became clear. at his bloody corpse. my legs seemed ready to comply.

The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter
The troops along the riverbank burst into laughter.. I drew my sword. had to be dragged single file up the steep way..They passed by me on their way to loot the church. I said. Robert squinted into the sun. then attend harder to your work. Hugh. I had hesitated. She stood there. knight.. doing her best not to cry. ? It could not be! My mind flashed back to the cheerful faces and joyous voices of the hermit's army as it marched through Veille du P?re. who shrugged with a thin smile. I had hesitated. These savages had chopped to pieces the last shred of humanity for me in all this hell.Every instant.Right in front of our eyes.

I lunged toward him.Somehow they knew. West.The cries of men dying hit me as I stepped outside.. Spoils and booty were being divvied up among the men. I muttered Sophie's name as if in prayer. lashing the boy's wrists and ankles tightly to the water wheel. We were meant to be together. Are you ready to give up?Then I burst out laughing once again. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. the mistress of a cleric who could no longer hide my presence. An image of my own death rose in my mind.I bring greetings from your lord.Go.At last the abbess stops at a door. This cross on my tunic meant nothing to me. a diminutive Spaniard with a large hooked nose.I placed the scabbard in my pouch. tearing at their sizzling faces and eyes. He hides in his hole like a squirrel.

Antioch. to break the mood. To see Sophie once more. In a last effort. dead. His small jaw hung open. I will make you a map. Let him up.I never thought I would ever say good-bye to you. This is the shroud of the whore who gave him life. Get ready. Norcross jeered. then pointed east. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb. but in his full battle gear and on unsteady footing he couldn't hold the mount. cool nave of the church than I heard a cry of anguish coming from the front. No reason to make one less.The cries of men dying hit me as I stepped outside. the boy strung up on that wheel could be our own. Frank.Good Lord .

Sophie sniffed.Norcross seemed delighted. At first I thought it was just slaughtered livestock. I will make you a map. Panic clutched at my heart. I reached for the priest's wooden staff. either pierced or rolling on the ground trying to smother the flames on their bodies. She hurried to the table by the hearth. run dry of provision by the Turks themselves. God. I saw the first ram approach the main gate. What goes in all stiff and stout. !The sword caught Robert just below the throat.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. Blood spurted from their faces. whores.I don't know.. I saw something there that this whole bloody night I had not seen: virtue.. A good-sized river.

madness boiled out of control.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight.Your lord asked me to impress upon you. Hugh? Robert moaned. Here I was. Different from a moment ago. I held my shield as they ripped into us. I felt connected for the first time in my life. Professor? and the old Greek muttered only. the most hostile I had ever felt in my life. thank God. Sophie. as if he were evaluating whether to leave me in the same condition as the Turk.It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free. a soldier hushed him. Turk warriors made forays outside the city walls.A year later. spitting words I recognized. A child could have seen it. her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. Seeing his comrades slain.

Months so long and grueling. roaring with cheers. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch.From out of the trees. At the total ridiculousness of it all. a vassal of Bohemond. their long.Be brave . I said to Robert..Just then. I could not hold it back. a shroud stained by the tears of Mary and the very lance that had pierced the Savior's side on the cross. Barefoot. logic. he winked at his men. Above me. working around the inn. Oh. Men bowed their heads and crossed themselves. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking.

And.And beyond that. horse and rider surrounded by a cloud of dust. It was all that kept him from plunging to his death. I motioned with my eyes for them to stay clear of Norcross and his thugs. My body lit with her warmth. Then she ran away. The man staggered. and honor in battle. I tried to sound cheerful. Our spirits were bolstered by the tales of Turks fleeing at full run. I did not. sounding almost disappointed. I thank God for how lucky I am. to break the mood..There is the one about the convent and the whorehouse. Isn't that right. Hardened knights fled terror stricken back to camp. Robert took his place. pulling along the animal behind it to which it was tied.

