"Amusing people, the ancient Assyrians," Derek said. "They hunt, they sing, they dance, they impale people."
A joke. Finally. "Pretty much. They also built lamassu, massive stone statues that guarded the city gates and the entrances to Assyrian palaces."
I opened the Almanac and showed them the picture of the colossal statues. "Bearded human face, body of a lion or a bull, and wings."
"Why five legs?" Doolittle asked.
"It's conceptual: from the front the lamassu seem to be standing still, but from the side they appear to walk. Here is an interesting thing: Assyria wasn't that far from here, about a thousand miles southwest as the crow flies. It's a thousand miles of mountains and terrible roads, but in country terms, ancient Assyria and ancient Colchis were practically neighbors."
Derek frowned at the picture.
"But they have human faces," Eduardo said. "And no scales."
I nodded. "And that's a problem. Also there are dozens of theories as to who or what the lamassu represent, but not one of them says they were evil or that they ate people. They are viewed as benevolent guardians. People have found amulets with lamassu and protective spells on them, and modern Assyrians still have their images in their houses."
Doolittle studied the picture. "To show a creature with five legs demonstrates understanding rather than observation."
"What do you mean, understanding?"
"They didn't simply follow nature's blueprint and make exactly what they observed," Doolittle said. "They understood the difference between perception and reality, and they portrayed a concept rather than the exact copy of what they could see."
Doolittle took a piece of paper and a pen and began to draw. "When we are born, we start out with concrete thinking. We perceive only what we see and hear." He showed us the piece of paper. On it a dove soared above a crushed birdcage.
"What do you see?"
"A bird flying away from a broken cage," Derek said.
"What does it symbolize?"
"Freedom," I said.
"What else?"
"Escape," Eduardo said.
Doolittle turned to Derek.
"Leaving what is safe so you can be more," Derek said. "The cage is what the bird knows; the sky is all the things he still wants to do, even if it's a risk."
"Ah!" Doolittle raised his index finger. "All those are examples of abstract thinking. Our entire culture is based on the idea that a single concept can have many different interpretations. We actively encourage the development of this skill, because it helps us solve our problems in new ways. So did the ancient Assyrians, apparently. When looking at the lamassu, we have to consider not only what it is but what it may represent. We can't simply take it at face value."
The million-dollar question was, what could a scaled bull with a human face and wings symbolize?
A knock sounded and Andrea and Raphael came into the room. Keira stalked in behind them and winked at Eduardo.
"Stop that," Eduardo told her.
I leaned over to Doolittle. "What do you think it represents?"
"Let me think about it," he said.
Barabas was the last to arrive. We were missing Curran and Mahon, and Aunt B and George, who were guarding Desandra. It would have to do.
"Desandra doesn't do well with men," I said. "We need to have a woman with her at all times. I'm thinking three shifts, two people per shift. Midnight to eight, eight to four, and four to midnight. Volunteers?"
Raphael raised his hand. "We'll take eight to four."
"I can take four to midnight," I said. "I need a partner."
Derek raised his hand. Perfect.
"I'll take midnight to eight," Keira said. "I don't mind sleeping in the room and I talked to George last night. We'll work well together."
"What about me?" Eduardo asked.
"You and our good doctor are joined at the hip for the rest of our stay here," I said. "I have a feeling that Curran will be busy."
"He will be," Barabas confirmed. "I have several requests for meetings with him. He's an arbiter, so the packs will likely want him there any time they decide to talk."
"That leaves us with you, Mahon, and Aunt B," I said. "I'll talk to both of them and see if they would mind acting as standbys in case we need extra support: twelve hours on, twelve hours off. Same instructions as last night until further notice: we do not go anywhere alone, we do not take risks, and above all we do not permit ourselves to be provoked. One last thing: the most dangerous person in this castle isn't Jarek Kral or any of the other pack alphas. It's Megobari."
Keira raised her eyebrows.
"You've seen me fight," I said. "I can't explain to you why now, because it's complicated and we're being listened to, but I say this with every ounce of credibility I have: he is extremely dangerous. He has the means and ability to murder every person in this room and he will do it without any hesitation. Do not underestimate him."
If these creatures we fought were indeed lamassu, Roland would know about them. He could even have used them, which meant Hugh could use them as well. I had no idea to what end. But I would find out.
* * *
The meeting done, Raphael, Andrea, and I walked to Desandra's room. They would start their shift and I wanted to check in on Desandra.
"I was thinking," Andrea said.
"That's a dangerous habit."
"I keep telling her that," Raphael said.
"Oh, you two are a riot. Anyway, I was thinking we should squeeze Desandra dry. She knows both clans. She has to have some idea what's going on."
"Think she can handle it?" Desandra seemed about as stable as the Hawaiian Islands to me-she looked pretty, but if you searched hard enough, you'd find a volcano. Last thing I wanted was for her to self-destruct on me.
"Sure. You saw her. She doesn't have anyone to talk to. As long as we go easy and wear kid gloves, she'll be happy to chat. We'll girl-talk her."
Girl talk, right.
"I'll stay in the hallway," Raphael told us.
A minute later Andrea and I walked into Desandra's room. George was sitting on the bed by Desandra, who looked as sullen as you could get without actually crossing your arms and sticking your bottom lip all the way out. Aunt B smiled in a benign way, while George carefully braided Desandra's hair.
Shreds of bright silver wrapping paper and pieces of cardboard littered the rug. Next to them lay a broken toilet bowl brush with a ribbon bow and a card hanging from it.