Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky (38 page)

‘You possess valuable skills, young
Jack,’ remarked the First Officer, raising his eyebrows in high regard. ‘We
could have done with your help when trading. They’re a shrewd lot, these
Japanese.’

Jack was encouraged to continue his story.
He went on to explain the Shogun’s edict banishing all foreigners and Christians
from Japan. Then, as Jack recounted the troubles he’d faced on his perilous
journey from Toba to Nagasaki, Captain Spilbergen and his officers exchanged concerned
glances.

‘We’ve heard tales of
persecution, but didn’t know what to believe,’ said the captain. ‘Here
in Nagasaki, the Japanese are civil to us. But perhaps that’s only because of the
trade we bring them.’

‘And the fact that we don’t
force our religion on them, like the Jesuits,’ remarked the First Officer in
distaste. ‘It’s their own fault they’ve been banished. Just this week
the Portuguese had their trade privileges revoked by the local
bugyō
.
That’s why they can no longer dock at the quay.’

‘You’re extremely lucky, Jack,
to have arrived in Nagasaki when you did,’ continued the captain.
‘We’re due to set sail in a few days, as soon as the trade winds pick up.
It’ll be a year before the next Dutch ship arrives.’

Jack decided this was the moment to ask.
‘I have a request. I need passage home to England.’

Captain Spilbergen considered this.
‘Then I have a question for you. Are you as competent a sailor as you’re a
samurai?’

Jack gave a confident nod. ‘My father
taught me the skills to be a pilot. It’s in my blood.’

‘Dare I ask if you have
all
his knowledge?’ enquired the captain, leaning forward and steepling his fingers in
anticipation. ‘It was rumoured he possessed an accurate
rutter
.’

Jack hesitated. His pack containing the
precious logbook was just outside the captain’s door. But could he trust this
man?

‘No matter,’ said the captain,
leaning back in his chair. ‘I’d acquire your services with or without it.
But you’ll be a very sought-after young man if you do have it still. The Dutch
East India Company is desperate for reliable pilots.’

‘So you’ll take me home?’
asked Jack tentatively.

‘Why, of course!’ said Captain
Spilbergen, breaking into a smile and opening his arms in welcome. ‘If
you’re half the pilot your father was, then we’re in safe hands.’

Jack was speechless. All that he’d
strived for these past four years, every obstacle he’d overcome, every sacrifice
he and his friends had made, had been for this very moment. He was so overwhelmed, he
didn’t know whether to laugh with joy or cry with relief.

‘What did the captain just say?’
asked Akiko in Japanese, concerned by the look of shock on Jack’s face.

‘I’m … going
home,’ he replied.

For a second no one said anything, then Yori
clapped in delight. ‘Praise the gods!’

‘Praise
us
more like,’
said Benkei, grinning wider than the cat in his lap, and they all began to celebrate the
good news.

After dinner, the midshipman showed Jack
and his friends to their quarters for the night. Akiko was given her own cabin, courtesy
of one of the officers, while the others were offered berths on the lower deck. The crew
had slung several spare hammocks from the beams. Benkei clambered into one and promptly
fell out the other side, much to everyone’s amusement.

‘I prefer the floor anyway!’
said Benkei, massaging his behind and pulling his pack over for a pillow. The
ship’s cat curled up next to him and purred contentedly. ‘As you can see,
it’s far more comfortable.’

With practised ease, Jack rolled into his
hammock. Saburo and Yori struggled with theirs, before giving up and joining Benkei on
the floor. Exhausted from the battles of the day, they were soon fast asleep.

Clasping his hands behind his head, Jack
settled back, still unable to believe his good fortune. As the hammock gently swayed
back and forth with the lapping of the waves, he too was lulled to sleep. His last
thoughts were of his sister, Jess, and his return to England.

62
 
 

Jack stared into the muzzle of a gun.

Woken by a prod to the ribs, he’d
opened his eyes to find the First Officer holding a flintlock pistol to his face. Next
to him stood Captain Spilbergen.

‘I’m sorry, Jack,’ said
the captain. ‘I’ve been given no choice.’

‘But … you said we’re
protected on-board the
Hosiander
.’

‘Even if you were Dutch, I
couldn’t save your life,’ he sighed. ‘The
bugyō
of Nagasaki
has threatened to revoke all our trade privileges. He’s also arrested several of
my crew. They’re as good as dead … 
unless
we turn you over to
the Shogun’s samurai.’

Jack glanced round to discover his friends
also held at gunpoint.

‘Can’t you just hand
me
over?’ he begged.

Captain Spilbergen shook his head
regretfully. ‘I’m afraid it’s a life for a life. And my duty is to my
crew first. Do understand this is not personal.’

Jack dropped from his hammock. His pack and
swords had already been seized. Still, there’d be little point in trying to
fight their way free. The captain’s hand was being forced. It
wasn’t his fault.

Surrendering to their fate, Jack and his
friends were taken up to the main deck. Blinking in the bright morning sunshine, Jack
spotted Akiko beside the main mast, her head bowed, a resigned expression on her
face.

