CHAPTER 5

The silence at Angel Headquarters was something that Kael had not only grown accustomed to, but had relished the past few years since becoming the Overseer. However, today Headquarters was in disarray with an overflow of angels flying in and out trying to get answers and make sense of the tragic loss of the Great Prophet Joshua. The noise and chaos irritated Kael to no end, it just added to the existing hyped-up tension that was already curdling his blood.

He sat at his desk pouring through the heaped pile of documentation lying in his in-tray and gnawed at his cheeks.

Suddenly Custo and Maria barged in without even knocking. This would normally have irritated him, but today, instead, he jumped up, eager to receive further news regarding the murder.

"So, what did you find out?" Kael queried with bated breath.

"Well, what we've heard so far is that somehow Satan's demons and dark angels discovered the late prophet's whereabouts and had apparently been tracking him for some time. His wife informed us that prior to his death, they had noticed a few suspicious people hanging around the neighborhood," Custo said and paused to take a breath before continuing. "What we think is that somehow they managed to put up some sort of invisible barrier to prevent him from seeing any visions of them, making him thus totally unsuspecting when they finally broke into to his house to kill him."

"And his wife, Sally, is she okay?" Kael was eager to know.

"She's fine. She said she had been at the grocery store at the time of the murder, and on her return, she found him lying dead on the living room floor in a pool of his own blood."

"That's just terrible," Maria cried.

Kael gnarled with disgust and anger.

"But what I don't get is why they targeted the Prophet in the first place," Custo remarked, trying hard to fathom it all out.

"Perhaps Satan was afraid that he might see visions that would prevent them from achieving their goals," Maria said between sobs.

"Yes, but that would warrant a lot of manpower. Especially having to find the exact whereabouts of the Prophet's location. And then even more demons would have been needed to yield enough power to pierce through the protective celestial shield that was warding the Prophet's home," Kael responded. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If only he could just find out what it was that the Prophet had foreseen.

"Well, he did have a prophecy, he warned us of this new uprising?" Maria interjected, airing what was on Kael's mind.

Hordes of questions plagued Kael. He addressed Custo. "Did his wife tell you anything else? Was their house ransacked? Did they take anything?" he asked eagerly.

"Now that you mention it, she did say that his study had been in shambles. All his books and papers had been left scattered all over his study."

"So, they were looking for something. The question is, what was it, or even more importantly, did they find what they were looking for?" Kael asked this question more to himself than to Custo.

"This is all so tragic. So devastating. What are we going to do now, without a prophet?" Maria asked anxiously. Her normally tightly wound bun of hair was unravelling as if she had just run a marathon.

"Don't worry Maria, we will find a new prophet. The Lord will provide, he always does," Kael reassured her, but it didn't seem to work. Her eyes were laced over with doubt and fear.

"First Logan, now Joshua. What is going to happen to us?" Her chin trembled.

"Trust me. I will get to the bottom of this," Kael tried to reassure her.

Finally, she nodded, letting out an audible sigh of relief. She trusted Kael wholeheartedly. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks that the Lord had put him there for them during these difficult times. The Lord must have known that hard times were coming and that's why He had chosen Kael – a strong, mighty man of valour – to become an angel, even with his shortcomings.

Kael leered at Custo. "I'm going down to earth again. I will also do some probing into the prophet's death while I'm there. I have a strong feeling his death is somehow related to Logan's alleged falling, and perhaps it's also linked to this new uprising the Prophet warned us about before his death. This cannot all be a coincidence."

"Kael, you know it's against the rules for you to go to earth," Custo objected gingerly. He did not want to anger the Overseer, but rules were rules after all.

"Circumstances have left me with no other choice," Kael replied. "I have no choice."

"Well if you insist on going, which, for the record, I do not condone, then yes, I will continue to take care of matters here in the Kingdom while you're away."

"Thank you, Custo."

"Don't thank me just yet. I have a condition." Custo said and noticed Kael raise his eyebrows. "You personally instituted the rule where no angel works alone anymore, except for guardian angels that is. Although, you should make it so that Guardian Angels no longer work alone either anymore, due to recent circumstances. Anyway, I want you to follow your rule and take someone with you when you go down to earth." Custo insisted.

Kael almost growled but then calmed himself. "Look, it's a necessary rule, one that has succeeded in safeguarding our angels for the past five years now, but I am fine – I don't need help. And don't worry, I won't be led into temptation and I definitely won't fall.," Kael's reply was charged with conviction, but suddenly an image of the beautiful Julia appeared in his mind and his heart skipped a beat. Agitatedly he shoved his emotions aside.

"No one is infallible Kael, Logan's living proof of that," Custo reminded him.

