Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (20 page)

‘We’re in grave trouble,’ said Hayato with dismay. ‘I count forty-
five
bandits and that Kurochi has a gun!’

‘It takes time to prime and reload, though,’ said Jack, recalling the pistols his father had owned. ‘We can hide behind our defences, then attack once he’s fired his first shot.’

‘But there are bound to be other bandits with muskets. And I’ve seen what these dishonourable weapons can do on the battlefield. They’ll slaughter us without ever coming close enough to fight.’

‘Muskets need gunpowder,’ said Miyuki thoughtfully.

‘Then we have to even up the odds,’ said Jack.

Although they’d embarked on a surveillance mission, faced by such a formidable and well-armed enemy, he realized they needed to take direct action.

‘What are you proposing?’ asked Hayato.

‘Destroy their supply.’

‘Or steal it,’ proposed Miyuki, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

‘We could also let loose their horses,’ said Jack.

‘Why stop there?’ said Hayato, warming to the idea. ‘Let’s fight fire with fire. Burn their camp to the ground!’

‘Now you’re thinking like a ninja!’ said Miyuki.

Hayato grimaced at this, his samurai pride offended by the comparison, but he refrained from answering back.

‘But if you attack, Akuma might suspect our village and seek revenge,’ interjected Sora, an anxious look on his wrinkled face. ‘He’ll utterly destroy us!’

‘He’ll do that anyway,’ said Hayato. ‘Besides, Akuma has many enemies. He won’t know who’s responsible.’

‘And without a base, horses or gunpowder, the bandits’ ability to mount an attack will be severely compromised,’ said Miyuki.

Jack nodded his agreement. ‘We wait until they’re asleep. Then strike.’

It wasn’t long before the bandits fell into a drunken stupor and the sound of snoring filled the vast bunkhouse. Akuma had retired to a
futon
on an upper level, closing the screen behind him, the only one to have a room to himself.

Once they were certain everyone was asleep, Miyuki led the way to the storehouse. Keeping close to the side wall, they crept round to its entrance.

Suddenly she held up a hand for them to stop.

Jack and the others froze. Beneath the flickering light of an oil lamp, a bandit sat beside the door. Evidently meant to guard it, he was slumped on a bench, head bowed, eyes closed, an empty bottle of
saké
at his feet.

Miyuki signed for Jack and the others to wait. Using her ninja stealth walk, she approached the slumbering man. With a thumb, she pressed a nerve point in his neck. The guard barely roused before he slid to the floor in a heap.

Jack hurried over. ‘Is he dead?’

Miyuki shook her head as they dragged the bandit’s body into the shadows. ‘No, but he’ll wake up in the morning with a crippling headache and remember nothing.’

Hayato tried the door. ‘It’s locked!’

Miyuki searched the bandit for a key, but came up with nothing.

‘We’ll have to break it open,’ said Jack, looking round for a heavy rock.

‘That’ll make too much noise,’ replied Miyuki.

Jack felt a tug on his sleeve. Neko was pointing to a slatted window beneath the eaves. It was just wide enough for her to slip through. With Jack and Hayato’s help, she clambered up and inside. A few moments later, the door slid open.

Good work!
signed Jack.

Neko signed back,
Easy!

Sora held up the bandit’s lamp. The storehouse was packed to the rafters with goods of all kind. Bales of rice,
saké
barrels, dried fish, lamp oil, swathes of cloth, spears, swords, several muskets and gunpowder. The spoils of countless raids.

‘Must you destroy
all
this?’ asked Sora, his eyes hungrily taking in the mounds of rice.

‘I’m afraid so,’ said Hayato. ‘An army marches on its stomach. This will be a serious blow to Akuma and his men.’

‘But won’t he just go on the rampage? Take everything we have?’

‘Whatever happens, Akuma intends to raid your village next,’ reminded Jack. ‘But this time, you’ll be ready for him. And we’ll put a stop to his attacks, once and for all.’

‘Besides, we’ll use the oil lamp to make it look like an accident,’ said Miyuki, taking the light from Sora. She went over and examined the weaponry. ‘But first we’ll steal back some of this.’

