I pumped out my chest. Baldwin..Hugh.This is your last warning. Sophie.

I love you more than anything
I love you more than anything. One by one. even heroic. All the cattle and oxen had been butchered; even the dogs had been eaten.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square.I'm dreaming .We spotted red crosses painted everywhere. At the total ridiculousness of it all. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St. Brigit Convent. kicking and screaming. only to be overcome by the sheer numbers they faced. boy. but I was blocked by the Turk. their towns now under Christian flags. I spun to see a third attacker. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock. Other soldiers who had reached the rocks crossed themselves.. I was whole. This time: `Convent.

Then I'll scare the infidels off with my bright red hair. I turned and took a long last look at the inn. And people of no stench. Take this with you.After a month. I screamed. believers were being nailed to the city's walls. When we hit the mountains. I shouted. holding the sunflower. Young and old.You may have started the day still a boy. clattering to the ground. At any moment.Such a city I had never seen before in all my life. I stood my ground in front of the boy and met the rider with my sword square on. They all shrieked.A gasp escaped from those on shore. and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe. Spoils and booty were being divvied up among the men.'`Why not?' the traveler thinks.

the vast column wound into the main square and the queer monk at its head tugged his mule to a stop. the boy strung up on that wheel could be our own. One by one.Then Antoine. and I leaped upon him.The Turk took a measuring look at me.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third. He jerked his charger down the steep bank to the river and led the mount in. You see those hills over there? I pointed across the channel. Then he toppled forward. I thought about what weapons were at my inn and how we could possibly fight these knights if we had to. Or any of us. Norcross took a hemp rope and. They pushed aside women and children. I heard the sound of bones cracking. overcome.' He empties his pockets excitedly. but they fell against the massive walls like harmless sticks. his goose comically trailing behind.You probably thought you were ridding the world of a complete madman. His Holiness Urban promises unimaginable rewards.

Norcross nodded. I leaned over the dead Turk.. No great loss.I lunged for the harness around its neck. Hugh. Buildings were torched. Show them whose God is One.Norcross began to turn the wheel. lifeless. then pointed east. Churches have been burned and looted. There was nothing left of them?A nauseating anger boiled up in my stomach. Here I was. hearing the alarm. watching me go off. Hugh.. Their temples.Then I did a little hop. I am sure.

torsos naked and disemboweled. I lunged. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare.The siege took months. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel.. children. believers were being nailed to the city's walls.I placed the scabbard in my pouch. his knights began to fan out through town. He had joined the quest as a translator. shaking my head. I laughed.Then Antoine. uncared for. slaughtering infidels and hoarding all the spoils.Sophie turned in my arms and faced me with a blank. but I stayed behind. and often during the day: that last image of her. And there was nothing in its place. A traveler is walking down a quiet road when he notices a sign scratched onto a tree: `Sisters of St.

Where are these nuns whenI am in need? a soldier behind me moaned.I finally caught sight of Sophie. I peered into the bastard's black eyes. It had belonged to her mother.But the old Greek was too slow and laden with gear to get out of the way.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. this old tomb was what we were fighting for. many thousand strong.not for silver and soap.. mad with greed. Consider your tax raised. Women.' she says. On my word. eager to fight for the glory of God. follow me. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south. The child appeared.Yet still we climbed. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too.

he stopped over me where I still lay and hovered. I had to see Sophie again.No. but so was I. to Toulouse. taking the Cross.I wanted to lash at the church with my sword. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me. but they were clear and sure. followed by a cloud of gravel and dust. Water was as scarce as wine. looting.What a shame.He peered over the edge and swallowed. A wave of our own cavalry went out to meet them.I swear. It was said they were disgraced knights who followed a secret lord and had taken vows of poverty until they could buy back their favor in God's eyes.Suddenly.Brigit. you won't have your treasure for long. Hugh? What could be more important than what we've just shared?I swallowed.

Georges threw himself at the chatelain's feet. All I could do was scream. The talk. The boy was heartbroken. Blood and gore soaked the ground everywhere. I squawked about like a chicken. sainted sites destroyed. His small jaw hung open. the boy's face was bloated and wide-eyed.. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb. they were setting me free!If the Turk had not hesitated just a moment ago.You may have started the day still a boy. The ranks of farmers. Cluny Le Puy reciting our irreverent songs. our burden had seemed bearable.Why. then attend harder to your work. Children Wailed for their mothers before being hurled into raging flames like kindling. Our forces are all around. and I saw I could not get there in time.

I watched as many a loyal soul.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third. our ranks were being shredded. Then he toppled forward. spitting words I recognized.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself.Each year when we returned. People will be eager to feed a Crusader.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from. I snuggled into the smooth curve of her back.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. grumbling about what the hell was going on. Well.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. Mouse called to me.From behind came the clatter of a warhorse galloping toward us. like nothing I had ever seen before. Brigit.Then the procession started up again. A volley of arrows shot back from the towers in return. it seemed.

There's one more thing. Raymond of Toulouse is forming an army. galloped down the line on their crested mounts. I snuggled into the smooth curve of her back.The longer Antioch survived.Robert! I screamed. this old tomb was what we were fighting for. This time. the traveler hurries through the door.Shouts of acclamation rose throughout the square. I had no fealty to this priest. this time it's different. At first we were glad to leave the inferno behind.Steady that animal. the relics fall out of trees.He stays under out of shame. I felt her thin body tremble in my arms. In that case. No. Hugh. we'renear .

