The balcony was large and took up the whole side of the house. It was about twenty feet wide, and fifty feet in length. Gairett walked out and halted, barely feeling the bag leave his grip.
Standing at the very edge of the balcony, stood a life-like statue, of another fairy.
He let out a long breath that he hadn't realized he was holding and slowly walked over to the statue. He ran his hand over the back and underside of the fairy's left wing. They were made of marble, the color of cream, and were about five feet wide. They were nothing like the fairy's wings in the books and paintings he had recently seen. They held a shape akin to a butterfly's wings, but you could see their bone structure, like a batwing. They were plain with no designs of any kind on the inside. At the tips, they came out long, similar to a finger, but were about six inches long, and balled at the ends. Lightly laying on top of the wings was the statue's hair, which fell past her knees, and had a slight wave.
As he came around the front, still holding the side of her wing, he sucked in another deep breath as her face came into view. He could feel the beat of his heart in his throat and the pounding of it in his ears.
She looked exactly like his grandmother had when she was younger. The hair, the face, even the small smile she had sculpted on her face. Everything, from the small mole on the left side of her high cheekbone, to the long fingers, and slim waist. It even held the scar over her heart that she refused to talk about.
He had never seen her so youthfully beautiful before. She looked as though she was in her late human teens, with wide eyes made of blue Opal that matched hers exactly. Her head was bowed, as she was looking down towards her feet, making her long hair hang over the sides of her face, adding to the realism of the scene. Her right wing was back as if it were balancing her. Her left wing was bent forward, touching her mouth with the finger-like bone on the end of it. Her arms were extended out, with the left one slightly curved, and the other stretched straight out to her side, similar to her wing. Her hair was everywhere, like a second skin, snaking its way around every little part of her body.
She was dipping her toes into the marble, like it was water, rippling out, to enhance the effect. Reaching from the 'water' was an arm, from the elbow up, as if it was offering it to her. It too was made of marble. Dancing across its skin were tribal scars that came from the elbow, all the way out to the hand, and finally stopping at the middle finger. They curled like fire, whipping their way around the arm. The scars were perfectly done and inlaid deep. Upon looking closer Gairett found what looked like words etched down the index and pinky fingers in a language he'd never seen before.
The floor of the balcony was made of limestone, a few shades darker than the marble, and mixed in the limestone were fossils. They were scattered everywhere. Shells, crabs, fishes, seahorses, and many more.
He did a turn, to look at the circumference of the balcony and was surprised to find another statue in the far corner just to the left of the balcony doors.
Gairett couldn't help but ask himself, why he'd never seen these before? Had he been too caught up in Velori, or Hale? He knew that there were statues out here, but he had not seen the wings or the other statue. He hadn't allowed any of it to sink into his mind as important. Who would?
He walked over to the other statue, his chest now burning from holding his breath. His heart was pounding like a drum in his head.
Will it look like grandfather?
He was close enough that he should have been able to make out the face of the man, but it was blank. A clean form with impressions of eyes, a nose and mouth. The statue was coming out of the 'water', showing only his torso and up. This man too had scars all over his body. They licked up his stomach from the water and stopped once they reached his neck. Half of his face was covered in blue stone like he was tattooed. Similar to the other hand, the scars wrapped everywhere and possessed their own lifelikeness. The man was leaning on a rock made from coral, with straight hair made to look wet with carved droplets all over. His hair that rested on the 'water', made more ripples, giving an even more frightening reality to the setup. His head was relaxing in his right hand and the pretend mouth lilted up, into a smile.
Who is this man? Why does the girl look like Nana? How did Velori know her looks? Why does none of this make any fucking sense?
These were only some of the questions that were raised in his mind. He turned to go and fly towards Velori to get answers. He grabbed the bag and jumped in the air. On his way up he saw that the railing around the balcony was in coral and had sculptures of seaweed growing up it. On the railing itself, which was made of limestone, he saw more fossils. Minnows and goldfish were carved as if made to look like they were coming out of the railing. They too were made of coral. If he had not been frustrated about his grandmother, he would have thought the setup piercingly erotic, and exotic. He would have loved it. Instead, he hated it and was flying to the hospital with a fierceness and a determination for the truth that left him in awe.
~~~
The first thing he did before arriving, was feel for her. Making sure she was still alive, that she was alright. Anxiety was a weight, gaining size within him when he couldn't pinpoint her location and it was released with a sigh when he finally found her. Shining bright as a star in the distance.
He pulled everything into his mental space. Throwing away the mundane. The leaf blowers, the cars, the sirens that came and went, even the faint feeling of familiarity. Everything went black as he pulled her location and the picture of her into his mind's eye.
Shaking his head again, he had to fight the urge to go to her. He had to find out more first. Her condition, was she healthy, is she still fighting or hurting, will she make it and keep fighting? He had to know it all before seeing her in person.
He could see her now, clearly, in his thoughts. She was lying on a blue bed, with white railings. There were more machines around her, putting off more sounds that he had to drown out. She had a bandage on her neck, to keep the bite from bleeding, and she had tubes coming and going from her body. The entire side of her face was swollen and what he could see of her neck was blue and green, and there were black bruises on her face in the shape of a hand.
Damn it, Hale! The curse floated through his mind.
The throbbing of his heart slowed to a steady drum and his blood rush had calmed. She looked so much like Melisa. Her hair was down, instead of in the pin she usually kept it in. Someone had brushed it and laid it to the right side of her face. It was lying on her breast, and he could see the rise and fall of her chest. It looked so soft and was close to the color of milk chocolate.
The room was rather small and only had one window. There was a bathroom in the room, and a small television in front of the bed, which had been turned on and set very low. There was a show on, and people were showing old things to people who told them if they could get money for it and how much. The door to the room was closed, and the only light in the room, came from the television or the sun coming through the window. Someone had thrown back the shades and curtains and the sun's rays were shining through leaving little rays of dust in its path. On the desk to the side of the bed, by the window, was a flower. Anne must have been in to see her already, arriving much sooner than he thought she would have. She had good taste; this specific flower was one of healing and the smell would help.
Velori was still in a deep sleep. He could penetrate her dreams if he must, but it would take most of his energy and he needed what he had to try and find out clues on the amulet and statue. If Hale were here, he could get into her dreams easily.
The gargoyle race are masters at trickery and dreams. They can go into your consciousness and spirit, and help you fight the fog to wake. Hale was much better at it than Gairett would ever be because of the Gargoyle blood in his veins.
Illusion and Water were Gairett's mastery. Getting the snake Gene from his father allowed him to go longer without rest and food.
Happy knowing that she was alright he went back around to the front and landed near the smoking area of the hospital. To the people around, it merely felt like a gust of wind came down from the sky.