o have a true appreciation of
Cortin's intent and ability. Not, Medart told himself, that that was
really unexpected; Sandemans considered it perfectly honorable to
torture a captured enemy for information, and certain offenses against
honor or custom demanded the offender's lingering death. But they were
more direct about it; a beating was the usual method.

That, bloody as it was, seemed somehow cleaner than Cortin's cool,
meticulous precision. It was several hours before she was satisfied
with the prisoner's general condition: his entire body except the
genital region so bruised or abraded that even a light touch brough
curses.

She stepped back to survey him, then smiled at her audience. "That
takes care of the preliminaries; now we can get to the real
punishment." She went to a cabinet, removed a vial and syringe.

"This is eroticine," she said, forcing the liquid in the vial down her
prisoner's throat. "In small doses, it's a male aphrodisiac. In
larger ones, like this, it forces an erection and increases semen
production by several hundred percent. He has no way to stimulate
orgasm, so that is forced out by simple hydraulic pressure--quite
uncomfortable, I've been assured. This dose is oral, so he'll be that
way for about twelve hours." She picked up a syringe, cleared it of
air. "And this is algetin, a pain-enhancer that's most effective on
swollen tissue such as an erection. It's a combination I think
particularly appropriate for a rapist."

Medart didn't agree that an aphrodisiac combined with a pain-enhancer
was necessarily appropriate for anyone, but it was clear the Sandeman
did approve.

"An intriguing combination," Keith said. Moments later, when the man's
erection firmed and grew moist, he looked curious. "Is that wetness
normal, or is it a drug effect?"

The question was so out of character for a Sandeman that Medart was
shocked, but Cortin seemed to take it as a matter of course. "Neither,
Lieutenant; it's a side effect of the satyr plague."

"I see." Keith paused, cocking his head. "You said he can't bring
himself to climax, Excellency, and this does seem effective--but what
would happen if he did? Would it be a temporary relief, or would the
algetin make it as much an agony as it usually is a pleasure?"

Medart and Cortin both stared at him in astonishment, for different
reasons. After several seconds, Cortin said thoughtfully, "We're
cautioned against it in training, sin