid of heights. Once Yamato had almost plunged to his death using a tree-bridge similar to this to cross a gorge. Now he had the added danger of being boiled alive if he slipped.

‘I’ll be right behind you,’ Jack promised, stepping on to the tree with him.

Yamato shuffled forward. The going was painfully slow and halfway across Jack could smell the sharp aroma of burning pinewood.

The bridge was on fire.

‘Hurry!’ shouted Akiko, frantically beckoning them on.

The tree began to crack and splinter. Jack urged the petrified Yamato to move faster. The trunk suddenly dropped lower over the molten river. Yamato stumbled, screaming as he landed among the scorched branches. Jack lunged forward and grabbed him round the waist. Hanging above the lava, the heat was so intense that all the hair on the backs of his arms was singed.

‘Come on, we don’t want to swim in that!’ exclaimed Jack, dragging Yamato to his feet.

Just as the tree finally succumbed to the flames, the two of them tumbled on to the safety of solid ground.

‘You took your time,’ said Saburo, helping them to their feet and handing Jack the gourd with the flower in it.

‘I’m glad that’s over,’ Yamato gasped, his face pale and drawn.

But it wasn’t.

The last explosion had diverted the lava round Saburo’s ridge too and it was now racing towards them. Soon the land upon which they stood would be swallowed up by molten rock.

‘What now?’ said Akiko, a note of desperation in her voice.

‘Looks like there’s only one way off this mountain,’ said Saburo.

He pointed to the entrance of the old lava tube. Miraculously, the meltwater stream was still running into it, though the flow was rapidly ebbing away.

‘You
are
joking!’ said Akiko, vigorously shaking her head.

‘It’s that or cremation,’ replied Saburo. And, without a moment’s hesitation, he launched himself into the hole, sliding away in the darkness.

‘He’s either crazy, or the bravest samurai I’ve ever met,’ exclaimed Yamato. ‘But what other choice do we have?’

Taking a brief glance around, he then jumped down the tube after Saburo.

Akiko looked at Jack, who was securing the gourd into his
obi
. The lava was about to engulf them. Time was running out.

‘If … if we don’t make it … I want you to know I-I …’ stammered Akiko, her eyes brimming with tears.

There was the sound of an almighty explosion from within the belly of the volcano.

‘Go!’ urged Jack.

Akiko pushed off down the tunnel, Jack following close behind.

He found himself quickly picking up speed as the incline steepened. The tunnel twisted and turned through terrifying blackness. All he could hear was the rush of wind and the gush of running water.

Something hard and brittle whipped into his face, shattering on impact. He felt the warm wetness of blood run down his cheek. Then he remembered the shark-toothed stalactites he’d seen at the lake and lay flat in the hope he would be lucky enough to avoid the razor-sharp shards of rock.

He could hear the cries of his friends ahead of him. The tunnel was becoming lighter. They must be nearing the end of this insane deathslide. Then he realized the orange glow was coming from
behind
. He glanced back to see a wall of red-hot lava coursing down the tube after him, the meltwater bursting into steam on contact.

Jack could do little but pray he’d outrun it.

Antidote

Jack shot out of the end of the tunnel like a cannonball and plunged down into the depths of the lake.

Despite the shock, he swam away underwater, kicking as hard as he could. Surfacing, he turned to see the fiery lava burst out the hole and pour into the lake. Huge clouds of steam billowed into the sky. The lava solidified, slowing and blocking the flow of magma from the lava tube.

A shock wave rolled across the lake, washing Jack and the others towards the shore. Bobbing in the water, they stared at each other utterly astonished to have survived.

‘You’re crazy, Saburo!’ exclaimed Akiko, dunking Saburo’s head beneath the lake’s surface.

‘Maybe,’ he spluttered. ‘But it did save us a long hike down.’

They all laughed with relief.

‘But where’s the flower?’ asked Yamato urgently.

Jack smiled, holding up the precious gourd in his hand.

Yamato looked at the sun, hazy in the ash-cloaked sky. ‘It’s gone midday,’ he said. ‘We have to hurry. We still have a long ride ahead of us.’

