Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [4]
Injured, unable to speak the language and without friends or family to look after him, Jack had had little choice but to do as he was told. Besides, Masamoto was not the sort of man to have his authority questioned – a fact proven when he adopted Jack, a foreigner, as his son.
Of course, Jack dreamed of going home and being with his sister, Jess, the only family he had left, but these dreams often became nightmares infiltrated by his nemesis, Dragon Eye. The ninja wanted the rutter, his father’s navigational logbook, at any cost, even if that meant killing a boy Jack’s age.
The little wooden Daruma Doll with its round painted face continued to stare at him in the darkness, its lone eye mocking his predicament. Jack recalled the day Sensei Yamada had instructed him to paint in the right eye of the doll and make a wish – the other to be added only when the wish came true. Jack realized to his dismay that his wish was no closer to fulfilment than when he had first filled in the eye at the beginning of the year.
He rolled over in despair, burying his head in the futon. The other trainee warriors were bound to have heard his cries through the paper-thin walls of his tiny room in the Shishi-no-ma, the Hall of Lions.
‘Jack, are you all right?’ came a whisper in Japanese from the other side of the shoji door.
He heard the door slide open and recognized the dim outlines of his best friend Akiko and her cousin Yamato, the second-born son of Masamoto. They slipped inside quietly. Dressed in a cream silk night kimono, her long dark hair tied back, Akiko came and knelt by Jack’s bed.
‘We heard a shout,’ continued Akiko, her half-moon eyes studying his pale face with concern.
‘We thought you might be in trouble,’ said Yamato, a wiry boy the same age as Jack with chestnut-brown eyes and spiky black hair. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
Jack wiped his brow with a trembling hand and tried to calm his nerves. The dream, so vivid and real, had left him shaken and the image of Jess being snatched lingered in his mind.
‘I dreamt of Dragon Eye… He’d broken into my parents’ house… He kidnapped my little sister…’ Jack swallowed hard, trying to calm himself.
Akiko looked like she might reach out to comfort him, but Jack knew Japanese formality prevented any such outward displays of affection. She offered him a sad smile instead.
‘Jack, it’s just a dream,’ said Akiko.
Yamato nodded in agreement, adding, ‘It’s impossible for Dragon Eye to be in England.’
‘I know,’ Jack conceded, taking a deep breath, ‘but I’m not in England either. If the Alexandria hadn’t been attacked, I’d be halfway home by now. Instead, I’m stranded on the other side of the world. There’s no telling what’s happened to Jess. I may be under the protection of your father here, but she has no one.’
Jack’s vision blurred with tears.
‘But isn’t your sister being looked after by a neighbour?’ asked Akiko.
‘Mrs Winters is old,’ said Jack, shaking his head dismissively. ‘She can’t work and soon she’ll have run out of the money my father gave her. Besides, she could have become sick and died… just like my mother! Jess will be sent to a workhouse if there’s no one to care for her.’
‘What’s a workhouse?’ Yamato asked.
‘They’re like prisons, but for beggars and orphans. She’ll have to break stones for roads, pick apart old ropes, maybe even crush bones for fertilizer. There’s little food, so they end up fighting over the rotting pieces just to eat. How could she ever survive that?’
Jack buried his head in his hands. He was powerless to save what remained of his family. Just as he had been when his father had needed his help fighting the ninja who had boarded their ship. Jack punched his pillow, frustrated at his inability to do anything about it. Akiko and Yamato watched silently as their friend vented his anger.
‘Why did the Alexandria have to sail into