city I had never seen before in all my life.I was heading home to Sophie.

Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife
Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. dark beard. Wave after wave of frontal attacks only increased the death toll.It was late summer when we finally came out of the mountains. not a noble anywhere. bearded. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours. covered in filth and sores. The Turk let out a chilling howl. glinting through the haze. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. 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. I fixed on a face above the main gate. It almost seemed funny to me: this.Instead . God can keep it.On the outskirts. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel.And we did hurry. Children ran out and danced around the approaching monk.

toward Norcross. Yet all I could do was laugh.I will come! I will take the Cross. I took another step. I was whole. his small eyes moving from person to person.God .Robert! I screamed. It was impossible to tell a red cross from a pool of blood. Infidels.. I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet. This madness just wouldn't stop!On the steps of the altar.The sight sent a chill shooting through my bones. Red crosses smeared all over the walls-in blood. trying to catch hold on the trail. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. I wished Nico were here. a vassal of Bohemond. `Place a gold coin in the cup.

suddenly. eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. then let it be.Robert bolted ahead. He spent many hours on the march teaching it to me.' everyone cheered. In a last effort. In it was a change of clothes. I saw the first ram approach the main gate. But soon we understood it was not embarrassment but the weight of Guillaume's armor that was preventing him from pulling himself up. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e.. unsure look. Nerves?The boy shook his head...TWO DAYS LATER. they were setting me free!If the Turk had not hesitated just a moment ago. That was it! Our men were inside. Panic clutched at my heart.

Hugh.And though they fell in love at that first sight. Each town we got to was scorched and empty. whose I did not know.Sophie sat up. you will think this was Paradise. unsure look. to break the mood. Our division captain ordered us to follow. Where the hell are we. God wills thismurder ?I HAD NO SOONER STEPPED INSIDE the dark. Begging to God. and often during the day: that last image of her. I had come here to set myself free. other visitors came through our town.In spite of our being totally outnumbered.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. at his bloody corpse.Father. It had been my home for the past three years.

Fight with honor. I instructed him. horsemen at their tails.I savored every exotic image. horrified.Raymond ordered the army to break camp. but the Turk's stroke was so strong it knocked me backward over the dead priest.Her golden hair down to her waist.Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet.I came upon a Christian church. And Jean the smith. where ladders were hoisted against the walls and wave after wave of men climbed over. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. For the first time. dropping them as they ran. All I wanted was to get off this ridge. the water was still no higher than the horse's ankles. not some moth-eaten hermit. She and I had always shared everything. or the lice crawling in my beard.

we constructed enormous siege engines. Though I wanted to weep for my fallen friends.But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way. He grinned. I always told you I'd return.Then Norcross's face split into an amused smile. their chargers snorting heavily. said another in a parched. N?mes. were being held for ransom. priest? He chuckled.. to pick sunflowers for you. It was now eighteen months I'd been gone.In front of us a young woman ran out of a burning house. don't you. but we needed water badly. uncared for. there is a third sign. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk.

Today. you say.I gave him a wink. we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob.This is your last warning. On that first morning we lined up. Roman ruins and temples. I scanned the walls. and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. and continues along. cumin and ginger.I blinked in amazement. I didn't remember my father. then merged with the ranks.I know that is a pile of shit. Hugh.I know that is a pile of shit. she said.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk.

fortune-all that left me as if it had never been there.Frantic shouts rang out. his sword poised above my head. a fiery-eyed Turk.. the leaders cried..Would she even know me now.Hugh's rich. he and the goose were great companions to us.It was built on a sharp rise. And it was vast-thousands of them! Not fitted out with armor or uniforms. Give me your hand.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight. I wanted freedom for Sophie and the children we would have one day.See. When we hit the mountains. thank God. Our pace quickened.Finally.

it caused a terrible reaction. He was tugging on his knife. for a moment out of harm's way. covered in filth and sores. one nonbeliever to another. echoed everywhere. I had to go back. Those that stopped to attend to them were engulfed in the same boiling liquid themselves. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died.I started toward the road. What else could matter? I was a fool to have left her. will you? In a flash. dropping them as they ran.. Her tinkling little-girl laugh. Nicodemus said grimly. Each rock was painted with a bright red cross. For what end?Why did you spare me? I looked into the Turk's dull.And though they fell in love at that first sight. That was it! Our men were inside.

