by Vivian Wood
“Topiary and Sculpture Garden,” she read aloud.
She turned back to Ezra, who inclined his head toward the arch. “Go ahead.”
Aurora shot an apprehensive glance back at him over her shoulder, then rose on her tiptoes to try to see over the gate.
“Go ahead, I don’t think it will bite,” Ezra said.
Aurora huffed, reaching up to pull the gate open. Though it looked heavy, she swung it open with ease. Ezra strode forward to keep up with her, following her through.
They stepped into an impeccably manicured French garden, complete with elaborate tall hedges and little stone-lined areas showcasing different varieties of roses. The hedges were trimmed to allow one to look out across the garden, which seemed to go on and on in every direction.
Here and there, the head of a statue or large sculpted head stuck up above the rest.
“Oooh,” Aurora said. “I feel like I’m in The Secret Garden.”
“Big fan of Frances Hodgson Burnett, are you?” Ezra asked, a little surprised.
He would’ve pegged Aurora as more of a city-dweller. Perhaps that just showed how little she’d let him see of her so far.
“It was my favorite book as a kid,” Aurora said, sounding absentminded.
The first set of roses caught her attention, a stunning dark pink. The bush was neatly trimmed, but several blooms stuck out from the rest, as though begging for admiration.
“Wow, this color reminds me of the sunset,” she said, glancing back at him. “Like at the beach, when it’s orange and pink, you know? That color of pink.”
“Hmm,” Ezra said.
“What, you don’t like the beach?” Aurora asked.
“Never spent much time there,” he said.
She gave him a scandalized look. “That’s terrible. The beach is amazing.”
“Which one?”
“Every beach.”
“Some are cold, you know.”
“All right, every beach that’s not snow-covered, then.” She perked up, cocking her head. “Did you hear that?”
“No.”
“Weird. Kind of a rustle,” she said, then laughed. “I just don’t want to miss anything.”
“Let’s move into the garden,” he suggested.
“We’re not going to get lost, are we?” she asked, brow hunching.
“I don’t think it’s that kind of garden. Less hedge maze, more neatly 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 water.
“Nice!” Aurora said, moving closer. She glanced back. “Have you gone in?”
“This is the part where I spent most of my time,” he admitted. “It’s cold, but very refreshing. We didn’t really come prepared to swim, though.”
“Hmm?” she asked, distracted by walking around to get closer to the little pond.
“I assume you’d want to swim in a suit. Since I’m a murderous angel, according to you. And a stranger.”
“Oh,” she said, her cheeks going pink. “Well, yes. But maybe we could stick our feet in.”
“I think that’d be fine,” Ezra said.
They both unlaced and kicked off their shoes. Aurora wore ridiculous red sneakers, but after spending a little time with her, Ezra realized that they suited her perfectly. Practical, somewhat stylish, and a little whimsical.
That seemed right.
Aurora rolled up her jeans to the knee.
“You seem well-versed in this,” he commented.
Aurora gave him a happy smile. “When I was a kid…”
Her smile dimmed, and she glanced down.
“When you were a kid, what?”
“I was going to say, Jackson and I used to go down to the creek near my house. We’d do just the same, take off our shoes, roll up our jeans,” she said, glancing at him.
Sadness flashed in her eyes. Ezra cleared his throat, uncomforta
ble. When she was upbeat, he liked the emotional stuff well enough. Excitement, joy, those were all well and good.
The dark stuff, though… that was not his purview.
“I think there’s a flat, dry spot over on the other side,” Ezra said, changing the topic. He pointed, and Aurora gave him a half-hearted smile.
Ezra walked around the stone ledge of the pool, leading her to a good spot. He settled and dipped his feet into the water, hissing at the chill of it.
“Yeesh,” Aurora said, after dipping a toe in. “Too cold!”
“Ask it to warm up,” Ezra said.
“Oh. Okay. Um… water, will you be like… room temperature?”
The wind rustled the leaves around them, and after a moment warmer jets of water began to rise.
