The Way Of The Dragon (36 page)

Their two swords clashed.

Black Cloud shattered the Shizu blade in two.

As Jack stared in shock at the useless stub of sword he now wielded, Dragon Eye kicked him in the chest.

Landing upon a blazing
tatami
, Jack screamed as his hand entered the flames, forcing him to drop his
wakizashi
. He rolled away from the fire, but was stopped by the edge of a blade.

‘Kunitome swore on his life that this was the best sword he’d ever made,’ said Dragon Eye, inspecting Black Cloud with grim satisfaction. ‘He was right. Now kneel,
gaijin
.’

Faced with the
kissaki
of the
ninjatō
, Jack got to his knees.

He’d failed. Despite all his Two Heavens training, Dragon Eye had proved too powerful an adversary.

Dragon Eye raised Black Cloud aloft, pausing a moment to allow a malicious grin to spread across his ruined face.

‘I’m going to take immense pleasure in beheading you.’

Recalling Masamoto’s Two Heavens training –
obtain victory by any means and with any weapon
– Jack silently slipped the ninja
tantō
from the back of his
obi
.

‘You once told me,’ said Jack, as Dragon Eye relished his coming moment of triumph, ‘
Never hesitate.
’

Jack sliced the demon blade across the ninja’s leg.

Crying out in shock and pain, Dragon Eye staggered back.

Jack jumped to his feet, knife in hand. But Dragon Eye recovered faster than he’d expected. Black Cloud flashed like a bolt of lightning towards his neck.

All of a sudden the wall to their right exploded as a cannonball ripped through the chamber. The hunting scene was obliterated and flaming chunks of wall flew through the air, knocking Jack and Dragon Eye off their feet.

Jack landed on the devastated balcony, pieces of gold leaf falling around him like snow. Completely disorientated, his head ringing, Jack stared down at the ground eight floors below. He could see Red Devils swarming like ants across the courtyard and Jack felt a sickening wave of vertigo pulling him over the edge.

He rolled away, gasping for breath, the deadly
tantō
still in his grasp.

To his left lay Dragon Eye, barely conscious.

He crawled over to him.

‘Now
your
time has come,’ said Jack, raising the knife to deliver the killing blow.

He would avenge his father’s death.

End the nightmares.

Kill the ninja.

The Devil blade seemed to pulse in Jack’s hand like a heartbeat.

The name etched into the steel glinted red in the fires, calling to him.

Kunitome.
Kill
.
Kill
.
Kill!

Far in the recesses of his mind, Jack heard the warning of the tea-house owner.

Such a weapon hungers for blood, impels their owner to commit murder.

Jack felt its power.

The bloodlust was almost overwhelming.

Jack held the
tantō
high above his head.

But his hand was stayed by the memory of Sensei Yamada on the night Jack had chosen to follow the Way of the Warrior. His Zen master had explained the essence of
bushido
and what it meant to be samurai.

The Way of the Warrior is not to destroy and kill, but to foster life. To protect it.

Jack realized that, however much pain and suffering Dragon Eye had caused, he could not be ruled by vengeance.

He wasn’t a murderer like this ninja.

Indeed, sparing the ninja’s life might save another’s. Akiko’s brother, Kiyoshi.

‘NO!’ screamed a voice as he brought down the knife.

Throwing the Devil blade over the balcony and into the night, Jack turned to see Akiko at the top of the stairs.

‘I thought you were going to kill him,’ she said, picking her way through the burning ruins of the chamber.

Leaving the comatose Dragon Eye where he lay, Jack rushed to meet Akiko, happier than ever to see her. ‘I almost did,’ he replied, glad to be rid of the
tantō
‘s murderous influence. ‘But he’s worth more to you alive than dead.’

‘Are you hurt?’ she said, her eyes widening at the appalling state he was in.

Jack examined himself. Black with ash, his armour charred, a split lip where the Red Devil had punched him, his left hand burnt and his hair a tangle of dust and debris, he must have looked half-dead.

‘It’s nothing serious,’ he replied, as she inspected his hand.

‘When we found Father Bobadillo dead in his study, I was worried for you –
WATCH
OUT!’

Akiko shoved Jack to the floor.

Suddenly she was yanked off her feet and disappeared over the balcony.

Jack heard her screaming as she fell.

‘My patience is at its end,
gaijin
,’ hissed Dragon Eye. ‘Give me the
rutter
or I let her go.’

