Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [6]
The point pierced the stem, stopping just short of his right eyeball.
Orochi yelled in fury and pushed down on the spike. Jack’s arms shook as he kept the deadly tip away. Orochi leant his full weight to the task but Jack was stronger, and when Orochi had fully committed Jack twisted sideways, wrenching the spike out of Orochi’s hand and causing him to fall forward face first into the earth.
Throwing the spike deep into the thicket, Jack then pounced on Orochi before he could recover. He dropped his knee on to the man’s shoulder, twisting Orochi’s left arm into a lock.
Orochi was pinned.
He fought to get free, but Jack applied pressure to the man’s elbow joint. Orochi screamed in pain and immediately ceased moving.
‘Stop! Please! You’ll break my arm!’ he pleaded, spitting earth from his mouth.
‘Don’t struggle then,’ replied Jack, before calling for Yamato, his shout disturbing a large unseen bird in the canopy.
Orochi attempted to escape, but Jack put on the lock again. Hard. Orochi whimpered and lay still.
‘Are you going to kill me?’ he moaned.
‘No, I’m not going to kill you,’ replied Jack. ‘I just want to know where Dragon Eye is. Then I’ll let you go.’
‘Telling you that is more than my life’s worth,’ the man spat. His eyes glanced nervously around as if he expected the ninja to appear at the very mention of his name.
‘Your life’s not worth much so far as I can tell,’ Jack retorted. ‘Besides, the pearl you stole should more than make up for it. In fact, I think you should return it until you tell me what I need to know.’
Jack leant harder into the lock. Orochi cried out and, to Jack’s surprise, the small white pearl fell from his mouth.
‘You can have this back once you tell me where Dragon Eye is,’ said Jack, tucking the gem into his obi.
‘What if I don’t tell you?’
‘We’ll kill you.’
‘But you said –’
‘No, what I said was, I’m not going to kill you. But I can’t promise the same for my Japanese friends. As true-born samurai, they’d see it as their duty to rid the world of your sort.’
Orochi swallowed, understanding the truth behind Jack’s words. They both knew that the samurai dealt out justice and, as a convicted thief and liar, Orochi would receive little mercy.
‘Let me go and I’ll tell you. I give you my word,’ promised Orochi reluctantly. ‘But you’re walking into your own grave.’
Jack released him, glad that his ruse had worked. He knew full well that neither Yamato nor Akiko had the authority to kill a man for such a petty crime. ‘So, tell me, where can I find Dragon Eye?
Orochi sat up and massaged his arm. ‘Where did you learn to fight like that?’
‘The Niten Ichi Ryū in Kyoto.’
‘You’re one of Masamoto Takeshi’s students!’ he exclaimed in wide-eyed wonder. ‘I’d heard rumours he’d adopted a gaijin boy, but I never dreamt the great Masamoto would train him to become a samurai –’
‘Stop wasting my time. Where’s Dragon Eye?’
‘You must have a death wish, young samurai, to go seeking that devil!’ breathed Orochi, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘Last I heard, his ninja clan had settled on the west side of the Iga mountain range, close to the village of Shindo. Visit the Dragon Temple there and ask for –’
Orochi stopped speaking. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but no sound emerged. His eyes went glassy, his gaze unfocused. Then he slumped to one side, twitching twice before lying dead still.
‘I warned you, Orochi!’ said Jack, taking a cautious step towards the prone figure. ‘No more tricks.’
Wary of the man, Jack picked up a piece of bamboo and prodded Orochi with the tip. He got no reaction. Then he noticed a tiny dart sticking out of the man’s neck.
A blow dart, poisoned to kill.
Such a weapon could only mean… Jack spun round, bringing the bamboo stem up to defend himself.
But he couldn’t see any ninja.
That didn’t necessarily mean there was none. Ninja were trained in the art of stealth. There could be one, or a hundred assassins, hiding among the thicket.
Jack tightened his grip on the bamboo. How he wished Masamoto hadn’t confiscated his