The Return of the Warrior Read online

  As the mist dispersed with the warmth of the coming day, they arrived at a wooded valley. Here the road split, one route going high, the other low.

  ‘Harold said the low road is flooded,’ reminded Akiko.

  ‘Did he, now?’ said Rose, tugging her reins to the left and heading along the low road.

  ‘But –’

  ‘How naive can you be, Akiko?’ she remarked over her shoulder. ‘Harold, or whatever his real name is, was most likely lying. He’ll have set up an ambush with his friends on the high road.’

  ‘Not everyone thinks like you!’ said Akiko, bristling.

  ‘Well, it’s a good thing I do, then, otherwise you wouldn’t even have got this far. I don’t know what qualifies you to be a samurai, but it ain’t common sense, that’s for sure!’ she said, laughing.

  ‘We learn bushido!’ snapped Akiko. ‘The Way of the Warrior. Perhaps you’d benefit from learning its seven virtues – in particular, the virtue of respect.’

  Rose brought her horse to a sharp halt and glared at Akiko. ‘You don’t know me, so you’ve no right to judge me!’

  The two girls held each other’s fierce stares. Yori’s eyes grew wide with alarm at the escalating argument. Seeing Akiko’s muscles tense like a cat primed to pounce, Jack quickly rode between the warring parties.

  ‘We’re on the same side!’ he reminded them. ‘I heard Harold’s advice too, Akiko, but there’s a chance Rose is right.’ He tried to placate Akiko with a conciliatory smile. ‘Let us do the opposite of what Harold said, just in case. If the road is flooded, we can always turn back.’

  ‘Fine,’ relented Akiko, giving him an inscrutable look, before spurring on her horse.

  They rode on in silence, Akiko remaining aloof as they followed the course of the river. Jack realized he’d upset Akiko by defending Rose again, but there was little he could do about that now. It was better to be safe than sorry in this case.

  Making their way beneath overhanging branches, and through muddy patches, they discovered some stretches so waterlogged that the road was almost marshland. And for a while it appeared that Akiko might be vindicated: the road had clearly been flooded at some point. With careful riding, however, the route eventually proved passable.

  ‘See?’ said Rose smugly as the road began to slope gently upwards, the ground drying out the higher they got. ‘We can get thr–’

  A woman’s scream pierced the air, causing several birds to take flight from the tree canopy. They reined in their horses and glanced at each other in alarm.

  ‘It came from the woods,’ said Jack, his eyes scanning the treeline.

  ‘It could be a trap,’ Rose warned, as another scream rang out.

  ‘Trap or not, someone needs our help,’ said Akiko.

  Jack was in two minds. He didn’t want to delay their search for Jess. Then again, he couldn’t ignore someone clearly in need. The code of bushido compelled him to help. There had been occasions during his escape through Japan when strangers had stepped up for him and saved his life, so it was only right that he did the same in return, especially in his own homeland.

  ‘Akiko’s right,’ he said. ‘It’s our duty as samurai to help.’

  With a flick of his reins, he rode for the woods. Yori and Akiko did the same.

  ‘But I’m not samurai!’ Rose called after them.

  Leaving their horses tied to a tree, Jack and the others crept through the forest. As the sound of voices grew louder, they hunkered down behind a clump of ferns and peered into a small clearing. They saw a gang of a dozen or so ruffians. Some of them were binding an elderly man and a younger woman, dressed only in their undergarments, to the trunk of an oak tree, while others rifled through their saddlebags. Two manservants lay bleeding on the ground at their master’s feet, having been badly beaten.

  ‘Isn’t that Lord and Lady Percival, the couple who were dining in the private booth last night?’ asked Yori under his breath.

  Jack nodded. A pair of robbers had stripped them of their finery and were now parading around in the clothes, pretending to be the lord and lady of the manor, much to the amusement of their fellow robbers. A tall, bearded man with a thick knotted staff stood at the centre of the clearing, presiding over the mayhem. He bore a long scar that curled from the corner of his right eye down to his jawline. Next to him stood a young woman with a tangle of hawthorn hair and a spray of girlish freckles that was at odds with the cruel sneer on her lips.

  ‘That tall one, with the scar, he’s what we call an upright-man,’ whispered Rose. ‘He’s the leader of this gang. You don’t want to mess with him, or his doxy.’

