Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind

by Chris Bradford

  Holding a palm to his chest, Jack felt the press of Akiko’s pearl against his heart. It still lay securely pinned to the lapel of his jacket and its reassuring touch calmed him. Jack looked to the sky, searching out Spica, one of the brightest stars in the heavens. He’d shown Akiko its position one night when they’d been alone together in the Southern Zen Garden. Smiling at the memory, Jack hoped that she gazed up at it sometimes, just as he did.

  ‘Still communicating with spirits?’ asked Miyuki with a mischievous grin.

  Jack was startled out of his dreaming. Miyuki possessed a ninja’s unsettling habit of moving with absolute silence. The sea breeze stiffened and Miyuki drew closer to him. Her eyes, black as midnight, held his gaze. Knowing the affection she held for him, Jack wondered what she was about to do next …

  ‘Isn’t it dangerous to sail at night?’

  ‘No … not if you know the waters,’ replied Jack, regaining his composure. ‘Of course, there’s always a risk. But I suppose the captain’s trying to avoid pirates.’

  ‘Possibly, or …’ Miyuki lowered her voice, glancing round to check none of the crew was nearby, ‘… because he’s an illegal trader.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ asked Jack.

  ‘In the hold, hidden beneath the crates of pottery, I discovered bundles of the finest silk cloth. He must be trying to avoid paying port taxes. And that might cause us problems.’

  Jack considered this. ‘Why? Isn’t the fact that he’s avoiding the authorities good for us?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Miyuki conceded. ‘On the other hand, his criminal activities could attract the sort of interest we don’t want.’

  Jack nodded in agreement. ‘Let’s discuss this with the others in the morning –’

  All of a sudden, there was a shriek. One of the crew was pointing port side with a trembling hand.

  ‘Fuma!’ he cried, his face drawn back in horror. ‘Wind Demons!’

  12

  Close-Hauled

  Out of the darkness materialized a white sail upon which a huge black spider had been painted. The ship, twice their size and with a second foresail for speed, was cutting through the waves towards them. The crew began to panic, cowering beneath the cargo in a futile attempt to hide. As the apparition bore down on their boat, the captain stood rooted to the deck, gawping with a combination of fear and disbelief.

  Jack grabbed the nearest crewmember. ‘What are Wind Demons?’

  ‘N-n-ninja pirates,’ spluttered the man, his face pale as a ghost’s in the moonlight. ‘Wind Demons capture and eat their victims alive!’

  Ignoring the man’s ravings, Jack turned back to Miyuki. ‘If they’re ninja, we’ve nothing to worry about. We just need to show them the Dragon Seal.’

  Jack formed the secret hand sign the Grandmaster had taught him, the one that ensured a bond of friendship between any true ninja.

  Miyuki gravely shook her head. ‘Not with the Fuma clan. They’re more pirate than ninja.’ She stared darkly at the approaching vessel. ‘After the samurai, the Fuma are a ninja’s worst enemy.’

  The pirate ship was gaining on them fast. If the captain didn’t take evasive action soon, they would be rammed and boarded.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ asked Yori, joining them at the guardrail with a sickly Saburo.

  ‘We have to outrun them,’ replied Jack.

  ‘In this piece of junk?’ groaned Saburo. ‘We haven’t got a chance!’

  ‘Handled right, she’ll go faster than the wind,’ said Jack. If her battered hull and wrecked rigging can hold out long enough, he thought. But he didn’t admit this to his friends. ‘The three of you start throwing crates and the bamboo overboard. We need to lighten the load.’

  ‘NO!’ cried the captain. ‘Those are my goods.’

  ‘They’ll be no good to you if you’re dead,’ Jack shouted back, before darting up to the stern’s deck and wrestling the tiller from the inept captain.

  ‘This is my ship!’ he protested, shocked by the apparent mutiny.

  ‘Then let me save it for you,’ replied Jack, revealing his face to the captain for the first time.

  ‘Y-y-you’re a gaijin!’

  ‘I’m also a sailor and a pilot,’ said Jack, leaning hard on the tiller and steering the Golden Tiger on a westerly course.

  ‘What are you doing?’ cried the captain in alarm. ‘We should be running before the wind, not heading into it!’

