The Stone Lions (10 page)

“But what about the line? How can you find an
imaginary line?” the girl asked.

“Good question, Layla,” Tahirah said, then
considered. “Well, you are looking for a place where the pattern
would be repeated. In the drawings you just did, we placed the line
beneath the first pattern. That was the easy way, starting with an
object, drawing a line under it or beside it and completing the
symmetry yourself. But how do you find the symmetry in an already
completed object?” She looked at both girls. “Any guesses?”

“Maybe you could cover a pattern until only
half of it shows?” asked Ara.

“Yes,” Tahirah agreed. “And there are other
ways. Think about mirrors.”

“You could hold a mirror up to it and see if
the other half of the pattern is repeated,” Layla offered.

“Good. Now, let’s continue. The vertical flip
goes left or right, correct?” Tahirah ran her hand across the
contented snake. “That’s what you learned from Suleiman and the
kind of symmetry you were searching for. In the horizontal flip,
the pretend line goes across, and the pattern flips up or down.
Let’s practice the symmetry in repeated patterns. Here, I will draw
a few and you tell me if they are horizontally symmetric or not.”
She reached for her quill and ink. “This is a test,” she said,
smiling. “Here I will present a whole row of the symmetry as you
would see it in the tiling of the Alhambra.”

“That’s easy,” said Layla. “It’s a horizontal
symmetry.”

“Excellent. And this one,” Tahirah said,
sketching madly.

“There,” Ara exclaimed, reaching over to
trace an imaginary line with her finger. “The middle of the budlike
thing. If you divide it in half, the whole pattern is flipped
over.”

“Good. And here is yet another.”

The girls looked at one another. Ara stated,
“Well, I see a line that splits it in half exactly, but if you flip
it over, it doesn’t match up. The triangles on the top would land
in the blank space.”

“Perfect.” Tahirah smiled. “This is
not
horizontal mirror symmetry, just as you
said. It does have symmetry, but not the ones we are speaking of
today. How about this?”

“Oh, I see it,” Layla said, pleased. “That’s
what Ara showed me. It’s a vertical flip. I remember she said that
the line runs from the earth all the way to Allah. I see that there
would be a line between the heads of the chickens going up and
down.” The snake had lifted his head and seemed pleased.

Tahirah reached over and squeezed Layla’s
shoulder. “I am very impressed. That was excellent. There is one
further requirement for the images you search for. It must have a
horizontal symmetry, but it cannot also have a vertical
symmetry.”

“What?” Ara looked up. “How could it have
both?”

“It is possible for both horizontal and
vertical symmetry to exist in one design. But for our purposes you
must eliminate any designs that you find with both, as they will
not break the spell. The only symmetry it can have is a horizontal
reflection. Can you remember this?”

“Yes,” the girls agreed, though Tahirah could
see they both were somewhat surprised by this new requirement.

She glanced outside and tried not to show how
worried she felt. “We have only one and one-half weeks for the two
of you to find the horizontal symmetry damaged by the wazir’s
magic. But first, the stone lions must be washed clean of the red
dye. Of most immediate importance, we need to protect Suleiman in
his snake form. I will do some mathematical searching to find out
why the wazir is destroying the magic in the palace.” She stopped,
suddenly aware of the lengthening shadows. “It is getting late. We
must end this lesson. Such a short time to resolve a difficult
spell.” Tahirah looked down at the snake.

“How do I know where the wazir broke it? It
could be anywhere in the Palace of the Lions or the Palace of the
Myrtles, even in the Palace of the Partal…” asked Ara. The
importance of her task overwhelmed her.

“We can’t know. He is putting pressure
somewhere, but the magic ripples throughout the Alhambra, finding a
weak spot. There it breaks a symmetry. It could appear
anywhere.

“You must not attract the attention of the
wazir. If too many people know that you search for symmetries,
broken symmetries, he also will know. But Layla can help, can’t
you?”

“I think so.” She looked at the green snake
wrapped around Tahirah’s wrist and shuddered. “Will I have to touch
the slimy snake?”

“Yes, in fact, you need to hold him now.
Layla, your life has been sheltered in the palace, but one who
loves and cares for you is in trouble. His life is in your hands.
Remember, this is Suleiman, and he’s having a very difficult time.”
Gently, she placed Suleiman in Layla’s lap.

The snake curled into a relaxed S-curve. He
picked his head up and stared at Layla. “Nottt ssslimy. Llayylla
ccowarddd!” he hissed, bobbing his head up and down.

