Warrior Spirit (09) by Alex Archer

Author:Alex Archer [Archer, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-12T07:00:00+00:00

ANNJA GLANCED at Ken, who was sleeping beside her. They had walked from the temple to the train station and purchased tickets for the local train that ran northwest of Osaka into the Iga countryside. Now, as the train shot past the trees, Annja turned back to the window and could see the mountains some distance away with puffs of gray‐and‐white clouds hugging their peaks.

“This is the birthplace of ninjitsu,” he said.

She saw that Ken was now awake. “Is it really?”

He nodded. “The land here is rough. Not too many roads lead through it, even less in the old days.

It made for a perfect refuge for those who practiced what many believed were dark arts. They called ninja ‘sorcerers’ in league with demons and various other evil creatures. In reality, the ninja used their enemies’ beliefs to their advantage. Still, it’s difficult to travel through this land without wondering if there really is some truth to the old legends and superstitions.”

“You don’t think we’re going to have a run‐in with a sake‐drinking creature, do you?”

He smiled. “Like Taka said, you never know.”

“I’d prefer to imagine the yamabushi might have better things to do with their time than invest too much in trying to make a legend come to life.”

Ken nodded. “I’m more concerned about the traps inside the caves. We’ll need some supplies.”

“Those mountains look big,” Annja said. “What’s the weather going to be like?”

“Cold at night the higher up we go,” Ken said. “We’ll need extra clothing, flashlights, that sort of thing. You’ve done this before, right?”

“I’m no novice,” Annja said. “As long as you can find us a store, we should be all set.”

Ken leaned back. “We’ll arrive in about forty minutes. We should get some sleep. Who knows how far we might have to hike to reach the entrance to the caves.”

“That’s if we find the caves,” Annja said.

He grinned. “Just have some faith. I think we’ll be fine.”

Annja settled back and closed her eyes. She hoped Ken was right.

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