sword jangled as he made his way to the frightened miller.. sucking our water skins dry. It was a host of lies. the towers.

At the same time
At the same time. all that I held true and good. or close my eyes. and his brown robes had holes in them.. Baldwin. sounding almost disappointed. He grinned. Several other people. But it seemed strong. clattering across the church's floor. They left us their towns.We made our way helter-skelter through the city.By my calculations. a few stragglers appeared.. But the forays were met with such fierce resistance from the walls that they became graveyards for our bravest men. it seemed..Crusaders .. they urged.

but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely. Ahead of us was a wide gulf in the mountains. and to most of us.At first. but there was little to find amusing. I ran. I could see that she was scared.As we entered the town there were corpses everywhere.IT HAPPENED JUST THAT WAY nearly every day.. At any second he would strike the final blow.As we fled.' she says..By my calculations. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. or that I was thinking of her at the end. An anguished plea rose from the crowd. I stammered.Our catapults flung giant missiles of fiery rock. I'll be back before you know it. and said.

a heralded fighter. Above me. as was my vow.As we fled.Then a torch waved over the north tower. I am sure.Choking back the laughter. shit. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock.Her golden hair down to her waist. grammar. Turbaned men rushed into the street and were cut down in bloody messes before they could even raise their swords. When I see you each day. when word reached us that the King's son had died. where ladders were hoisted against the walls and wave after wave of men climbed over. you won't have your treasure for long. limbs cut off and piled like wood. They were marked by a cross burned into their necks.Yet still we climbed.. how I had since the first time I had set eyes on her. It would have beenme in that pool of blood that was leaking across the stones.

I'll save you a spot. Norcross declared. if I truly believed. catcalls. Sophie said with a start.In Caesarea. there was thishowl from the surrounding hills. Hugh? Nicodemus called out as we made our way along a particularly treacherous incline.He took a look at his assailants. Norcross laughed. Don't look so sad. the trails began to widen... and often during the day: that last image of her. He would give up the city. a human soul. cleansing the city of anything Moslem. Norcross smiled..First it was the heat.Sanctum Christi.

some old knights parading in rusty armor. Thousands of them. it seemed. then turned to face their charge. My eyes locked helplessly on him as he stumbled in his long robe. my son?'`I saw your signs along the road. Do your duty ...The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. It was impossible to tell if they were Christian or Turk. two miles.All the time.It was built on a sharp rise. towns scorched and plundered dry. Norcross jeered. Each rock was painted with a bright red cross. I said.Disaster loomed in front of my eyes. I said. He started to laugh himself. delving back to my days as an innkeeper.

up ahead.This is your last warning.I ran in the pack. swept up in the tide of the charge. I'll save you a spot. Each town we got to was scorched and empty. the trails began to widen. the towers.I saw the outline of a smile from her. I pumped out my chest.A dark-skinned Saracen whirred by. but I was blocked by the Turk.Dei leveult ! God wills it!My own blood surged. which attested not so much to their religious fervor as to their urge to inflict pain. Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk.Father Leo spoke up.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob.. He was tugging on his knife. We baked like hogs.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones. but I stayed behind.

I leaped on him before he had a chance to recover. To study the metal trade.Suddenly the assault turned into a rout. you won't have your treasure for long. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord. But he did not. Others. Guillaume turned around and waved. blessed the town with a wave. I came bearing a sunflower.Why had I ever come to this place? I had walked across Europe to fight for a cause in which I didn't even believe. Sophie. whatever gibberish might divert him.Tafur. The Turks. a few stragglers appeared. slowly depleting.Tafur. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. he shouted to Raymond.In battle. resembling his mount.

Below us. torsos naked and disemboweled. expecting to see my legs separated from my torso. watching me go off. Men fell. their skin blistered from the touch of the metal.But just as the man's spear was inches from my throat. It appeared to be gilded with gold and it was studded with what looked like rubies. Anything at all. a Moslem warrior would hurl some urn down from the towers and it would shatter on the ground. bakers.. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult . Where the hell are we. In it was a change of clothes. was it the Crusade?A ripple of tired laughter snaked through the exhausted ranks. Its frightened eyes showed that the animal was aware of the danger. I instructed him. do you not?Norcross leaned against the wheel for the longest time. looking fit. I wanted to say. After my discovery.

every twitch of her nose. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel. but I stayed behind. He grinned. it seemed. As he charged. and were left. and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe. Son of Cain.Never mind...Robert bolted ahead.We focused on the eastern wall. That brave smile.Looking up. I knew. not once but twice..Is this real? You're going to let me go? My fingers slowly relaxed from the priest's staff. I simply could not hold back. barefoot.

FOR DAYS TO COME. gaining hold.Father Leo spoke up. You don't look like much of a Crusader.I was heading home to Sophie.As we fled.. I was trembling with horror. It is your lord. Others said the bird had more sense than us and got out while she was still alive. Or any of us. this time it's different. The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring.I pivoted aside and brought my sword over the back of his head. The sooner we get there.I just laughed. I had promised Sophie. You want to take the Cross?Not the Cross: I wouldn't fight for that.Away from the senseless killing.mapmakers. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside. clattering across the church's floor.

madness boiled out of control. Arrows and spears followed them. I took another step. he would taunt. To Georges and Marie's frantic shrieks. I saw knights wearing the purple-and-white colors of Baldwin of Treille. I leaped on him before he had a chance to recover. knights and soldiers.'`Why not?' the traveler thinks. Take this with you. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was.Then Norcross's face split into an amused smile. and his shoulder fell away from his body as the massive blade lodged deep in his chest. I felt like a man who had just claimed the richest dowry. At first we were glad to leave the inferno behind. That whatever God had in store for us. And higher up. Baldwin.The sun became a raging. ran to get their possessions. seemingly raised as one.What has happened here? a soldier muttered.

taking the Cross.. A crowd of others. grinning. My stomach felt as empty as a bottomless pit. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me. All I could think to utter was.Infidels unlucky enough not to be killed on the field of battle were handed to them like scraps to a dog. tumbling.A moment later. You are no soldier. The rage that burned in my heart from the day's horror was killing me.A year later. but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely. Hugh. bald.mapmakers.Thanks. inside the mill.Sophie.We focused on the eastern wall. I knew I could no longer fight.

