The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [57]
Jack kept his silence, his head bowed as he knelt before the samurai lord. Two guards were stationed either side of him. Four more were lined against the back wall. All were impatient to execute him on the daimyo’s command.
Outside, birds were twittering and chirping in the bright summer sunshine, oblivious to Jack’s predicament. Following his capture, the gatekeeper had almost dropped his sword as he ordered Jack to remove the basket and was greeted by a foreign face. The other guards had jumped to their feet, surrounding him in a matter of seconds. In the uproar, Miyuki had vanished from sight. Jack had been swiftly escorted to the fourth floor of the castle and presented to daimyo Akechi.
The samurai lord was immaculately attired in a sheer black hakama and kataginu winged jacket, his family mon of a dragonfly woven in gold thread upon his chest. Handsome and self-assured, his hair was tied tightly into a topknot and oiled smooth. The daimyo was also vain, judging by the immense silk-screen painting in the room, depicting him larger than life and victorious in battle.
‘Only shinobi would consider such a clever disguise,’ he went on, indicating the Komusō basket and robes. ‘But I’m intrigued to know why the ninja are helping you.’
‘The ninja are my enemy, Akechi-sama,’ said Jack, bowing even lower.
‘If that’s the case, then how come you’re still alive? Where have you been hiding all this time? My patrols have searched for you in every known valley, forest and village of my province.’
‘I’ve survived in the mountains, avoiding everyone I could.’
‘Please don’t insult my intelligence,’ sighed the daimyo. ‘You’re too well fed to have lived like a wild animal. Now, just tell me, where is the village that took you in?’
‘I … can’t tell you,’ Jack replied.
‘Can’t or won’t?’
Akechi studied him for a moment.
‘I’m not an unreasonable lord,’ he said with a smile as smooth as silk. ‘I’ll make a deal with you. In return for telling me the location of your ninja village, I’ll grant you your freedom.’
Jack didn’t trust the samurai lord. The man’s promise seemed as unconvincing as his silk-screen painting. ‘What about the Shogun’s orders?’
‘I’ll inform the Shogun you rendered me a great service. Your safety’s assured. To my borders, at least.’
Jack thought carefully before replying. ‘I still can’t tell you. The ninja captured and blindfolded me.’
The daimyo raised his eyebrows sceptically.
‘This is a question of loyalty, Fletcher-san, a matter of bushido!’ asserted daimyo Akechi, now using the respectful etiquette to address Jack. ‘Are you samurai … or ninja?’
Even Jack was unsure of that answer. A few months before, there would have been no doubt he was a samurai. But now?
‘I’ve heard great things about you,’ admitted Akechi, suddenly adopting a flattering tone. ‘Daimyo Takatomi, once your lord in Kyoto, has spoken highly of your samurai arts. I believe you saved his life, preventing an assassination by Dragon Eye? And didn’t that same ninja kill your father?’
‘Yes,’ replied Jack through gritted teeth, trying not to let emotions cloud his judgement.
‘Then why are you protecting the shinobi?’
‘Dragon Eye’s dead. I just want to go home,’ said Jack, avoiding the question.
‘Don’t be a fool! Dragon Eye lives on through the ninja. They’re all the same. Devils! That’s why they hide their faces.’
The daimyo leant forward confidentially, his expression sorrowful.
‘My father was murdered by ninja too,’ he said, speaking quietly as if divulging some great secret to Jack. ‘I don’t know which one, though. So I have to kill them all to regain my family’s honour.’
Jack saw the venomous hatred in the man’s eyes. He realized the daimyo was so consumed with vengeance he’d lost all reason. Just like Dragon Eye.
‘I intend to hunt down every last ninja, burn their villages to the ground and end their evil ways, once and for all. Imagine that, Fletcher-san. No more ninja. Your father’s enemy wiped from the face of the earth.’
Jack