“I am not,” she exclaimed. “Well, maybe I am
timid, a bit, but it is unkind of you to say so.” Then she grinned
and laughed. “I’m talking to a snake!” She reached out her hand to
pet him. “Why, he’s soft like satin. I never knew. Oh, Suleiman,
I’m so, so sorry. I’ll help you, I promise.”

“Nottt cccowardd. Bbrave and kkind,” Suleiman
responded and flicked his tongue.

Chapter 15

“Beet juice isn’t easy to get off,” Ara
complained, scrubbing the lion with big bristled brushes. She felt
a tremor beneath her hand. She crouched down and stared into the
lion’s eyes, her fingers cupping his chin. “Hello. Can you hear
me?”

Nothing changed. She sighed loudly and
continued washing down the lion. “How many of them are done?”

“This is the third lion,” her cousin
answered. “Nine more to finish.” Layla paused, pushing her braids
out of her face. “How is Suleiman? I worried about him all last
night.”

“Fine,” Ara replied, checking under her
caftan for the snake that wrapped around her waist. “He’s still
asleep. He was really cranky when we put him back in your basket
last night. He hissed so, I was afraid Su’ah would hear. When I
woke him at dawn, he was so annoyed he threatened to bite me. He
was nicer as a lizard,” she added with some emphasis.

“I think he was too upset before to be
anything but sad. Now, he’s starting to be more himself. Maybe he
didn’t sleep well last night,” Layla offered. “I’d worry too if I
had turned into a snake.”

“You would be upset because you couldn’t
dance. I think he’s just crabby, as always.”

“Innssssolent girl-cccchild,” hissed a
muffled voice.

“Suleiman, you’re awake!”

“Yessss.” The snake slithered out onto the
stone floor and blinked in the bright morning light, then coiled
himself, loop upon loop, until he looked much like a bright green
rope abandoned on the warm floor. He lifted his head slightly,
testing the air with his tongue. “Sssmells quiet.”

“Truly?” Layla asked. “Does quiet have a
smell? Can you taste it with your tongue?” Now that she had a
tentative peace with the snake, it seemed to Ara that Layla found
much about him interesting

“Yesss.” He swung his head from side to side,
watching them wash the big stone cats. “Sssmells niccce.”

“Suleiman, I don’t think you should be
there.” Ara said nervously. “Someone might come in and see you.
What if the wazir should walk by?”

“Sssunshhine. Needd ssunshhine,” the snake
murmured, slithering off into some small bushes where he could
drift back to sleep.

“But Ara, the wazir thinks Suleiman is a
lizard,” Layla said as she rubbed a stain from the chin of a lion.
“So we don’t have to worry, do we?”

“We need to be careful. He’s a very evil
man,” Ara whispered, remembering Suleiman’s cry for mercy in the
mirrored room. “And you heard Tahirah tell us to stay far away from
him. If he discovers that Suleiman has been transformed, he will be
suspicious. We must find all the symmetries and turn Suleiman back
to normal before he notices.” They continued scouring the narrow
nooks and crevices in the marble toes.

“Besides,” Ara continued, “snakes never get
into the palace. There are people who would be afraid and might
hurt him. Remember how you felt? Your mother would faint.”

Despite her concern for Suleiman, Layla
grinned at the thought of her mother’s reaction to a snake. Then
she said, “I was afraid because I didn’t understand how nice they
are. They eat rats and mice and are very quiet. Mother thinks they
are slimy—and you know they aren’t.”

“I don’t think now is a good time for her to
find that out.” Ara checked the arched doorways once again. “It’s
important that we keep this secret. Tahirah said that as long as
people thought Suleiman was on an errand for her, they might as
well keep thinking so. Aside from us, no one but the wazir knows
what really happened to him.”

Her uneasiness deepened, and her hands felt
raw from scrubbing. “How are we ever going to find all the
symmetries in time? We can’t ask many people for help or the wazir
might find out.” They both pondered this a moment. “Well, we have
access to the whole palace, and that should be enough. Tahirah
can’t come with us or the wazir would be on to us for certain. She
is a mathemagician, after all.”

Layla looked up from her work, frowning.
“Does the wazir know that she’s tutoring us?”

“Who would tell him? The harem’s business is
not his concern. Father would not think to talk to him about the
doings of the women and children of the harem.”

“Do you really think Suleiman will turn back
into a person?” Layla lowered her voice and looked around. “It all
seems so strange and scary. At least he speaks a bit.”

“Tahirah thinks he will continue to heal as
the symmetry magic heals the Alhambra. So it must be true,” Ara
responded.