Read Online Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind by Chris Bradford - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Bradford
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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
ninjat ō
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
shakuj ō
, 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
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
ninjat ō
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
shakuj ō
, 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
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