The Stone Lions

by Gwen Dandridge

  She turned to the eagle now staring out the window. “Suleiman, what are you planning on doing? In your current form, the girls can’t take you with them.”

  He spread his wings slightly. “I need to eat. I returned to keep my promise, but my body aches with hunger. The small furry ones are often careless in the morning, and I am fast and sharp-eyed.”

  “Stay out of the wazir’s notice. For your life, Suleiman,” Tahirah warned. “He is desperate, and his magic surrounds you in whatever form you take. We must not take any unnecessary chances.”

  He hopped up on the windowsill. His gaze burrowed into her. “Take care yourself. You are here, grounded, while I fly free. Use caution, Sufi. Good hunting.” He spread his huge wings and was gone.

  Tahirah looked startled by his counsel. “I’ll send a servant to find the sultan. We must deal with this the best we can. It will be noticed that the hound is gone.”

  She bit her lip in concern. “You two need to keep close to the harem. I’ll walk you back on my way to speak with your father. While this may not be a pleasant conversation with your father, Abd al-Rahmid may be unable to contain his fury when he sees his quarry has flown. He will be looking not only for Suleiman but also for you.”

  Chapter 35

  As the three entered the Hall of the Kings, Maryam came rushing to greet them, her hijab flowing. “Layla, Ara, I am so sorry about yesterday. Nothing we did would dissuade the wazir. Your father was very exasperated with him.”

  Ara looked around at the empty hall. “Where is my father?”

  “He is closeted with his advisors and can’t be interrupted. Some Christians have been speaking with him since the last prayer.” She clasped and unclasped her hands. “There is a crisis in the mountains not far from here. The town of Lindejarras was torched by renegades. People died, and a caravan traveling through was ransacked.”

  Tahirah jerked in surprise. “How could that be? I would have heard.”

  “It must be so.” Maryam said. “The foreign men rode hard much of the night to bring him this news. The roads are not safe. Who knows when the next attack might take place.”

  Tahirah closed her eyes. “I have friends there. I pray to Allah they were not harmed.”

  “The wazir claims this was inevitable, what with the small number of troops guarding the mountain passes. It is odd, is it not?”

  Layla’s mother glanced at Ara. “Your father said he must be off immediately. The decision about the dog will have to wait until he returns.”

  Tahirah frowned. “The sultan is leaving today for the mountains?”

  Maryam nodded. “He’s preparing to leave now. He wishes to inspect the damage for himself. Even though the mercenaries are gone, he needs to meet with the local officials to aid them in refortifying the town and securing the pass. The caravan carried much needed supplies, wool and dates from Morocco. He wants to see how he can help, how it happened.”

  Tahirah looked away before casually asking, “Is the wazir going with him?”

  Layla’s mother shifted. “No, and I’m glad. He apologized to the shaykh, right before the messengers arrived. Still, yesterday’s incident was unfortunate.” She scanned the room before saying quietly, “I don’t adhere to spreading fear and rumor, but as you know”—she looked directly in Tahirah’s eyes— “Suleiman is missing. And strange and discomforting things seem to happen when the wazir is near. I worry for your safety,” she said in a rush. “He is an ambitious man, and there are things in his past…”

  Tahirah moved forward to take Maryam’s hand. “You are right to be concerned, but take comfort that I have resources of my own. Be assured that I will be safe.”

  A small shudder ran through Maryam. “I shouldn’t have spoken. The wazir overreacted, that’s all. He’s been agitated lately. He apologized, so it is over. Nonetheless, I’m glad he’s off hunting today.”

  “Hunting?” Tahirah asked in her mildest voice.

  “Yes, raptors. It seems an eagle has been carrying off young livestock.”

  Layla drew in a sharp breath as her mother continued. “He took his bow and arrows and went off with a few soldiers. The two foreigners joined him. Odd, after traveling for so long.” She looked thoughtful. “Perhaps it will do some good for the wazir to be away.”

  “Hunting an eagle?” Ara asked.

  Maryam nodded. “I must get back now. Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like to see the dog now? I could try to arrange for you to visit.”

  Layla eyes widened in panic, while Ara improvised, “I think we shouldn’t disturb him. We’ll wait until Father gets back.”

