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More of Lur. What is it about me, that I have to put horses in all my stories?

"As a sign of good faith, I shall untie you. Shall I? If I do, will you give me your word that you won't run away until we have spoken?"

His shoulders ached, and he was growing more and more scared of the movement of the big horse. He would have done almost anything to have his hands free. But capitulating easily was not in his nature. "As long as I have your word that we'll talk where there is room for me to escape from you."

"Deal." The rope around his wrists parted, and he gasped with relief. The lord caught his elbow, not to hold him, but to steady him, for he'd almost toppled off the saddle and into the mud. "Grab the mane. Don't worry, you won't hurt the horse. Just get two handfuls of mane and hold on. Also, straighten up and stop trying to grip with your knees. You're making Flyer nervous. Let your legs relax and go long, like mine are."

Carefully, Lur settled into the position described, and the lord was right. He felt much more secure.

They were coming into a better part of town, where the horse's hooves rang on cobbles, but still a place where lords were so rare that everyone turned to stare at them. At an apothecary's shop, the horse stopped. The lord swung down from the saddle, letting the reins fall to the street, leaving Lur up there all by himself. "Hey!"

"Don't worry. Flyer is trained to stand calm even in the heat of battle, so I think he can handle a city street, even in Deneba. I'll be right back." He rapped twice on a small door next to the apothecary's, and after a moment it opened to show a man's round, red-cheeked face. The man looked worried. No wonder, Lur thought with humor. Who wants some lord coming to visit? The lord advanced into the tiny foyer, forcing the round-faced man to give way, and shut the door behind him.

Curious, Lur leaned forward and strained his ears. His hearing was excellent, and once he could filter out the street noise, he picked up the lord's smooth voice. "She did live here. In the room opposite the goldsmith's. Which was what this place once was." The other man said something, but Lur, unfamiliar with his voice, was unable to catch it. The lord said, "I see. It has been many years since I have been in Deneba. Do you know where she went?" The answer struck him to silence for a long moment. "I see. What happened, exactly?" Another answer, a longer one, and another silence. Then, "And the child?"

There was something odd about his voice in those three words. Something hard and threatening. This time Lur heard the reply, for the round-faced man raised his voice in alarm. "She went to the city orphanage, my lord!"

"Which one?"