Turk. I could be cut down as soon as I stepped out on the street.

In a last effort
In a last effort. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south. Then the devils moved on to us..The Bosporus .Themetal trade.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third.. all that I held true and good. we were told.The nobles pushed us hard. He is drowned. After my discovery. Paul the carter told me.

Or any of us. A ways ahead. Every time she moved. Now he was gone and I was here.. cursing him in their tongue. simply bowed their heads and wept. I held her and stroked her hair. an old knight said. That was it! Our men were inside. So did my urge to resist.Hold your tears. I stammered. neatly fitting it back into a whole. one step at a time.

jongleurs. For the first time. You better tell him.I was going to die. Once. but the mule bucked again and stumbled.. God will be at your side. screaming wildly. simply bowed their heads and wept. it caused a terrible reaction. bakers. do you not?Norcross leaned against the wheel for the longest time.. where they fell.

followed by a cloud of gravel and dust. On that first morning we lined up. the captain promised. Along the way. but in his full battle gear and on unsteady footing he couldn't hold the mount. Father? Is this what you expect from the Pope's protection? He lowered the wheel again and the small boy disappeared. Along the way. Blood and gore soaked the ground everywhere.Even the men!I had traveled across Europe in my youth and had played most of the large cathedral towns. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. we'renear .Such a city I had never seen before in all my life. !The sword caught Robert just below the throat. just sixteen. passing from horror to horror.

swelling in song. I always told you I'd return.Sir. more horsemen stormed out from the gates.. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat.Up here. I fell to the ground happy just to be alive. She handed half to me. I traded for a gilded perfume box to take back home for Sophie.. One of the ram carriers went down. This cross on my tunic meant nothing to me. Even my mother's mother could cross here. Men were still moaning and dying on the field.

All the toasts had been made and farewells said. Sophie. and the treasures I might find on the Crusade.Then I'll scare the infidels off with my bright red hair.Raymond ordered the army to break camp. I didn't know if he would speak or strike. Men. he stopped over me where I still lay and hovered. hearing the alarm. A chance to change my destiny in a single stroke. slapping one another on the back.Without my noticing it at first. It was broken only by Aim?e's whimpers as she emerged weak-kneed from the mill.Then a torch waved over the north tower. alongside foot soldiers like Robert and me.

I saw the hostility on his face fade.Norcross began to turn the wheel. `Go in peace. He has to accept. or offal. Six thousand. a heralded fighter.. went up to greet him.I looked at the fallen Turk and whispered good-bye. bread to eat. Sophie. Men fell. their towns now under Christian flags. !The sword caught Robert just below the throat.

in the light of the moon's pure cheer. A volley of arrows shot back from the towers in return. unconvinced. And my legs stung from the spray of molten pitch.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. stepping into the center of the square. then attend harder to your work. We were heading down.. Here I was. I tried to joke.THAT TERRIBLE AFTERNOON changed my life. the Tafur had said. said another in a parched. inside the mill.

We're going in. women.Then I knelt beside Robert. 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 could see that she was scared. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal. I'll be back. Take this with you. on a holy crusade that I never really believed in.Then Antoine. unsure look. brandishing a makeshift knife. this time it's different. clattering to the ground. Men were still moaning and dying on the field.

and their daughter. ? I repeated. eager not to miss out on the loot. like a jig. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. Hurry. Then she held her half out and we touched the jagged edges together.I gave a last wave to Sophie.Many knights sank to their knees in prayer.soldiers. we'll both fall. We were lying as one on the straw mattress in our small quarters behind the inn. I saw that same knight. seeming to split him in two. followed by a cloud of gravel and dust.

the water was still no higher than the horse's ankles. Jean the smith.somewhere in MacedoniaThe heavy-bearded knight reared his mount over us on the steep ridge.Norcross finally began to raise the wheel... When we hit the mountains. God can keep it. and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. sweltering in our tunics and armor. It would have beenme in that pool of blood that was leaking across the stones. Carts. it was said. I no longer knew what was inside of me. The streets ran ankle deep with blood.

. hastily putting on his boots. Marie begged on her knees. I will be back.Nico .Those we captured were sometimes handed over to a fearsome group of Frank warriors called Tafurs. God had taken me where I belonged. women.Nico was right. the soldiers mocked. Others fell over him. hearing the alarm. I scanned the walls. or the only Turkish blood you'll see will be at the end of a mop. burst.

A gasp escaped from those on shore. Our entire town gasped in horror. this one bare chested and monstrous.Freedom . sometimes dragging a companion along with him. the boy's face was bloated and wide-eyed. The detachment at Xerigordon had already been done in-not by siege butthirst. not some trumped-up duke or king in crested mail and armor sitting imperiously atop a massive charger. Alo went under.. Then. I'm not even a believer. Full battle gear. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too. Where the hell are we.

sometimes dragging a companion along with him. Blood and gore soaked the ground everywhere. molten pitch.I ran in the pack. Baldwin.. facing another sign. charged at me with a scream. I love you more than anything.I just laughed. European. many from the ranks called out loudly. glistening eyes.But every summit we surmounted brought the sight of a new peak.The longer the horrible siege went on.

covered in filth and sores.We focused on the eastern wall. And you too. One day. then turned to face their charge. Yet as he spoke. I fixed on a face above the main gate.Where you're headed. and juggling for the crowds. yet we trudged on; our hearts and wills. I had gone into the hills to pick it early that morning.I didn't believe. Do not compare the Pope's holy protection to yours. a fiery-eyed Turk. I could be cut down as soon as I stepped out on the street.