Enoch fled through Nod's dark streets until he was sure his pursuers had lost his trail. Staying obscured in dark alleys, he made his way toward the mountain where he knew he could find Caleb and tell him what he discovered. As he walked, he tried to wrap his brain around what he had just seen.
Physical intimacy among the Sethites had always been regarded as a holy and sacred thing. Following the example of Adam and Eve in Eden, people believed the act was the joining of two different people into one body - the physical consummation of the marriage vows of two people uniting together for the remainder of their lives.
"...and the two are united into one."
For this purpose it had been made. And for this purpose, it was not sinful, rather it was a gift from God. The tribes - even the Cainites - generally respected this as a morally accepted rule publicly, however much they abused it in private. It was common knowledge (although none dared to speak of it aloud) that Cain's slave girls were his own vast harem for indulging in as he pleased.
Lamech had publicly challenged tradition by marrying a second wife, Zillah. As the fear of Adam's God faded, so did people's objections for what was acceptable. They who could do as they pleased, did so.
It was a pleasure bequeathed to mankind, but that was apparently desired by others to whom it was not given.
That angels were partaking in this pleasure for themselves was shocking for a couple reasons. They were hiding it from everyone, including their leader Azrael. This immediately showed they knew they were in violation of what was right. They wren't taking the women as wives - it was simply for the sake of indulgence in the pleasure itself. They were not following the form established by God in Eden in the beginning. But instead of restraining their desires and honoring the moral code they were sworn to, they chose to fulfill their lusts in secret.
Secondly, Enoch highly doubted that such pleasures were intended for angels, even if they had followed the correct form. Azrael had repeatedly insisted that they needed to return to their rightful habitation as swiftly as they could. He was determined to leave as few marks upon mankind as possible - he wouldn't even lift a sword to defend himself. He wouldn't risk shedding human blood. Surely, they could assume the form of mortal men, giving up their celestial power, and as Sariel had shown, even bleed. But to partake in pleasures given to mankind to share in the bonds of the marriage vow... They had to be in absolute violation of their mandate.
But how had they managed to keep it secret? Yet Cain knew of it? Unless he... at first, Enoch could not accept the thought that had occurred to him, but the more he thought about it, he realized it must be true.
Cain had anticipated their fall if the right circumstances were made. Put chaste angels in close, constant contact with beautiful female slaves trained in the art of pleasure-giving... He wanted them to fall. Their fall would mean he might be able to wrest control back from them once the people learned of their hypocrisy. Cain had prepared the way. Had the angels intended to do this very act, or had their original intentions been as noble as they claimed? Enoch could not know.
Angels - messengers of God - had deceived them all. They had sinned, and they hoped Azrael would join them. And they probably knew who had discovered their secret. Enoch had little hope they hadn't recognized him.
He had to leave as soon as possible. He feared how far Semyaza would go to protect his secret from the people. Finally, his time to leave Nod had come for sure.
They had to warn Azrael. The messenger must not fall!
The mountain was in front of him. The first rays of morning had just touched its summit. Dawn was here. All he needed to do was ascend and inform Caleb what he discovered, and he knew he would never need to return to Nod again. He would find his father, his grandfather and whoever was left of the Sethite tribe and travel up the Euphrates in search of the Land of Eden. Nod would soon be a distant memory, its bitterness fading year by year.
"I've learned here how to protect my people," Enoch whispered to himself. "It's time to take them to Eden before a heavenly war breaks out in Nod, which will surely happen when Azrael discovers their sin."
But he stopped. He realized that if he left now, he was leaving Naamah to deal with the fallout when it came. Azrael had asked her to lead her people. Enoch was sure she would do her best - but what might happen if Azrael returned to Nod to deal with his comrades, and the whole city turned against him? What if war broke out? Angel fighting angel? What would become of Nod?
Enoch realized this is exactly why Cain had let him in on the secret. Cain knew Enoch's first reaction would be to tell Azrael of their sins. Azrael would return - a confrontation would ensue. Cain hoped that the results would be opportune for his return to the throne.
But what would become of her? Naamah?
Azrael and Naamah against them all? Azrael and Naamah...
Then it struck him. Azrael cared for Naamah deeply. What if she would be his undoing? Seeing his brothers taking women for their own pleasure, Azrael might falter in his resolve, and extend his own hand to the woman that already held his heart? Even if Azrael returned to deal with his brothers, he may fall for her at last.
Enoch was sure this was Semyaza's own hope - offer Naamah to Azrael, and he will be compelled to join us! And although Enoch believed Azrael would refuse the offer, so far everything was going according to Semyaza's plan - nothing had happened to derail it.
Nod was blissfully ignorant. Naamah didn't know. And the angels would ensure they didn't know until the time was right for their own advantage.
None of them knew, expect Enoch. And Enoch knew what he had to do. He knew it meant risking his life, and maybe destroying any chance he had to return to his father and grandfather.
But someone had to disrupt it all. Someone had to make a stand.
He turned his back on the mountain. He said a prayer for his father as he raced down the streets bathed in morning light.
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"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 2:24