  ‘What’s a doxy?’ asked Yori.

  ‘His girlfriend, only a lot more vicious!’

  ‘We might have to – mess with him, I mean,’ Jack said, as he noticed the flintlock gun on the upright-man’s hip.

  Rose stared at Jack. ‘This isn’t our problem. Why get involved?’

  ‘Because if we don’t, no one else will.’

  ‘But there must be ten or more of them!’ protested Rose.

  ‘We’ve battled worse odds,’ said Akiko, nocking an arrow in preparation. ‘You stay here if you’re scared.’

  Rose bristled. ‘I ain’t scared. Just realistic! I mean, why risk our lives for two nobles we don’t even know?’

  ‘Next to creating a life, the greatest thing a man or woman can do is save one,’ explained Yori, his hands clutching the shaft of his shakujō so tightly that his knuckles were white.

  In the clearing, the upright-man approached his bound victims. ‘Today’s your lucky day, sirrah.’

  ‘Lucky?’ growled Lord Percival, struggling against his bonds. ‘How can you call this lucky?’

  ‘Well, I ain’t in a killing mood this morning,’ the thief replied with a grunt of a laugh. ‘However, Hazel ’ere does need some target practice with my pistol.’ He drew the flintlock gun from his belt and handed the weapon to his doxy. Then he pulled an apple from his pocket, and took a large bite out of it before placing the fruit upon Lady Catherine’s head.

  ‘Don’t move,’ advised the upright-man. He strode over to where his doxy now waited a dozen metres from the tree. ‘I’m sure you’ve heard the story of William Tell? Well, if Hazel manages to shoot the apple from your wife’s head … I’ll let her go free.’

  ‘Est-ce vrai?’ asked Lady Catherine, glancing in hope at her husband.

  The gang leader nodded. ‘Except Hazel ain’t a very good shot.’

  ‘No, I don’t see so well, do I, Guy?’ his doxy said. She adopted a wide-legged stance, raised the pistol, closed one eye and took an unsteady aim.

  ‘No … no … wait!’ begged Lord Percival, as his wife trembled so much that the apple threatened to tumble to the ground.

  Hazel pulled the trigger. The flintlock ignited the powder and a loud crack rang out. Lady Catherine yelped as the bullet struck the tree, bark exploding in a shower of splinters just above the apple – and her head.

  ‘Not bad,’ encouraged Guy, grinning at his girl. ‘Have another go.’

  Hazel began the process of refilling the pistol barrel with powder and shot. Lady Catherine, her face pale as a lily, started sobbing, while her husband pleaded for her life.

  ‘If we don’t rescue them,’ said Jack, ‘that girl’s going to blow that poor woman’s head off sooner or later.’

  ‘Rather her than one of us!’ replied Rose. ‘You’re here to find your sister, not be a hero.’

  An ominous click signalled that the gun was ready to fire.

  ‘A little lower,’ advised the upright-man, standing behind his doxy and adjusting her arm.

  Hazel closed her eye and took aim for a second time. The gun went off, the bullet blasting another chunk out of the tree … and this time clipping Lady Catherine’s ear. The woman screamed as blood splattered down her white smock.

  ‘So, so close,’ said the upright-man, relishing the look of horror and panic on Lord Percival’s face. ‘One last go, my sweet.�
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  Jack hurriedly whispered his plan to Akiko and Yori, then nodded a silent command, and they spread out round the clearing. While Hazel reloaded for a third and final shot, Guy delighted in further taunting his captives.

  ‘Ear, ear! Cheer up!’ he laughed. ‘Hazel’s definitely getting better. I reckon the next bullet will be dead on target –’

  Jack stepped out into the clearing. The robbers all stopped their rifling of the saddlebags and turned to face the intruder. Lord and Lady Percival stared at him, their eyes pleading for rescue.

  ‘You’re surrounded!’ Jack declared, with as much confidence and authority in his voice as he could muster. ‘Put down your weapons and surrender.’

  ‘And who might you be?’ demanded the upright-man, unfazed.

  ‘Jack Fletcher,’ he replied, ensuring the gang leader could see the swords on his hip. ‘Now do as I say and no one need get hurt.’