By the time they reached Koya-san, the sun had set. They hadn’t stopped to rest or eat and even their horses were near exhaustion as they struggled up Mount Koya to the temple valley. The four young samurai led their steeds to a water trough and ran the final stretch.

At the
shukubo
, Kazuki was the first to greet them. His eyes widened with amazement at the appearance of the four tattered, bleeding and scorched samurai. He said nothing, but there was an urgency to his stride as he accompanied them through the cemetery towards the Hall of Lanterns.

When they reached the glade, Jack could see the body of Emi laid out before the Buddha. Enshrined in a halo of candlelight, she was surrounded by praying monks, all chanting as one. Bending over her, Sensei Yamada was sombrely putting a flame to a new brass lamp.

We’re too late!
thought Jack. Despite all their efforts, they had failed to save the
daimyo
’s daughter.

Sensei Yamada turned to face them. ‘Did you get the flower?’ he asked, ignoring their injuries and ragged appearance.

Jack nodded.

‘Give it to me.’

Jack numbly passed Sensei Yamada the gourd. His Zen master hurriedly emptied its contents into a brass bowl. The pale vanilla-yellow flower floated on the water’s surface like a precious jewel.

‘Can you still save Emi?’ asked Akiko.

‘Perhaps,’ replied their sensei. ‘The monks have been using the power of prayer to extend her life. But the poison’s run deep. She’s barely breathing.’

Working fast, Sensei Yamada pulled the petals from the stem. He immediately lay two over Emi’s eyes. Crushing several others, he rubbed the flakes into her leg wound. Next he mixed broken bits of stem with a red resin, burning the resulting incense under her nose. Finally he boiled the remaining petals and with great care poured the liquid down her throat.

‘Will that be enough?’ asked Akiko.

‘Only time will tell,’ said Sensei Yamada, putting down the empty cup. ‘But for a plant to survive on a volcano, it has to be completely resistant to poisoning. If anything can revive Emi, this will.’

The monks continued to chant.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jack knelt down and joined in the prayers, asking his own God for Emi’s salvation. While ninja were the enemy of all samurai, Jack knew
he
had been the reason for Dragon Eye’s appearance. His nemesis had been after the
rutter
. But Jack couldn’t reveal where it was. His father had sworn him to secrecy, warning him never to let it fall into the wrong hands. But that didn’t wipe away the guilt Jack now felt.

Jack was still praying when the first light of dawn filtered through the forest.

Emi hadn’t moved.

‘You must sleep, Jack,’ urged Akiko, bringing him some tea.

‘How can I?’ said Jack. ‘I’m responsible for this.’

‘No, you’re not. Dragon Eye is the only one to blame. He was the one with the knife.’

‘Did the sensei find him?’ he asked, not taking his eyes off Emi.

‘No. They followed his trail, but lost it as soon as they entered the Iga mountain range.’

Trembling with rage, Jack clenched his fists so hard his fingernails dug into his palms. Yet again Dragon Eye had escaped.

Just then, the two petals on Emi’s eyelids fluttered in a breeze and fell to the floor. Bending down to pick them up, Jack noticed that the flames of the candles surrounding her remained perfectly still. There wasn’t any breeze.

He stared at Emi. Her eyelids parted and she gazed dreamily back at him.

‘Jack?’ she croaked. ‘I feel like I’ve slept for days …’

‘You have,’ Jack replied, too overjoyed to tell her any different.

‘What happened to your face?’ she asked.

Jack’s hand absently touched the cut beneath his eye. ‘Oh … nothing. I fell down a mountain, that’s all.’

Then Sensei Yamada was by Emi’s side and Akiko quietly led Jack away to allow their Zen master to tend the
daimyo
’s daughter. They emerged from the Hall of Lanterns and joined Yamato and Saburo, who were waiting anxiously on the steps for news.

‘She’s survived,’ said Akiko.

‘You’ve saved her, Jack!’ exclaimed Yamato and he punched the air in delight.