Chapter 19

“Well, look who’s back!” I heard Autumn say as she gave me a very loving kiss.

“Yes, I missed him very much! I have grown very fond of our husband,” Xia Delan spoke up.

“Yeah, no kidding. Take it easy, babe. You’ll have to recover. Your wound was healed, but you lost a bit of blood and we have no easy or quick way to replace it,” Hannah warned me.

“Lavelle?” I asked.

“Yep. If God had done it himself, you’d get the blood back, but some things are too much for even an angel. You’ll just have to take it somewhat easier and lead from the rear. Thankfully, Wilbur Junior, Xavier, Ryan, Lewis, Sardha, Anwyn, Gabby, Barry, Diana, Stacy, Yitzhak, Sarai, and Eileen are holding talks with the leaders of the Black Umma, Black Mamba, and Sindicato gangs right now. They’re haggling a way out of this mess.

“Charles ‘Rapey’ Royce is dead. I smote him dead myself. That’s basically my last act as your angelic guide. I must depart now and you guys are now entirely on your own. No more divine protection, at least not from me and not for the near future. Time to start wearing clothes again. Most of the time. Thankfully, there’s no reason not to go naked indoors. And once you reach safety again, well, you know...

“While the Dark Ravens quarrel among themselves, that will buy time for you to send Anwyn, Gabby, and Lewis off to Wales with any of you who volunteer to go there. You can reach the docks with relative ease. The only sticking point is that the Black Mambas and Black Umma want some ... of you to stay behind and join their ranks.

“Not you, but Xavier, Becca ... the black members of the crew, as it were. Especially Xavier. Becca is a lesser issue, which is good, because she has shown little interest in staying with them. She is more attached to us than ever. Same with Kylie Anne and Kelly Rae, but they are her sisters. They wanted me to stick around, too, but I have work to do. A lot more than you mortals seem to understand.

“Anyway, this is farewell. It has been nice while it lasted, but all good things ... and bad things, for that matter, must come to an end. This is the end of your charmed lives, so be more careful. You want to make it to Haven, after all, in one piece. I think that Xavier will stay, but that’s up to him. He is a Prophet now himself.

“Heaven will have a role for him, possibly here, but it will reveal that directly to him, not to me. I have a job and I must depart. Perhaps someday we will meet again ... in eternity,” Lavelle smiled brightly as he vanished for good this time.

“Well, that’s the end of that,” I observed.

“And the beginning of something new ... and good. Even if shrouded in grief and sorrow. Jared’s widow, Leah, has offered herself to Ryan to become his second wife, as has Tara to be his third. Now, given this, Autumn has accepted his suggestion of relegating their intimacy to the mostly physical aspects, so he can put more emotional energy into his two new wives. As for Willa, she is eager to become closer to her brother, Junior. I think that we know where this leads. He’s rather into Eileen, which is probably for the best, but no reason that he can’t marry both of them, right? Monogamy’s the past. No sense in not openly and fully embracing polygamy,” Xia told me now.

“And Till, Raquel, Sardha, and Becca are more and more a thing. But you probably guessed that by now,” Hannah added with a wink, “good thing that we’re all horny as jackrabbits, so we can stay fuckbuddies. All of us.”