Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [128]
Despite his concerns their disguise wouldn’t work, the dozing samurai barely raised their heads as they passed. Since there were other Kamakura troops entering and exiting the castle, the two of them didn’t appear out of place. Besides, who would suspect such a bold and blatant escape as to walk straight out of the main gateway?
As they got closer, one of the Red Devils observed their approach. Akiko bowed her head in acknowledgement, low enough to show respect but curt enough to indicate her superior authority. The Red Devil dropped his eyes and humbly bowed back. He turned his gaze upon Jack instead. Jack bowed too, lower. The Red Devil returned the bow, his eyes narrowing slightly as he did.
Beyond the samurai, Jack could glimpse the Tenno-ji Plain. Freedom was but a gate, a portcullis and a drawbridge away. He was almost counting the steps they needed to make it across.
The Red Devil stared harder at Jack as they passed him.
‘Blue eyes?’ muttered the samurai to himself, as if he didn’t quite believe what he’d seen.
Increasing his pace, Jack felt his helmet slip. A lock of blond hair became exposed. The Red Devil’s eyes widened in disbelief. He seized Jack’s helmet, pulling it off along with the menpō.
‘GAIJIN!’ he shouted, stunned at his discovery.
Without hesitation, Jack front-kicked the Red Devil in the chest.
Akiko helped Jack on to the back of her horse and spurred their steed on.
‘Stop!’ cried the Red Devil, recovering from the blow.
Samurai groggily got to their feet, bewildered by the sudden appearance of a blond samurai, but Jack and Akiko were already passing through the gateway.
‘After them!’ ordered the irate Red Devil.
Akiko glanced round at Jack. ‘Take the reins!’
Grabbing her bow, she nocked an arrow, then turned and took aim at the roped locking mechanism of the portcullis. Calling upon all her Yabusame skill, she released the arrow.
It sliced into the rope. Under such tension, the line snapped and the portcullis came crashing down.
The pursuing samurai were stopped in their tracks and could only watch through the grille as their quarry galloped over the drawbridge to freedom.
Jack and Akiko rode out on to the plain, determined to get as much distance between themselves and the enemy. But they were halted by the horrifying sight before them.
As far as the eye could see lay thousands upon thousands of fallen samurai. Tenno-ji was literally carpeted with corpses. Behind them, the moat was so heaped with dead bodies that it could be crossed without getting wet. Crows picked at their remains and the moans of the few unfortunate souls who had yet to die filled the air.
Jack thought of poor little Yori, his body resting somewhere in this graveyard of Hell. How could so many lives be wasted for the will of one man, daimyo Kamakura?
‘We should head east to my mother’s in Toba,’ Akiko suggested, taking off her helmet and strapping her bow to the saddle pack. ‘Kyoto won’t be safe for us.’
Jack nodded, choking back the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. At least he and Akiko had escaped the carnage. There was some small joy in that thought. The future wasn’t entirely bleak.
Akiko pulled on the reins, then jolted in her saddle before collapsing to the ground, an arrow in her side.
‘AKIKO!’ cried Jack, jumping down beside her.
The arrow had gone through her armour and blood was pouring from the wound. Jack ripped a flag from a dead samurai’s sashimono and desperately tried to stem the bleeding. Akiko cried out as he applied the pressure.
NO! This can’t be happening, he thought. Not now. Not when we’d escaped.
‘That arrow was meant for you, gaijin!’
A chill ran through Jack’s veins at hearing the samurai’s voice.
Jack turned to see Kazuki striding towards them through the maze of dead samurai.
His old rival wore the armour of a Red Devil.
‘Kyujutsu was never my strongest skill, but it’s poetic justice for killing Moriko,’ he said,