The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [90]
The guards, shocked out of their trance, obediently followed orders. As they turned, Shonin drew his katana and drove it through the back of the first guard. Takamori brought down the second and third. Tenzen, appearing from behind Shonin, choked the fourth, leaving Akiko to deal with the last. Still unwilling to kill a fellow samurai, Akiko executed Fall Down Fist. Tenzen said nothing, knowing they’d be long gone before the man regained consciousness.
Meanwhile, Jack and Miyuki opened the gate and the clan, now guided by Zenjubo, fled the castle compounds. Disappearing into the backstreets, the band of ninja made for the town gate. Bypassing the main square, Jack saw the intoxicated samurai running in all directions, with no one sober enough to command them. The ensuing chaos gave the ninja vital cover and they quickly reached the main entrance of Maruyama. Shonin employed the same tactic at this gate, and in a matter of moments the sentries were overwhelmed.
Fleeing down the avenue of empty crucifixes and into the mist, Jack took a final glance back. The castle’s watchtower, now an almighty flaming pyre, collapsed in upon itself, sending sparks like fireworks into the night. But a group of drunken samurai had rallied themselves and were charging after the escaping ninja. They reached the main gate, then suddenly all began hobbling and crying out in pain.
Tetsu-bishi.
Tenzen and Zenjubo had dropped the spiked caltrops before making their own escape. Warned of the trap, however, a group of mounted samurai, armed with bows, jumped their horses over the hazardous spikes and galloped on.
‘SCATTER!’ ordered Shonin as the samurai approached and arrows flew.
The ninja clan split into units, running in different directions through the mist. Akiko, bending to take Kiyoshi into her arms, was amazed when the boy put on a lightning burst of speed, dragging her along with him.
Takamori, as the strongest of the ninja, carried Soke over his shoulder. But despite his speed, he was felled by one of the samurai’s arrows. They both went down. The Grandmaster rose to his knees, but Takamori lay still, the arrow having gone straight through his heart.
Jack and Miyuki rushed to Soke’s aid as a samurai horseman bore down on him. Shouldering the Grandmaster under one arm, Miyuki taking the other, Jack hauled him to his feet and in the direction of the forest. The thundering of horses’ hooves drew closer and the swish of arrows flew through the air like unseen hunting hawks. Only the mist prevented them being picked off one by one.
‘Leave me,’ gasped Soke. ‘You’ve no chance of escape carrying me.’
‘Every path has its puddle,’ replied Jack, hurrying as fast as he could for the treeline.
Zenjubo appeared ahead, beckoning them towards him.
‘You just have to learn how to avoid them,’ said Jack.
As they ran up to him, Zenjubo cut a tether hidden in the long grass. Out of nowhere, two restrained bamboo stems sprang up either side of them, the rope of a kaginawa strung taut between their tips. Enshrouded in mist, the samurai behind didn’t know what hit him as the cord struck his chest and threw him from his horse.
Soke grinned approvingly at Zenjubo’s Ring of Earth tactic.
Only a few more strides separated them from the cover of the undergrowth.
Zenjubo was hard on their heels as the mounted archers converged on these last four fleeing ninja. Miyuki stumbled, but Zenjubo caught her and they all kept running.
The samurai were almost on top of them. Suddenly a huge wall of flame burst from the ground as they crossed into the forest. Jack praised Kajiya’s foresight in planning a Ring of Fire defence. The horses whinnied in terror, the samurai cursing their steeds as they were thrown from their saddles.
Stumbling on through the undergrowth, Jack heard a final swoosh cut through the bushes. A second later, he was knocked to the ground by a crippling blow.
55
NINJA OR SAMURAI?
A searing pain, like a red-hot poker pushing through his body, broke the blackness. Jack’s eyes flickered open. Beside him knelt Akiko, her face