‘So close to going home,’ she
whispered as they were directed towards the gangway. ‘I’m sorry we let our
guard down.’

‘Don’t be,’ he replied.
‘To come this far with you is closer than I could have ever dreamed.’

At the bottom of the gangway, dressed in
gleaming gold-and-black armour, a detachment of the Shogun’s samurai awaited them.
The forty troops glared up at their elusive quarry, eager to have the traitors in their
clutches at last. In front of them, five Dutch crewmen were on their knees, swords held
to their throats.

‘What a cheery start to the
morning!’ Benkei remarked, scratching his wayward hair and yawning.

Captain Spilbergen led Jack and his friends
down the gangway and on to the quayside.

The
bugyō
, a short man with waxen
skin, hollow cheeks and a thin preened moustache, greeted the captain.

‘I’m so glad you could see
matters our way,’ he said with an ingratiating smile.

Giving a wave of his hand, he allowed the
five Dutchmen to be released.

Captain Spilbergen grunted and handed over
his captives. The Shogun’s samurai stepped forward and seized Jack and his
friends, roughly escorting them away.

63
 
 

The blistering sun beat down, the air hot
and humid. Even the breeze coming off the bay gave no relief.

A bead of sweat rolled down Jack’s
brow. But he couldn’t wipe it away. His hands were bound, along with the rest of
his body, to a wooden stake. A row of them had been erected along the harbour front
earlier that morning. They’d heard the hammering from their prison cell as the
stakes were driven into the hard ground. Akiko was lashed to the one on his left, Yori
to his right. Benkei and Saburo were being tied to the final two stakes.

Dressed in a purple
kataginu
jacket
and gold ceremonial kimono, the waxen-faced
bugyō
oversaw the preparations with
an enthusiasm that went beyond his duty as a magistrate. He personally checked each of
their bonds, ensuring they were all painfully fastened. Once satisfied, he directed the
Shogun’s samurai to form an arena round the execution site, quashing any hopes of
escape … or of rescue.

Bound and helpless, Jack could only look to
the heavens for salvation. But the merciless sun stared blankly back at him,
while in the distance dark clouds gathered over the sea as if
heralding the tragedy to come.

Encircling the five stakes, a growing pile
of wood was dumped at their feet. Their execution had been publicly proclaimed
throughout Nagasaki and the local inhabitants instructed to bring their own
contributions to the fire. By the early afternoon, the pyre was knee-deep and a vast
crowd had gathered on the quayside – merchants, samurai, farmers, monks, and even
families with children. A burning at the stake promised to be quite a spectacle and no
one wanted to miss it.

‘Please forgive me for getting you
into this mess,’ Jack begged his friends. ‘I never imagined it would end
this way.’

‘A samurai is born to die,
Jack,’ replied Saburo, bravely holding his head high, despite the tremble in his
voice.

‘I suppose it’s better to burn
out than to fade away!’ jested Benkei, forcing a smile. But this quickly
disappeared as another bundle of wood was stacked against him.

Yori craned his head to look at Jack.
‘There’s always more beyond the horizon than you can see. This is
not
the end.’ He turned to the others, trying his best to offer them
spiritual reassurance. ‘Sensei Yamada once told me,
Don’t be afraid of death, be afraid of a life
unlived
.’

Meeting Jack’s eyes, Akiko whispered,
‘If I only live one life and die by your side, then it’s been a life worth
living.’

Jack didn’t know what to say to this.
Yet again his friends astounded him by their courage and loyalty. But just looking at
Akiko made his heart burst. He didn’t want her to die – or any of his friends. Not
when they had so much still to live for.

‘
Forever bound to one
another
,’ he declared, desperately wanting to reach out to Akiko.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.
‘
Forever
 …’

The
bugyō
stepped forward and
announced to the crowd, ‘The Shogun, supreme ruler of all Japan, commands that
these traitors are punished for their crimes and burned alive!’

A chorus of approval accompanied his
declaration. Jack felt an uncontrollable shudder of fear as the executioner lit his
torch and approached. The crowd’s excitement grew to fever pitch. Men jeered and
threw stones. Women heckled their disgust at such treachery. Kids watched wide-eyed in
anticipation. Jack couldn’t believe their suffering would bring such entertainment
to the masses.

But, as Jack scanned the crowd, he saw that
a number stood silent and grave-faced. Some mothers had covered their children’s
eyes and refused themselves to watch. A group of monks in straw hats had their heads
bowed in mournful respect. Then Jack recognized Takumi and the four farmers among the
throng. Tears streamed down their faces as they silently mouthed a prayer for Jack and
his friends’ souls. Jack realized not everyone craved their deaths and drew some
comfort from this.

However, his solace was short-lived as he
spotted another face in the crowd – one he’d hoped never to see again. Pale and
full of spite, Kazuki pushed his way to the front, a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around
his waist. He took up prime position before Jack’s stake.

‘You’re going to burn,
gaijin
!’ he cried. ‘BURN IN HELL!’

64