  Guy stroked his beard and measured Jack up. Then his grey eyes scanned the forest. ‘I admire your gall, young man. But I call your bluff. I don’t believe there’s anyone –’

  An arrow whistled through the air and pierced the apple on the woman’s head, pinning the fruit to the tree.

  The robbers looked nervously around, suddenly fearful of the hidden enemy. A clump of bushes shook to their right giving the impression of several men approaching. Some of the gang immediately dropped their weapons, a couple even bolted for the woods. Jack tried to suppress a grin – their plan was working!

  ‘Impressive bowman you have,’ acknowledged the upright-man, still unperturbed. He took a step towards Jack.

  ‘The next arrow will go through your eye, if you don’t release the two captives,’ warned Jack, his hand on his sword. ‘Let’s avoid any more bloodshed, shall we?’

  Scowling, Guy turned to his doxy as if to issue the command, then he spun back and whipped the end of his staff up so fast that he caught Jack under the chin.

  ‘The only blood that will be shed today is yours!’ he spat.

  Jack saw stars and reeled backwards. An arrow shot past in instant retaliation, flying straight for the robber’s right eye. But, forewarned of the attack, he blocked it with his weapon, the arrow tip embedding itself deep into the wood. He then jabbed Jack in the gut.

  Jack doubled over and crumpled to the ground. This wasn’t part of the plan.

  ‘I guess I am in a killing mood after all,’ snarled Guy, raising his staff high over his head to crack Jack’s skull like an egg.

  Yori broke from his hiding place in the bushes and leapt to Jack’s defence. As the staff came hurtling down, Yori deflected the lethal strike with his shakujō – then countered with a thrust of the bronze spear tip, the rings jangling as he hit the upright-man in the solar plexus. Winded, Guy staggered away – but he soon recovered and flew into a furious rage. A David-and-Goliath battle ensued as Yori fought the onslaught, matching the thief blow for blow. The young monk couldn’t match his enemy for strength, though, and was soon forced into a retreat.

  Jack, tasting blood from a split lip, struggled to his feet. He had to help Yori. However, a young robber with a cudgel had other plans for him. Jack ducked as the club almost took his head off. Another swipe nearly bust his nose. A third came down like a hammer …

  Akiko appeared in the clearing, an arrow drawn on her bow. She let it loose, the arrow flying so fast and true that it went straight through the young robber’s raised arm and pinned him to a nearby tree trunk.

  ‘Now don’t run off!’ said Jack with a grin, leaving the poor lad hanging by his skewered limb.

  But Jack wasn’t out of danger yet. The two robbers dressed as the lord and lady confronted him with rapiers. Mindful of their weapons’ lethal reach, Jack unsheathed his katana and wakizashi and began to fend off their thrusts. While the robbers quickly proved to be no swordsmen, two against one meant Jack couldn’t afford to drop his guard for a single moment. He deftly dodged one thrust, deflected another and blocked a third. Then he slashed right with his katana and left with his wakizashi, creating space between his two opponents. Moving into position, he baited them to lunge. One tried to run him through the chest, the other through the back, but Jack nimbly skipped aside and the two men impaled themselves instead.

  ‘What happened to the plan?’ Akiko cried, as she side-kicked one muscle-bound ruffian into a gorse bush and elbowed another in the face.

  ‘We’re on to Plan B,’ replied Jack, clashing swords with a bare-chested brute of a man.

  Akiko drew an arrow from her quiver. ‘What’s Plan B?’

  ‘Fight for our lives!’ said Jack, blocking a vicious slash to his head, then retaliating with an upward cut and scoring a line of blood across his attacker’s chest.

  Meanwhile, Yori had been backed up against a tree. The upright-man hammering him with blows of his staff, Yori darted from side to side, like a shrew evading the talons of a hawk, his small stature playing to his advantage as each attack struck the tree trunk instead. With each missed blow, the gang leader’s fury and frustration grew, but so did Yori’s exhaustion.

  Jack and Akiko had seen his plight and were fighting their way across the clearing, desperate to help their friend.

  Suddenly Yori dived between the robber’s legs, catching him with the bronze tip of his shakujō. The gang leader let out a pained groan. Then, hooking his ankle with the end of the shakujō, Yori swept him off his feet. The upright-man landed in the earth with a heavy whump, his head hitting a protruding root, and he was knocked senseless.