She rolled out two small casks of gunpowder and a large ceramic jar of lamp oil.

‘We can’t carry those,’ said Hayato. ‘They’ll slow us down.’

‘You’re right – we need to make a quick escape,’ said Jack and turned to Sora. ‘Go and free the horses, but keep five of the best for us to ride. Plus one more to carry the supplies and a bale or two of rice for the village.’

Sora seemed satisfied at this. Jack signed for Neko to help the old farmer and the two of them hurried out and across the yard to the stables. A short while later, Jack heard whinnying and hoped the noise wouldn’t wake any of the bandits.

Hayato picked up a flint-and-steel firelighter and a spare jar of lamp oil. ‘I’ll set fire to the bunkhouse, while you two finish up here. Akuma deserves a fiery awakening!’

‘We’ll meet you by the trees,’ said Jack. ‘And don’t wait around! I want us to be long gone when all this goes up in flames.’

Hayato nodded in acknowledgement.

‘Be careful,’ said Miyuki.

Hayato glanced back, surprised at her apparently sincere concern. ‘You too.’

Then he disappeared into the night.

Miyuki selected a few more supplies and Jack hauled them outside. She then cast lamp oil over the walls and floor before running a line of gunpowder to the door. Neko reappeared with the horses and Jack hurriedly loaded them up.

‘You go ahead,’ said Miyuki. ‘I’m nearly done.’

‘I’ll be waiting for you,’ replied Jack, holding her gaze a moment. At times, her courage and daring reminded him so much of Akiko.

Following the edge of the lake, Jack and Neko led the horses over to the treeline, tethered them, and concealed themselves behind a boulder. They watched the camp in tense silence. Beneath the pale light of the waning moon, it was hard to make out much movement. A few horses were gathered at the water’s edge drinking, but the rest had bolted. To Jack’s relief, none of the bandits had stirred – or else they were too drunk to react.

Their plan was going to work.

He saw Miyuki place the lamp on the ground. She kicked it over and there was a burst of flame. For a brief moment she was silhouetted against the intense light.

Running as fast as she could, Miyuki raced across the open ground to where Jack and Neko were hiding. Behind her, an orange glow blossomed within the storehouse, smoke billowing out of the door.

Reaching the treeline, she glanced back at her handiwork.

‘They’ll have trouble putting that out,’ she said, pleased with herself.

‘Have you seen Hayato?’ Jack asked.

Miyuki shook her head. ‘I thought he was already with you.’

They scanned the camp for him, the fire within the storehouse illuminating the bunkhouse.

‘I can’t see him,’ said Miyuki, concern edging her voice.

A moment later, a shadow bolted through the darkness. Hayato bounded over rocks and boulders without looking back once.

‘It took a while to light,’ he explained, breathless. ‘The thatch is all wet, but eventually it caught. It’ll take time to burn through, but we’ve landed our first blow against Akuma!’

They all felt a heady rush of victory.

‘Let’s go!’ said Jack, keen to escape while they could.

‘Where’s Sora?’ asked Hayato.

Miyuki and Jack looked at one another. In their haste, they’d completely forgotten about the old farmer.

‘Surely he’s freed every horse by now,’ said Miyuki.

Jack looked over to the stables, but Sora wasn’t anywhere in view. Miyuki signed urgently to Neko, but she didn’t know where he was either.

Then in the flickering firelight, Jack spotted Sora heading towards the rear of the bunkhouse.

‘What’s he
doing
?’ said Hayato angrily.

‘Stay here!’ ordered Jack. ‘I’ll get him.’

‘Hurry!’ said Miyuki. ‘Those bandits won’t be asleep much longer.’

Jack sprinted back to the camp, keeping his eyes peeled for the enemy. He found Sora at the back, both arms reaching through an open window.

‘
What are you doing?
’ hissed Jack. ‘
We must leave now!
’

Sora turned to him with pleading eyes. ‘But we can’t …’

He moved aside to reveal the tearful face of a young girl.

‘I’ve found my daughter, Miya!’

