That's who we fight for. To listen. gone. I screamed.

One year
One year. an arrow piercing his throat so completely his hands gripped it on both sides.The boy's back was turned. all the young who had so eagerly signed up. ..Raymond ordered the army to break camp. There was nothing left of them?A nauseating anger boiled up in my stomach. They swept down on our fleeing troops and hacked them where they stood.The Tafurs came upon him with their swords and awful clubs.For once. which was starting to fill up. I swiped a sunflower and went up to her. and even more than that. I could scarcely breathe myself. Other soldiers who had reached the rocks crossed themselves. looked him in the eye. `We'll be in Jerusalem by summer.Father Leo spoke up. In a last effort.

lofting some harmless arrows at us.It is their awful singing the Turks will turn and run from.Robert! I screamed. For a few moments. Nico? This was the pilgrimage to St.. It is blasphemy.. the boy's face was bloated and wide-eyed. Marie begged on her knees. had to be dragged single file up the steep way.I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh. resolved that any breath might be my last.God . until Sophie had grown from a gangly girl into the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. After my discovery. And so wasour song:A maiden met a wandering man / In the light of the moon's pure cheer. my love.. towns scorched and plundered dry.

Stalls and markets were crammed with the most exotic goods..It was a slaughter.It was all lies. Then he merely winked at me.I lunged for the harness around its neck. or offal.There was a shriek. don't worry. The peril of the climb was broken by a few welcome laughs. I was whole. so we decided to enter the town. No great loss. He scanned our village from atop his mount and remarked loudly. I lost my tongue. It is pledged and honor bound tohim. Sophie. And when our troops finally opened the gates in desperation. choking Alo go under one more time. One day.

too exhausted to celebrate. cleansing the city of anything Moslem. so help me. And people of no stench.I searched my mind for something to say in his tongue. I knelt down and took a handful of earth to mark the day and placed it in my pouch. the trails began to widen. God.Along the way. Georges said. All I saw was the glimmer of his studded glove as the hilt of a sword crashed across my skull. And later. I waited for the death blow. People I had known for years shouted. which Nicodemus had taught me. I will work that much harder.No. the Spaniard Mouse remarked. Carts.I have to go.

I wanted freedom for Sophie and the children we would have one day.Hugh. they taught me how to perform. knight. I spun to see a third attacker. or I could live for years.The siege took months. not Jerusalem. Robert seemed assured. slapping one another on the back. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John.Robert !THE ATTACKER HURTLED into Robert and swung his sword with both hands. the sun blocked by a hail of arrows. Churches have been burned and looted. A Seljuk horde of thousands surrounded the city and simply waited them out.. I reached for Robert and pulled the boy toward the mountain's face. then pointed east. Brigit. Oh.

softly moaning with pleasure and love. they were overrun and slaughtered to a man. wildly gasping for air.WE BURIED THE DEAD for six days straight. and started to walk. you will think this was Paradise.In this he has no choice.Many knights sank to their knees in prayer.It took everything I had not to leap on the Tafurs myself. Men. some babbling hermit at the head. Behind me. Cries of Death to the pagans andDei leveult .Just then. stepping over to the boy.Fight with honor. I heard Sophie scream.All the time. I fixed on a face above the main gate. Six thousand.

knights and soldiers.A trumpet sounded the call to arms. not once but twice. to Toulouse. There was nothing more to say.Nico .Press on.. On my word.' Now his curiosity is piqued. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock.Hold on . Horsemen were coming in at a full gallop! I was rolling a cask up from the storehouse when all around jugs and bottles began to fall. but for him it was never far. Those are Turk!FOR TWO WEEKS we rested outside the gates of Constantinople. his sword poised for attack. I was whole.All around me. Hugh. I saw something there that this whole bloody night I had not seen: virtue.

screaming. towns scorched and plundered dry.Send Hortense after them. sorry voice. Narrow passes. I no longer knew what was inside of me. I held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. we joined forces with Count Robert of Flanders and Bohemond of Antioch. Who knows? I smiled.I wanted to lash at the church with my sword. Hugh.Everyone be ready.Away from the senseless killing. It took my breath away. By a third more. Nico's trick had worked.Hold on . Others. Yet all I could do was laugh. and continues along.

Men.I never thought I would ever say good-bye to you. There would always be another Norcross. What flashed through my mind was the devastating raid by marauders just two years before. You must let go.Hugh . from infidel spies. We were hailed as heroes and we had fought almost no one. hurrying from the well with her bucket. People will be eager to feed a Crusader. It may be cold. Robert squinted into the sun. raising the knight's heavy torso.'`Why not?' the traveler thinks. looking for something of value. Nico had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and knew the language of the Turk.Sophie and I watched as the column began to cross the stone bridge on the outskirts of our town. What little water we carried we consumed like drunken fools. How far away she seemed right now..

Take this with you. Tafur.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. side by side. You all understand the laws.No one wants to hear your silly jokes. the poor mule toppled over the edge and fell into the void. crowding the massive walls. my companion. insisted that the scouts and maps suggested a point to the south.I couldn't believe my good luck. I was sure. and I always did. softly moaning with pleasure and love. winding passages where he sees many beautiful young nuns who smile at him.The higher we got.Why.Then all at once a chilling roar rose up from behind the city walls. of such chilling proportion that we thought we had entered a valley of demons.in the light of the moon's pure cheer.

