It was time for the final step. Daoud beckoned. The nearest hooded figure on his right, who was actually Lorenzo, came forward with a green earthenware cup. He bent and held it before the kneeling Sordello. "More of your stregoneria? Or have you finally decided to poison me?" "Would I have showered you with wonders, as I have tonight, only to kill you? No, I have one final wonder to show you. Drink, Sordello." _This wonder probably will be the death of you, but not for a while._ After a long hesitation, the old bravo lifted his head and swallowed the liquid Lorenzo poured down his throat. He made a sour face. "Paugh! It tastes bad!" Daoud said nothing and waited. After a few moments of silence Sordello sat back on his heels. His gray head began to nod. His eyes closed. Daoud arose from the throne and went down to him, holding a candle in one hand. "Look at me, Sordello." The prisoner's head lifted, and his brown eyes stared fixedly into Daoud's. Daoud bent and passed the candle flame before Sordello's face, but his eyes remained motionless. "Do you love Simon de Gobignon, or do you hate him?" "Hate. I hate him," Sordello said in a dull voice. "I have suffered much on his account." "Would you kill him if you had the chance?" Even in his trance Sordello's eyes seemed to glow, and his face flushed. "Yes. Oh, yes, Maestro. Gladly." That was good. The will must already be there. Then it remained only to shape the deed. Daoud reached inside the collar of his tunic and pulled out the silver locket Blossoming Reed had given him. It was, he had decided, better than a word or combination of words. It was something Sordello would never see again unless Daoud wished him to see it. He dangled the locket by its chain before Sordello's face, letting it swing from side to side. He held the candle so its flame reflected from the silver disk. "Watch the locket, Sordello. Look closely at it. The design on its face is like no other in the world. Make certain that you would know it if you saw it again." For a time he let the locket swing, and Sordello's head turned from side to side, following it. "Do you know this locket now, Sordello? Truly know it?" "Yes, Maestro." "Could you mistake it for another?" "No, Maestro." "Good. Now I command you. When you see this locket again, it will be a sign. It will mean that you are to kill Simon de Gobignon at once. As soon as you see the locket, you will take up the first weapon that comes to hand, and you will await your first good chance, and you will strike him down. Do you understand?" "Yes, Maestro." "Will you do it?" "Yes, Maestro. With much joy." "Say what you will do, Sordello." "When I see that locket, I will kill Simon de Gobignon at once." "That is good. Now, in a little while you will wake up. And you will not remember anything I have said to you about the locket and about killing Simon de Gobignon. You will forget all about it until you see the locket again. And then you will strike."