Gladiator of Rome (#1 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28 

Krista wasn't sure how long they were falling for but it felt like eternity as the dagger tore through the rich fabric barely slowing them down as their weight dragged them towards the ground. The wind blew up around them biting at their skin when the sound of shouting from above reached their ears and she looked up to see a group of guards leaning over the balcony armed with bows and arrows. Her lips parted to scream but before any words could escape a waterfall of arrows rained down on them. 
Her muscles tensed as she clung to Artorius, his arm around her waist squeezing her tighter against him as the arrows swooshed past them before clattering against the ground a few seconds later. Another wave of arrows fell around them, grazing past their bodies with mere inches to spare. 

Still falling, Krista risked a look down to see how much further they had to go and gasped when she saw the ground rushing up to meet them like a wall of death but as she turned to look back she spotted that the curtain they were using to slow their descent did not reach all the way to the floor. 

"Artorius!" Krista shouted as loud as she could over the wind to try and warn him but there was nothing either of them could do as they kept hurtling downwards, the dagger ripping through the fabric at an alarming rate and barely slowing them down. And finally, when they were still twenty feet from the ground, Krista's heart jolted upwards into her throat as she watched the dagger get caught on the thick golden weave that ran along the bottom of the curtain and threw them off.
Artorius's arm slipped from her waist and they were falling to the ground with nothing to stop them. Her stomach churned as the wind pulled at her body. She tried to think of the best way to land but they were falling too fast for her mind to catch up with her. Unable to look away from the ground that continued to rush up towards her she tried to extend her arms to catch herself like she would with any trip or fall but this wasn't just a small trip. Realising at the last moment that there was a high probability she would break one or both of her arms Krista used all of her strength to turn her body mid-air and land on her side. A few seconds later she closed her eyes as her body slammed into the ground. Her should and hip landed first taking the brunt of the impact whilst her head came next, thwacking itself against the cold hard cobbles and sending immense pain across her scalp. But that wasn't the end as her body continued to bounce along the ground, the bare stone cobbles tearing at her skin whilst she lost count of how many times she hit her head. 

Finally rolling to a halt on her stomach she let out a groan as she tasted blood in her mouth, every inch of her body aching from the fall. Running her tongue along her teeth she was amazed to find they were all still there. Wincing as she placed her hands against the cobbles she raised her head and looked up at the balcony. Pompeia and the soldiers were nothing more than a blur when the balcony seemed to duplicate into two and sway backwards and forwards. Realising she was seeing things she blinked her eyes rapidly to try and clear her vision and when she looked back again there was only one balcony but there were now arrows being pointed at her over the edge.
As another wave of arrows were released Krista instinctively turned onto her side and curled herself into a tight ball, crying out in pain as every inch of her body protested. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut she held her breath as she expected to be shot but a moment later she heard the arrows clatter against the cobbles all around her. Opening one eye and then the other she raised her head and saw that she was lying among a bed of arrows but not one of them had hit her. 

She had been lucky until then but she did not want to risk another attempt so she scrambled to her feet, wincing when a jolt of pain ran up her side, and looked around her. She was in a side street with a tall building behind her and the palace in front, there was nowhere to hide when she heard her name being called from the end of the street. Looking up she saw it was Artorius, his arm waving at her to hurry up.