by Tiffiny Hall
‘Right, so we’ll enter through the left, sneak up through the bush, take care of that guy,’ Jackson points to one of the guards, ‘and then we’re in the cave behind the Falls. Once we’re there, the rocks will camouflage us.’ Jackson’s certainty once again comforts me.
We check our weapons. I reach up and adjust Jackson’s hood, hiding his blond hair. He hugs me. ‘We’ll find Lecky,’ he says. ‘Don’t worry.’
We set off through the bush, weaving through the trees. I’m grateful for the afternoon shadows and we bound from one shadow to another as we climb the steady hill towards the waterfall. Our hot breath steams in our hoods. The last rays of sun spark off leaves and firework into lasers that distort my vision. The higher we climb, the stronger the nerves entwine within me.
We reach the waterfall ledge. I wish the night would hurry up; we’re too exposed. Below is the deep pool of turquoise water. The sound of the waterfall is deafening. Even if the gong sounded, it would be hard to hear. Jackson and I stick close to the wall. I have no idea how I’m going to get the Serpent Sword from Lecky. Jackson told me if anyone but a samurai touches the Serpent Sword, it will burn them. I’ll melt off my skin prying it from my sister’s fingers if I have to.
The ledge is narrow and we creep along on our tiptoes. Jackson takes out his ninja claws and fits them to his fingers. I slip on my ninja claws too, the spikes between my knuckles gripping the wall as we balance on the dangerous ledge. I count the steps to keep me focused. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. The sound of the waterfall crescendos. If we fall, we will fall to our deaths.
Jackson reaches the guard first, who looks no older than fifteen. The guard launches at him with his sword and Jackson blocks it, grabs the guard’s arm and twists it behind his back. He reaches his other hand around to cover the guard’s mouth. It happens so fast. Jackson wrestles to keep the guard still and not fall off the ledge. I take the rope from my belt and throw it to Jackson. He ties the guard’s hands together, then pulls off the red sash the guard is wearing across his chest and covers his mouth with it. Jackson then sits the guard down on the ledge.
We quickly scramble up the wall of the cliff as another tall guard walks out of the mouth of the cave. He looks older, about eighteen. He is dressed like the first guard in a black martial arts uniform with a red sash and strapped to his back are red-handled katana swords. We remain suspended on our wall, waiting for the moment to drop on the guard. Suddenly a scream sounds from below and the samurai races past. We jump down and chase after him along the ledge, back the way we came. My heart is bursting, I run faster than I have ever run before. I know that voice.
I summon the wind to carry my footsteps faster, to make me fly. Jackson is way behind me. I reach Cinnamon in a little clearing just as the samurai’s sword is thrusting towards her throat. I knock the sword out of his hand with a flying spinning kick. The samurai attacks with a spear-hand strike and I block it. He launches at me and I use my foot to sting him across the cheek like a scorpion. He flies backwards, smashing against a tree. Cinnamon cries out my name and yells for Jackson.
The samurai recovers quickly and seizes my throat, lifting me up. I swing my legs desperately. I feel his fingers constricting my neck muscles, the air whistling out of my lungs, my windpipe flattening. I hook my leg over his elbow and kick him in the chin. He releases me. Anger boils my blood and I feel my tiger birthmark burn on the sole of my foot. I lift my knee to my chin and the samurai’s eyes widen — in their reflection I see flames spitting out of my heel. I shoot my flaming foot towards his chin. He stumbles back, away from the heat singeing his eyebrows. I swipe a look at Cinnamon and her eyes are blazing. I can tell she liked my fire kick.
The samurai throws himself up into a leaping crescent kick. I summon the air to flatten beneath him, then summon water to ice the ground. He falls onto the sheet of ice and slides towards me. I stop him with my foot. He starts to get up and I create wind blades, like ninja stars, to slice through him. He falls back against his elbows, cracking the ice. I watch him struggle to stand up, slipping and sliding on the ice. When he finally manages to be upright, he lifts his hands into a shaky guard. I steal another look at Cinnamon. Her red hair fizzes with excitement. This is more exciting than school.