  “Well, if there’s nothing more I can do, I’ll take my leave of you.”

  Once Layla’s mother disappeared into the palace, Ara turned to Tahirah. “He’s trying to kill Suleiman, isn’t he?”

  The mathemagician looked off toward the mountains before nodding. “I’m afraid so. Somehow the wazir knows Suleiman has become an eagle. There is no eagle killing livestock. It’s an excuse. The Alhambra’s magic is tied to Suleiman, and time is running out for the wazir.”

  Ara stared off to the mountains, panicked. Layla looked down, trying to hide her tears.

  “One problem resolved, and another created.” Tahirah shook her head. “But we must not give in to despair. Even should he find Suleiman, eagles soar very high, higher than most can shoot.” She gave the girls an encouraging pat. “Quickly now, you must search for the glide reflections. I will attempt to locate Suleiman by my magic and call him back. I don’t know how successful I will be in contacting an eagle, but I must try.” She shook her head again. “Evil mathemagics wastes so much time and energy. So great a misuse of Allah’s wisdom.” She turned to leave, enveloped in her cloak. “Come to my rooms if you need me before you find the broken glide reflection. May Suleiman return soon, inshallah. Remember,” she looked at them sharply. “Stay away from the wazir!”

  Ara tried to concentrate on where best to start. But visions of an eagle, wounded, lying crumpled on the ground, kept flitting in. Layla stood, looking back in the direction of her mother’s leave-taking.

  “I should tell her,” she murmured to her cousin. “But she would worry so.”

  Ara looked toward the palace. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we tell her and my father everything. He will be back, Suleiman will be human again, and the wazir…” She hesitated. “Father must return by tomorrow,” she hissed, rubbing her forehead. “Let’s get started.” She turned one last time to search the sky for Suleiman before going inside.

  Their time in the Hall of the Kings yielded nothing. Ara noticed tiny cracks in the ceilings that were hidden within the drawings that adorned the room. She shivered, afraid.

  They rushed through the Court of the Lions and passed the great carved doors of the Hall of the Abencerrajes. Sunlight poured into the room through the star-cut ceiling. They walked slowly around the low fountain and looked at every row of tiles, hoping a glide reflection design would leap out. Ara chose the north wall, while Layla focused on the south end of the room.

  Ara found herself unable to focus. The wazir is going to kill Suleiman, she thought. Suleiman is busy searching for food, and he doesn’t know the wazir is hunting him. What if Suleiman becomes lost and doesn’t return?

  She and Layla walked across the Court of the Lions toward the Hall of the Two Sisters, nodding to the lions as they passed.

  I need to find Suleiman. Ara thought about the high outer walls of the palace. I bet I could climb over the palace walls and find him. He’d come as soon as he saw her, she felt sure. Then the wazir would never find him. She started smiling to herself as a plan began to take shape. I will be like the Prophet’s favorite wife A’isha, who led the Battle of the Camel. A true Muslim heroine.

  There was a wonderfully branched tree near the far north wall. It wasn’t securely guarded in the middle of the day. She could scamper up and get to the top of the outside wall. The stables must have a rope. She could be over, find Suleiman and
get back before anyone notices. She hummed quietly, a new lilt to her walk.

  Behind her, a shape disconnected itself from the fountain and stealthily trailed after her.

  In the Hall of the Two Sisters, Layla found a glide reflection and showed it to her cousin. Ara nodded, distracted. How was she ever going to get across the wall walkway?

  Layla cocked her head. “Are you all right? You have been muttering to yourself for a while. You’re not planning anything dangerous, are you?” Suspicion had crept into her voice.

  Ara frowned. “Don’t be silly. Of course I’m thinking, but nothing dangerous. We need to go by the stables. There are tiles on the floor we should check.”

  Layla missed a step. “The stables, but…Tahirah told us to stay near the harem.”

  “You can stay. But I’m going.” Ara moved quickly out the doors and headed toward the stables. After a moment’s hesitation, Layla followed.

  Ara knew what she had to do. The wazir was out hunting Suleiman, and she needed to protect her friend. She frowned and picked up the pace. Layla trailed behind, asking, “Are you sure we need to go there?”