Dragon Eye was holding on to a
kaginawa
. The hooked climbing rope, having wrapped itself round Akiko’s body, was now snapped taut under her weight.

Jack’s eyes flicked to the ninja’s sword lying in the rubble between them.

‘Don’t even
think
about it,’ said Dragon Eye, letting the rope slip a little through his fingers. ‘She’ll be dead before you take your first step.’

Jack had no choice. He opened his bag and reached for the logbook.

‘I’d hurry if I were you,’ said Dragon Eye, a sadistic smile curling the corner of his twisted mouth. ‘I’m losing my grip.’

Handing him the
rutter
, Jack demanded, ‘Now give me the rope.’

‘Certainly,’ said Dragon Eye, letting go.

‘NO!’ screamed Jack, diving for the
kaginawa
as it rapidly uncoiled, the rope fast disappearing over the edge.

His hands caught hold, but the line continued to run through his fingers. The rope cut deep into his palms. But he’d suffered worse on the rigging of the
Alexandria
and clamped down harder, biting his lip against the pain.

Drawing on all his reserves of strength, he slowed the
kaginawa
to a stop. He heard Akiko cry out. At least he knew she was still alive.

Bracing himself against a balcony post, Jack began to haul her back to safety. Hand over hand he pulled up the rope, but his arms began to tremble with the effort and he felt the rope once again slipping through his fingers.

‘Your efforts are heroic, but ultimately wasted,’ said Dragon Eye, standing over Jack, the
rutter
in one hand, Black Cloud in the other.

‘You’ve got the
rutter
!’ gasped Jack, struggling to keep hold. ‘What
more
do you want?’

‘Revenge,’ he replied, raising the sword. ‘Now, shall I kill you? Or shall I cut the rope first and watch you suffer?’

There was a thud as a wooden staff struck the back of the ninja’s head. Reeling from the blow, Dragon Eye dropped the logbook and crashed into the balcony rail before toppling over it head first, Black Cloud disappearing with him into the night.

A bandaged Yamato hobbled up to Jack. ‘I think Sensei Kano would consider
that
a last resort situation!’ he grinned, retrieving his
bō
.

He glanced round at the devastation. ‘Where’s Akiko?’

Jack nodded towards the edge, too shattered to speak, as he started pulling her up again.

Yamato looked nervously over the balcony. ‘I can see her! She’s almost at the -‘

A gloved hand shot from the darkness below, grabbing Yamato by the throat. Yamato desperately held on to the rail as Dragon Eye tried to pull him over. Jack lashed out with a stomping kick to the ninja’s chest. But he sacrificed a length of rope in the process and strained hard not to lose Akiko completely. The kick failed to dislodge Dragon Eye, but it was enough to force him to let go of Yamato.

Moving away from the balcony, Yamato grabbed his
bō
with both hands and prepared to fight back. Dragon Eye flipped over the rail to land beside him. Targeting Yamato’s wounded side, Dragon Eye roundhouse-kicked him in the midriff. But Yamato whipped his
bō
across, blocking the attack. Undeterred, the ninja retaliated with a spinning-hook kick to the head. Once again, Yamato drove his staff at Dragon Eye’s leg and stopped it.

He then lashed out with the end of his
bō
, aiming for the ninja’s head. But Dragon Eye ducked beneath it, flipping away as Yamato followed through with a rising strike.

Jack could only watch as Yamato fought bravely on, his staff twirling through the air in a series of devastating attacks. But Dragon Eye constantly ducked and dived, waiting for Yamato to tire and make a fatal mistake.

Yamato drove the tip of his
bō
at Dragon Eye’s chest. The ninja, evading it, grabbed the end and at the same time side-kicked Yamato in the ribs. Yamato crumpled under the blow, blood soaking through his bandages as his wound reopened.

But Yamato would not surrender.

He rolled the staff over, trapping Dragon Eye’s wrist in a lock. Bellowing a war cry, he drove the ninja backwards on to the balcony. Dragon Eye crashed against the now weakened rail and it gave way.

Yamato began to pummel Dragon Eye with his staff, striking him both in the head and sides. The ninja tried to block the barrage of blows, but they rained down on him from every direction.

‘
You killed my brother!
‘ yelled Yamato, his fury and pain fuelling his attack.

