“There will be less blood to follow soon,” Adam said as Seth nodded in agreement. “Let’s drink at a nearby spring.”
They walked a few yards to another spring. The horses refreshed themselves with the fresh spring water. The men drank from a cup in their shoulder bags or from their water skin. Adam thought it was unwise and uncivilized for men to stoop like cows to drink.
“Eyes up and alert!” Seth would say while training guards and warriors during conditioning runs and marches. “You are not an animal, don’t drink like one.” Predators hunted their prey at watering holes. Humans did too. Learning to meet a basic need without compromising watchfulness was a fundamental survival rule.
Seepha, however, drank as she wished. She waded into the shallow water to cool her paws, barked twice, and returned to the blood marked boulders. Anxious to return to the hunt, she yipped at Adam in anticipation. Adam and Seth joined her, their final inspection would indicate their next direction.
“What say you, Son?” Adam asked.
“She wants to head northeast. I trust her nose,” Seth continued. “My eyes see foothills beginning soon. At least two peaks that could serve as a hiding place for them to endure the daylight. We will cross the great river soon. The peaks should be in the foothills south of the Hermon range.”
“Aye, this land is familiar to us. I agree. They should want a lofty place to rest,” Adam concluded. As he did, they set off again. Seth and Jathan to the left, Adam and Seepha to the right, fifty paces apart from each other. Loran, bow at the ready, ran a few paces before Dinak and Mica as they led the horses. Lethan took the rear position.
The hunters soon crossed the Great River. Their path was taking them to higher ground. The plains were giving way to foothills, slightly slowing their progress. Blood scent was found twice after they left the springs. No third scent was detected. It was after mid-day when it became clear the next part of the pursuit would force a difficult decision.
The men stopped to hydrate themselves and the horses. Seth peered into the distance, weighing a difficult decision. The terrain would soon force them to one of two paths. In the distance, he saw two peaks that would provide a resting place for a winged Fallen. The first high place, northeast and to their right, was the highest spot amongst a small group of hills. The second location, a lone peak due north and to their left, was approximately the same distance away. The ground eventually sloped downward and then up again, stopping at the crest of a valley. Climbing that lone peak required passing through the valley.
“We should be close to cities of men,” Adam stated. “I remember several valleys with growing communities near Kinnereth and the Bashan range.”
“A mix of Cain and our errant people. I’ve been there, but it has been many years,” Seth concurred, then stated, “The terrain limits our options if we don’t find evidence soon.”
It was agreed that the men would split into two groups, each heading towards one of the likely peaks. They would stay within bowshot range. The first to find evidence or blood would signal the other with an arrow. The group receiving the indicator would rejoin the other party.
Seth, Jathan, Loran, and Dinak headed north, taking the path towards the valley. Adam with Seepha, attended by Mica and Lethan, began searching the low hills that slowly climbed toward the distant peak.
Seth was anxious, hopeful that they would find something soon. Backtracking for missed evidence was time-consuming. Traveling aloft, this type of quarry left few clues. Bleeding would stop eventually. But like any creature, the Fallen still had tendencies and followed a certain logic. They would likely find a place to hide before sunlight or mid-morning. But where?
The pace of the Fallen would also be affected by how severely it was wounded. Seth also nurtured the possibility that it could die or be abandoned by its brethren if its pace grew too slow. While they had more than enough men to kill two, what was their destination? Did more powerful Fallen, even a prince, await them there?
There were many hours left in the day, but soon they would be out of sight of each other. To his right, Seth could see Adam far in the distance. He watched Seepha for any clues in her body language. Regrettably, she gave no indication of a new scent. Her head was carried low, and her pace was steady. It was unlikely she had come upon anything new.
“God help us,” Seth said aloud, more in frustration than devout prayer.
Anger was building in him. He remembered the icy disgust that the Fallen demonstrated. The vacant, cold-blooded stare from its beautiful, sculpted features. He gripped the handle of his spear, longing to complete the task he began the day before.
