‘It’s meant as a warning,’ replied Miyuki. ‘The Fuma are merciless and cunning. That makes them very dangerous. Soke cautioned me to steer clear of them at all costs.’ She gave a resigned sigh. ‘I was never any good at following Soke’s advice.’

‘We’re doomed then!’ cried the last crewmember of the Golden Tiger.

‘Hey, we did survive the sea dragon at least!’ said Saburo, half-heartedly attempting to lift the man’s spirits. But the reminder of that fearsome beast just turned the crewman into a quivering wreck.

‘That’s true …’ said Jack, still doubting his own eyes as to what he actually saw. ‘If that was a dragon, why didn’t it attack the Wind Demons? We might have stood a chance if they’d had to battle a monster too.’

A lice-ridden slave coughed and shuffled over. His eyes had a crazed look and his bare back showed the scars of numerous whippings.

‘The Fuma control the dragon,’ he croaked.

Jack and his friends regarded the Korean man dubiously.

‘No man has such power over wild beasts,’ said Yori.

The slave cackled. ‘The Wind Demons aren’t men. They’re gods of the Seto Sea! And we’re no more than fish food …’

He trailed off, a terrified expression on his face as he retreated towards the back of the cage.

‘I trust my crew are treating you well?’ enquired a gruff voice.

Jack and his friends looked up into the intimidating face of the pirate captain. His eyes were snake-like gleams of jet-black, his high cheekbones were sharp and his chin pointed with a long tuft of beard. He still wore the dragon-horned helmet and was robed in a green and black suit of body armour; the breastplate and square shoulder guards were constructed from hundreds of tiny leather scales that gave it the appearance of dragon skin. The pirate captain’s right arm was tattooed with a large spider’s web that stretched all the way from his wrist to his neck, where a black widow spider nestled, the tattoo unsettlingly real.

Despite the man’s fearsome demeanour, Miyuki was outraged by the question. ‘Treating us well? They just fed one of us to the sharks!’

‘Sharks are hungry animals,’ the pirate captain stated matter-of-factly, grinning to reveal a set of teeth filed into razor-sharp points.

Yori, who was closest, recoiled in horror. The captain laughed at his reaction.

‘Captain Kurogumo at your service. Welcome aboard the Black Spider,’ he said, bowing contemptuously. His shark-like grin vanished. ‘Now! Who are you?’

‘We’re … just pilgrims returning from Shikoku Island,’ replied Yori, quickly regaining his composure.

‘And I’m the Emperor,’ he mocked. ‘It’s evident from your weapons and swords skills that you’re far from pilgrims.’

‘We’re samurai,’ said Saburo with pride.

Captain Kurogumo regarded Saburo for a moment. ‘You may be. But she certainly isn’t.’

He returned his attention to Miyuki, who stared defiantly back.