It was a long foreboding building situated in a monastery compound. Sick and wounded were treated by brothers belonging to a religious order.

"Help, we need aid here!"

### John gritted his teeth fighting the urge to cry out. Steele pulled him from the horse. For a moment, John's vision blurred. He slipped into unconsciousness recovering his senses in the dimly lit interior of the sick bay.

"Rest here while I find someone to attend to you, John. I'll be back before you know it." He rushed into the long narrow room searching the shadows for a healer. Steele suddenly became aware of the smell permeating the building. An overpowering stench of rotting flesh, unwashed bodies, and diseased bodies hung heavy in the fetid air.

"Wait over there by the casualty ward.casualties said a prayer.

"Hold her down, we begin." Four bulky monks held the girl while the surgeon carved a cross onto the unfortunate's forehead. Blood trickled down her head and into her eyes. She struggled as much against the fever as she did against the men carving symbols into her flesh. Her eyes widened in terror. Again, the cold steel pierced flesh sending her into a state of shock. Her body shook violently.

### Restrained by the monks, she cried out while they chanted prayers. Her spasms increased in frequency all the while struggling to escape their clutches. She gave a last heart rendering scream before succumbing to death. Steele watched in disbelief. His hands shook with rage. Holding tightly on to the hilt of his sword Steele attempted