The Way of Fire by Chris Bradford

Author:Chris Bradford [Bradford, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ages 10 and up
ISBN: 9780141344157
Publisher: PUFFIN BOOKS
Published: 2012-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Mount Haku

Mount Haku rose from the earth like an enormous slumbering giant. Its steep forested shoulders led to a distant smoking peak, where a crown of snow glistened in the early morning light.

The four young samurai had ridden hard overnight to arrive at the base of the mountain for dawn. They skirted a large lake and tethered their horses to a tree at the edge of the forest.

‘From here we have to walk,’ explained Saburo without enthusiasm.

Jack was relieved to dismount the steed that he and Akiko had been riding. Having been a sailor, he wasn’t used to travelling by horse. It was a samurai skill he had yet to master, so his legs were stiff and his backside bruised from the journey.

‘We’d better get some water first,’ Akiko suggested, taking a couple of hollowed-out gourds from their packs and heading over to the lake’s edge. ‘It’s going to be a hard climb.’

‘Hey, look!’ shouted Saburo, pointing to a large tunnel of black rock where a waterfall cascaded into the crystal-clear lake. ‘It’s an old lava tube.’

Jack peered into the pitch-black hole. It was like staring down the throat of a massive sea snake. The floor was slick and smooth from the flowing water while the ceiling hung with shark-toothed stalactites.

‘My father said these tunnels form when a lava flow cools on the outside first. They start at the top of the mountain and can run for a long way, as much as a ten ri,’ Saburo explained, cupping his hands beneath the cascade and taking a large gulp. ‘I bet this water was once snow on Mount Haku’s peak.’

‘Come on! We haven’t the time for this,’ said Yamato impatiently. ‘Emi could be dead by nightfall.’

They hurried after him into the forest. The trail wound its way up the steep slope and Jack soon found himself panting for breath. Saburo lagged even further behind, limping on his blistered feet, while Yamato forged ahead.

After an hour they reached a clearing and Akiko called for a short water break to allow Saburo to catch up. Jack had been thinking about Akiko’s surprising knowledge of ninja poisons. Along with her mysterious night-time disappearances at the Niten Ichi Ryū and the astounding climbing agility she’d shown during the maple-leaf viewing party, Akiko had once again demonstrated extraordinary insight into the assassins’ world.

‘How did you recognize Emi’s symptoms?’ he asked.

Akiko didn’t reply immediately. Instead she looked sideways at Yamato who was checking the trail ahead. She anxiously bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable with revealing the truth.

‘They were the same symptoms,’ she whispered, ‘that Yamato’s older brother, Tenno, showed when he was killed by Dragon Eye three years ago.’

Jack now understood. Yamato was still greatly upset by Tenno’s murder and he became angry at any mention of his brother’s name.

‘I saw the fight in the garden,’ she explained, shuddering at the memory. ‘Tenno couldn’t stand. He couldn’t see. Dragon Eye thrust a knife through his heart. A small mercy perhaps – better to die quickly rather than slowly by suffocation.

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