CHAPTER 26

It was a hot afternoon in New York City. The traffic was congested and most of those imprisoned in vehicles were hot under the collar. A few horns hooted. A few even shouted obscenities.

Kael smiled as he gazed out of the window from Logan's apartment. How he missed New York – always brimming with life. Never a dull moment.

"So, let me get this straight. Your wings have been taken away; you've been chucked out of heaven…"

Kael turned around and interrupted Logan - again. His little brother should seriously get his hearing checked out. This having to repeat everything he said was starting to annoy him. "Firstly, I never said that I was chucked out of heaven."

"Well, whatever the case may be, I'm sure it's only temporary. We'll get you back there in no time," Logan exclaimed.

A knock at the door halted Kael's response.

"It's open," Logan called out, but his gaze remained fixed on Kael while his mind twirled around with loads of questions and possible solutions to Kael's problems.

Julia waltzed through the door carrying a pecan nut pie but almost dropped it when she saw Kael. As she stood there, frozen, she could feel her heart pounding – a celebratory rhythm at seeing him. How annoying of her heart. She was just starting to get over him. Yeah, who are you trying to kid, she mocked herself. There was no getting over this angel, in his all-perfect Hercules-like stature and who stood glaring at her with those gorgeous grey-blue eyes and lips that begged to be kissed. A giddy sigh escaped her lips. And the way he was dressed, wow. He killed in his blue jeans and tight-fitting t-shirt. She bit her lower lip. Angels shouldn't be so sexy.

"Hi Jules." Kael smiled at her nervously. His heart was pounding so fast that he was sure it had moved an inch up his throat, making it hard to breathe properly, speak, or even swallow.

Hi? Hi? Was that all he could come up with? Julia was close to losing it. Was he just here to visit Logan again without paying her a visit? Did she mean that little to him? With great effort she forced a smile, or at least she hoped it resembled a smile. "Hi." Okay, was that her voice? It sounded so high-pitched and squeaky. Pull yourself together, girl!

Logan could feel the tension in the air and decided to rather make his escape. "I just remembered I needed to get some milk from the store. Um, I'll um, see you guys later." He grabbed his jacket and bolted out the door.

Julia coughed. "Should I be worried?"

"Worried?"

"Yeah, worried that you are here because whenever you're around all hell breaks loose, literally," she remarked.

Kael laughed and once he stopped, he gave her a half grin that was so sexy she just wanted to grab him and kiss him giddy.

"Not today," he replied. "But, if I'm making you feel uneasy, I can go," he teased.

"No – please stay." Okay, she had blurted out her enthusiasm far too loudly. Quickly releasing a quirky smile to cover her embarrassment. She could just die.

Kael ordered his heart to calm down before slowly making his way towards her, apprehension begging him to run in the opposite direction. Coward. She was still standing in the doorway and he she seemed as awkward as he did. Then he noticed the pecan pie still in her hand. It was tilted and would soon fall from her hands.

"Allow me to relieve you of that," he offered.

"Oh, yeah." Clumsily, she handed it to him and for a moment their hands touched. Her hands tingled with joy at his touch.

Kael placed the pie on the kitchen counter before heading back to her, wondering how he was going to broach the subject. "Jules, I was wondering…" he paused.

"Yes?" She was nervous but hopeful at the same time. Perhaps he had come down to see her, maybe even to take her out to dinner. Oh, who was she kidding? He was a freaking angel, and she –a mere mortal.

"Things have changed. The status quo if you will," he began.

Julia frowned. "What things?"

"Well, it turns out heaven no longer needs me."

"What?"

He smiled. "They appointed James as the new Overseer," he replied. "It's a good choice really," he remarked after noticing her quizzical brow.

"But why, I thought you were the Overseer?"

"Was, being the operative word here," Kael said, a little saddened. He had truly enjoyed being an overseer. Okay, he was procrastinating. Just say what you came here to say, he urged himself. But what if she no longer loved him, what if she had in the meantime fallen in love with someone else? Stop being a coward.

"Kael!" Julia's impatience was the best thawing mechanism ever. Her initial frozen state was quickly forgotten as she grabbed both his hands and squeezed them. "Don't keep me in suspense." Then a thought struck her. "Wait a minute, if you're no longer the Overseer, then what are you now? A guardian angel?" There was hope yet. He was going to be her guardian angel.

