“But it still happened, whether you have any idea of why or not,” replied Ced. “And even after you healed her, whatever Anonoei did to Bexoi, she hasn’t come out of it yet. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“Take everything into account, Wad. I keep dreaming of Anonoei.”

“Most men who met her have those dreams,” said Wad. “It’s part of her power.”

“Not those dreams. I was once married to a succubus, please remember. I liked Anonoei but I didn’t faunch after her like most men apparently do. The dreams I have are truly weird. Anonoei is inside a coffin, knocking and knocking to get out. But when we open the lid of her coffin, all that’s inside is a moth. Or a dead … thing.”

“A dead baby,” said Wad.

“You’ve had the dream too?” asked Ced.

“People don’t have each other’s dreams, Ced. I saw the way you glanced at me and then said ‘thing’ instead of what you were going to say. What dead thing would you not be able to say to me? Dead baby.”

“Well, yes. A mummified baby. And sometimes the whole coffin is full of spiders as big as my hand. It’s not a pleasant dream. But I always know that it’s Anonoei inside the coffin, knocking to get out.”

“That’s a strange dream indeed,” said Wad. “I’m trying to think why that has anything to do with whether we go help the Doge of Drabway.”

“Because you don’t want to help him,” Ced explained. “You want to use his fear in order to get control of him.”

“He’s a very lazy old man who doesn’t do any of his own work anyway,” said Wad. “He’s already a puppet controlled by his Wazir, and he’s a puppet controlled by Drabway’s oligarchs and enemies in approximately equal proportions. Somebody’s going to kill the Wazir and probably the Doge as well. So we’ll be saving his life. And the Wazir’s life, even if from now on he’ll take his orders from us while we protect him from the people who will be discommoded by our takeover. They both get to keep their jobs, on a somewhat reduced income, and all their prestige and perquisites.”

Ced shook his head. “You don’t really think they’ll regard this as a favor, do you?”

“No, they’ll hate us. Or rather, they’ll hate me. But you’re so likable—”

“That’s where we cross over into Bullshit Land. It’s one thing to apologize abjectly to peasants who are used to bowing to powerful mages. But these clowns are mages, right?”

“Not in your league,” said Wad.

“They’re used to ruling, not being ruled.”

“They take orders from other people all the time.”

“Wad, I won’t be good at this. And if I am good at it, then I’ll hate myself for it.”