Star League 4 Page 4

  I step back in surprise as I realise who’s standing before me.

  ‘Grandmistress Reika!’ I gasp. I look down and notice her hands and feet are tied. She tries to tell me something but her voice is muffled. I quickly cut the ties around her arms and legs, and she pulls down her ninja mask to reveal a gag. I help her untie it and she breathes a sigh of relief.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was going to be stuck in this cave forever! Thank you, children.’

  I look around. ‘But where’s Pestilence?’

  ‘Ah, that kidnapping rat,’ spits Reika. ‘I’m afraid he’s escaped.’

  ‘What? But how?’

  Reika shakes her head. ‘These tunnels were designed by the original inhabitants of the Mori Mountain Fortress to be a last-ditch escape.’ She points to the caved-in passageway. ‘Pestilence escaped through there and then tripped a mechanism that caused the tunnel to collapse. We’re not going to be able to get through there in a hurry. He’s long gone.’

  ‘Where does the tunnel lead to?’ I ask desperately. ‘Maybe we can cut him off at the exit!’

  Reika just sighs. ‘I’m sorry, young one. The exit is through the other side of the mountain. There’s no way we’d get there in time. Which is a shame, because I’d sure like to make him pay for kidnapping me and keeping me here in the dark all this time!’

  ‘But… but …’ I stammer. I can’t believe Pestilence got away. He was so close! Jay puts a hand on my shoulder.

  ‘I’m sorry, Asuka, you know we all wanted to catch him, but I think he’s managed to escape this time.’

  At first I don’t want to believe it. After all the horrible stuff he’s put us through I can’t believe he got away again. But I try to push the thoughts from my mind and smile.

  ‘Well, there’s always next time. The more we run into him, the more we’ll learn about his secret identity. And besides, we managed to find Reika, which is what’s really important.’

  ‘Indeed it is!’ says Reika. ‘As a ninja I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sick of the dark! Get me out of here!’

  We head out of the cave to find all the other ninjas gathered outside. At the front of the crowd are a group of ninjas with red cuffs. I freeze, wondering what Fuzen’s ninjas are up to now, but then I notice their wrists and ankles are tied. Ari steps forward and grins.

  ‘While you and your friends were off hunting down Pestilence, look who we caught trying to escape!’

  ‘Well, they won’t be going anywhere any time soon,’ cries Reika, pushing her way to the front.

  The rest of the ninjas let out a tremendous cheer when they see their beloved Grandmistress safe and well, and everyone comes up to congratulate us. It’s very different to when they were all trying to hunt us down!

  ‘Thanks to you and your friends, everything is back to normal,’ says Ari with a grin. ‘I hate to say it, little sis, but with the skills you’re learning working with the Star League, you may even be a better ninja than me one day!’

  ‘One day?’ I ask with my hands on my hips. ‘Do I need to remind you that I saved your bacon today?’

  Ari laughs, but then he gets a sad look in his eyes. ‘So now that the professor’s plans have been foiled I guess you’ll have to get back to filming.’

  ‘That’s right,’ says Jay. ‘Sorry, Asuka, but Ben wants us back as soon as possible to finish Attack of the Night Assassins.’

  I groan. After all this, the last thing I want to do is get back to work.

  ‘It’s a shame I didn’t get to spend more time with you. It seems like ages since we’ve just hung out,’ says Ari. I nod sadly. Then an idea pops into my head.

  ‘Oh no, is that Professor Pestilence over there?’ I ask, pointing to the trees.

  The Star League all turn to look. ‘My scanners do not detect any life forms,’ says Sam.

  ‘Yeah, I can’t see anyone,’ says Connor. ‘What are you talking about, Asuka?’

  ‘Hey! Asuka’s gone!’ shouts Leigh.

  Their voices drift up through the branches of the tree I’m hiding in. I grin at Ari next to me.

  ‘So, big brother, what do you want to do with our night off?’

  randomhouse.com.au/starleague

  H.J. Harper isn’t sure if books are stalking her, or if she’s stalking books. Either way, she’s had various jobs in bookstores and libraries, and now works as an author. Her favourite part about being an author is that staring out the window and imagining things is no longer something she can get in trouble for – in fact, it’s required! When she’s not writing books about werewolves, zombies and ninjas, she’s usually playing video games … about werewolves, zombies and ninjas. She lives in Melbourne with her partner and a very spoilt cat who cannot be controlled by animancer powers.

  Nahum Ziersch was born and raised in the Clare Valley in South Australia. From a very young age he knew he wanted to draw for a living, surrounded by very artistic parents who encouraged and nurtured his passion. As a kid he would watch Astro Boy and stacks of other cartoons in his PJs, devour comics and draw his own imaginative worlds and characters. Nahum works as a freelance illustrator in Adelaide. While his main areas of work include editorial, advertising and educational illustrations, he still has a mad passion for creating quirky and expressive characters.