"That's what I came here to speak to you about."

"Let me guess, you've been appointed as my guardian angel?" She was over eager but then realisation hit her. How would she survive having him near her and not be able to love him? Her heart dropped to her feet. "That won't work – you and me. I'm all for having you close to me every moment of every day, but that would be torture for us both, wouldn't it?" Was she being too forward? He did proclaim his love for her, after all. Or was that just because she was dying?

"Are you finished?" he asked, grinning – seeing her eyes and knowing her curious mind was spinning around her head in search of answers. How he loved the way her mind worked. So busy, so fast. To be lost in her mind would undoubtedly turn one into an adrenalin junkie. Fortunately, he couldn't read minds.

"Um - maybe." She gave him another quirky smile, which immediately vanished. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, please don't tell me they punished you because we have feelings for each other." She frowned, then gasped. "Oh my gosh, they're sending you to purgatory, aren't they?"

Kael grinned mischievously, and then squeezed her hands back. "If I was going to purgatory, would you come with me?"

"Hell no!" she replied and then guiltily pulled up her shoulders, "maybe?"

This elicited a hearty laugh from him. "And here I thought you would go to hell and back for me."

"I'm more of a winter person. That heat could kill a girl," she teased.

"That's the underworld you're thinking about. Purgatory is neither hot nor cold."

"Well then it depends." She winked at him.

"Depends on what?"

"On what I get from the deal." Julia served him a sultry smile and felt giddy with mischief. Chaffing an angel. If she wasn't careful, she might land them both in purgatory.

Kael suddenly pulled her into his arms.

Julia's breath froze and her mind did what it had never done before – it stopped thinking. It was at that moment that Kael leaned down and kissed her full on the lips.

Just then Logan prodded back into the apartment. "Sorry I left my wallet and…oh." He halted. A few emotions ran through him at once. Awkwardness, joy at them finally admitting their feelings, then came the assault of anxiety. "Wait – should you guys be doing that?" Surely Kael wouldn't allow himself to land in purgatory just for a kiss. If he would, however, then he would have to have a serious chat with his older brother. He was, after all, the perfect person to talk him out of his feelings for a human as he knew first-hand how much fun sitting in purgatory was.

Julia glanced first to Logan and then guiltily at Kael.

A long sigh protruded from Kael ."Okay, both of you, sit down so I can update you on what is going on," Kael said, reluctantly releasing Julia from his grasp.

A slight moan escaped Julia as his arms left her.

As they sat down, Julia and Logan regarded each other worriedly looks before settling down, and then fastening their gaze on Kael.

Kael sat down opposite them, locking his hands together before facing them. "I'm not a fallen angel. I know that's what you two were thinking. And no, I wasn't stripped of my position because I fell in love with a human, or for breaking a few rules like coming to earth to investigate your alleged falling, Logan, and for allowing you, Julia, into heaven." Hesitating but for a second, he continued. "Those were necessary rule-breaking exceptions – and also the reason why Custo wasn't made Overseer. He refuses to allow for exceptions even when lives depend on it. Anyway, that's a topic for another discussion..."

"Stop. Wait. So – you're not going to purgatory?" Julia was relieved but also confused.

"Nope. Apparently – and this is where the irony of everything comes into play – I was only a temporary angel, to begin with."

"What?" They both blurted that out together.

"I was made an angel to safeguard me from Satan, while God's plans were taking form. But as things turned out I made quite an impressive angel, so God appointed me, with my skill set as a leader, as Overseer. Although it was only a temporary assignment."

"I was under the impression it was a permanent position," Logan stated with confusion.

"You and me both," Kael replied. "But no, God had other plans for me. But spies in the Kingdom informed Satan of God's plan and they had me killed."

"You mean they had us killed," Logan reminded him, nonchalantly.

Nodding before giving his reply, Kael continued. "It turns out that your death was not on Satan's agenda. You were an unfortunate victim of circumstance. If you hadn't insisting on coming with me – you would not have died. Anyway, the fact of the matter is that I was only placed in the Overseership position as a temporary quick-fix solution, a post which needed filling at the time. It was to allow necessary events to fall in place."