A pain in my face knocks me back. I taste blood. Did the samurai just punch me in the face? I bend over and clutch my nose. His leg rises in the air, then descends like an axe. Panic seizes my chest. I watch the kick crash down on me in slow motion. Just before his leg makes contact with my shoulder, it goes limp. The samurai stumbles a few steps and his eyes flutter. When I look at his shoulder, it is soaked in blood. He limps towards me, clutching his arm, then crashes to the ground, wheezing. Behind him stands Cinnamon, holding the samurai’s sword. I didn’t see her steal the weapon when he dropped it. Her toffee-apple cheeks are streaked with tears, but her eyes are valiant, no longer powder blue but burning ultramarine.
Jackson arrives panting and gasps when he sees the samurai shrivelled up on the bed of cracked ice, begging Cinnamon not to hurt him any more.
‘Sorry again,’ she says to us. ‘There was a snake in the bushes.’ She holds the sword out to me.
‘Keep it, Ginger Ninja,’ I say. Cinnamon smiles.
Jackson presses his mouth into a hard line and inspects the samurai. I can tell he’s upset with himself for not arriving sooner to help, but I think Cinnamon and I made a great team.
‘It’s only a flesh wound — he’ll live,’ Jackson says before turning to me. ‘It’s getting dark. We’re trespassing on samurai territory and it’s too dangerous for Cinnamon to be hiding out here on her own. She’ll have to come with us now.’ As if I need convincing. Cinnamon’s cheeks brighten.
‘What about him?’ I point to the shivering samurai on the ice. He looks too scared to say anything.
‘Let’s leave him. He’ll find his way back and by then we’ll be gone. He’s lucky Cinnamon is an amateur.’ Jackson smiles at Cinnamon, who is still gripping the samurai sword tightly.
I remove my hood and try to fit it over Cinnamon’s hair to disguise it a bit. I wrestle with her red afro as it won’t cooperate. Something in the strength of her eyes tells me she’s sick of hiding so I take back the hood.
‘We G2G?’ Jackson asks.
‘Good to go,’ I say. As we set off, I hope the waterfall drowned out Cinnamon’s scream and the samurai are not waiting for us. But more than that, I hope Jackson kisses me again.
Jackson leads the way, followed by Cinnamon and then me. Cinnamon’s training has definitely paid off because she keeps up with our pace. We slip behind the waterfall unnoticed. The cave is formed of solid jade rock and smells thousands of mouldy years old. The dark mossy stone camouflages Jackson and me, but Cinnamon’s porcelain skin and fire-engine hair stands out. The sound of the waterfall thunders around us and we feel its vibration. I think back to my step training and learning how to walk ninja: stealthy and slithery in the shadows so no one sees. I use gliding, ballet-like leaps to jump over the puddles, helping Cinnamon, who isn’t that graceful.
We continue deeper into the cave. I keep watch behind us as Jackson creeps forwards. The danger of the samurai is now palpable; even Jackson seems unnerved. We weren’t invited and to top it off, we’ve brought an outsider — Cinnamon is not of martial blood.
At the end of the cave are two tall iron doors that reach from floor to ceiling with jade handles. The entrance to the samurai dojo. As planned, we raise our hands in the air to show we mean no harm. The guards at the doors are surprised to see us and immediately pounce, removing our weapons and tying our hands behind our backs. They are rough and Cinnamon squeaks. I look at her and her eyes steel. I like Cinnamon the Brave.
‘We’re here for Elecktra,’ I say. The guards, both teenage boys with military haircuts, laugh. They shove us through the doors into a room lit by lanterns. The ceiling is blanketed with pink crystals, which drip water onto a matted area for martial arts practice. Twelve kids are scatt
ered around the dojo. Some are practising, others sit on chairs talking, a few play with weapons. They stop when we enter and their shadows envelop us as they circle around.
‘We’re looking for Elecktra,’ I say. The samurai guard rips off my hood, whipping my hair free.
‘Who’s she?’ A boy in red martial arts pants and a black singlet points to Cinnamon.
‘A friend,’ I say. Cinnamon is the only kid in the room without a martial arts uniform; she looks so innocent in her school uniform, socks pulled up to her knees.
‘Your friend isn’t of martial blood,’ the boy says and draws a sword. His arms are powerful, the sword a twig in his bone-crushing hands.
‘Please, we’ve just come to find her sister,’ Jackson says, nodding towards me.
Footsteps echo down a tunnel at the back of the cave. We watch the doorway anxiously. I glance at my friends. Jackson is wearing his focused fighting face. Cinnamon still doesn’t look scared.