“I think it’s safe now,” Ezra said.
Aurora put her feet in, then let her legs dangle with a contented sigh. “Nice.”
“Yeah. Actually…” he said, glancing around. “Make it dusk!”
The sky slowly darkened, and Aurora gave him a curious look.
“Why dusk?” she asked.
“You’ll see in a minute.”
She made a soft mmm noise, leaning back. For a couple of minutes, they were quiet, soaking it in.
“This place is amazing,” she said, breaking the silence.
“I agree.”
“Why were you here before?” she asked.
Her eyes were closed, her features relaxed. Ezra mulled over her question for a second, unsure how to respond.
“I came here when I defected from Hell,” he said.
Aurora opened one eye, glancing at him. “You were hiding?”
“Yeah. There was a pretty hefty ransom on my return, so I wasn’t sure where to go.”
“You went to the voodoo queen, then?” she asked.
Ezra watched her closely, trying to figure out her intentions. Aurora glanced at him and shrugged.
“You don’t have to tell me, I’m just curious. I mean, it’s not every day I talk to a Fallen angel that left Hell.”
“Right, right,” Ezra said. “Well, Mere Marie actually found me. I hid out in New York for a while, figured no one could find anyone there. Needle in a haystack, looking for one person in such a big city.”
“And she offered you, what? A job?”
“Not exactly. At first, she offered me a place to hide. Then, a way to unburden myself. Serve as a protector for mankind, help keep Heaven and Hell in check. Keep myself off their radar, undo some of the chaos I wrought in my time serving Lucifer.”
“Hmmm. And Mere Marie, she works for Le Medcin?”
“That she does.”
Another silence, shorter this time. Aurora looked at him, then glanced away.
“Ask,” he said.
“Hmm?”
“You want to ask me why I Fell. Or maybe you want to know why I left Hell?”
“Both, kind of,” she admitted. “I’ve had this crazy life, always running from demons and angels. And yet, compared to you, I’ve barely lived. It’s interesting. Do you mind?”
“No. It’s not a great story, really. I left Heaven and Hell for nearly identical reasons.”
“Really?” she asked, leaning a little closer.
“Well, you already know that I was classified as a Destroyer. I’m not the only one, there are a few, but Lucifer targeted me before the Fall. He talked me up about this utopia he was going to create, how radically it would change us, change our lives.”
“I imagine that he wasn’t wrong about that.”
“It’s funny, in a way. Strange, I mean. In Heaven, I was very isolated. Other angels ushered in new life, served Heaven in various ways. The Destroyers, we were outcasts, and not the kind that band together.” He paused, drawing a breath. “I drifted through my time in Heaven, millennia really. I served because that was my purpose. Honor and duty are the cornerstones of angelic training, and I took them very seriously.”
“So you did your part, because you were told to do it. To cull souls,” she clarified.
“Well, it also needs to be done. There’s nothing wrong with what Destroyers do, despite the name. It’s a necessary thing, if a little… off-putting.”
“Kind of like a controlled burn in a forest, to help regrow things, right?”
Ezra arched his brows. “Yes, that’s exactly right.”
“I get it.”
“Well, Lucifer promised me…” he said, then paused to chuckle. “Well, classic tale. He promised me many things, and none of them fulfilled me. I left Heaven because I wanted a change for myself, not because I wanted to torture and maim pathetic Hellbound souls.”
“You tortured them?” Aurora asked, looking a little squeamish.
“No, I wouldn’t do it. So Lucifer, being the literal tricky devil he is, Lucifer returned me to my former position.”
“He made you a Destroyer again?” she asked.
“Right. I mean, it’s not exactly a talent, per se. My sword was created for the purpose of culling. I aim with the intent to end a soul’s burdens, and poof. Gone.”
“So you were right back where you started, after that.”
“Only worse, because not only was I stuck living in Hell and serving Lucifer, but… I was alone again. I had endless time to reflect on the Fall, on the mistakes I made that led me to Hell.”
“Sounds pretty harsh,” she said.