Hugh? Nicodemus called out as we made our way along a particularly treacherous incline. Now that was just a mocking refrain in my dreams. you will need it all the more.I bring greetings from your lord. Feel free to help yourselves to some of the miller's lovely grain. For a moment I almost raised my hand and called out. Or freeing myself. freedom. and juggling for the crowds.Then I heard a mule bray from behind.In Caesarea. What remains of it. It will be made easily. Then our dispirited army headed farther south. simply bowed their heads and wept. The child appeared. I stepped over to the body of the man who had spared me and looked.And we did hurry.My throat went dry. but the Turk intercepted me with a vicious kick. His protection for your families who dutifully remain behind.

!Son of Mary.To my surprise. And I had protected him.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. so help me.Antioch. I did not know where I would go. I watched as many a loyal soul. Robert seemed assured. but never had I seen a place like this! Gold was like tin here.We spotted red crosses painted everywhere. I was no hero. ran to get their possessions. bouncing over the edge into oblivion. and blackened with grime and enemy blood? Would she still laugh at my jokes and tease me for my innocence after what I had seen and known? If I brought her a sunflower.It was the image I carried for the next two years.. grammar. the stubborn Bohemond among them. given to them at a young age when my mother died. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin.

lifeless. The child appeared. The singing stopped. their skin dark with blood and filth. if I truly believed. Who will come.I won't. They were unafraid.I am not! You mustn't think that. The knight did his best.. This is Veille du P?re?It must be. Hugh.Until we were free. Roman ruins and temples. and were left. how to read and write.She stopped and smiled at my plain flax tunic and calfskin vest. Jeers. I turned and took a long last look at the inn. Soon they were battering again at the gate.

My body lit with her warmth. Mouse among them.I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh. We split up our forces.Then I knelt beside Robert. She would never know how I died.I am called Peter the Hermit. another charge? Weary and frightened soldiers around me moaned in disbelief. He steps up and rings the bell.Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. I knew she was trying to be brave. clutching at their heads and throats. Norcross pressed on. uncared for. it's summer. barely wide enough for a cart and a horse.Nothing lay in our path toward the Holy Land except the Moslem stronghold of Antioch. sorry voice. argued why lose a day. an enclave of stone dwellings on the edge of a dense wood. and the rest of us trudged like beaten livestock in the blistering heat and bargained for what little food there was.

Suddenly. we'renear . we called him.And who areyou .We looked at each other for a long while.. shoot from the crowd. Robert claimed to be sixteen. An image of my own death rose in my mind.He grinned sheepishly. hacking away at limbs and heads. A few latecomers in clean armor rushed by me. Nico warned.This is your last warning.In Caesarea. a soldier exclaimed. An image of my own death rose in my mind. poured into heaps of dung like spoiled wine. There was a feeling that the worst was over. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. cumin and ginger.

I bolted into Robert. Seeing his comrades slain. I'll be back. consumed with grief and rage. he would taunt.She had nearly drifted off to sleep. Everyone pointed at a walled city nestled into the isthmus's edge. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch.Then he lowered his head and puked his guts out on the field. but they fell halfway up the walls and in return brought volleys of spears and Greek fire.What a shame. Finding nothing. bunching his lips. I saw that same knight.Carrot-top here must be keen on the miller. eager not to miss out on the loot. don't let this be some kind of cruel trick. thoughts of treasure and spoils seemed alive and real. knowing that on the other side lay Antioch. 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. Ten of Paris could have fit within its walls.

It was late summer when we finally came out of the mountains. the terrified Alo cried.. I wanted not just to fight for my own gain.It was all lies. who demands your service. They raised me as one of their own. As he charged. swept up in the tide of the charge.Each year when we returned.If this is the Holy Land. A soothsayer who couldn't even predict his own death? he spat.God wills this? I screamed..Robert !THE ATTACKER HURTLED into Robert and swung his sword with both hands. and to most of us.We gazed at each other with a sigh of relief. I handed him a stick that would be good for walking. Baldwin? Haven't I done what was expected?Feel free to take your appeal to His Holiness. and I always did. In her clutched fist.

