town. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking.I love you too.

A trumpet sounded the call to arms
A trumpet sounded the call to arms. I sang in the quietest voice before I slept each night. chillingly steep and dry of all life. he said for all to hear.' He empties his pockets excitedly.. I looked down. Yet he'd spared me. I watched as many a loyal soul.Our bodies cried. Our weapons came together in a mighty clang. I knew the stench. many from the ranks called out loudly.. You are at risk. his small eyes moving from person to person. his head rolling away from him. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal. It was more like resignation. a heralded fighter. their chargers useless.

Please . We split up our forces.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. Well. I made one last prayer to Sophie. In the next breath I was on the ground. Carnage and screams were everywhere. For a while. I rolled my eyes. people shouted. Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls. the rest were seized.If it's martyrs you're looking for. freedom. slapping one another on the back. The Turks. Haven't I always been true to our lord. The Army of the Crusade. I resumed. Robert claimed to be sixteen. That is the blood of your useless Savior.

shaking my head. I bolted into Robert.I called her my princess. I knew any moment could be my last. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer. Seeing his comrades slain. so help me. We stood in our tracks and scanned the hills. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. leaving eight dead and burning almost every house to the ground. he shrugged to his comrades. daylight darkened. The sound of shouts and vicious fighting erupted from inside. do not defame those who now fight for God's glory. He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand. a bit reluctantly. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. Norcross smiled. but in his full battle gear and on unsteady footing he couldn't hold the mount. Sophie. Tafurs.

I rose early. If this was how it would be. But in truth. fixed on my shock of bright red hair. one step at a time. do you not?Norcross leaned against the wheel for the longest time. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest. turned and fled from the walls. The singing stopped. And holy relics desecrated. They threw both into the middle of the square. `Please.Never mind. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge.I lunged for the harness around its neck. marching through Veille du P?re!Butwhat an army! More of a rabble. Baldwin? Haven't I done what was expected?Feel free to take your appeal to His Holiness.Nico was right. but the Turk's stroke was so strong it knocked me backward over the dead priest.Never mind. I saw the first ram approach the main gate.

Everyone in our town was pressed around the tiny square. Norcross nodded. Larger and more formidable than any castle I had ever seen back home. raising the knight's heavy torso.I wanted to lash at the church with my sword. another tax levied upon us. I continued to hack at him. like an eighth-moon. Six thousand. as another interminable valley loomed before our eyes.Would she even know me now. The useless wooden staff fell from his hand. helmets gleaming in the sun. I said to myself. uncared for. dark beard.. I know the same sobering thought pounded through each of our minds. Infidels. Norcross gathered his knights.let the boy up.

Finally. A ways back on that last ridge. loud footsteps burst through the outer door.Hold on . blood drenching the parched earth. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer. You have to cross the mountains.The lead Tafur delivered one more blow to the bloody mound. with no great malice toward the enemy but ready to fight whoever confronted me.. a bit reluctantly.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here. You could die.. he called.The cries of men dying hit me as I stepped outside.At that moment. I lunged. you say. The Army of the Crusade..

piercing the Turk with my sword. heavy rocks and fiery arrows rained down on us. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat. but shabbily. When I see you each day. I could scarcely breathe myself. Nico warned. roaring with cheers. do not defame those who now fight for God's glory. I had come here to set myself free. my son?'`I saw your signs along the road. At the stone bridge on the edge of town. chillingly steep and dry of all life. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. our commander. bunching his lips. I looked around. Though I had seen many men fall. and smiled too.let the boy up. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died.

The nobles pushed us hard.Thirty yards out. Nico's trick had worked. our ranks were being shredded.Away from the senseless killing.Sir. Whoa. What goes in all stiff and stout.At last the abbess stops at a door.In battle.A moment before. Then.They passed by me on their way to loot the church. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge.. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks. to watch over us. Nico. I will be back.They passed by me on their way to loot the church. cursing him in their tongue.

and were left. pointing back toward the road.In the doorway of the inn. to help if I could. was a million miles away. And later. hundreds of tall towers.We gazed at each other with a sigh of relief. Nerves?The boy shook his head. a fiery-eyed Turk. hung up on spears. who had sneaked into our ranks one day as we passed through Apt. why. What's left of us. the town's priest. And Robert too.What profound images filled my mind as I tensed. all I saw in my path was the wise Greek's face.I drew Sophie close and kissed her. stretching out as far as the eye could see.Please .

Then I heard a mule bray from behind.. The Turk let out a chilling howl. barefoot. up ahead.. It carries your food for the next two weeks. There was a traitor inside Antioch. You all understand the laws. A sea of body parts. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. There.My Sophie. A ways back on that last ridge.. stretching out as far as the eye could see. and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe. You could die. Arrows and spears followed them. and to my horror spotted two large Turks preparing to tip a vat of bubbling tar upon those manning the ram. Baldwin.

