From the other side of the door, there was a pained gasp then a heavy whump, followed by a high-pitched whimpering. A key rattled in the lock and the latch began to lift. Jack, Akiko, Yori and Signor Horatio took up a defensive guard round the bed as the door swung open. Sir Edmund’s portly figure filled the doorway. He wore a petrified, dead-eyed expression. The iron key fell from his hand with a clatter, then he toppled forward and landed face first on the floorboards, a tantō embedded in his back.

Behind the bleeding body of Sir Edmund lay his companion, Sir Francis, still dressed in his costume armour. Only his feet were visible through the doorway, the muscles spasming in a gruesome death twitch. The corridor was swallowed in darkness, the lamps snuffed out. From the gloom a shape detached itself and materialized into a shadow warrior. Dressed head to toe in black, the ninja slipped serpent-like into the room and retrieved his knife. Hissing, he then drew a razor-sharp ninjatō from the sheath upon his back.

‘God help us!’ breathed Jess, her eyes round with fear. ‘’Tis truly a demon!’

‘Leave this one to me,’ said Signor Horatio, unsheathing his rapier and advancing. ‘You get your weapons.’

‘Be careful,’ warned Jack as their sword master prepared to engage. ‘Never underestimate a ninja.’

Signor Horatio threw Jack a cocky wink. ‘And never underestimate un Italiano!’

With that, he launched himself at the assassin. A blaze of lightning-quick lunges took the ninja by surprise and drove him back through the doorway. Steel rang against steel, the duel echoing down the corridor.

As soon as the way was clear, Jack, Akiko and Yori dashed to their rooms, collected their weapons and regrouped in Rose’s bedroom.

‘What’s the plan, then?’ asked Yori, the rings of his shakujō jingling nervously in his grip.

Tying off his obi, Jack secured his daishō to his hip. ‘We either keep running …’ he said, sliding the shuriken he’d retrieved from their last encounter with the ninja into a fold of his belt – ‘or face down these ninjas once and for all.’

‘I vote we take a stand,’ said Akiko, armed with her yumi and a sheath of arrows on her back.

Jack drew his katana. ‘A last stand!’

He glanced at Yori, who looked less certain, but he nodded his agreement anyway. Jack picked up the iron key and handed it to his friend. ‘Stay with Rose and my sister. Block that window and lock the door behind us.’

Yori tightened his grip on his shakujō and tried to stand tall. ‘I’m not scared of ninjas,’ he said determinedly.

Jack laid a hand upon Yori’s shoulder. ‘I know, my friend. That’s why I trust you to protect my sister.’

Yori’s chest swelled with pride. ‘I won’t let you down, Jack,’ he promised, with a bow.