“I thought God delivered these in the form of fire?” Diego asked.
“God did show himself to Moses in the form of fire. But Enoch, the Voice of God, was the one who spoke those laws to Moses.”
“I don’t understand,” Diego said to Juan. “If you and I are supposed to be all-knowing, why don’t we know this?”
“We know what we’re allowed to know,” Juan replied. “If the Watchers have found Enoch, they now shape creation and we fall under the guidelines they set.”
“So we’re at the mercy of a band of renegade angels?”
“It appears so.”
“Can they change what we are?”
“That remains to be seen. I would think they have more on their mind than us at this moment.”
“What makes you say that?”
“We’re still here.”
“Good point.” Diego turned to the priest. “Does the book say anything to you that stands out as unique?”
“There is mention of something that I always though fascinating. The book tells of the Elioud, the sons of the Nephilim. Juan, that’s the same name you saw written in the village of the Nephilim, correct?”
“Great,” Diego interrupted, “so this is never really going to end, right? We just have to keep fighting the sons of those that we killed?”
Juan ignored Diego’s sarcasm. “Please continue, Padre.”
“The book also tells of Enoch. In the book, there are two accounts of a man name Enoch. The first is the great-grandfather of Noah. The second is the son of Cain.”
“So Cain had a son named Enoch?” Juan asked.
“He did. And that would make him a brother in-law of sorts to the Nephilim. That would also make him a distant cousin to our Enoch.”
“What happened to Cain’s Enoch?”
“From him came a line of sons, several of which were similar in name to the sons of Seth. From Seth came Methuselah and from Cain came Methusael. Both lines produced a son named Lamech. Cain’s Lamech wrote the Song of Swords. He is also the first known polygamist. The Book of Moses ascribes that he entered into an agreement with the Fallen Angel known as the Morning Star.”
“The serpent,” Diego commented.
“Yes, the serpent. In the texts, Irad, the son of Cain’s Enoch and Lamech’s great-grandfather uncovers this agreement and exposes Lamech. Lamech kills Irad to silence him and is banished with his two wives for the murder.
“Lamech had a son named Tubal-cain – again a name similar to another Tubal from the line of Seth, the son of Noah. Tubal-cain was a metalsmith who worked with iron and bronze to build swords and spears.”
“Perhaps he was influenced by Azazel?” Diego suggested.
“Perhaps,” the priest agreed.
“Tell me more about Tubal-cain,” said Juan.
“That’s it. Nothing is said of his descendants. What’s interesting is that he had two half-brothers and one-half sister. His two half-brothers – Jabal and Jubal are attributed as being the father of their craft, just as Tubal-cain was the father of weapons of warfare. Jabal is known as the forefather of all shepherds and Jubal the forefather of all musicians.”
“All of that’s interesting,” said Diego, “but let’s get to the question behind all of this. We know that Cain’s descendants were cousins to the Nephilim and the Elioud. So what do Cain’s descendants and the Elioud have to do with one another?”
“I don’t know,” answered the priest. “But I do know that while we speak very little of the Elioud today, there was a time when they were spoken of as a warning to people. The Elioud were described as wicked people and their stories were told by the priests of the First Temple.”
“By First Temple you mean…”
“I mean King Solomon’s temple.”
“So maybe we should go there and then we can hear the stories of the wicked Elioud,” Diego commented, his sarcasm returning.
Juan smiled. “Diego, despite yourself, you may have come up with our plan.”
“What do you mean? Are you seriously suggesting we go there to learn more of the Elioud?”
“You yourself said it. Perhaps those stories will shed light on the sons of Cain.”
“We can certainly go to where the temple is reported to have existed but I don’t see how that will help us,” said the priest.
Juan recognized the priest did not quite grasp his meaning. “I’m not suggesting we go to the present day site of the temple. I’m saying we go the actual temple.”
The priest was confused. “I don’t understand.”
“There is little that you know of existence. Everything that has existed and everything that will exist is on a single plane. The key is to navigate this plane.”
“So you’re saying you can travel through time?”
“I’m saying that time is not as it seems. We look at a clock and see the sun rise and set and to us that is a measure of time; that’s the human measure of time. What I’m talking about is how time actually exists. When one understands that, it’s as simple as walking down the street.”
“So we’ll just walk to Solomon’s temple?”
Diego smiled. “Exactly.”
“And what does that mean for me? Do I just go back to the chapel and act as if nothing has happened?”
“My dear Padre, you’ll be coming with us.”
“I don’t understand. How can I travel in time? I’m just a man.”
Juan looked at the priest seriously. “Not anymore.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Daniel stood on the summit of the Hill of Tara and looked out over the lush green landscape. He had lived in Ireland for many centuries (he was born in the 2nd Century AD) and while most of the structures around the hill no longer existed, there was a small passage tomb that remained. This tomb was known as Dumha na nGiall, the Mound of
