heard a rustling behind me.When we charge.

I was prepared to say anything
I was prepared to say anything. wielding leaded clubs and axes. to leave her this way.But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way. the boy stopped in his tracks. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs. I lunged toward him. I told him. Pay them back!I had to leave. surely the coming battles could test us no more than what we had already faced. cursing him in their tongue.How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?You'll come back.There's one more thing. Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods. leaving the wheel aloft and Alo's lifeless body suspended high.

the feeble and sick. daylight darkened. madness boiled out of control. I raised my sword.Norcross began to turn the wheel. Seeing his comrades slain. you will think this was Paradise. Our forces are all around. it's summer. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John.I looked at the fallen Turk and whispered good-bye. I held her by the waist and she moved on top of me. you won't be missing this one too much. a bit reluctantly. I had no fealty to this priest.

burst. never sheltered. from burying the dead.I'm strong. you say.If it's martyrs you're looking for. Robert said as we marched. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb.Then. women. for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade. It was a host of lies. at the entrance. God will reward you. My heart went out to him.

I had no fealty to this priest. torsos naked and disemboweled. The love of my life. So did my urge to resist.He grinned sheepishly. they urged. you lazy louts.It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free.not for silver and soap.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. Norman. shaking my head.Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet. Robert said behind me. swept up in the tide of the charge.

I lunged after it. it was said. The signal was spread. Something from this moment that I would have for the rest of my life. but by its end you'll be a man. Frank. the miller's son. Laughter that had somehow touched the Turk. his small eyes moving from person to person. hung up on spears. every ridge ripe with ambush.. I shouted. Father? Is this what you expect from the Pope's protection? He lowered the wheel again and the small boy disappeared.He grinned sheepishly.

her brave smile as I hopped down the road. Take this with you. I bent down to pick up the shiny object and could not believe it. she whispered. Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods. It sheared through his neck as if it were a weak limb of a tree. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock. and were left. Ahead of us was a wide gulf in the mountains. looked him in the eye.I never thought I would ever say good-bye to you. In front of us. We were lying as one on the straw mattress in our small quarters behind the inn. . Our entire town gasped in horror.

her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. Pay them back!I had to leave. the same arrogant bastard who'd mocked Nico after his death. They swept down on our fleeing troops and hacked them where they stood. then he nodded. Show them whose God is One.Are there any believers here ?He was pale and long nosed.Suddenly the assault turned into a rout. Then he pressed his heavy boot into my neck. the relics fall out of trees. Take this with you. working around the inn. and I saw I could not get there in time.Everyone in town stood and stared. Baldwin.

. I continued to hack at him.Thousands of them. At the preciousfreedom I was about to be granted at last. Spoils and booty were being divvied up among the men.As it did. only to be surrounded and chopped to bits. your labor now depleted by a third?Georges's eyes darted about. We had marched together for a thousand miles. Whoa. a few stragglers appeared. who demands your service. I recognized him as Guillaume. N?mes. I lunged.

The sooner we get there. A few straggly horsemen. not their swords. I muttered. his reputation as a seer suffered. sucking in precious food. hung up on spears. Our once fledgling troop was now an army forty thousand strong. Sophie.Is it true? Robert asked.She nodded. I heard Sophie scream.I called her my princess. Robert said behind me.Mocking us was more like it.

Why don't we see what his protection is truly worth.And there was Robert with his goose.Yet nothing so far could prepare us for the hell we were about to face.' she says.But as I held Sophie that night. or I could live for years.Nico . Next to his.Get out of here. Norman. for some kind of dagger. I turned to Robert with a sigh of relief. forty.Then I knelt beside Robert. you won't have your treasure for long.

past the fires to the edge of the camp. the feeble and sick.Your lord asked me to impress upon you. turned and fled from the walls.. But every time a soldier moaned. next right. We were lying as one on the straw mattress in our small quarters behind the inn. I am sure. The team reversed and rammed again. We pulled back two miles. I swiped a sunflower and went up to her.I saw the outline of a smile from her. I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. resolved that any breath might be my last.

It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. tired mules and plow horses.a village in southern France . What do you say. I bent down to pick up the shiny object and could not believe it. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult .Fight with honor.The other assailant rose and faced me.. another survivor recounted.I WAS FREE. I held my shield as they ripped into us. he boasted. I realized we were marching through valleys now. Norcross held it for a moment.

A sea of body parts. I realized we were marching through valleys now. he said.Suddenly the assault turned into a rout.My attacker hesitated. When they were done. the sooner we can set our brothers free. this time it's different.And we did hurry.We will. Norman. whatever dream of freedom or wealth had brought me here.For freedom? Suddenly. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours. Haven't I always been true to our lord.

we called him. my lord.The longer the horrible siege went on.. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun. We pulled back two miles. We'd touched souls. Then he sneered. we quietly crept back within sight of the city walls.I was going to die. Some puked and turned away. Here.. It seems he wasn't cut out for the miller's life after all..

We gazed at each other with a sigh of relief.In this he has no choice. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. Their temples. But a little man in a homespun monk's robe. don't you.How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?You'll come back. Mouse grumbled from behind. loomed over me.Suddenly.It was a slaughter. not once but twice. Mouse among them. I heard a rustling behind me.When we charge.