The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [17]
Ninja!
9
THE HIDDEN ENEMY
A combination of fear, anger and determination swept through Jack. Ever since the horrific attack on the Alexandria, ninja were his worst nightmare. Cruel faceless killers, they had no honour, no loyalty and no mercy. They cared only for payment for their services and nothing about the pain and suffering they caused.
Jack knew the Iga mountains were the stronghold of the ninja. But what were they doing here in this little farming village? Had the Shogun employed assassins to find Jack? He wouldn’t be surprised. Kamakura had sunk to such depths during the war. The Shogun had even been in collusion with Dragon Eye.
But these ninja ignored Soke’s abode where Jack was staying. They were headed straight for Shonin’s farmhouse. It seemed the trouble the village was in with daimyo Akechi was enough for the samurai lord to hire assassins himself. Jack had to warn Soke. Running back inside, he knocked on the old man’s door.
‘Soke?’ he called, but got no answer.
Sliding opening the shoji, he found the room empty, the futon unmade. Hanzo wasn’t in the house either. They must be with Shonin still – that meant both were in danger.
Grabbing his swords, he ran out into the night. The pathway between the paddy fields was narrow and wet, and in the darkness proved treacherous. He cursed as his foot slipped into the muddy waters. Why couldn’t the farmers make proper-sized paths?
Stumbling on, he reached the road. The three ninja had already entered the square and had disappeared from view. Jack dashed up the slope and through the gate. The square was deserted, but oil lamps, burning inside the farmhouse, cast orange bars of light across the hard-packed earth.
The main door to the building was ajar. Jack carefully approached and placed one eye to the crack. The corridor was deserted. Drawing his katana, he slipped inside and headed for the reception room. He could hear voices and prayed he wasn’t too late.
As he passed the first shoji, it opened and a ninja stepped out, eyes wide with alarm. In an instant, the assassin had drawn the sword strapped to his back. The ninjatō, with its trademark straight blade and square handguard, flashed through the air. The speed with which the assassin struck took Jack by surprise, but his years of samurai training kicked in. He deflected the attack and retaliated with a cut across the chest.
The ninja leapt aside with cat-like agility. But Jack kept up the pressure, driving the intruder down the corridor. Their swords clashed and locked against one another. In that moment, the ninja attempted to throw something into Jack’s eyes. Jack, familiar with metsubishi blinding powder, turned away and managed to avoid the worst of it, but realized he’d been compromised. In a desperate move to regain the advantage, he didn’t retreat. Instead he drove forward, pushing the ninja back and crashing through the double doors.
The framework cracked and the paper ripped as they tumbled into the reception room. Shouts of alarm broke out from the assembled villagers. Through eyes streaming from the metsubishi powder, Jack spotted Hanzo in the corner.
‘Get out of here!’ he screamed.
But he was too late. The other two assassins were already in the room, ninjatō drawn and making for Shonin and Soke.
Before Jack could do anything to save them, he was flung head over heels by the assassin pinned beneath him. He crashed to the floor, losing grip of his sword. Jack scrambled after it, but the ninja was already to his feet, bearing down on him, sword raised high, aiming to plunge the steel tip into his back.
‘NO!’ he heard Hanzo shout.
The ninja hesitated, and in that moment Jack rolled away. As he did so, he kicked the ninja’s ankles, sweeping him to the floor.