Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 397
desert," he shot back. "You wanted to go home, Tamsin. Well,
that’s where we’re going to have to go."
He dug his heels into the flank of the horse and it bolted
through shouting men, and when he looked back Tamsin was
following, crouched low on her horse, wearing a grin that could
be terror or satisfaction--and maybe was a bit of both.
General Lavin laid his quill down wearily, and peered at
the manacled prisoner Hesty had led in. "Why is this of
interest?" he asked.
Hesty grimaced. "I hate to bother you with trivial
matters. This man is a looter, we caught him skulking in the
ruins of one of the outlying villages."
"Yes? So execute him." Lavin turned his attention back
to his plans.
"He claims to have valuable information to sell. About
the siege."
"Torture it out of him."
"We tried."
Lavin looked up in surprise. The prisoner was a small
man, wiry and grey-haired. He stood in an exhausted stoop,
trembling slightly. His left arm was broken, and had not been
set, and there were burn marks up and down his bare torso, and
rope burns around his throat. He glared dully but defiantly at
Lavin from his good eye; the other's lid was bruised and
swollen, as were his lips.
Lavin stood and walked around him. A large portion of
the skin was missing from his back; the flesh there wept
openly.
"He completely defied the torturer," Hesty explained.
"He insists on speaking only to you. And," he shook his head
in disbelief, "he wants to bargain!"