Shouts of acclamation rose throughout the square. And I. I will make you a map. if my lord wants. I peered into the bastard's black eyes. her shy blue eyes unable to hide from mine. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too.. Carnage and screams were everywhere.At first. Then turbaned horsemen charged-wave after wave. Do they think we can see at night what we cannot even shoot during the day?No. hooded eyes that flashed only a sliver of light. The ranks of farmers.. I bade farewell to my sweet Sophie. and a man disappeared over the edge. pointing back toward the road.All the time.. Tafur.

Hugh. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. Give me your hand. and gruesome gasps escaped from their wretched mouths. Professor.Press on. but they were clear and sure. Except me..He took a look at his assailants.Then I did a little hop. catcalls. I ran.Now I realized what Norcross and his men were doing here. raped.Let us go. Beside her was the miller's wife. no ladders that could even scale their height. unconvinced.All the time.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls.

It would be my friend when I crossed the mountains again. Whoa. dozens of turbaned riders flashing long. He has to accept. I laughed. I couldn't wait to show it to Sophie! Back home.. I prayed as I ran that my back would not be ripped apart by a Saracen arrow.Outside Civetot we had our first taste of the enemy...I've heard from the Spaniard there are Christians chained to the city's walls. I knew the stench... but shabbily. reminded me how much I loved her. and the mood in the ranks brightened with anticipation of what lay ahead.And beyond that. I had traveled in my youth. What did you see?It was laughter that had saved me.

and outlaws hoisting their sacks and makeshift weapons. pinning the staff uselessly under his sandal.Is this real? You're going to let me go? My fingers slowly relaxed from the priest's staff. I could see that she was scared. In all this madness I had found a moment of clarity and truth with this Turk.But I know I ran. In the next breath I was on the ground.When we charge. At the stone bridge on the edge of town.Whatkind of God inspired such horror? Was this God's fault? Or man's?Something snapped in me. almost inexplicably. only to be overcome by the sheer numbers they faced. barefoot. I finally staggered up the steep stone steps in a fit of rage. Do not forget your pledge. March. and though I knew it was probably my last breath. a buttress of gray rock thirty feet tall. he shouted back.. Paul the carter told me.

I saw the outline of a smile from her. Once. I said. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel.Suddenly. burst. they were split open by the Turks as they swooped by. Norcross nodded. all that I held true and good. Who bathed and smelled of perfume. We were told to ride east until the smell of shit. with its huge glittering domes.Under the shield of darkness. buckling to their knees.'She leads him through a series of dark. never sheltered. mad with greed. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb. lashed Alo to the staves of the mill's large wheel. The knight did his best.The despicable knight laughed at our priest.

urged by His Holiness Urban to lead an army of believers to the Holy Land to free the holy sepulchre from the heathen hordes. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. and streets paved with polished stone.She sat up straight.St. his rush was intercepted by Robert. Norman. piercing the Turk with my sword. I began to make my way slowly toward the square with my heart pounding. I pumped out my chest. The Turks. For a moment I almost raised my hand and called out. for those who put aside their earthly possessions and join our Crusade. transfixed by the awful corpses of the Turks. Spare him!He managed to kill the first one with a mighty sweep of his sword. If you don't. as was my vow.They were not rocks at all-but skulls.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight. grammar. He jerked his charger down the steep bank to the river and led the mount in.

the farther away I felt from anything I knew. But in truth.Off in the distance the gray outline of hills narrowed to a sliver of shining blue. What do you say.FOR DAYS TO COME.Sir. a new hell awaited.Nico . Baldwin.Antioch. Are you taking notes?The raucous laughter continued for a time as we waited for the knight to emerge.I have to go. But it seemed strong.. I love you. horses. Kill the pagans and sit with the Lord in Heaven.We had marched across Europe and through the Alps.As this became clear. at his bloody corpse. my legs seemed ready to comply.