This time Kael did growl. "My brother is innocent. He was set up," he spat, "and I will do everything in my power to prove it to you all."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Custo exclaimed, shaking his head worriedly.

Kael ignored his remark. "Besides," Kael gnarled at Custo, "allow me to just remind you – since you're always so eager to remind me –it's not our task to judge but the Lord's. So I suggest you do the same."

"I'm not judging you, I'm merely…"

Kael cut him short. "Really, are you sure about that?" Kael poured his growing anger over Custo. The short angel was relentless and unyielding when it came to the rules, which irritated Kael to no end. Yet, a hint of guilt did gnaw at him. Was he going back to earth for the right reasons, or was there some part of him that wanted an excuse to see Julia again?

Custo was adamant. "Whatever the case may be, I insist that you take someone with you. And that's not a request, "Custo ordered. "You're not above the law, even if you did make some of them yourself. I'm sure I don't need to remind you; you ought to lead by example."

"You dare give me orders? You forget your place, Custo. I am your superior, not the other way around," Kael fumed, his eyes ready to explode.

"Kael, please. Custo is right," Maria interrupted pleadingly. "Besides, if something happens to you, the entire Kingdom will be in jeopardy, and even in further disarray than it already is," Maria implored.

The in-house fighting and the recent chain of tragic events were strangling her, and they were affecting the entire Kingdom. She could no longer bear it.

Seeing the distraught look in her eyes, Kael subdued his anger slightly, and then finally agreed. "Fine! Find me someone who can accompany me, but make sure he is quiet. I don't need incessant chatter," Kael ordered.

Maria frowned. What did he mean by quiet?

"Today Maria," Kael snapped, the engine of his impatience swiftly reigniting his anger.

"Sorry, yes, I will get right on it." Maria hesitated only for a second before scurrying out of his office.

"You're a strange one, Kael. I never know what to expect from you. You're highly unpredictable," Custo remarked, shaking his head displeased.

"But, dear Custo, you have to admit, Kael's always spot on with his instincts." A heavy English-accented voice interrupted the hefty atmosphere, causing both Kael and Custo to turn around and regard the newcomer. A short but sturdy-built angel was standing in the doorway and, much to Kael's annoyance, had a smile that was beaming delightfully at them.

"James! What brings you out of your hole?" Kael grunted, apparent disdain edging his features.

"Funny, I would never have perceived the Pearly Gates of heaven as a hole, but if you, the great Overseer say so, who am I to argue?" His sarcasm was as tart as Kael's disdain towards him.

When his words failed to elicit the wanted response from Kael other than a burly grunt, it managed to ignite a retort of defiance from the short angel. "Besides, I'll have you know, guarding the gates to heaven is just as vital a role as your role as Overseer," James snapped scornfully.

"Is that why you created such an upheaval in the Kingdom when I was elected as Overseer instead of you?" Kael reminded him.

"You know nothing. Besides, that was five years ago – it's history. Let bygones be bygones," James retorted, waving aside his own derision and offering a smile as a peace offering instead.

Kael failed to take the hook. He was not so quick to dismiss the past. If there was one thing that history had taught him, it's that there is always a lesson to be learned. And his gut was telling him that James was up to something.

"What do you want, James?"

"Why, I'm here to offer you my assistance, of course," James replied. "It's a good thing I happened along when I did as I overheard you mention you're looking for someone to take with you to earth. You and I can investigate this matter of your fallen brother and the death of the Prophet together."

Kael was sure he noted a hint of mockery in the angel's eyes and his muscles tightened. "Not going to happen!"

"Actually," Custo interceded, "that's not such a bad idea."

Kael defied Custo's unwanted intervention by snickering at him.

Custo ignored him. "Think about it, you with your prophetic powers of seeing past and future events and James with his ability to see deep into the hearts of all..."

"I agree," James cut in with a half-smile. "We'd definitely make the perfect duo, you and I. Think of all the plots we would uncover," James beamed enthusiastically.

Kael cast one look of contempt at the gatekeeper, wondering what he was up to, then found a loophole in the suggestion. "He's not a guardian angel. He can't go to earth either," he emitted to Custo, a tad childishly.

"Yes, but at least there will be two of you, as per the rules," Custo reminded him.

Kael ignored Custo's response and threw a disparaging glance at James. "If you go, who's going to guard the Pearly Gates while you're away frolicking about and avoiding your duties?"

Before James could bark back a response in retaliation, Custo remedied a solution. "I'm sure Emile, although retired, will have no objection to filling his former post temporarily as the Gatekeeper of the Pearly Gates," Custo interceded smugly.

Kael cursed.

James beamed.

Custo flaunted his sweet victory. Rules are rules after all.