The boy ran to the stables and bridled a gelding. He jumped on, bareback, and heeled the horse on to a run. Derrin didn’t bother running, choosing to Leap from one point to the next to stay with them. They raced down the gravel road by which the carriage had arrived, but took a narrow, barely visible, path to the right. The boy had to duck low to avoid the branches of the oaks lining the road and encroaching on the path. He kept himself flat against the gelding’s neck, urging it on faster. The path dwindled and disappeared. At an apparently arbitrary point, the boy swung the gelding to the left. Sweat plastered Roi’s fringe to his forehead. He was showing complete disregard for his and his horse’s safety. The moonlight was dim and the boy would have no chance of spotting a rabbit burrow that would easily break the gelding’s leg. Roi reined the horse in to a trot before following a faint footpath that curved to the right.