  Ara nodded, focused on the stable and her plans. As they rounded the corner of the garden, the stables came into view, and she walked faster.

  Layla placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Promise, promise me you’re not thinking of doing anything risky.”

  Ara shrugged her hand off. “Stop. I’ll be right out. You stay here in case someone comes.” She crept quietly into the back of the stables. The horses snuffled at her, looking for treats and a rub on the nose.

  She grabbed a rope and a long piece of cotton cloth and slung both over her shoulder, then grabbed a small bow and quiver from the wall.

  When Ara emerged, Layla looked aghast. “What have—no! It’s too dangerous.”

  Ara trotted to the base of the high palace walls and checked the lower branches of the tree as she tied the cloth into a passable turban. “This isn’t the first time I’ve climbed this.”

  “You can’t leave the Alhambra. Think of what your father would say. Please, we have to finish finding the symmetries. You promised Tahirah!”

  Rearranging the rope and bow onto her back, Ara countered, “I’m going to find Suleiman. I’m not going to let the wazir hurt him, and that’s that.” She set her jaw and turned her back.

  “You can’t go.” Layla grabbed her cousin’s arm. “What about the magic? You need to find it here.”

  Ara shook her off before reaching upward to the tree. She placed her foot on a low, thick branch. “If Suleiman’s dead, the magic doesn’t matter anymore. The Alhambra will fall. Remember what Tahirah said? Only his changing back to his human form can save it. I’m going. Don’t try to stop me. If Suleiman dies and the Alhambra’s magic fails, it’ll be my fault.”

  Layla gasped, and Ara felt someone tugging on the other end of the rope. “Layla, stop it. I must go.”

  “That isn’t me,” her cousin said in a hushed voice. “I think you better let go of that tree.”

  Chapter 36

  Ara felt hot breath on her neck and nervously turned to see a mouth with many large teeth curved in an angry snarl. A lion stood with one foot on her rope and stared at her, unblinking.

  “Child of the Alhambra,” he rumbled, “your duty is here. Do you abandon your obligations so readily?”

  Ara blinked. Her lion! Her fingers slipped from the branch, and she fell to the ground with a thud. Layla stared openmouthed at the lion, as if relieved in a frightened sort of way. Gold sparkled in his mane. His feet and legs seemed covered in quartz; the long curved claws, ivory. His eyes shone with the fire of coal turning into diamonds; his fur glistened like mica. Ara gazed at him in wonder. Finally, she grinned and shook herself, disregarding his reproach. “You’re here and talking to me! I have been hoping for so long that you would.”

  He was silent for some time before he spoke again. “Do you so weary of your responsibilities that you let others down and quit?”

  She stiffened at the criticism. “No, not at all. I’m not quitting, I’m going to rescue Suleiman!”

  “By leaving the palace, you put yourself at risk. Without you, there will be no healing of the Alhambra, and Suleiman will never return to his normal shape. You put all in peril to soothe your own childish desires and fears.” He glared at her in disapproval. “There are times to hunt and times to remain silent while danger walks the paths.”

  She frowned back. That wasn’t so. She wasn’t soothing her own fears. Suleiman could be in danger. She wasn’t making it up.

  The voice rumbled again. “You have not found the broken symmetry. Do you believe the earth will stop turning because you wish it?”

  Ara replied. “No, but…”

  “But…?” he snarled. “Tell me how you planned to return to the Alhambra before the sands of time ran out. You with two feet and no wings.”

  “I’m quick. I would be back soon,” she insisted, more and more annoyed at her lion’s disapproval. Maybe she shouldn’t have wished to speak to him. She liked him better when he was silent.

  He sat down and started casually licking his paw, one foot still on her rope. “Is it that you have no trust in Suleiman? Do you think him reckless?”

  “No, Suleiman is very capable,” Ara had to admit. “He is careful and thoughtful.”

