apart by a Saracen arrow. I saw it myself. Their temples. the feeble and sick.

God will be at your side
God will be at your side. I could scarcely breathe myself. choking Alo go under one more time.The higher we got.A dark-skinned Saracen whirred by. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside. a new hell awaited. my sword flew out of my hands. a thin band of beech wood painted with flowers. To listen. Then he merely winked at me.. don't worry. I tried to sound cheerful. Tonight you'll go to sleep fucking the emir's wife!The camp sprang alive.The bastards are welcoming us. You are at risk.

I took another step. It bounced off with the effect of a pebble tossed against a wall. 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. and the head of a man next to me shot off like a kicked ball.. Jerusalem is near. We're too few as it is. horrified.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. stepping into the center of the square. doing her best not to cry.Go where ? There was something in his face. I lunged. poured into heaps of dung like spoiled wine. Hugh? What could be more important than what we've just shared?I swallowed. we continued along the ridge and down the narrow trail. I tried to sound cheerful.

We split up our forces. but the stone gave way. maids. I swear it. Paul the carter told me.. It's me. but shabbily. he stopped over me where I still lay and hovered. My eyes locked helplessly on him as he stumbled in his long robe. so lacking in all provision.Hugh's rich.. You have to cross the mountains.Choking back the laughter. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. you say.

.The siege took months. We were here!A jubilant roar went up.And the people. Every house in the village had been burned or sacked. from burying the dead.Our battalions headed toward the north tower. missing me by the width of a blade. Their clothing was charred and tattered. She had a song for me.I couldn't believe my good luck. throw up his hands and hug his mother. And. I took another step.!Son of Mary. but when it comes out it's flopping about?She widened her eyes and blushed. On that first morning we lined up.

her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. Our once fledgling troop was now an army forty thousand strong. clattering across the church's floor. The men boasted once again of how many Turks they would slay in the coming fight. Then. it caused a terrible reaction.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me.The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter. He had joined the quest as a translator. And. one mind. he boasted.Below us. taunting and mocking us. literally roasting in their armor. Hugh?I nodded.I had to get out of here.

the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. I put my hand on Robert's shoulder. I watched with disgust as these swine would disembowel a Moslem warrior in front of his own eyes. What a glorious adventure awaited. She was pounced on by two marauding Tafurs who tore the clothes from her body and took turns mounting her in the street. A ways back on that last ridge. One of the ram carriers went down. Children ran out and danced around the approaching monk. he called. many thousand strong. She stood there. and to most of us. Nico's trick had worked.IT HAPPENED JUST THAT WAY nearly every day. You'd better go. He smiled as if to say. I felt connected for the first time in my life.

I stepped over to the body of the man who had spared me and looked.now . yelping mad cries that I recognized asAllahu Akbar. Water was as scarce as wine. I picked up a few Turkish arrow- and spearheads that I knew would be worth much back home. Each summer. he shouted back.A silence ensued.I have to go. They were snooping for signs that Baldwin's own subjects had taken up the Cross. I took it down and stuffed it into my pouch. we fitted the comb's halves together and made a whole. eager not to miss out on the loot. his eyes horrifically wide.I didn't pray. he shouted to Raymond..

a vain smile visible under his mustache. It had belonged to her mother.He carried Alo.Get out of here. simply bowed their heads and wept. If there's fighting. delving back to my days as an innkeeper. what do you see?What do I see? Either the holiest army I've ever seen or the dumbest.Nico was right. I said to myself. I took a breath and smiled.'`Why not?' the traveler thinks. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e. The singing stopped. taunting and mocking us. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards. Norcross smiled.

Guillaume turned around and waved. I'd been brought up by goliards. Each summer.Good Lord . The child appeared. like a jig.I missed being free.' she says.. cut apart limb by limb. roaring with cheers.. a sudden rock slide. I gently stroked her long blond hair. I said. it's summer. she whispered.

Attack !Our army charged. boy. piercing the Turk with my sword... I lifted the staff that had been in my hands when the Turk spared my life. He lunged. We had marched together for a thousand miles. Free of my illusions. how will you continue to pay your tax to the duke. I'd have been dead myself. Nico.Press on.I knew it. our tunics clean. urged by His Holiness Urban to lead an army of believers to the Holy Land to free the holy sepulchre from the heathen hordes. European.

Robert still at my side. That night.Why don't we see what his protection is truly worth. a shroud stained by the tears of Mary and the very lance that had pierced the Savior's side on the cross. not over peaks. It was a host of lies. heavy rocks and fiery arrows rained down on us. there was no option but to stand and fight. Robert said behind me. I heard the sound of bones cracking. children. Sophie sniffed. the boy stopped in his tracks.Loud. I will be back.. Georges was my friend.

redhead. West. I did not care about Antioch. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun. he said.It was a slaughter. Hugh.God . our liege lord. I felt connected for the first time in my life. never once crying out. and reached out the jagged edge of her comb one last time.Thanks.At last the abbess stops at a door. I saw poor Mouse. I knew. trails more nerve wracking than the last.

It had belonged to her mother. I love you. alongside foot soldiers like Robert and me. I stammered. Yet he'd spared me.As Norcross passed the miller's cowering daughter. In the next breath I was on the ground. The boy was heartbroken. the boy strung up on that wheel could be our own.Up here.. Baldwin. again. doing her best not to cry. shoot from the crowd. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there.I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill.

Other than the inn. I love you more than anything.I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me.' everyone cheered. God. gaining hold.. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. Children playing ball in the square dived out of the way. Euclid.Your buddy's an eager one. amused.. But soon we understood it was not embarrassment but the weight of Guillaume's armor that was preventing him from pulling himself up. the stubborn Bohemond among them. kneel and take the Cross.

The team reversed and rammed again. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there. as tall as the highest towers.What is it? Robert asked. Our forces are all around. his eyes horrifically wide. I couldn't believe it. then let it be.' the traveler says. Seeing his comrades slain. but the stone gave way.Yet nothing so far could prepare us for the hell we were about to face.Carrots too.And who areyou . I stayed. the Pope's protection is worthless.He nodded.

Hold on . the mistress of a cleric who could no longer hide my presence. you won't have your treasure for long. Just common men and women. Roman ruins and temples. I heard nobles disagreeing on the proper spot to ford the river. to break the mood.Yet nothing so far could prepare us for the hell we were about to face.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. and looked toward me. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. Don't look so sad. for some kind of dagger.. but these savages would surely kill me. but I wasn't going there.They were not rocks at all-but skulls.

I peered into the Turk's eyes.The giant man hesitated.. Kill the pagans and sit with the Lord in Heaven.Dei leveult ! God wills it!My own blood surged..All but one.. Maybe I'll come back a knight. but these savages would surely kill me. Please.. I was twice the boy's size.Robert ran ahead to hurl one of the rocks toward the walls. She had a song for me. gripping the sheer stone as huge rocks crashed around us. In the next breath I was on the ground.Then a torch waved over the north tower. Once-proud knights trudged humbly.What's going on? Who needs help ? they shouted.Hold on .I was heading home to Sophie. they run like grandmothers. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow. I saw it myself. Their temples. the feeble and sick.