  ‘Not so upright now, are you?’ panted the victorious Yori.

  On seeing their leader bested, the remaining members of his gang fled the clearing.

  ‘Good work, Yori!’ said Jack, sheathing his swords.

  Yori grinned. ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall!’

  But the upright-man wasn’t out for the count. He slowly began to rise.

  Akiko drew her bow once more, pressing an arrow to the back of his head. ‘Don’t move!’

  ‘That’s good advice!’ said a voice behind them, just before they heard the distinctive click of a flintlock pistol being primed.

  Jack and the others turned round, to find Hazel pointing the barrel of the pistol at them. Jack cursed himself. They’d forgotten all about the upright-man’s doxy in the mayhem of battle. Holding Jack and his friends at gunpoint, Hazel sneered, ‘Now it’s your turn to drop your weapons and surr–’

  A bone-jarring thunk stopped her mid-sentence and she slumped to the ground, the pistol clattering from her hand.

  ‘I reckon you did need my help after all!’ said Rose, emerging from the bushes, casually tossing a rock in her hand.

  ‘Nice shot!’ said Jack. He examined the growing lump on the back of the unconscious girl’s head. ‘Where did you learn to throw like that?’

  ‘At the May Day fair,’ replied Rose. ‘Always hit the skittles off.’

  ‘Will someone please untie us?’ requested the well-mannered voice of Lord Percival.

  Jack turned to the nobleman and his wife, who were still bound to the oak tree. With one slash of his katana, he cut through the knot and the ropes fell away. Lord Percival rushed to tend to Lady Percival’s ear, finding a handkerchief to stem the bleeding. Then, rather formally, he addressed his rescuers. ‘My wife and I are deeply indebted to you,’ he said, inclining his silver-haired head.

  ‘Oui, vraiment … merci beaucoup,’ said Lady Catherine in a tremulous voice, still pale and shaken from the attack. Then she added, in accented English, ‘We are truly grateful that you didn’t pass on by … I think most travellers would save their own skins first, rather than risk themselves for strangers.’

  Akiko gave Rose a reproachful look but said nothing.

  ‘A person has two hands,’ Yori explained. ‘One for helping himself, the other for helping others.’

  ‘Wise words, young monk,’ said Lord Percival, regarding Yori’s saffron robes and shakujō with curiosity. ‘I don’t know where you’
re from, but I thank God that you came our way.’

  ‘Well, I don’t thank no one!’ growled the upright-man, making a wild grab for Yori’s legs.

  Akiko pressed the arrow tip harder into the back of the man’s skull. ‘Stay where you are!’ she warned.

  Lord Percival peered down his arched nose at the gang leader lying in the dirt. ‘I believe this fellow here is the notorious highwayman Guy Rakesby.’

  ‘What do you want us to do with him, my lord?’ asked Jack.

  ‘If it was my decision, I’d hang him on the spot!’ The nobleman glanced up, as if searching for a suitable branch. ‘But we must respect the law of the land. So tie him up, along with his gang here. I’ll have the local Justice of the Peace send a band of constables to arrest them. Then they can be tried in court.’ He glared at Guy. ‘And after what you did to my wife, I can assure you the punishment will not be lenient.’

  Holding each other by the arm, Lord Percival led his wife away to reclaim their clothes. Jack bound Guy and his dazed doxy to the oak tree, while Akiko gathered her arrows, carefully prising out the one in the young robber’s arm before tying him up with his fellow gang members. Meanwhile, Yori tended to the lord’s manservants, reviving them with water and incense.

  ‘Which way are you going?’ asked Lord Percival, dressed once more in his plush red velvet robes. He took the reins and mounted his horse.

  ‘Stratford-upon-Avon,’ replied Jack as he helped Lady Catherine into her saddle. ‘I’m hoping to find my sister there.’

  Lord Percival raised an eyebrow. ‘She’s missing?’

  Jack nodded and related their story: returning to England and discovering his home was now a plague house; their fortunate encounter with Rose and learning that his sister might still be alive; their visit to Bedlam and Mrs Winters’ wild ramblings about red wolves; the silver locket that led them to Rowland Bodley and to their belief that they might find Jess in Stratford.

  ‘That is all quite strange,’ remarked Lord Percival.