About 1184 C.E., Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset...

Slate colored clouds hid the sunset so only a line of fire appeared on the horizon before darkness. To the northwest, a large group moved toward the town and abbey from the sea.

"Do you think they are hostile, Father Phagan?" A giant male with skin the same blond color of the tor's stone asked.

"Aye, I do. They come with no torches, as pilgrims would. Can your eyes see if carry they banner of the church or a sect, Deruvian?"

"Nay, Father Phagan, they all seem to be cloaked in dark cloth and their shield are covered in mud," the gargoyle answered. "Don't worry, we will protect you as we have since Joseph of Armithea set the first stone of the foundation. They shall not get the relics or loot the tomb of the Pendragon King."

The old mock cracked his arthritic joints as he scowled worriedly. "The relics and the tomb are well hidden... I worry this is about the letter from the Teutonics, they are war-hungry zealots and they wanted me to kill your clan. They claim the Bibre Crour are demons."

"They would be fools to attack at night if that was their intent." A giant night-skinned gargoyle announced. In the torchlight it was impossible to tell if he was very dark gray or the deepest tone of brown.

"Ouroboros, they were not counting on the storms to delay them, I think. Zealots do nothing that makes sense to anyone but them." Father Phagan started down the stairs with a bellow into the cloister below. "Swords and staffs, Monks." He turned to look hard at Deruvian and Ouroboros. "Ye need to take Queen Nyxx and your daughter Nemesis and go."

"Nyxx won't leave her egg," Ouroboros and Deruvian announced at the same time then Deruvian added, "Or let it be moved, and Nemesis is too heavy with her pregnancy to fly."

The leader of the Abbey watched two large Cruor pushing the gate closed and help a monk put the locking bar in place. "Then we hold them off and pray for clouds on the morrow."

By the end of first watch, the abbey was surrounded, and the wind-lashed rain glittered in the lightning flashes. Father Phagan called out to them, demanding what they wanted but the men refused to answer. Suddenly, several Bibre Cruor dropped out of the storm. Deruvian leapt to protect Phagan as both were knocked from the tor. On the way down, he clicked to Ouroboros to protect Nyxx and Nemesis. He let his body take the impact to protect his old friend then shoved the monk toward the doors.

"Get inside."

The dozen Cruor of the Northern Clan took flight and the battle began above as burning arrows and pots of Greek fire fell on the Abbey. Enemy Cruor landed and then leapt skyward into the torrent after leaving their cargo of warriors. Some of the warriors fought the monks, but oddly several rushed into the Abbey and began searching the place.

Father Phagan stood in front of the altar and shouted at them, "This is a house of God."

"Liar!" one of the warriors spat at him, "It is a nest of demons."

The aged monk was quickly wounded and overcome as he accused, "If you hate the angels who left heaven to protect us so much, then why are you working with them?"

"They are beasts, tools like a sword or scythe. We will crush them when their usefulness is at an end." The knight raised his sword and swung but a pale hand caught the blade.

A beautiful, pregnant female as pale as a marble statue knocked them away. They rose as she stood between them and Father Phagan. "You will not touch him, heathens."

"Get back, demon!"

She laughed. "I am no deamones. They are creatures who feast on the innocent souls of those dying in horror. The Cruors were created to protect man," she announced.

"We don't need your kind and we will send you all back to hell with your thralls."

The knight waved his hand, and several arrows struck her large belly. She staggered backward as they pierced her. Her shocked outcry drew several monks and a large basalt gray Cruor. The old mock caught her as she collapsed.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her," the Cruor snarled as he bent over her, lying in Father Phagan's lap.

The knight stalked forward and stabbed him with an emerald encrusted dagger. "Die with your succubus, demon."

The male Cruor roared as his wings lashed out, throwing the human against the wall. Arrows impaled his eyes and throat, causing him to collapse. The archers shot him with emerald tipped arrows as he crawled toward and killed one after another. The last pulled the dagger out of his back and plunged it into his skull.

"Deruvian! Ouroboros!" Phagan shouted as Nemesis began to petrify. "Don't die, lass, hold on."

"Too late," she murmured, "My egg and I are lost." She glanced up at the human approaching slowly and whispered, "My sire is dead. Save my mother and sister. Warn my uncle to flee with them."

Faster than Phagan would have dreamed possible, she leapt away from him and onto the human who plunged the emerald dagger into her heart. As she died and petrified, she curled her claws into his body and spread her wings to protect Phagan from the incoming arrows. The old monk scrambled to his feet and shoved the altar aside, revealing a hewn stairway. He sealed it and listened as the Teutonic knights began pounding on the stone.

"Ouroboros?" He rushed down the steps and along a hall. "Queen Nyxx? You must flee, they are breaking in." He collided with a shadow made of stone. "The Abbey is lost, Ouroboros."

"What is happening, Father Phagan?" Ouroboros asked as the crackling thuds of breaking stone echoed.

"They are killing everyone, the Cruor too. Nemesis... the lovely girl tried to protect me and now she is dead. They are using blades and arrows with jewels the color of grass on them," Phagan explained as broken stones tumbling down the stairs created a cacophony in the narrow tunnel.

A cask of oil bounced and burned as it rolled after them. Ouroboros shoved him away from the burning liquid. They hurried to the end of the tunnel then Ouroboros stumbled as Phagan slammed the heavy wooden and iron. Nyxx almost attacked them for barging in her sanctuary.

"How dare you enter here?" Her gargoyle snarled. She looked deranged and her brother realized she knew her consort was dead.

"Sister, you must flee with the queen egg." Ouroboros clicked and trilled to her as Phagan pulled the arrows from his back.