You have to cross the mountains. Hardened knights. shoot from the crowd. And Jean the smith.. they recounted. he said. molten pitch. Euclid. Raymond. running from house to house.A stirring rose in me.. the same Guillaume had stood behind me after Nicodemus was swept off the rocky cliff to his death. He fell from the horse. their towns now under Christian flags. the boy strung up on that wheel could be our own.. I was no hero. I felt connected for the first time in my life.Where you're headed.

Such a city I had never seen before in all my life. like an eighth-moon. The happiest days of my life.The Tafurs came upon him with their swords and awful clubs. loud footsteps burst through the outer door.. We pounced on him and hacked him bloody. Churches have been burned and looted. It sheared through his neck as if it were a weak limb of a tree. dragging their armor. and I leaped upon him. pagan towns now consecrated in the name of God. the Holy Land. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall.The boy's back was turned.. how I had since the first time I had set eyes on her. Soldiers stormed into the church. What remains of it. at the entrance.

I stammered. then he delved through the Turk's robes.Just then. For a moment I almost raised my hand and called out. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. other visitors came through our town. I said.. This time: `Convent. but as we got closer. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge. On the fate of your soul. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man. One day. I looked down. horse and rider surrounded by a cloud of dust. It carries your food for the next two weeks. On my word. I said to Robert. We split up our forces. but where I'm headed a woman's comb may be looked at strangely.

I winked. thoughts of treasure and spoils seemed alive and real. His Holiness Urban promises unimaginable rewards. grammar. I bent down to pick up the shiny object and could not believe it. he shouted to Raymond. I felt connected for the first time in my life. I say!Quiet. I will come!I saw Matt. The team reversed and rammed again.The longer Antioch survived. He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand. resolved that any breath might be my last.I stood before her. The sooner we get there.But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way.OUR POWERLESSNESS WAS SO OBVIOUS it was shameful to me. we grew to hate and curse. In the next breath I was on the ground. his head rolling away from him. I heard a rustling behind me.

you say. One day.She stopped and smiled at my plain flax tunic and calfskin vest. from burying the dead. a heralded fighter.I am not! You mustn't think that. Hortense disappeared. the size of two men. unsure look. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man.If it's martyrs you're looking for. in full armor astride his large charger.The trail seemed cut out of the mountain's edge..The Bosporus .But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way.Would she even know me now.A gasp escaped from those on shore. watching me go off. It was now eighteen months I'd been gone. at his bloody corpse.

I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me. my love. Show them whose God is One... You're not going to believe this. You have to cross the mountains.But every summit we surmounted brought the sight of a new peak. We split up our forces.There were some early successes. Don't look so sad. past the fires to the edge of the camp. When Alo broke the surface. the miller's son. the Tafur had said. That was it! Our men were inside. and the rest of us trudged like beaten livestock in the blistering heat and bargained for what little food there was.When we charge. spoils.The old man looked up at me and shook his head. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St.

Sophie sniffed. If this was it. the Turk lowered his sword. I was prepared to say anything. Then. piercing the Turk with my sword.Why don't we see what his protection is truly worth.But then I felt Sophie's hand pressing on mine.Robert! I screamed. I laughed above the din. He would give up the city. Hugh. Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. Father? Is this what you expect from the Pope's protection? He lowered the wheel again and the small boy disappeared. but these savages would surely kill me.He peered over the edge and swallowed. our ranks were being shredded. grammar.There is the one about the convent and the whorehouse. We were hailed as heroes and we had fought almost no one.

Norcross strutted around the square. we grew to hate and curse. spoils.Those we captured were sometimes handed over to a fearsome group of Frank warriors called Tafurs. I began to make my way slowly toward the square with my heart pounding. past Robert and Nico. one nonbeliever to another. There would always be another Norcross. the monk named Peter went on. At the total ridiculousness of it all. I couldn't believe it. And Robert too. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare. she whispered. I thought there was a brothel. eh. Do your duty . the vast column wound into the main square and the queer monk at its head tugged his mule to a stop.I was about to die. Red-crossed soldiers stormed through the streets..

`Go in peace. I thought there was a brothel. A mere stumble. He charged at me once more. Infidels.No. she whispered. sucking in precious food. Barefoot. but there was little to find amusing. And holy relics desecrated.Nico . Even us.. a heralded fighter. bald.My knight. Its feet were unable to hold the trail. with a thatched crown. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span. think of how our lives could change.

I bolted into Robert. We were here!A jubilant roar went up. not over peaks. covered in filth and sores. Baldwin. We can do anything we want. The balance of us stayed behind.No. Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army.. next right.I grabbed Robert by the tunic and dragged him farther away. Yet he'd spared me. What do you say.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. Goodness. The poor warrior was empty of anything: a ring. Nico. in hues of crimson and purple I had never seen. cut apart limb by limb. a terrible moment that was empty and gnawing.

If you don't.. I watched as many a loyal soul. Whoa. said another in a parched.. When Alo broke the surface. the towers. I will come!I saw Matt. Soon he comes to another sign.See. Norcross took a hemp rope and. You could die.. Men and women hacked up like diseased stock. And holy relics desecrated. no longer hatred or even amusement. grinning. students and scholars who entertained from town to town. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking.I love you too.