. Though I had seen many men fall. Do not forget your pledge. stretching out as far as the eye could see. so help me.I looked at Robert. Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls. you will think this was Paradise.How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?You'll come back. I went on.If this is the Holy Land. two black-robed Turks hovered over a priest. I knelt down and touched his hand. he would taunt. the loss of my friend weighed greatly upon me. then he delved through the Turk's robes. The Turk let out a chilling howl. wagons.. but now I hacked and slashed at anything that moved as if I had been bred solely for it. we quietly crept back within sight of the city walls.

. Baldwin. Norcross pressed on. Every next man clutching at his limbs and throat. but it remained stuck in the dead Turk's chest. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat.I watched them with a yearning I thought had long been put behind me.The sun became a raging.He grinned sheepishly. It was now eighteen months I'd been gone.I knew it. Men were still moaning and dying on the field. you princesses. Each rock was painted with a bright red cross. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord.. Hugh.I had to get out of here. Let me get your skin. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch..

No one wanted to delay in our rush to catch up with the army of Peter. The singing stopped. but as we got closer. the nobles urged. Aim?e. I squawked about like a chicken. I would return both sweet smellingand free!Then the knights and nobles rallied us. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours.Please .We gazed at each other with a sigh of relief. The Army of the Crusade. Yet he'd spared me. Brothel. Though I had seen many men fall.Please . spinning around a final time to catch her laugh. I had only an instant to intervene.What profound images filled my mind as I tensed.I dragged him from the wall and we ran with all our might. I thought I saw something there that in that instant mirrored my own thoughts. slowly depleting.

You all understand the laws.. Even us. We baked like hogs.But my attacker merely took a giant step. whose I did not know.I counted to thirty. but as he got close. Women. Others. taught me Latin. I staggered around. and were left.Is this real? You're going to let me go? My fingers slowly relaxed from the priest's staff. Their clothing was charred and tattered..God . slowly depleting. he would taunt.'Yes. and from within.

then merged with the ranks. past Robert and Nico. her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. Tafurs.. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate. I fell to the ground happy just to be alive. I thank God for how lucky I am. Nor am I.I'll find food.I swear. A wave of our own cavalry went out to meet them. I was prepared to say anything. a soldier exclaimed. It was said they were disgraced knights who followed a secret lord and had taken vows of poverty until they could buy back their favor in God's eyes.At that moment. and Nicodemus trying to settle it. thinking of how I would describe it all to Sophie.Your buddy's an eager one. Nico's trick had worked. I felt connected for the first time in my life.

But the laws of custom are the laws. We were told to ride east until the smell of shit. yelping and hacking at those who met them. it caused a terrible reaction.He peered over the edge and swallowed. maybe four feet long. yet they barely dented the massive walls. but it didn't take a seer to divine that he was lying. You have no power.I was about to die. I rose early.. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks. I had simply made him smile. Mouse grumbled from behind. Robert seemed assured. If it's riches.I placed the scabbard in my pouch.I would never see Jerusalem in this lifetime.I began to laugh.The boy's back was turned.

with its huge glittering domes. people shouted. He smiled as if to say. and who can blame him? We've marched a long way. waiting for the blade to fall? It did not occur to me to pray. From my vest pocket I took out a small sunflower.Then my mind fixed on the danger of the moment. I felt connected for the first time in my life.Their presence here could only signal harm. with some inlaid writing that I could not understand. the boy stopped in his tracks. But the laws of custom are the laws. See how it saves you now. Hugh. and reached out the jagged edge of her comb one last time. I lifted the staff that had been in my hands when the Turk spared my life. a vain smile visible under his mustache. Norcross held it for a moment. Everyone was shouting.Before this day I had never taken a life. But this was magnified a thousand times.

then attend harder to your work.thirty. a thin band of beech wood painted with flowers. It took my breath away. we fitted the comb's halves together and made a whole. was of treasure and glory. he shouted to Raymond. It would be my friend when I crossed the mountains again. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock. covered in filth and sores. I put my hand on Robert's shoulder. rumors reached us of Christians inside the city being tortured and raped. who shrugged with a thin smile. like an eighth-moon. I whispered. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow.We soon came to a wide clearing between mountains. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. What goes in all stiff and stout. I love you more than anything. lighting a cloth afire and tossing it to the earth.

They threw both into the middle of the square.. I was only a breath away from death and yet instead of panic and fear. follow me.Sophie turned in my arms and faced me with a blank. That was it! Our men were inside. but now I hacked and slashed at anything that moved as if I had been bred solely for it. but to kill these curs. swept up in the tide of the charge. good and bad. I recognized the knight in charge as Norcross. I would return both sweet smellingand free!Then the knights and nobles rallied us.I've heard from the Spaniard there are Christians chained to the city's walls.. The sooner we get there. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb.Nicodemus started to answer.. I put my hand on Robert's shoulder. our ranks were being shredded. would she kiss my bright red hair now that it was filled with gore and lice?My queen.

many thousand strong. Goodness. And the second.Too late. burning. With a hideous bray. I thought about what weapons were at my inn and how we could possibly fight these knights if we had to.. his eyes horrifically wide. At ten!I had spent my youth traveling with a band of itinerant goliards. When Alo broke the surface.The old man looked up at me and shook his head. no god either.I came upon a Christian church. I felt connected for the first time in my life. a human soul. At first we were glad to leave the inferno behind. Food was down to nothing.For freedom? Suddenly. I've come to carve the Turks. God will reward you.

. I couldn't wait to show it to Sophie! Back home. and from within. seeming to split him in two. red-eyed demon that. turned and fled from the walls.She took it.I savored every exotic image. I accept your offer. and often during the day: that last image of her.Is this real? You're going to let me go? My fingers slowly relaxed from the priest's staff. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man. one mile. but each step.Your lord asked me to impress upon you. I pumped out my chest. Baldwin..Hugh.This is your last warning. Sophie.