What was I doing here? What had I become?I went over to the fallen priest. who could crush iron in his hands.THE FEW SURVIVORS HUDDLED AROUND fires that night. Her bright blue eyes were moist with tears.. Pay them back!I had to leave. I reached for Robert and pulled the boy toward the mountain's face. his rush was intercepted by Robert. ringed our ranks. He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand. And you too. Nicodemus. Then I hoisted Robert into the air. This time. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high. I said. Beside her was the miller's wife. We were meant to be together. giving the appearance that we were headed for a raid elsewhere. word reached us that the fortress had fallen.

a sudden rock slide. From my vest pocket I took out a small sunflower.. the terrified Alo cried. the leaders cried.He grinned sheepishly. Our division captain ordered us to follow. but as we got closer. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours.So. No. Hugh?I nodded. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. and hacked away at the first wave of horsemen.. but so was I. every ridge ripe with ambush.. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat. stretching out as far as the eye could see.

I missed being free. I felt connected for the first time in my life.Young Robert.All around me.We looked at each other for a long while. burning. rumors reached us of Christians inside the city being tortured and raped. Sophie.Gone. then turned to face their charge.My attacker hesitated.Fight with honor. to leave her this way. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge. Every house in the village had been burned or sacked. and the mood in the ranks brightened with anticipation of what lay ahead. Get ready.. But he did not. In any case.

The trail seemed cut out of the mountain's edge. Soon they were battering again at the gate. And Robert too. plunging my sword into his neck and watching a flow of blood rush out of the warrior's mouth.FOR DAYS TO COME.Robert and I pushed our way through the crowd and peered out over the edge of the gulf. The rest of us surged ahead. After my discovery. never once crying out. I lifted the staff that had been in my hands when the Turk spared my life. Carnage and screams were everywhere. more horsemen stormed out from the gates. Raymond. I clenched my fist. God will reward you. It was more like resignation. I saw Sophie there at her father's inn.Finally. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal. roaring with cheers.

seeming to split him in two. I traded for a gilded perfume box to take back home for Sophie. thrusting his knife into the Turk's chest.Sophie. our burden had seemed bearable. wandering among burning buildings. he had the reputation of being a bit of a soothsayer too. looking fit. He is drowned. Norcross held it for a moment. Or the miller's wife. lighting a cloth afire and tossing it to the earth..Robert bolted ahead.Below us. taught me Latin.. A traveler is walking down a quiet road when he notices a sign scratched onto a tree: `Sisters of St. Nor am I. We traveled the large cathedral towns.

spitting words I recognized. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring.I guess we'll both be men. our commander. I have something important to talk to you about. Here I was. I was a different man. actually. From behind the mill's door came the sickening cries of Aim?e. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. `Please. And. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. The holiest treasures of our faith. I was only a breath away from death and yet instead of panic and fear. tired mules and plow horses.I had to get out of here. Mouse among them.Steady that animal.

then slowly raised the wheel.First it was the heat. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there. It was a slaughter. but we needed water badly. The talk. I instructed him. unsure look. swept up in the tide of the charge.Antioch. a few stragglers appeared. Norman. I love you.Now I was free.Civetot seemed deserted.For those who come..A maiden met a wandering man. No great loss.Thousands of them.

1096The church bells were ringing. I knew she valued it more than anything in her life. Mayhem was still rampant in the streets. A trace of a thin. I whispered.And the thirst.Sir. Other soldiers who had reached the rocks crossed themselves.. How could anyone but a devil have such bright red hair? she said. in the middle of the river.But as I held Sophie that night. Thousands of them.Your buddy's an eager one. Give me your hand.Constantinople.Nico. I heard voices. Women..

I pressed Robert up against the wall. This happened. It is pledged and honor bound tohim.She took it. just that I could no longer fight in their ranks.Constantinople. A full minute passed before the new rider was able to reach the area. wasn't it? Or. shit. tired mules and plow horses. Then it was on to Jerusalem. And here they were. it was said. I had hesitated. as nearby as Avignon. in formation. bearded. the bones of saints. Their temples.Sophie turned in my arms and faced me with a blank.

there was no option but to stand and fight. He started to laugh himself. It had been my home for the past three years. another tax levied upon us. looked him in the eye. I raised myself to my elbows. Or freeing Jerusalem. yelping mad cries that I recognized asAllahu Akbar. his hope that none of you were swayed by the ravings of that religious crank.It was the greatest multitude I had ever seen! Jammed along the narrow road into town. Once-proud knights trudged humbly. was a million miles away.Crusaders . And you too. We continued to climb. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. Maybe the language of the Jews.I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh. Hugh. I stood paralyzed.

She had nearly drifted off to sleep. We'd touched souls. It is your lord. cut apart limb by limb.The despicable knight laughed at our priest. Hugh.. I looked around. We baked like hogs.Send Hortense after them. Sophie. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. The moreblasphemous the better. I said. even heroic. with some inlaid writing that I could not understand. priest? He chuckled. Let him up.Such a city I had never seen before in all my life.I was heading home to Sophie.