Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim) by Brian Godawa

enemy’s skull, and the touch of his beautiful betrothed Edna. These things he could know with resounding certainty. He found it more difficult to trust the vagaries and uncertainties of invisible gods, disappearing angels, and unanswered prayers and petitions. This Elohim would have to prove himself trustworthy with a bit more rigorous confirmation to get Methuselah’s attention.
    Edna more willingly believed in Elohim’s beneficence. When the river had returned to its natural southward current, she wondered how many other miracles they would take for granted with such lack of gratitude. The provision of food to fill their bellies? More salvation from the enemy’s mace? The devoted love of a man with a woman? The conception of a new human life? The birth of a child? It seemed everything kept pointing back to Methuselah in her heart. She watched him lead the group with authority. She thought of him tenderly soothing her fears, dreamed of his strength and humor. She simply wanted to make him happy and build a home together.
    Methuselah kept thinking about doing only one thing with Edna, and it was not building a home.
    • • • • •
    They traveled a nother thirty leagues through the valley of Havilah and the Mannean plain until they finally stood upon the volcanic fields of Mount Sahand.
    Enoch felt humbled by the majesty . Everyone stared across the stark expanse in silence. The snow-covered dome of the Sahand volcano stood about eight thousand cubits, the highest peak in the region. The mountain range included a dozen other volcanic heads along the ridges. It looked like a fortress wall of rock with volcanic guard towers. Lake Urimiya spread sparkling to the west.
    Enoch’s soul moved deep within him, knowing that on the far side of Mount Sahand lay the valley of the Garden of Eden, that no man dare approach. This would be the closest anyone could ever come to the legendary paradise. A tribe of Cherubim guarded its perimeter, to keep the descendants of Adam away.
    T hey stood before a vast terrain of igneous rock. Not a soul in sight. A dead wasteland. Enoch wondered where the Adamites were, those forgotten people and their patriarch that they were supposed to find? Did Elohim have his directions correct? Obviously not. There was not a sign of life for leagues around. Tribes of any size always left traces of their presence, and they could see no trace of any human presence in the area but their own.
    They would have set up camp and begin their survey of the area first thing in the morning. Enoch hoped that he had not wasted his and everyone’s time after all.
     
    They pitched camp a third of a league onto the barren landscape to avoid surprise by any approaching enemies. There was nowhere to sneak up on them in a three hundred and sixty degree arc. Anyone who tried to crawl their way toward the camp would shred their clothes and flesh right off their bodies from the sharp porous bedrock and rubble strewn about.
    Enoch limited the nightwatch to two details of three guards. He made sure to keep Methuselah on the far edge of the men’s camp for his watch detail. It would keep his son from the tempting position of easy access to Edna in the women’s camp. Methuselah was an honorable young man, but at his age passionate urges could be so strong that even honorable young men could go temporarily mad and make decisions they would regret when cooler heads prevailed.
     
    The midnight hour came, and Methuselah could not sleep. His thoughts burned of Edna, piercing his brain with a hammer-like pounding. At least it kept him awake for his watch duty. Unfortunately, it also distracted his attention.
    H e did not catch the first soft sound of scraping in the rocks near him. But the second time the sound flew by, he heard it. He looked up. A full moon lit the landscape. There was nothing out there. Still, he was uneasy. He reached down and picked up his mace, intending to practice some moves with it.
    W hen he brought it up,