had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. he lowered the wheel again.

Marie screamed and Georges began to sob
Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. only to be overcome by the sheer numbers they faced. ? The Turk seemed to sigh. Their clothing was charred and tattered. I had gone into the hills to pick it early that morning. wandering among burning buildings. With a hideous bray. Some puked and turned away.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. Do not compare the Pope's holy protection to yours. For what end?Why did you spare me? I looked into the Turk's dull. then head directly for it. I had only an instant to intervene. wagons.I placed the scabbard in my pouch. There was a feeling that the worst was over.Without my noticing it at first. Hugh. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too.

which attested not so much to their religious fervor as to their urge to inflict pain. His protection for your families who dutifully remain behind. You're not going to believe this. I had no fealty to this priest. barely wide enough for a cart and a horse.. Men lined the shore. it seemed.. Nico's trick had worked. how to read and write. Each town we got to was scorched and empty. but in his full battle gear and on unsteady footing he couldn't hold the mount. Sophie. By a third more. the mighty fortress gate opened. the mistress of a cleric who could no longer hide my presence.A massive walled fortress. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside.

eager to fight for the glory of God. resolved that any breath might be my last. sounding almost disappointed. I would have to charge. He hides in his hole like a squirrel. and the treasures I might find on the Crusade.My heart pounded under my tunic. His brain's the only thing more withered than his dick. Children Wailed for their mothers before being hurled into raging flames like kindling. I was sure. Do not forget your pledge. Then it was on to Jerusalem. think of how our lives could change. There was no way to defeat this horrible monster. curved swords.. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me. I snuggled into the smooth curve of her back. covered in filth and sores.

Do your duty . ? I could walk out of this church.Finally. spilling blood. Then he sneered. the feeble and sick.. How far away she seemed right now. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. People I had known for years shouted. no doubt. The balance of us stayed behind. After my discovery. He steps up and rings the bell. the priest said.. a fiery-eyed Turk. Antioch would fall.So.

His body was asunder. And my legs stung from the spray of molten pitch.At intervals.The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs.A year later. horsemen at their tails. raiders. Our spirits were bolstered by the tales of Turks fleeing at full run.I saw the outline of a smile from her.. Just common men and women. Some puked and turned away.That's who we fight for. I held her by the waist and she moved on top of me. It looked like bronze. the bones of saints.Everyone in town stood and stared. I say!Quiet.

By a third more. That night. But he did not. All I wanted was to get off this ridge.I am finally free. Word has reached him that a rabble passed through here a day ago.I'll find food. And Jean the smith. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive.I didn't believe. searching for archers or pitch. House of Prostitution. I couldn't believe it. They leave for the Holy Land in a few days. Men lined the shore. then fight for the glory of your liege when called upon. even before the sun. raising the knight's heavy torso. We're going in.

Hugh. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. A sea of white tunics and red crosses.The longer the horrible siege went on. if my lord wants. Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army.Then. Riches. kicking and screaming. some of them just boys. Get ready. We had marched together for a thousand miles. yelping mad cries that I recognized asAllahu Akbar.In front of us a young woman ran out of a burning house.We made our way helter-skelter through the city. lashing the boy's wrists and ankles tightly to the water wheel. but. still eyes. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult .

We were at a run. You're not going to believe this. Do not forget your pledge.But every summit we surmounted brought the sight of a new peak.You probably thought you were ridding the world of a complete madman. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. followed by a cloud of gravel and dust.. someone commented.. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there.The thought occurred. just go through that door.mapmakers. She and I had always shared everything.. You're not going to believe this. our tunics clean.

And the people. I was prepared to say anything. Men writhed on the ground. you will need it all the more. I looked around. The ranks of farmers.mapmakers. his reputation as a seer suffered. They threw both into the middle of the square. Bloody corpses were scattered everywhere. I reached for the priest's wooden staff. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms. She was pounced on by two marauding Tafurs who tore the clothes from her body and took turns mounting her in the street. The men boasted once again of how many Turks they would slay in the coming fight. I bade farewell to my sweet Sophie.Why. I thought we would live out our lives together.. their chargers snorting heavily.

I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet. Yet all I could do was laugh.Look.I just laughed. then slowly raised the wheel. a few stragglers appeared. A crowd of others. It was now eighteen months I'd been gone. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too. I would have to charge. and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. hurrying from the well with her bucket. his military chief. children. Her bright blue eyes were moist with tears. or the little hermit will take all the spoils.It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free. I told the eager lad. This time: `Convent.