Seth could see the foothills now sloping upwards, cresting then dropping, forming a near-perfect, bowl-shaped valley. Their designated peak was directly across the eastern section of the valley. The crest of the hill was accentuated by large boulders and stones. Suddenly the distant shapes became familiar in Seth’s mind.
“Loran. Now,” Seth said, pointing towards Adam and his party.
Loran turned towards Adam’s group, pulled back on his bow and paused. Satisfied he calculated the wind accurately, Loran then released. They watched as the distant forms quickly began moving towards them, small figures growing larger every second.
Seth began trodding slowly toward the valley rim. He now motioned for the group to join him. Downhill for a few hundred paces, then rising the same amount to the rocky crown of the valley. Fixated by a formation of large boulders and earth at the crest, Seth stopped forty paces below the valley rim. A massive flat, stone slab was ringed by smaller boulders. Two tall narrow rocks pointed skyward next to the most significant stone. From a distance, it seemed like a natural formation of rocks. But from Seth’s location, looking upwards against the sky, the distant peak was centered between the two skyward stones and rested upon the sizeable central rock. The shape was unusual and deliberate.
Jathan saw a small patch of white cloth amongst the large stone. He discovered it was a larger strip of tunic soiled by a considerable amount of blood, obscuring its color. Jathan marveled that Seth saw it from the location that Loran signaled from.
“Father and I have been here,” Seth said aloud to no one in particular. “Let’s wait for them.”
Adam’s group arrived quickly. Adam, too, was struck with recognition as he looked at the group of large boulders at the rim of the valley.
“I thought we might be this close to this site, Son. But since we left before daylight, I was unsure how far we had traveled,” Adam stated, still transfixed.
Jathan and Dinak were unclear as to why this mound of stone was noteworthy. Presently, Adam asked Mica for a spear. When Mica retrieved one from the horses, he took Adam’s staff in exchange. Loran and Lethan both moved away from the mound, one to the left side and one to the right, then towards the valley rim, peering into the valley and then back to the foothills. Satisfied no threats existed, their attention returned to Adam.
“Forgive us, Holy One, for what we must disturb,” Adam prayed as he walked to the valley side of the rock formation. He dug the butt of his spear into the earth beneath the mound. He began moving dirt and rubble away from the most substantial stone.
“That was the fertility Pole to their Baal,” Seth said, pointing to a black tree stump obscured by dirt and rock. Wedged amongst the boulders, it had been burned even with the stone’s height. “This was a high place to a local god. This one bore the face of an owl at the top. We killed this false god and burned down his place of offering.” Seth’s tone was unusually somber, even dejected. Jathan had never seen his brother in this state.
Seth explained to Jathan that in the days of Enosh’s birth, the high places began appearing across the land. Though many people had returned to the worship of the One God of Adam’s people, many more started making sacrifices to the Baal of their region. The Baal, or Lord, was a fallen angel who deceived men with their demonic powers or si
mply dominated them through fear. This high place featured an owl likeness, but the image of a bull or winged serpent was also typical. Seth also explained that the Fallen had an obsessive fixation with numerical accuracy and symbolism. The altar and the peak were aligned true north. Long ago, Adam’s keen mind had deduced that their high places often looked non-descript at ground level but had symbolic or numerical significance when observed from the air above. The central slab was once supported underneath by three smaller upright stones that formed a table or altar. In some regions the stone tables were covered in earth and became burial mounds for slain giants. This altar was simply obscured by dirt and vegetation from exposure and the passage of time.
“Offerings were made here. From Cain’s line or other wayward relatives. This was a place of black magic and sorcery,” Adam spoke, his voice heavy like Seth’s. “Come and see what a Fallen Angel demands in sacrifice.”
