Reuel continued. 

     “You can return to Earth and be given another assignment. However, you will not be allowed to function in your office unsupervised. You will be stripped of the privileges that you have both taken for granted and also taken advantage of as a Guardian. 

   Kendi, you will not have the ability of astral travel or of telepathy. You will only be allowed those extra abilities that are necessary for the protection of the assignment. You will look, feel, and become more mortal than you ever thought possible. These terms are not negotiable. You will have to agree to these boundaries in order for us to proceed.”

     Hell, this was not a choice. It was blackmail in every sense of the word—exile, or complete humiliation? A baby sitter, no way to escape the sheer monotony of earthen existence, which inevitably meant no Eloa, and what does he mean “become more mortal”? The lake of fire may be an easier alternative.

     What in the world did Jah expect me to gain from doing this? Obviously, I am not going to say no. They must know that I am being forced into this, and the outcome is not likely going to be pretty.

     “Do you understand?” Reuel asked again.

     “Yes, Reuel. I understand. May I ask questions before I make a decision?” I asked making every attempt to sound sincere and not thoroughly irritated.

     “You may, although I am not at liberty to divulge Jah’s entire plan to you.”

     Well that answered a large portion of my questions. This was Jah’s plan. It would certainly be a doozy then. Jah’s plans were always very intricate, complicated conundrums that no one could figure out. I better keep this simple.

     “Not function unsupervised?” I said. I noticed just enough of a hint of sarcasm in my voice to make sure that I checked it before speaking again.

     “So will I be assigned a partner?”

     “No, Kendi. You will be assigned to work as part of a team.”

     A team? Wait a minute. This was getting worse by the second. There were currently only two teams operating in the office of Guardian in the earthen realm. One was Uriel’s and the other was Reuel’s.

     Uriel would never have me as part of his team. He was very no nonsense and never gave second chances. Unfortunately, my reputation had preceded me. Uriel was commander over Malachi’s team at the time of my first mishap. As a result of my actions, Uriel swiftly demoted Malachi and removed him from his team even though the loss assignment was clearly my fault. He was ruthless. Uriel would never take me on.

     Reuel was known as the compassionate one: very firm, but benevolent. He often gave second chances. But his team had the reputation of being the screw-ups, the misfits, the renegades, so this is likely where I would wind up. The only problem is that Reuel had taken Malachi under his guide when Uriel got rid of him. Was Jah crazy? He wanted me to work with Malachi? Not that I had a problem with it. Well, yeah . . . I kinda did. I would have to sleep with one eye open. Malachi certainly had not forgotten what I had done to him; nor did he have any intention of forgiving me. This had the potential to go wrong on so many levels.

     “Whose team?” I finally choked out though I already knew the answer.

     “You will be a part of my team, Kendi. Can you handle that?”

     “Yes, no problem.” I lied, trying to hide my chagrin.

     “Any other questions?”

     “I will not be able to visit Empyrean at all?” The thought of not seeing Eloa for an extended period of time made me instantly anxious.

     “You will be able to come to Empyrean with an escort only. That being myself or one of your other team members, and then only for just cause.”

     “How will I be able to communicate with the team without telepathy,” I wondered.

     “You will talk. Like any other mortal,” Reuel said through what I interpreted as a smirk.

     Like any other mortal? What in the hell was that supposed to mean. I didn’t think I needed to know any more of the details. I would certainly go with the exile option if I did. Seems to me that exile would be far less excruciating than what this bunch had planned for me. I couldn’t stomach any more enlightenment at the moment.

     “Any other questions?”

     “No, Reuel.”

     “Do you agree to the terms and the conditions of the alternate choice that you have been given?”

     “Yes.” Monosyllabic answers were going to be my safest route at this point. I could feel the anger starting to percolate in my belly.

     “Then, it is so ordered by this court that Kendi be remanded to my custody for an indefinite term in order to carry out his next assignment in the office of Guardian. I also hereby reaffirm that Kendi has agreed to give up certain liberties that not only are reserved for the office of the Guardian, but also to immortals at large.”

     The words rang with a real finality, and once again, I felt sick.

     “And it is so!” Reuel brought down the gavel one last time, and my legs gave out once again.

“Kendi, you may want to stop rehashing what happened in Empyrean. I know that you have not gotten over it. I know that you feel as if you were railroaded, but those are the breaks. Welcome to your new life. You may as well make the most of it, kiddo.”

Reuel broke my reverie, and I remembered where I was, and what I had to continue to endure. This stretch of time may just be my lake of fire.

We’ll see . . .