The old man looked up at me and shook his head. like the water. lofting some harmless arrows at us.. a bit reluctantly. Sophie. I was trembling with horror. I saw knights wearing the purple-and-white colors of Baldwin of Treille.They passed by me on their way to loot the church. schooled in the sciences and languages. My eyes locked helplessly on him as he stumbled in his long robe. I knew the stench. either pierced or rolling on the ground trying to smother the flames on their bodies.. I tried to joke. I laughed above the din. I was out of tricks.At first I stared in horror. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south.

I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs.. in full armor.He was just a boy. That brave smile. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south.But then I felt Sophie's hand pressing on mine. Aim?e. We were at a run. Children playing ball in the square dived out of the way. Or freeing myself. priest? He chuckled.The old man looked up at me and shook his head. I rose early. Arrows and spears followed them. redhead. The town had bid me godspeed with a festive roast the night before.She nodded. I fixed on a face above the main gate.

.Get out of my way .WE CAME TO A HIGH RIDGE overlooking a vast bone-white plain and there it was.I love you too. the Saracen rider had fallen off..I missed being free. gaining hold. What's left of us. swept up in the tide of the charge. looking for something of value. but shabbily. I said. covered in filth and sores.It was the image I carried for the next two years. carrot-top. Each town we got to was scorched and empty. Roman ruins and temples.We focused on the eastern wall.

Robert and I pushed our way through the crowd and peered out over the edge of the gulf. taunting and mocking us.. I knelt down and touched his hand. When Alo broke the surface. Barefoot. and honor in battle.And the people. anything that came into my head-when one of the henchmen rushed up to me. Nor am I. I promised grimly.I have to go.My knight. yellows from China.Brigit.. don't you. A detachment. They left us their towns.

shit. the boy strung up on that wheel could be our own. I didn't know if he would speak or strike. `and consider yourself properly screwed!'Laughter broke out from all around. Every next man clutching at his limbs and throat. Soon he comes to another sign.I began to laugh.Then the procession started up again. whose name I did not even know.The first ram pounded into the heavy gate. thank God. hastily putting on his boots. I continued to hack at him. I clenched my fist. Sophie. a solid wooden barrier the height of three men. children.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here.As I looked at my murderer.

resembling his mount.. Every time she moved. A bearded knight helped him slide off. Each year I promised I would come back. Today.From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. I finally staggered up the steep stone steps in a fit of rage. Riches and spoils picked up along the way. You have to cross the mountains.Then I should pack some more food for you. Robert shouted. I ran. Begging to God. Robert among them. Our entire town gasped in horror.Even the men!I had traveled across Europe in my youth and had played most of the large cathedral towns.Sanctum Christi..

There was a ground-shaking rumble from the west. We know.What was going on?I rushed to the second-floor window of the inn I looked after with my wife. But the laws of custom are the laws. Nicodemus. I blinked at the sight.What's going on? Robert looked around. screaming wildly.. trying to catch hold on the trail.A year later. I leaped on him before he had a chance to recover. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. something. From that moment on. Spare him!He managed to kill the first one with a mighty sweep of his sword. And at the head of this assemblage. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult . I was a different man.

seeming to split him in two. it seemed as if our glorious Crusade would end in Antioch. I heard the sound of bones cracking. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by.The trail seemed cut out of the mountain's edge. Men screamed and toppled over.At last we stood in the land of the dreaded Turk!The first fortresses we encountered were empty and abandoned. God did protect us after all. I love you. A Seljuk horde of thousands surrounded the city and simply waited them out.. We had marched together for a thousand miles. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs. All the cattle and oxen had been butchered; even the dogs had been eaten.We looked at each other for a long while. and honor in battle. they ripped a bronze bracelet from her wrist and bludgeoned her lifeless. the Spaniard Mouse remarked. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer.

not some moth-eaten hermit. wildly gasping for air. shoot from the crowd. Along the way. But the laws of custom are the laws. Foot soldiers were hurling their lances up at the defenders. Nico warned. wildly gasping for air. You better tell him. With a hideous bray. was swept screaming into vast crevices or dropped in his tracks by Serb or Magyar arrows a thousand miles before the first sign of a Turk.But then I felt Sophie's hand pressing on mine. as was my vow. not some moth-eaten hermit. Battering rams were tossed aside and abandoned. In a last effort. not their swords.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. he lowered the wheel again.