“It wasn’t great. I endured,” he said with a shrug. “That’s what I do.”
“Endure?”
“Yeah.”
“And then you left.”
“It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that I didn’t have to stay.”
Aurora smiled. “I get that. You live your life a certain way for long enough, it’s hard to change the only thing you know.”
“The very moment the idea occurred to me, I was lying in my bed. I stood up, got dressed, and left that very moment.”
“Just like that? No epic battle or anything?” she asked.
“No. I think Kirael has a good story, but… it took Lucifer a while to even realize I was missing. I like to think that the worn-out souls just started piling up,” he said. “Sorry, that’s macabre.”
Aurora nodded, staying quiet.
“Disappointing? Missing all the action you’d hoped for?” Ezra asked.
“I think your story is just fine. It speaks to your character, in a lot of ways,” she said.
“It is what it is.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” she said, leaning back to stare up at the darkening sky.
“Oh!” she said after a long pause, pointing. “Look!”
A shimmering flash, almost too quick to see. Ezra moved closer to Aurora as she hurried ahead a hundred yards, looking around. Another flash, another.
“They’re almost like lightning bugs, but bigger,” she said, tilting her head back to see a few lights winking throughout the clearing.
“I think those might be wood sprites,” Ezra said.
Aurora turned to him, eyes wide as dinner plates. “No way. Actual Faeries?”
“Actual Faeries,” he agreed with a chuckle.
“This is amazing!” Aurora said.
“It is,” he agreed, content to sit and watch her.
They stayed for a bit longer, until Aurora seemed to tire.
“Let’s go inside,” he suggested.
She nodded, relaxed and easygoing. This side of her was a pleasant surprise. He caught himself thinking that she would be undeniably, breathtakingly lovely if she were always like this, at ease and happy.
As they neared the house, he wondered if now wasn’t the perfect time to ask her a few more personal questions. She was calm and in a good mood, there wouldn’t really be a better time for it.
“I want to ask you a question,” he said.
She glanced up at him, tossing her hair out of her eyes.
“Alright,” she said, giving him a wan smile.
“How can you be sure that H
eaven is involved in your mother’s death?” he asked.
Aurora slowed, giving him a blank look. He hurried to clarify.
“I mean, Hell… that’s completely expected. But Heaven… I don’t quite see it.”
Aurora’s expression hardened.
“You think I’m lying?” she asked, her eyes sparking with anger.
“No, I just—”
“You think I’m stupid? Or maybe crazy, huh?”
“Aurora, I didn’t say that.”
“Is that why you’re really here?” she spat, her face flushed with fury. “Heaven wants you to sway me, charm me, try to convince me that I’m wrong?”
He didn’t have a response for that. Technically, he was supposed to sway her to the side of Heaven. He wouldn’t lie to her, so he kept his mouth shut.
“Let me tell you something, Ezra. Angels and demons took everything from me. Everything. If you think I didn’t do my homework, think I just plucked a bunch of crazy ideas out of the sky, think again.”
“I didn’t mean to say—” he tried.
“You know what? Save it. I should have known better. I don’t know whose side you’re on, but clearly you’re not on mine.”
She whirled and headed for the house, but Ezra caught her wrist, jerking her to a stop. She rounded on him, looking ready to spew fire.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“I am here for you, as your protector. I have no stakes in this game.”
She pulled from his grasp.
“This isn’t a game, this is my life,” she said. “And if you don’t believe me, you should leave. Or let me go. I’m better off alone than with someone who thinks I’m a crazy liar.”
“I don’t think that.”
“You don’t believe me, either.”
He paused. “I am just trying to understand.”
Aurora gave him a long look, then shook her head. She turned and left without another word, leaving him standing in the sand feeling like a fool.
Way to ruin a perfectly good evening, he admonished himself.
Shaking his head, he followed her into the house. He wasn’t going to leave, not after Le Medcin’s command that Ezra protect her.
If he was going to stay, if he was going to gain her trust, something would have to give.
And damned if he wasn’t certain that it would be him.