"Forgive us, the Abbey is burning, and the enemy is coming to kill you." Phagan rushed to a wall and pulled a large stone away. "Quickly, climb out through the well."

Nyxx shrank back to her mortal form, speaking to her brother in their language. "I cannot leave. Her egg cracks even now, if we move it, she could perish." She turned and clutched her egg. Trilling and encouraging the infant Cruor to emerge.

"We have no choice. If we stay, she will perish," Ouroboros snarled desperately. The thunk of axes came mutedly through the door. "Pick up her egg. You must escape to our sister in Britanni. The Queen of the Sea will protect you and her."

"Will she? Ino hates that Deruvian chose me over her and that we have hatched two daughters." Nyxx laid her hands on her fracturing egg. "Hurry, my angel," she pled, turned away from the sound of splintering wood.

An eye peaked through hole then an arrow was shot into the room. It hit Nyxx in the side of the throat with a glancing blow and she screamed as she fell forwards.

Ouroboros leapt toward the hole and held the large stone from the tunnel entrance over the hole.

"Queen Nyxx!" Father Phagan held his sleeve over her neck then he tied a cloth over the wound. He held his arm to her lips. "Drink so you will heal."

"Save your blood for my child. Emerald wounds heal very slowly." She refused then shoved her fist through the outer shell of the egg, shattering it. The infant Cruor was as pale as the full moon, curled like a pearl in a clam shell. Nyxx forced her mouth open and impaled her vein on the tiny fangs. She clicked and trilled as the tiny wings flapped to dry themselves. She willed all her memories to her daughter. "I love you, my angel. Remember everything... Now and forever."

"They are breaking through," Ouroboros warned.

Nyxx stood and changed to her gargoyle form, blinking at her child and inhaling its scent before handing her to Father Phagan. "Her name is Anutari. Raise her well, teach her to sing and love the deva you call the Messiah and his Mother. Teach her faith and prayers will strengthen her through every trial."

She gently pushed the friar toward the opening. "If I live, I will find you." She ordered her brother, "Those ships cannot return to their port with the knowledge of our weakness. Get Father Phagan and Anutari to safety then sink them. None can survive."

"Flee with them." Refusing, Ouroboros shook his head. "I cannot lower the stone or they will shoot..."

Nyxx turned his face to her then showed him the neck wound. "Go. I only have moments more before I petrify."

Blood and fluid leaked around the cloth. The flesh cut by emerald was already turning to the stone which protected them while they healed, soon her whole body would follow. They pressed their foreheads together then Ouroboros shifted the stone to her. He quickly snuffed all the torches. In the pitch darkness, the Cruor could still see. The only light was the faintness of the torch Father Phagan carried down the tunnel. Together they carried the stone to the tunnel hole. He pulled as she pushed, sealing it. She pulled the stones down from the ceiling partially collapsing it while the enemy shot blindly into the room. More arrows hit her. Panting as her flesh stiffened, she sank her claws into a wall and the floor as the door shattered inward. A torch was thrown into the room, then two archers fired more arrows, but they bounced off her stone skin.

"The monk and the male demon are gone," the knight snarled as he pulled at her petrified form but couldn't dislodge her. "There must be an escape path behind this wall. Quickly smash her so they don't escape."

Hours of work later, the shards of stone and piles of dirt were thrown onto the scree pile on the far wall. There was no tunnel and the leader cursed vehemently.

"Kill and crush all the demons and burn everything." He pointed at the two surviving archers. "Climb the tor and see if you can discern which direction they went. We must be gone by dawn and none can escape or the Holy Father will excommunicate us all."

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Father Phagan clutched the child to him with one arm and held to Ouroboros back with the other as the Cruor climbed the well walls. Emerging beyond the Abbey wall, they looked up at the immense fire. The whole mountain top abbey burned and lit the surrounding countryside like a torch in the rain. Ouroboros could sense no other Cruor in the air so he leapt skyward and fled.

He left Father Phagan and the infant at a cot down the coast from the ships, then hurried to the enemy fleet. Sneaking onto the ships, he searched for anything to identify the enemy that slayed his sister's clan and the monks of Glostenbury. He recognized nothing about these men other than the scent of their food reminded him of Italia. The Cruor who traveled with them smelled like many clans and he suspected they were outcast males seeking to steal Nyxx's daughters. Upon hearing shouts and running feet on the muddy roads, he climbed the high mast and flew skyward with a wary on the horizon. Day was coming too quickly. He dove into the water and waited for the ships to sail, letting the water protect him from the light. He was shocked when they burned two of the ships before boarding the third. As they sailed above him, he leapt up and sank his claws into the wooden hull to wait.

As the sun drifted high overhead and the oars were taken in, the sail was unfurled. From the vibration of the footprints, many fewer were leaving than came. The sun set on the port side so Ouroboros dug his claws deeper between the planks. Straining with all his might, he tore one away, letting the water rush into the bottom of the boat. Climbed over the opposite side as the boat listed, he seized one leaning over the edge before breaking off the oars. Men shouted and prayed as the ship turned toward land but it was too late.

Ouroboros climbed the mast and leapt skyward. His dark form silhouetted in the twilight. The knight shouted incoherent curses at him, then flailed in the cold water as he drowned. Circling, the Cruor made certain no men survived before he flew back toward the coast. He landed a few hours before dawn and then held and wept over his niece as Father Phagan boiled grains and greens for them. The old monk prayed for the dead, but Ouroboros could not find such mercy in his bitterly grieved soul. It was made worse by the fact that only a month later, the humans were already rebuilding to Abbey and speaking of the fire as though it were an accident. None spoke of the Bibre Cruor who had protected the coast for a thousand years.

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