“I have read that a number of scholars believe that Japheth’s bloodline mixed with Shem’s,”
Gabriella said, pointing to a branch of the speculative genealogy and isolating three names: Eber,
Nathan, and Amon. “Here and here and here.”
I leaned in close to read the names. “How can they be sure?”
Gabriella smiled, something cruel in her manner, as if anticipating my question. “I believe there is
documentation of some sort but in all truth they cannot be one hundred percent sure.”
“That is why this is called speculative angelology,” Dr. Seraphina said.
“But many scholars believe it,” Gabriella said. “It is a valid and ongoing part of angelological
work.”
“Surely modern angelologists do not believe this,” I said, trying to hide my intense reaction to this
information. My religious beliefs were strong even then, and such crude speculation about Christ’s
paternity was not accepted doctrine. The chart, which only seconds before had seemed wonderful,
now upset me a great deal. “The idea that Jesus had the blood of the Watchers is absurd.”
“Perhaps,” Dr. Seraphina said, “but there is a whole area of angelological study about this very
subject. It is called angelmorphism, and it deals strictly with the idea that Jesus Christ was not even
human, but an angel. After all, the Virgin Birth occurred after the Angel Gabriel’s visit.”
Gabriella said, “I believe I’ve read something about that. The Gnostics believed in Jesus’s angelic
origins as well.”
“There are—or there were, I should say—hundreds of books in our library about it,” Dr. Seraphina
said. “Personally, I don’t care who Jesus’s ancestors were. My concern is entirely elsewhere. This,
for example, is something I find utterly fascinating, speculative or not,” Dr. Seraphina said, leading us
to the next table, where a book lay open as if waiting for our examination. “It is a Nephilistic
angelology that begins with the Watchers, moves through Noah’s family, and branches out with great
detail throughout the ruling families of Europe. It is called The Book of Generations.”
I glanced over the page, reading the descending ladder of names as the angelology moved through
the generations. Although I understood the power and the influence the Nephilim had upon human
activity, I was taken aback to discover that the family lines moved through nearly every royal
bloodline in Europe—the Capetians, the Hapsburgs, the Stuarts, the Carolingians. It was like reading
the history of Europe dynasty by dynasty.
Dr. Seraphina said, “We cannot be completely certain that these lines were infiltrated, but there is
enough proof to convince most of us that the great families of Europe have been—and still are—
deeply infected with the blood of the Nephilim.”
Gabriella hung upon all that Seraphina said as if she were memorizing a timeline of dates for an
examination or—and this was more apt to be at the heart of it—studying our teacher to discover her
motivation for bringing us to this strange text. At last Gabriella said, “But the names of nearly all the
noble families are listed. Are they all implicated in the terrors they have perpetuated?”
“Indeed. The Nephilim were the kings and queens of Europe, their desires shaping the lives of
millions of people. They kept their stronghold through intermarriage, primogeniture, and brute
military force,” Dr. Seraphina said. “Their kingdoms collected taxes, slaves, properties, and all kinds
of mineral and agricultural wealth, attacking any group that acquired even the smallest degree of
independence. Their influence was so unrivaled during the medieval period that they did not even
bother to hide themselves as they once had. According to accounts of angelologists of the thirteenth
century, there were cults dedicated to fallen angels that were fully orchestrated by the Nephilim.
Many of the evils attributed to witches—the accused were nearly always women—were actually part
of Nephilistic rituals. They believed in ancestor worship and celebrated the return of the Watchers.
These families still exist today. In fact,” Dr. Seraphina said, looking at Gabriella with a strange,
almost accusatory look, “we are keeping very close watch on them. These families in particular are
under surveillance.”
While I glanced at the page and saw a number of names, none of which meant anything in particular
to me, the effect of Seraphina’s words upon Gabriella was intense. As she read the names, she
stepped back in fright. Her manner reminded me of the trance of horror I had witnessed come over her