Hero enters the dojo dressed in the traditional red samurai kimono and black belt, katana swords strapped to his back. Elecktra levitates behind him, dragging the tips of her big toes across the ground. She wears a red kimono too, plus matching red satin slippers. Her hair is scarlet and red veins still writhe into her vermilion eyebrows. She’s even more red than before. In her hand, the Serpent Sword glows, foaming bad blood from tip to hilt. Jackson and Cinnamon gasp. They haven’t seen Elecktra’s new look.
‘She looks seriously scary,’ Cinnamon murmurs.
‘Lecky!’ I try to run to her, but a guard stops me.
‘Well, look who’s here: Roxy, Jacko and Cinnamon buns,’ Elecktra says, halting in front of us and floating to the ground. For the first time Cinnamon doesn’t flinch at the hurtful words.
‘Nice of you to drop in. Would you like a cup of tea?’ Elecktra says in a voice that is sickly sweet.
‘Lecky, hand over the sword,’ I say. ‘Trust me, it’s poisoning you.’
‘I’ve never felt better.’ She twirls into the air, levitating in a puff of red. Against the shimmering crystal ceiling, she looks like the last ruby cloud in a lingering sunset. ‘Like my new do?’ She flicks her hair.
‘No,’ Jackson says with a steely glare.
‘You’ve got guts coming here,’ Hero says, breaking through the circle of samurai and approaching us. ‘You can’t change the fact she’s one of us now.’
‘This has been your plan all along, hasn’t it? To use her to kill the White Warrior,’ Jackson growls.
Hero shrugs. ‘People change.’
‘Roxy’s always trying to change me,’ Lecky adds.
‘I am not,’ I say.
‘Oh yeah, I see the way you and Mum always look at me like I’m from another planet. Well, I am. I’m samurai. We’ve never been real sisters,’ she says.
‘We are sisters! Lecky, give me the sword,’ I command, but her words dig deep into the pillows of my heart.
Lecky licks her fiery lips and walks a slow halo around our heads. She lifts her knees high and pushes down on the air in a graceful march, dragging the sword behind her. Cinnamon, Jackson and I watch the blood pumping from the tip of the sword into the handle, along Elecktra’s fingertips and up into her wrist, where we can see it feeding.
‘What to do, what to do,’ she sings. ‘You are trespassing, so I should kill you.’ She clicks her tongue, then says in a baby voice, ‘But that might upset your clan and we don’t want them storming in here all ninja and angry.’ She shakes her head, then bends down to Jackson and curls a finger under his chin. ‘And you’re too cute to kill.’
‘Nobody’s killing anybody,’ Jackson announces. ‘Roxy, ignore everything she says. It’s the sword speaking.’
‘The sword is part of me!’ Elecktra roars and blows Jackson’s hood off his head with her breath. She levitates higher, then strokes the air like a music conductor to calm herself. ‘Now,’ she says in a cushioned voice, tracing a crystal with the tip of her sword, ‘I know how to settle this fair and triangle.’
‘How?’ Jackson and I ask in unison.
‘I’ll let Jackson and Cinnamon go. On one condition.’ She pauses and flies down to look me in the eyes. ‘The White Warrior fights the Red Samurai. Winner claims the sword.’ She lifts the sword to her face and kisses it. The weapon flares at her touch and she smiles.
Hero paces in the corner, his eyes black felt. He knows this is Elecktra’s fight, but I don’t know how long he can restrain himself and let Lecky pull the punches.
‘Lecky, this isn’t like play fighting on the living-room rug. Someone will get hurt,’ I say.
Elecktra kicks me in the stomach to prove my point. My gut slams up into my lungs as I fly back and crash against the wall of the cave. Elecktra laughs and shakes her head, her hair sparking at the tips. I stand groggily.
‘Aren’t you supposed to be a ninja?’ she provokes.
I clear my mind and focus. I look over to Jackson. He nods. This is what I must do. I will fight my sister, if it means I can save her. I can’t let the Serpent Sword rule Lecky.
I summon fire to burn the rope tying my hands. My blood fumes in my veins and burns in my ears. I’m ready.