  ‘The Wind Demons have two sails,’ stated Jack. ‘They’d catch up with us in no time. Our only hope is to outsail them. We need to be close-hauled. Now get your men to trim the mainsail.’

  The captain looked thoroughly unconvinced by Jack’s plan of action. Nonetheless, still in shock at his foreign appearance and with the pirate ship surging towards them, he ordered his crew to pull in the sheets. The canvas stopped flapping, no longer spilling precious wind power, and the Golden Tiger immediately picked up speed.

  Jack realized he was taking a great risk. Close-hauled was the most challenging point of sail and the hardest in which to get the best out of a boat, especially one as battered as the Golden Tiger. The difficulty lay in how close to the wind he could get. Jack had to aim the Golden Tiger’s bow as high as possible, while maintaining the fastest attainable speed. He’d be sailing on a knife’s edge. The brisk breeze meant a sudden gust could capsize them at any moment. If he steered too much into the wind, the Golden Tiger would enter the no-go zone and stop dead in the water. If he angled further away from the wind, the boat would increase speed but have to cover a lot more ground – and this would allow the faster pirate ship to gain on them.

  Jack’s sole hope relied upon their enemy being less manoeuvrable and unable to take such an acute angle to the wind. This would force the ninja pirates to tack more often, slowing their progress every time they had to beat a new course.

  Miyuki, Yori and Saburo continued to dump cargo into the sea. Whimpers of pain and loss sounded from the captain with each crate thrown overboard. But the Golden Tiger benefited from the reduction in weight and began to fly through the water.

  ‘They’re still going to hit us!’ wailed one of the crew.

  Jack glanced back. The fearsome pirate ship, its black spider sail seeming to swallow the stars behind, crested a wave like a breaching whale. Its exposed hull revealed timbers reinforced for ramming. As its bow came crashing back to the sea, plumes of white spray spurted into the air.

  ‘Change tack!’ insisted the captain to Jack. ‘They’re headed straight for our port side.’

  ‘No,’ replied Jack, steadfastly keeping his bearing. The Golden Tiger was virtually nose to the wind, the telltale feathering of the canvas warning Jack of just how close they were to disaster.

  ‘CHANGE COURSE!’ screamed the captain, throwing his arms over his head and bracing himself for the impact.

  The pirate ship drove towards their port quarter … and missed. It sailed past like a great black ghost, its menacing crew glaring over the side at their escaping quarry.

  Unable to sail Jack’s line, the pirate ship was forced to tack several more times in order to make another run at them.

  ‘Pin that sail in tight!’ Jack shouted to the crew, seeing the canvas begin to flap again. Waves lapped over the leeside gunwale as he fought to keep the boat on its extreme bearing. The wind whipped past, sending chill sea spray into Jack’s face. The Golden Tiger groaned under the strain, its rigging threatening to snap.

  ‘She won’t take much more of this,’ warned the captain.

  ‘We don’t have any other choice,’ replied Jack, gritting his teeth as he held firm to the tiller.

  The Golden Tiger was now maintaining its lead, but wasn’t pulling away. Jack needed to get even more from the boat. But at what cost? This single square-sailed rig wasn’t built for such demanding sailing.

  Miyuki clambered over the heeling deck to join Jack at the stern. ‘That’s every bit of loose cargo we can shift.’

  Jack considered their o
ptions. The pirate ship was relentlessly pursuing them, picking up speed for a second collision course. He had to squeeze another knot of speed from the Golden Tiger.

  ‘Get everyone aft and on the windward side,’ ordered Jack.

  Miyuki ran off to collect Yori, Saburo and the crew. They gathered on the stern deck beside the port quarter.

  ‘Now sit on the guardrail and lean out,’ instructed Jack.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ said Saburo, glancing fearfully with Yori at the rushing sea beneath them.

  ‘We need to counterbalance the wind and keep an even keel,’ explained Jack. ‘The heeling of the ship is slowing us down.’

  Without needing to be told twice, Miyuki jumped on the rail and, grabbing hold of a rope, hung herself over the side. The four crew slipped their feet through the gaps in the bamboo latticework and leant back as far as they could. With great reluctance, Saburo took hold of two ropes and did the same. Drawing in a deep breath, Yori perched on the guardrail and, closing his eyes, suspended himself above the open sea.

  ‘And you, Captain!’ ordered Jack.