"Okay, just get to the point." Julia was growing impatient. "What position do you now have to fill, and if you're not heading to purgatory, where are you headed? And most importantly, will I ever get to see you again?" Julia was tired of not getting instant answers. She was an 'instant' girl, darn it! She liked her coffee pronto, she liked having Google at the tip of her fingers, and she liked cellular phones for instant communication. So this celestial stuff with its infuriating games and plans and secrets and this 'longsuffering' attribute – they were tedious and not working for her. Enough was enough already! This time she would be relentless in her pursuit for answers, she told herself. And they'd better be instant answers. She growled, "Kael!".

A deep dimple surfaced. How he loved to see her all riled up like this. It gave her a fiery look that was extremely becoming, and it turned him on. He gulped at that thought and quickly shoved aside the distraction she evoked in him. Clearing his throat, he said, "do you recall the letter that was written to me by the late Prophet Joshua? The one that contained that strange riddle?"

"Um – yeah, what was it again – something like 'The fate of the world is undone'?" Logan tried to recall.

Kael repeated it exactly word for word:

'What is, has to be undone. The fate of heaven and earth depends on it.'.

"That's what I said," Logan said with a sly grin.

Kael continued. "It turns out that 'what is' was me being an Overseer. It wasn't supposed to be an Overseer, or an angel. I was supposed to be the next Great Prophet after Joshua. Obviously, my untimely death put a stop to that calling. My prophetic visions of the future would save heaven and earth from the impending darkness which could have befallen the kingdom if Satan had manged to seize the kingdom."

"Okay, let me get this straight…" Logan began but Kael rudely interrupted him. He seriously did not need repetitions right now. It was driving him insane.

"Logan you're not going to repeat everything I have just said. In short, I am back to being the Prophet that I should have been from the beginning."

"But that's impossible. That position is for humans, not angels," Logan reminded him.

"You're not listening to me. Okay-" he took a deep breath, "-remember those painful headaches that made me seem like a weakling?" He couldn't believe he was bringing that up. Talk about self-sabotage, destroying his image in front of the woman he loved. Shoving his emotions aside, he explained, "it was to open my prophetic gift completely. The pain opened my mind, enhancing my ability to see everything – past, future, and present. God was creating me into the Great Prophet I was supposed to have become before my unexpected death."

"Jeepers, talk about a painful transition. But still, that doesn't change the fact that you're an angel, not a human."

"I told you already, I'm no longer an angel." What was wrong with Logan? Why couldn't he grasp the truth. "I'm human again."

Kael's eyes landed on Julia. Her eyes looked like they would explode out of their sockets.

Julia's ears began to ring loudly as the blood and oxygen filled her brain. Her thoughts were suddenly bursting with possibilities, exploring territories of hope that she'd never dared before.

Abruptly, Kael stood up and crossed over to where she sat and then effortlessly pulled her towards him, enfolding her tightly in his arms. "That brings me to the question I've been dying to ask you since I arrived."

This time she allowed herself to hope, clenching her jaws in suspense.

"Julia, will you marry me?"

It took a while, but she finally found her voice and squealed, "yes, yes, yes, a million times yes."

Kael was overjoyed. He held her so tightly and kissed her so slowly and with such heated passion that Logan grew uncomfortable.

Clearing his throat, Logan said, "you know Jules, purgatory might be a lot easier than living with Kael, just saying," Logan teased. Then suddenly he lost his desire for humour as a thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute, if you're human again, does that mean you're going to die?"

Kael looked up, without releasing Julia from his grip and glanced at Logan. "Hopefully not now. But yes."

Shaking his head fervently, Logan blurted, "Where does that leave me? Am I also going to lose my position as a guardian angel? Am I going to become human again too?" That held absolutely no appeal to him. None whatsoever. Not now, not ever. How could he return to being normal after being an angel and having wings? Come on.

"No, you're doing a fine job, besides, you love it, so why would it be taken away from you? They will be assigning you someone new to watch over in the near future."

Logan whistled a sigh of relief. But then another thought occurred to him. "But if you die, I'll never see you again."

"Never say never, little brother. God is as unpredictable as heaven is awesome."

"And here I thought you could see everything," Logan teased.

"I can and I do," Kael winked at him then bent down to kiss Julia again. One thing he really knew was that he would never get enough of her, ever.