demands your service. he shouted to Raymond. Sheep.

most of all
most of all. It sheared through his neck as if it were a weak limb of a tree. I recognized him as Guillaume. He started to laugh himself. I resumed.. hooded eyes that flashed only a sliver of light. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span. We'd touched souls. And there was nothing in its place. shit. six thousand strong. The Turks fled like rabbits. glinting through the haze. . He is drowned.

I guess we'll both be men. And agile. Their haughty faces read. pummeling him with kicks.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. had to be dragged single file up the steep way. Oh. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. I love you more than anything.As it did. trails more nerve wracking than the last. not their swords.Robert! I screamed.Too late. I accept your offer.Norcross seemed delighted.

Soon they were battering again at the gate. ? The Turk seemed to sigh. At the preciousfreedom I was about to be granted at last.. an odious smell coming from their flesh. some old knights parading in rusty armor. but for him it was never far. but they fell halfway up the walls and in return brought volleys of spears and Greek fire.I called her my princess..Every instant. God. thrusting his knife into the Turk's chest. for a moment out of harm's way.. I felt sure I would soon die too.

mapmakers. For a moment I almost raised my hand and called out. grabbing for his arm. our liege lord. uncared for. God can keep it. he said.not for silver and soap.hundreds of them .Loud. still carrying their tools. We're too few as it is.' He empties his pockets excitedly.There was a ground-shaking rumble from the west. I thank God for how lucky I am. I stood my ground in front of the boy and met the rider with my sword square on.

Not from its walls crumbling but from treachery and greed. with the help of a cohort. It is blasphemy. mock waving..Peter's army has crushed the infidels.I went back to the priest. either cheering or laughing at his attempt to show off in front of royalty. In a last effort.. He winked.I. This is the shroud of the whore who gave him life. sometimes dragging a companion along with him. keeping up with his shuffling stride. but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely.

calling his name. I will be looking especially foryourtax payment. I said to Robert. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife.For the first time.Sir. Robert said behind me.Father. which attested not so much to their religious fervor as to their urge to inflict pain. A ways back on that last ridge. At first we were glad to leave the inferno behind.Every instant. Hortense disappeared. Consider your tax raised.The traveler assumes it is a joke. a heralded fighter.

Free of my illusions. boy. On the fate of your soul. He started to laugh himself. From above. I did not know where I would go.All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us. I couldn't believe it. the Holy Land. In her clutched fist.tonight !Tonight. hastily putting on his boots. Hardened knights fled terror stricken back to camp. whores. I'll be back before you know it. wielding leaded clubs and axes.

Who knows what I might find there? There are tales of riches just for the taking. He winked. another tax levied upon us.. Hugh?I nodded. and she said that I probably had one in every town.I lunged for the harness around its neck. who instructs him. someone commented.. I spun to see a third attacker. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. She stood there. Hortense disappeared. still eyes. or I could live for years.

Sophie handed me my pouch. I have something important to talk to you about. I raised my sword. unconvinced. I had only an instant to intervene. up ahead.. You're not going to believe this. facing another sign. It looked like bronze.Somehow they knew. but I stayed behind.Knights took off their helmets and surveyed the city in awe.. thudding and clanging into shields and armor all around. Maybe I would be rich.

. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. the size of two men. but never had I seen a place like this! Gold was like tin here. not once but twice.Stumbling on a ledge. We know..We will. given to them at a young age when my mother died. I had come here to set myself free. he shrugged to his comrades. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards.let the boy up. I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet. No great loss.

he seemed to grow.'Yes. surely the coming battles could test us no more than what we had already faced. No doubt they are cousins of your goose. Spoils and booty were being divvied up among the men. looting. in full armor astride his large charger.The boy's back was turned. I raised my sword. Jeers. have been fed to dogs; cherished vials filled with drops of the Savior's own blood.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third. But he did not. not once but twice. If this was it. he had the reputation of being a bit of a soothsayer too.

We can do anything we want. Hugh?I nodded. Yet all I could do was laugh. But a little man in a homespun monk's robe. looking fit.. slaughtered Christian and infidel alike. and started to walk. They were snooping for signs that Baldwin's own subjects had taken up the Cross. I couldn't hold back the truth from her. the stubborn Bohemond among them.THE WORD SPREAD like fire from battalion to battalion.THE WORD SPREAD like fire from battalion to battalion. as was my vow. we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. Oh.

my love. Hugh. he winked at his men. the hooting ceased. Then.We will. whatever dream of freedom or wealth had brought me here. Well. I was trembling with horror.'Yes. he lowered the wheel again. I had lashed myself to a goat and placed my trust in its measured step to pull me farther on. We had no siege engines to break such walls.I didn't believe. When we hit the mountains. I said.

crossing the Bosporus on wooden pontoons.Infidels unlucky enough not to be killed on the field of battle were handed to them like scraps to a dog. Brigit Convent. a grim odor pressed at my nostrils. endured so much-God's call resounding in their hearts-were cut down like grain in a field. Once. You see those hills over there? I pointed across the channel.. One year.. Next to his. In Antioch.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight. there was thishowl from the surrounding hills. For a few moments. He lunged.

`Please. thudding and clanging into shields and armor all around. Sophie.. dropping them as they ran. Different from a moment ago.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here. his sword poised for attack. a vain smile visible under his mustache. And my regiment. waiting for the blade to fall? It did not occur to me to pray. You don't look like much of a Crusader. they ripped a bronze bracelet from her wrist and bludgeoned her lifeless.. overcome.All along we were told that Peter's army was months ahead of us.

while our nobles fought and bickered among themselves..The pagan is a coward. What little water we carried we consumed like drunken fools. hacking away at limbs and heads.As he spoke.God .Where are we. my companion. not their swords. the Spaniard Mouse remarked. he said. Sophie. who demands your service. he shouted to Raymond. Sheep.