As Dragon Eye was driven off the balcony, he made a final lunge for Yamato, catching hold of the boy’s ankle. Yamato was dragged over the edge with him. There was a sharp crack as the
bō
caught between the two broken rail posts. A split appeared in the shaft, fracturing like ice along the grain.

‘JACK!’ cried Yamato, desperately clinging on.

But Jack was faced with an impossible choice.

He could rescue Akiko. Or save Yamato.

But he couldn’t do both.

‘Pull yourself up, Yamato!’ urged Jack, frantically hauling in Akiko’s rope.

‘I can’t,’ he gasped, the staff splintering. ‘Dragon Eye’s climbing my leg!’

‘Hold on, I’m coming,’ said Jack, realizing if the ninja reached the balcony, no one would survive.

‘No, save Akiko!’ insisted Yamato, as a gloved hand clasped on to his
obi
.

‘But you’ll die -‘

Yamato, his pale face suddenly resolute, nodded.

‘But I’ll die with honour.’

The staff cracked loudly on the verge of snapping.

‘Tell my father I know what it means to be a Masamoto. It means sacrifice. For your lord, family and friends.’

Dragon Eye’s malevolent green eye rose up behind Yamato’s shoulder.

‘You’ve been a loyal friend, Jack.
Sayonara
, my brother.’

With that Yamato let go, taking Dragon Eye with him into the darkness.

*   *   *

Jack pulled the sobbing Akiko into his arms.

She’d witnessed it all. Dragon Eye hanging off Yamato’s leg, crawling up him like a black widow spider, then the two of them tumbling into the night.

‘He died for
us
,’ she croaked, her skin bruised and raw where the
kaginawa
had bitten in.

Jack could only hold her, his grief too great to speak, sorrow silencing his joy at her survival.

Masamoto had said the Way of the Warrior is found in death.

Jack now understood. Yamato was the very essence of
bushido
. His unwavering loyalty had saved both their lives. His decision to let go had taken great courage. And by fighting to the bitter end against the ninja who’d killed his brother, Yamato had died with honour.

He’d lived the life of a true samurai.

Among the ruins of the chamber, Jack spotted the torn hood of Dragon Eye’s
shinobi shizoku
fluttering in the breeze.

He was surprised to feel nothing at the ninja’s fate. No pleasure. No satisfaction. Not even a sense of relief. Just a numbness and the ever-aching emptiness in his heart at the loss of his father. Not even Dragon Eye’s death could bring back his father. The wound in his heart hadn’t been healed.

Jack realized it probably never would be.

Akiko, wiping her tears away, looked sadly up at Jack.

Jack knew she must be grieving, not only for Yamato, but for her brother too, her hope of discovering his whereabouts gone with Dragon Eye.

‘Forever bound to one another,’ she whispered, taking Jack’s hand.

He was about to respond, when the keep was rocked by another cannonball blast to its walls. The chamber began to collapse around them burying his
wakizashi
and threatening to do the same to them.

‘We have to go,’ said Jack, pulling Akiko to her feet and putting the
rutter
back in his bag.

Jack may have found the logbook, but he’d lost almost everything else.

Masamoto’s swords. His loyal friend, Yori. A samurai brother.

But he had
no
intention of losing Akiko.

His only thoughts were of escape.

Jack and Akiko dashed down the stairs, past the corpses of Satoshi and his retainers. He snatched up two of the attendants’ used
wakizashi
and gave one to Akiko, who’d lost her bow in the fall over the balcony.

On the sixth floor, they discovered
daimyo
Kamakura’s ninja had breached the
donjon
itself. Four samurai lay dead at the foot of the stairs and further down the corridor ninja were slipping in and out of the shadows, silently assassinating the personal guard of the Council.

‘
Daimyo
Takatomi!’ said Akiko in alarm. ‘He went to his room to check on Emi.’

She rushed off down a side corridor, Jack hot on her heels. Approaching the
shoji
, their worst fears were confirmed. His bodyguards were already dead, their throats slit.

Peeking through the open
shoji
, Jack glimpsed
daimyo
Takatomi preparing tea. It was a bizarre sight among such carnage. Beside him sat Emi, her bandaged leg outstretched, a cup in her hand. Surrounding them were four ninja. But they hadn’t attacked. In fact, they appeared to be holding the two of them captive. It seemed
daimyo
Kamakura had alternative plans for his old friend.