FOURTEEN
My sister stalks me. She is red with rage, but still beautiful in the wildest way. Elecktra holds out her hand in a V-formation, her thumb at right angles to her fingers. The webbing between them heats red, then suddenly I feel a burning around my throat, a strangulation. She crosses her eyes and focuses on my neck. The burning intensifies. The air beats out of me. She’s hurting me without even touching me! The sensation stops and Elecktra screams, then runs at me with her sword. I take a deep breath, scoop up a nearby chair and use it to block her assault. Her sword slices through the chair and nearly cuts off one of my arms. Elecktra spins and slashes her sword. I evade, then counterstrike with a side kick to her knee. She buckles. I take the breathing space and move away. The samurai have gathered around the mats to watch us fight. Hero studies Jackson beneath the hoods of his eyelids. Jackson glares back at him.
‘Who’s in control now?’ Elecktra asks, rising into the air. I summon wind and it swirls beneath me, lifting and supporting my legs. She slams the sword at me and I leap out of the way, landing on the ground. I knock out the samurai guard holding my weapons and jump back into the air, my nunchucks, ninja claws and stars once again in my possession. I tuck the weapons into my belt and slide my ninja claws onto my fingers. I swing my legs up onto the ceiling and scurry away from Lecky across the shards of crystal. There is a wicked glint in her eyes. I think she’s enjoying this.
‘This is crazy. We’re sisters,’ I say.
‘Oh, blah blah blah, always a goody two-shoes ninja just like Mum. Mummy’s little girl. I’m over it!’ Elecktra swings her sword at me. The blade slashes across my shoulder, ripping my uniform and drawing a fine line of blood. The sharp pain tears me from the ceiling and I summon wind to float me gently to the ground. There is no time to nurse my shoulder. Before I can blink, Elecktra is directly above me, thrusting down her sword. I roll out of her way onto my back as her hot blade slices through the mats. With all her power, she hacks the sword towards my face. I block the blade with the chain of my nunchucks. I scream as the sword slices through the chain and nearly chops off my nose.
‘Roxy!’ Cinnamon yells.
I throw my nunchucks away. Elecktra smiles and a chair flies through the air to her hand. She stabs her sword through the middle of the seat and holds the chair above her head like an umbrella. Then she winks and a barrage of crystals from the ceiling rains down, stabbing the top of her chair and pinning my uniform to the mats, only just missing my face. Elecktra throws the chair away and lifts her sword. I kick out her knees and she stumbles as I leap up, snapping free from the crystals. I don’t want to use my powers to hurt Lecky. But my weapons are no match for the Serpent Sword.
We circle each other, panting. Our shadows distort on the walls of the cave like a violent puppet show. Our audience has become
deathly quiet, completely absorbed in the battle. They have never seen powers like ours before.
‘Elecktra, stop!’ I beg.
She continues to thrust her sword at me relentlessly. I feel the anger rising again, boiling in my gut.
‘Please don’t make me hurt you!’ I take my star and slice Jackson’s bonds, then he frees Cinnamon. We are lightning fast — can’t beat ninja zip. ‘Climb!’ I yell at them. Jackson retrieves his ninja claws, slides them on and climbs. Cinnamon follows him, hoisting herself up onto the rocks, finding footrests and handholds with Jackson’s help. Hero and his clan run after them, sensing what is about to happen. But the samurai are too late — I have already summoned the waterfall. It erupts through the doors and floods the dojo, scooping up the samurai. Elecktra bounces into the air and I follow her up with the wind. I block her sword, then fire kicks at her shoulder. She almost drops the sword into the water below, but recaptures it.
‘We were never sisters,’ she sneers. I block her sword again. The water crashes beneath us. The samurai try to swim against the thundering waves, but the current is too strong. It carries all the samurai out except for Hero, who escapes up the wall.
‘Family isn’t completely determined by blood. It’s who you love and who loves you back!’ I yell over the roaring water. ‘I love you, Lecky. You’re my sister. I don’t care if you’re a samurai!’
Hero, Jackson and Cinnamon cling to the walls of the cave. Climbing is not a samurai speciality and Hero is struggling. Cinnamon has found some strong footholds and is doing a better job. Jackson is upside down in a ceiling push-up position, clutching the crystals.
Elecktra roars and slams the sword at me again. This time I lunge into it, block her wrist, elbow her in the face, reach over and twist her arm into a lock. She squeals, then bites my shoulder savagely. I scream and let go.
‘You’ve always hated biting.’ She laughs, her red eyes bulging with bad blood. I feel my fingers creep towards my ninja star. She thrusts her sword at me and it slices my shoulder again. I yell. My fingers grip my star. I duck and weave her slashing strikes, then throw the ninja star at her leg. Lecky howls and falls out of the air into the water below. I dive after her.