Descendants of Rome (#3 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

Spinning as she ran her blade across a roman’s stomach, his blood immediately pouring onto her boots, Krista saw the image of her son flash before her eyes.

Lazarus?

Turning in a full circle, Krista killed the solider by plunging her blade deep into his stomach before she looked back out onto the battlefield and saw that she wasn’t hallucinating.

“Lazarus!” Krista shouted his name in anger but he didn’t hear her.

What was he doing here?

Krista watched him quickly duck beneath the sword of a Roman to reveal Marcia a few steps behind him, fighting her own soldier.

Shaking her head in anger at their actions, Krista knew there was nothing she could do at that moment.

Letting out a grunt of frustration, Krista leaned down and picked up a young boy who had fallen, pushing him up the hill, “Get back to the fort!”

“Aaarr!” A voice screamed out behind her, heavy footfalls gently shaking the earth beneath her.

With not a single look to the soldier approaching from behind her, Krista spun the sword in her palm so that the blade was aiming behind her.

Driving the blade backwards, Krista felt the sword sink into the soft flesh of a Roman.

Turning around, Krista saw his arms raised above her, ready to strike her from this world.

Staring at him with disgust, Krista planted her boot against his chest as she gripped her sword and pushed him off her blade.

His body fell in a heap on the ground as Leonidas appeared by her side, “We need to get inside. Artorius and the others are already inside.” His eyes looked into the distance at the approaching Roman legion.

“Go,” Krista told him, “I’ll be there shortly.”

Leonidas knew not to question her, their relationship at the moment strained under Argyle, so he turned and retreated back into the stronghold whilst Krista ran over to Lazarus.

Reaching out and touching his shoulder, Lazarus turned towards her with his sword raised.

Krista deftly knocked his sword away with her own, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Lazarus looked up at her with his father’s eyes, “I’m here to fight.”

Krista parted her lips to say something when she spotted a soldier running up behind Lazarus, his steps quiet despite the squelching mud at their feet.

Pushing past Lazarus, Krista pushed the Roman’s sword away with her own, leaving his face open to her fist.

Krista gritted her teeth as her knuckles hit the man’s bone but it had the desired effect as the man crashed to his knees.

She didn’t waste another second before slitting his throat open with her blade.

“Lazarus,” Krista turned back to her son, “We need to get-” Her words died on her lips when she saw that he wasn’t there.

Searching wildly for her son, Krista spotted him a few metres away downhill.

Krista immediately started to step forward when she noticed that the soldiers weren’t Octavia’s, they weren’t the ones they had poisoned.

Looking around them, Krista saw that the hill was slowly being engulfed by a small party of the reinforcements.

These soldiers may have been marching all day but they were rested and well-fed.