34

RESCUE

Behind Miya were countless other girls, their faces forlorn and lost.

Jack turned on Sora. ‘Why didn’t you say something
earlier
?’

Wringing his hands, Sora sobbed, ‘I’d given up hope of ever seeing her again. Then when that tea girl appeared, I just thought … maybe …’

‘But Hayato’s set the bunkhouse on fire!’ exclaimed Jack.

Sora’s eyes widened in panic and he began to yank at the barred window. The slats didn’t shift at all. Jack pushed him aside. The girls were crammed into a room separate from the main area.

‘Can you get out of there?’ he whispered to Miya.

The girl shook her head. ‘The door’s locked at night and there’s always a guard.’

Jack studied the bunkhouse wall. It was built of solid tree trunks. He wouldn’t have any hope of breaking through. In the background, he could hear the growing crackle of the fire. He was fast running out of time to save them.

‘Go back to the trees and tell Miyuki,’ he ordered Sora. ‘I’m going in to free your daughter and the other girls.’

Sora nodded. But he remained rooted to the spot, unable to tear himself away from his imprisoned daughter.

Jack gave him a shove. ‘Hurry!’

This broke Sora’s trance and, stealing a final look at Miya, he ran off into the night.

Jack spotted a back door, but it was barred shut. There was another window further along. He was about to try it, when he noticed several dark shapes outlined against the snow. A pack of dogs slept in the far corner of the yard … their bellies round and full.

Jack backed slowly away. He didn’t want to see any more. Nor did he wish to wake the bloodthirsty hounds.

Once he was safely round the corner, he dashed to the front entrance and eased the door open. The bandits lay sprawled throughout the room, straw blankets thrown across themselves. Many looked to be comatose from the effects of too much
saké
; others were fast asleep and snoring loudly. Above, smoke poured through the thick thatch and formed a deadly cloud in the rafters, but the tang of woodsmoke from the still-burning hearth helped mask the fire in the roof. Jack prayed he could get the girls out before any of the bandits stirred.

Moving silently and swiftly, just as he’d been taught by the ninja Grandmaster, Jack weaved between the unconscious bodies to a
shoji
at the back of the room. Sliding it open a crack, he spied a large cooking area and over to his left a barred door. Beside it squatted a bandit, who gave a great yawn then began to pick at his teeth in boredom.

Although the man was completely off-guard, Jack realized that, before he had a chance to silence him, the bandit could raise the alarm. Ninja stealth wouldn’t help him in this instance. But a simple disguise might work …

Looking around, he found a discarded
saké
bottle. Then, pulling his straw hat over his face, Jack boldly opened the door and staggered inside. In the gloom of the kitchen, he hoped to fool the guard.

‘Got … any … more?’ Jack slurred, holding up the empty bottle.

Barely looking at him, the guard grumbled, ‘You know we’re not allowed any when on guard duty.’

Stumbling closer, Jack was almost on top of the man before the bandit realized his fatal error. Reaching for his sword, the guard went to shout a warning. But Jack drove forwards and struck him with Fall Down Fist – one of the Sixteen Secret Fists of the ninja, the blow instantly knocked the man out. He dropped to the floor like a sack of cloth.

Raising the wooden bar off its mountings, Jack yanked the door open. The girls cowered in the corner, afraid he might be a bandit. Jack lifted the hat from his face and they now stared in awe. Some were even more terrified by his foreign features, clearly believing him to be a spirit.

‘Follow me!’ he hissed. ‘And be quiet.’

Miya was the first to move and the other girls, overcoming their initial shock, quickly fell in line.

Checking the main hall, Jack discovered it had filled with smoke and the air was rapidly thickening into an impenetrable fog. Although the bandits lay below the line of the noxious grey cloud, a few were beginning to cough and splutter in their sleep.

Jack led the girls through the haze as quickly as he dared. They tried to cover their mouths, but it was impossible not to choke on the foul air. One of the girls started having a coughing fit and Jack urged them to hurry before she woke every bandit in the room. But they were frustratingly slow, petrified of stepping on their captors. Reaching the door, he ushered Miya out.