  As everyone threw their weight to port, little by little the Golden Tiger righted itself.

  ‘Please tell me, we’re going faster?’ Yori begged, unwilling to open his eyes.

  ‘Yes! Yes! We’re losing the Wind Demons!’ shouted a crewmember in delight.

  Gradually, the distance between the Golden Tiger and the pirate ship began to increase. Jack reckoned if they could maintain their speed, the black spider sail would be no more than a dot on the horizon by dawn.

  Jumping on deck, the captain slapped Jack on the back. ‘Fine sailing, gaijin! Get us to Hiroshima in one piece and I’ll forget about the cargo you ditched … and the fact that you’re a foreigner.’

  Jack’s gamble had paid off. The crew smiled with relief at their narrow escape and gazed in wonder at the gaijin sailor who’d saved them.

  Suddenly a rigging line snapped, the sail slackened and the Golden Tiger lost speed. Behind, the Wind Demons closed in again for the kill.

  13

  Sea Dragon

  ‘Head for that island,’ said the captain urgently, pointing to a dark outline off their starboard bow. ‘There’s a sea cave on the far side of the bluff. I’ve used it once before to hide from these cursed wako.’

  Jack adjusted course. If they could make it round the headland, they might have a chance. The darkness of night would help conceal their movements and, with any luck, the pirate ship would pass them by.

  ‘The Wind Demons are catching up,’ warned Miyuki.

  ‘I know,’ said Jack as he continued to spill wind from the sail. But he daren’t risk putting any more pressure on the damaged rigging.

  The Golden Tiger limped on towards the fortress of rock that thrust up from the sea, its peak capped by a mantle of windswept trees. The shoreline was craggy and treacherous, and Jack had to precisely follow the captain’s instruction to avoid running into submerged rocks – even more so, when a cloud slipped across the moon, muting its pale light.

  The pirate ship disappeared from view as they rounded the bluff.

  ‘There’s the cave!’ said the captain, pointing to a black crevice at the base of a huge cliff. It was hard to make out in the gloom, but that made it an ideal refuge.

  Wind bleeding from the sail, Jack allowed the Golden Tiger to drift towards the opening. Their progress seemed excruciatingly slow. At any moment the pirate ship would clear the headland and the Golden Tiger would be in plain sight.

  They all silently willed the boat to go faster.

  ‘We’re almost there,’ breathed Yori, his knuckles having gone white from gripping the guardrail so hard.

  Jack stared dead ahead, his focus entirely upon the cave entrance. He wiped a forearm across his eyes. Was that a glimmer of movement inside?

  Suddenly a ball of flame burst forth, followed by an almighty roar. In the blinding flash, Jack and the others confronted a terrifying vision – a ferocious dragon with an armoured spine of spikes, a devil-horned head and razor teeth like scythes spat fire at them. A split second later, the Golden Tiger’s mast exploded.

  ‘Sea dragon!’ screamed one of the crew, his eyes wide as the moon with sheer horror.

  Unable to believe his eyes, Jack yanked hard on the tiller, desperately attempting to alter their course. The Golden Tiger veered away and was blessed with enough momentum to head back into open water. But there was little hope of escape. The mainsail was ablaze with hellfire and the Golden Tiger was crippled.

  ‘Cut the rigging!’ ordered Jack, relinquishing the tiller to the captain. ‘The whole ship will go up in flames.’

  Miyuki raced along the deck to where their canvas bag was hidden. She pulled it clear and began to hand out weapons to Saburo, Yori and Jack. The captain was in too much of a panic to wonder why his pilgrim passengers carried samurai and ninja swords. He was furiously waggling the rudder in a fraught attempt to propel the Golden Tiger away from the sea dragon’s lair.

  On deck it was raining fire. Jack unsheathed his katana and in one clean sweep sliced through the first of the halyards tethering the burning sail. Miyuki hacked with her ninjatō along the other side.

  ‘Clear the deck!’ warned Jack as he severed the last of the rigging.

  Like a dying phoenix, the mainsail tumbled from the sky. Sparks flew like fireflies and there was a great crackle and splutter as the canvas extinguished in the sea …

  But half still lay across the deck, burning fiercely.