Jathan and Dinak grew closer to Adam and saw what he had unearthed. Both young men had heard the stories but had never seen a high place. Amongst earth and ash were human bones. Jathan began to grow pale as he realized how tiny some of the bones were. Adam’s son felt cold inside, and his head began to swim. As Jathan stepped back slowly, he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Take a breath, Brother,” Seth’s voice was calm and measured.
“My Sons,” Adam said to Jathan and Dinak. “They want our daughters. They want our children. The Watchers traffic in blood and draw power from it.”
“It’s not enough to guard the walls. We must hunt them on the plains or the mountains, so our people do not have to face them at our home,” Seth explained.
“I have fought the Earthbound, but I have not viewed what they take in sacrifice. Father has told me of such things - now I see with my own eyes,” Dinak explained to Adam. Then he spoke to Seth, “In my deepest heart, now I understand.” Dinak stepped back, his face growing red in anger.
Jathan’s mind was reeling. His frame suddenly became weak. His thoughts whirling with questions. Why? Why would Fallen demand this? Why would men offer their children? A thousand questions surged through his mind. Jathan struggled with the disgust and bewilderment of what his eyes had just seen. In a flash, an angry, fiery ember in the back of his mind suddenly burst into a raging flame and subdued all speculations.
“They have to be stopped!” Jathan exclaimed suddenly. “We must end this...”
Looking at his father, Jathan saw Adam return his stare. A knowing, an understanding instantly passed between father and son without words. Jathan now comprehended his father and mother in a new and profound way. He found strength as he looked into his father’s eyes. Adam was wise. Adam was strong. As he felt Seth’s hand on his shoulder, Jathan began to understand the burden his brother carried to protect their people. Jathan looked at his brother next to him and saw the deep sadness in Seth’s eyes.
“How could creatures made in God’s image do such things?” Seth asked.
Jathan felt as though Seth could know his thoughts. Jathan could not speak but nodded silently in agreement.
“Father, you should see this,” Lethan called from several paces away.
Seth left Jathan’s side and joined Lethan. His son was just over the crest of the hill and a few feet into the inner slope of the valley.
“I’ve never seen tracks like this. At least not this big,” Lethan offered, pointing to the ground.
Seth inspected the tracks.
Predator. Great cat, immense. He examined the prints, tracing them downhill. The cat climbed the slope, traveling eastward, from the brush line below. Even though the tracks went toward the boulders on the crest. Seth avoided the edge of the brush below him.
“Everyone but Adam, move away from the mound,” Seth called out. “Twins – perimeter!”
At his word, Lethan and Loran, bows ready, returned to the crest of the valley. From positions on either side of the mound, they scanned both the foothills behind and the valley below.
“Spears!” Seth called out. “Mind the animals!”
Mica and Dinak returned to the horses while Jathan put Seepha on a lead and retrieved his spear. He joined Mica and Dinak on the foothill’s side of the crest, a few feet away from the High Place.
They still needed to decipher the path and state of the Fallen, but another danger had now entered the scenario. Seth knew even a distant cry from a predator could spook a horse, even a trained one. And he certainly did not want Seepha pursuing an animal scent in haste.
Seth followed the tracks to the mound. The prints indicated the animal had inspected the altar, presumably sniffing the blood, then returned to its eastward trek. The large rock that served as the altar stone was almost Seth’s height. He nimbly reached the top in one leap.
“The old man continues to impress us!” Loran offered, amused. His humor admirably broke the tension. It was needed. Everyone was on task, but a small smile broke on several faces.
Seth’s mind focused on reconstructing the path of the Fallen. Scanning for every detail, he prayed silently. There was no better ranger than Seth, not even Adam. Together there was very little that could not be deciphered. After a few seconds, he began.
“What I see,” Seth mused aloud to Adam, who stood on the valley side of the boulders below him. “They land here...No tracks before this. A site they know of. Close to a peak that would shelter them. They attempt to dress the leg wound again, a mistake is made from haste or duress. Wound re-opens...Lots of blood. An attempt at flight ends there.” Seth said, pointing to ground several feet from them eastward along the inner slope of the valley walls.
