Read Online Rebel Angel: A Sainted Sinners Novel by Vivian Wood - Free Book Online

ordered.”
    There was only one entrance to the hedges, so they went straight for it.
    “I thought you’d only been here once,” she said.
    “That’s right.”
    “You know an awful lot about it.”
    “Ah. I stayed for four days, and spent most of them out here.”
    The hedge path went a few feet, took a sharp left, went a few feet, took a sharp right.
    “Were you protecting someone that time, too?” she asked, rounding another corner.
    They stopped short, almost running into a huge white marble statue.
    “Ah! Venus di Milo, rising from the sea,” Ezra said.
    “Beautiful,” Aurora said, reaching out to touch the marble. She gave a sharp squeak when the statue moved, Venus putting her hands on her hips.
    “No touching!” Venus said with a wink.
    Aurora took a big step back, looking as though she’d swallowed her own tongue. She looked up at Ezra with alarm.
    “They talk?” she asked.
    Venus gave a giggle and went back to her pose.
    “This is freaking me out,” Aurora said, looking around. “And now we’re at a dead end. Where do we go?”
    The wind rose around them, rustling all the leaves in the hedges. The hedges started to shift, overgrowing the path they’d come from, moving to reveal a new direction.
    “I don’t like this as much as the forest,” Aurora told him.
    “We can take the accelerated path,” he said. Raising his voice, he called out, “Garden! Clear a path straight to the roses!”
    Another breeze, a soft whisper carried along with it. The hedges shifted again, giving them a straight shot through the hedges.
    “Whoa,” Aurora said. “I wouldn’t have thought to talk to… them? It?”
    “Come on,” he said, ushering her down the path.
    They passed several more statues on the way: a majestic stallion rearing, a proud Native American chief in full ceremonial gear, two children playing with a schnauzer.
    “Interesting statue choices,” Aurora commented when they were nearly out of the hedges.
    “Different than the ones I saw the last time I was here. Perhaps it reads your mood, because these are much less… grotesque.”
    Aurora raised her brows, but didn’t comment. They left the hedges behind, entering the main rose garden. It was a large courtyard, boxed in by ivy-covered white stone walls. Here, the white sand paths gave away to white pebbles underfoot. Far in the distance, she could see a huge palace that was eerily reminiscent of Versailles.
    Display after display of glorious roses, some arranged with other flowers to form living bouquets.
    “Holy cow,” Aurora said, picking up speed as she moved through the displays. “Ooh, a bunny!”
    A small gray rabbit scurried from a rose bush and launched itself into the hedges.
    “More Alice In Wonderland than Secret Garden,” Ezra said.
    “Hopefully not, I think Wonderland sounds kind of terrifying,” Aurora said.
    “We’re nearly through this part of the garden, I should think.” Ezra pointed out another iron gate peeking out of the ivory.
    “Oh,” Aurora said, sounding a little relieved. “Can you tell me what’s next?”
    “It’s more peaceful,” Ezra promised. “No moving statues.”
    “Sounds good to me,” she said, hurrying through the rest of the rose garden.
    She was through the gate before Ezra, and he nearly laughed at her sigh of relief on the other side.
    “You really hated the statues that much?” Ezra asked, amused.
    “And the moving hedges,” Aurora said. “Too chaotic.”
    He didn’t have a response for that, so he followed her further from the rose garden.
    They stood in a pretty wooded area, much less thick than the forest. The sky was bright and blue, the trees few and far between. The white sand path led onward, beckoning.
    They followed the path around a wide turn, then came out into a clearing. The ground went from sand to silver-gray bedrock. The rock dipped low to form a small, deep pool. Water tricked in from a gentle but steady stream, filling the pool with clear