  Yori thrust at the blazing canvas with his shakujō, trying to push it over the side. Rushing to his aid, Saburo and two of the crew grabbed the last remaining lengths of bamboo and shoved with all their might. The sail slipped over the guardrail and the roar of flames died. Darkness engulfed them once again and an eerie silence descended – all that could be heard was the lapping of the waves against the hull.

  ‘Where’s the sea dragon?’ asked Saburo, breathless, staring into the black recesses of the cave.

  Their eyes adjusting to the night, Jack and Miyuki scanned the waters surrounding them. Off their port bow, a great shadow loomed.

  In the chaos and confusion, the Wind Demons had caught up.

  Their vessel drew alongside the Golden Tiger, its deck towering over them. Without warning, several sections of the gunwales fell away and smashed on top of the Golden Tiger’s guardrail. Great iron spikes bit into the deck, holding the Golden Tiger fast. An instant later, black shadows swarmed across the bridges to board the crippled cargo ship.

  A crewmember screamed as the steel tip of a blade burst through his chest. Blood spewing from his mouth, he collapsed to the deck, dead. Behind, a ninja crouched, his sword slick with the man’s entrails.

  Jack stood frozen with fear. He was reliving the nightmare of that fateful night four years ago, when ninja pirates had attacked the Alexandria and slaughtered the entire crew. The heart-rending moment when his father had been brutally murdered by Dragon Eye. Once again Jack felt like the powerless boy he’d been – the one who’d been unable to prevent his father’s death. Then he reminded himself that he was no longer that defenceless boy. He was a trained samurai and a ninja. Breaking his paralysis, he launched himself at the enemy, swords raised, and cried, ‘REPEL BOARDERS!’

  The Wind Demons, dressed head-to-foot in black, were impossible to see – just the moon-silver glint of their blades visible. Jack jumped aside as a sword scythed for his neck. He deflected the attack with his wakizashi, simultaneously thrusting with his katana. But the ninja pirate effortlessly evaded it as if he were no more than a leaf in the breeze. His blade circled round for another killing strike on Jack.

  Yori leapt to Jack’s rescue. He drove the iron tip of his shakujō into the ninja pirate’s back. The force of the blow stunned the invader, sending his slash wide. At the same time, Jack side-kicked his attacker with all his strength. The ninja pirate slammed into the guardrail. With another shove from Yori’s shakujō, he toppled over the side
into the watery depths below.

  But more Wind Demons instantly replaced their fallen comrade.

  Saburo, still with bamboo pole in hand, wielded it like a massive bō staff. He swept the deck in front of him, keeping the Wind Demons at bay. Meanwhile, Miyuki was perched upon the starboard rail, fending off two vicious ninja pirates. She injured one with her ninjatō, then kicked the second Wind Demon in the face. But she was fighting a losing battle as other pirates joined the attack.

  Too far away to help, Jack spotted one of the severed pieces of rigging lying across the deck. It was still fixed to its cleat at the other end. Sheathing his wakizashi, he snatched up the rope and yanked hard. As the line pulled taut, it snagged the legs of the Wind Demons, toppling them like skittles.

  In a deft leap along the guardrail, Miyuki joined Jack by his side.

  ‘Thanks for that,’ she breathed, flicking blood from her blade.

  ‘Don’t thank me yet,’ replied Jack as more ninja pirates stormed the Golden Tiger.

  The remaining crewmember on the main deck fled for the stern. Out of the darkness, a hooked knife on a chain flashed through the air and struck him in the back. A second later, he was jerked off his feet and dragged screaming across the deck into the seething mass of Wind Demons. His agonized cries were cut short as a sword severed his head from his neck.

  ‘Fall back!’ ordered Jack to his friends.

  Keeping a protective line, they retreated to the stern’s upper deck. Behind them, the captain and his two surviving crew cowered beside the tiller. Their expressions were a combination of terror at the Wind Demons and awe at the battling pilgrims. The four young warriors valiantly held off the invaders. Jack disarmed one ninja pirate, knocked another unconscious and threw a third over the side. But the sheer weight of numbers was overwhelming. An evil hiss emanated from the Wind Demons’ masked mouths as they closed in for the kill.

  Realizing this would be their last stand, Jack and his friends formed a tight circle and prepared to defend each other to the bitter end. But the Wind Demons halted a sword’s length away.