  “Unlike some whom we love whose nature runs to impulse.” The lion winked at Layla, who watched the debate, scarcely breathing. He shifted his weight, releasing the rope. “Yet quickness of mind and spirit are admirable qualities in a cub. Such cubs grow into lions with intelligence and leadership. There are times in the hunt when it is good to sprint, to react fast and change directions. There are other times to quietly lie down with your pack and study your prey. This is one of those times. You need to remain steadfast and trust that Suleiman also keeps to his task.” The lion snarled suddenly, uneasy. “I must go. The wazir’s magic presses in on me. Find the symmetries.” Silver lights twinkled as he began to disappear. “Suleiman and the wazir both return from the north.”

  “Wait! Does the wazir have Suleiman? What’s happening? Wait, your name, what’s your name?”

  A whispered growl drifted across the air. “The wazir’s magic constricts my brothers and me. Break the bonds and complete the magic so we may also do our duty.”

  Ara sat on the ground stunned. “But I still don’t know your name.”

  Layla, her eyes still huge, reached down to tug her cousin up. “Ara, your lion! He is so beautiful and huge! Those teeth…” She took a breath. “What should we do now?”

  Ara stood, not quite able to meet her cousin’s eyes. “We find the symmetry. But we shouldn’t heal it until we know where Suleiman is and that he is safe.” She was quiet for a moment. “Cousin, I am sorry I did not listen to you. You were right.”

  Layla looked at her with pain-filled eyes and whispered. “I didn’t know what to do. I kept thinking about the dangers outside, that you might get hurt and we would never find the remaining symmetries.”

  Ara flinched and reddened. Layla gave her a hug. “We are friends as well as cousins. All is well between us.”

  Ara grinned in relief before grabbing the equipment from the ground. “Let us go, then.” She looked at the bow and rope in her hand, then looked around in dismay. “I’ll return these as soon as Suleiman is back and transformed.” Hastily she and Layla stuffed the tools deep into a hedge of low bushes and, after a last look, hurried toward the palace.

  On the way, Ara mulled over her exchange with her lion. Maybe it was true that she needed to be more careful and less hasty. Still, it was nice he implied she might grow up to be a leader. She would stay with this task. She did trust that Suleiman would outsmart the wazir.

  They entered the Palace of the Myrtles and crossed the stone floor to stop at the fishpond. “I’ll start here and work my way around the courtyard.” Ara said. “Where do you want to look?”

  “Maybe the Hall of the Boat,
as it is close.”

  Ara nodded agreement.

  The girls separated. Layla called out that she found a symmetry, but a moment later she amended, “No, I was mistaken. The pattern isn’t quite right. There’s a glide, but no reflection. And it isn’t broken.”

  Ara walked slowly around the courtyard pond, still thinking about the lion’s counsel. It wasn’t that he said she shouldn’t be spontaneous, just that she should be more careful. That didn’t seem so bad. She saw a series of tiles and grinned as she mentally followed the motion across the row. Glide, reflect, glide, reflect—over and over.

  Layla tugged on her sleeve. “Let’s go to the tower and look for Suleiman. You mustn’t repair the broken symmetry. Not until he is here and safe.”

  Chapter 37

  From the tower, the girls watched as an eagle winged toward the palace, skimming through the newly-formed clouds. Ara heard distant trumpets. She peered down the road and saw men-at-arms riding fast. At the head, riding a big-boned chestnut mare, was the wazir. His body twisted as he searched the skies.

  Please let him not see Suleiman, Ara fervently prayed. Just then the eagle dipped down through a cloud and a cry went up from one of the hunters, who pointed upwards. The bowmen loosed three arrows in rapid succession. The eagle soared above them, their barbs sailing harmlessly below.

  The wazir waved his arms, cursing his men. As two archers raced on ahead, he yanked his reins back hard and flung himself to the ground, pulling out an object from his saddlebags. Light reflected off it, and Ara gasped in recognition. He raised the mirror to the sky and began chanting.

  “Layla, he’s doing black mathemagics! That’s what he did before. He used a mirror just like he is now.

  “Suleiman,” Ara shouted, thrusting herself half out of the window, “look out!”

  The eagle veered, and the magic whooshed by in the form of a small black cloud. It hung there. Two songbirds flew through it and disappeared. Dark shadows twisted inside the cloud and feathers exploded into the air. The eagle’s eyes locked onto the wazir, bent over his mirror below.