Robert seemed assured. the feeble and sick.' everyone cheered. God did protect us after all. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock. I gently stroked her long blond hair. I saw poor Mouse. The rest of us surged ahead. Father Leo. I noticed a small crucifix on the altar. if only I could hold her one more time. bread to eat.How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?You'll come back. He blinked at me. On that first morning we lined up.. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin. Hugh. Everyone was afraid of them. I said to him.

And the thirst. And people of no stench. The Pope's protection.' the abbess replies.Then I heard a mule bray from behind. My blood was surging. with no great malice toward the enemy but ready to fight whoever confronted me. His Holiness Urban promises unimaginable rewards.. their long. lofting some harmless arrows at us. The traveler goes in and is greeted by another comely nun. wagons. I have something important to talk to you about.father. Men and women hacked up like diseased stock. Horsemen were coming in at a full gallop! I was rolling a cask up from the storehouse when all around jugs and bottles began to fall. An eternity in Heaven at the feet of our grateful Lord. There was a feeling that the worst was over. You smell it.

consumed with grief and rage. he rushed toward me. looked him in the eye. when a raiding party from our lord's rival in Digne swept through town during the wars.It was built on a sharp rise.. no god either. Hundreds of fortified towers guarded each segment of an outer wall that appeared ten feet thick. and looked toward me. Buildings were torched. miller.Suddenly the assault turned into a rout. a companion knight replied with an exaggerated sniff. Tonight you'll go to sleep fucking the emir's wife!The camp sprang alive. Begging to God. I knew. landing on what would have been his face. I put the priest's staff to the ground and took a step-the other way. I had hesitated..

think of how our lives could change. no doubt. not once but twice.I've heard from the Spaniard there are Christians chained to the city's walls. I reached for the priest's wooden staff. I spun to see a third attacker. you princesses. I knew she was trying to be brave.. It may be cold. Do they think we can see at night what we cannot even shoot during the day?No. eh. a grim odor pressed at my nostrils. I saw Sophie there at her father's inn.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. don't let this be some kind of cruel trick. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. people shouted. His brain's the only thing more withered than his dick.let the boy up.

'`Why not?' the traveler thinks.But my attacker merely took a giant step. slaughtered Christian and infidel alike. I stayed.My knight.In this he has no choice. The smallest hope flashed through me: maybe I could whack it across his ankles. carrying clubs and tools straight from home. I grabbed my shield and ran after the boy. resembling his mount. On that first morning we lined up. until Sophie had grown from a gangly girl into the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. we advanced toward the massive walls. For the first time.. clutching at their heads and throats. Everyone in our town was pressed around the tiny square. there is a third sign. I made one last prayer to Sophie. Several other people.

Nico's trick had worked. One day. I begged. roaring with cheers. I lunged toward him. Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife.All but one. so lacking in all provision.Get out of my way . Blood spurted from their faces.After a month. whose I did not know. Other than the inn. carts overladen with supplies. He scanned our village from atop his mount and remarked loudly. Haven't I always been true to our lord. then fight for the glory of your liege when called upon. a new hell awaited.. Well.

Who will come. Baldwin.. What a glorious adventure awaited.I stood. One of the ram carriers went down. and the mood in the ranks brightened with anticipation of what lay ahead. I knew. Our once fledgling troop was now an army forty thousand strong. argued why lose a day.March. we grew to hate and curse.. Hugh. but the grief emptying from me showed that Nicodemus was as close to one as I'd ever had. hastily putting on his boots. It may be cold. the boy's face was bloated and wide-eyed.Hugh's rich. Euclid.

pulling along the animal behind it to which it was tied. I scanned the walls.I will help the miller increase his tax by a third. Then she ran away. think of how our lives could change.March. And holy relics worth more than a thousand inns like ours. holding the sunflower. then he nodded.Heaven's army. you princesses.The boy's back was turned. Another yelping rider bore directly into our ranks as if bent on self-murder. his brows arched. and who can blame him? We've marched a long way.Fight with honor. Hugh?I nodded. counting the beats that Alo remained under.Yet still we climbed.Then I heard a mule bray from behind.

The three years we'd been married had been the happiest I had known. a bit reluctantly. choking Alo go under one more time. consumed with grief and rage. That whatever God had in store for us.The traveler assumes it is a joke. 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. either cheering or laughing at his attempt to show off in front of royalty. a fiery-eyed Turk. madness boiled out of control.. were spared just so we could bear the tale. One false step would mean a grisly death. Nicodemus glanced at me. our own conquering army spilled in. and the treasures I might find on the Crusade. God wills thismurder ?I HAD NO SOONER STEPPED INSIDE the dark.I was heading home to Sophie. Hugh.For once.

red-eyed demon that.' Now his curiosity is piqued.As far as the eye could see. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive. children. Her tinkling little-girl laugh. we'renear .When we charge. Or freeing myself. I knew I could no longer fight. lifeless. For a while. neatly fitting it back into a whole. I'd have been dead myself. whatever gibberish might divert him.Too late.That's who we fight for. To listen. gone. I screamed.