Seth leaves the boulders heading into the valley. Peering intently along the ground. Loose undisturbed soil made it simple to follow.
“He fell here. Two sets of footprints. His companion has not left him,” Seth continued aloud. “Blood in his sandal-prints...Any human would be unconscious by now.”
Seth continues walking along the ground, eastward. The blood is consistent now. Grass disturbed here. Blood here and there. More earth disturbed and then more blood.
“He fell again. They rise in haste...the predator’s tracks have now mixed with theirs.” Seth continued. “I believe the cat followed them by only a few minutes, but I can’t be sure how many.”
Jathan and Dinak were transfixed by Seth’s actions and narrative. Each young man peering intently from their respective places. Watching a master tracker at work was fascinating.
“Perhaps that great cat hunted the Fallen,” Dinak said quietly. Jathan smiled and returned his grin.
“Perhaps he toyed with them,” Jathan said quietly in return to Dinak. “The way our housecats toy with mice.”
“I long to see such play,” Dinak returned with a grim smile.
“Indeed. As do I,” said Jathan, amused. Their gaze connected again as they smiled in agreement, each enjoying the mental image that had formed in their minds. Jathan’s eyes returned to Seth while pictures of a great cat savagely tearing apart fallen angels filled his imagination.
Seth continued a few more feet. The Fallen clearly tried to skim the edge of the valley slopes to work their way towards the peak. Erratic and clumsy, the tracks suddenly go downhill then disappear. The footprints did not go into the valley itself.
“They took to the air here, perhaps hastened by the predator,” Seth said to Adam. “Father, what say you?”
Adam was staring intently into the lush valley. Moments before, he had been fixated on the great cat’s prints. Now he was quietly talking to himself.
“Father!” Seth called again.
“Over six-hundred years ago,” Adam said abruptly. “That’s too long. It must be but cannot be, far too long...”
Adam’s face was a curious mixture of grief and bewilderment. Tears had formed at the corner of his eyes.
“Forgive me, Seth,” Adam replied.
Then Adam was present again. Quickly, Adam’s eyes retraced the footprints and then focused on the peak across the valley.
“I concur with you, Seth. They used the slope to run and gain momentum for flight,” Adam said. “The predator left them no choice – had they walked, he would overtake them.”
Seth paused to consider and nodded in agreement.
“The first one is near death,” Adam surmised. “The other has not left him. He must bound by oath to his Prince on the success of this mission. They both are, I surmise. We need to bleed the second Fallen before he retakes flight.”
Seth paused to consider his father’s words. The Fallen would abandon a wounded comrade without a second thought. If a kinsman became a liability, no sacrifice would be made to save them. A stronger purpose compelled this pair to betray their self-absorbed nature.
But who is their master?
“Mica, do we have nets?” Adam called uphill.
Mica replied affirmatively.
Adam rejoined Seth, and they considered their options. Clearly, the Fallen had wanted to skirt the open slopes and avoid the dense brush. Seth and Adam faced the same dilemma. Traveling straight across the valley was much shorter. But what dangers lurked in the tall grass? How fast could they actually move through the forested area? Perhaps the Fallen could not remain aloft and were hidden in the dense vegetation. Since the possibility existed that the Fallen could be in the forest itself, they had little choice.
“We’re going in,” Seth called to the rest of the group.
The men and animals descended the slope and formed up at the brush line.
Seth walked again to the crest of the valley slope. He mentally made a straight line from the last footprints to the peak on the valley’s other side. Hoping to record trees or terrain to navigate towards. The valley itself was so lush with foliage and tall grass, there were few distinguishing features. Only a few hours of daylight remained. The Fallen would be rested and would prefer to travel at night. To intercept them before dusk, Adam’s people needed to move.
Enmity Page 10
