Page 70 of Ruled By Fate

Cameron traced patterns on her hand. “My mother’s name was Naamah. She was a descendant of Cain.”

“Wait, Cain? As in Cain and Abel? The murderer?”

“The First Man and the First Woman had only three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth. My father was descended from Seth. Many in his family intermarried with the descendants of Cain.” He looked at her ruefully. “It wasn’t as though they were spoiled for options. But my father had something that was virtually unheard of in that day. He had a marriage of love.”

He was quiet for a long moment, staring at his hands.

“My father loved my mother very, very much. She bore him many children — my brothers and sisters.” He looked at her suddenly, amused. “You called me by one of their names the other day. Methuselah was my older brother.”

Brie stared. “The oldest man in all of history?”

Cameron nodded. “He had a wonderful sense of humor. One time he tied a barrel full of sticks to a donkey and—”

“Cameron.”

He nodded. “Right, not the time. My father lived three hundred and sixty-five years on Earth.” He drew in a breath. “Until I came along.” He let go of her hand and leaned forward. “My mother died while she was in childbirth with me.”

Brie’s mouth opened in shock. “Oh, Cameron, I…”

He shook his head and paused before continuing. “My father was one of God’s favorite creatures. He often walked with God, praising the greatness of creation and asking questions about the wonders of the world and worlds beyond. When my mother died, her belly round with me still inside, struggling to be born, my father’s heart broke. He called upon God and begged him for a reprieve for his wife and unborn child.”

He drew in a deep breath. “God granted half of his request. My mother was a pure and loving soul, and she went on to Heaven. I was taken from my mother’s womb and allowed to live with my father in Elysium. He presided over the realm and protected it. I grew up immersed in the life force of all the souls who ever passed to their next world, nourished by their spiritual energy, never knowing the human world except in my duty to help the dying depart.”

Brie was so enthralled she nearly forgot to breathe.

“So you see, I am human, and I am not. Time flows differently in Elysium, as in Heaven and Hell as well. In fact, it does not flow at all but rather pools and has its own currents and waves within the confines of its shores. I stopped aging when I reached maturity. Being around spiritual energy, for even a short period of time, changes you. You’ve seen that I have abilities that humans do not possess.” He stopped and sighed. “Before you, I never interacted with the human world except to help souls pass into Elysium peacefully. I never played with my brothers and sisters. I only watched. I never ate human food before last night. Well,” he amended. “Once. On a dare.”

Brianna was silent, trying to process this. He took her hand. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. “It must have been terribly, terribly lonely.”

He stiffened a bit. “It wasn’t. Not always.” A look of pure melancholy swept over him, before he flashed her a shy smile. “In fact, Elysium is a beautiful place. I am excited to show it to you.”

She sat up straight. “Show me?!”

He nodded. “My father and our elders are concerned for your safety and need more information about your pendant. They have requested that I accompany you to Elysium, immediately.”

The excited sparkle in her eyes faded a little. “Immediately?”

He nodded. “We can go tonight. Now, if you like. You don’t need to bring anything.”

She shot him a worried look. “So, this would be a short trip?”

He tilted his head. “How do you mean?”

“I mean, how long would we be gone?”

He frowned. “It’s difficult to say. As I said, time moves differently there, and such things are not always possible to calculate.”

She pulled away. “You mean, you have no idea.”

“Well, not exactly, but in light of recent events, I assumed you felt some urgency about the situation.”

“I do. Of course, I do. But you want me to leave my world behind and travel… I don’t even know where you would say this is, leaving everyone and everything I know and love behind for an indefinite period of time. A time that passes differently over there than it does here.”

He took her hand again. “It is an honor afforded to very few mortals to enter our realm.”

“Yeah. Very few mortals, none of whom ever came back.” She pulled her hand away. “Have any mortals ever come back from Elysium, Cameron? Ever?”

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