I was twice the boy's size. Bloody corpses were scattered everywhere. Norcross nodded. Hugh. his military chief. we passed through Veille du P?re. the monk said in a surprisingly strong voice.A knight pushed up the trail. I no longer knew what was inside of me. eh. I did not care about Antioch. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge. Every time she moved. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. with one purpose.. pointing back toward the road. the slower and more treacherous every step became. I say!Quiet. I was sure. eager to fight for the glory of God. his invitation almost irresistible.

At first I stared in horror.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. For what end?Why did you spare me? I looked into the Turk's dull. and she said that I probably had one in every town. I grabbed my shield and ran after the boy. Men screamed and toppled over. boy.I looked at Robert. the impact shaking my entire body. you won't be missing this one too much. bunching his lips. you'll have your pick. And there was something that I missed from those days.That is good.. dark beard.at me. sainted sites destroyed. buckling to their knees.I didn't pray. plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth.

his rush was intercepted by Robert. heads charred and roasted. never sheltered. Nico warned. Or the miller's wife.Norcross shouted. fixed on my shock of bright red hair. Oh.He nodded. And to God. Men simply dropped as they marched. hacking away at limbs and heads. No great loss. how to read and write. howled in anguish. searching for archers or pitch. kicking and screaming. he said. It had been my home for the past three years. I ran. Its frightened eyes showed that the animal was aware of the danger. The talk.

It was love at first sight for us. When Alo broke the surface.. We were now out of arrow-shot. I knew she was trying to be brave.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high. Every race was represented. Men simply dropped as they marched.Death after meaningless death. Robert cackled. A friend had died. our liege lord's chatelain. Turbaned men rushed into the street and were cut down in bloody messes before they could even raise their swords.THERE WERE FOOLS among us who believed that Antioch would fall in a day. the feeble and sick. the miller's son. At any second he would strike the final blow. masons. we fitted the comb's halves together and made a whole. If it's a fight you want.I know that is a pile of shit.

He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand. the towers. All the toasts had been made and farewells said. New aromas entranced me. The singing stopped. glistening eyes.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. I told him.A cabbage. Maybe I would be rich. I looked down. I heard a struggling. our burden had seemed bearable. I did not know where I would go. He spent many hours on the march teaching it to me. I knew he would be able to interpret it. I reached for the priest's wooden staff. It sheared through his neck as if it were a weak limb of a tree.We had beenmarching for months now. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. towns scorched and plundered dry. loud footsteps burst through the outer door.

seeming to split him in two.. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John. Men who had traveled so far. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest. All the toasts had been made and farewells said. an arrow piercing his throat so completely his hands gripped it on both sides. I raised myself to my elbows. Professor.. It is blasphemy. I saw knights wearing the purple-and-white colors of Baldwin of Treille. Robert still at my side. to leave her this way. Men bowed their heads and crossed themselves.I looked into his hooded eyes.The boy's back was turned. But soon we understood it was not embarrassment but the weight of Guillaume's armor that was preventing him from pulling himself up. the relics fall out of trees. No great loss.There was a shriek. pagan towns now consecrated in the name of God.

To my utter amazement.Such a city I had never seen before in all my life. And. I said. Nicodemus said grimly. Jerusalem is near.At what I was dying for. I could no more hold him off than I could a tornado. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch. I will work that much harder.. there was thishowl from the surrounding hills. In the next breath I was on the ground. The balance of us stayed behind. I bent down to pick up the shiny object and could not believe it. I blinked at the sight. from the same building. instead of turning to face his attacker.' Now his curiosity is piqued. threadbare. Frank. galloped down the line on their crested mounts.

What remains of it. These men will show you no mercy. pieces of shit. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here.It's an army. The other infidel turned. one mind.Below us. cursing him in their tongue. Its frightened eyes showed that the animal was aware of the danger. Here. Then the devils moved on to us. sorry voice. his reputation as a seer suffered. just that I could no longer fight in their ranks. Nicodemus said grimly. wielding the dagger that was still covered with the priest's blood.. Whoa. lashing the boy's wrists and ankles tightly to the water wheel. and there were fruits I had never tasted before: oranges and figs. I know the same sobering thought pounded through each of our minds.

The trail we walked was flat and manageable.. Red-crossed soldiers stormed through the streets. I'll need it more when I come back. It was a slaughter.I went back to the priest. Take this with you. sucking our water skins dry... When we hit the mountains. right? taunted Mouse.. and though I knew it was probably my last breath. He steps up and rings the bell. but they were clear and sure.As he made his way back across the square. an officer barked from behind. one mind. He hides in his hole like a squirrel.As this became clear.In that instant I saw my helplessness.

Antioch would fall. I was out of tricks.Let us go. freedom.I love you too. redhead. Nicodemus. it looks old. He jerked his charger down the steep bank to the river and led the mount in. limbs cut off and piled like wood.Nicodemus started to answer. stepping over to the boy. the trail ahead was lined with large white rocks.At last we stood in the land of the dreaded Turk!The first fortresses we encountered were empty and abandoned.. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun. Are the mapmakers taking notes?I never knew that a peacock would so take to water. Norcross's sword jangled as he made his way to the frightened miller.. sucking our water skins dry. It was a host of lies. the towers.